Life & Living Room

It is your experience in a place, rather than the place itself, that is meaningful. Our experiences make up the gestalt of who we are. Growing up in an increasingly digital age, those experiences are not necessarily direct. As a child, I learned to inhabit the world (partially) through what I watched on television. If no one else is around, I still bless myself when I sneeze, thanks to a particularly affecting episode of The Simpsons.

The idea of home as an archetype is an extremely malleable concept, so the focus here lies on the physical space, the personal, physical experiences, and the televisual experiences in the living room.

The physical space is loosely based on the living rooms I grew up in. The quilt acts as a symbol of the manifestation of one’s experiences, stitched together to create someone whole, and to physically bring together the fabrics from the miniature couches.

Home movies promote the idea of nostalgia and a claim of truth. Although the medium (and largely the viewing location) is the same, television isn’t seen through the same lens of realism. Home movies are generally viewed privately, while television was created as a public media, shared in our collective culture. By screening home movies publicly, I hope to create a shared meaning for the space.

The television clips shown impacted my personal growth, and had lasting effects through memory. While it’s clear that these shows are scripted and therefor ‘fake’, their effect on the viewer can be as authentic as what we perceive as real when it comes to becoming who we are.

Life & Living Room, Cassidy Routh, Video, Installation, Screen print and soft sculpture, 2015.

Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts