Work

"Trey Anastasio’s Grandmother’s Chair (my Vermont studio chair)"

[in its natural environment]

2008

paper, gesso and glue

A response to some time Gordon spent working in the band Phish’s recording studio in Vermont. Most of the furniture in the studio, called The Barn, once belonged to the grandmother of one of the band’s members. Gordon replicated one of these objects – a mundane chair that had been used consequentially by a family, persons of fame and the artist. The work explores the fan culture surrounding this particular studio environment, how layers of history can be held by a single object, and how this multi-faceted history might or might not translate once the object is removed from context.

"Trey Anastasio’s Grandmother’s Chair (my Vermont studio chair)"

2008

paper, gesso and glue

"Trey Anastasio’s Grandmother’s Chair (my Vermont studio chair)"

2008

paper, gesso and glue

Detail of "Trey Anastasio’s Grandmother’s Chair (my Vermont studio chair)"

2008

paper, gesso and glue

Detail of "Trey Anastasio’s Grandmother’s Chair (my Vermont studio chair)"

2008

paper, gesso and glue

Detail of "Trey Anastasio’s Grandmother’s Chair (my Vermont studio chair)"

2008

paper, gesso and glue

"The Burlington Modern Period Room"

2008, video, 12 minutes 44 seconds

Video documentation of a performance at Burlington City Arts in Burlington, VT. Gordon borrowed furniture and other household objects from the Burlington community and curated them into a fabricated gallery space. She then gave public tours of the simulated period room dressed as a docent named Edith. Edith delivered a long-winded, anecdotal history for every object in the room as if each had once belonged to “the artist Meghan Gordon.”

Left Still:

Edith: So right now, if you'll follow me this way, we are talking about these wallpaper samples, which are from different bathrooms in different houses that Meghan has lived in.

Middle Still:

Edith: We have this example, is from Ohio.

Man on tour: Is Meghan dead?

Edith: No she’s not, she’s currently alive and working...

Right Still:

Edith: This glass vase right here is from the Ohio Craft Fair, which is a really big deal out there, it’s actually, I’ve been to it myself, it’s really fantastic.

Left Still:

Edith: ...when Meghan's brother slid off of a stair bannister.

Man on tour: Is he dead?

Edith: No. He's currently going to school at New York University.

Man on tour: Oh that’s right.

Edith: That’s okay.

Middle Still:

Edith: We have right here the other object from the Michigan household that was original to the house.

(Soccer Dad leaves the tour)

Right Still:

Girl on tour: It's really interesting… cause she's younger than me, so...

Edith: Well she's a very special woman.

(Mother and Daughter photograph a chair in the background)

Work

Left Still:

Middle Still:

Right Still:

Left Still:

Middle Still:

Right Still:

Video excerpts