Art Installations

Ian Vail: then there here now

then there here now is a two part video installation - one in a cell, the other in close proximity to Center. Forming a stream of images, the piece attempts to construct a picture of the building. A final image that inevitably falls short of its task as the building's presence, both in space and time, is far greater than one can experience.

In wanting to use the site as something that is seemingly understood within the museum context, the video attempts to elaborate upon this understanding to broaden the visitor's perception of place beyond the historical, as it draws in other influences around it. The presence of the museum, the presence of the prison; the presence of a street beyond; the presence of a television in an otherwise derelict place; our gaze a part and apart of the same perception, the same presence...then there here now.

then there here now is an addition to earlier pieces by Ian Vail that attempt to investigate two other Philadelphia sites, Market East Station and a public square located within the grounds of Jefferson Hospital. A video installation recently exhibited at Temple Gallery. Ian Vail graduated from the MFA program at Tyler School of Art.