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In summer 2006 the Museum of Contemporary Art,
Los Angeles commissioned us to create a one-night installation
for the Skin and Bones, Parallel Practices in Fashion
and Architecture opening night fete and annual fundraiser.
The event took place in a 12,000 square foot gallery building
at the Geffen Contemporary. The development and fabrication
time for the project was six weeks.
In literal reference to fashion we used garment
related fabrication techniques such as patterning, sewing,
folding, weaving, knitting & draping to create an ephemeral
structure that would enhance the social setting and create
a shared visual memory of the fleeting gala. En-route to dinner,
guests were invited to walk a runway through a swirling kaleidoscopic
array of last year's T-shirts, flannel pajamas, Polo shirts
and all other manner of accouterment.
To create this effect we worked in concert
with Endres
Ware Engineers to develop an anticlastic minimal surface
net structure that became the armature for weaving colorful
materials plucked from the conveyor belts of bulk textile
recycling companies. We laid the materials flat for
flame proofing treatment, sorted them into color categories
and then folded them in preparation for weaving. This process
served as karmic retribution for years of neglecting to properly
do laundry. Working closely with a fishing net manufacturer,
we educated ourselves in the deceptively vast intricacies
of net building; applying the know-how of an "outsider"
industry to create an architectonic structure. Afterward,
our net maker told us "it was the most challenging net
I have ever made."
Designers and Principals in Charge: Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues
Fabrication: Ball-Nogues Studio
Fabrication Team: Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues, Ben Dean, Elizabeth Tremante, Charon Nogues, Monica Jeremias
Structural Engineer: Endres Ware Architects and Engineers
Net Fabrication: Christensen Networks |
