Who’s putting art in Rumpel? BOX is, baby!

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The BOX 11 Art Show & Sale is only 9 weeks away.  You may remember last year’s BOX 10 was held in the Breithaupt Block.  Cool art + cool industrial venue = awesome event.  This year, BOX 11 has moved around the corner to the Rumpel Felt building at Victoria and Duke, now owned by The Region of Waterloo.  I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to do a little solo (and authorized) urban exploration of this great venue.  Let me show you some interesting corners I found, but first, two things:

1. On your calendar, save the dates of Nov 12 and 13 so you can get down here and see/buy some great art.

2. You’re a local artist?  Great!  Submit your work to the BOX 11 jury this Friday, Sept 9.

Ok, on to the pics.  BTW, this loop of old valve handles (above) really blew my hair back.

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Following my fascination with evidence-of-human-life (EHL), I found these gouges in the concrete floor.  For what purpose?

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BOX instigator and chief air traffic controller, Cathy Farwell, is my guardian angel who ensures I eventually find my way out of these spaces.

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The felt elevator… feltevator?

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Into the boiler room…

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I found one of my richest EHL subjects: grimy electrical box, switch and outlets worn smooth by a hundred thousand hands.

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And we got writing too.

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The boiler door, cast not too far away.

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A peek at the loading dock.

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I believe Rumpel closed in 1996 (someone will correct me).

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Unique banana sticker collections found in a number of nooks on the first floor.  That was a new one on me, but my brother from the very same mother, Dave White, tells me this is pretty common.

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Can anyone tell me why every old factory I visit has this 2-tone paint scheme?

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Stairs worn smooth by feet…

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Paint worn through by…

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hands.

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I don’t know if it’s the acoustics, the clerestory windows, or the translucent multi-coloured glass in these places, but I got a serious church vibe here.

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The west side is being absolutely consumed by ivy or virginia creeper.  Like a giant beard.

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The exterior…

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provided some equally interesting

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patterns and…

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textures.

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Liked the way this old green glass echoed the distant and new green glass of the pharmacy building.

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From the train tracks.

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I’m super curious about this small hatch…

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by the rear loading dock.

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Like giant…

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scissors.

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The chute…

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and the fall out.

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From Victoria.

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Hey, you made it this far!  Do me a favour and tell 2 people about BOX 11, first weekend after Remembrance Day (Nov 12,13).  In addition to supporting the local creative ecosystem, BOX will connect you with historical talks about the Rumpel Felt Company, and educate you about what makes good art.

Lots more about BOX 11 coming here on makebright, so stay tuned.

Happy making,

DW

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11 Responses to Who’s putting art in Rumpel? BOX is, baby!

  1. Agnes says:

    Gorgeous photos Darin. I have driven past this building a few times during my visits to KW. Thanks for the behind the scenes tour! I like the banana stickers. Too bad I can’t submit to the BOX 11 show- still not a resident of Waterloo (hoping that will change sometime soon!) Looking forward to the show 🙂

  2. dw says:

    Thanks Agnes.

    DW

  3. Glenn says:

    Darren,

    It’s like I can feel the struggle of humanity through the passage of time in the dents and wear captured in these photos. There is something somber in the emptiness that is now left behind. Great stuff!

    Glenn

  4. H. says:

    OK. 2 Things.

    1. these pics are beautiful. Love the front door shot. a lot.
    2. can we please focus on bringing back “really blew my hair back” as a frequently used saying – it’s SO AWESOME. hahahahaa.

    YAY BOX! Very Exciting!
    H.

  5. Karl says:

    You have a gift my friend 🙂

    Great work on the photography, looks awesome!
    Exciting times!
    (may have to buy a print or 2 from you as well 😉 )

    K

  6. Bill Klos says:

    Excellent! I can hardly wait to see what you’ll do when the ‘big room’ is filled with amazing art and excited people at Box11.

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  8. Katharine Gamble nee Rumpel says:

    This was my family’s company and I happened to be the 5th generation Rumpel to work in the factory. Many memories flooded back looking at these photos. Thank you!

  9. dw says:

    Thank you, Katharine. Hope you will join us on the Nov 12-13 weekend for BOX11 Art at the factory. I’ll be the big guy taking an unreasonable amount of pictures, so please say hello.

    DW

  10. Katharine, on Sat. Nov. 12 BOX 11 will be having a history talk as part of our weekend event. This talk is free and open to the public. Geoffery Hayes, a published history professor at uWaterloo, will be doing a Power Point on the Rumpel history, the felt industry and more. Details will soon be available on http://www.boxartshow.ca — presently under quick revision. Hope you can make it!

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