His Room As He Left It: A Work in Progress by Ariel Kotker

When:
Friday, Mar 06, 2015 6:00p -
9:00p

Where:
Find & Form Space
524 Harrison Ave, LL
Boston, MA 02118

EventScheduled OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Admission:
FREE

Categories:
Art

Event website:
http://space.findandform.com/events?event_id=24

Find & Form Space is pleased to present His Room As He Left It: A Work in Progress an immersive, sculptural narrative by Ariel Kotker.


In His Room As He Left It, Kotker creates the room and belongings of a fictional 19 year old boy in a small town in Pennsylvania. The room, convincing at first glance, becomes surreal upon closer inspection. Every object is painstakingly hand crafted; the pencil is whittled and painted, a taxidermy trophy is made out of cardboard. The journal is handmade, and every page is written from the perspective of the boy. The world Kotker creates is at times realistic, sometimes a nostalgic version of the 1950s, and others whimsical and surreal. The story emerges as you experience the work, as Kotker says:


The viewer will be invited to peruse the room and gently handle the objects to piece together the details of Drey's life: He wanders the abandoned pencil factory looking for leftover pencils and hangs out at the petrified crash-landed flying saucer off Route 918. He and his fellow locals hunt songbirds for sustenance, and in simple honesty he stuffs and mounts them exactly as he found them in death. He smokes Oak Smokes cigarettes, drinks six-packs of Chevaline, and eats Rabbit Rinds chips. His favorite dish is chickadees with cheese. His "girly" magazines feature squirrels with acorn caps over all eight of their nipples.


He is experiencing an awakening in himself. From the diary:


"Why do trees have to smell so good? My walks are getting longer and longer cause I have to stop every few feet to sniff bark."


He is shy and naive, and he kills time with his friends until a series of events- beginning with the diner grease fire- spark a lust for life, whereupon he leaves home for Erie and the Unknown.


Kotker has been working on His Room As He Left It for over ten years, it is an ever growing and evolving project, changing slightly in each iteration. It was last shown in 2011 at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Ariel Kotker lives and works in Western Massachusetts.

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03/06/2015 18:00:00 03/06/2015 21:00:00 America/New_York His Room As He Left It: A Work in Progress by Ariel Kotker Find & Form Space is pleased to present His Room As He Left It: A Work in Progress an immersive, sculptural narrative by Ariel Kotker. In His Room As He Left It, Kotker creates the room and belo... Find & Form Space, Boston, MA 02118 false MM/DD/YYYY

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