Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2014
Capstone Advisor
Robert Wysocki Professor and Graduate Coordinator___
Honors Reader
_Gorda Stanisic_
Capstone Major
Art
Capstone College
Visual and Performing Arts
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Creative
Subject Categories
Art and Design | Interactive Arts
Abstract
What Floor? was the title of my capstone project, which was a temporary installation located in the Comstock Art Building (Comart) at Syracuse University. Comart, one of the university’s art facilities, is located a mile away from the main campus. What Floor? was built within the elevator of the building. For my installation, I transformed the elevator into a living room. I did this by installing carpet, constructing and painting wooden walls to fit within the space, installing those walls, and then furnishing and decorating the space until I felt it was complete. In its finished state, it looked like a small lounge or living room. The walls were strung with colorful decorations, games were stacked under the coffee table, and bright orange curtains hung across the front “wall”, obscuring the view of the elevator doors.
I chose Comart as the location for my piece very intentionally, not simply to serve as a container for my installation, but as the subject of the work. What Floor? was a site specific installation whose relevance was dependent on its location within Comart. The piece addressed the social state of the facility through the use and alteration of the physical space within the building. The installation was both a critique and an invitation. I am interested in spaces and the ways in which they speak to the nature of their inhabitants. Comart was a space that I inhabited on a regular basis. I am a sculpture major and the sculpture studios, as well as other studios, are located within Comart. As I worked in the facility, I observed an atmosphere of social disinterest and a lack of connection between students and faculty working on different floors and in various studios within the building. I also observed a complete lack of shared space or space intended for anything other than work.
I created What Floor? to provide the possibility for the kind of space that Comart was lacking, a space for connection and interaction. But, since the space was impermanent, What Floor? was less of a solution than it was a symbol that provided an experience and pointed out a need; it asked people to see an absence by creating a presence.
Just as the piece would not be entirely relevant outside of Comart, the installation would not have been as effective if it had not been inside of the elevator. The elevator added to the piece by bringing all of its existing social oddities into the work, directing attention to both the physical and social space.
Recommended Citation
Pedulla, Claire Rose, "What Floor?" (2014). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 722.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/722
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