A 50-foot I-beam runs through the house at the corner of Eastwood and Delaware avenues like a toothpick through an hors d'oeuvre. Did the weekend's storms spawn a tornado that no one heard about? Did the homeowner do something to incur the wrath of the gods? Is Godzilla in town? Nope, nope and thank goodness no. It's a temporary public art installation called "Pierced" by artist Scott Ingram. The 1,000-square-foot abode owned by David Yocum of architectural firm bldgs (the designers of this Old Fourth Ward jaw-dropper) is the area's last remaining example of the kind of generic, pre-fabricated, mass-produced structures of the 1970s designed to offer the American Dream of home ownership to all. The eye-catching beam, which is made of wood rather than steel, pierces the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house at a jaunty angle, taking something normally used for structural support and turning it into something that symbolically destabilizes the house. It skewers (both literally and metaphorically) "useless architecture" as well as the idea that the dream of home ownership is truly attainable for everyone.
The artist told Curbed Atlanta that he wants to allow people to interpret the piece within the context of their own experiences, but also says the beam was designed to look as if it were placed there via a "swift action" that represents the way that things "very aggressively enter and leave our homes" in the age of corporations and big industry. The installation, which was two years in the making, will run through June 15 . After that, the home will be demolished to make room for a new one.
· Scott Ingram Art [website]
[Photos courtesy of Scott Lockhart.]
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