Artwork - The NEWSPAPER house

The Artwork
The title of this particular Sumer Erek artwork is ‘Newspaper House’. The date of its completion is 8 March 2008, though it was created throughout the first months of 2008.

Its form is an installation, meaning it is a three-dimensional artwork designed to transform the perception of space. Erek does this by allowing his audience to engage with his work on a spatial level (as they can physically walk through the work) and an artistic level (as they can appreciate its meaning).

The site it was created in St Barbara’s Hall and it was installed in Gillett Square, London, United Kingdom. It has been exhibited at this site and in Liverpool, United Kingdom. 

The Newspaper House being created in St Barbara's Hall

The completed installation, bursting with various principles and elements of design

Principles and Elements of Design
The most evident Principles of design in this artwork are balance, repetition and contrast. Balance is evident in the symmetrical shape of the work, even though the print on the newspaper may be asymmetrical. Repetition is apparent in the many newspaper logs used in the work, as well as consistent use of particular colours, such as white and black, and shapes, such as rectangles. Contrast is also conveyed through the use of colour, as the black print contrasts with the white paper of the newspaper. 

The most apparent Elements of design in this artwork are shape, line and size. Shape is evident in the familiar, pentagonal house structure and in the distinctive use of rectangles and triangles to depict doors, windows, and panels. The use of line is clear in the vertical and horizontal application of the newspaper logs. Line is also used to frame the installation and create distinctive shapes such as rectangles and triangles. Size is highly apparent in the house structure, as the house is three-dimensional and large enough to allow a human to pass through it. Because the artwork is an installation, the audience must be able to interact with the artwork, and the size of the artwork is therefore very significant.