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Welcome House 101
In conjunction with Design Philadelphia (which we covered in the Oct. 1, 2009, edition of City Paper), First Person Arts and InLiquid present the Welcome House, a 10-foot cube in which artists of all stripes settle in for a day and create. It's open-ended, inventive and often pretty wacky (we're talking knit-yourself-into-a-cocoon wacky). Our intrepid reporter Cristina Perachio's been at the House all week, observing, taking photos and reporting back.
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
When I visited the Welcome House Friday, on an unusually warm October afternoon, the 10-foot cube was partially covered in orange, stenciled squares that reminded me of a kindergarten classroom. Maybe it was the bright colors, the way they were haphazardly stuck to the cube or the way the stencils seemed to be at totally random angles on the page. Whatever it was, it made me want to play tag, fingerprint or participate in a good ol' fashioned show-and-tell.
For the sixth day of the Welcome House free-form art festivities, Mary Tasillo and Michelle Wilson spent the day creating LOVE Park- and Welcome House-themed works on handmade paper with the crowd in the park. They used small screens to sift out the wet, pulpy orange mixture and then painted the sheets using stencils. The most popular stencils were the LOVE Park sign along with a bench and the word "welcome" in several different languages.'
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
There were several skateboard-themed designs created by skaters scorned, but most of the designs looked like Rorschach inkblots in Crayola brights. This caught the attention of every 6-year-old in a four-block radius of the park.
There were two works, sitting side by side on the cube, that caught my eye. The one on the left was hung vertically and had a blue LOVE Park sign over a red bench with the words "casa" and "house" framing the word "safe"; the one on the right was hung horizontally and had a blue house and red bench with the word "house" written along the bottom in green and the word "safe" punctuated by a giant red question mark stenciled across the top.' The question mark gave the whole picture a look both daunting and unsure. I wonder if they were referring to the Welcome House itself, like so many other pictures created that day, or if it referred instead to the home of the artist.
In conjunction with Design Philadelphia (which we covered in last week's City Paper), First Person Arts and InLiquid present the Welcome House, a 10-foot cube in which artists of all stripes settle in for a day and create. It's open-ended, inventive and often pretty wacky (we're talking knit-yourself-into-a-cocoon wacky). Our intrepid reporter Cristina Perachio will be swinging by the House all week, observing, taking photos and maybe ' just maybe ' getting in on the action herself.
One of the strangest things I have ever seen in a public space '
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
People have hobbies. Some people play the saxophone or paint by numbers. Some read comics, build model cars, bird watch or decoupage. Eugenie Perret knits. She knits like nobody's busines. Yesterday Perret and Candy Depew spent the day in LOVE Park's Welcome House, knitting a giant cocoon.
I'll let that sit for a minute.
Wild, right? Perret, while Depew decorated the cube's walls, knitted herself into a fluffy, powdery-looking cocoon made from sheep's wool. "Knitting is a powerful medium for self-expression, communication and cultural preconceptions," reads the note posted on the cube from the human-cocoon knitters. "Looking to nature for ideas is allowing us to create solutions on sustainability and healing with low environmental impact." I don't know about all that, but it sure did look snuggly in there.
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
By 5:30 p.m., Depew ' Perret's stand-in ' had her legs and lower torso tucked neatly inside the cozy wrap of the cocoon. Her arms were tucked inside, and the cocoon was draped around her shoulders; I watched as it began to lace up the front of her upper body. A giant knitted pincushion with large knitting needles were displayed in the front of the cube along with a large ball of sheep's-wool yarn that would have made any housecat swoon. Though they had access to giant knitting needles, the women seemed to be knitting the cocoon by hand, twisting and looping the wool to sew up the front of the cocoon.
"My weaving process without spinning increases the strength of low-cost yarn," writes Perret. The women use wool from free-grazing sheep (who have been "treated ethically"), and feel this represents the kind of industry that American once thrived on.
Folks in the park and people walking by seemed to be much more inquisitive of this edition of Welcome House than previous ones. Maybe it was because the action was constant and you could see the progress right before your eyes ' or perhaps because it is truly one of the strangest things I have ever seen in a public space. Regardless, it seemed to generate a lot of buzz, which, I think, is the whole point of this project.
I just wonder what happened after Perret knitted Depew all the way in. Did she curl up and take a nap and emerge as a butterfly a few hours later? I'd like to think so.
hi there! Thanks so much! Nice article but the facts are not correct. These are the facts; Eugenie Perret knit the cocoon, Candy Depew did the wall vinyls on the cube while Eugenie knit. At the end- 5:30 it was Candy who was in the cocoon while Eugenie knitted it closed. Candy did not knit at all (she doesnt know how), she decorated the walls (which she really knows how to do) of the cube and was the butterfly inside the cocoon at the end. Thanks- feel free to call me to verify and fact check 215.498.2153. Thank you- I hope there is a correction made. PS- I did emerge as a butterfly : ) Sincerely, Candy Depew
Thanks, Candy, we made your changes. You can email carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net if you have any further questions.
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| Interface Studio Architects LLC |
If you missed it in last week's CP, Lauren Friedman gave us an excellent run-down of Design Philadelphia's most peep-worthy events ' from DIY-flavored clothing swaps to parking-space reinventions. One event we had to leave out ' for space, not for lack of love ' is the Design Philadelphia Kickoff Party, held in and around the 10-foot cube in LOVE Park better known as the Welcome House. Our own Cristina Perachio is there every day this week reporting on the cube-centered goings-on, which you can check out here. In the meantime, listen to what Lauren has to say:
The Welcome House ' a glass cube designed by Interface Studio Architects, conceived and curated by Marianne Bernstein and presented by First Person Arts ' will offer artists one-day residencies to engage the public in the creation of a new work. During the kickoff party, video of Eugenie Perret knitting herself into a giant cocoon will be projected onto the fabric-wrapped cube while guests check out the designer furniture displayed in the Welcome House's indoor and outdoor lounges. 'It doesn't need to be intimidating,' says Bernstein. 'We really want the creative population to just come hang out.'
Wed., Oct. 7, 7-10pm, free, The Welcome House at LOVE Park, 15th & Arch sts., thewelcomehouse.net.
In conjunction with Design Philadelphia (which we covered in last week's City Paper), First Person Arts and InLiquid present the Welcome House, a 10-foot cube in which artists of all stripes settle in for a day and create. It's open-ended, inventive and often pretty wacky (we're talking knit-yourself-into-a-cocoon wacky). Our intrepid reporter Cristina Perachio will be swinging by the House all week, observing, taking photos and maybe ' just maybe ' getting in on the action herself.
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
By 5 p.m. Tuesday evening, the Welcome House in LOVE Park is transformed into an art studio and gallery. Local students from Charter High School for Art and Design (CHAD) worked with Betsy Casanas and Pedro Ospina, co-founders of Semilla Arts Initiative. Semilla is a grassroots enterprise that uses art as a way to achieve social change in their community.
The students used markers, colored pencils and charcoal to create murals that hung on the surface of the cube and cutouts that sat in front of the cube. Draped across the front of the cube is a large mural that looks a bit like a colorful, flowered quilt; another hangs down the back of the cube, cut in a long thinner strip and painted with leaves in bright fall oranges, greens and yellows. On the right side, there is a cutout drawing of a paper doll with doodles of birds, hearts, flowers and feathers drawn all over her in royal blues and bright pinks alongside a happy but grizzled old man drawn in charcoal on brown paper.
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
The most interesting pieces stand upright on the ground in front of the cube, three portraits sketched in charcoal on stark white paper. The faces have heavy, expressive eyes, and the creases in their faces are so lifelike, it seems that at any moment the expressions could shift.
By the end of this long day, the students mill around the cube, putting the finishing touches on some of their work while passers-by take the time to inspect the images up close.' There are no disparaging Post-Its or angry threats at the artists occupying the residency today, and I begin to see why this cube was constructed in the first place.
hola como estas me encantaron tus dibujos te encontre por casualidad te quiero mucho tu prima Aly Casanas
In conjunction with Design Philadelphia (which we covered in last week's City Paper), First Person Arts and InLiquid present the Welcome House, a 10-foot cube in which artists of all stripes settle in for a day and create. It's open-ended, inventive and often pretty wacky (we're talking knit-yourself-into-a-cocoon wacky). Our intrepid reporter Cristina Perachio will be swinging by the House all week, observing, taking photos and maybe ' just maybe ' getting in on the action herself.
'I'm Confused But I Like It!'
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
Yellow, pink, green and blue Post-Its with appreciative words ('Relaxing. So Relaxing.'), angry words ('Get a fucking job!') and half-hearted threats ('This better not be art.') are strewn across the clear, 10-by-10-by-10 cube in LOVE Park.'
The cube is an artists' residence by day and art installation by night. Named The Welcome House, the cube is meant to encourage new forms of creative expression in an organic, ever-changing way with help from those passing by the park.' From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., the artist of the day has free range for their art while a videographer captures the day's events.' From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the cube is wrapped in spandex and the video is projected directly on the cube.'
Today, The Welcome House features Nicole Bindler, Liza Clark and others in a daylong improvisational dance. Post-Its and pens are stacked on the modern, funky white furniture to serve as seating for the crowd watching. The idea is for the dance to evolve with input from the crowd, who're supposed to scribble their ideas and stick them on the cube.
More pictures, and more wacky, after the jump.
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
Around lunchtime, three dancers in the cube seem to be playing some form of follow-the-leader. They are lined up diagonally across the cube while the woman in front does a series of dance moves and then in a quick succession, like dominos, the other two imitate her. We're not talking ballet, either: There was hopping up and down on one foot, bouncing while crouching, barrel rolls, spinning aimlessly.
After several minutes of giggling, two of the women are replaced with a man who grabs the one remaining woman by the waist.' There is an excited rumble that passes through the audience as the man and woman prepare for the next dance.' Perhaps a tango?' Kind of. The man continues to hold the woman by the waist with one hand as she walks around, continually stumbling and falling away from him.' He steadies her, time after time, with a few close calls where the other members of the troupe gasp as her head comes close to bashing into the floor or wall.' It's incredibly graceful despite the free-fall force of the woman's movements.' I'm hypnotized.
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| Photo | Cristina Perachio |
At one point she falls, face first toward the ground, but he lifts her at the last second so he's holding her upside-down in mid-air, her legs straight up in a V like a kama sutra position.' There are a few scattered cat-calls and oh-damns from the crowd. She kicks free and they unceremoniously go sit back behind the cube.' I feel like I should clap or something to signify the end of this performance.' I don't and a woman comes out to do a headstand against a cube wall.
One of the dancers comes around to reposition the post-its on the cube.' She peels one off the side that reads, 'I'm confused but I like it!' This seems to have given her some confidence.' She walks out to the audience and asks a man who keeps yelling 'Oh shit!' at the performance if he'd like to join them in the cube.' His response?' 'Oh shit!' She shrugs and heads to the cube for another game of follow-the-leader which, technically, could last until 7 p.m. tonight.
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