Art as Labour Winter'18
Landart+UX concepts
Two of my concepts from collective final project in Art as Labor school Winter’18 proposing ideas and improvements for Nikola-Lenivets Art Park.
Nikola-Lenivets Art Park is a unique example of how art can nourish a local economy, by employing locals and engaging investments and visitors, and preserve local culture, by sharing and implementing it, including the sustainable way the park is built - “of what you can pick up from the ground”. Now it is also a hands-on educational space working on itself. Winter students come up with suitable proposals that summer students will use to actually build things.
Our group was encouraged to discuss the park in terms of 3 layers:
- Ground: land, landscape, climate, etc.
- Park: art objects, events, entertainment, accommodation, accessebility
- Education: educational space shared by locals and students as they come. Besides art- and architecture-related classes it was supposed to host traditional local crafts.
Students spent significant time watching, touching and feeling all those layers, as well as talking to local people. Thus, to present the following concepts I should provide an image of how it was - and here’s my photo report:
January. Russia. You spend up to 5 hours outside. -10°C. Open wind makes it feel like -15. Imagine that. Could you?
Human Nest
Original title: Человеческое гнездо
Layer: Education
You know that special cats’ way to make themselves comfortable on a blanket - when they wake up and jump down, they leave a perfect circular crater, warm inside. My cat, R.I.P., used to do so, and we called it Alice’s Nest. My place has been called Cat’s Nest since then. Even my wi-fi network is TheNest. The Nest means ‘home’ or ‘bed’. My shell, my burrow, my place. Warm inside.
Human Nest has a form of a bird nest scaled to contain 4-5 people who are supposed to arrange The Nest inside using an unlimited quantity of blankets.
It fits into some chill out zone of the intended educational center we discussed within the layer, which must include at least one building dedicated to the climate. Therefore people sitting inside a Human Nest may barely know each other.
Thus, Human Nest is a way to declare and implement your free will to be close with those who you work with. Literally. To let them in your private space. The northern climate provides the same priceless opportunity as any harsh environment - it unites people.
It really does. My “users’” verbal report was 100% positive - they were ready to nest right here and right now.
Following wind
Original title: Ветер в спину. Direct translation from Russian is “wind to the back” and also means ‘I wish you a following wind’.
Layer: Land+Park
Following Wind is a signpost that can be situated in any open spaces in the park, e.g. near art objects or at the crossroads.
Similar to a solar clock it matches wind directions with directions to park objects. A signpost contains a stand marked up with directions to important places in the park, and a wind sleeve showing the direction of the wind.
It may have any desired dimensions as long as a person standing nearby may read the directions and compare them to the sleeve position. I.e. if the basis (on which the directions are "written" - or more likely cut or burn) is small, it should be put up on a leg(s).
Forming a nature-driven analog navigation system, Following Wind signposts connect Land and Park layers and aim to adjust your visit to the cold windy weather by helping you walk with the wind blowing mostly into your back. Or to just go with the wind for fun.
ArtLandia Menu
Our leaflet in whole. From where Kate Vidineeva's sketeches are taken. In raw shots by Mikhail Grebenschikov:
