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While in residence at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin, Montana (pop. 250), I created
an installation in the attic of one of the oldest structures found along main thoroughfare of town. Originally a mining village established in 1863 during a
period of gold, silver and copper rushes in the area, Basin has endured times of boom and bust. The Merry Widow Health Mine Office is one of few remaining original structures.
During building rennovations that were taking place during my visit to Basin, I was able to gain access to
the attic of this building to create a temporary installation that responded to the state of the building and the history of its inhabitants.
The attic originally served as boarding rooms for miners and was divided into a handful of small rooms. A bedframe still stood in the front room overlooking the main street in town.
Layers of peeling fabric wall paper had protected much of the interior from weather damage although evidence of the original construction methods could be
seen through missing rafter panels that exposed rough hewn logs that formed the backbone of the roof.
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Exterior of Merry Widow Mine office (east side), constructed c. 1890 |
