Artist/Project Statement in gallery.
When my grandfather, Clyde Raymond Darling, passed away in 2012, we discovered a briefcase of old photographs buried in a closet in one of the spare bedrooms. Some were family photos, others were from the South Pacific in World War Two. I based the installation for my Electronic and Time Based Art MFA thesis show around the conceptual crossroads of his stories, these photographs, declassified logs from his ship (the USS Anchor), and generative sculptures portraying the geographic locations of Clyde’s path from enlistment to eventually returning home.
To create the generative sculptures, I used the latitude and longitude coordinates from the ship’s logs to identify the correct Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data files, open source data from a space shuttle mission which mapped the Earth’s surface in great detail. I then used the Grasshopper generative modeling plugin for Rhino software to code an interface for cropping each SRTM file to a specific area, slicing the 3D surface with a series of horizontal planes, and dropping all information except for the lines of intersection. Essentially, this left a 3D topographic map, which was exported to Adobe Illustrator in layers and laser cut onto clear acrylic panels. These panels were then stacked and displayed on light boxes.
Mayburg, Pennsylvania sculpture.
Mayburg, Pennsylvania sculpture vinyl label.
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Mayburg, Pennsylvania sculpture.
Mayburg, Pennsylvania sculpture.
Mayburg, Pennsylvania sculpture.
Manhattan, New York, featuring Navy Pier 88, salvage diver training.
Manhattan, New York, featuring Navy Pier 88, salvage diver training.
Manhattan, New York, featuring Navy Pier 88, salvage diver training.
Manhattan, New York, featuring Navy Pier 88, vinyl label.
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Manhattan, New York, featuring Navy Pier 88, salvage diver training.
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, detail
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, vinyl label
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Enewetak Atoll
Enewetak Atoll
Enewetak Atoll
Enewetak Atoll, vinyl label
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Enewetak Atoll
Saipan
Saipan
Saipan
Saipan
Saipan, vinyl label
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Naha, Okinawa, Japan, vinyl label
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Mount Fuji, Japan
Mount Fuji, Japan
Mount Fuji, Japan
Mount Fuji, Japan
Mount Fuji, Japan, vinyl label
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Mount Fuji, Japan
Mount Fuji, Japan
Warren, Pennsylvania
Warren, Pennsylvania
Warren, Pennsylvania
Warren, Pennsylvania
Warren, Pennsylvania, vinyl label
In order to establish a more direct contextual link between the sculptures and other components of the installation, each sculpture was labeled with a large vinyl tag on the floor, stating the name and coordinates of the location in font chosen to loosely match that of the original ship’s logs document.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Video projections of text excerpts from the declassified USS Anchor ARS-13 ship’s logs were paired with contrasting, audio oral histories.
Pre-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Pre-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Pre-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Pre-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Pre-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Pre-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Post-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Post-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Post-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Post-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Post-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
Post-War Photos
Accompanying the sculptural, audio, and video/text components were a series of 15 original photographs from the briefcase which inspired this installation. These images were separated by time period, with 5 images each assigned to Pre-War, War, and Post-War categories.
gLike
Purdue MFA Thesis Show - Salvaged Narratives
Salvaged Narratives: War, Family, and Memory
This installation explores the transformative, or liminal, space between two contrasting narratives about war through a combination of audio, text, generative sculpture, and photographs. Spanning pre-war, war, and post-war periods of the 1940s, Salvaged Narratives traces the journey of a young man from newlywed to navy salvage diver to a father forever haunted by his memories of war. As oral history and official record collide, the viewer is presented with an opportunity to sift through this complicated archaeology, both seeing through the eyes of the artist’s grandfather and projecting their own narratives, memories, or fictions onto the people and places depicted.
The generative sculptures were created using custom code in the Grasshopper plugin for Rhino which cropped and sliced open-source files from a space shuttle mapping mission. The resulting files were then laser cut, stacked, and lit from underneath.
