Shrinking Cities Exhibition, New York NY
A traveling exhibit featuring artists, architects, filmmakers, and journalists who examined the phenomenon of urban decline within changing urban landscapes.
Four focus cities, Detroit, Halle/Leipzig (Germany), Manchester/Liverpool (Britain), and Ivanovo (Russia) were explored by artists and architects examining the phenomenon of urban decline. Projects included a worldwide study of urban depopulation, the change of urban landscapes, everyday practices and political conflicts under decline. The collected observations were displayed at the Van Alen Institute which hosted part one of the exhibition, “Shrinking Cities: International Research.” Pratt Institute, Manhattan Gallery hosted part two, “Shrinking Cities: Interventions.”
Van Alen Institute, New York NY
We divided the Van Alen Institute gallery into two spaces with a narrow connector which housed the Urban Scan videos. The front space was filled with illuminated cylinders displaying maps and data. Hung at eye level, the cylinders enveloped the gallery viewer into a space where boundaries receded and information intensified.
We lined the walls of both galleries with an industrial white mesh, similar to those used on construction and demolition sites. Openings were cut to reveal the wall where the art was hung and videos were projected. The mesh made new divisions within both galleries, and conversely created connections through the scrim's gridded openings. It became a skin through which the information and images were digested, visually tying one project to the next.
Shrinking Cities, Pratt Institute, Manhattan Gallery, New York NY
Design / Fabrication: Lauren Crahan, John Hatrmann, Tighe Lanning, Corey Yurkovich
Assistants: Lucky DeBellevue, Darren Guyer