Kobe Matthys / Group XIII, Oct 01 - Feb 02

OPEN HOUSE - OPEN STUDIO

10/1/01 to 2/28/02

The activities took place at a variety of venues including: the Mackey Apartments Garage, 1137 - 1141 South Cochran Avenue, Los Angeles, CA; the MAK Center for Art and Architecture L.A at the Schindler House, 835 North Kings Road, West Hollywood, CA; the Flor y Canto, an autonomous community center, 3706 N. Figueroa Avenue in the Highland Park section, Los Angeles, CA

Established on October 1, 2001 and running until February 28, 2002, “Lobby in Rear” was a project by Richard Hoeck in collaboration with Agency (Kobe Matthys). Much of the discourse about architecture today addresses the initial plan and design and emphasizes the intentions and ideas of the architect. The activities at “Lobby in Rear” sought to counter this by focusing on how an environment was used after the realization of an architect’s plan. Thus, the garage behind the Mackey Apartments was turned into a “lobby” for activities focusing on the uses of architecture and urbanism. Lobbies are usually related to sites like train stations, airports, hotels, office buildings, or large apartment buildings, rather than houses. Furthermore, lobbies are designed for clinically clean display, assignments, information, and retail. They also, however, often serve as temporary shelters and as space for social encounters. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition, the Mackey garage “lobby” was the site for such events as: A birthday party; garage sale and barbecue; lecture by architect Marie-Paul MacDonald on rock-and-roll spaces; lecture by homeless activist Ted Hayes; documentary screening on the game of cricket as it was played on the Trobriand Islands; video screenings by artists Raymond Pettibon and Bruce Yonemoto; live concerts by Strange World Carnival and Rebel Rebel; screening of political films that paralleled the demonstrations at the European Summit in Brussels; a fund-raiser for Zapatista party projects in Mexico; screening of Ed Ruscha’s 1975 film Miracle; and electronic sounds from La Paz, a hip-hop collective, and m.signe of NY-based Soundlab, which were broadcast live through the Mountain Radio Project.