10 Staircases
Staircase between Warch 3rd floor and Warch 4th floor
This is a selection of 10 staircases on campus that evoke particular feelings for me when I use them. I am interested in these transitional spaces on their own, but I really tried to follow the feelings that came up as I was deciding which spaces to select. I was hunting for nostalgic feelings (or something), and I noticed that those especially came up when the staircase had a very particular scent (or temporal quality, like fleeting light).
I do not believe that there is a way to capture the specific feeling that I am experiencing; no one else has the same memories, associations, and emotional reactions to the spaces that I do. But I thought it would be interesting to capture these spaces using video. I was initially pretty interested in using 3D scanning technology -and I tried one staircase capture using the 3D app that I have- but I was pressed for time and was having trouble with other people in the staircases while I was trying to 3D scan. The interesting thing about the 3d scans for me is that they make spaces and objects exist independent of the world around them. There is a clear end and beginning of the object that separates it from time and space. I do not think the videos I have do that as interestingly, since to me they seem to simply capture part of the world, the space outside the videos is implied. I am very interested in the representation/documentation of the space.
3D scan of front staircase in sage... exists as its own space.
Staircases are inherently the means to an end - they are for gravitational transportation. But I am interested in their quality as spaces that exist independently. These videos are (mostly) ordered by the strength of the feeling associated with them. The staircases that I feel the most strongly about are near the top of the page.
Staircase between sage 1st floor and Sage 2nd floor
Staircase between Sage basement and 4th floor
Staircase between Trever basement and Trever 4th floor
Staircase between Drew Street/river area and campus; next to Hiett
As this project progressed and as I took more videos of staircases I was really thinking about the differences between the outdoor and indoor staircases I chose. It struck me that the outdoor staircases that I chose were typically more "binding." Once you chose to take the stairs, there weren't any floors to get off at in the middle, or places to get off in the middle - you are essentially committed to either making it to the top or going all the way back down.
Stairs between Hiett 3rd floor and Hiett 1st floor
Stairs to and from river path behind Warch and Sage
Memorial Hall Staircase
Staircase inside Wriston
Wriston Outdoor Amphitheater staircase on the side with small steps
I love this idea of documentation. I wanted to ask in class if you considered having a different picture of favorite places of other staircases on each physical step in your favorite staircase space? I have no idea what you want to do for your final, but I think there's so much you could do. Love the concept.
ReplyDeleteI like how you documented your interactions with these spaces. Staircases are also quite different from gallery spaces in that you are discouraged from lingering and could be considered liminal spaces. Your portals idea honestly fits pretty well given that staircases take you from one place to another in the same way.
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