Echo

Upon walking through The Villa Terrace viewers are confronted with many oddities. Firstly, the Terrace itself, built in 1923 by David Adler for Lloyd R Smith in the Italian Renaissance style. This Italian Renaissance style is odd because the rise of the beer barons, Pabst and Schlitz, in addition to the overflow of German immigrants to Milwaukee in the 1840s and 1850s resulted in a very specific German Style populating most of Milwaukee architecture. The Villa Terrace is an example of one of the new buildings that were built from the 1920s to the 1940s that were influenced by architecture that returning soldiers saw when they were in Europe during World War I. It stands out. It is unique.

After entering the building there are many other unusual elements to look at. As a maker, I am drawn to the hand made elements of the building. I think that these are the elements that attention should be drawn to because modern architects no longer request or incorporate hand made elements into domestic spaces. If adornment is about revealing and at the same time confirming the identity, personality, and status of a person, how can supplements we add to the Villa Terrace do the same thing?

There are several objects already presented as artwork in the Terrace, Cyril Colnik's masterpiece, or the piece ha had to make in order to be considered a master, statues in the front garden, display cases with superb ivory objects. Although these are all beautiful objects, I believe we as makers can reveal something else, something specific about the elements that make this building unique, elements that deserve to be looked at again, in more depth. Martha talked a lot about how when Cyril was making ironwork for the building, he would have never thought of it as artwork, only functional. Can we bring that attention to it now?

I would like to propose this idea of reflection or echoing, of what is already in the building, through reflective surfaces. The surfaces we install (could perhaps include others in this too if anyone wants to jump in!) could be free standing mirrors, facing what we choose to reflect or perhaps reflective vinyl objects installed throughout the house (could be sheets of vinyl that stick to any shape or anything shiny enough to mirror)

Here are some examples of artists that use reflection in their work:

Josiah McElheny

Anish Kapoor

Martha Glowacki

For example, this is my favorite room:

What if a mirror reflected that ceiling? To draw more attention to the detail in the pattern, make us wonder who made it? Why has attention been brought to it? Is there a reference to anything in the pattern? Where was it made? Was it ordered special? From where? These are things I want to know, how can I find more about these specific details?

There were also a variety of wall sconces holding candles and functional ironwork throughout the house. I could see mirrors throughout the house, but in unusual places, you would really have to look for them, like an Easter Egg Hunt. Perhaps just placed on the ground, perhaps very small resting on a shelf, perhaps in front of another mirror, creating an infinite space for us to enter and contemplate.

These pieces would echo these elements, drawing attention to the fact that this doesn't happen anymore, making us appreciate what is already there.

I am still very interested in my first proposal as well, responding to the three material elements of my favorite room which appears above. But how could jewelry pieces be displayed? Andrea Miller suggested a one night only fashion show. I think this could really work. What does everyone else think?

This also makes me think of Stephanie Liner's work

Incense Box

Asian Influence over Western Wallpaper Production

-Villa Terrace Project

3D Metals, UW-Madison

Jee Young Han

According to “Wallpaper in America” written by Catherine Lynn, the idea of replicating major works by fine artists had occurred to several wallpaper manufacturers in France well before the turn of the nineteenth century. For example, during 1780s, Arthur et Robert reproduced paintings by Louis Michel van Loo and Hubert Robert in sizes appropriate for use over doorways. Their polychromed subjects presaged those of many later panoramic papers—populated landscapes of the waterside, with Italianate architectural elements. London wallpaper makers as well imitated these elements and relied on the works of fine artists; however, they imitated prints after paintings. More important precedents were non-repeating panoramic effects lied in Chinese papers. Chinese papers, with their continuous, non-repeating scenes showing landscapes and flowering trees, were important antecedents for the nineteenth-century scenic formula. Their boldness of scale and freshness of coloring was suggestive to French manufacturers. Also, the shallowness of space in most of their papers had very different effects from most of the nineteenth-century French scenics.

Zuber introduced “Décor Chinois” in 1832. The design by Eugene Ehrmann and Hermann Zipelius relies on Chinese precedents for motifs and composition, but the French factory used the Ombré technique, which had been its specialty since 1820, to achieve delicate color effects rather than attempting to imitate the linearity of the painted Chinese models. However, the general sense of composition affected by Asian perspective presents viewer a strong exotic atmosphere, and the rich coloring of western palette completes it.

The small statues carved out of ivory, Buddhism related craft works and other Asian oriented works made beautiful harmony along with the Décor Chinois. I would like to make an object that represents well-mixed cultural sense of Asian and that of Western.

My first idea is making 향갑(香匣), an incense box in a form of small charm. Korean women decorated their outfit by having 노리개, consists of colorful knots and threads often with 향갑 or 탁(鐸), a sphere shaped bell. Royal family used a golden incense box and gold sphere decorated with precious gemstones. Normal people used simple 노리개 or semi-precious one for special occasions. Sometimes it has handed down across the generations. This point is why I thought it has similarity as a western necklace handed down in family for a long time.

1. I want to use 포목상감 (Pomok Sangam), a Korean traditional technique to give strong sense of Asian culture.

2. I want to use Lily and/or Rose as motifs of this project, since Lily is a national flower of France, and Rose is that of both England and America. Also, the yellow and red flowers appeared in the Décor Chinois seems like one of the Rose family.

villa terrace critique schedule

VT Critique: Friday, April 9
Kim: 6 students
Frankie: 6 students

Each presentation: 5-8 minutes for student to present concept, 5 -8 minutes for Q&A (total time for each student not to exceed 15 minutes)
Lunch break - b.y.o. bag lunch with desserts or snacks to share - lunch break at the VT maybe outside in the courtyard.

9:20 - 9:30 am - arrival and settling down
9:30-11:30 - presentation by 8 students
11:30-12:15 - lunch break
12:15-1:15 - presentation by 4 students
1:15-1:30pm - wrap up

After the VT critique, Kim will head over to UWM to jury the student show, approximately an hour from 2:00-3:00pm and Stacey will give the Madison grads a walk through of UWM and/or the Kennelworth building. With planned departure for Madison people by 3:15pm to arrive in Madison by 4:45pm.

Rough Draft of Villa Terrace Project:
Over the past year I have been photographing parts of machines, tools, appliances, industrial parts & spaces, etc. and then creating silhouettes from the images. I would like to do this with 5 or less elements of the Villa Terrace and use the graphic image(s) to do one of the following:
1.) create iconic, cut paper "signs" - possilby using the excess material to make a lace-like paper pattern that would pour out from the negative space.
2.) using sheet metal, cut out multiple silhouettes and connect them together in such a way that they form a lace-like mass of ornament that would be a wearable piece - larger than a traditional broach or pendant in such a way that it starts to look like a growth.

Below is an example of my Badges project I made last year that involved silhouettes:




See you soon,
Andrea

Women's Privacy

The yard of Villa Terrace recreated the classic elements of a 16^th century Tuscan landscape. Tuscany is a central coastal region of Italy, known for its breathtaking scenery and relaxed. I am very interested in a cozy feeling. Trees and shrubs are a vital part of any relaxing outdoor design. Most of the trees native to Tuscany are evergreens, giving your home a lush. Other symbolic trees of Tuscan are Italian Cypress tree and Olive tree. Live Oak branches will provide wonderful shade, which might help to guard your Privacy. I value women’s privacy.

I want to create a cozy feeling through my work.

My work would be ornament (pretty big).

Display: hanging on the ceiling (2 or 3 pieces)

Each piece will hang different level.

Keyword: cozy, women, privacy

floor plans

the züber gallery

I'd like to take on the most daring of all the spaces at Villa Terrace. The Züber Gallery interests me for several reasons. For me it is the space that perfectly illustrates to me the European imperialist 'feel' of Villa Terrace. With the Züber wallpaper, and the Decor Chinois, there is an obvious attempt to emulate a European appropriation of objects and culture from that of their colonies. Considering that Züber wallpaper was most popular during the nineteenth century, it interests me further as this is the time period that Europe was discovering or categorizing sexuality and gender roles. Colonial racism was coupled with "racial eroticism" which is the area I would like to develop my installation around. I feel I could use the Züber Gallery to incorporate my work within the space and its objects to create my own Kunstkammer (or room of curiosities) incorporating colonial ideas of sexuality and racism.


Attached is one of several objects I will make, along with an image of a plate from Verum et Historicam descriptionem Avriferi tegni guineaa.