For the rest of the population, the building can serve as a representation of the city - in good times and bad.  The image of the bottle on top of the Pabst brewery served as a landmark to millions of people over decades... mostly in a positive way.  When it was gone, people really missed it.

The real question is, do we leave abandoned buildings alone, tear them down to make something new or do we renovate them?  Sometimes you may want to tear down completely - especially if there are overwhelmingly bad connotations associated with a building (but that's rare).  What's preferable is to find a new use for that building.  From a materials and environmental standpoint, that makes a lot of sense.  From a historic perspective, a city should embrace its past - making every attempt to preserve the character of its infrastructure.  Chances are something culturally or historically significant can be associated with a city's older buildings.  In addition, the craftsmanship and materials of structures made 100 years ago are extremely hard to duplicate in today's building industry.  The last alternative, to leave abandoned buildings alone, is fine as long as they don't pose a danger to the public.  Urban explorers and artists can take their chances in there and hopefully produce a body of work that can either help preservation efforts or increase public appreciation for our disappearing heritage.

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS | With time the industrial boom and prosperity seem like a mythic past - some distant memory of stability and prosperity.  What has been your response from community members who have worked in or interacted with these sites been like?

MATT GOSSER |Some think the past should be left in the past, others think an appreciation of the past should be nurtured.  Most community members that I have talked to think my efforts are a positive influence on the greater community.
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"The end result however, is usually the same - an exhibition filled with many different artists expressing through their own unique language/vision their experience with one particular building." - Matt Gosser
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NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS| In what ways do you feel that you are expanding on and transforming how artists work with found objects?  How do community members perceive the art?

MATT GOSSER |The difference between what I do and found-object art is the importance placed on where the objects are found.  It's all about the building - exploring the building, documenting the building, salvaging artifacts from the building, and then cleaning and making art out of those artifacts.  The artists that I try to get involved in these Ar+chaeology exhibits partake in as many of these activities as they can.  I try to get them to visit the sites by giving tours but really want them to go explore on their own- forming their own impressions of the building and then documenting or scavenging how they feel fit.  Others start later in the process; receiving extra artifacts that I've already taken out of the building and cleaned.  The end result however, is usually the same - an exhibition filled with many different artists expressing through their own unique language/vision their experience with one particular building.  And that really ties the exhibition together without producing a bunch of identical artwork.

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS | What is your vision for Ar+chaeology and these projects?  What do you hope to see transformed within these realms? How does memory function within the trajectory of your work?

MATT GOSSER |I try to increase public awareness of our common architectural/industrial heritage that is, unfortunately, vanishing every year.  That includes the residents of Newark, those that work here and especially the students in our school of architecture that are going to shape the future of our built environment.  I try to provide a forum for artists in all stages of their careers to contribute toward a common goal/exhibition.  I also hope the powers that be will take a greater interest in the existing building stock that Newark has and hopefully start to rehabilitate, rather than knock down these great old buildings that we have.

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Ar+chaeology is a combination of found object art, urban exploration and historic preservation. Instead of buying raw materials from a store, some artists use objects they find as a way to conserve resources and create unique works of art. The key difference between found-object art and Ar+chaeology lies in the emphasis placed on where the objects were found. Ar+chaeology explore abandoned, culturally significant places searching for objects to represent that site. These artifacts are extracted, cleaned and converted into artwork meant to promote a broader appreciation of that site. In this respect, Ar+chaeology can be thought of as historic preservation with artistic license. Especially in cases where the site is facing rapid deterioration via natural elements or the wrecking ball, Ar+chaeology is the last line of defense- providing new life to abandoned objects and new meaning to the places they came from.