Andrew Barthelmes
Unoccupied
2015
Wood, wire, plaster,latex paint, resin, brass hardware
106”x 48” X 72”
During urban renewal, buildings were demolished and people were relocated in the hopes that it would lead to revitalization. Unoccupied is a work about the structures, and in particular the houses that were removed from neighborhoods in Peekskill and other communities across the United States during the urban renewal programs of the 1960’s. This work asks the viewer to contemplate the meaning of “home.” We see a singular female figure opening the door to her home but the house is gone making the viewer feel like a witness to the scene, a participant, imagining the house that might have been there. They are transported to a time when this house was still in use and perhaps the gathering place for the family.