DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/A5GB-M722
Defense Date
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Design
First Advisor
Christiana Lafazani
Second Advisor
Camden Whitehead
Third Advisor
Rab McClure
Fourth Advisor
Emily Smith
Abstract
Reason for writing. The space of confusion and possibility where the practices of art and design collide seems to be in a constant amoebic state. This place of shared influence and growth seems to pervade not only the intersection of these two disciplines, but within interior design, the intersection of people and space. How can the boundaries between an interior space and it’s inhabitants be as richly embedded with tension and opportunity as the edges where art and design meet? Like art and design, how can a space and it’s visitors interact to affect one another?
Problem + Methodology: This project explores these questions in a context mindful of their origin: The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The design proposal of inserting a fashion wing into the VMFA’s existing context evolves from research and process work across art, design, and architecture, from the scale of the building to the scale of a seat.
Results + Implications: The challenge of creating public space that can be just as responsive to and influential over it’s inhabitants as private space seems resolved through the navigation of movement and moment. Finding value in an unscripted discovery of a space and the ownership of private experiences, offers a way to feel engaged with and connected to a space that doesn’t rely on object ownership or territorial comfort. This solution does rely, however, on inhabitants capable of being present and responsive to their environment, allowing other visitor’s interactions with the space and their individual path through the exhibits to affect their perceptions of and connectedness with the design.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
11-23-2014