FINDS
” Looking for a Homeâ€
Exhibition: “Express | Localâ€
Location: Queens Art Centre, NY
Time: March to June 2011
The project ” Looking for a Home” is an installation, which concerns themes of consumerism and culture of disposal. For one month it monitors and examines the mechanisms of rejecting of things, which are thrown away in the New York metropolitan area. The project recalls our personal experience of relocating to New York and furnishing our home without shopping in the stores. It seeks awareness and ways of recycling in the realm of domesticity.
During the residence we will gather furniture and household objects dumped on the streets to create a home environment in the gallery space. The installation will grow accordingly to the finds, which will happen during the period. The resulting piece will be fully or partially equipped home environment depending on the luck of our gatherings. The progress is monitored and documented on site and online. The individual pieces are categorized and presented on the map of New York with flags and descriptions, which includes the location of the find, estimated reason for the dumping (damage, age, etc.), description of the repairs and efforts done for the refurbishing and cleaning.
The Rules of Creating “Looking for a Home”
1. To create a lounge environment for the Queens College Art Center, which represents an island of private sphere within the public institutional space.
2. All objects are found on the streets of New York by the artists during the period of one month.
3. The pieces are selected with the criteria, that the artist would like to have them at home.
4. The objects are repaired and cleaned and gradually added to the installation.
5. Each object is documented and categorized in the Records of the Finds  and the location of its find is traced on a map.
6. If  during the search period a better piece is found, than the one already included in the installation, it will replace and upgrade the previous one.
7. Finally a catalogue of the installation is produced.
To see the new development  go to the section: Installation Progress.
CHECK OUT OUR NEW ARRIVALS:
1.FIND: Cesca Chair, design by Marcel Breuer, wood, tubular steel and cane
2. DAY: Â March 1st, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, E 73 and Lexington
4. CONDITION: Heavily used
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: damaged
6. REPAIRS: Big hole in the netting in the middle of the seat – cane exchanged
7. HISTORY: The original design is from the 1928 by Marcel Breuer, one of the Bauhaus professors in the 1920s.Three years after designing his iconic Wassily Chair, which is the first bent tubular steel chair design, Marcel Breuer created the Cesca Chair, named in tribute to his daughter Francesca. The simple design pairs the industrial age aesthetic of tubular steel with caning and wood used by the Thonet. This chair is probably about 15 -20 years old considering  the oxidation of the wood.  The owner was a drink lover because this chair is  higher than a regular chair so it fits a bar hight. After one of his wild parties he found the hole in his beloved chair and instead of repairing it he throw it out.
1.FIND: Decorative Vase, wood
2. DAY: Â March 1st, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, Lexington and 73rd Street
4. CONDITION: new but falling apart
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: damage
6. REPAIRS: glued together
7. HISTORY: This vase is from a garden/design shop on Lexington. It was never sold but discarded after something heavy hit it and it fall apart.
1.FIND: Black and White sofa, artificial leather
2. DAY: Â March 3rd, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, E 76th Street and 1st Avenue
4. CONDITION: Very Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: boredom
6. REPAIRS: Cleaned and Treated, No repairs necessary
7. HISTORY: The sofa is probably not even few years old, it looks like new.It was  thrown away along with a big glass shelves, so the previous owner was just refurnishing his apartment and this did not fit in any more.
1.FIND: Bedcover, white cotton, king size
2. DAY: Â March 6th, 2011
3.LOCATION: SOHO, Wooster  and Spring Street
4. CONDITION: Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: Big cleaning
6. REPAIRS: Washed, Â hole mended
7. HISTORY: This covering is probably 10 years old, it was good treated and  used with care. The owner was a married older woman  around 65 (why else would she have a king size bed). She was doing  a big cleaning  or maybe after retiring she is moving to Florida.
1.FIND: Spring Collection of White Clothes, cotton
2. DAY: Â March 7th, 2011
3.LOCATION: SOHO, Howard and Mercer Street
4. CONDITION: Unfinished
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING:
6. REPAIRS: Washed
7. HISTORY: These are work in progress samples from the Spring Collection 2011 from a fashion design company in Soho. They were made in China and than shipped to Soho for corrections. The pieces are marked with suggested changes  directly on the fabric in chinese and sometimes in english.  They were never send back to China for reshape but discarded.
1.FIND: Red Sofa Chair, artificial leather
2. DAY: Â March 9th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, 86th and Lexington
4. CONDITION: Heavily Used
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: broken  beck leg
6. REPAIRS: the back leg remodeled, the leather washed and impregnated
7. HISTORY: The Red Sofa Chair was loved and used for a long time. It is a really very iconographic. The owner was probably quite heavy, since the back leg was split up. It was thrown away along with the Green chair – quite  a nice fit. But since the Red Sofa Chair was not usable , the Green Chair had to go too. Together till the end…Did the owner got a red and green replacement again?
1.FIND: Collection of Books about Law, Finance , and Romance
2. DAY: Â March 9th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, 74th between 1st and 2nd Avenue
4. CONDITION: Used
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: moving out after graduation
6. REPAIRS: cleaning, no repairs necessary
7. HISTORY: The owner just graduated from a Law School specializing in Finances. She  is  in  late 20s. She enjoys reading romantic and witty books about love relationships with a strong female character. She just moved out after finishing her school, pursuing  her first job, leaving her books behind.
1.FIND: Bookcase
2. DAY: Â March 9th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, 83rd between 1st and 2nd Avenue
4. CONDITION: Used
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: refurnishing of the apartment
6. REPAIRS: cleaning, Â and repainting
7. HISTORY: This bookcase made out of plywood is about 15 years old. It was probably both  by the parents when their child was born to furnished its  room. The child like to draw with a wax pencil everywhere including this bookcase. Now than the child grow up to be a teenager, it does not fit in anymore.
1.FIND: Mirror
2. DAY: Â March 9th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, 74th between 1st and 2nd Avenue
4. CONDITION: Very Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: mystery
6. REPAIRS: cleaned
7. HISTORY: This Mirror is sold in Ikea for a very affordable price. It is not damaged at all. So the only reason to throw it out  is that the vampires moved in to the apartment – neighbors watch out!
1.FIND: Creel basket
2. DAY: Â March 9th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, 74th between 1st and 2nd Avenue
4. CONDITION: Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: Spring cleaning
6. REPAIRS: no repairs necessary, only cleaning
7. HISTORY: This cozy creel basket use to be in an apartment of an older lady, who enjoys to knit for her grand children. If she was not using it, to store her balls of wool, it was a home for her big purring cat.
1.FIND: Portrait of Hans Schulheimer (not real name given), oil painting, wooden frame
2. DAY: Â March 11th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper West Side, W 87th and Broadway
4. CONDITION: Very Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: unwanted inheritance
6. REPAIRS: painting was loose in the frame – reattached
7. HISTORY: This oil painting is a portrait of  Hans Schulheimer , excellent scholar, who graduated with BA as a  “CUM LAUDE”  student from the Pittsburgh University in 1969.  He probably has a German heritage due his name. This portrait was probably done in the 1990’s by Mr. Schneider from the Grate Neck, NY. We found this painting along with his diploma and a portrait  depicting presumable his grand-daughter.
1.FIND: Portrait of Hans Schulheimer grand-daughter (not real name given),
pencil on paper, metal frame with a glass
2. DAY: Â March 11th, 2011
3.LOCATION:Upper West Side,W 87th and Broadway
4. CONDITION: Very Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: unwanted inheritance
6. REPAIRS: cleaned, loose hanging string  reattached
7. HISTORY: We found this drawing along with the portrait of an older man and his BA diploma.This drawing of a young girl, which we assume is the Hans Schulheimer grand-daughter, was made by unknown artist on the street  of Paris July 14th, 1996. At this time  she was about 10 years old, spending the summer holidays in Europe, probably exploring with parents the German roots from the grand father site.
1.FIND:Director’s Chair, wood, woven fabric
2. DAY: Â March 11th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper West Side, 78th and West End Avenue
4. CONDITION: Used
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: Missing beck rest
6. REPAIRS: Painted; a new seat and a rest made out of a used banner
7. HISTORY: This so-called Director’s Chair hence its name to the  stereotypical image of a movie director, who is sitting in it on a location . This flexible design goes back to coffer-makers’ chairs of the 15th century and eventually to the Roman curule chair. The modern American style  was introduced by the Gold Medal Camp Furniture company in the end of the 19 century. This particular chair probably dates back to the 1960s due the seat patterns and the  heavy scratched  paint. The owner is a B movie director, who at last parted with his good luck chair, which he used on all his movie sets.  He lost the beck rest on one of his trips and since he is divorced, there was no one to replace it.  So after a long pondering he finally decided to  discard it.
1.FIND:Â Set of 3 Black Square Frames, plywood
2. DAY: Â March 11th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper West Side,  W 75th and Riverside Drive
4. CONDITION: Good, some scratches
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: The owner stopped to like Malevitch
6. REPAIRS: wood cleaned and polished
7. HISTORY: The art lover could not afford the original Malevitch Black Square painting from 1915, so he bought this black frames. But after the recent Armory Show, where he saw so many painting, Â he realized that Malevitch was not right after all and the painting did not die. So he decided to throw his Malevitch imitations out.
1.FIND: Danish Entertainment Table, solid wood
2. DAY: Â March 11th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, 57th Street, between 3rd and 2nd
4. CONDITION: Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: some parts falling apart
6. REPAIRS: segments glued together , wood cleaned and polished
7. HISTORY: This expensive site wooden table was made in Denmark. It’s original purpose is to hold TV and other media equipment such as DVD  player and CD’s. It was probably on a display in a store, but never sold. It was discarded after some of the parts fall apart.
1.FIND: Metal Garden Table, iron
2. DAY: Â March 14th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper East Side, 75th between 1st and 2nd Avenue
4. CONDITION: Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: rusted
6. REPAIRS: cleaned
7. HISTORY: This side metal table was spending its long life on a roof or balcony until it became very rusty and was excluded from its sunny location. But this patina is exactly what makes it so appealing.
1.FIND: Lamp and Shade
2. DAY: Â March 15th, 2011
3.LOCATIONS: Shade -Â Harlem, 152nd Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam
Lamp -Â Upper West Side, WÂ 81st Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus;
4. CONDITION: Very Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: synchronicity
6. REPAIRS: lamp – new bulbs
7. HISTORY: When we found the shade  the lamp was not included…. well 70 Streets North  and we found the perfect lamp. They fitted together like hand and glove! The Shade was disposed along with a handmade patchwork underlay, which was probably made underneath this shade.
1.FIND: Handmade Patchwork Underlay, various cotton fabrics
2. DAY: Â March 15th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Harlem, 152nd Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam
4. CONDITION: Good
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: change of taste
6. REPAIRS: washed
7. HISTORY: The patchwork is handmade probably by the owner, an older afro – american lady, who has a very particular color choice. It has a spiral like composition, with 4 accented red patches in the middle. It was disposed along with a brown lamp shade . It is possible, that it was made underneath this shade.
1.FIND: Baronet Table, solid wood, made in Canada
2. DAY: Â March 15th, 2011
3.LOCATION: Upper West Side, W 76th Street and Central Park West
4. CONDITION: Like New
5. ESTIMATED REASON FOR DUMPING: family  disagreement
6. REPAIRS: wood cleaned and polished
7. HISTORY: This  first quality wooden table with one spacious drawer was made in Quebec, Canada. It was produced by the Baronet furniture company, which operates there since 1942 . It looks really like new, there are only few minor scratches, which were made by moving it on the street.  There was probably a family disagreement about this new acquisition, which did not end up good for this table.
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