Making a Spectacle of One’s Self by Barr Gilmore, RCA A thesis exhibition presented to the Ontario College of Art and Design University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design in Interdisciplinary Masters in Art, Media and Design MADE 867 Dundas Street West Toronto, Ontario M6J 1V5 April 28 to May 15, 2011 © Barr Gilmore 2011 The Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize the Ontario College of Art and Design University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. I further authorize the Ontario College of Art and Design University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. Signature ii Making a Spectacle of One’s Self Master of Design 2011 Duncan Barr Gilmore, RCA Interdisciplinary Masters in Art, Media and Design Ontario College of Art and Design University The Abstract The Colour Barr is a new species of contemporary furniture—one that embeds the unleashed potential of the unconscious mind in its symbolic form, that challenges screen-based social networking in favour of an embodied social experience, and that looks spectacle straight in the eyes and says, “I understand.” Welcome to The Colour Barr—a new self-portrait in the form of a sculpture-cum- functioning cocktail bar. Let me open up the bar, while you open up yourself to new intoxicating elixirs, interesting cultural mixes and stimulating symbolic exchange. What awaits is nothing less than transformation. Let’s get this party started. Does The Colour Barr perform you? Or vice versa? You decide how best to represent yourself. Value and meaning await those willing to engage at The Colour Barr. iii The Acknowledgements Many people have helped to get me to where I am today. First, I would like to thank my parents John Duncan Gilmore (1921–83) and Dorothy Barr for making me, my sister Janet for forcing me—through sibling rivalry—to outperform her in academics and sports, and to my early educators who acknowledged a creative potential in me. My friends and mentors Felix Partz (1945–94), Jorge Zontal (1944–94) and AA Bronson of the late Canadian artist group General Idea took me under their wings and guided me through the international contemporary art scene in the early 90s. Bruce Mau and my colleagues—especially Amanda Sebris—at Bruce Mau Design taught me about graphic design/identity and to have the confidence to tackle any design challenge. My IAMD colleagues and advisory committee, namely Greg Van Alstyne (Principal Advisor), Paulette Phillips and Charles Reeve pushed me creatively and mentally. And my partner and sometime collaborator Michel Arcand and our dog Pooh ground me and keep me warm at night. Thank you. Design is a collaborative process and The Colour Barr would not have been realized without the incredible 3D software skills of Chris Bahry at Tendril, David Plant and his team at King Signs, the woodworking know-how of Lucas Brancalion and Jeremy Cox at Brothers and Sons, and OCADU’s Rapid Prototyping Centre Finally, thanks to Julie Nicholson and Shaun Moore at MADE for their continued support and for hosting my graduate installation. iv The Table of Contents The List of Figures vi The Preface xi The Introduction The Gift 1 The Literature Review The Exchange 5 The Spectacle 13 The Sign 21 Reflective Autoethnography Research 22 The Conclusion The Colour Barr 37 Reflexive and Qualitative Research 42 The Elixirs of Life 51 The Contribution and Further Research The Morning After 61 The Bibliography The Referenced 63 The Unreferenced (Further Reading) 65 The Appendix A. The Past 71 B. The Event 79 C. The Alchemist’s Mandala 87 v Unless otherwise noted, all artwork and photography is © 2011 Barr Gilmore The List of Figures Figure Title of Figure page 1 Graphic for bar signage, Pretty Ugly exhibition, 2010 x 2 Installation view of The Colour Barr at MADE, 2011 xiii Photograph © Dave Gillespie 3 Installation view of The Colour Barr in the front window of xiv MADE, 2011 4 Artwork for the Elixirs of Life cocktail coasters, set of seven 3 coasters, 3.5 inch diametre each, edition of 500 5 Artwork for the Elixirs of Life laser etched decanters 3 6 What’s Up Dad?, 1986 photo silkscreen, 16 x 16 inches 4 My father flew a Lancaster Bomber in WWII with a picture of Bugs Bunny on the side with the words, “What’s Up Doc?” my grandfather is pictured giving my dad his wings 7 Stills from Douglas Gordon and Jonathan Monk’s 7 collaborative performance Are Friends Electric? at Lisson Gallery, London on June 23, 2010 Photographs © Robert Ross 8 Graphic identity created for Friends Electric collaboration 8 9 General Idea, Colour Bar Lounge, 1979, aluminum, glass, 11 colour photographs and printed cards, floor unit: 40 x 150 x 10 inches, wall unit: 24 x 150 inches Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario Photograph © General Idea, Inc./AGO 10 General Idea, installation view of Ruins of the 1984 Miss 11 General Idea Pavillion, 1977, site-specific installation and performance, rubble, chalk and other elements Photograph © General Idea, Inc.. Used with permission. vi 11 Book cover of General Idea’s The Getting into the Spirit 11 Cocktail Book from the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1980, hardcover, 64 pages, edition of 900 12 Video stills from General Idea’s Test Tube, 1979, 28 minutes 12 colour, sound. Produced by De Appel, Amsterdam © General Idea, Inc. 13 + 14 Book cover of Naomi Klein’s international bestseller 19 No Logo, 2000 culture-jammed by The Economist on September 8–14, 2001 just days before 9/11 15 Benefit of the Doubt, 2008, light sculpture made of 20 425 light bulbs, sockets, electronic light sequencer and painted aluminum, 30 x 96 x 7 inches Photograph © 2008 Patrick Dell. Used with permission 16 My astrological birth chart produced by Pam Younghans 23 showing planetary positions at time, date and place of birth 17 My Aura Photograph by Chrysanne Stathacos, 1996 24 18 My Nine Totem Animal reading by Pamela Hackwell, 2010 24 using the Native American Medicine Card deck by Jamie Sans and David Carson with illustrations © 1988/99 Angela Werneke, St. Martin’s Press, New York 19 Production still from Federico Fellini’s film about dreams 27 City of Women, 1980 Photograph © Deborah Beer 20 A variety of Internet images of rabbits identified in the face 27 of the Moon from the website www.contodomiafecto.com Sources unknown 21 Sample entry from my blog Barr’s Dream Journal, 2010 31 22 General Idea, Fin de siècle, 1994, chromogenic print, 32 30 x 24 inches, edition of 12 + 3 APs and installation view of General Idea’s One Day of AZT and One Year of AZT, 1991 at The Power Plant, Toronto, 1993 Photographs © General Idea, Inc. 23 Installation view of General Idea’s The Armoury from the 32 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1985–90 at the Musée d’art contemporain de la Ville de Paris, Paris, 2011 24 An early 17th C. mandala from the Musaeum Hermeticum 35 25 The Rabbit in the Moon mixing the Elixir of Immortality 35 embroidered on an 18th C. Chinese emperor’s robe by an artist from the Qing emperors’ court vii 26 Installation view of Colour Barr, 2009 a self-portrait in the 36 form of a fluorescent light sculpture, July 2009 at Queen Specific (formerly Solo Exhibition), Toronto 27 The Wooton Desk cabinet-secretary from the Wooton 39 Company of Indiana around 1875 © 2008 National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, 1785 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036, U.S.A. All rights reserved 28 Phrenology diagram of a symbolic head illustrating the 39 natural language of the faculties from People’s Cyclopedia of Universal Knowledge, 1883 29 Martin Baas’ Shell, 2009, made of faceted stainless steel, 39 copper welds and a walnut veneer interior for a private collector and Design Miami 2009 Photograph © 2009 James Harris 30 Elevation drawing for The Colour Barr, 2011, front view 40 colour study 31 Playboy logo 40 32 Rabbit shadow puppet image by Moon Young Shin 40 www.moon-shin.com © 2010–11 Moon Young Shin 33 Free peace sign stencil from www.spraypaintstencils.com 40 34 Two early 3D rapid prototypes of The Colour Barr, 2011 43 showing the open and closed profiles of each 35 Elevation drawings for The Colour Barr, 2011 with mock-ups 44–45 of the Elixirs of Life cocktail coasters 36 Xavier Veilhan, Laurent (Deutsche Grammophon), 2006, 46 polyurethane and yellow epoxy painting, 71 x 27 x 20 inches Private collection Photo © André Morin Laurent, 2005. Aluminum, steel, 71 x 25 x 14 inches Collection Guillaume Houzé Photo © Marc Domage © 2008 Veilhan/Adagp, Paris 37 Flattened 3D pattern for The Colour Barr, 2011 using 49 Pepakura software 38 3D paper model showing waterjet cut sections 50 39 Paint colour tests on stainless steel for The Colour Barr 50 40 Waterjet cutting at RCI Waterjet Cutting Services of 50 stainless steel sections for The Colour Barr 41 Welding of The Colour Barr at RJS Metal Precision, Bolton 51 42 Custom ziricote wood drawers with sliders by Brothers and 52 viii Sons, Toronto for The Colour Barr Photograph © 2011 Dave Gillespie 43 Embroidered apron by Stitchy Lizard for The Colour Barr 52 Photograph © 2011 Dave Gillespie 44 Example of laser-etched decanter for The Colour Barr 52 Photograph © 2011 Dave Gillespie 45 The Elixirs of Life cocktail coasters for The Colour Barr 53 letterpressed by Lunar Caustic Press, Toronto 46 Bernard Rancillac, Elephant, 1967 64 47 The Gilder. graphic identity, 2010 72–73 custom fonts (The Gilder Framed/Unframed) and signage Photographs © Peter Porebski 48 I am not Helvetica, 2010, identity exercise 74 49 Installation view of I am not trapped by my desires., 2010 75 Photograph © Tom McGillis 50 Installation view of Deferred Gratification, 2010 75 king-sized repurposed fur (coat) blanket, 96 x 96 inches in collaboration with Lisa Visser at first-year graduate exhibition Pretty Ugly in the Graduate Gallery, OCADU 51 Installation views of the exhibition design for 76 Essential Cinema, September 12 to October 10, 2010 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto including a still from Essential Titles, 2010, motion graphic, 6 minutes on the right side of the middle image Photographs © Tom Arban 52 Installation views of the exhibition design for Tim Burton, 77 November 26, 2010 to April 17, 2011 at TIFF Bell Lightbox Photographs © Tom Arban 53 Concept and schematic design drawings for Fellini: 78 Spectacular Obsessions, June 29 to September 25, 2011 at TIFF Bell Lightbox 54 Dave Gillespie and Barr Gilmore at The Colour Barr on 79 Saturday, April 30, 2011 at MADE, Toronto Photograph © 2011 Dave Gillespie 55-57 Invited guests at The Colour Barr on Thursday/Friday/ 80-85 Saturday, April 28/29/30, 2011 at MADE, Toronto All photographs © 2011 Dave Gillespie 58 Sara Diamond and Paulette Phillips (OCADU) and 86 Shaun Moore (MADE) with Barr Gilmore at The Colour Barr on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at MADE, Toronto Photographs © 2011 Dave Gillespie ix fig. 1. Graphic for the bar at Pretty Ugly, 2010 x