The Buffalo City Hall building has approximately 560 stairs. With this number in mind, there are over a thousand opportunities for descent or ascent--each movement an intervention into the larger structure. What I propose is a 1,120-step program. The stairwells and the structure of the stairs lend themselves to an evaluation of the architecture of the building, however this piece seeks to unveil the psychic character of the space. When realized, my project will be a single channel video; I will use the abandoned Stairmaster found at the site as a pedestal.

The video will feature one character, "Carol", who both climbs and descends the stairs; in doing so her identity transforms. The split screen and separate soundtracks on headphones will allow the viewer to enter either her ascent or descent. The two plots of each video will merge or intersect on the 13th floor. This video's visual structure is influenced by the musical tradition of "crab cancrizans" as those executed by J.S. Bach (1). M.C. Escher, whose graphic art explores both hidden paradoxes and illusions in symmetry and patterns, also inspires the video. Key works include Tower of Babel (1928), Relativity (1953), Ascending and Descending (1960), Waterfall (1961), and Crab Canon (1965).

The evolution of the character is informed by the interpretation of stairs in dream analysis: to climb upwards is supposed to mean to head towards success, while a move downwards signifies a loss of status. The discrepancies in the readings of this particular symbol as well as their ambiguities will provide additional layers of meaning. I am also exploring film theory; for example many of the theoretical writings that examine Hitchcock's films speculate that many of his most suspenseful moments are built around the staircases. Often the ascent leads to horror. For inspiration, I am in the process of carefully analyzing scenes from films such as Vertigo, Frenzy and Psycho among others.

Architectural historian John Templer forwards that the early use of stairs was a means for survival: inhabitants attempted to raise their dwellings away from both predatory animals as well as human enemies (2). With this reading, a flight upwards would be an escape from harm as opposed to an attempt at achieving goals. Today, our collective consciousness imagines a flight down the stairs and out of a large building as the ultimate escape.

Additional elements included in the video will allude to the floors between which the character travels (possibilities include audio recordings, text such as the names of employees who work on the floors--etc). These details will function as a companion document of the building's activities and residents as well as provide narrative nuances that might further advance the character's development. At the moment, two details that I am 100% sure of are the dress and date: professional attire and sneakers, and October 19th, 1987.

(1) Hofstadter, Douglas R. "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid". Vintage Books, 1979, 10-15, 199-203.
(2) Templer, John. "The Staircase: History and Theories", MIT Press, 1994, p14