Fleeting Objects: Visual Representations of Discarded Architecture

Fleeting Objects: Visual Representations of Discarded Architecture consists of paintings inspired by and displayed in conjunction with artifacts collected from the demolition sites of two commercial developments in Savannah, Georgia: the Victory Lanes shopping center and the Backus Cadillac-Pontiac car dealership. The artifacts and the paintings together support the existence of the former structures and serve to construct a narrative for the viewer about their use, deterioration, and demise. The significance of this artwork is analogous to still-life painting, which imbues ordinary subjects with cultural relevancy. The subjects of this body of work were regarded as so irrelevant that the land and raw materials became more valuable than the original structures or their histories. The preliminary research for this work was conducted on-site where I photographed the demolition and collected artifacts from the fallen structures. The production of the artwork is performed in the studio where I identify imagery and artifacts significant to the experience of the demolition. The paintings are inspired by direct observation of the textures and forms found in the photographs and are further developed through surface treatment and paint manipulation. The artifacts, which are paired with the painting while it is in progress, provide additional information to be considered along with the painting. Furthermore, the artifacts provide a physical connection and sense of scale for the subject. The blend of object and image, an art form that originated in the early 1900’s with Dada and later revived in the 1960’s by Robert Rauschenberg, is an essential aspect of the narrative because it alters the perspective from which the work is viewed and defines the level of intimacy that the viewer can experience from the work. The final artworks, displayed in a gallery setting, construct visual narratives about architecture discarded in the wake of urban renewal in the United States