Last Wednesday, SUNY Oswego’s Artswego presented an Artist Talk. The event introduced visiting artist Craig Walsh, creator of “Monuments”, the art installation on display in Hewitt Quad. 

Walsh discussed some of his past projections that shaped who he is as an artist today. He talked about how his series of work focuses less on the object or subject of the piece but more about the space the projection is being presented on and the environment surrounding it. Walsh has spent nearly 25 years working with altering the perception of an environment.

In 2001 Walsh started experimenting with projections on objects in Vietnam. The first installation he showed utilized the ground floor of a building across from a restaurant that sold live fish. Walsh used a rear projection system and experimented with materials from the local market to create a semi-translucent projection screen.

In the installation, the foyer of the building began filling up with water. Large fish appeared and swam around the windows and doors of the building. He discussed how he came up with the idea of containing water in a building as buildings are usually designed to keep water out.

“I guess I was really interested from an architectural perspective is just to disrupt the function of architecture,” Walsh said. “This idea that architecture is designed to keep water out, is to transform it into a vessel to contain water instead and also to house other species.”

The overall “Monuments” project started with black and white slide projections onto painted surfaces. While experimenting with this type of medium Walsh discovered that trees have a similar fundamental form to the human head. Walsh’s goal is to build these portraits into the natural environment to give a deeper perspective to both.

The concept of the “Monuments” project has evolved over the years changing with each new community it covers. However, the main focus stays the same: To honor everyday individuals who make a difference in the community they live in. He primarily focuses on those who were not previously recognized for their efforts in their respective communities. 

The most important aspects of his installations is the close collaboration with the community and the local environment. The use of temporary installations is that the art can be seen and honor individuals who normally would not be recognized for their accomplishments. Each project is unique as the environment and people change.

Oswego’s “Monuments” feature moving images of Oswego County’s Dr. Jiancheng Huang, Kathryn Pagliaroli and Paul Stewart. Dr. Jiancheng Huang is the Director of Public Health who works in a team effort with his staff to stop the spread of COVID-19. Kathryn Pagliaroli is a registered nurse who spends her free time giving back to the community through her church and the Renaissance program. Paul Stewart is a psychology professor at SUNY Oswego and the Director of the Renaissance program.

Walsh discussed how Oswego’s “Monuments” project is his fourth remote location using a proxy to help complete set up and tear down of projectors. This presents a few fears with installing the work as seeing how the projections appear through the aperture of a camera is not always true to reality. Most people would want the projectors to be brighter in order to increase detail, but with this type of work you need the exposure of the subject to be darker and appear more as a sculpture rather than a projection.

“Monuments” fell into the news earlier this week when it was reported that two of the three projectors used to display the images were vandalized. The projectors, which are reported to be worth around $25,000 each, were left unusable. The investigation is still ongoing.

The remaining projector was moved to a tree in front of Penfield Library. A fence was put up around it to protect it. Originally the work consisted of three portraits on three separate trees. After the vandalization, Walsh altered the work to loop between the three individuals.

Monuments will be on display every night from sundown to 10 p.m. until Oct. 10.

Photo via Oswego.edu