Rewritten Places

Farmland converted to subdivisions. Roads created, widened, redirected. More buildings. Boundaries shifting. People moving in and out. These continual signs of change and development exist in the rapidly growing suburban city where I live. I view this human activity on the land as a complicated, on-going manuscript-- full of edits, erasures, and built-up layers. My work visualizes this reoccupation of space over time by exploring the properties of accumulation, change, text, movement. and uniformity. Evoking a sense of continual transition and disorientation, this body of work references how it feels to navigate these changing spaces. It also questions current development patterns that construct cities but simultaneously erode communities. Regardless of where one lives. I hope my work generates greater mindfulness in regards to what we add to or remove from the narrative of inhabited places.

REWRITTEN PLACES by Linnie Brown A final project paper submitted to tbe faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts Department of Art and Art History University of Utab August 2015 Copyright © Linnie Brown 2015 All Rights Reserved THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SUPERVISORYCOMMITTEEAPPROVAL of a final project paper submitted by Linnie Brown This final paper has been read by each member of the following supervisory committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. Date THE UNIVERSlTY OF UTAH COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS FINAL READING APPROVAL I have read the final project paper of__ -"L=i=n=nj=e-=B=r=o-'-'w-=n.__ ____ _ in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographic style are consistent and acceptable; (2) its illustrative materials inducting figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the Supervisory Committee and is ready for submission to the Graduate School. ABSTRACT Farmland converted to subdivisions. Roads created, widened. redirected. More buildings. Boundaries shifting. People moving in and out. These continual signs of change and development exist in the rapidly growing suburban city where I live. I view this human activity on the land as a complicated, on-going manuscript-- full of edits, erasures, and built-up layers. My work visualizes this reoccupation of space over time by exploring the properties of accumulation, change, text, movement. and uniformity. Evoking a sense of continual transition and disorientation, this body of work references how it feels to navigate these changing spaces. It also questions current development patterns that construct cities but simultaneously erode communities. Regardless of where one lives. I hope my work generates greater mindfulness in regards to what we add to or remove from the narrative of inhabited places. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................... iii V INTRODUCTION: WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS ........................................ 1 IN MASS ............................................................................................... 5 CHANGE OVER TIME ............................................................................. 9 TEXT ................................................................................................. 15 MOVEMENT ........................................................................................ 19 UNIFORMITY ...................................................................................... 22 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................... 27 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................... 33 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Paper Cup .......................................................................................... 6 2. Salt on Mina 1\1ina............. 7 ..................................................................... 3. Change of Place or Position ...................................................................... 4. Combined into One Body. Mass, or Substance ................................................ 5. Earlier Territo1y ............ ........................................................................ 6. Fo/1011ing the Ordinary Way or Procedure ................................................... .8 . 11 12 . 13 7. To Locate Again #1 .... ............................................................................ 14 8. To Locate Again #3 ................................................................................. 14 9. Rise .................................................................................................. 16 I 0. The Formal Act of Acquiring Something by Conquest or Occupation ................... I 1. Almost Happening (detail) ...................................................................... . 17 18 12. From One Place to Another .................................................................. ... 19 13. TypicallJ With Houses and Buildings on One or Both Sides ............................... ...21 vi 14. An Area Lying Beyond the Strict Limits of a Thing ........................................ .23 I 5. To Transfer to Onese(f ....................................................................... .24 I 6. Not Previously Occupied ..................................................................... .26 17. lnstallation Views ... , .................................................................... , ...... 28 INTRODUCTIO : WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS I li e in the city of Lehi. Utah-- a rapidl growing community located in northern tab Count . When I first mo ed to Lehi in _002. the population numbered 25.252. By 2013. the population had more than doubled to 54.382. projected to reach 125,289. 1 By 2026, Leh.i"spopulation is ith nearb cities anticipating similar rates of growth. 2 In real life, the e numbers mean encountering continual signs of change and development. ith buildings and roads encroaching on remembered open or rural spaces. My work in graduate school responds to these obser ed changes in m commun.ity. Within th.is section. I ill introduce the pattern of de elopment behind these changes and how these changes affect social connectivity. fn the nited States. terms such as suburbanization and urban sprawl generally describe this t pe of rapid growth. Suburban patterns of de, elopment. present in America since the mid-1800s. accelerated after orld War II due to increased car ow11ershipand government subsidies for the building of homes and roads. 3 This postwar de elopment initially followed a traditional centered structure. v ith people residing in the uburbs and commuting to a central downtov n area for, ·ork. Leh.i's explosive grovvth United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/popest/data/intercensal/cities/cities2010.html, Lehi Economic Development Strategic Plan (Sept 2008), http://www.lehiut.gov/files/Lehi%20Economic%20Development%20Strategic%20P1an.pdf 3 Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), 208. 1 2 2 hov ·e er. occuned much later and follow a contemporary. decentralized pattern of e pansion. With employment and shopping increasingly located within suburban spaces. residents are more like] to be traveling from suburb to suburb. creating what author Ian MacBumie refers to as the ··polycentric suburban metropolis. ,.i Historians and social scientists ha ·e examined the social impact of this type of suburban de elopment. In his book. BoH ling Alone. Robert D. Putnan1 observes that in almost all aspects of community life. from participating in politics to volunteer work. Americans are now less connected and invol ed in their communities than before. 5 Putnam identifies the sprawling nature of community design. with its hea, reliance on the car. as one of the contributing factors for this decline in communit in olvement. Suburban patterns of travel take place almost exclusively b car due to the division and use of land. 6 Th.rough zoning ordinances, residential buildings are kept separate from commercial ones, and structures are built at a low density per acre. This di ision of uses o ·er a wide area necessitates dri ing to get from place to place in a time! and safe manner. As the spatial footprint of a community grows larger. more roads are added and traffic, olumes increase on existing aiterial roads. Th.is emphasis on car travel undermines the social structure of a community. As re idents spend more time (primai·ily alone) in their ehicles. the are interacting less ith other members of their comm unit . Putnam· s studies indicate that. on average. ci 1c 4 Ian MacBurnie, "The Periphery and the American Dream," Journal of Architectural Education 48, no. 3 (1995): 135. 5 Putnam, 183. 6 James Kunstler, The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), 117. 3 involvement drops by ten percent for every additional ten minutes spent commuting. 7 People in the suburbs drive cars not only to and from work. but also to go shopping, run errands. and participate in recreationa] activities. Whether ifs commuting or just getting from place to place time spent driving takes away from other, more social interactions. Another study confirms that people who walk more in their neighborhood are more likely to know and be involved socially with their neighbors and to be politically involved. 8 The built suburban environment also undermines a sense of community because public areas assume the identity of non-places. Marc Auge, in his book Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, explains the distinction between meaningful places and places so insignificant and transient that they become non-places. Auge states, "If a place can be defined as relational, historical and concerned with identity, then a space which cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity will be a non-place. ' 9 Roads, parking lots. driveways. strip malls, and chain stores dominate the public suburban landscape and are generic areas meant to be moved through, rather than experienced in depth. Because interaction with these areas is transitory and quick. people rarely value or care about these spaces. The suburban pattern of development that I see occurring around me reinforces a system of car dependence and non-places. both of which weaken the sense of community cohesiveness. This type of development was already in place when I moved to Lehi. but 7 Putnam, 213. 8 Kevin M. Leyden, "Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods," American Journal of Public Health 93, no. 9 (2003): 1550. 9 Marc Auge, Non-places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity (London: Verso, 1995), 77- 78. 4 I anticipated that change would come more slowly and that new development would reflect more current plannjng concepts. 10 Instead. as my city grows larger. its de elopment continues to foIJow the typical suburban structure with divided land use over large areas. As ilis structure of development becomes more fully embedded in everyday life. it becomes harder and harder for individuals and communities to make changes within it. My work in graduate school visualizes this system of suburbanization, evokmg a sense of how it got to this point and how it feels to travel through these spaces. Through my artwork, 1 explore five different qualities of suburbanization: accwnulation. change. text. movement. and uniformity. Each of the following sections is devoted to one of these characteristics. Within each section. I will first explain how the characteristic relates to suburbanization. Then I will describe specific artists or ideas influential in my artistic development in that area and detail examples of how my art engages with that particular quality. An example of a more progressive development philosophy is found in the charter of New Urbanism: "We advocate the restructuring of public policy and development practices to support the following principles: neighborhoods should be diverse in use and population; communities should be designed for the pedestrian and transit as well as the car; cities and towns should be shaped by physically defined and universally accessible public spaces and community institutions; urban places should be framed by architecture and landscape design that celebrate local history, climate, ecology, and building practice." http://www.cnu.org/charter 10 TN MASS Their story begin on ground level. with footsteps. The_ are myiiad. but do not compose a series. The cannot be counted because each unit has a qualitati e character: a style of tactile apprehension and kinesthetic appropriation. Their s arming mass is an innumerable collection of 11 singularities. community and its development are not detern1ined all at once. but by incremental e ents and decisions: where a canal is built. the sale of a parcel ofland, a change in zoning at a cit council meeting. a family·s decision to purchase a home. uburbanization unfolds as these small moments build up and are repeated over and over again. Earl on in my graduate studies, I became interested in using the process of accumulation to mimic this sense of amassed human acti ity. Two artists-Ellen Gallagher and Dorothy apangardi- use accumulatjon very powerfully in their work and influenced my approach of ho the scale of indi idual elements withirt an artwork could relate to the ·hole. I a impressed b the dense surfaces in Ellen Gallagher's early work created by the repetition of specific symbols. In Paper Cup. for example. the insistent repetition of a lip mbol builds up into a larger fom1 that possesses a sense of mass and J ). ubtle srufts and variations within this mass. where the lines are not quite straight or 11 eight (Figure Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984). 97. 6 the size gets bigger or smaller, draw attention to the individual units that make up the image. Gallagher" s symbols originate fron.1the history of blackface minstrel shows and. when organized in this way. begin to allude to the perpetuation of racial stereotypes. Gallagher's work appeals to me. not only on a formal leveL but also in how she distills significant meaning and history into a specific type of mark. Fig. I. Ellen Gallagher. Paper Cup. 1996. Ink on paper on canvas. 2135 x 1830 x 41 mm. Tare. Reproduced from Tate. lmp://www.rate.org.uk (June 2015). 7 The work of Dorothy Napangardi also influenced me at thjs time. with her simultaneous use of both simple and complex imagery. Repeating the most basic element of ru1 (the dot) in the sparest color scheme (black and white). Napangardi creates complex masses of pattern and intersection, with ··fragile dotted lines that compose its labyrinths'"(Figure 2). 12 By itself, a dot might read as a simple place marker on a map. but in conjunction v.rith other dots. complex paths (and bow they occupy and move through space) begin to materialize. Fig. 2. Dorothy Napangardi. Salt on Mina Mina. Acrylic on linen. x 300 cm. Gallery One. Reproduced from http://gallery-one.com.au (.lune 2015). These artistic approaches of Gallagher and Napangru·di resonated with my own belief in the potential power of small things. espedally as they are repeated and accumulate into bigger things. Experimenting with different kinds of small marks and 12 Erin Manning, "Relationscapes: How Contemporary Aboriginal Art Moves Beyond the Map," Cultural Studies Review 13, no. 2 (2007): 134. 8 shapes allowed me to reference small, repeated actions that would build up into larger forms. In Change of Place or Position. I placed lots of very small white dots in close proximity to each other. From a distance. the masses of dots appear as larger shapes, but on closer view. their individuality becomes apparent (figure 3). ln this and other artworks. the accumulation of small elements alludes to moments of human activity whose significance becomes more and more dominant through further repetition. Fig. 3. Linnie Brown, Change of Place or Position. 2014. Acrylic and collage on panel. 22°"X 36"". CHANGE OVER TIME ... the collective memory of what used to make a landscape or a townscape or even a suburb humanly rewarding has nearly been erased. The culture of good place-making. Iike the culture of farming. or agriculture. is a body of knowled12.eand acquired skills. It is not bred in the bone. and if it is not transmitt~d from one generation to the next, it is lost. 13 Toe process of accumulation also implicates the passage of time. Drawing attention to this sense of rime in a static work of art became more and more important to me. In order to express the rapid and unsettling nature of suburban development. I felt there needed to be a sense of what things were like before and what they are like now. As things first change v,·ithin these suburban spaces. one sees what is physically there. but there is also a memory of what was there before. Over time. that memory becomes even more and more distant. and then everyone just accepts that this is hov; things have always been. Resurrecting the past serves as means of comparison. helping one to gauge what has happened and to anticipate where things are headed. During my first semester of graduate school. I read the word ··palimpsesC in an exhibition catalog: it was a completely foreign word to me. The term refers to an old manuscript on which the original text has bee11scraped or washed off. and new text wTitten over the top. As time passes. sometimes the underwriting reappears. providing 13 Kunstler, The Geography of Nowhere, 113. 10 faint evidence of what was there before. I began to think of our interaction with the land as a type of manuscript, with humans continually adding more material to it and erasing or covering up previous layers. While some of this interaction leaves physical remnants and traces (construction. deconstruction. use of resources). others are less tangible and fleeting. As artist-researcher Cathy Turner explains ... Each occupation. or traversal. or transgression of space offers a reinterpretation of it. even a rewriting. Thus space is often envisaged as an aggregation of layered \I\Titings.,. ,4 This palimpsest concept appealed to me as a strong strnctural framework for expressing the idea of change that 1 saw around me. \Vhile I was interested in the idea of layers of history. I was unsure how to make it apparent because the sw-face layer conceals \.Vhatlies beneath it. I tried out several approaches in visualizing this concept and rethought some of my assumptions in regards to the picture plane. I formulated two possible approaches: showing the passage of time within one single picture plane or utilizing several different picture planes. Within one picture plane. my initial methodology involved having sections where layers ,,vere somewhat transparent or not entirely intact. For example. in Combh1ed into One Body. ,Mass.or Substance. using a variety of techniques such as scraping. sanding. and glazing allowed the layers underneath to still be slightly visible (Figure 4). The resulting surface appears aged--worn and weathered. with fragments of previous layers exposed. Eacb layer alludes to a different stage in time: seeing glimpses of several layers within the artvvork helps one to sense the complex past on which the present image is derived. Cathy Turner, "Palimpsest or Potential Space? Finding a Vocabulary for Site-Specific Performance," New Theatre Quarterly 20, no. 4 (2004): 373. iq 11 Fig.4. Linnie Brown, Combined into One Body, Mass, or Substance, 2014. Acrylic. collage. and spray paint on panel, 24" x 36". AJthough I still use this method, the end result dissatisfies me somewhat because the layers of infom1ation are so compressed together. Inspired by the work of printmaker Sarah Amos. I began to investigate varying the types of mark-making used for each layer. Amos' work merges systems of architectural and organic information. and by using distinct types of imagery for each layer, levels of information are still subtly perceivable even when printed on top of each other (Figure 5). In Fo!lowing the Ordina,y Way or Procedure, [ ignored my natural inclination to have new paint blend in with previous layers (Figure 6). Instead, a sizable grid-like form overlays all the smaller, earlier elements. Larger geometric shapes, placed on top of the grid and past layers. provide yet another style of marks. Working at times without regard for compositional unity created a feeling of distinction and space between different layers of paint. The disjunction between parts of the painting reflects the conditions of a 12 growing suburban location: the build-up of human activity that does not always make sense with existing conditions or how an actual person might navigate it. Fig. 5. Sarah Amos. Earlier Terriro,J-. 1009. Etching. 79•· x 59... Reproduced from http: '/v,ww.sarahamosstudio.com (June 2015). The other main approach J used to show the passage of time involves using different picture planes. a kind of sequential narrative. J initially explored this idea by repeatedly printing and modifying the same etching plate. Reiterating this process over time resulted in a series of prints that documented how the matrix had changed. Through this process. I realized the need for a point of registratio11. something constant (or semiconstant) from one image to the next so that there is a basis for comparison. 13 Fig. 6. Linnie Brown, Following the Ordinan' Wav or Procedure. 2015. Acrylic and collage on panel, 24'' x 24'·. In additional etchings, Lexplored the idea of providing enougl1 visual context that the viewer is able to piece together a semblance of historical (and possibly, f-uture) narrative. In To Locate Again #1. the left side of the piece shows a large shape composed of smaller red. white. and black circles (Figure 7). A black linear grid overlays this shape and extends into the majority of the image. In To Locate Again #3, the same grid appears, but this time. the shape of the circle pattern area is different and occupies the top third of the image (Figure 8). A solid red geometric shape also now appears in the bottom right corner. The imagery, derived from city boundaries and abstracted houses. references the idea of zones of shifting attention. growth, and planning. 14 Displayed next to each other. one makes comparisons between the two and fills in what has been changed or added. creating a very simple narrative of events in time. Perhaps the viewer even extends the narrative further. projecting what prior and subsequent images might look like. In this way. the idea of palimpsest takes place away from the a,twork and the viewer is the one who completes it. I want the viewer to recognize in the prints, and by extension in our conununities. the history and change behind the present appearance of things. Fig. 7. Linnie Brown. To Locate Again #I.2015. Etching and chine colle, 10'"x T. Fig. 8. Linnie Brown. To Locale Again #3.2015. Etching and chine col le. IO" x 7". TEXT Language (like annor. clothing) selectively conceals and exposes ... If you were to cut us up. what would fall out would be words. The words we·ve actually spoken would be few. 15 In the course of this project, I began to consider how humans impose structure on the land through words and numbers. Using printed text as an element that could amass over time allowed me to reference this idea. I also started to think of the palimpsest of suburban spaces in a more figurative sense-- what if we physically left this transcription. this written record behind us everywhere we went? What would it look like? What wouJd it say? The work of visiting artist Lesley Dill influenced me in taking this new direction .. Dill. s art draws heavily on text as a compositional element. but she also uses it to convey content. For example. in Rise. red fabric banners with poetic phrases such as ··rlose myself to my senses .. emanate from a seated person (Fig1Uie9). The text drawn from collected vision and drean1 stories. alludes to the revelatory experiences that shape people·s lives. Jn a similar manner, using text became a way for me to suggest the internal reasons people have for organizing and moving through suburban spaces. 15 Lesley Dill, author's notes from artist lecture, January 2, 2014. 16 Jn my first pieces using text in this way. 1 envisioned our written record with the land as one of transaction-designated squares exchanged for money-and that its form would correspond to the perimeter of a city's boundaries. In The Formal Act of Acquiring Something by Conquest or Occupation, a series of gel transfers of newspaper ads, with a semi-transparent glaze of gray paint between layers, creates the right side of the image (Figure 10). Repeating this process several times resulted in a dense surface that switches back and forth between looking like what i1 is (layers of soggy. dingy newspaper) and an aerial view of a gritty cityscape. Even though the text in this case does not remain legible, its use still represents to me a consumer relationship with the land where. through business transactions, it changes hands again and again. Fig. 9. Lesley Dill. Rise. 2006-7. Laminated fabric. hand-dyed cotton. paper. metal. silk. organza with cotton. Reproduced from http://www.lesleydill.net (accessed June 2015). 17 Fig. I 0. Linnie Brown. The Formal Act of Acquiring So111e1hi11gb_,. Conq11es1 or (krnpafion.2014. Gel transfers. spray paint. and acrylic on panel. 36" x 36". I imagined another record of our interaction with place as describing the motives behind our daily actions. For exan,ple. ifl ain dissatisfied with havi11gto dt'ive eYerywhere. why do I still live in this place and continue to participate in activities that require four to five car trips every day? Using layers of text gave me a ,,vayto indicate some of these internal values or narratives (such as providing a home .. necessities of life. and a meaningful existence) that motivate people to navigate suburban spaces. 18 To reference this ideal of home and security. l chose texts from old home improvement books to include in my work. 16 In Almost Happening. fragments of text such as '·pipe and tubing·· and ··easily taken down·· remain semi-legible and allude to tasks of building and maintai njng homes (Figure 11). The layers imply the build-up of human activity, but the meaning of the words themselves evokes the nan-ative and reasons for why we occupy these spaces. Incorporating texts from older sources makes connections to the same motivations and suburban development patterns that existed in that time period. Fig. 11. Linnie Brown. Almost Happening (detail). 2015. Acrylic. collage. and charcoal on panel. 24·· x 24··. 16 L.k 1 e The Populur Mechanics Illustrated Home Hanc(rman Em.:yclopedia & Guide. 1961 r MOVEMENT To walk is to lack a place. It is the indefinite prncess of being absent and in search of a proper. The moving about that the city muJtjples and concentrates makes the city itself an immense social experience of lacking apace l ... 17 Although de Certeau's writing references a pedestrian-based view, it is equalJy applicable to a car-based experience: to drive is to lack a place. Driving in a car separates you from your sun-oundings, both physically and emotionally. 1 experienced this feeling of ··Jacking a place" while commuting to school 30 miles each way. I realized I defined myself one way at home and in another way at school. But, in between the two, there was this strange transition zone where I was not in either role; I was just another driver. I had no connection to my environment, to place. because I was simply moving through it, and l had no other objective but to do that as quickly as possible. Much of the suburban environment is built with this objective in mind. to quickly and efficiently transport people through spaces-- not to gather them. not to connect them. In my work, I was interested in creating this sense of movement, this feeling of always going places without really being anywhere. Text and paint elements. as seen in 17 de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday LVe, 103. 20 From One Place to Another and Typically with Houses and Buildings on One or Both Sides, resemble both plausible and more fantastical street systems (Figures 12 and 13). These visual paths reference ideas of travel - yourself moving over the same routes day in and day out. or yow-self amongst others who are traveling sirni lar routes. In trying to follow the lines and text. a sense of visual movement is created in the work. lt feels as though there is no place to rest. that your eyes are not able to land anywhere. Areas of the background are va£:,rueand without detail. signifying either a lack of observation or that there really is nothing noteworthy left to see. Fig. 12. Linnie Brown. Fro111 Om: Place to Another.2015. Collage. acrylic. charcoal. and colored pencil on panel. 24"' x 24... 21 Fig. 13. Linnie Brown. T_ipical~vWith Houses and Buildings on One or BOlh Sides.2015. Acrylic. gel transfers. spray paint. collage. and pastel on paper, approximately 3' x s·. UNIFORMITY the houses in pedantic rows, the planted sanitary trees, assert levelness of surface like a rebuke 18 Another key characteristic of suburban design is its homogenous nature, as evidenced in the uniformity of its buildings. For economic efficiency, developers use a handful of designs and colors that are repeated throughout a subdivision. Similar plot sizes and price ranges dictate an outcome of uniformity. Because these homes have a similar size and price they tend to attract a similar group of buyers, thus reinforcing the homogenous character of the area. My artwork references this quality of uniformity by using similar types of markmaking and color choices within large areas. For example, in An Area Lying Beyond the Strict Limits of a Thing, the use of stencils (based on the outlines of newly built homes in my area) creates the interlocking shapes on the left side and the larger shapes on the right (Figure 14). While these shapes vary slightly in color and texture, the process of repetition through stenciling generates a strong overall sense of similarity. In another example, I used digital and print methods to a1lude to this sense of homogeneity. After scanning a page from my sketchbook, I digitally repeated the design to create a pattern which was then incorporated into an etching using chine co1le (Figure 18 Margaret Atwood, "The City Planners", The Circle Game (Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 1998), 22. - 23 7). This technique allowed me to reference tbe mass-produced and uniform quality of the suburban environment. Stenciling and mechanical reproduction, in addition to the handproduced repetition of certain marks and collage elements, all contribute to a sense of homogeneity in areas of my work. Fig. 14. Linnie Brown. An Area lying Beyond 1he S1ric1Limi1s of a Thing, 2014. Aery Iic and spray paint on panel, 24.. x 36". Uniformity also characterizes patterns of development betv,,een one suburban city and its neighboring cities. Before this rapid development in Lehi. there was a spatial distinction between city, country-side, and other cities and towns. This border evokes what MacBmnie designates as the periphery: "the demarcation of the city Jim.it. where built form confronted unbuilt territory. where the artificial confronted the nahual-a zone --24 of circumscribed intent."' 19 As my city's boundaries (and buildings and roads) b'TOW. this spatial separation between one city and the next is vanishing. Similar houses and the same chain stores and restaurants as everywhere else fill in tl1egaps. Quickly. my city is losing its unique identity and distinctiveness. Fig. 15. Linnie Brown. To Transfer to Onese(J: 2014. Acrylic. spray paint. collage. charcoal. and graphite on panel. 36" x 18'·. 19 MacBurnie, 134. -25 My work addresses this aspect of uniformity by showing edges in flux and different sectjons of the artwork merging together. In many of my pieces, the figure/ground relationship appears ambiguous and shifting, as though the boundaries of shapes refuse to be defined. In To Transfer to Onese(f, three smaller paintings join together to form a larger one (Figure 15). Elements from one section begin to move into other sections, suggesting that even the edge of the support does not function as a fixed boundary. Later works on paper develop this idea further by breaching my previously-held distinctions between supp01i and wall. Rectangular and ending cleanly at the edge of panel or paper, earlier pieces clearly and predictably delineate where the art starts and stops. Motivated by evoking the loss of ''the demarcation of the city limit", this method of working shifted in later pieces such as Not Previously Occupied (Figure 16). Although the piece began as a rectangle, the shape of the paper did not constrain the growth of the artwork. As the artwork developed and something felt like it needed more room, I attached additional paper to the existing support and continued working. Conversely. other sections (that were weak or had too much space), were cut out and removed. The resulting, irregular-shaped piece simulates a sense of relentless growth where distinctions between an object and the space around it begin to blur. 26 Fig. 16. Linnie Brown. Not Previous~r Occupied.2015. Collage. charcoal. spray paint. and acrylic on paper. approximately 5' x 6·. CONCLUSION Layers of human activity make up a very complicated palimpsest of sorts, with some things remaining visible and others erased over time. My work responds to the most recent and rapid layer that I see occmTing within and around my city, that of suburbanization. By embodying specific qualities of this type of enviromnent, my art reconstructs the disorienting and transitory feel of suburban development and questions the resulting lack of social connectivity. The process of development is ongoing within my community, and I anticipate continuing to engage with this issue through large scale works on paper based on photographs, sketches. and personal experiences. Moving forward, I am also interested in different geographical areas (such as places with overcrowding or declining populations) and exploring the imagery those types of layered places might generate. While this particular body of work grew out of a very specific time and place, I hope it adds to the conversation of bow we build the places we live, regardless of where that is. This conversation is a complex one, involving issues that range from culture to economics to the environment, and calls for educated participants. Understanding the past and projected future of a place will help people make more thoughtful decisions in constructing communities. My work invites people to recognize the narrative of -28 inhabited spaces and to more mindfully determine what gets preserved or rewritten as we move into the future. 29 Figure 17. Installation views of"Rewritten Places'· at Art Access Gallery, July 17-August 14, 2015. 30 - 31 32 BIBLIOGRAPHY Atwood, Margaret. The Circle Game. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 1998. Auge, Marc. Non-places: Introduction to an Anthropology ofSupermodernity. London: Verso, 1995. De Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Dill, Lesley. Author's notes from artist lecture. January 2, 2014. Kunstler, James. The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's ManMade Landscape. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. Lehi Economic Development Strategic Plan. Accessed March 2015. http://www.lehiut.gov/files/Lehi%20Economic%20Deve1opment%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf. Leyden, Kevin M. "Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods." American Journal of Public Health 93, no. 9 (2003): 1546-1550. MacBurnie, Ian. "The Periphery and the American Drean1." Journal ofArchitectural Education 48, no. 3 (1995): 134-143. Manning, Erin. "Relationscapes: How Contemporary Aboriginal Art Moves Beyond the Map." Cultural Studies Review 13, no. 2 (2007): 134-155. New Urbanism. Accessed April 2015. http://www.cnu.org/charter. Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Turner, Cathy. "Palimpsest or Potential Space? Finding a Vocabulary for Site-Specific Performance." New Theatre Quarterly 20, no. 4 (2004): 373-390. United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 2015. http://www.census.gov/popest/data/ intercensal/cities/cities20 IO.html.