About

Greenmeme is the vision of artists Freya Bardell and Brian Howe. Together, they have been creating site-specific public artwork since 2005. Qualities of material, context and form begin anew with each project. Their investigations into the history of both the surrounding culture and environment reveals unique ways in which each project can work to raise awareness of these qualities through sculpture, performance and community engagement. Since coming together their work has continued to range from smaller locally-focused commissions to creating projects on a national and international scale.

Greenmeme

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 | Freya Bardell + Brian Howe and Friends

We're currently working on these projects...

Chantilly Clad

Chantilly Clad, is a public art project in a vacant lot in downtown Long Beach. The project serves as a public artwork, performance space and front porch for the community. Within this context, the projects core elements are drawn specifically from visually recognizable references within Long Beach and re-contextualized to become the canvas for this multi-purpose artwork.

The craft of knot tying and its relationship to the maritime industry, has been playfully coupled with the craft of lace-making, the Chantilly technique specifically. Weaving over 30,000 linear feet of boat rope, an amazing team of cross-disciplinary and cross-generational individuals have come together to learn this craft and help make this canopy and shade structure component of the pavilion. Supported by another familiar Long Beach icon, the crane, we have appropriated this structural form as a means to support the lace canopy over a modular deck, which is free of central columns and visually framing its performative presence. Based upon palette dimensions and made from reclaimed lumber of locally demolished structures, the design of the modular deck is proportional to the lace canopy and engages it’s shadows.

By drawing upon these recognizable references and translating them into a site-specific sculpture, we hope to have created an artwork and gathering space that the community will make their own. We imagine “Chantilly Clad’ as a shared public space, in essence a front porch, a place to gather and find conversation.

The planter units are constructed from reclaimed lumber previously stacked up to store equipment, material and even houses. We experimented with different ways of stacking using both the 1:1 scale material and smaller models. The shape resolved itself into hexagon shapes connected together with bridges placed inline with the grid of the stage. The connective bridges serve as seating areas. Greenmeme partnered with Apiana Native Landscapes to select the plant list and planting plan for the site. Together we hosted a workshop series where the public participated in the planting of the site. It is hoped that by including the public in the making of the gardens these people may become more connected to the site.

This temporary pavilion, hosts a series of site specific performances, workshops and events. It has been the site of the Long Beach Council for the Arts “A Lot” series.

Which included a series on urban gardening. Interactive workshops, seed bombs, take away veggie planter boxes, panel discussion.Music by DJ Dennis Owens daylong tunes and local band MatteranGhost.
Arts Collective Slanguage hosted, SlangFest: a Festival of Arts, Spoken Word and Music which was organized by LA><ART Assistant Director/Curator of Public Art and Programs Cesar Garcia.

Events and programming bring Chantilly Clad to life and make possible the greater vision of transforming these underused urban spaces through public activation.

Artist Team: Freya Bardell and Brian Howe
Funding: Art Council for Long Beach and Long Beach Redevelopment Agency
Engineering: Burro Happold
Crane Fabrication: Westmont Industries
Plant selection and plan: Apiana Native Landscape
Special Thanks to Sasha Monge, Ruth Jahjah, Alique Garabed, Josko Kirgin,Jessica Kim,Tamar Partamian, Brandi Benkert, Victoria Phouangbandith, Edwin Cho
Edward Henry, Jihyeun Byeon, Boja Banyasz, Christian Aeschliman, Ron Elad, Matthew Melnyk, Melissa Guerrero

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Photo credit: Josko Kirgin

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Photo credit: Moshe Hacmon

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Photo Credit: Moshe Hacmon

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Photo credit: Moshe Hacmon

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