|
|
|
THE GREAT INDOORS: Adam Wallacavage's art-driven wonderland
We've all heard about Adam Wallacavage's imaginative, world-famous octopus chandeliers, but you should see his house.
THE GREAT INDOORS: Adam Wallacavage's art-driven wonderland
Reporter Meg Augustin takes you inside some of Philly's most fab dwellings to showcase our city's unique grasp on design and architecture.
If you think artist communes died with flower children and Peter Simon’s photos of free nudity, then 
you haven’t been to the house of Adam Wallacavage (pictured right). The local photographer and artist bought his South Philly home 11 years ago and, much like those artistic havens of yesteryear, it’s been evolving ever since. Wallacavage has spent the last ten years developing an iconic piece of modern, indie décor— the octopus chandelier. Developed from an interest in all things nautical, Wallacavage began creating intricate porcelain chandeliers shaped like the bottom-of-the-sea-living cephalopods . And today, they are renowned and sought all over the world. Want proof? When I stopped by for a walk-through, the living room was crowded with boxes of chandeliers that were just used in an Adam Sandler movie shoot in Paris.
But you already know about the chandeliers. Today, I want to focus on Wallacavage’s house, which came about in much the same way as his famous fixtures of light. He says the three-story Victorian that he calls home didn't hook him until he peered into its porthole-and-sea inspired basement. When he moved in, the former carpenter of the Navy’s Construction Battalion, immediately removed the basement portholes and reconfigured them in the home’s former back office. This room, which he affectionately calls the “Jules Verne Room,” is now flourished with turquoise and gilded molding, a massive sea mural and, of course, one of the original octopus chandeliers.
The Jules Verne Room served as a portal for Wallacavage's off-beat décor. From there, he began to morph the 
surrounding rooms into a fanciful, ornate wonderland. The inspiration for his kitchen, for instance, came from a set of vintage, circus-themed glasses. Large pink stripes decorate the oven fan, open shelves hold cupcake-like oddities and Transformer toys, and even the head of the former South Philly Bambi Cleaners’ mascot makes an appearance in the window.
Continuing into the Gothic living room, the ornate and dark space is filled with various forms of taxidermy, an intricate mantle piece with a gilded mirror, and Wallacavage’s own aviary. The room seems to retain original Victorian elements but all of the ornate molding, tile work and mantle pieces are co-creations with Kathy Vissar, a local artist and craftsman who provided the mantle molds.
In fact, Wallacavage explains, many of the works in his home were given to him by artists and friends who wanted to add to his growing collection. “People are always coming into the space and adding to it,” he says. “That’s what the house is for.” This is especially evident in the living room, where local graffiti artist Cornbread tagged a wall in bright red paint. While Wallacavage originally wanted to install wallpaper in the
space, he just couldn’t bring himself to cover the signature.
As we continue strolling through the home he tells me about his plan to transform the upstairs bedroom into an Indian palace — proof that the home is still a work-in-progress. “I think of the house as a sketchbook, “ he says, explaining the process that drives his creative design. That's when it all started making sense. The home — like a page in a motivated artist's doodle book — is an erratic but cohesive blend of personal oddities and community art.
Email Meg at megan.augustin@citypaper.net for a chance to see your home or business featured in an upcoming Great Indoors post.
Photos by Neal Santos
- Activism
- Arts
- Arts Events
- Books
- Dance
- First Person Fest
- Last Chance
- Museum
- On the Fringe
- Philly Artists
- The Curator
- Theater
- Visual Art
- Arts News
- Artist Profile
- Arts Preview
- Street Art
- Been There, Done That
- Big Ups
- Comedy
- LOL With It
- Stand-up
- Critical Mass
- DVD
- Events
- Friday Fill-in
- Ice Cubes
- In Memoriam
- Interview
- Just Do It
- Just Opened
- Kaleidoscopic
- LGBTQ
- Art Phag
- Mailbag
- Movies
- Film Fest
- Movie Review
- On set
- Scenester
- screening
- trailer!
- Music
- 10 Track Mind
- Album
- Album Review
- Concert Review
- DJs
- Local Support
- Now Hear This
- One Track Mind
- Philly Bands
- Show
- Somebody Else Was There
- Song
- The Showdown
- concert photos
- jazz
- DJ Nights Blogged
- Night Watch
- Now See This
- Poetic License
- Printed Matter
- Radio
- Shopping
- Coveted
- Fashion
- What We Heart
- TV
- 24
- Idol Hands
- Mad Men
- ProjRun
- True Blood
- Useless Lost Recaps
- Couch Potato
- Shore Trash
- Turned ONN
- TopMod
- Video Games
- Free Online Game
- PSP
- PlayStation 2
- The 1-Upper
- Wii
- Web Junk
- CAGE MATCH
- Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
