Mark Prier

Artwork

Ramp, 2009

Ramp evokes a number of images: a wonky yet controlled path launching into infinite space like a dock, a point of reflection at the end of a journey, an ascension to some other place. Flat yet curved, it takes the leisurely scenic route instead of the straight-on approach, winding its way gradually to the summit. It is an inclined plane: a simple machine with no moving parts evoking a minimalist playground like a tame roller coaster or waterslide. Ramp is a u-turn that fights against itself and eventually continues in its original direction, never resolving.

Made of wood derived from a number of local varieties—trembling aspen, balsam poplar, spruce, tamarack, and pine—and sourced from building leftovers and fallen trees, Ramp is a gesture-experiment in the psychogeography of the gallery.

Materials: reclaimed wood, metal components.

Photos: Gareth Lichty.

A wide view of a wooden ramp in a gallery, supported underneath by numerous wooden posts. The ramp starts on the floor, gradually rising as it winds through the gallery, turning to wind around support beams to end near a wall. A detail shot of the start of a wooden ramp in a gallery. From the floor, the ramp makes a gradual turn to the right as it rises, held up at the point by short wooden posts. A detail shot of a serpentine sets of turns on a wooden ramp in a gallery, supported underneath by numerous wooden posts. The ramp gradually rises as it winds through the gallery around support beams to end near a wall. A detail shot of a serpentine sets of turns on a wooden ramp in a gallery, supported underneath by numerous wooden posts. The ramp gradually rises as it winds through the gallery around support beams to end near a wall. A detail shot of the last two turns on a wooden ramp in a gallery, supported underneath by numerous wooden posts. The ramp gradually rises as it winds through the gallery around a support beam to end near a wall.
A detail shot of the initial three turns on a wooden ramp in a gallery, supported underneath by numerous wooden posts. The ramp starts at the floor, gradually rising as it winds through the gallery around support beams. A detail shot beneath a large wooden ramp held up by numerous wooden posts and cross-supports. A close-up shot of the wood planks that make up the floor of a wooden ramp. Nail holes run up the middle of the planks. A view looking out across a farm field at a gap between a treed fencerow and the corner of a forest, taken from the top end of a large wooden ramp. Two people walk on a large wooden ramp in a gallery, one standing in the middle of the ramp, and the other bent over somewhat to look at the wall near the ramp's end. A small group of people gather on a large wooden ramp in a gallery. Two stand upright while the others sit near the top.