Goché ©2007

As soul proprietor, I was given birth to this world on Jan 01’67 by Dolores and Raymond Goche in Buffalo Center, Iowa. Sometime after, I began my dialectic pursuit to comprehend the items of experience to which I’d been born. By the weight of my late friend’s hand, I am inspired to live; to ponder all that is about. My creative efforts regarding place settings and the production of nuance are directed toward elevating my sensory perception of this realm to which I have become accustom. I seek (daily) to draw out that which invokes a profound sense of self; to prepare the earth’s surface for daily ritual.

Raised out on the open flat of north-eastern Iowa, I was privy to a wonderful single point perspective from which to cultivate my intense curiosity of self with respect to the earth’s surface. My understanding and sensibilities regarding spatial experience and ethno-specific design stem from this agrarian upbringing and ongoing research in art, architecture and anthropology, both at Iowa State University and Drake University. Equally, my travel throughout the Czech Republic, Western Europe and Spain has nurtured my interest in human beings – their rituals and the ways they occupy space

At Wilt was a site specific art installation developed for Percival Gallery in the spring of 1999. The work consisted of a long table that bridged the threshold between the gallery and the public walk. This carriage held a series of 200 postcards mailed from various places within Europe. Each plate was host to the pedals of a single red rose on the top side. Viewers/consumers were encouraged to pick up the individual plates. The conceptual aspect of this exploration focuses on the sentimentality of the postcard, rose pedals and travel. Concurrent to these notions was the aspect of decay (or wilt). The work was accompanied with a exposition regarding decay and life cycle created while in London, England

photo: Farshid Assassi

Bikerack is a city funded art commission for Des Moines’ east side neighborhood. The assembly was designed and constructed in collaboration with Khalid Khan in the summer of 2005. Our proposal was to reconfigure the fin arrangement of an early 1900’s cast iron radiator in effort to accommodate one or two bicycles. Beyond the utility nature of this work, we sought out to construct a type of memory recall particular to the historical nature of its context. When vacant, the bike rack stands alone as a historical marker. It remains on site as an artifact that engenders discussions about the nature of public space verses private space

Drift was a performance art installation developed specifically for the Maytag Reflecting Pool at the Des Moines Art Center as part of the Iowa Artist 2000 exhibition. The silent performance consisted of casting 100 wax tablets into the water and wading out into the shallow pool to light them. The work incorporated (and magnified) the space of the site and created a private, contemplative experience for my audience and me. The conceptual aspect of this exploration focuses on the sentimental nature of candles as a matter of developing a scene of intimacy within a voyeuristic environment. The site was transformed into an arena in which the audience was invited to be actively present. It was a charged environment that offers immersion in its visual and perceptual challenges. The viewer, by reciprocal examination, becomes aware of his/her personal presence and its coincidence with relation to the referent material and attendant

[See “Drift” in Iowa Architect Issue No. 01:238]

photo: Cameron Campbell

Geograph, a site-specific inquiry, is part of an ongoing effort to comprehend the nature of existence and being within a particular material culture. The specificity of the work stemmed from personal interaction with the site’s social, cultural and historic conditions. The inquiry began by simply placing a silk baptismal gown at the top of an existing warehouse ladder. The gown was accompanied by six full-size images of itself attached to the underside of the stair treads. This juxtaposition produced notions of suspension, repetition and ascension; three key aspects of the work present in each successive scene

[See “Alternatives: Making an Audible Silence” in Iowa Architect Issue No. 03:246]

photo: Cameron Campbell

Ghost Hour was a vintage paper study. The work consisted of a series of readings using 80 year old derelict brown paper that had been worn, wrinkled, creased and mended throughout its use as drawing folders at a local architectural firm. Each piece (8 by 10 inches) was reacted to with the same type of activities over a ten day period in the hour just before dawn (ghost hour). In addition, silk thread and wire was woven into each tapestry. These sketches were part of the 2003 faculty exhibit for the College of Design at Iowa State University

photo: Cameron Campbell

Guest a site-specific inquiry, is a conceptual re-inhabitation of an empty corncrib in Madison County, Iowa. The specificity of the work stems from personal interaction with the site’s social, cultural and historic conditions. The inquiry began by reinserting 3000 guest checks (evidence of consumption bearing the type of food eaten on a particular occasion) back into the system of consumption. Each check was crumpled and flattened prior to attachment along one side of the grain alley. A system of steel rods and candle wicking was used to amplify the depth of the work in order to embrace the viewer as occupant in its composition. The work, then, is a reinsertion of the very product in the environment that engendered its existence

[See “Re Fuse” in New Art Examiner Jan/Feb 2002 and “Guest” in Iowa Architect Issue no. 02:241]

photo: Farshid Assassi

photo: Cameron Campbell

Lapse, a cultural inclusion, was an effort to engage the public both visually and emotionally in an exploration of transcendent notions of space. The focus of the work was associated with the sensation of existence, and that fundamental to a sensual awareness of being is the recognition of metaphysical occupation of space as well as physical occupations of space. The inclusion consisted of five candles suspended with eyelets and steel cable within a 15 by 15 foot chamber in the Percival Gallery of Des Moines, Iowa. Without permitting physical access to the chamber, the delicacy of its material culture provided for an ontological visit

[See “Installation (lapse)” in Iowa Architect Issue No. 00:235]

photo: Farshid Assassi

Nota Macula was a fine art installation exhibited at Karolyn Sherwood Gallery along with the work of Sabine Friesicke in 2006. The silent inventory consists of three lead die (sculptures) and three sets of corresponding prints using ink, graphite and acrylic paint. The work incorporated a 60 inch tall wall die made of laser cut steel with an ink transfer applied directly to the wall surface of the gallery.

The conceptual aspect of this exploration focuses on the production of nuance specific to making iterative markers and marks. The indexical nature of each mark (nota/maculã ) was illuminated by the presence of its host marker. Each metal shape carried the residue of its respective printing agent

photo: Farshid Assassi

Of, a site-specific inquiry is the excavation of an ideological framework for metaphysical existence. The specificity of the work stems from personal interaction with the site’s social, cultural and historic conditions. The inquiry began by simply placing wax tablets in a pile at the intersection of two control joints in the concrete floor of the old warehouse. The arrangement of tablets was covered with a muslin cloth and marked with an elevated candlewick gauge. Lead shot was then placed in varying amounts beside the arrangement. The muslin was replaced with a successive series of gauze castings referred to as chrysalises. This creative sequence was followed by the development of an optic tapestry and a photographic essay in conjunction with a visual critique by Mitchell Squire. An exhibition of the tapestry and photographic essay was exhibited at the Bauhaus Gallery in Des Moines, Iowa

[See “Drift” in Iowa Architect Issue No. 02:241]

photo: Farshid Assassi

photo: Cameron Campbell

Ov Course, a cultural inclusion, is a buildup of mundane matter (a table, its cloth, cutlery, feed sacks, grocery bags, and burlap) associated with the mealtime ritual. The material culture occupied a gallery space measuring 16 by 40 feet. A staging area consisting of plate steel defined an area of intimacy within the galleries confines in which to engage the table and its measure. The measure, a rhythmical arrangement of steel bar stock set two feet on center, provided an extension of the table setting. An audio recording represented the presence of five Midwestern storytellers at the table.

The cultural references emerging in this work result in an experience that is nostalgic. Through the buildup of mundane matter, the occupant is confronted with the ponderous burden of dealing with its significance. They are to comprehend the expression based on their prior mealtime experience and its relationship with the direct sensuous matter (the offering) of the installation This work was exhibited at Karolyn Sherwood Gallery in Des Moines, Iowa in 2005

[See “Alternative: ov course” in Iowa Architect Issue No. 05:250]

photo: Cameron Campbell

Petespan, an emerging product line, transcends the limits of conventional space to bring about an inclusive sense of perception. Employing artistry as a means to clothe the naked salience of traditional architectural motif with allusion and suggestion - this cookware rack works to visually enchant its guests with the incorporation of a sliding suspension rod system.

The assembly is made up of a ½” x 1½” cold rolled steel stanchions and ½” diameter stainless steel rods. These sliding suspension rods allow the armature to be composed in multiple ways. This simple method of composition flexibility allows the system to negotiate the various obstructions (such as light switches and electrical outlets) found on any given wall

photo: Cameron Campbell

Silk Verset Silk Verset, a privacy panel, works to visually enchant its guests with the incorporation of a distinctive silk verset panel. The assembly is made up of a ½” x 1½” cold rolled steel frame, ½” diameter stainless steel rod, nylon castors, a roman travertine tablet and a distinctive silk verset panel that consist of two layers of statically charged acrylic fastened together to bind a silk thread composition. Animated by light, the insidious nature of the silk verset impresses both the mind and the body

photo: Cameron Campbell

The Picnic is a state funded art commission for Patrol Post No. 12 on Interstate 80 near Stockton, Iowa. The table assembly was designed and constructed in collaboration with Mitchell Squire and Marcelo Pinto. Our goal was to allow the public to take a break from driving, and reflect on the complexity of the interstate against the serenity of the earth’s horizon. The assembly consists of a concrete pedestal, a cantilevered flitch beam, mahogany top and mahogany grade beams. The artful assembly seats three individuals situated before a ubiquitous strip of interstate highway. Our underlying premise was to develop a support system for reflection and discourse regarding the State Patrol and its turf. It remains on site as an artifact that engendered dialogue and reflection between the patrol and its public via a local newspaper article that discounted its artistry

[See “Clinical Examination” in Iowa Architect Issue No. 98:227]

photo: Mitchell Squire

Vaultº a site-specific installation, is an intellectual excavation that seeks to develop an ideological critique of metaphysical existence based on human sentience. Developed in the confines of the city receiving vault at Woodland Cemetery, the work was presented to the public on June 9, 2007. Its manifestation is based on the desire to unfold a cultural view of the world through the re-insertion of rite in a long since vacant setting originally constructed for the temporary interment of passed lives.

Essential to this place setting was the accompaniment and arrangement of a performance sequence including an acoustic atonement of the measure, placement of the baldachin, the recital of an incantare and a requiem (Vocalise by Sergei Rachmaninoff) performed by concert violinist; Caleb Polashek. In this way, the viewer entered into a full sensory experience and corresponding recognition of self. What remains and is contained, as a result, is the collective memory of repeated human celebration specific to this place