2011, THE FIRST CCMHT JURIED RESIDENCY

2011 was the first year we assembled a jury of local art and design practitioners to select residents.

Josephine Wiggs    musician-composer

Josephine Wiggs was a founding member of The Breeders. She collaborated with Vivian Trimble (Luscious Jackson) to make the album Dusty Trails (which includes a song written for and sung by Emmylou Harris), and music for the film Happy Accidents by Brad Anderson. Recent work includes the soundtrack for a short film by internationally acclaimed choreographers chameckilerner, commissioned by Performa09, which premiered at SFMOMA. Current projects include the soundtrack for Spectral Houses, a documentary about the Modern houses in Wellfleet.

“My week in the Kugel-Gips House made me more aware of the two contrasting landscapes which are in proximity to the house, as well as how I experience these landscapes. There are the intimate, enclosed spaces of the pitch pine forests and the ponds which are encircled by them. Within the forest, the uniform verticals of the trees seem architectural, like columns, and evoke in one a sense of interiority, stillness and seclusion, as if in a sacred space.

I wanted to try and convey in my music my impression of these landscapes, which, though very different, both possess a harmonious simplicity and calm (in profound contrast to the spaces most of us inhabit most of the time). My approach is minimal in both instrumentation and in structure, using simple motifs and linear repeated forms to create a mood of measured, quiet reflection, and using minor keys and unresolved, open harmony to evoke an atmosphere of immeasurable space.”

James Royce   RLA landscape architect

“I revel in the opportunity afforded to me by a week at the Kugel-Gips house (thank you Peter!) to take time to study more closely the original goals and ideals of the early modernists and reflect upon these to consider how they could inform design dialogue, highlight or address current issues, and be applied in a way that is relevant and practical to the problems we face today; not just ones of design but also of environment, society and economy. Can we address them through design and technology to achieve equality and real sustainability for the future?”

“My goal in this exercise is not to find a simple fixed answer but rather through a series of observations and conclusions develop a set of underlying principles upon which to reference and base future design. This is very much a personal journey to understand the history, goals, achievements, and failures of these visionaries who sought to make a better world for people through design, and how I might learn and benefit from their experience to pursue the same goal within my career and lifetime. I am very grateful to the CCMHT for this exceptional opportunity and look forward to working together in the future to explore these ideals and achieve common goals.”

For entire blog entry, go to:
http://ccmht.org/landscape-architect-james-royce-on-his-stay-at-the-kugel-gips-house/

Kaity Ryan   architectural student/researcher

“In mid-May I was fortunate to spend a week living in the Kugel/Gips House as part of the Cape Cod Modern House Trust’s Scholar-in-Residency program. Currently pursuing a Master of Science in Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the reason for my stay was two-fold. My first objective was to research the Modern architecture in Wellfleet and Truro toward the ultimate goal of crafting a master’s thesis focused on these resources, particularly the Jack Hall-designed Hatch Cottage, and their contribution to the Modern Movement. Secondly, I wanted to gain a first-hand understanding of the Modern House Trust’s unique model of preservation and how it might inform alternative methods of reuse and advocacy in the preservation community.”

To see her full report on her residency go to:
http://ccmht.org/kaity-ryan-reports-from-the-kugelgips-house/

Hiedi Kaiser   artist, Special Guest

Kenneth Frampton   author/historian

Kenneth Frampton is well known for his writing on twentieth-century architecture. His books include Modern Architecture: A Critical History (1980; 4th edition 2007) and Studies in Tectonic Culture (1995). Frampton attained a certain influence on architectural theory and practice with his essay “Towards a Critical Regionalism,” which expanded on a thesis that had been previously developed by Alexander Tzonis and Liliane Lefaivre. Frampton’s essay first appeared in the anthology The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture of 1983, edited by Hal Foster. His other publications include a collection of essays published under the title Labor, Work and Architecture (2005) and his forthcoming A Genealogy of Architecture: Comparative Critique
While here he gave a lecture titled Masters on Modernism at the Wellfleet Library and has subsequently served as a juror for our 2013 Add-on ’13 competition.