700 delaware by HENSE
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700 delaware by HENSE
last year HENSE was commissioned to transform an abandoned church into art installation.
the building is located directly across the street from a planned 20,000sqft museum
that will house the rubell’s collection of art and a newly planned hotel.
the artist explained the project in more detail to designboom...
'the project in washington DC was a fun one and I worked with a small crew to complete it.
the area where the chruch is located in washington is a part of town that has huge potential
to be the next arts district and this project is the first step in bringing some life and color
into the area. taking an existing building like the church and painting the entire thing
re-contextualizes it and makes it a sculptural object. we really wanted to turn the church
into a three-demential piece of artwork. with projects like this one, we really try to use
the existing architecture as inspiration for the direction of the painting.'
'I did several concept drawings for the church to present to the owner as rough ideas
of aesthetic direction and knew that visually, I wanted it to be drastically different from
what it looked like before painting it. I also wanted to use very bright and bold colors
to catch a viewers attention from far away. most of my works are done in layers and
I'm never afraid to change the image. the first step was to just get paint and color on
every side and surface of the building. we then started developing large shapes and
gestures that would takes days to paint. the entire process took several weeks of
layering and working.'
'most of the tools I use in my murals and paintings are the same tools I learned to use
by working in the street in the early years. I use rollers, brushes, spray paint, inks, acrylics,
mops, enamels, paint sprayers and other various mediums and tools. scale has always
been an important component in my work and I've continued to try to push that with
my newer projects. almost everything I work on is completely spontaneous and I rarely
use a preconceived sketch or concept. recently I've been experimenting in treating
my exterior works similarly to my paintings.'
'I received mostly positive reactions from people there in washington DC who came
to see the progress in person. there were a few people who thought of it as desecrating
on the church. although once it was explained that it was a work in progress and had
positive thought behind the gestures, colors and marks, they generally understood.
the nature of creating public art is that you are dealing with many different feelings
and opinions on art and that can be very subjective. '
HENSE
Looked better before.
MUCHAS FELICIDADES, EXCELENTE TRABAJO,.
With all the cost, time and effort the artist put in to desecrate this historic building, he could have repainted the exterior in a simpler, albeit decorative fashion, and improved an abandoned landmark. Instead of paying respect to the community that had historic ties to this church, he chose to treat it like a highway underpass. There are appropriate places for large scale, community art. A dignified, historic building — religious or otherwise — is not one of them.
very cool and white energy, not like the church before
J.Horton, I disagree, both having lived in DC and having worked in Preservation. He has drawn attention to a building which far too many people have grown accustomed to as abandoned and old, and will perhaps cause them to reconsider it again as a living piece of the community. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the sort of gimmick it takes to get this building sold and re-purposed. I’m not saying this the best method for all historic properties, but truth be told people are not very interested in restoring old churches for use as sanctuaries. Congregations cannot fill them and pay for their constant maintenance — and the only religious groups with any sort of money are converting basketball arenas into worship spaces, not structures of this type.
Beautiful and vibrant and exciting. Makes me want to plant gardens all around it and have neighborhood children in to grow food and flowers and read good books — to be delighted and rejuvenated by the place, rather than feeling saddened by the Church’s decision to abandon their neighborhood and its building. To those who fear the re-envisioning of sacred space, remember that painting life-like figures in churches was once considered a shocking affront as well. Sacred space is made so by the joy and life one feels in it, whether it touches people and lifts their spirits sunward — not by the existence of a steeple.
Looks like a kindergarten …