Immediate Response:
When first seeing the piece, I immediately thought of the carnival due to the lights placed on the piece. Once I realized that the piece was displaying a dinner table, I then thought of a family going to a carnival which brought happy memories. The piece is placed on a moveable base which is ideal since carnivals are on the move and don’t stay in one place. Once I saw the wheels, I then thought of families who are always on the move looking for their next adventure or crazy story.
Objective Description:
The piece by Jason Ferguson has a dinner table placed on a moveable wooden trailer. The table connects to the wooden chairs via steel beams similar to a carnival ride. The beams and table have carnival lights which are blue, orange, and yellow colored. The wooden table seems to be placed on an electronic base which allows the chairs to move around the table in a circular motion. The trailer has steel triangles placed around the exterior to emulate the carnival aesthetic.
Technical Decisions:
Ferguson chose to place his piece on a moveable trailer to emphasize the carnival theme. Moreover, the artist places his piece in a low lit room to allow the colorful carnival lights to illuminate the exhibit, which is inside. The table and chairs are placed above the trailer to visualize the temporary carnival and symbolize a carnival ride which is elevated for the riders to see below them. Moreover, the artist places the chairs all in various heights to view the motion of the chairs similar to a carnival ride.
The Work in the World:
The piece reveals the fun yet craziness of a family. The carnival is a time and place where people have fun and randomness is unleashed. Furthermore, the carnival theme fits well with a family since life is like a carousel, it goes around and around and sometimes it seems like it never stops or it seems too short, depending on who is riding. This piece by Jason Ferguson is very interesting since it could bring joy to the audience through the bright colorful lights yet highlight the significance of family. Moreover, the family dynamic could change depending on the room and setting the piece is placed in, symbolizing that families are complex and always changing just like in real life.
The Story it Tells:
The piece is called Domestic Carnival which is an ongoing project that takes specific rooms of the home and presents them as amusement park rides. The artist places the piece in a dark room with foreboding music and two hundred pulsing lights. The artist engineered the piece like a carnival ride and moves like one. When I first saw this piece I thought it was fun and interesting but the more I examined the piece, the more I realized that the piece is meant to point out the significance of the family and how in each room in the house the dynamic of the family could vary.