ANTI-WHITNEY

“Bushwick Artist Collective”

The experience of displaying, viewing, consuming art is either strictly civic or institutional. Civic art does not require a prescribed medium or canvas, for the street provides it. It is experienced at the viewer’s own discretion, without a time limit or fee. On the other hand, institutional viewing constitutes the viewing of art in a private institution such as a museum where one is subjected to rules and regulations. We are interested in the relationship between these two conditions and how they exist simultaneously as a new way to consume culture in our time. Hence we propose creating a physical presence for existing gallerist collective in Bushwick to maintain the spirit of the civic, while providing a platform and presence of an institution. How architecture can deconstruct the barriers to exclusivity and monopoly to establish a more inclusive, interactive and engaging experience is fundamental to the transformation of the cultural typology into the 21st century.Transforming the scope and breadth of the “non-institution” would significantly increase cultural complexity and diversity, especially within cities, where such places could be laboratories for novel exchange and intelligence. There is responsibility of the architect to design this particular typology in an manner that maximizes the public’s demand for openness and accessibility and eschew the notions of exclusivity.

The project proposes a Bushwick Gallery Collective in response to the Whitney Museum being built in Chelsea Gallery District. Chelsea has numerous galleries and fashion industries. Chelsea is a constantly developing area has become a magnet for visitors and NY City residents and functions as
the cosmetic face of the city. Along with the generic gallery aesthetic of white walls and glass model that litter the streets, today the cosmetic and fashion industry have united with popular architects to create a visually “spectacular”architecture. The latest addition is the New Whitney Museum.

We understand the museum’s desire or maximum flexibility, but is it the only way to experience contemporary art really in a huge hall that blends the aesthetic of a white walls and glass? The museum model that the new Whitney represents is under question here. Architecture has a responsibility on aesthetics because of it scale, permanence, and its capability to present itself to an equally to a varied audience. Architecture has a potential to become a powerful vehicle for beauty. This project attempts to join the two structural model of the art world into a new amalgam.

Pratt Institute Degree Project 2014-2015 with F. Biehle & F. Gesualdi.

collaboration w/ S. Barysheva & J. Park.

Awarded Degree Project of the Year 2015.