Most architectural exhibitions are simply a display of an architect’s innovative designs. By contrast, Monuments + Bits, the current exhibit at the Eric Arthur Gallery, is a self-proclaimed “installation and exhibit.”
Three members of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design have come together as the firm Khoury Levit Fong (KLF). Monuments + Bits is one of their many interactive art exhibits. The firm claims that this installation presents an abstract view of the built environment through the “problem of monuments and collective form.” As professors, their instruction ranges from undergraduate theory and practice courses to graduate design studios and being thesis advisors. As KLF, they produce innovative interactive art installations alongside award-winning architecture forms that range from “small buildings to urban plans.”
Another of their art installations took place on Ossington Avenue during Nuit Blanche, where a projected digital image reproduced what was happening on the street. The image was created using real-time photos from Flickr galleries, with resolution and pixel size varying with the proximity of the viewer. Another KLF installation entitled “MyCity” allowed viewers to project their Flickr gallery onto public space. Their installations are intended to illustrate the way the environment can respond to the individual, and the influence of the individual on their environment.
To my disappointment, as well as that of the many architecture students who spend hours upon hours in the building, Monuments + Bits does not live up to KLF’s interactive reputation. A visitor’s interaction with this exhibit doesn’t go beyond the rearrangement of a model’s modules. The exhibit is driven by the theory of their work, which surrounds the relationship between individuals and public space, and the individuality of built forms and their role in collective public space.
The concept does present an intriguing approach to understanding and defining the composition of our built environment as a collective whole. It is conveyed through dense text on the walls and draped from the second-storey ceiling, explaining the relationship between cities, institutions, and individuals, as defined by the desire to have a distinctive presence without compromising the collective whole of the surrounding structures.
As the viewer, one wants to be able to delve into an exhibit without having to struggle to understand highly intellectualized text. Since the text accompanying the exhibit is very difficult to grasp, its purpose within the exhibit is entirely unclear. The result is a disconnect from the models, which then seem out of place themselves. The message of the installation is lost, as there is no coherent direction. (If only there was a roadmap to help you navigate through the exhibit!)
Two sculptures made of red cable descend from the ceiling to create a funnel-like form in which the projectors are suspended in space. These are the most visually engaging element of the exhibit, catching your attention and bringing you in only to find that they don’t correspond whatsoever with the text of the exhibit. The structures could have been used to create a cohesive environment for the spatially lacking exhibition, which is ironic considering the concept of the exhibit is collective form. Perhaps the exhibit would be more consistent if the sculptures were used in both rooms.
Monuments + Bits suffers from problems symptomatic of what makes the exhibit so unique; since it is the work of three different architects, each with their own discourse, it lacks a coherent message. Though the idea of combining installation and exhibit is intriguing, it’s hard to find consistency amidst all the elements required to fulfill these two very different formats.
While their concept provides an insightful perspective into the structures that ultimately form our society, the heavy text makes it difficult to decipher the purpose of the visual examples. However, the exhibit is a great showcase of KLF’s architectural work. If you have the patience to decipher the conundrum of “how to be free together” in terms of architectural forms, or you have time to simply enjoy the award-winning designs of KLF, this exhibit is worth checking out.
Monuments + Bits runs at the Eric Arthur Gallery in the Daniels Architecture Building through Oct. 31.
