"Site Specific Installation"
By
Don Griffin
Installed at The Maryland Institute College of Art
Baltimore, Maryland
for
Artscape 2002
Exhibited in the Bunting Center's
Pinkard Gallery
In the case of "Narrative Inclination" a suite of 16 Painting and Drawing papers were incorporated into the installation.
The anatomy of the piece was based upon the theme of the exhibition, "Pathways." I chose to emphasize the "Pathway" through the use of burlap coffee sacks, and the papers mentioned above. The journey was depicted in the physical form of the sacks being transported from different places throughout the world. The sacks were the basis of the whole project. Everthing revolved from the sacks. They were intended to make the primary statement about the journey. This was accomplished with text and graphic descriptions contained on the sacks, and mirrored in the suite of papers. The installation is an attempt to further define what art is, and what art can be.
The problem in this piece was to transform the common burlap coffee sack into a work of art, tie it into the theme of the exhibition, and make the definition. The viewer determined whether the piece contained visual complexity necessary for prolonged viewing, and continued attention as in meditation. Does it have a captive force?
None of this can be experienced however, if the viewer thinks it can be taken in by a fleeting moment as in passing by. There is a presence about the piece that wants to make you feel or visit the intelligence of the inner you. Narrative Inclination was not created to be complicated...it was created to be enjoyed. To take the viewer on a "journey." In my observation of viewers interacting with the piece, some made the journey and others did not.
DG
