"An overview of Thom Sokoloski’s month-old “Encampment” on Roosevelt Island. [Stone Parliament of Art]" NYT's
Click on " An overview"...then you will have to continue clicking on "Go to blog homepage" - a few changes have occurred on the blog and with that came some mix-up.
Why did I chose to resurect The Encampment? Mainly because there has been a lot of talk in Guelph about builing on community by using the creativity of ART! Simple as that! And who knows better how that is acheived but Toronto artist Thom Sokolowski and his fabulous "large-scale public participatory art installations.
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The Encampment ~ A New York City Premiere
FROME SPoA ARCHIVES - OCTOBER 4, 2007
The Encampment by Thom Sokoloski
October 5 - 7, 2007
Free and Open to the Public from 7pm to 1am nightly.(The Encampment remains illuminated until 7am)
Roosevelt Island, New York City
Thom Sokoloski's Confinement of the Intellect, Toronto 2006. (Image: thomsokoloski.com)
"Confinement of the Intellect"by Sokoloski... 68 pup tents were set up in the very muddy grotto of Trinity Bellwood Park. This picture was taken at 4:34 am.(Nuit Blanche, 2006)
Canadian artist Thom Sokoloski, who created Confinement of the Intellect in Toronto's Trinity Bellwoods Park for last year's Nuit Blanche has evolved his project into The Encampment, a large-scale public participatory art installation on the South point of Roosevelt Island in New York’s East River over three nights.
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Confinement of the Intellect was a piece made in homage to the mental health history of Queen Street West, in particular to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at the heart of Toronto's main art district.
This experimental installation and performance work focused on some of the complex issues surrounding mental health from a historical as well as contemporary perspective. The work explored the historical relationships between architecture, landscape and outsider humanity as a quarantined legitimized hub of radical nonconformity in a conformist society, and where in fact, it is the general public that is marginalized.
Sixty-eight pup tents in reference to the Patient's Right Act, Bill 68 - Brian's Law, occupied the grounds, each containing artifacts and memorabilia to tell the story of a former patient or a figure known for their struggles with madness. Entering the tents, visitors found intimacy with these stories in an environment imbued with a haunting quality reminiscent of ancient ruins.
Below you can view the making of Confinement of the Intellect. All four are equally important but if time is a factor I strongly recommend Part III, for it is in this video the passion of Sokoloski is captured..in particular the footage nearer to the end when he's walking by himself, the music enhancing the feeling, the rain setting the mood. As an artist with a psychiatric nursing degree, my interest with this installation goes beyond anything imaginable...one of life's highlights.. a moving experience from beginning to end.
Part IV
Part III
Part II
Part I
