What is FORT?
The FORT website is an expansion of the FORT concept; artists need to encourage, and challenge each other. The FORT website is meant to build a community of support for artists and provide an alternative means for showcasing and discussing artwork outside of the gallery, museum, and education structures.The history of the FORT
FORT evolved from a road trip to Mississippi, to a studio in Detroit MI. where Jocelyn Gotlib and Ilana Goldszer embarked on a two month collaborative project in February 2006. FORT's first location is 4892 Grand River Ave. next to many other flourishing artistic communities such as 555 gallery and the 4731 gallery. FORT's first collection was unveiled on March 4th 2006; it consisted of 5 oversized paintings. The paintings considered the themes of American desolation, and the new grotesque landscape, themes were addressed in material as well as content.
A critical point to understanding the goal of the FORT project is for the artist's Gotlib and Goldszer to work without a singular ego driving the work process. At the opening the work is signed FORT. This is one way to articulate the art is collaborative; signifying equal participation and eliminating the individual ego. The method of work is unfamiliar for the artists, therefore it allowed for deeper experimentation to occur then with an individual artist. FORT is hard at work to create more projects that exemplify art as a communal activity. Wilmot G. Green once said "why would any one want to go to your show if you never go to theirs?"
Many thanks to Maik Gramatte of system workz for programming and designing the FORT website.
