73 BRATTLE STREET

(In collaboration with Luat Duong)

 

 

73 Brattle Street is our submission for Radcliffe Institute at Harvard’s Public Art Competition in which we are one of the finalists.

 

We started the project by researching the history of the site. This uncovered the address 73 Brattle Street, which does not exist today because there is no building on the lot. Because it is a public art competition, we felt the need to engage the public with this discovery, but we wanted the project to be about progress rather than history, and contribute to the overall narrative with an event.

 

Approaching the installation, one is presented with imprints in the shape of the building’s footprint in the year 1930. Hanging from a frame structure are 1,632 bells. Each bell is engraved with a unique month of a specific year from 1879, the founding of the Radcliffe College, to 2015, the opening of the installation. While navigating through the soundscape of ringing bells, each visitor is encouraged to take a bell to symbolize the progression of Radcliffe’s history. The visitors will carry the bells with them, near or far, and once all the bells have been taken, the structure stands as a testament to the bells’ presence and reach; while also providing a stage for future activities.

 

Ultimately, 73 Brattle Street is more than just a sculpture but an enduring event that engages the public by tracing history and at the same time unfolding progress through the movement of bells.

 

 

73 BRATTLE STREET

合作者：Luat Duong

 

项目73 Brattle Street在哈佛大学拉德克利夫学院公共艺术设计竞赛中的进入了决赛名单。

 

从基地的历史作为方案着手点，这让我们发现了73 Brattle Street这个地址其实在今天是不存在的，因为那里已经没有任何建筑。由于这是个公共艺术项目，我们认为有必要让群众体会到场所的变化，但同时，我们希望项目更多地着重于变迁而非仅仅牢靠在不变的历史当中。也许设计出一场事件对大家的理解更有帮助。

 

接近这个装置时，参观者会首先发现这个在1930的建筑占地形状被压印在地上，1632个风铃被悬挂在框架结构上。每个风铃都印有从拉德克利夫学院建校年份1879年开始算起的每年每月的特殊标示，一直持续到2015年，预期的装置开放年份。当人们在风铃中游走时，他们可以拿走其中的一个来象征着拉德克利夫学院历史的延续。参观者带着风铃去到或近或远的地方，当所有的风铃被带走是，原来承载着它们的框架结构就转换成了风铃们存在过的证据并构成未来活动的场所。