roundHouse turnTable Dock 2019
Turntable Dock. From Pivotal Turntable Tactics. Boiler Shop, Northern Pacific Railyard, Brainerd, MN. 2019. Rough Sawn Red & White Pine, Simpson Strong Ties, Hex & Lag Screws, Eyelets, Wire, Washers, Turnbuckles, Quick Clips, Brackets, Welded Pivot, Aluminum Poles, Dock Hardware, Pipe Caps, Casters. Turntable with Wings & Arms: 21H x 9W x 28L feet. Site Diameter 60 feet. Tunnel Height 12 feet. Width of RR Tracks 5 feet.
Pivotal Turntable Tactics is a public art project at the Northern Pacific Railyard in Brainerd, Minnesota, presenting two large site-specific installations, RoundHouse Wedge and TurnTable Dock, reflecting the architecture of the former railyard spaces, referencing locational identity, physical embodiment, and rural vacancy. TurnTable Dock is an abstract, moveable installation rotating on metal casters around a central metal pivot reflecting on the traditional turntable docking systems used by the railroad industry.
Utilizing the NP Boiler Shop as a process studio space and independent alternative gallery space, the TurnTable Dock contained a crossbeam-style turntable aligned with the architecture of the former work site. The Turntable Dock sculpture illuminated how the former collective pivoting system would maneuver the large train engines, coal cars and rail assemblies. Referenced via photos from the Crow Wing County Historical Museum, the daily working ecosystem of the former NP turntable site is personified. The Turntable Dock installation included a unique conceptual digital sound work composed by sound artist Eric Anthony Frye which reflected upon a range of personal railroad-based experiences from his rural Illinois childhood. Viewers were able to walk/play on and push the abstract train docking platform.
The TurnTable Dock was further engaged via choreographed dance performances, a critical art dialogue, a children’s empowerment workshop, a limited-edition TurnTable Ale, limited-edition wallpaper and poster, and a self-published catalog accompanied exhibition. An entry train ticketing gallery and conceptual railroad waiting room gallery with project models and ephemeral preceded the docking space. Tactical collaboration via economic exchange with participatory Brainerd businesses set up creative initiatives as part of the public project.
Pete Driessen credits Forecast Public Art, MN State Arts Board, Northern Pacific Center, and others for their financial support of this site specific public art project.
TurnTable Dock Links:
Forecast Public Art Project Essay
Eric Frye Audio - coming soon!
Pivotal TurnTable Tactics Catalog/Sheila Dickinson Essay