Vernacular

Healdsburg Center for the Arts | Healdsburg, CA | 2012

An immersive, process-based project translating day to day experience of local vernacular into everyday, art objects.

vernacular /vər-năk′yə-lər/

1. The standard native language of an area
2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a period, place, or group

In August and September of 2012, a move occurred to Healdsburg, California, in the Sonoma Valley, to engage in a conceptual, social practice project mixing photography and social sculpture.

Vernacular aimed to channel a sudden transition from city to rural, east to west, current home to original home, immersed in the local culture, society, and landscape. During this time, Sonoma's rich agrarian life unfolded, the summer sun ablaze and building energy towards fall harvest.

The artworks created for Vernacular were exhibited from Oct 6 to November 11, 2012, at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts.

Old Glory
Series of 2, 2012, 47″ X 25″, found corrugated metal and fence posts, water slide transfers, nails

Old Glory explores the merger of image, object and experience in a time of increased liquidity between our memory and communication.

Shiners
Series of 24, 2012, 12″ X 3.5″ X 3.5″, wine, glass, label, encaustic seal

Shiners are unlabeled, sealed containers of finished wine without any identifying features until a buyer purchases them and adds a label.

From several pallets of Dry Creek shiners sourced from a closing winery, dating back to 1995 and spanning several historical vineyards, twenty-four bottles were tasted and selected, from left to right: Zinfandel, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir. Handmade labels were created from the vernacular photography and affixed to the blank bottles.

Each of the twenty four bottles became art object filled with time-based content, with a choice to either open the bottle and consume the wine, or preserve the sealed object. The status of each bottle, open or sealed, per owner, is collected by the artist and published publicly.

A bottle owner thus becomes a participant in the concept, where consideration of the work as permanent object and/or ephemeral experience affects its value and definition.