Azure – September 2019

(Amelia) #1

054 _ _SEPT 2019


Focus


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Over View, as its name implies, is a view overhead –
and one that is transformative. The permanent ceiling
installation – a massive 3D drawing – was created for
the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s new Museum
Lab, which spills into the former Carnegie Free Library
of Allegheny. “It’s this really spectacular building, but
it had been renovated pretty brutally at a few points
over the last century,” says Brennan Buck, a partner at
FreelandBuck, the firm that masterminded the design.
“We were interested in evoking the history of the
building, its gravitas and beauty.” To that end, the tex-
tile structure belies the room’s actual height to reveal
an evocation of its former grandeur.
From the centre point beneath the canopy, the
viewer sees it expand upward, mimicking the original
ornate ceiling. “My hope is that people will walk
around and try to find the point from which the drawing
is projected,” says Buck. “From that one point, you
get a good view of the concave historic leaded-glass
ceiling and, as you move around, you can clearly
see that it is a convex object hanging down toward
you.” In effect, the installation allows the viewer to
drift between concave and convex perspectives.
FreelandBuck, which has offices in Los Angeles
and New York City, worked with a global manufacturer,
Fabric Images of Elgin, Illinois, to develop the final

product: three layers of non-woven plastic insus-
ceptible to unravelling. The layers were printed and
then cut and rolled for transport; a modular nine-by-
12-metre aluminum frame supports the entire structure.
In lieu of up-lighting, which wasn’t feasible in a space
topped with a partial glass floor and filled with daylight,
fixtures are fitted between the fabric layers to highlight
the depth of the illusion.
But Over View isn’t your typical trompe l’oeil. It’s
both provocative and contemporary. “We’ve been
fascinated by the history of trompe l’oeil in Italy,” says
Buck. “At one time, those illusions were so powerful,
but they’re really not anymore. We encounter more
powerful illusions all the time now, whether it’s images
or videos or virtual reality. What’s interesting is that
they are sort of fragile; they change and distort as you
move around the space.”
The project is a study in medium and material:
a large-scale drawing brought to life through fabric,
blurring the lines between works on paper and bricks
and mortar. In this case, says Buck, they are quite
literally building through drawing. “Hopefully it works
as a drawing that describes another space or object,
but also as a material, physical thing. I think there is
a real uncertainty to it that prompts people to take a
second look.” freelandbuck.com, fabricimages.com

The fabric’s Victorian-
inspired colour palette is
an ideal foil for Koning
Eizenberg Architecture’s
renovated library space,
which was left raw and
exposed. It’s a fitting
combination for Museum
Lab, which offers art–
tech experiences for
older children.


FREELANDBUCK’S CONTEMPORARY TAKE
ON TROMPE L’OEIL MESMERIZES AT
THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF PITTSBURGH


WORDS _Catherine Sweeney


Modern


History


_Ceilings

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