School California College of the Arts
Level Graduate Studio
Disciplines All
Program Graduate Design
Building Narratives was a graduate level interdisciplinary studio course I co-taught with Alexis Petty in 2012. Its focus was to investigate the role artists and designers could play in ressurecting the long forgotten narratives embedded within abandoned spaces. The course was offered as an elective of the Graduate Design program at CCA, was open to all majors and part of the ENGAGE at CCA program.
Resulting projects included performative dance, poetry, typographic murals, sound installations and participatory 'happenings'.
Course description
In Esparto, CA is a historic train station which sits in disrepair, its history and role within the community has faded into the background. The station was part of the Vaca Valley and Clear Lake railroad and transported passengers, as well as agricultural goods. The line connected towns throughout the Valley until 1957 when the last train left the Esparto station. In 2011, the station was purchased and is poised for redevelopment starting in 2012.
As a starting point in the rehabilitation of this space this course poses the question: What role, beyond aesthetic applications, can artists and designers serve in the resurrection of rural spaces and the long forgotten narratives embedded within them?
Students will conduct a series of ethnographic type interviews with Esparto residents, representatives of the Capay Valley farming community and other community stakeholders to gain understanding of their relationship with the station and their visions for its revitalization. Aggregating their research, students will design and implement a considered, site-specific installation in order to, as a class, provide a series of moves on-site that will begin a conversation towards larger community awareness for the train station’s development plans.
More information: http://mnemictrain.com/