House No. 103: Tents

House No. 103: Tents
ink and metallic marker on repurposed card stock
3.45 in. x 3.45 in.
103/365; 04/13/11

I think these are tents for carnies or circus folk. Or for medieval troubadours. I fluctuate on their story. Nonetheless, I am fascinated by nomadic life and impermanent structures. I love gers and yurts and the tents in Harry Potter.

For today’s house I revisited the Tiny Tent that I made last month. I think that I would like to make a whole caravan of tents, and I am sort of working them out in my head right now: how and out of what will I make them? What colors and size should they be? What is their story?

House No. 89: Tiny Tent

House No. 89: Tiny Tent
upcycled styrofoam thread spool, glue, repurposed paper samples and twine, toothpick
2 in. x 6 in. x 2 in
089/365; 03/30/11

I expect a wee band of merry players to exit this tent, wearing tights and shoes with turned-up toes and playing crumhorns, and hurdy-gurdies and rauschpfeifes. And sacbuts, but just because sacbut is fun to say. So, I guess this is either a tent for medieval minstrels or the members of Arcade Fire.

To get the full effect, try looking at the tent while listening, here.

House No. 40: Mongolian Ger

House No. 40: Mongolian Ger

ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
040/365; 02/09/11

Ger, the home of the nomadic Mongolians, are unquestionably the most luxurious in the history of mobile homes. Created with a wooden structure covered by fabric tarps and rugs, blankets, and skins to insulate the structure, they are lined with tapestries, heated, and furnished.

This is not the kind of camping that you and I know. This makes even an RV look like squatting.

While I have never seen a Ger in real life, there was an amazing facsimile of a Ger interior in the exhibition design of The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353, that I had the fortune of seeing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2002.

I could have moved in right there. The Mongol Empire, they knew how to travel in style.

Off topic, that was likely the most beautifully designed exhibition that I have ever seen. And the artwork was amazing. I was lost in there for hours.

I suspect the Ger may have been part of the inspiration for the set designers who created the tents in the Harry Potter films.