Performing the ghosts of the Gamble House

2014-10-02T17:35:00-04:00

Wanting to stretch one's fascia, the wood wanting to expand, and the people inside being very minute in comparison with the wood's needs. It's almost as if the house itself is turning and emptying out all the residue of the people, wanting just to be free, free of the people, free of... the spoilage is the word that I'm getting, I just want to keep pushing out further and further and further, and as I do my own body just feels much much more relaxed.

Aside from being an emblem of the Arts and Crafts movement and an historical landmark, it turns out the Gamble House in Pasadena, California is also haunted. Or, so it would seem according to performance artist Asher Hartman, who communed with former generations of Gambles in his "psychic reading" performance of the House. Filmmaker David Fenster captured Hartman's performance in a beautiful short piece, while also languishing on a few elements of the House's rich craftsmen style.

"Psychic Reading of the Gamble House" is part of The Machine Project Field Guide to the Gamble House, a slew of ongoing art and performance pieces put on by Machine Project, a maker, teacher, artist and hacker event space in Los Angeles. The Field Guide puts different instances of contemporary art practice in the midst of the Gamble's exemplary early 20th century architecture, creating some interesting counterpoints in the process. Hartman has previously performed for The Machine Project’s Field Guide to L....

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Performing the ghosts of the Gamble House