 | This article needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2024) |
 A Wagon Station by
Andrea Zittel, at A-Z West | |
| Location | Joshua Tree, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Acreage | 80 |
A-Z West is an 80-acre compound and artwork by artist Andrea Zittel, located in the Mojave Desert in Joshua Tree, California. Zittel conceived of A-Z West as a project to explore functional aspects of day-to-day living, such as furniture, clothing, and food production. [1] [2] Zittel lived in A-Z West from 2000 to 2022. In 2022, the nonprofit High Desert Test Sites was formed to manage the land and artworks and run a residency program, educational workshops, and art exhibitions on the land of A-Z West. Artworks on the A-Z West compound include The Wagon Station Encampment, Regenerating Field (2002), and The Planar Pavilions.
There are four original homestead cabins on the compound that Zittel converted into The A-Z West House, a library, a caretaker’s house, and additional dwelling units. The A-Z West House contains artworks based on Zittel’s idea of “life practice” - functional aesthetics for everyday living. Art writer Terry Myers discussed the philosophy of Robert Rauschenberg as an inspiration to Zittel, in that he is known for the idea that "since neither art nor life can be made, one always works in the space between them." [3] Functional artworks in the home include Aggregated stacks, Linear sequence, and Hooks, energetic accumulators.
The A-Z West Studio was built in 2010-2011, and includes a ceramics workshop, wood shop, and weaving studio with seven floor looms, in addition to an office and the A-Z West Works Studio Store. A-Z West Works produces ceramics, textiles, and clothing products at the A-Z West Studio.
A-Z West was a continuation of the model established by A-Z East in Brooklyn, NY. A-Z East originated as a 200 square foot storefront at 72 S. 8th St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Zittel first began experimenting with living structures and started to gain recognition for the A-Z project. In 1994, the project moved to 150 Wythe Ave. in Brooklyn, a 3 story row house, which Zittel turned into a showroom testing grounds for her experimental structures for living, opening to the public for weekly viewings, while she continued to live in it.
In 1999-2000, Zittel moved to Joshua Tree and purchased a 5 acre parcel that slowly grew to the 80 acre A-Z West compound. [4]
From 2018-2020, A-Z West also included a satellite project in Wonder Valley, California with two homestead cabins, The Experimental Living Cabins.
- ^ Cash, Stephanie (April 2006). "A-Z and Everything in Between" (PDF). Art in America. pp. 124–131.
- ^ Zittel, Andrea (Spring 2001). "Andrea Zittel by Stefano Basilico". BOMB Magazine.
- ^ Myers, Terry (April 2003). "Enlightening Field". Tate Magazine.
- ^ Trainor, James (April 12, 2005). "Don't Fence Me In". No. 90. Frieze Magazine.
- High Desert Test Sites, website: https://www.hdts.site/
| This article needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2024) |
|
A Wagon Station by
Andrea Zittel, at A-Z West | |
| Location | Joshua Tree, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Acreage | 80 |
A-Z West is an 80-acre compound and artwork by artist Andrea Zittel, located in the Mojave Desert in Joshua Tree, California. Zittel conceived of A-Z West as a project to explore functional aspects of day-to-day living, such as furniture, clothing, and food production. [1] [2] Zittel lived in A-Z West from 2000 to 2022. In 2022, the nonprofit High Desert Test Sites was formed to manage the land and artworks and run a residency program, educational workshops, and art exhibitions on the land of A-Z West. Artworks on the A-Z West compound include The Wagon Station Encampment, Regenerating Field (2002), and The Planar Pavilions.
There are four original homestead cabins on the compound that Zittel converted into The A-Z West House, a library, a caretaker’s house, and additional dwelling units. The A-Z West House contains artworks based on Zittel’s idea of “life practice” - functional aesthetics for everyday living. Art writer Terry Myers discussed the philosophy of Robert Rauschenberg as an inspiration to Zittel, in that he is known for the idea that "since neither art nor life can be made, one always works in the space between them." [3] Functional artworks in the home include Aggregated stacks, Linear sequence, and Hooks, energetic accumulators.
The A-Z West Studio was built in 2010-2011, and includes a ceramics workshop, wood shop, and weaving studio with seven floor looms, in addition to an office and the A-Z West Works Studio Store. A-Z West Works produces ceramics, textiles, and clothing products at the A-Z West Studio.
A-Z West was a continuation of the model established by A-Z East in Brooklyn, NY. A-Z East originated as a 200 square foot storefront at 72 S. 8th St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Zittel first began experimenting with living structures and started to gain recognition for the A-Z project. In 1994, the project moved to 150 Wythe Ave. in Brooklyn, a 3 story row house, which Zittel turned into a showroom testing grounds for her experimental structures for living, opening to the public for weekly viewings, while she continued to live in it.
In 1999-2000, Zittel moved to Joshua Tree and purchased a 5 acre parcel that slowly grew to the 80 acre A-Z West compound. [4]
From 2018-2020, A-Z West also included a satellite project in Wonder Valley, California with two homestead cabins, The Experimental Living Cabins.
- ^ Cash, Stephanie (April 2006). "A-Z and Everything in Between" (PDF). Art in America. pp. 124–131.
- ^ Zittel, Andrea (Spring 2001). "Andrea Zittel by Stefano Basilico". BOMB Magazine.
- ^ Myers, Terry (April 2003). "Enlightening Field". Tate Magazine.
- ^ Trainor, James (April 12, 2005). "Don't Fence Me In". No. 90. Frieze Magazine.
- High Desert Test Sites, website: https://www.hdts.site/