I was very happy to find the "fat" envelope from AQS (American Quilter's Society) waiting for me in the mailbox today, holding the acceptance of Watt & Shand #1 into the Lancaster show.
This was the first in what ended up as a 10 piece series, documenting and celebrating the transformation of the former Watt & Shand department store on the center square in Lancaster, PA, into a modern Marriott hotel and convention center. The developers took the extraordinary step of preserving the facade of the historic building and incorporating it into the new construction. I was mesmerized by the process and spent years taking photos of it, and sometimes I got lucky, as with the shot of the welder, above.
I documented the series extensively here on my blog, and you can track it back by clicking on "Watt & Shand" under Labels in the right sidebar. You can also see the entire series here on my website. They were all exhibited in a solo show last March at the Lancaster Arts Hotel Gallery, and I had a great time meeting and greeting visitors to the exhibit who were in town for the quilt show.
The AQS show is held in the Convention Center, so this year, I will have the pleasure of exhibiting a work about the building, in the building. How cool is that?
That is VERY cool! Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteVERY cool indeed!
ReplyDeleteCongrats. I remember you writing about this series before. So glad this piece was accepted!
ReplyDeleteThe Watt & Shand building was on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation which was lost when the structure was demolished. Look at what nearly $150 million taxpayer dollars will buy to replace it!
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous--I know there were strong feelings on both sides of the adaptive re-use of this splendid building. I followed the debate, but don't feel qualified to weigh in on the political implications of it. I approached it from an artistic standpoint, documenting the project and what I considered to be the aesthetic wonders of it, and leave the viewer to draw their own conclusions. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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