Walking in on the final day of MARLON FORRESTER’s mural installation, “A Path: Drills for Flight,” @THE NEW ART CENTER in Newtonville, I was so excited to see the nearly completed piece that I walked right by the introductory video. The “activators,” as he calls the mural participants, begin by watching a video of Forrester explaining each step (with demonstrations!) and it is the most chill video, perfect for those of us (me) who tend to get all anxious about creating something on the spot in a public space. There is also a brochure so the contributors can refer to the instructions while in the mural space.
Forrester began this interactive mural with a basis in the transformative rituals found in basketball – each step in the participants’ process is meant to mimic basketball drills, as they warm up, mark and reflect on the piece. Whether or not an activator knows much about basketball, they can absorb the rituals and consider how their path reflects their creating methods and relates to the other contributions to the piece.
As seen in the photo of the brochure, there were instructions, but this wasn’t a restrictively structured piece and it left room for creative freedom. Forrester asked activators to stretch before marking each part of the wall, mark how high they could reach with charcoal, and then choose a type (or types) of tape to use to build onto the mural: i.e. duct, electrical, decorative, etc. The only restriction Forrester enforces is that lines of tape cannot cross each other. Following the charcoal and tape, activators then proceeded to reflect on the process and their interaction with the work.
After watching the video, I headed upstairs to make my mark on the wall! I was greeted by Forrester himself, who was very kind and encouraging, clearly invested in making all participants feel welcome and comfortable. Forrester’s warmth and genuineness goes a long way towards helping the public interact with the work and leave meaningful marks on the mural. The room is intimate in scale and it encouraged activators to push the boundaries, marking the windows, floor, and creating 3-D objects with the tape. There was also an iPad filming the mural over the course of the installation (Jan. 5 – 30, 2016) so viewers could watch the mural’s progress online.
I followed the instructions and made a strange little geometric being on the wall using a few different sizes of tape. The walls were pretty well packed full of work, so it was tricky finding a space where I wouldn’t intersect with someone else’s contribution. There was a good selection of sizes and textures of black tape (I was a little sad there wasn’t any glitter tape left – jealous of anyone who got to use that one!).
Forrester graciously let me chat with him for a bit and I asked him a few questions about the piece. He had been watching the live feed of the mural when he was at work or away from the gallery space. Forrester has proudly watched the mural take on a life of its own, as the activators let their agency come through and the variety of contributions began to respond to each other. He also mentioned feeling very present at the residency, even though his physical mark wasn’t necessarily visible.
I love interactive pieces like this that inspire quick ideas and execution on the participant’s side. Kathleen Smith Redman lay the framework for this mural residency: it sounds like she was a great director! Daniel Elias has taken over as Director, which bodes well considering his past curation of Charles Long’s “100 lbs. of Clay,” a piece in which participants built colorful clay creations from provided blocks of clay. The New Art Center is a great space with several galleries and is well worth the “journey” to Newtonville – I’m looking forward to seeing upcoming shows at the Center, and following Marlon Forrester’s career.
Forrester attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts for his BFA and earned a Master’s in Fine Arts (Printmaking/Painting) from the Yale School of Art. He is currently faculty at the SMFA and teaches full time in the Boston Public Schools – lucky students!
