Photos: Machine Project creates series of subtle interventions for Pasadena’s Gamble House
Machine Project’s installations at the Gamble House are subtle and finding them can be almost like a treasure hunt. The result: the viewer spends more time noticing architects Greene & Greene’s incredible design details, such as the warm glow of the Tree of Life triptych picture window. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
The Echo Park-based arts group Machine Project has installed a number of contemporary works into the Gamble House, the historic craftsman house built in 1908, as part of Pasadena’s AxS festival.
The Gamble family crest consists of a crane holding a rose in its beak. Artists Becky Uchtman and Holly Vesecky re-create a crane out of pieces of succulents, a wetland bird made from desert plants. A nice meditation on wildlife and survival in the human age. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
Looking like asteroids from another planet, a first-floor bedroom sports a pair of ceramic orbs by Anna Sew Hoy. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
Some of the works take finding. Ricky Swallow’s trompe l’oeil sculptures frequently employ bronze to mimic other materials -- in this case, rope. That’s his piece, to the left, which plays with the idea of the looking glass. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
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An upstairs restroom employs a towel rack as a place in which to install a colorful work by Sandeep Mukherjee. Nice touch. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
“Objects for Plants,” a series of wood sculptures by Michael O’Malley, serve as a site for some unusual ikebana-style arrangements throughout the house. These are lovely and otherworldly, as if they emerged out of a drawing by Dr. Seuss. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
A second-story closet contains this video work by David Fenster, which shows psychic Asher Hartman doing a reading of the Gamble House. Worth watching. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
Matthew Au created half-scale sculptures based on the design of the Gamble House’s famous roof. These can also be employed as lawn furniture for some serious lounging. All that is missing is a piña colada. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
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Artist Jessica Cowley created this hand-painted sign as a play on Greene & Greene’s architecture, since “ultimate bungalow” referred to the large-scale homes built in the Craftsman style. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
