LHUCA exhibit install

Hello again,

April sixth marks the opening of the show at LHUCA warehouse exhibition space. All of the Land Arts crew will be there displaying works that were accomplished in the field and after the journeys into the midwest. 

The install in regards to this site has been re-thought and worked to accommodate a new context. The [soundscape]- which has been in a constant state of rework and remodeling in order for it to act as a catalyst for exploration into each inhabitants experience of space as perceived by audio stimulants without direct access to the visual or physical attributes of a particular sound or disturbance. 

Check out the pages for speakers one through four to gain context clues as to the visual/physical qualities that pair up with the sounds emitting from corresponding speakers. Each one has a different overall attribute, the location changes and we experience those sound qualities in a new way. This is true in the warehouse it will affect the environment and create something new that can be explored, challenged, and that will change overtime, depending on when you enter and when you leave said space. 

Hilltop Lakes_project synopsis

The Hilltop Lakes project was the culminating result of time spent in various field studies throughout the American Midwest (http://landarts.org/). 


Our journeys took us far from our homes, exposing a disposition to a landscape that many of us have personally misunderstood and misinterpreted. Along the way, we came to one particular site, Deming, NM (Cabinetlandia), which inspired our objective for the Hilltop Lakes site. It's a subdivision, but there are no houses, no typical signs of civilization, it is void  of any distinctive qualities except for the dirt roads that create the grid in which we can distinguish its state as a subdivision, but one whose purpose has been foiled. It is literally divided in half by interstate highway 10, which leaves the site in a state of confusion, to say the least. So it sits idle in the landscape with merely its skeleton to give us clues as to what it is. 


Hilltop Lakes is nothing like Deming (Cabinetlandia) and yet they share a common thread; as we look at what makes the land a land'scape' and the definitions which help us understand the lands intent whether natural or manmade. At Hilltop Lakes we see a strong definition of presence, meaning that the resort has been established and areas have already been built up to provide residences and places of recreation. the area in which we installed however has only been mildly affected, there is the strong presence of infrastructure (roads, water/sewage, police patrols) but the actual built environment is somewhat stagnate. Much like Deming we see this grid setup, the potential of growth, and yet it is void. 


we chose this site to install the 'non-house' because it is a unique place it offers both the tangible signs of human interaction and natural growth that has not yet been modified to accommodate a built environment. It was this unrest between what the land is tailored to be versus what it is naturally is what is so intriguing and inspiring about it. the hope is to not only provide a context to a place but also to a situation... the use of land as a whole, in a growing subdivision, the allotment of such land and also the conversation as to its proposed purpose and the reality of what it is becoming. 

Hilltop Lakes_site links

here are some links to the Hilltop Lakes site and also the Leon county website, each of these contains important info as to the context of each location...

http://www.hilltoplakes.com/

http://www.co.leon.tx.us/ips/cms/

these sites give us a basis of understanding about the region and the people who maintain and create the atmosphere that this project is located in.

Hilltop Lakes_install on lot 9

 The site is a blank canvas open for development, currently though its definition is described by its vegetation and the presence of pvc pipe and deer stands noting plot boundaries. Ultimately though it blends with the rest of the surrounding lots into a forest of undeveloped nature. Except for the road there are no hard boundaries or definitions to give to lot 9 on Navarro Drive.

 Front Door to Lot 9

So what draws us to a location, what compels us to experience a site seemingly boundless, do we need the presence of development, a door, a walking path, a road? Does there have to be boundary and order for us to consider the site worth traversing? 

On lot 9 there is now a door to a path that crosses through the brush and ends up at the back of the lot. Thus creating a definition of use, or just a definition of containment greater than the pvc pipes marking the plot. We found some doors and frames and created in a sense a 'non-house'... using the doors as a qualifier for an entrance and exit, placing one at the front of the site as you enter the brush, and then one at the back of the site where the brush ends and the site opens up. These doors signify the points of entry into the 'non-house' and provide a visual for defining the use, meaning that there could technically be an interior and exterior. It is now a developed plot, but in truth is not at all. It is still as wild and unruly as it was before we added doors and a path. With the addition of a qualifier and boundary however, we can give it place and provide a way to view the space.

Hilltop Lakes_update

The project at Hilltop Lakes is now installed. The location of the site is:
Lot 9 Navarro Dr. 
Hilltop Lakes, TX 77871
Hilltop Lakes is near Normangee, TX in the hill country, close to Bryan/ College Station, approximately 3 hours outside of Houston, TX. 


Directions_

Take FM 3 west out of Normangee, Hilltop Lakes is about 9 miles from Normangee, and the site is in the southern block of the resort. The subdivision is composed of undeveloped plots of land for the most part; each plot is marked by capped, vertical PVC pipe pieces. 

Hilltop Lakes_proposal 

In the near future, this site will present the works and information obtained from Hilltop Lakes, a subdivision that has been partially developed but has been stalled for many years outside of Houston. Our installation will be a tribute to sites, similar to Hilltop Lakes, that aspired to define a landscape and produce a profit but eventually failed due to lack of funding or interest from buyers- exploiting "places" that sit idle with an allotted, purchased grid but nothing to fill the void accept the natural vegetation of the area.