Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Pedicord Apartments, 1982-83
mixed media environment
108 x 192 x 432 in.
WAM

About the Art and Artists

Edward Kienholz and his wife, photographer, Nancy Reddin Kienholz worked in a way that is similar to the approach used by the collectors of the Tudor Room. They removed the interior details and furniture from a run-down hotel in Spokane Washington that was to be demolished and reassembled them into a three-dimensional space that viewers can actually enter. However, entering the Pedicord Apt. is quite different from the experience of entering the Tudor Room.

When a viewer enters this work, they must first walk through a poorly lit lobby furnished with a fake fireplace, dripping mirror, dusty plastic plants, stained carpet, and a smelly trash can complete with cigarette butts. As they turn, walk down the hallway, and listen in at the closed doors they hear sounds from the unseen occupants of the rooms - television noise, dogs barking, people arguing, partying, and crying. Kienholz even subtly alters the ceiling height as the viewer walks toward the fake "exit" sign to create the sensation of claustrophobia.

Beyond its physical appearance, there is another important difference between Pedicord Apt. and the Tudor Room. The Kienholz's purpose was not to preserve the room as a historical and architectural period piece. Ed and Nancy Kienholz reassembled parts of the hotel to create a work of art that is designed to engage our senses, comment on our society's ills, and evoke a strong emotional response from the viewer.