2022; Research Exhibition
Approaching the Monument—Sterling Steel Foundry, Sauget, IL
III. Sterling Steel Foundry—The Architectural Ossuary—The Monument
The abandoned steel foundry lies in the heart of industrial East St. Louis, with a view across the river to the Gateway Arch. Larry Giles purchased the foundry in order to store his growing collection of artifacts from demolished buildings, establishing the National Building Arts Center in 2005.
Stacked crates of salvaged material fill the grounds like caskets, with the majority of the artifacts hidden inside. Lonesome statues, intricate terracotta friezes, and all manner of ornamentation are stacked in a simultaneous state of preservation and decay. The site operates in the foggy realm between museum and landfill.
[Late Morning]
Wander the site and observe the crates of artifacts. Explore the stacked rows of sarcophagi.
Enter the main foundry warehouse and approach the northeastern concrete volume.
Follow the ramp toward the large canopy in the distance.
Circulate through the space, viewing the artifacts that inhabit the ground plane and projections above. Reflect on the destructive nature of progress. Reflect on the duality of creation as an act that generates and destroys.
[Intention]
A new space is created in the language of an archaeological site and of a mausoleum. Physical and projected digital artifacts are transposed and morphed together into a continually changing visual environment. Familiar elements of foregone architecture are mutated into unfamiliar, dynamic facades. The destructive nature of progress is juxtaposed against the beautiful remnants of its path.
Reorganize the collection of artifacts into a mutative monument.
Provide a framework for display of physical materials juxtaposed against the projection of the virtual.
Facilitate reflection on the force of progress against past.
The Monument—Physical Model [Plaster, Wood, Wire, Paper, Foam, Gauze]
Site Context—Sauget, IL
Tracing Le Chemin du Rois
Le Chemin du Rois: A Self-Reflexive Procession through the American Bottomland—Installation View