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If
we could fly above the Peruvian tablelands,
giant ceremonial figures, triangles and
quadrangles would mysteriously appear over
miles of earth beckoning us to consider
other civilizations below and above. For
the armchair traveler Laddie John Dill's
work is archaelogical digs, ancient landscapes,
the furrowing of fields for flood, and
the consideration of all things volcanic,
molten and mysterious.
FA: You've
done several commissions in Beaumont,
Austin, Texas and Phoenix. One is an installation
on an enormous scale: a huge space with 50
foot high ceilings. What was the concept
and how did you create an installation for
this space? How did the existing architecture
influence your final design?
LJD: I
was contacted by a representative of my work
to see if I was interested in doing a project
where the elements in my work would suspend
from a 50 ft. height and lower down to approximately
30ft. above the floor. Basically I use the
existing architecture as a framing device so
that the work makes sense compositionally and
interacts with the dynamics of the architecture.
There are many steps to reach this point such
as materials, weight factors, and the fact
that the work is seen from at least 20 vantage
points. Once these problems are solved, I fabricate
the component parts in my studio and travel
with my crew to the site and begin to install
and compose the work within the space. This
type of work is extremely site specific so
as much as preparation as I do, there are always
many surprises and confrontations within the
space. The ultimate goal is to have the work
have its own identity and dynamics as well
as interact with the site that it coexists
with.
FA:
Working on large scale commissioned projects
is usually a challenge for artists and designers.
What artistic protocols and methods have
you created for commissioned works and installations?
LJD: I
always ask for the architectural plans plus
photographs of the site. This can be problematic
sometimes because the building is in construction.
However I've done enough of these site specific
projects that I'm very good at reading architectural
plans and can visualize the physicalities
fairly well. If possible I prefer to visit
the site physically to get a true sense of
the space. Once this is achieved I begin
with preliminary models and drawings.
FA: Production
designers and set decorators create furniture
based on a character or time period that
is in keeping with their overall design.
You created furniture for the Rockenwager
Restaurant in Santa Monica. What was your
concept for the Stammtisch table and what
influenced your design?
LJD: I
was paid a visit by Hans Rockenwager who
asked if I would be interested in designing
and fabricating a stammtisch table for his
restaurant. "A what?" Hans proceeded
to give me a quick history of this type of
table and its function in Bavarian society.
Bottom line, it's basically a four sided
large table that functions very much like
a long lineal bar but because people face
each other the communication between the
individual patrons becomes more communal
and friendlier. From there I designed my
table in much the same process that I design
most of my functional works by approaching
it first as a work of art working within
the physical parameters that were necessary
for the sculpture to function within Hans'
space. The stammtisch table was completely
fabricated in my studio and then moved to
the restaurant on Main Street. The final
piece, an 84 x 84 x 1 inch piece of polished
glass for the top, was then put in place
on the table. It is an extremely heavy piece
of glass which took 4 of my assistants and
4 of his chefs to move and set in place.
After that, we all sat down and had a meal.
FA: Your
earlier body of work is mainly sand and light
installations which give effect of a aerial
view of typographical features and landscapes.
How did working with Robert Rauschenberg
and Jasper Johns at Gemini GEL influence
this work? What was the inspiration or defining
creative moment for these works?
LJD: Basically
my job through Gemini allowed me to have
an ongoing dialogue with both Robert Rauschenberg
and Jasper Johns but frankly I was so busy
doing their work at Gemini and my work at
my studio downtown that I didn't get much
initial feedback from these masters at first.
My lucky break with them came when Rauschenberg
came to my studio with Rosamund Felsen, a
long time supporter, and Bob asked me to
participate in a collaboration with light
piece in the near future. After the installation,
he introduced me to the Sonnabends from New
York who were in town for the big Andy Warhol
show at the Pasadena Art Museum. They offered
me an exhibition in New York for the following
year. Within a couple of months I moved to
New York and stayed with Jasper Johns on
Houston Street and was able to have conversations
with friends of Jasper’s including
John Cage, Buckminster
Fuller, Merce Cunningham,
Elaine de Kooning, and Neil Jenny. Shortly
after leaving Jasper's, Bob Rauschenberg
asked me to stay at his house and studio
on Lafayette Street where I had conversations
with Brice Marden, Mel Brochner, Alex Hay,
and Louise Nevelson. Needless to say through
my relationships with these people, the combined
influence on my work was tremendous. Because
I work with diverse materials, the main message
I kept with me throughout the years was twofold:
one was to use materials that had basic strong
connotations as materials on their own and,
when combining these materials, try to keep
the individual connotations of each material
so that the relationships were strong. The
second piece of advice I got from Jasper
Johns was use anything that'll stick for
at least your lifetime.
FA: Would
you explain your artistic approach?
LJD: I
come from a generation where the idea for
a sculpture was completed before the execution.
But what I am trying to do is incorporate
expressionistic methodology in relationship
to that. A classic example would be an early
piece that I did with sand and glass. The
glass was set up in a very highly complex
geometric pattern, simple in its arrangement
but complex in its finality - the way the
light went through it. The whole piece was
suspended in seven tons of sand that was
arbitrarily spread out, but the sand was
very important to the structure of the piece.
It actually was the substance that held the
piece together. And so as arbitrarily as
these mounds appeared, they were very integral
to the structure of this architectural form.
My present work reflects
this approach. There is a strong geometric
feeling and at the same time, an emotional
or expressionistic edge that's introduced.
Dill's
Light Traps have appeared in Gigli,
A Mighty Wind, X Files, and most recently
Nip Tuck and the upcoming feature Monster
In Law. Most
of us have seen his beautiful cement
and glass constructions hanging in Frasier's
apartment.
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