(Making of) The Art Show
Two years ago I decided that I wanted to walk into a studio every day and be surrounded by art. And I wanted our team to be continuously influenced by it.
A grand opening can typically lead to just a gathering with the underlying message of “hey! look at us!” and that didn't feel like a fit. We wanted something with purpose behind it. Some intention. Some depth. And of course, a story. That’s where our experiment of bringing art and wine together (inside of an architecture studio) originated.
Show #1 would mean going all in on this idea of art in the studio by creating the art ourselves. So we spent our next studio charrette scheming up as many art projects as we could. All abstracts cataloging the concepts of our approach to design and construction. And little did we anticipate the concepts that would continue to emerge over the months—the abstractions born out of both wonderful and painful moments! (But more on that later.)
The why.
Art is inspiring. Art is therapeutic. Art is joyful. Art captures a moment in time. Art is participatory, confusing, evocative and provocative. Art is…
Just like each one of our architectural design projects, each art piece had never been done before. Yes, a photograph has been printed five feet tall before. But this photo, with this digitally unaltered, 80s-era film coloring due to the poor lighting? Mounted within a permanent, seamless frame on a wall, in a room that is five times its length as its height? Of course not! So it had to be figured out… but that’s what we do.
And just like our day to day architectural projects, the art projects went through iterations. Many iterations. The iteration of ideas and implementation. Sometimes circling back on each other after a few failed mock-ups were made. And after each cycle of iteration, new and better ideas emerged (a.k.a. the design process.)
The ‘zine.
Depth comes through story. TA good narrative provides depth. And context. In design as in art. Each piece of the show needed its story told. Even if just a highlight. There were no in-ear, self guided tours through our gallery, so we decided a ‘zine could supplement or prompt good conversations. Black and white, laser printed, hot off the press and stapled, of course.
The wines…the experiment continues!
Wine is a romantic art form. It offers an elevated, complex liquid adventure. The iterations after iterations to create and bottle flavors from grape clusters is captivating to say the least. So in the spirit of doubling down on the human experience, we curated a wine tasting to accompany the art show. Or, an art show to accompany the wine tasting. However you want to spin it. But yes, a proper tasting…not a random case of store bought wine poured by my uncle.
(Full transparency, I wasn’t sure we could pull this off. Even up to the week before.)
A wine tasting is an experience, an education, a personal interaction. And this one was with the winemaker himself! He came to us, sharing his wine, telling his stories. Surrounded by art in an architecture studio…yes please.