Studio Profesor Wiel Arets
Maxwell Gendler
Art House Spring 2021
Art House 1
Instructors Professor Wiel Arets Adjunct Professor John Manaves
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I would like to start by defining “home” as synonymous with Nature, and “the city” in its physical context as Not Home. Along with the distinction between Public and Private. 2
HOME (nature) NOT HOME (the city) distinctions
PUBLIC PRIVATE
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Meester Visserplein 5
The Art House is a located in Amsterdam’s city center. It is nested in the Jewish Quarter at the site of Meester Visserplein which has seen history through the eyes of the oppressed and witnessed movements that changed the course of history. During the February Strike of 1941, the city of Amsterdam rallied together in protest of the German occupation and persecution of the Jewish people.
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February Strike 1941 7
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“Words” 9
W at er lo o pl ei n M
M r. V iss er p
lei n
in
M
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e ss i V r. le rp
Mr.
in ple ser Vis
Meester Visserplein 11
Their vehicle for protest being the word. Words on a poster are so powerful that they drive movements and change, engage a people in deep thought and reflection. The word, above all forms of protest allows itself to be totally silent yet deafeningly loud simultaneously. The Art House is focused on using “words” as a vehicle for change, as a vehicle for the movement of caring for our Earth, as a form of protest. We live in a world suffocating in gases and dark excapless alleyways, a world where Nature is the forbidden “outdoors” and the concrete holes in which we dwell have for some reason become home. If Home is Nature, then what is the city without it?
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Nature vs. The City 13
The Art House is an intervention composed of platforms in which protest happens. Similar to platforms of the February Strike in 1941, the Art House platforms support the arguement for Nature’s return to our cities. The Nature atop the platform shouts this protest, like a protester shouting phrases atop a platform to others in the crowd.
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Public vs. Private 15
The Art House dwellers live in homes protruding above the public platforms, placing them in a complex juxtaposition of Public versus Private - placing the Art House curators within the protest itself.
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“The Last Tree” Exhibit 17
The exhibits will be curated by Art House dwellers who have a deep connection and commitment to the movement. While they live in the house, they will curate exhibits in the form of sculpture and graphic art that support the protest of making Nature the priority once again.
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Informal Protest 19
The public platform intervention acts as a vehicle for all forms of life to constantly thrive. When the platforms are not being used for Art House functions, Informal Protest can take place throughout the platforms. Thus, supporting the movement at all times while also facilitating the elevated park as an integral component of the public realm.
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Formal Protest 21
The Art House functions can take form of exhibits or events, but Formal Protest will also be integral to facilitating the protest for this movement. Art House dwellers not only curate the art, but cultivate the gathering of city inhabitants to take part in and learn from the protest.
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Public Realm as Exhibit 23
As the house dwellers curate the exhibits and spaces for the movement, the Art House intervention becomes an exhibit itself. An exhibit of the Public Realm as it changes and thrives at all times of the day, facilitating protest and all walks of life in parallel with Nature.
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W at er loo pl ein M
M r. V iss er ple i
n
M
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n ei l p er s s Vi . r
Mr.
in
ple
ser Vis
Site Vectors 27
The site Meester Visserplein so perfectly houses a program such as this due to its immense vulnerability to be seen. It is surrounded on all sides by vectors of travel and transportation, it also happens to be split down the middle by the city’s tram. These vectors of movement allow the art curators to utilize the site as a vehicle for protest by making the site a part of the exhibit. A rotating artwork using the “word” will be exhibited publicly at the plaza level in 3 principal directions towards the tram, street, and entrance to the lower plaza. These vectors of movement throughout the site will allow the art to be publicly exhibited spreading the seed of protest and change as the rest of the exhibit does below.
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Ground Plan 29
At the ground level, the Art House features a sunken down exhibit space catered to by a long set of grandstand stairs. The exhibit space below features art in the form of “words”, graphic art by the likes of artists such as Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, and Lawrence Wiener among others. Featured in this space will also be quotes from the 3 art house dwellers stating their thoughts on the protest for Nature’s place in The City and in relation to our lives. The grandstand stairs that circulate the public into the space can also become a stage for formal or informal protest, Art house events and everyday life alike.
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Nature and The City is a relationship that must be worked with, must be cultivated and carefully studied. The ultimate goal of the Art House is to drive the present day movement of how we make our cities green again. Among many things, history has proved to us that if we stand atop the platform and shout, someone will listen. That if we stand up for the components of our world that need support, positive change can and will happen. Nature can return to our cities if we allow it, Nature will return if we design for it. As inhabitants of this world we can support our planet and return to our home, return to Nature. 36
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Art House 38
Instructors Professor Wiel Arets ave es Adjunct Professor John Manaves
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