Katia's Methods Session One – Three things

PORTRAIT OF A BUILDING

What

“Portrait of a Building” is an installation which takes place in a room of a “bulding”. The space of the room is recreated and reconstructed of white walls which form an uneven architecturally walking path. The path directs you to a wall approximately 2,5 x 4 meters where a beamer projects a film of 10 minutes.

How

The film is a part of a scenario which I wrote in 2017 called “The Portrait of a Building”. I used a part of the text, re-edited it and recorded the voice over in the studio. Based on the text as well as the real existing references of the scenario, I collected footage from YouTube. In continuation, I made maquettes of building constructions using carton and plaster and miniature rooms from the same material. After filming the maquettes, I composed the music in the studio and finally arranged everything together in post-production.

Why

The film is an extension of my research on how space and architecture influence or shape our thoughts. From the delicate deconstructions and time based interventions of negative architecture by G.M. Clark, to the "life as art, art is life" assemblage of the Merzbau of Kurt Schwitters, all evoke sensations of the momentarily, fleeting magic of seizing the moment in order to create space. The argument being made is that over time art and architecture have produced inspiring and important creations of space, both mentally and physically that however they may have eroded or washed away of our memory, yet, serve as a plea to celebrate the idea that reality can "awake possibilities" (Musil) that help to facilitate an opening up, to new connections and new forms of understanding and experiencing life. A creation of a true space of possibilities, in lens-based reality, in art, in architecture, but most important in life.