What is Installation Art?


What is installation art? As an artist I love creating installation art and studying other installation artists. Learn more about what is art installation by reading more in this blog post below. 



What is Art Installation?


Installation art emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as part of broader movements that rejected traditional art forms and sought to break the boundaries between art and life. Artists began to explore different ways to engage with the viewer. 



Some early pioneers of installation art include:

  • Marcel Duchamp: His "readymades" in the early 20th century, such as "Fountain" (1917), laid the foundation for questioning what art could be.

  • Yayoi Kusama: Her immersive "Infinity Mirror Rooms" installations began in the 1960s and are still highly influential today.

  • Allan Kaprow: Known for his "Happenings" in the late 1950s and 1960s, which blurred the line between art and performance, and were a precursor to installation art.

Today, it remains a popular and innovative form of artistic practice, often seen in galleries, museums, and public spaces around the world.




Art Installation


Art installation allows the viewer to appreciate and notice the space of where the art is being installed. Art installation can also relate to site specific art. Site-specific art is where artwork is installed in a particular site that best suits the artwork. The art is made for the site in which it is installed. 




Here are some examples of my site-specific artwork below:

In my patched art installation, I install handmade map paper on areas of trees and branches, where the bark has naturally peeled away. 


I start by finding the tree which is the site and then I install the handmade map paper pulp to best fit that particular site. 

Another example of art installation that is site-specific is my artwork called the treehouse series. In this series of artwork, similar to my patched art series, I find a tree that has a woodpecker hole, and then I insert a small, brown hand paper, made house and take a photograph. I have different size houses, that best suits the particular size of the woodpecker hole that I find. This installation art is site-specific as well. 




Installation Artists 

Here is a list of different artists that use installation in their work. 


Yayoi Kusama – Famous for her "Infinity Mirror Rooms" and use of polka dots and mirrors.

Ai Weiwei – Combines political activism with large-scale installations, like "Sunflower Seeds."

Olafur Eliasson – Known for his use of natural elements, such as light and water, in installations like "The Weather Project."

Christo and Jeanne-Claude – Created monumental outdoor installations by wrapping buildings and landscapes.

Marina Abramović – Pioneer of performance and installation art, focusing on the body and endurance.

James Turrell – Creates immersive light installations that manipulate perception, such as "Skyspaces."

Bruce Nauman – Known for installations involving neon lights, sound, and body performance.

Kara Walker – Uses large-scale installations like "A Subtlety" to address themes of race and history.

Anish Kapoor – Renowned for large installations like "Cloud Gate" (The Bean) and his exploration of voids and space.

Jenny Holzer – Integrates text and light in public spaces, creating thought-provoking installations.

Do Ho Suh – Explores themes of home and displacement with fabric-based architectural installations.

Mike Nelson – Known for immersive, narrative-driven installations that often recreate entire rooms or environments.




If you would like to see more of my installation, art click the button below to view more of my artwork. 



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Outdoor Art Installation


From Sep 30, 2023 to Nov 15, 2023 I participated in the Terrain Biennale which is an outdoor art installation. I showed my piece “Trail” which is a 20 foot long arm-knitted lace installation that extended from my porch drooping onto the ground. To learn more about this outdoor art installation- keep reading!




Here is the website to learn more about the Terrain Biennale: https://terrainexhibitions.org/




Here is what Terrain Biennale says about the exhibition/outdoor art installations: Terrain Biennial is a grassroots public art festival that brings artists and neighbors together to put public art on the front lawns (and porches, windows, and rooftops, too!) of neighborhoods across the world.




Artists and curators collaborated with hosts to produce public art installations (think sculptures, paintings, projections, flags, yarn art, you name it!) outside their homes (and other unexpected spots!).



You can check out my installation here: https://terrainexhibitions.org/tb23-huntsville-on

How to Participate in the Outdoor Art Installation of Terrain Biennale:

Make sure you apply. I suggest following them on Instagram to stay connected and know when you should apply. Then you need to find a host to agree to have your art installed. Then you install your art and take a photo of it so it can be added on the Terrain Biennale website. When choosing a piece to apply with you want to think about a piece that will be able to withstand weather conditions for a month and a half. 

I chose to submit the piece “Trail” because I knew that it could withstand rain and even snow. Yes, sometimes it snows in Canada early! I also like the way that it drapes like a long lace curtain. I am thinking about making this piece longer. Should I? Let me know in the comments! 




To read more about my piece “Trail” click here! 

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Trail - Arm Knitted Installation by Jackie Partridge

Trail detail by Jackie Partridge, arm-knitted lace strips

Trail detail by Jackie Partridge, arm-knitted lace strips

Trail by Jackie Partridge is a work from my art archive that I made while living in Montreal and going to school for my MFA. This fiber artwork is very performative as I used the knitting process to create it. The act of knitting is very repetitive and labour intensive. It is the same motion over and over again. Learn more about this textile artwork below!

Trail

1’x 20', found lace, sewing and arm knitting, 2016. 

The work was displayed at Ancienne École des Beaux Arts for the end of year MFA exhibition “Maureen” in 2016.

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Jackie-Partridge_Trail.jpg

This art installation is made by cutting long strips of found lace curtains. The strips of lace were sorted by colour from a yellow cream colour all the way to a pure white at the bottom of the piece. The colour created a nice gradient. The strips were then sewn together to create a very long strip that was then wrapped like a ball of yarn. This process was repeated twice. Like knitting, I used my arms as the “knitting needles” and continued to knit for over an hour to create this 20 foot long installation that was suspended from the top of the staircase. I knit continuously since I used my arms as the knitting needles.

When this piece is lit it produces some beautiful shadows from the design of the white lace. 

I have also displayed this textile artwork outside in the snow. You can see the photograph at the bottom. I liked draping it in the snow and seeing how it dragged across the snow. 

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Outdoor installation of Trail by Jackie Partridge in the snow

Outdoor installation of Trail by Jackie Partridge in the snow