Turning a Waiting Room into Art

This art installation was suggested by Ashley over in our NYC bureau.  It sounds pretty fucking cool, the only draw back is that it’s only open on the weekends.  Still, if you’re in the East Bay, it certainly warrants checking out.  I’ll let the Doug Garth Willams’ artist’s statement do all the describing:

What if the distractions provided by a waiting room offered no escape? What if they were intentionally designed to simply redirect our attention back to the waiting room itself? What if it wasn’t even clear what we were supposed to be waiting for?

I’ve removed all traces of the Royal NoneSuch Gallery as an operating art space. In the empty storefront and blank exterior that remained, I’ve created all the trappings of what initially appears to be a legitimate business. Lured inside by provocative but ambiguous signage, unsuspecting passersby will find a simple waiting room filled with reflexive, equivocal, and subtly humorous furnishings designed to confound expectations and create an atmosphere of thoughtful uncertainty.

Waiting Room will serve as a reminder of the space between things. Rather than providing the typical distractions of a waiting room, the insistent reflexivity of the supporting materials will undermine all possibility of finding an escape route.

Cool right?  It sounds like one of those things I wish I came upon accidently.  I’m actually considering make the trek out to Oakland to check it out.  Let me know if you hit it up.

The Waiting Room
The Royal Nonesuch Gallery
4231 Telegraph Ave. @ 43rd St.
[Oakland]
11/5 – 11/28
Saturday and Sunday 1-4pm
FREE