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Approachable Art: A Beginner’s Guide to Installation Art
Diving into installation art as an artistic medium and thoughts from Meow Wolf artists on how to get started.
October 23, 2024
Sofia's room 'Crystal Grotto' at House of Eternal Return. Photo by Atlas Media.
Contributing Authors: Laura Davidson, Lance Mcgoldrick, Sofia Howard
Let’s say you’ve just walked through one of the many worlds of Meow Wolf. Maybe you saw some sick pictures of one of the rooms, you start to feel inspired, and think of the work that was put into such epic displays of creativity. Maybe you wonder, “how could I possibly get started on something like that?”
Many people (myself included) feel inspired walking through our worlds and get that itch to create something, but might not know where to start. We are looking at approachable art: painting, video design, sculpture, drawing, or our first topic for this series, installation art.
We’re starting with our arguably biggest artistic medium within our exhibits, installation art, and answering questions like, “what is it?” or, “where does someone begin with this?”. We’ll cover the basics then check out some Meow Wolf artists’ perspectives on their journeys into installation work.
A Mini Installation Art (not book) Report:
Installation art is immersive, perspective-changing, sensory-engaging, and transformative (lots of adjectives, I know, but they’re all true!). The term “installation art” came about in the 1960s and 70s, and was influenced by multiple artistic roots, like theatrical performance and conceptual art. This genre often challenges viewers to think beyond what they see, to discover the underlying message(s) the artists are expressing. These messages could range from social commentary to philosophical conundrums to cultural shifts in perspectives. This art form crosses the boundaries between multiple disciplines like painting, sculpture, architecture, video, lighting and more, depending on the type of installation art.
Types of installation art vary, however many intersect with each other in practice. A few specific types include: Environmental, Interactive, Immersive/Multimedia, and Site-Specific.
Environmental installation art focuses on nature and its relationship with the art, whether it’s recycled materials or natural elements integrated in the piece.
Interactive installations allow viewers to interact with the space through touch, and engage in the art itself.
Immersive and Multimedia installations are very similar in their utilization of full-sensory experiences to transport the viewer into the created world.
Site-Specific art focuses on the location itself in which the art is curated, and can spur commentary on the importance of that location and the statement made with the resulting piece.
Of course, these are just a few of the main categories of installation art, but there are plenty more in the world(s). All of these types lend themselves to a DIY-attitude in creating them, which happens to be right up our Meow Wolf alley. Speaking of our own immersive spaces, we talked to a few of our installation superstar artists about how to get started with a medium like this, and to share their stories:
Laura Davidson
What do you do at Meow Wolf?
My title is manager of the Art Team Task Force. I support our Meow Wolf artists who create at our studio in Santa Fe year-round while they are on site installing a new exhibition alongside construction. We primarily work in spaces creating art that is site-specific, and not planned prior to arriving in the space– tying the parts of the exhibit together. Occasionally in my role, I get to jump in on art-making for our exhibits, usually using bits of material that were left over from other art-making. In The Real Unreal, I created a chain of snake hangers from fabric left from foliage we created for the forest and stuffed them with wool leftover from Morgan Grasham’s The Greeter sculpture.
How did you get started in installation art and how have you grown in that medium?
When I was in college, I started gathering decaying found objects from sheds in the alleyways of the town. Many of them were time capsules of objects that people had kept in the 1950s-1970s and left behind when they moved. I knew Matt King as my summer camp counselor growing up, and had been following the work of his art collective, watching how they transformed found objects into collaborative art installations. (Some of you may be familiar with this collective as Meow Wolf.)
One of my first shows was at a former gas station in Denison, TX with Ghost Town Art Collective in 2010. I built stairs that walked through the drink fridge door into a collection of objects excavated from alley sheds. These days in my personal art practice, I cast objects from paper waste and native plant seeds to create impermanent outdoor installations. I’m always looking for opportunities to build more colorful immersive spaces with soft sculptures created from textile waste and handmade recycled paper.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out with installation art?
So much of what I love about installation is the ability to play with modular pieces. Let go of any perfectionism and arrange objects that you have created or found, knowing this arrangement is impermanent. If you don’t like it, try again until you do!
If your art could talk, what would it say?
“Thanks for pulling me out of the trash, Laura!”
Lance Mcgoldrick
What do you do at Meow Wolf?
My job title is Senior Artist. I have been with the company since 2015, making everything from large-scale kaleidoscopes and found object sculptures to hammer-spheres and Ratterblades.
How did you get started in installation art and how have you grown in that medium?
In 2010, I moved into an art studio at the Factory on 5th in Albuquerque. I was screen printing and illustrating at the time, when I met David Cudney (fellow MW Artist) who was then managing the gallery and studios. He did an installation with over 80 gold-waving lucky cat figures and it blew my mind. Soon after, I started making assemblage sculptures.
In 2011 I got a job for Urban Outfitters building the art installations for the store in Albuquerque. That job gave me the space and the budgets to fall in love with installation art. I then began building large-scale immersive sculptures out of scrap material, found 2x4’s and fencing material, often using light and geometry as well.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out with installation art?
Work with materials you find interesting – there are a lot of materials online for free and trash is everywhere and unfortunately plentiful. Make work that you want to see in the world. Your vision rarely matches up with what you make, keep making! Your vision will eventually match. Find a mentor! Collaborate! Large-scale works are hard to produce alone. Most of all, have fun!
If your art could talk, what would it say?
“I'm feeling a little emotional today!”
Sofia Howard
What do you do at Meow Wolf?
My current job title with Meow Wolf is Senior Artist, but I have been involved since the build of House of Eternal Return, where I worked as a volunteer and then as part of the inaugural team of docents, as well as helping with Exhibit Maintenance. I do a plethora of different things, including painting, sculpting, making miniatures, and traveling to install and finish pieces onsite in our various exhibits. I have also done a fair amount of art direction and leading small teams to complete collaborative projects. I try to keep the playful spirit of MW that first drew me toward it as a 14-year-old alive to the best of my ability through how I plan and execute my art.
How did you get started in installation art and how have you grown in that medium?
As a kid, I built fairy towns in my bedroom using scarves as terrain and blocks as buildings. I was constantly hot gluing popsicle-stick houses and making Sculpy models with my best friend for my entire childhood and well into middle school.
When I started high school at NMSA in 2011, we went on a walking field trip to see Meow Wolf’s installation The Due Return at the CCA. I had never seen art like that before, and it totally changed my beliefs about what art was and how you could make it.
My first serious installation project was for my senior project before I graduated from NMSA, it was an installation of my bedroom in a corner of the gallery complete with bed, laundry, and other personal belongings. I also suspended and displayed piles of prints of film photos I had taken through the duration of my time at the school with dates and autobiographical captions. A Meow Wolf Founder came to our public opening and told me that my installation reminded him of The Due Return, which was the biggest compliment I could possibly receive at that time, and he invited me to come and help build House of Eternal Return, which I took him up on several months later.
I never went to college so Meow Wolf has been my art school for the past almost 9 years, and my work has been transformed and molded by the collaborative visions we bring to life. I have learned a ton of material skills, and I also learned that I love painting murals – which was a shock to me because I hated painting in high school. As I have made more and more work, I have realized that the process of making it is usually the most important and enjoyable part to me, rather than the final outcome. The biggest lesson to me in my growth with this medium is that you can make literally anything you can dream of if you team up with friends who have different skill sets than you, then work together and keep open minds about how it will transform.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out with installation art?
Just start arranging by arranging items in your home, let every surface be an opportunity for a vignette. See how shape and color and form can speak to each other. Then get weird with it, and share it with as many or few people as you want to. Dioramas are a great container to practice installation in if you don’t have a lot of space to make something life-sized, just add a tiny person and suddenly it’s huge! Look into the vast and varied history of installation art, there are SO many different approaches and Meow Wolf’s style is just one of millions. Visit your local natural history or nature and science museums, they often have installations and dioramas that someone or a team of someones worked hard on, let those inspire and inform you. Learn how to use an impact driver and drywall anchors correctly :) And don’t be afraid to fuck up, just own up to it when you do. That’s how you learn.
If your art could talk, what would it say?
“I am the product of the miasma of collective unconscious, a piece of the hivemind of everyone I have ever known, worked with, loved, and missed.”
There’s no one way to get started with your own installation art – the key is to try, by yourself, or with friends, you get to discover the process. Therein lies the magic – building the idea, collecting items or media elements, piecing the puzzle together, and culminating in your own personal “wow” moment. You can make that happen, you just have to take that first step to start.
If you need some additional inspiration or a little creative guidance, try out one of our Meow Wolf Makers workshops. Heck, you could even use one of the things you create IN your installation! From mask-making to stained glass creating and more, check out what’s coming up here.
