Eminent Domain

Eminent Domain | Installation Shots

July 28th-August 30 2018
Opening Reception: July 28, 7-9pm
Hours: Thursdays 3-6pm and by appointment
OS Gowanus (234 Butler St., Brooklyn)

Paul Amenta and Chris Fox present Eminent Domain, a process-based, participatory installation at OS Gowanus. During this project, our neighbors in Gowanus are invited to make their own printed materials in the space about their views on eminent domain and the politics surrounding it in Gowanus.

Eminent Domain is a direct response to the NYC City Council’s plans to demolish the historic Gowanus Station, the location of OS Gowanus, Spoke the Hub, and a sanitation repairs company. The project will feature an architectural intervention at OS Gowanus that will include a functioning letterpress studio. During Eminent Domain, Amenta and Fox will produce prints on-site, as well as invite the community to visit, produce, and display editions of prints.

Paul Amenta is an artist and the co-founder of SiTE:LAB. Amenta has received national attention for his use of vacant urban spaces for temporary site-specific art installations and projects. He holds a BFA in Sculpture and Printmaking from Grand Valley State University, and an MFA in Fine Arts from The School of Visual Art in New York.

SiTE:LAB is a nomadic all-volunteer artist-led initiative focused on creating site-specific projects and events in underutilized and unique spaces. Project sites have included: An entire city Block, an abandoned natural history museum, a nature preserve, vacant commercial buildings, and a once-grand downtown hotel. SiTE:LAB’s current site is a 70,000 Sq Ft abandoned high school.

Chris Fox is a designer, educator and typographic instigator, and the founder of Not Design. Fox earned an MFA in the Visual Studies program from SUNY Buffalo, and a BFA in Graphic Design from Grand Valley State University. Not Design is a collaborative studio interested in solving problems in unconventional ways. The end results are not only that they design artifacts (things) but that they identify needs and fill them. They aim to have an impact by making education, information and experiences more relevant.