Your escape from patterns your parents designed

Date: 2016
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Commissioning Agent: The City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs
Medium: Flagging tape, extruded aluminum
Size: 10 x 10 x 10 feet / 3.05 x 3.05 x 3.05 meters

This artwork was created by Geckler after she was awarded the City of Los Angeles (C.O.L.A.) Mid-Career Master Artist 2016 Fellowship. Geckler proposed beginning a new body of work comprised of extruded aluminum segments functioning as a skeletal form for the flagging tape to be woven. The first of these works, Your escape from patterns your parents designed is meant to be entered by the viewer, enclosing them in an immersive color field. Geckler wanted to call attention to the dual experiences of the flagging tape as the main material in this artwork, highlighting how it is seen as a reflective graphic surface when viewed from the exterior and as a translucent backlit screen when viewed from within. On the interior, the individual basket woven strands optically mix when overlapped, creating new colors. The light is filtered through this surface, creating an effect similar to a stained glass window.

This exhibition was made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs.

To view Geckler’s section of the exhibition catalog featuring an essay written by Shana Nys Dambrot, click here

To read a transcribed conversation between Megan Geckler and Shana Nys Dambrot, click here

Watch a time-lapse video of the creation of this artwork below