blog 5 - asylum
If you ever visited me at The Artisan’s Asylum, you know my studios were always a wonder to behold. Filled with old equipment, disassembled parts sorted by color, all kinds of tools, recycled paper and scrap wood. I built upwards with tall shelves requiring a ladder and amazing “squirreling” skills. On the front page of my website Portfolio I’ve document my studio each year. Starting with a 3’ x 3’ pallet space which took the form of shelving with wheels to my final 100’ sf space.
My work requires space to store a lot of obsolete technology. Folks dropped off all kinds of E-waste for me including: old pcs, failed electronic items, surplus boards, draft version of projects, things from re-use lists, and a stack of broken VCR’s from their parents basement. I’ve even been given bird feathers and 3D printed gears. People have a strong connection to their computers and when its time to dispose of them, it makes them feel better to think it might be re-used in my art work. Thus my recurring answer to the question…. Do you want it??? is “the older the better.” When they ask me what I am looking for I say, “interesting shapes, pretty colors.” Old floppy drives have a beautiful stator in them and colorful circuit boards can be fascinating, tiny heatsinks are adorable for example. But the best “part” is something I’ve never seen before.
I started packing up my studio in April. The only way for me to do it was a little by little over a long period of time. I had no idea where I was going to put all my stuff. I had started to clear out my storage space in the basement at my condo in Cambridge, MA. This is a wet, smelly place which is packed with a life time of papers, souvenirs and artifacts from the home I grew up in. I made it my goal to take one bag a week to Goodwill.
I had made a storage structure in my studio with some 2’ x 4’s and 6 cardboard tubes used for pouring concrete for columns. The day I used my power drill to take apart the structure was a major turning point. After that I filled large zip lock bags with my sorted materials and then loaded them into plastic boxes and the 2 big barrels I got from a guy working on the Assembly Square shopping center. I hired 2 guys who packed their van plus my Subaru Outback to the tipity-top and off to Cambridge we went and I was done! It took 5 months to pack up and move. I couldn’t believe it was done.
How I Found Myself at the Artisans Asylum
When we sold the family house in Lexington, I brought a van full of my Dad’s stuff to my first studio on Fairmont Pl, in Cambridgeport. Then I had to move out so I googled and discovered Artisan’s Asylum! They were having a meeting that night, so I dropped by. I saw Gui and Molly who was bouncing all around he place like a dancer. I got a 3 ’x 3’ pallet space and that was it. I took apart my first computer and HACKER CREATIONS was born. It was the perfect storm of resources, environment and cruft. (cruft= junk, leftover materials, supplies, tools… anything that can be reused). My style of using disassembled computers in abstract collage/assemblage came about organically and thanks to Mike Beach, John Houghton, David Stokes, Dave Rogers, Skunk, Ethan Labowitz, Piranha, Fred, Sal Manncini, Mike Semone, Kevin Yearwood…. for answering all my questions and pleas for help. And now for the memories!
