Day One
Today in our Exploring Art intensive learning trip we traveled to Fairmount Park in order to address the remains of a former home as a location for site-specific art. The structure was a mere ruin with visible entrances, however there were no doors or windows. Many street artists have taken advantage of the space and have spray painted graffiti on the walls. As a group we ventured to Fairmount Park, trenched through mud on the Frisbee golf course, and marched through swinging vines and thorns to build teamwork and share our art to the denizens (or denizen) of the structure.
We started off the trip with some team bonding activities as ways to get to know each other better and get a feel for the location. The first exercise consisted of splitting up into groups and tying strings to different corners of a rubber band. We placed some plastic cups onto a large foam board and tried to flip/stack the cups onto each other by stretching the band on all sides to grab the cups. The next activity had us split into two teams. A team of about ten people each held a bucket of tennis balls by the ends of some strings and had to try and pour the tennis balls into another bucket. Both teams raced each other, which became especially difficult when everyone but one person had to close their eyes. By doing this we were able to successfully create a strong sense of teamwork throughout the group.
After the introductory group exercises, we created various pieces of art that included paper sculptures resembling pom-poms and floating graffiti writings that read “home sweet home.” These art pieces were put in place to instill new life to this abandoned house. Throughout the trip, we took pictures from different angles of the building to capture all the unique art that now surrounded the home. By using mirrors and the environment around us, we were able to play with different aspects of the structure, either by reflecting light or by creating pieces of art using what was already available. For example we created a “door made of sticks,” where the found twigs became line drawings in the space of the doorframe. We also did some housekeeping, picking up broken beer bottles, spray paint cans, and other various items. This not only helped make the interior of the house more safe, but made it look more attractive as well. People that visit the house can now appreciate our temporary art installation hanging from the walls, rather than look at the trash on the ground.
Backstory: ” The Cliffs” is a house that was built in 1753 by Quaker merchant Joshua Fisher. The building was purchased by Fairmount Park in 1868, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was restored for the bicentennial in 1976. The mansion was the victim of arson in 1986, and has since existed as ruins, a palimpsest of graffiti writing in recent years.
Source: Bradley Maule, Colonial Ruins on the 12th Hole, Hidden City Philadelphia.
