the artist's room

What did you experience?

My work is created as an experience and I want nothing more than to hear how you felt as a result of being with, and in, my work. Fellow WONDER CHANNEL artist Amanda Bonaiuto graciously shares her experience below.

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Where ever you go, there you are | Kate Gilbert

WONDER CHANNEL  | Fourth Wall Gallery

Amanda Bonaiuto

Standing at the entrance of a stout hallway, flanked by alizarin curtains. Unfinished exterior, industrial structure’s are exposed in juxtaposition with the warm light and faux wood grain finish of the interior leads one to question if this constricted space is for entering or for observation from the outside.  Curiosity takes hold as I enter the space, which seems to hold my body but no one else’s. The impulse to test the space for its authenticity is overwhelming. Grazing the faux walls, tempted to know what’s beneath it. In searching for the seams of the piece I notice the concrete floor of the gallery on which I stand. A stool of modernist design tempts one to take a seat: its simple curvature created just for the human shape, however I do not sit because the claustrophobia is already present. It’s offering comfort feels artificial. At the end of the hallway, I’m confronted with a plasma screen touring me through a simulated production of a modern interior waterfront home. Lulled into the rhythm of the smooth pans and pleasing colors, I’m shocked out of my complacency with a fast-paced slideshow of consumer products and advertisements.  An interior confusing in it’s creation of desire, or is it a constructed desire, leaves one not desiring the faux marketed room, nor the plasma television, but a desire for an authenticity in material and consumer culture. The illusion of the handmade attracts the human senses, distracting and complicating, using materials produced by factory machinery in order to create space that is uniquely yours.

Where Ever You Go, There You Are

Every part of my body hurts from building this structure but its ready for the opening of WONDER CHANNEL, a group show, and my video installation “Where Ever You Go, There You Are” with collaborator Corey Beaulieu.

installation in progressvideo still (CGI rendering and animation by Corey Beaulieu)
“Where Ever You Go, There You Are” is a commentary on contemporary design and DIY consumer culture that invites the viewer to question desire. Inside a half-finished hallway/tradeshow booth, a video bombards the viewer with stills from shelter magazines followed by slows pans of “my perfect room” as rendered in CGI by Corey. 

EXHIBITION: Tuesday, April 3, 12-8 pm and Wednesday, April 4, 12-6 pm

OPENING RECEPTION: April 3, 6–8 pm

LOCATION: 132 Brookline Ave, Boston (5 min walk from Fenway T stop. Near Landmark Center)
http://www.facebook.com/events/337594362958246/ 

Meri's Room: perfection can only be simulated

Following up on my last post about real vs simulated surveillance, another vein of simulation I explored last semester was the strong pull of beauty and simplicity, and whether either are achievable.

In response to that question and influenced by the humor of Unhappy Hipsters, I created Meri's Room, an installation in my SMFA studio. I presented the simulation of a modernist space that on the surface displayed all of the proper and acceptable materials, surfaces and proportions of good taste. 

What was real was only the simulation – the time, labor and money spent. The room was constructed of materials from hardware and art supply stores, crafted with an untrained hand, yet done in the vernacular and grammar of modernism. 

It spoke to the ultimate failure of modernism and designers’ aspirations to become “thoughtful host anticipating his guests” (Charles Eames).  The room was void of any joyful expression except for the occupants’ choice of a few select objects and the guided meditation taking the participant on an inner journey to her own room where she is safe, comforted and able to free herself from her concerns. 

Perfection, as it turns out, can only be simulated; it’s an unachievable non-reality.

More images on the gallery pages.

Video – satisfying the image-maker and storyteller in me; watching/being watched

I used to be one of those people who gave art videos a 30 second watch and then walked away. So last semester, my first at SMFA/Tufts, I decided to stretch myself. I took a video class to learn the techniques of shooting and editing video…and to try to understand conceptual video art. 

In my first videos I simulated surveillance, in particular watching and being watched. In retrospect it was a natural instinct…I was suddenly “in control” of what images I was recording and displaying. (Background: my father is an ex-reporter; I’ve been on the fringes of PR/outreach in prior jobs; I’ve witnessed how easily the truth can become muddled and how difficult it can be to report what is “real” without bias.) My subject matter was also greatly influenced by a chance meeting and subsequent clearance to a surveillance center. Meanwhile, in the studio, I was simultaneously exploring “real” in a sculptural installation.

So what is real in surveillance and the watching/watched dynamic? What is real is the complex situation we as a society are able to practice – at once a complicit participation in surveillance and, on the other hand, a consistent disregard for uncomfortable circumstances. What exactly are we looking for and why don’t we see what is right in front of us?

I’ll continue my exploration of video. It satisfies the two sides in me: the geeky, quasi- journalist and the picture maker who loves a sexy image. 

Note: Unfortunately, I don’t have clearance to show these videos yet. Here are a few stills from a three channel installation to pique your curiosity...