This design competition is opened for works of art or design that might fairly be called "objects" by the nascent philosophies of Speculative Realism and Object Oriented Ontology, and that will throw light on architecture as a peculiar set of objects, phenomena, ideas, relations, connections, skills, materials, obligations, and operations.
This call is open for objects that:
- need nothing else and no one else; that are oblivious to where they are or what is made of them or how they were made, or what is done with (or to) them… OR that depend for their sense, and perhaps very existence, on exactly where they are, the company they keep, what is said about them, how they were made, and what is done with (or to) them;
- have secrets, capacities, tendencies, or desires; that are “tips of icebergs;” that “listen to different drummers;” that receive or send feeds to other places, people, objects, dimensions…AND/OR that have evident, unique, and remarkable qualities all their own…OR that have no qualities at all and ask who you are;
- point to or exemplify peculiarly architectural components, elements, phenomena, and processes without themselves being fragments or models (i.e. abstract miniatures) of them;
- weigh less than thirty pounds and occupy less than fifteen cubic feet shipped, AND can be drilled into and/or be mounted (specify indoors or outdoors) by clamps that are themselves clamped to a steel pole (specify orientation).
The selection process will take place in two Stages. Stage One asks for a maximum of ten PDF images of models and/or drawings of the proposed Object, a one-page written description of it, and a brief resume of the designer/artist(s).Approximately forty of these will be selected to move on to Stage Two.
A selection of twenty of these Objects—all physical and all, whether singular or configurations of smaller objects, falling within the four Parameters set out below—will be exhibited for two weeks around a three-day symposium to be staged by the Center for American Architecture and Design (CAAD) at The University of Texas at Austin in October 2016 called “The Secret Life of Buildings."
Artist/designers submitting a Proposal to Stage One must accompany their submission with a non-refundable Fee of $50 USD.
Artist/designers selected for Exhibition will each receive a subsidy of up to $250 to help cover shipping costs, minus half the cost of shipping the Objects back to the artists, if they so request and if their shipping materials are re-usable. *Objects may be minimally modified by the organizers for the purposes of mounting, and by possible wear and tear.
All artists, sculptors, designers, architects, and philosophers over 18 years of age are invited to partecipate on this competition, professional and student, U.S. and international. Entries may be from individuals or teams.
Twenty works will be selected in a two stage selection process, for inclusion in the “Objects” exhibition, scheduled for 20-22 October 2016 at the University of Texas at Austin campus. An edited selection of the objects submitted for exhibition will also be included in the “CENTER 21: The Secret Life of Buildings” publication, to be published in the Fall of 2017.
