Alan Koeninger: The House
Title:
- The House
Artist(s) and People Involved:
Exhibiting Artist(s):
Symposium:
Artist Statement:
A screen book; a traditional book format that has been transferred to a televised screen format with limited interactivity and non-linearity. It is comprised of text, image and sound exploring notions of domesticity in and around the House. The book is displayed on a flat touch screen (via back-projection) attached to a false wall at standard eye height. There are several domestic elements that are incorporated into the work; photographic and video images of decor, helpful homely tips for the merry homemaker and acoustical reference to domestic activities and events (such as dinner parties, household appliances, etc.). It is through the interpretation of-and between each domestic element that meaning can be”determined” by the”reader” from the book. A lot can be understood about this so-called”reading” or deconstruction of domestic spaces and activities within the Home, readings that subtly affect how we understand and relate to others in and around the environment of the House. I am also interested in the shifting meaning and references of decor over time. I have attempted to shift my gaze to the insignificant, banal surfaces of the House, like wallpaper, carpet and the such. What can be understood from surfaces like these? Over time, the intended signification of the design can change. Indeed, if the occupants change (come from different social backgrounds), meaning and context shifts again.The collection of various fashions, decor and domestic activities within the artwork are an attempt to try to understand and visualize the bizarre relationship we have with our Place and its affect on us, on our social behavior. The relationship of images of decor, sounds of appliances and dinner parties, and helpful how-to tips attempt to answer the question “to what extent has social engineering through design, image and how-to-live-tips affected domestic life?”
