“We try to distinguish the work that we do as not only collaborative, but more accurately, participatory. The distinction is important to us because artwork can be interactive, and a team can collaborate, but our work is not complete until a participant has collaborated with the artwork.”—Preston Dane
Preston Dane + David Ort: Co-Founders, Animus Arts Collective / New York NY
animusart.com
“we try to distinguish the work that we do as not only collaborative, but more accurately, participatory. the distinction is important to us because artwork can be interactive, and a team can collaborate, but our work is not complete until a participant has collaborated with the artwork.”—preston dane
Interview with Preston Dane:
Your large-scale, public sculptures must demand intense collaboration.
Our core philosophy is about getting many minds together to create, thus all of our projects are inherently collaborative. That said, we try to distinguish the work that we do as not only collaborative, but more accurately, participatory. The distinction is important to us because artwork can be interactive, and a team can collaborate, but our work is not complete until a participant has collaborated with the artwork.
One example of this is 1000 Pieces, a public sculpture made of 1,000 interlocking wooden squares. Participants can approach the gazebo, mark the squares, and then combine or reattach them into different configurations.
Another example is the Honey Trap. While a participant can mark the sculpture with writing or paint, the sculpture was designed to be climbed on. The hexagon cells were specifically designed to relate to the size of a human. So if we had displayed that piece on an island off in the distance where nobody could climb it, or in a way that didn’t allow people to sit in the cells, or prevented people from having a conversation with their neighbor in the cell above them—while it would still be beautiful to look at, it would be incomplete as a work of art. In all of our work, the most important collaboration is the one between us and our audience.
The Honey Trap
courtesy of preston dane
The Honey Trap
courtesy of preston dane
What is the Animus collaborative process on a project from start to finish?
We have some general stages for each project: Design, Fabrication, and Installation. Some people are only involved in the latter two stages, and help out with a project on the weekends, while others are involved with the initial design process. We usually treat our collaborative process as a meritocracy, as the design phase is fun, but it also requires a lot of planning and budgeting, because the projects we work on are large-scale. We invite people into the early stages of the process if they express interest and have a proven passion and sense of ownership over previous projects.
Once we decide upon a broad stroke for the overall design, and all agree that it is something that we want to take on, then we figure out logistics, like budget and design details. Then the hardcore problem-solving comes into play. It really helps to work this stuff out with other people, because if one person gets stuck on an issue, like how to attach something to something else, or how to find a less expensive or less time-consuming method, then another person may have fresh eyes for the problem, or a complementary skill set that can swoop in and save the day. Half of the time, the answer is, “Zip ties!”
Flaming Cactus
courtesy of preston dane
Then we start making. There are generally a lot of repetitive tasks when working large-scale, so it helps that we all hang out and have fun while we work.
The next stage is Installation. This stage is usually really hard, with very long hours, and lots of heavy lifting. It’s the part where we need each other’s support the most, both physically and spiritually.
What is the Animus studio space like?
Because of the size that we work, and the range of materials, our studio can get pretty hectic. Some projects are like building a ship in a bottle, but then we take the ship apart, and put it back together again on site. We think that this actually promotes collaboration in the design phase, because we have to be calculated in what we choose to do, and we want everyone to enjoy the process throughout. Sometimes in a brainstorming session, someone will go dig through a pile of stuff that’s laying around in the studio, hold up a piece of material and say, “What if we use this?” Or, “This stuff is great! What can we do with it?”
courtesy of preston dane
How does the NYC community support what you do?
The Participatory Community in NYC has been incredibly supportive of us and our work, especially FIGMENT arts festival on Governors Island. We’ve also had two great collaborations with the NYC Department of Transportation, and some NYC public schools. Almost all of our projects would not have happened if it weren’t for all of the people coming by to help out in the fabrication or installations.
Arbor Animus
courtesy of preston dane
How do you go about designing highly participatory work?
This usually depends on the setting and expected audience. We have found that it’s important to think about who will be participating early in the design process. When we are working with a community that has a background with participatory artwork, we are able to rely on them. In other instances, we simply seek to introduce the audience to this kind of work: sometimes its enough to create space for someone to sit and reflect, and other times we want to offer an opportunity to play.
Potential
courtesy of preston dane
We think that Participatory Culture is a movement stretching beyond our community. We started off making this kind of work at Burning Man, which is a fantastic and supportive community. We collaborate with other artists affecting our community and explore the interdisciplinary. People are leaving behind passive artwork and looking toward a new way of relating to the world through art. People are seeking to contribute. It is important to us that participants create a memory and leave their mark.