All enclosed spaces were at one point “outside,” and are still pervaded by its existential medium of air, despite erected boundaries. Architectural interiority is rooted in a pervasive notion of a personal or corporeal interiority, as though we were looking out from inside our bodies. LOOM︎ROOM︎HARP is an installation that questions this notion of interiority and its consequences at corporeal, architectural, and urban scales by weaving together inside and outside, near and far, visible and invisible, artifacts of the past and actions in the present, through the space of the Anderson Gallery at Drake University, in Des Moines. This site-specific installation and series of performances took place periodically from September 2 through October 15, 2021, is a collaboration between Fırat Erdim, Paula Matthusen, and Olivia Valentine.
The performances were accessible both in-person and online, via Sunship, the website of the Arts Letters & Numbers 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale Italian Virtual Pavilion. A discussion panel was held on October 30, 2021, by Arts Letters & Numbers.
Throughout the course of the exhibition, the Anderson Gallery contained dynamic visual and audio artifacts of the periodic performances. Together, these artifacts, performances, and other components of the installation seek to permeate interior with exterior, here with there, now with then.
Performance Schedule (all times are in US Central Time):
Thursday, September 9, 2021: Performance 4:30pm-6:30pm CDT
Thursday, September 16, 2021: Performance 12pm-2pm CDT with special guest Sam Wells!
Thursday, September 23, 2021: Performance 4:30pm-6:30pm CDT
Thursday, September 30, 2021: Performance 12:30pm-1:30pm CDT
Thursday, October 14, 2021: Final Performance 4:30pm-6:30pm CDT with special guests Cameron Gray and Terri Hron!
Many thanks to the Iowa Arts Council, Sculpture Space, Drake University, the Daniel J. Huberty Faculty Fellowship in Architecture and the Department of Architecture at Iowa State University for their support of this project.