by Aimée Sinclair - 9 Feb., 2008

  Interview with Aili Schmeltz

    by Aimée Sinclair

The work of Aili Schmetlz is presently on showing through February 28 at Locust Projects Miami.

Sinclair: Please explain how the idea for this site specific installation came to be? Did the design for the installation exist prior to your relationship with the space?

Schmeltz: The idea of the “Magic City” developed from research about the history of Miami that I was doing in the months leading up to the exhibition. Miami’s nickname, the “Magic City”, particularly struck me as having an ironically humorous twist. As the legend has it, 1950s- 1970’s winter visitors would remark on Miami’s rampant development and growth as being so unbelievable it was “like magic”. Interestingly enough, I found out during my visit to Miami, most locals were not aware of the nickname; much less it’s history. I found it interesting that I, as an outsider, would be telling this story and history to Miami natives.. I was reminded of site seeing in my own city only when I was hosting out of town visitors. As I had only visited Miami on one other occasion, part of the reason for my desire to make a project centered around Miami, both conceptually and aesthetically, was to develop more of a relationship with the city … as a sort of getting to know you introduction, like a researched blind date.. I guess that wouldn’t be a blind date, but maybe a second date. For the last few years, my work has centered around my love/hate relationship with Los Angeles, where I currently live and work. So when presented with this project, I wanted to challenge myself to make a piece in and about a place that I didn’t know much about. Although my knowledge of Miami was limited, I felt the jump from one coast to the other was pretty logical. Los Angeles and Miami strike me as kindred spirits … they have warm climates, sprawling urban areas which has led to an automobile centered mindset, both have large beach cultures that are central to their identities, there are some similar flora and fauna (hail the almighty palm tree!), and both cities have an air about them of vacation and entertainment.

The design is a composite of many aerial photographs gathered before arrival into Miami as well as photographs that I took of the downtown architectural model on display at the Freedom Tower. The basic design, materials and method that would be used to construct the installation were pre planned. I built a miniature cardboard model of the installation as well as a large “practice” string piece in my studio in order to get a visual sense of the final product and to trouble shoot potential difficulties. That being said, the specifics of the design were open ended, allowing it to adapt and mutate in response to the> space or the building process, which it did significantly.

Sinclair: In thinking about bridges, I rely upon the idea of connections- that is a connection from one destination to another- The bridge itself is a neutral space, in limbo if you will… How do you view bridges within the context of the installation?

Schmeltz: The bridges of Miami serve as lifelines of activity, commerce and physically tie the two halves of the city together. The bridges within the installation were a large concern and central to the reading and understanding of the piece as representing Miami. They were the aspect that were the hardest to conceptualize in terms of how they would tie the two walls together, the height they would be, how they would interact with the floor plane, the scale, placement, material- everything. With the orientation of the string city being as it was, the bridges held a danger of cutting off the space so that viewers would not enter the room. In the end, the bridges communicate effectively while aesthetically adding variety and visual complexity. If I had it to do all over again, I would approach the bridges a bit differently.

Sinclair: Can you highlight some conceptual aspects of the work?

Schmeltz: I think of this piece as a poetic three-dimensional drawing in the form of a romantic love letter to Miami, perhaps it might read “Dear Magic City….Love, tinsel Town”. The process of the construction with the string is inspired by the string art/ do it yourself kits of the 60’s and 70’s… the era in which the “Magic City” nickname was born and a time period which I have used as inspiration in my work for about the last 6 years. I chose the fluorescent pink/orange color of the string to represent the feel of Miami.. it reminded me of pink yard flamingos and garish beach gear. The over powering color of the string in the installation creates a glowing pink air that communicates a sense of magic and nostalgia. The heads of the nails sparkle in the shifting light, adding a sugary glitter. The fractured and architectural sense of space changes and shifts with the angles of planes created by the repetition of the string lines, making it hard to focus on any one area of the landscape, a sensation similar to being within a city while trying to comprehend it’s totality. It was important that the city appeared to be floating above the sea, that the wood protruded from the walls creating cloud like shadows below. The string city is orientated so that the viewer experiences the landscape as if they were in the water in between the mainland and the island.

Sinclair: Please discuss the creation of the installation, process, materials etc…

Schmeltz: The installation was completely made on site in Miami over one week. As you can imagine, the process was very labor intensive, bordering on obsessively compulsive. The labor was at times mind numbing introspection and in others a learning experience of collaboration. In total, I ended up using over 25 boxes of nails and around 35 rolls of string. The pieces of plywood were first cut in the shapes of the coastlines, then nailed around the contour with hundreds of wire nails. After the boards were attached to the walls hours of nailing and stringing ensued. Throughout the process I had invaluable assistance and advice from a close friend and the gallery staff. My friend, Kerry Phillips (a local Miami artist), worked long and often late hours. In these long hours of conversation and design I feel as though I got to know more of Miami through its people than I did in months of research.

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