Window Dressing XLIX + Soundscapes Sean Michael Gaulager: Sub Anima

The work both pays homage to Michael Hsu Architecture's adaptive reuse utilized in the design of the Canopy complex and interrogates the role of art organizations in development projects. The benches in the common areas of Canopy are constructed from slabs of concrete cut from the walls of the existing buildings to create windows (in which this artwork will be displayed) for the galleries and businesses that occupy the complex. This industrial furniture has served as a gathering space for artists since Canopy opened its doors in 2013 under the direction and management of the former nonprofit organization, Big Medium. Building upon past works such as I'm Furnished (2016), I am interested in the often underacknowledged social, physiological, and spiritual impact of everyday objects, especially that of spaces and furniture that facilitate the gathering of people and the exchange of ideas. I believe in the animism of these objects, that they are imbued with the remnants or spiritual echoes of our interactions. Sub Anima represents these latent energies in physical form as a transparent replica in clear epoxy resin. An exact one-to-one copy of the bench on which I have personally spent countless hours sitting and conversing with other artists, poets, musicians, thinkers, strangers, friends, and probably some adversaries. At the exhibition's opening, attendees are invited to sit on the sculpture for conversations, which will be recorded and incorporated into an abstracted sound piece for the Soundscapes series that plays outside the gallery at night. Artist Bio Sean Michael Gaulager is a curator, consultant, art handler, and artist who co-founded Co-Lab Projects in 2008 to collaborate with artists creating innovative and experimental bodies of work and now serves as its Executive Director and Curator. As a co-founder of Pump Project Art Complex in 2005 and Cantanker Magazine in 2006, he has been closely involved with nonprofit art organizations and galleries for over 20 years. Sean has sat on numerous committees and advisory boards including the Texas Biennial, The People's Gallery at Austin City Hall, East Austin Arts, and Conflict of Interest. He formerly worked as Assistant Preparator at The Contemporary Austin and has been involved in numerous arts organizations as curator, consultant, technician, art installer, and documentarian. Sean is a working artist focused on social practice, sculpture, installation, performance, time, and screen-based media. He was nominated three years in a row for Artist of the Year ‘Early Career’ and ‘New Media’ by Austin Table Critics and was the recipient of the Republic Square Fellowship in 2010. At the center of Sean’s varied artistic and curatorial practices is an interest in parapolitical power and its impact on governance, history, and social relations.

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Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3311697-0

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