I've reached my goal! A sincere thank you to everyone who has helped support this project.
My name is Traci Talasco, and I am an installation artist based in Brooklyn, NY. The Brooklyn Arts Council invited me to create an installation in their gallery space, opening in September 2014.
The project is titled Rub Me the Wrong Way, and the gallery will be transformed into a home environment created entirely out of sandpaper. A patterned floor, molding, wainscoting, chair railing, and a floral wallpaper pattern will all be made from various grades of sandpaper, completely filling the space. It will be a very tactile environment, which the viewer can walk through and interact with. As people walk through the gallery, their shoes will wear down the sandpaper floor, making a scratching noise, and creating a visual map of pedestrian traffic.
Rub Me the Wrong Way refers to the unrealistic, societal expectations placed upon women to "do it all", and how women become worn down by our absurd attempt to juggle too many roles. Despite the fact that many women have successful careers outside of the home, the media still perpetuates an image of women as homemakers, reinforcing gender stereotypes that are harmful to both sexes. The floor and wallpaper patterns read as a kitchen space, a room associated with many domestic chores. This project literally involves 1000s of pieces of both hand cut and laser cut sandpaper, and ironically is very labor intensive to create. It talks about the repetitive nature of domestic duties in a very labor intensive, almost obsessive way.
Using home, a stereotypical female domain, I wanted to create an environment that addresses these issues in an absurd way, while at the same time, evoking a sense of beauty. I chose sandpaper as a material because of its use as a raw construction material. It is not something ever used in a decorative manner, and I liked the humor in that. It has the ability to wear down rough patches and smooth the walls. But in this case, the viewers are the ones wearing it down, in the same way the media is wearing down women by perpetuating these stereotypes.
My work uses sections of walls, floors, and interior spaces as a stage, to make
simple, every day acts unnecessarily complicated or absurd, in playful ways. The works are funny and participatory, inviting the viewer to physically engage with them on different levels.
Materials for an installation this immersive, exceed the Brooklyn Arts Council's limited budget for gallery exhibitions. Your donation will cover costs for:
Approximately 1000 sheets of 9 x 11 inch sandpaper cut as follows:
756 laser cut sandpaper flowers for the wallpaper pattern
525 hand cut sandpaper stripes for wainscoting
1320 hand cut pieces for floor pattern
88 ft. of sandpaper molding
100 sheets of Double Tac (vinyl adhesive) 24 x 36 inches each
(6) – 4 x8 ft. sheets of plywood, drywall, 2x4s, 1x2s, various hardware, and interior
paint, 2 gallons of wood glue
Shipping to and from the gallery
Two studio assistants for three days each
Solo exhibitions include: Art Space, New Haven, CTand McGrath Galleries, NYC. Select group exhibitions include: Masquelibros at Architecture Institute of Madrid, Madrid Spain; BRIC Media Arts Center, Rotunda Gallery, NYC; Art in Odd Places, NYC; Locust Projects ,FL; Harvestworks, NYC; Kiana Malekzadeh Gallery; Tilt Gallery + Project Space, OR, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts, NYC(AIM program). My work has been reviewed in the New York Times, Flash Art International and the Village Voice.
Brooklyn Arts Council: www.brooklynartscouncil.org
Traci Talasco: www.tracitalasco.com
