Columbia College's Papermaker's Garden is the focus of our course. When I was talking to another faculty member about the future of this site that is owned by the college, she mentioned that some school administrators have referred to it as "permanently temporary". This phrase struck me as characterizing a very interesting dilemma for a socially engaged art practice. That's what inspired the name for this project blog.
A landscape architect has already designed the new physical infrastructure for the site. Word on the street is that
construction for those plans will begin in June. The site has a lot of potential for change, but our creative efforts must happen in response to this very specific context of liminality.
When I did a quick internet search for the phrase "permanently temporary", I came across this sculpture of the same name by UK artist
Graham Guy-Robinson. I'm interested in considering his use of temporary barrier material as it relates to the dominant physical feature of the Papermaker's Garden: the chain link fence.
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