Dayton Hudson Faculty Fellows: Leslie Van Duzer

Leslie Van Duzer, Associate Professor, School of Architecture
Dayton Hudson Faculty Fellow, 2006-2007

To whom does it concern?

Professor Van Duzer is testing the value of letter writing as both a research methodology and a final work. While letter writing is a part of any scholarly research—used to gain access to archives, confirm facts, request reproduction rights—the letters themselves are rarely foregrounded in the final publication or exhibition. In this project, "To whom does it concern?," it is the letters themselves and the responses they engender that are the content; they are the means and the ends.

The proposal involves a letter writing campaign that will result in an exhibition. Each letter will pose a carefully formulated question about urban design in the Twin Cities. The questions will address a variety of issues from the accommodation of the homeless to bus shelter amenities to river access. Each question will ask why something is the way it is while suggesting a "what if?".

The research process itself will be documented; all phone transfers, hang-ups, etc. will be recorded and later presented. The letter of inquiry will then be sent to the person/agency (persons/agencies) most likely to hold the answer: a developer, architect, shopkeeper, government body, police department, etc. The responses will be presented with the letters of inquiry and supporting visual material as an exhibition, to be displayed in a public space such as the Downtown Public Library, City Hall, or the airport.

 





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