On SITE and its ghosts. And Best.

Spacelab features an interesting interpretation on the parabola of the famous parking lot artwork by James Wines / SITE in Hamden, Connecticut.

Drown under a mixture of with concrete and asphalt, a selection of 60’s and 70’s cars appeared, in the installation, as “gradually disappearing (…), or rather absorbed by the asphalt at random between those actually stationing in the area.”

Deterioration and lack of maintenance led to the eventual demolition of what was apparently conceived as a permanent work, turning the ghost of the former cars into “ghosts of the ghosts”. Hence the title on Spacelab: The ghost of the Ghost Parking Lot.

I find the ending of the article particularly sharp:

“But we like to think that this was foreseen in the life cycle of the work – which, in the words of the same Wines, was never meant to last forever. Namely, the scary ghosts were definitely phagocytized (if not physically, at least from a conceptual point of view) by the parking lot of the Shopping Mall, and the gesture, the sensitivity of the artist has simply fixed them for some time, in a sort of frozen instant: a freeze-frame lasted, fortunately for us, some luster. Before the final dematerialisation.”

Here’s the full text.

After reading the article, come back here and watch this four part documentary on SITE most known works: BEST Stores. (Directed and Produced by Howard Silver, Arts Into Production.)

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxPuM4w3c2g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCImIgZWVdw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m5jDFJDl0Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-gLZvFp8sg

Read more:
James Wines interview on BOMB magazine
SITE’s site. Another site.