Installation - Bits and Pieces and Camo Cloth

It is Wednesday, a week before the show starts. The installation is in full swing.

I never used to think about the installation aspect of an art show, but now that I've become involved in this project I realize that installation is a big deal. It's almost like a composition in itself -- pieces need to be complementary to the space they are in, and create a sense of interest across the entire show.


But installation for WaltArt is bigger than big. From a technical and problem-solving standpoint, it's almost like building one of the pyramids. Or Stonehenge. In fact, those are two good analogies -- as we are limited in space and budget (as any typical art project is) and are therefore solving problems creatively. Right and left. Up and down. Inside and out. I'm sure you get the picture.

We only have one week....

What else have we done? We've picked up our T-shirts and started advertising them for sale. ($14! A steal!) They were printed by Jeff Coleson of Ideaworks NW. They show the particle tracing in white, with red and yellow text on a black fabric.


We have posters in hand, and I printed up a vinyl banner. To talk up the show, some of us are distributing posters, others are wearing their WaltArt T-shirts to class; we're also sending out an email to the Bellevue College campus and to the UW campus. I found a list of the email addresses for some of the physics professors at the UW and will be sending a note to each of them.

Speaking of which (apropos of advertising), if you have happened upon the Lake Hills Library in Bellevue, you'll see one of our posters in its proud place on display there.

Back to the installation.

The exhibit will take place in the back half of the Bellevue College Gallery Space, which is notable for its wonderful lighting for art pieces. The gallery has a rusted steel wall which bisects the space and can be swung into different positions. Because the wall floats, it blocks the least amount of light.

For our installation, we'll need to cancel the ambient light, as our displays depend on strategic lighting effects. So first up for the installation is hanging literally miles of blackout theater curtains. These are called "camo cloth."


And because the middle wall floats in its space, we're also adding temporary walls next to this wall, and covering all open spaces with theater curtain as well.

We're treating the camo cloth like a toxic substance. It only took a few minutes with the stuff to realize it releases thick black fibers into the air, and it is heavy and dusty. We'll be glad when we're done cutting and hanging it.


Some of the curtain (aka "Camo cloth") has been donated by the Bellevue College Theater Department, and some of it we purchased with our grant from the Science and Math Division at Bellevue College.

Every inch of white wall space needs to be covered. We've used magnets to adhere the cloth to the steel wall, and then a staple gun is in order for the perimeter of the space -- up at the ceiling, down by the floor, and literally everywhere in between.

We removed the chains that were sewn into the hem of the curtain cloth.


Since this project is about recycling as much as it is about WaltArt, we'll find a new use for the chain. It is a lightweight, polished aluminum; several of us had our eyes on it.