House Album

2020, 129” (328 cm) x 340” (864 cm) x 60” (152 cm), glass, metal, vinyl, paint, cold fusion, on view at the Wichita Art Museum, photo credit: Kirk Eck

House Album is a selective portrait of the United States that explores issues surrounding agency, identity, and memory. The work is composed of two dimensional domestic objects that represent significant individuals and critical episodes in this country’s history, creating an allegory of our collective home.

The concept is generated from two specific traditions of defining domestic interiors: the late nineteenth century pastime of scrap booking of miniature houses (two dimensional) and the Period Room (three dimensional), an exhibition construct utilized in museums from the early twentieth century to the present day. In both of these applications individuals aspire to create the ideal home, and by extension their perceived individual identity.

In House Album, the process of scrap booking is utilized as a construct to edit the onslaught of information found in the digital age. The sculpture continuously evolves, accumulating additional components at each venue to include relevant milestones.

This installation was generously supported by Alturas Foundation.

On view at the Museum of Art and Design, photo credit: Jenna Bascom

on view at Wichita Art Museum, photo credit: Kirk Eck