Special Agent Recap: DBB as Agency’s first ever Artist-in-Residence
We were delighted to have David Buckley Borden as Agency’s first ever Artist-in-Residence for the past six months. We are appreciative of David’s thoughtful and inspiring work, and the ways in which he challenged our work flow. David brought his artistic eye to the Franklin Park Action Plan’s first community meeting and pop-ups, a proposal for a park in New York State, and more. We are in awe of all that he created for Agency during his time here, and we’ll take inspiration from his creativity and humor.
In David’s own words:
“Although Borden’s collaborative aim was to contribute to Agency’s practice in the form of proposals, drawings, models/sculptures, and potential community-driven art installations, COVID19 would present unanticipated constraints. Despite a pivot to a “remote residency” format, both Borden and Agency would benefit from the exchange of creative energy and ideas. Generous mindsets, flexible attitudes, and a host of digital design applications enabled the collaborative experiment to continue. The online output included a series of renderings including landscape perspectives, plans, diagrams, bird’s eye views, and other digital drawings. Some drawings were conventional. While others played with visual communication standards within the field of landscape architecture, albeit through Borden’s unique creative lens.
…As part of his critical practice, Borden has begun to examine his Special Agent Residency experience as a case-study for embedding visual artists within landscape architecture and planning firms as a forward-thinking mode of interdisciplinary design practice. Borden’s online writings and social media posts are the first steps in his reflection of working with Agency and their shared experience of making environmental place-based issues accessible by means of an art-driven visual narrative.”
Read more about David’s reflections on his residency on his website, where you can also find drawings that he did during his time here.
DBB, we remain your biggest fans. Best of luck at the University of Oregon, and we hope to collaborate with you again soon!