Lauren OConnell 2014 05 07 Thesis PRINT

90 Pages·2017·4.18 MB·English

David Ireland’s 500 Capp Street:
Making visible a complex matrix of relationships

A thesis submitted to the faculty of
California College of the Arts
In partial fulfillment of
The requirements for
The degree

Master Of Arts
In
Curatorial Practice

By
LAUREN R. O’CONNELL
San Francisco, California
May 2014
Copyright by
LAUREN R. O’CONNELL
2014
CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

We certify that this work meets the criteria for a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree: Master of Arts in Curatorial Practice at the California
College of the Arts.

_________________________________________
KRISTINA LEE PODESVA
Primary Thesis Advisor

_________________________________________
DAVID GISSEN
Thesis Mentor

_________________________________________
LEIGH MARKOPOULOS
Chair, Curatorial Practice
David Ireland’s 500 Capp Street:
Making visible a complex matrix of relationships

LAUREN R. O’CONNELL
California College of the Arts
2014

From late 1975 until his death in 2009, the San Francisco-based artist David Ireland acted
out a distinctive artistic philosophy that engaged common tasks and material in the
everyday space of his home at 500 Capp Street, a Victorian house on the corner of Capp
and 20th Streets in San Francisco’s Mission District. Known as a Bay Area sculptor and
conceptual artist, and recognized for his experimentation with materials, Ireland’s most
overlooked medium was perhaps his house. Through several task-oriented actions and
unconventional gestures, which I postulate as maintenance and preservation, Ireland
engaged with the house in a distinct and sequential order. A study of the archive at 500
Capp Street proves that the house was no idiosyncratic or peripheral activity, but rather a
central one that offered a platform for an extensive system for his artistic concerns of
process and performance, as well as their material evidence. This system serves as an
index of Ireland’s interaction with his house and is characterized by an ongoing
symbiotic relationship between the architecture of a home and the events played out
within it. The house, a stationary object, acts as the connective source for Ireland’s work,
a place where the artist experimented with everyday labor activities, which accentuated
the effects of time on a building through preservation, and challenged the status of the
autonomous art object, making visible a complex matrix of relationships.
Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank my primary thesis advisor, Kristina Lee
Podesva, for her continuous support, irresistible enthusiasm, and relentless query. Her
advice and guidance has been invaluable.

Many thanks go to my thesis mentor, David Gissen, whose expertise on the complexities
of preservation brought many valuable discussions forward. Additionally, I would like to
extend my gratitude to Leigh Markopoulos for providing me with key feedback that
helped shape my critical position.

This project could not have happened without the support of 500 Capp Street Foundation,
specifically Carlie Wilmans and Jessica Roux, who provided access to David Ireland’s
archive, images, and house, as well as their own impressions of the artist’s work.

My deep appreciation goes to Tony Labat for generously sharing his artwork and
memories of David Ireland and 500 Capp Street.

Lastly, but not least, I am grateful for the support, encouragement, and patience of my
partner, Jay, who stood by my side and stayed up many nights with me in deep thought
and conversation.
Table of Contents

List of FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vii
List of Appendices ..................................................................................................... x
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
Maintenance ............................................................................................................... 4
Preservation ............................................................................................................. 13
Action Sculpture .................................................................................................. 18
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 23
Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 30
Figures ........................................................................................................................... 34
Appendices ................................................................................................................... 70

v i
List of FIGURES

Table Page
1. 500 Capp Street (exterior), San Francisco, 1983. Photograph by M. Lee Fatherree... 34
2. Oldest image of 500 Capp Street, c. 1886……………………………………………35
3. Installation view from exhibition David Ireland: Skellig, Ansel Adams Center for
Photography, San Francisco, 1994…………………………………………………... 36
4. Ground Floor Plan of 500 Capp Street, 1976–77…………………………………... 37
5. David Ireland removing wallpaper at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………..38
6. David Ireland removing wallpaper at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………..39
7. David Ireland removing molding at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………… 40
8. David Ireland removing molding at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………… 40
9. David Ireland scrubbing the window frames at 500 Capp Street, 1977…………….. 41
10. David Ireland scrubbing the window frames at 500 Capp Street, 1977…………….. 41
11. David Ireland working on the window frames at 500 Capp Street, 1977……….….. 42
12. David Ireland vacuuming the window frames at 500 Capp Street, 1977…………… 43
13. David Ireland sanding the walls at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………….. 43
14. David Ireland cleaning the baseboards at 500 Capp Street, 1977…………………... 44
15. David Ireland cleaning the baseboards at 500 Capp Street, 1977……….………….. 44
16. David Ireland sanding the floor at 500 Capp Street, 1977…………………………...45
17. David Ireland sweeping the floor at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………… 45
18. David Ireland sweeping the floor at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………… 46
19. David Ireland stripping the floor at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………… 46
vi i
20. David Ireland stripping the floor at 500 Capp Street, 1977………………………… 47
21. Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Washing/Tracks/Maintenance: Outside, 1973. Black and
white photograph of performance at Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT.……..…. 48
22. Optic Nerve and Charles Bolton, “Pushed Out for Profit,” 1978. Video still………. 49
23. Optic Nerve and Charles Bolton, “Pushed Out for Profit,” 1978. Video still………. 49
24. David Ireland repairing the sidewalk in front of 500 Capp Street, San Francisco,
1976. Photograph by Tom Marioni…………………………..…………………….... 50
25. Tony Labat videotaping Ireland stripping the floor at 500 Capp Street, 1977……… 51
26. Tony Labat videotaping Ireland stripping the floor at 500 Capp Street, 1977……… 52
27. Poster (front) advertising the exhibition of 500 Capp Street from February 3 to
February 12, 1978 (11:00am to 4:00pm), with Maintenance Activity in video by Tony
Labat and photographs by Steven Kayfetz………………………………………….. 53
28. Poster (back) advertising the exhibition of 500 Capp Street from February 3 to
February 12, 1978………………………………………………………………….... 54
29. Commemorative plaque in 500 Capp Street, “THE SAFE GETS AWAY FOR THE
FIRST TIME NOVEMBER 5, 1975”……………………………………………….. 55
30. Commemorative plaque in 500 Capp Street, “THE SAFE GETS AWAY FOR THE
SECOND TIME NOVEMBER 5, 1975”……………………………………………. 55
31. Interior of 500 Capp Street, c. 1978………………………………………………….56
32. Interior of 500 Capp Street, c. 1978………………………………………………….56
33. Interior of 500 Capp Street, c. 1978………………………………………………….57
34. Rubber Ban Collection with Sound Accompaniment, 1977…………………………. 58
35. Broom Collection with Boom, 1978…………….………………………………….... 59
vi ii
36. Three-Legged Chair, 1978…………………………………………………………... 60
37. Untitled (wallpaper patties), 1978…………………………………………………... 61
38. Untitled (copper window), 1978…………………………………………………….. 62
39. Dining room at 500 Capp Street…………………………………………………….. 63
40. Elephant’s foot in the dining room of 500 Capp Street……………………………... 63
41. Chair designed by Ireland for 500 Capp Street………………………………………64
42. David Ireland making Dumbballs, 1986……………………………………………. 65
43. Minimal arrangement of the living room at 500 Capp Street……………………….. 66
44. Cluttered arrangement of the living room at 500 Capp Street………………………. 66
45. Constantin Brancusi’s studio at the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, France…….. 67
46. Francis Bacon’s studio at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, Ireland……………….. 67
47. Headlands Center for the Arts, Building 944, Rodeo Room, Sausalito, California,
1986–87……………………………………………………………………………....68
48. Original structure at 65 Capp Street, San Francisco, 1978………………………….. 69
49. 65 Capp Street, San Francisco, 1982. Photograph by Henry Bowles……………….. 69
ix
List of Appendices

Appendix Page
A. Interview with Tony Labat, February 19, 2014, San Francisco ……………………... 70
B. Brief Biography of David Ireland……………………………………………………. 76
C. 500 Capp Street Archive Document: Untitled (Buried information), 1988………….. 77
D. 500 Capp Street Survey Field Form, 1975…………………………………………… 78
E. 500 Capp Street Survey Field Form, 1995…………………………………………… 79

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