Winston Churchill once said: “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” We know that places in which we live and work have an impact on our lives and this fact, especially when it comes to our homes, is too important to ignore.
Who during lockdown didn’t spent hours looking at their walls and wishing for an environment that was different, better, or more suited to their needs and desires? Many of us realised that the hastily bought or gifted items that ‘would do’ really didn’t do, or didn’t reflect how we live our lives and the people we’ve become. Given that our homes are typically the location of our most intense relationships, including those with visual objects, don’t make your art an afterthought.
Artworks are a powerful communicator of our engagement with visual culture, our values, and our experiences. Let them lead your spaces and live amongst them and you can’t go wrong. Artist and creative visionary Len Lye was radical and constantly innovative but also firm on one thing, as he proclaimed in 1964: “Great architecture goes fifty-fifty with great art.” Architecture inserts itself into our daily lives. We can’t always change it, but we can choose the art inside and how that art changes the space. If you’ve recently bought a new artwork, in the mood to change your art collection, or have plans to renovate, choosing one work as the pivotal point of a room is transformative. Consider also how the interpretation of an artwork is affected by the environment in which it is placed. Sharpen your critical eye and think through positioning, the colours and composition of the work, its dimensions, where light hits in the room, and the needs and activities of the space. Let the artwork steer the space and help shape decisions that follow.
Don’t underestimate the power of an artwork and well-curated hang to alter your space. Observe sightlines, and how moving from one room to the next might offer up new locations for art. Consider subtly drawing from an artwork’s colour palette or vibe to shape other decisions in the space.
Remember also that a well-chosen artwork in an entranceway can set the feel for an entire home. Our homes are often where different aspects of our lives collide, especially in contemporary architecture with open plan spaces. An artwork and a few carefully chosen pieces of furniture can help define a zone within a larger space, creating a break-out area for calm and quiet while busy family life exists elsewhere.
A few essential things to remember. Don’t hang your work too high! Consider the furniture in the room and the height of your ceilings but, in general, wall-based art typically looks best hung at a mid-point of 150-155cm. Several large works on a wall together? Match the midline, not the bottom or top of the frame. If you have lots of smaller pieces or a tight space, consider a ‘salon hang’ where a jumble of multiple works up and across the wall takes centre stage. Choose a theme and colour palette to unify the works for a harmonious feel.
Environments are influential in shaping human experiences. The best artworks are storytellers, not decoration. They’re almost living things that share our lives, evoke sensation, and tug at parts of us we’re still trying to unravel. Hold some space for them.
Kelly Carmichael is director of Starkwhite Queenstown, and a nominator and researcher for the International Award for Public Art.
