Pulitzer Arts Foundation

Pulitzer Arts Foundation

2015 - ongoing

St. Louis, MO

On May 1, 2015, Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis re-opened after a yearlong expansion project. The building, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, was renovated to add 3,700 square feet of public space within its existing footprint. To inaugurate the new galleries, the Pulitzer mounted three solo exhibitions of the work of American artists Alexander Calder, Fred Sandback, and Richard Tuttle. Running concurrently, a five-month program called Press Play encouraged visitors to engage with the architecture and surrounding artwork. The Pulitzer invited dosa to collaborate in creating unique spaces within the building where people could sit, lay, interact, contemplate.
 
Using a mix of naturally dyed and digitally printed textiles, fabric remnants, and hand-based textile techniques, dosa created playful rest areas with floor pillows inspired by Ando’s signature concrete, and the works of Calder, Sandback, and Tuttle.
 
Three 7’x7’ floor pillows were patchworked by hand. Two were constructed with leftover dosa fabrics painted with tea; one was made with organic canvas digitally printed with photographs of Ando’s concrete walls. Digital printing was done by CADFAB located in Los Angeles. CADFAB was founded in 1999 by Maya Roth and remains at the forefront of digital fabric printing.
 
dosa stone pillows for Pulitzer Arts Foundation were realized with the help of the young dyers at Adiv in Mumbai, India. Founded by Rupa Trivedi in 2006, Adiv is a business and urban social venture organized around a small group of talented local youth from challenging backgrounds who are self-taught in the craft of natural hand dyeing. The idea for the pillows was to echo Ando’s concrete and stone surfaces. To achieve their dappled texture, cotton canvas was scattered with a wet mixture of tea and pulverized pomegranate peel, then folded and steamed to effect a monoprint. The organic pillow forms were engineered by Tokyo-based industrial designer Shigeki Fujishiro. In all, 73 round, oval, and square stone pillows were made.
Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis, MO | photo by Carly Ann Faye for the Pulitzer
photo by Carly Ann Faye for the Pulitzer
project overview
color studies of canvas dyed with pomegranate husk and tea
industrial designer Shigeki Fujishiro engineers pillow shapes
Obdulia marks Shigeki's pattern on to fabric
square pillows
round and oval stone pillows
on site at the Pulitzer
on site at the Pulitzer
laying out patchwork for 7'x7’ floor pillow
painting with tea
one of three finished floor pillows
on site at the Pulitzer
photo by Carly Hilo for the Pulitzer
photo by Carly Hilo for the Pulitzer
photo by Carly Hilo for the Pulitzer
Press Play Meditations, a yoga and drawing program led by Angela Malchionno | photo by Carly Hilo for the Pulitzer
on site at the Pulitzer
photo by Carly Hilo for the Pulitzer