Site+Specific+Intervention


 * Davis**
 * Spring 2012**
 * New Media**


 * Project 2**
 * Presence/Absence: Site-Specific Intervention**

Art has always had an element of site specificity. From the cave paintings of Lascaux to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to the earthworks of the 1960s, site is a powerful element in the creation and reception of many types of work.

During the late 20th century, artists began addressing site directly with works like Nancy Holt's Sightlines, where the viewer must go to the work, which itself changes in relation to what time of day and year it is viewed.

In this project, you will choose 4 sites. At least one of your sites must be within a 5 minute walk for our classroom. The other sites may be anywhere you choose. You will shoot an image at your site, being sure to include sufficient detail of your subject. (It would be smart to shoot multiple images at your site so you have multiple images to use in class, and also note the location so it will be easy to return.) In photoshop, you will add or remove some aspect of your image.

The 4 working images should be adjusted justly: 1 removal, 1 addition, 1 addition and removal, and 1 artist's choice. After the manipulation, you will print a copy of the image and display it at the original site.

The final step in this process is to document your image on site. Your final photo should show as much of the detail of the site and the photo displayed at the site. You should end up with 3 photos per site: original, altered, and site with altered, for a total of 12 images for this project.

When choosing your site, you should be questioning what goes on at this place, how does the site function. A monument's function is different than a train station's. You should also have the (potential) viewer in mind when choosing your viewpoint. How is the viewers body oriented in space? What clues are there that something in the photo is different than in reality? Is the altered photo displayed inset in to the scene, or mirroring it? Try and anticipate the viewers physical relationship to the image and the space, as well as the time and movement needed for comprehension.

Site Specific art can be thought of in many ways. The following examples are broken up into loosely defined terms of contrasting, revealing, and intervention. Some of the artworks shown could fit under more than one of these labels, so keep in mind the fluid nature of interpretation.

__DUE: 12 images total. 3 for each site, including original, altered, and altered on site. save full quality .psd to class folder, clearly labeled.__
=**Revealing**=

Site specific work that reveals an obscured or hidden aspect of the site are in this category. The aspects revealed could be cultural, political, physical, metaphysical or functional.

Krzysztof Wodiczko





Dennis Oppenheim



Walter DeMaria

Richard Long

Will Pappenheimer

= = =**Contrast**=

A work that so starkly contrasts its surroundings that it makes the unaltered site more palpable goes under this heading.

Agnes Dean



Robert Smithson

Gelatin







Walter DeMaria

=**Positioning**=

Works that position the viewers body in relation to a site go here.

Nancy Holt





Dan Graham



=**Intervening**=


 * Works which directly change the site, and this change conveys meaning go here.**

Gordon Matta CLark



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Richard Serra







Some Additional Resources:

http://www.dimitri-xenakis.com/ http://www.urban-projection.com/

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