Making
In Plain View
This exhibition developed in pre-pandemic times from the work of Sound the Mound, a project supported by The New School Collaboratory, School of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design, and an Ideas that Matter grant from Sappi, and in close collaboration with Mariel Villeré and Dylan Gauthier of Freshkills Park: Field R/D. At the time, it was facilitated by their involvement with the Freshkills Park Alliance. Five years later, we are thrilled to bring to the public the thought-provoking series of proposals and artistic explorations developed by Field R/D artists at Freshkills along with the outcome of Sound the Mound curricular resources and design projects. The questions they raise about our relation to waste remain as current and timely now as they were then.
Curatorial
Team
Curated by Caroline Dionne, John Roach, and Andrew Shea of Sound the Mound, Mariel Villeré and Dylan Gauthier of Freshkills Park: Field R/D, and the Spring 2024 students from Curating Design at the Intersection of Art, Ecology, and Technology: Vardan Babayan, Lauren Brown, Veronica Chen, Jac Clayton, Lara Damabi, Bingxue (Yoyo) Dong, Kerry Fusco, Jeniffer Isakbaev, Xin (Daisy) Li, Emeline Louis, Dina Pritmani, Catalina Vizcarrondo, El Weinstein, Chengyue (Sia) Zhao, Danqi (Nini) Zhao.
Caroline Dionne
Caroline Dionne is a scholar and educator with a background in art and architecture criticism and curation. She is an Associate Professor of History and Theory of Design Practice and Curatorial Studies at Parsons School of Design. Sitting at the intersection of literature, language theory, philosophy, and design, her research examines the role of language—fabulations, self-narrations, and other forms of storytelling—in everyday acts of placemaking, with focus on the power and politics of place. Her book, Design Theory, Language and Architectural Space in Lewis Carroll (Routledge, 2023) proposes design theories of the emergent based on a close reading of the complete works of nineteenth century writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll.
John Roach
John Roach is an Associate Professor of Fine Arts in the School of Design Strategies where he teaches a wide range of courses addressing the aesthetic, spatial, emotional, psychological and political impact of sound. Roach’s studio practice explores tensions between materials and sounds and is often created in dialogue with a variety of practitioners, including percussionists, glass blowers, scientists, actors, poets, and programmers. The work takes many forms—from gallery installations to audio projects, from performances, to curation, to curious amalgams of all of these modes.
Andrew Shea
Andrew Shea's work focuses on the intersection of design, social innovation, and AI ethics for creative communities. He is an Associate Professor of Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design and founding director of MANY, a design studio that designs physical spaces, collaborative experiences, and platforms to elevate civic, educational, and environmental initiatives. Andrew has written extensively about the evolving field of design for social innovation and his most recent, co-authored book is Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from Around the World (Routledge, 2021), which marks the first attempt to define the global contours of the cultural, economic, and organizational levers propelling design for social innovation forward today.
Dylan Gauthier
Employing sound, performance, video, sculpture, and photography, Dylan Gauthier works through a research-based and collaborative practice centered on ecology, architecture, landscape, and social change. Gauthier is a founder of the boat-building and publishing collective Mare Liberum (www.thefreeseas.org), and of the Sunview Luncheonette (www.thesunview.org), a co-op for art, politics, and communalism in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He is co-organizer, with Mariel Villeré, of Freshkills Field R/D, an artist-research residency based at NYC’s largest former landfill. Gauthier received his MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College, CUNY (‘12), and is Associate Curator at More Art in New York City, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Haverford College.
Mariel Villeré
Trained as an architectural designer and historian, Mariel Villeré researches, writes, and organizes exhibits and cultural programming at the intersection of architecture, art, landscape, and the city. She is currently the Program Development Director in the Office of Academic Initiatives and Strategic Innovation at The Graduate Center, CUNY. She was formerly the Manager for Programs, Arts and Grants at Freshkills Park/NYC Parks, where she worked to build the art program for the landfill-to-park site through an inquiry-based artist residency program, Field R/D, and through the on-site Studio+Gallery she founded in January 2018. Her work has been the subject of articles in Hyperallergic, Art in America, ArtSpace, and BOMB Magazine.
With
Appreciation
Special thanks to our amazing research assistants: Isabelle Groenewegen, Everette Hampton, and Mitch Kelly. This exhibition was made possible thanks to the guidance of the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center’s exhibition team—Anthony Curry, Daisy Wong, and Daniel Chou—and the Making Center’s Hashem Eaddy and Mick Hondlik. We also extend our heartfelt thanks also to the previous groups of students who reflected on or contributed to this project. Curating Design at the Intersection of Art, Ecology, and Technology, Spring 2020: Timothy Chan, Paulo Cruz, Tianbai Fu, Regis Hijnekamp, Bambou Kenneth, Andrea Lacalamita, Blake Roberts, Moja Robinson, Zohra Roy, Oscar Schrag, Jill Shah, Briana Zagami. Curating Design at the Intersection of Art, Ecology, and Technology, Spring 2019: Alaria Diperna, Amy Feng, Behin Forghanifar, Yipiao Geng, Carolina Melo, Dinorah Ortiz Salazar, Lauren Price, Yarran Regan, Lindsey Woods, Adriana Wynne, Ran Zhou. Sound the Mound, Spring 2018: Prerna Balhara, Emily DeFelippis, Kalun Leung, Claudia Newell, Ignacio Piedras Madrazo, Claudia Rot, Benzamin Yi. Transdisciplinary Studio, Fall 2016: Oliver Arellano Padilla, Carolina Corseuil, Tanvi Nitin Dhond, Katherine Fisher, Juyeon Lee, Noah Litvin, Christopher Lopez, Hue Lu, Chengcheng Teng.
Land
Acknowledgement
The Aronson Gallery at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center is located within Lenapehoking, the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people. While the environmental devastation of the Staten Island meadows through half a century of landfill at Freshkills is undeniable, we recognize that the most profound wound to this land was the displacement of its native custodians by colonial forces. We honor the Lenape communities, their Elders past and present, and future generations. We extend this respect to all indigenous peoples who will visit this exhibition.
Image Credit: Freshkills Park