Moorestown native Caroline Udell’s collaborative art installation “Block by Block” is currently on display at The Study at University City in Philadelphia through Monday, May 25, a project that some might find reminiscent of the bead maze toy sitting in a doctor’s waiting room.
The visual studies program from the Art History Department at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University, partnered with The Study and Udell on “Block by Block.” Before Udell was approached to do the show, she had already purchased 139 tiny, vintage alphabet blocks for another project that didn’t come to fruition. Best friend Ali Rufrano-Ruffner, a New York City artist, helped Udell come up with a way that she could integrate a community aspect and still make use of the blocks, thus getting the ball rolling on Udell’s lead show.
“I want people to feel whimsy,” Udell said of what she hopes people experience when viewing her installation. “… When people interact with the piece, I think it brings them into art and I think that is a cool and important thing.
“I think a lot of artists do that, and I’m happy to be a part of that collective effort to see that art is for all of us.”
The idea for “Block by Block” grew from a different project that Udell did with fellow artist Zachary Morris, a project that involved making a regular scale version of a bead maze toy for a family friend of Morris. Udell made the wooden base for the toy while Morris, a glass blower, made the glass beads and together they bent the stainless steel for the beads. The collaborative effort brought Udell so much joy that she decided she wanted to bring more than 40 artists together for “Block by Block” – including Morris. “Block by Block” is an exhibit that encourages guests to move the blocks around the installation.
Some of the artists who crafted beads for Udell’s room-sized interactive bead maze include people she’s known her entire life, people she doesn’t know, and some students from Drexel, where Udell serves as design arts annex manager. Udell was also inspired by The Tiny Chair Show, hosted by Stickball Vintage Clothing and Art in Philadelphia, and a group object show that she was recently a part of, hosted by YOWIE, a boutique hotel and design-forward shop in Philadelphia. YOWIE’s annual group art exhibitions invite artists to recontextualize everyday household items into works of art.
The “Block by Block” project took two months to complete, mostly surrounding the coordination of getting the blocks out, getting them back and making sure what blocks went together. To start, Udell drilled holes in the blocks and distributed them among the show’s participants, who added their creative talents to the classic wooden blocks. Some painted and/or crafted multiples, some worked with just one. The only rule was that the artists couldn’t obstruct the hole. Materials for the project included wood and steel rods that had to be bent and the blocks.
Contributors for the project include Udell’s mom Kt Carney, artists and collaborators Billie Glassmoyer, who sanded all the wood; Blue Benet, who spray painted everything, and Jacob Lunderby, teaching professor and drawing area coordinator at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design.
Installation took just two hours and Udell felt relieved through the smooth planning process. The layout looked just like the sketches she initially drew, she said.
“It made me so happy,” said Udell, a Philadelphia resident, of getting the blocks. “It felt like opening up a present every time I would get one back in the mail or when someone would drop it off… I loved how they interpreted the very open concept. It made me really happy. It was a fun, thoughtful experience and you can immediately recognize where the inspiration comes from visually, and it brings everyone in.”
Udell, a 2013 Moorestown High School alumna, grew up sailing on the Delaware River. Her earliest memory of dabbling in art was when she would tell her mom that she wanted to spend the day painting. Eventually she came to choose sculpture as her first-pick medium, but art, sailing and skateboarding are the things she reflected on the most. She received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Delaware, with a concentration in sculpture.
She took a sculpture course and that’s how she found her niche. With her position at Drexel, she’s not only able to make her own work, but learn from the students and see where they’re drawing their inspiration from. Her biggest influences since she was little is none other than the late American rapper Mac Miller, who inspired her not only as a musical artist, but also a visual artist in how he accompanied his music.
Udell’s “Block by Block” grew from a project that she did with Morris that involved making a regular scale version of a bead maze toy.
“I always appreciated not only his output, but the way that he brought people along with him,” she said, “That always felt really cool and important.
“People always had good things to say about him, and he always cited his influences.”
It led Udell to wonder, “How many people can we get to be in the show?”
For more on Udell, visit her social media pages or https://carolineudell.com/index.html.
The collaborative art installation will be on display at The Study at University City in Philadelphia through May 25.
