The Drawing Room
Collaboration with ︎︎︎Arianna Patterson
Year: 2022
Format: Installation (wallpaper, posters)
Medium: Archival inkjet print, found objects
Collaboration with ︎︎︎Arianna Patterson
Year: 2022
Format: Installation (wallpaper, posters)
Medium: Archival inkjet print, found objects
The Drawing Room provided a whimsical environment for people to come together to create something beautiful while expressing their inner-child. The objective of this project was to rebuild the communities and relationships lost during the COVID-19 crisis though art and creative expression. The installation was formatted as an ornate room with wallpaper and furniture in the style of black and white line drawings meant to imitate a coloring book. Participants could be found coloring between the lines or going beyond and adding their own illustrations.
Overview
Arianna Patterson and I ideated this physical space as a method to encourage and build community and friendship through shared experience. The concept originally involved a structured activity. However, after thorough interviews, we came to the conclusion that forced comradery doesn’t necessarily build friendships. Furthermmore, the COVID crisis damaged many peoples’ mental health and social skills. With anxiety amongst students at an all time high, we decided that this space should be an open format. A safe and comfortable enough space for participants to create art without the pressure of strangers.
Research
After figuring out the logistics of the installation, we brainstormed conceptual and visual themes. The space should be whimsical (to encourage play), traditional (to encourage breaking the rules as well as create an aura of familiarity, and open (to let participants bring their own imaginations to the space). Out of this very open theme, and much back-and-forth ideating, we finalized our visual style: an ornate but also minimal coloring book. We would create wallpapers, some intricate and some open (to provide more free-drawing space), as well as portraits of various diverse characters. The room would look like an old, homey mansion, so coloring on the walls would induce a feeling of rebellion as well as encourage the feeling of a child at play while also providing a visually familiar feeling. Furniture would be provided to make the space feel comfortable, as well as markers for anyone who wanders in to participate.
Production
As this project required a somewhat substantial amounts of funding, publicity was important. We create flyers and posted them around campus including inside the restroom stalls, as well as contacted University administrators and the Student Government Association with detailed proposals and links to our crowdfunding site. Funding was still minimal when it came time to go into production, so we had to reconsider some aesthetic and physical decisions. Instead of rolled and wheatpasted wallpaper, we taped and stapled over five-hundred individual sheets of paper to the wall and assembled the rug with tape. Installation of the room took almost 20 hours; deinstall took less than five.
Advertising
With the installation located in the farthest, deepest, and probably darkest corner of campus, we had to make sure that people knew how to find their way over to it. As this was a university campus, every inch of every open wall was covered in posters and flyers. It was necessary to both make our flyers stand out amongst the menagerie of others, as well as lead interested participants to the installation. Our solution: writing a detailed description on how to get to the location directly on the flyer, and then displaying the flyer where no other flyers could be found (inside restroom stalls). It worked.
Results
The installation’s first participant was our dear professor Bernie Dickson, who supported us throughout the almost six-month long project. The Drawing Room was colored by a diverse group of people, all who brought their own artistic experience and imagination to the space. It is difficult to say whether the space built any friendships, but both conversation and laughter echoed from the room throughout the duration of the installation.
We kept each and every one of the five hundred squares of paper and are in the process of archiving them. We plan on releasing a zine with the drawings soon.
A special thanks to Brad, Nicole, Eric, Chamonix, Rachelle, and Bernie. Thank you to all who participated.