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Camouflage House, Burr Ridge, Illinois, Model

An aerial view of a house model set on a topographic map, the structure depicted as a complex network of lines and colors.
© 2009 Doug Garofalo.

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  • An aerial view of a house model set on a topographic map, the structure depicted as a complex network of lines and colors.

Date:

1991

Artist:

Architecture Garofalo Leary (American, 1990-1992)
Douglas Garofalo (American, 1958-2011)
David Leary (American, born 1956)

About this artwork

Douglas Garofalo’s Camouflage House proposes a new kind of site-specificity for a sloped suburban lot. Rather than approaching the landscape as an idealized natural form, Garofalo translated the topography of the site into a complex network of lines that determine the contours and surface of the structure. In this model for the project, the intersecting lines are filled in with vibrant color, creating an elaborate field and cladding for the building that both defines and obscures the shape of the structure. Here the idea of camouflage—a concept that drew the attention of many modern artists in the early 20th century—has a double sense, as the shape of long, ramp-like volume of the house was designed as an extension and distortion of the neighborhood’s typical suburban driveways.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Garofalo Architects (Architect)

Title

Camouflage House, Burr Ridge, Illinois, Model

Place

Burr Ridge (Object made for)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1991

Medium

Mixed media

Dimensions

76 × 91 × 18 cm (29 15/16 × 35 13/16 × 7 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Douglas Garofalo

Reference Number

2009.126

Copyright

© 2009 Doug Garofalo.

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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