Home Video Trailer

HOME by Tracy Ginsberg and Theodore Lillie
ArtPrize, September 22 -- October 10, 2010
Van Andel Institiute, 333 Bostwick Avenue, Grand Rapids, MI
tracyginsberg.com/bodies_of_work/ecosystemic/home/

HOME is an interactive, outdoor installation that explores the intersection of human and natural habitats by giving people a chance to step into a 12 ft tall, 15ft wide, two-ton owl's nest. This multidisciplinary installation combines interactive sculpture, large-scale photography, reclaimed redwood, video projections and music. Created by San Francisco Bay Area artists Tracy Ginsberg and Theodore Lillie, HOME debuts at ArtPrize in the Van Andel Institute (VAI) plaza from Wednesday, September 22 through Sunday, October 10, with an artist talk and reception on Saturday, September 25 from 5 -- 7 pm.

Immersing viewers in a dense forest environment, HOME incorporates a giant redwood chimney nest, videos of spotted owls projected onto building walls and a participatory sound component mixing viewers' voices, owl hoots and sampled music. Constructed of photographs mounted to eco-plast material, redwood bark, reclaimed old-growth redwood over 2000 years old, recycled scaffolding and plywood, the sculpture's interior communal space holds up to 15 people and is accessible via ship ladder.

Centered within the redwood nest, 5ft above ground, HOME's internal, open-air room includes a panoramic photomural of an old growth redwood rainforest, reclaimed redwood floors and circular bench. Whether perched inside the nest or standing within the installation, viewers are surrounded by multiple video projections of trees and spotted owls in their natural habitat. Ginsberg and Lillie have filmed this spotted owl family over the past three years. Their videos bathe the VAI site and can be seen from a distance day and night.

Because ancient redwoods and spotted owls claim special significance within human experience, they highlight the sacred beauty of the natural world, where dwindling resources and species continuity depend on human stewardship. Whether endangered spotted owls in a disappearing redwood forest, communities in the Gulf of Mexico or whales in the Antarctic Ocean, survival necessitates preserving home and all it entails- shelter, safety, nourishment, family.

Viewers can access HOME at VAI on street level at 333 Bostwick Avenue or via the staircase through the park below. A modular sculpture, HOME will be reconstructed on site beginning Thursday, September 17.

Voting for ArtPrize winners begins on Wednesday, September 22. Viewers can vote for HOME via text message, artprize.org or the ArtPrize iPhone application; to vote for HOME use code 48831.

Category:

Film & Animation

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