Where it happened

Posted on April 29, 2003 by Gene

Mark Bennett has a new show here in DC of his art – meticulously drawn floorplans of familiar places from American pop culture entertainment. His previous show at the Corcoran, which I was drawn to because of my own penchant for this odd interest, featured floor plans and drawings of such famous TV locales as the Cleaver’s house, Gilligan’s Island, and Samantha & Darrin’s lovely Cape Cod. I used to obsess this way myself, mentally creating a floor plan as I watched TV, trying to figure out what the place was actually like. My bent was more toward figuring out the actual sets, how they were oriented on the stage, what part connected with what part. Bennett, instead, creates the actual world where these buildings exist. His drawings complete that fourth wall and make the illusion real. They’re not exactly true to what you see on screen, instead, they are the fleshing out of what is hinted at.
His latest drawings are brought forth from film rather than television, and include floor plans of the Bates Motel and the kitchsy ranch home from Kitten With A Whip. His show is at the Conner Contemporary Art Gallery through May 10.
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