Jerry Little set the Pendulum Array in motion with a clear blue leveling board.
More than a dozen metal clasps began to swing at different speeds from wires of various lengths hanging from a slanted wooden support above. The series of small pendulums, a physics invention of Karen Suhm, forms a fascinating display in oscillation.
“Eventually the wave deteriorates into what looks like chaos,” Little said of his wife’s invention. “But really, in the chaos there’s a rhyme and reason to the motion.”
The same, perhaps, can be said of SEAD architecture+construction and Purple Wall Studios, an art gallery gathering steam in the Phoenix First Friday circuit. Their building, on the corner of North Seventh Street and East Palm Lane is a working experiment in collaborative workspace and coalescent construction techniques.
“We were looking at [opening in] a building we could have multiple tenants in,” said Little, the owner of Studio for the Exploration of Architecture in the Desert, or SEAD, and Purple Wall Studios. The tenants are graphic designers, artists, inventors, painters and photographers, all sharing a roof with the blueprint-strewn desks of architecture designers, he said.
“I look for very creative-type tenants to share space with, so there’s a creative synergy,” Little said. “Their work hopefully inspires us, and we inspire them.”
Besides the SEAD architecture firm and creative-minded tenants, the violet building also hosts a rotating monthly art show out of its front-room gallery, Purple Space, which is a member of Artlink and First Fridays.
Little said the goal of the collaboration is to show the relationship between architecture, art and the potential invocative experience of each.
“My personal opinion is that architecture should stimulate thought,” Little said. “People don’t necessarily have to like it. And that’s what art should do [as well]: challenge people … and their reactions. Good art and good architecture should both leave people with at least an appreciation for the effort.”
With its proximity to the Downtown campus, Little said Purple Gallery’s unique blend of architecture firm and fine art space has piqued the curiosity of some ASU students, and he hopes for a continued growth of a college-age crowd at First Friday art showings.
“Some [Tempe students] from the architectural program have actually made the trip to the gallery and to see our work,” Little said. “We love the energy and enthusiasm of the students, but being in midtown Phoenix limits some access for students.”
The February show at Purple Space will feature new artwork from David Karr, Little said.
The tenants at Purple Wall Studios include Young Art Arizona, a non-profit organization that displays art by disadvantaged children for charity, and established local watercolor painter Vikki Reed, who has kept a workspace in the SEAD building since its genesis in early 2006.
She has remained with Purple Wall ever since, creating and selling art out of one of the buildings’ many inner tenant rooms.
Reed said she enjoys the flexible environment and eclectic community here, compared to traditional galleries.
“This is my play space and my workspace,” she said. “This is where I experiment and where I show my experiments. It’s a very interesting collection of creativity in this building. A little right brain, a little left brain.”
Reach the reporter at trabens@asu.edu.
