Stephanie Beck

While in residence at ART342 in Fort Collins, Colorado I played with the history of the settlement of the "Front Range". The work resulted in a number of small collages as well as in the construction of over one hundred paper houses inspired by the area's early cabins but also referencing the generic mass-produced homes of today. The houses were then set free in three outdoor art events in order to take advantage of what are, to me, the very exotic natural characteristics of the area:

"Runoff: Cache la Poudre," was inspired by the flooding and subsequent relocation of the area's original fort from La Porte downriver to the current location of Fort Collins. The project also speaks to the complicated relationship between settlement and water in this area, which is dependent upon runoff from the Rocky Mountains down the Cache la Poudre. As the lifeblood of the region, the Poudre is subject to complex water rights issues.

"On the Prairie: Pawnee National Grasslands" and "Propped/Toppled/Tumbled: Fort Collins" both take advantage of the excessive wind of this area, which sweeps over the prairie and through subdivisions, creating dustfunnels and tumbleweeds...or tumblehouses.

Images are available as limited-edition photographs. Please click on the first Prairie image for a 2-minute video of the event and visit "News" for behind-the-scenes descriptions of the projects.

During a residency at Caravansarai in Istanbul I sent a paper construction via sandal (a small ferry boat) across the Haliç (Golden Horn) and then set it free into the river.

The construction was inspired by the architecture of Istanbul but references the significance of the dome throughout time and across cultures. The trip across and into the Haliç, which divides the two sections of the European side of Istanbul, acknowledges the importance of the Haliç to the identity of the city and evokes the transfer of material, ideas, religion and power via the river and as embodied in the domed buildings that have come to symbolize Istanbul.

The project was also an exercise in inserting site-specific artwork into the fabric of a city for a brief period of time and with no predetermined outcome. Far from being an individual effort, the event required the assistance of numerous local people and inspired an unexpected level of interaction with the artwork.

Images are available as limited-edition photographs. Please click on the first image in the gallery to access a 5 minute video of the event.

The installation consisted of a large central piece and two related side pieces. Aviary, the central piece, is inspired by a downtown skyline in flux, with skyscrapers, construction cranes, and a bridge to nowhere. Upon closer examination, it is apparent that each building also functions as a cage and shadow-puppet theater for various birds which live inside, playing out the roles that we play in these spaces.

The two side pieces, Neighborhood Arrangement #1: Circle and Neighborhood Arrangement #2: Maze, are inspired by the neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Circle allows me to shift my surroundings around to make new meanings; in this case an attempt at order and classification within a meditative pattern. Maze more directly explores my experiences navigating the neighborhoods of North Philadelphia, which can be spatially confusing. Further details at: http://www.phl.org/art/beck.html