Installation Project

Artist: Haley Breier

Title of work: Fall Mums

Media: Environment

Date: October 7, 2010

Step 3

A. What is installation art?
- Installation arts is something that artists use to create a three dimensional image of where their piece would fit and what it would look like. It is often very specific and gives a good perception of space or what is needed to be changed/altered.

B. What materials are used installation art?
-The materials used in installation art are the space being viewed, the pieces of art work that are being tested and type of theme (Nature, Environment, Self, Mass Media, Consumerism), and a camera so that the artist can review how the art would look.

C. Why make installation art? 

-Installation art is necessary to give an artist a “preview” of what their artwork will look like in a specific space or area.

D. Which artist/installation did I find most interesting?

-The piece that I found most interesting was Louis Bourgeois, Red Room. I caught my eye right away and has a lot of unique elements in it that make me want to know more about it.

Step 4

E. From the material reviewed, is there a inspiration piece that I feel a connection with?

-The piece that I feel connected with is Andy Goldsworthy, Reconstructed Icicles Dumfriesshire.  I felt connected with this piece because growing up in Buffalo I am very familiar with snow and ice. As soon as I saw it I related it back to the bad ice storm that happened just a few years ago that shut down just about everything because everything was iced over, including the trees. The icicle reminded me right away of that and I felt a connection of being home and in my own environment.

F. What theme do I want to explore in my installation? Refer to your textbook if you need to review Themes of Art. (chapter 3 in text) (Nature, Environment, Self, Mass Media, Consumerism, etc.)

- I am choosing to explore environment for my installation. I love the outdoors and all the elements that make up our environment, especially during the fall.  

G. What materials will I use?

 -The main materials I am going to focus on are Mums. Mums are the main type of flower in the fall and have many different colors. I bought six mums over the weekend, all different colors, and now the difficult decision is placing them. This is going to be my installation task.

H. Where will this installation be located and why?

-The installation will be on my front porch deciding on the perfect space and placement for each mum.

Step 6

-What I started with

-Final Porch Installation

-Final Front Garden Installation

-Final Installation (View of how it flows from porch to garden)

I. Describe your installation. Be sure to use the worksheet from Project #3 as your guide.

-My installation is a bit simply but can have many different options. I am starting off with six mums, all different colors. The point of my installation is to create the perfect environmental art for my front porch. Fall is full of beautiful colors and I want to find the perfect placement for all mums. I started with all six on the porch with three on hay piles. I was not a big fan of this look because it was a bit cluttered. I fooled around with the colors and combinations and decided to keep three on the porch and plant the other three in the front garden. The last thing I had to decide is what colors I was going to keep together. I chose to do red, white, and purple all in a row in the front garden. I put the purple and white one on the step alone and set the orange and yellow ones on the hay stacks. It made my whole house look beautiful and gave it that fresh fall feeling.

J. Analyze your installation. Be sure to use the worksheet from Project #3 as your guide.

-My installation was very simple but included a lot of elements and principles. The main elements and principles I chose to focus on were color and depth. Working with colors can be a bit difficult because with such a wide range of colors it is hard to make them all connect. There was a range of reds, oranges, yellows, and then purples and whites. I started off with keeping each of the ranges together but it just made the whole front look very separated and did not flow. This is when I had the idea of mixing them to keep the eyes moving from the front porch down to the front garden. I placed the white and purple one all the way to the left, the orange, yellow, and red one in the middle, and then the last white and purple ones on the left. I kept it flowing by placing the red one next to the yellow one, but on the floor instead of the step. It gave the whole garden much more depth and leads the eye down to the rest of the garden. This color combination and depth turned out the best and gave my whole house a very unified look.  

K. What are your thoughts on the planning and creation of a site specific installation?

-I am very excited to see how the installation will turn out. Our environment is a beautiful image and filled with all different elements and principles. I love mums and flowers but I always have difficulty trying to figure out where to place them. This is a perfect example of installation art because I can place them before I plant them, take a picture, and decide if I like it.