In 2015, Ritter created the MH Archive to document the forgotten and marginalized mobile home communities across the United States. Through meticulous documentation consisting of interviews, photography, recordings, and video, Ritter has gained a deeper understanding of the diverse world of manufactured housing. This ongoing process of visiting mobile home parks now brings her back to where her interests originated, Li’l Wolf, her parents’ mobile home community in eastern Pennsylvania. Using her father’s camcorder from the ’90s, she turns her focus inside her childhood home for the first time. She offers the audience a glimpse into her father’s life by investigating the spaces he inhabits.
Digital Video, 16 min
When the visitor first steps into the gallery, they are confronted by Li’l Wolf 6, part of the artist’s ongoing MH Window Series. In this life-sized photograph, taken of a window at her parents’ home, Ritter captures the exterior of a world often guarded and hidden from society. Installed opposite the photograph is the video “Happy Birthday Dean.” Here, Ritter gives the viewer an intimate tour of the inside of her father’s home, culminating with footage from a recent birthday party. The celebration evokes feelings of nostalgia in her father and a yearning for his childhood—a time when things were easier for him. As his age has increased, so too have his fears and resistance to change, encapsulated by the fifteen-minute video Fear | Comfort, projected on the central wall.
64 x 68.5 x .5 inches
Digital film from vintage camcorder, 9 min
The insecurities that haunt Ritter’s father flicker across the projector and TV screen. But, unlike the details of his home’s exterior, they remain partly hidden from view. The viewer is asked to project onto Ritter’s father their own baggage about the American Dream. Seen through his daughter’s lens, he becomes a window into the psyche of an entire generation, leaving us with the question: “How do we restore the dignity of those who get left behind?”
archival inkjet prints mounted on steel, 28.75 x 12.75 inches
archival inkjet prints mounted on steel, 28.75 x 12.75 inches
MH Archive is the next step in a wider exploration of documenting mobile home culture in the US, contextualized by our nationwide affordable housing crisis.
For the past 8 years I’ve documented mobile home parks (over 50 sites in over 17 states) and interviewed residents; compiled research on the mobile home industry and culture; and created and exhibited work influenced by these rudimentary archives I’ve built and my personal history growing up in a double-wide trailer in eastern Pennsylvania.
I’m continuing to visit mobile home parks throughout the United States, systematically archiving with overarching research questions around the American Dream, specifically the myth of social mobility and the stigma and shame around places we call home. Check out my blog in the navigation bar to read more.
My first stop was in Florida where I spent 1 month as an Associate Artist at The Atlantic Center for the Arts. Here I visited over 13 neighborhoods. The video above shows a golf cart tour of what was an old fish camp community built along the intracoastal waterway.
I met Debbie & Diane on one of my visits to a MH park. They were really sweet and showed me around and even invited me inside their homes. They shared stories about their lives and neighborhood.
While in Colorado I visited Ponderosa MHP with Crystal Launder, a housing planner, to talk about the annexation of Ponderosa by the city. The city plans on upgrading the infrastructure, build new homes to deepen the affordability and safety of this neighborhood.
@ Franconia Sculpture Park
Cinder block, mortar, concrete, photographic Xerox prints
Wall 1: 92 IN x 128 IN x 8IN, Wall 2: 72 IN x 128 IN x 8 IN, Wall 3: 76 IN x 176 IN x 8 IN
Shafer Terrace is a manufactured/ mobile home park (MHP) located just 2.8 miles West of Franconia Sculpture Park. These three homes were photographed in that neighborhood and erected here at Franconia to bring visibility to affordable housing and to break down socio-spacial stigmas that have shrouded these communities for years.
The artist grew up in a mobile home park in Eastern, PA and its through her work that she explores topics of class and exposes the shame phenomenon while humanizing manufactured home residents, an underrepresented community. She's allowing the viewer the privilege to view these homes as if they are walking through the neighborhood itself. She would like you to think about your connection to home and perceptions on manufactured housing.
Video of installation
@ Mohonk Arts Studio, UPAW, 2021
Xerox print, cinderblocks, mortar, garden flag
64 IN x 120 IN x 8 IN
56 IN x 48 IN x 8 IN
Xerox print, cinderblocks, mortar
Public sculpture installed at Loyola University from January 28th - March 20th 2020
Mobile home parks exist at the very lowest rungs of the American affordable housing hierarchy and are relegated to the outskirts of urban spaces. This work, an on-going sculptural project architected by artist Amy Ritter, provides a visual voice to these marginalized, and often stigmatized, communities. Born in an Eastern Pennsylvania mobile home, Ritter is motivated by her origins, and creates to educate, embrace, and bring transparency to a community often overlooked.
Mobile home located 10 miles South East of Loyola College
This is the entrance to Liberty Mobile Home Park located in Baltimore, MD
Process shot
Process shot
54 IN x 64 IN x 10 IN
Cinder blocks, Photographic Xerox print
Located at Art Port Kingston Gallery
4 FT x 4 FT x 10 IN
Found Cinderblocks, brick, Xerox photographic print
Jasper Street is located in North Philadelphia and was the location of this site-specific sculpture. This is a detail of a larger installation of two walls that were erected on the site of a torn down apartment building. Each day I would bike past this construction site until I decided to stop and build my own pop up homes with the leftover materials. Using found cinderblock and brick I built walls and adhered images of two different homes from a mobile home park located approximately one-hour North of Philadelphia. This work is commenting on the disappearance of affordable housing.
Jaspe St. installation video
@ The Old Stone House, Brooklyn, 2022
"For more than two centuries, economic opportunity and upward mobility have formed the foundation of the American Dream, and they remain at the core of our nation’s identity." (bit.ly/PewTrusts_AmericanDream)
We all have some predisposed idea of what the "American Dream" is and how we can obtain it. There’s the idea that if you work hard you will be rewarded with upper mobility and the notion that you will surpass your parents’ generation in income stability. What do you picture when you envision your dream(s): Is it a nice home for your family? Becoming debt free? Freedom? Did you grow up with this phrase and if so, how has it shaped you? This questionnaire is both virtual and in the form of a physical mailbox where you can hand write or draw a picture of what your dream is and drop it through the mailbox slot.
This survey is the next step in a wider exploration of class in the US, contextualized by our nationwide affordable housing crisis and how the American Dream shapes who we are.
This survey is anonymous. The information will be used for a forthcoming artist book about the American Dream and for identifying community concerns to share with local legislation. It’s my hope to be able to share the thoughts of Americans from all over the country so that we can begin to visualize our needs and the needs of others.
@ Queens Musuem
Future Narratives event sponsored by More Art & the Queens Museum.
Artist as Institution: A conversation between Amy Ritter, Andrew Freiband, and Esther Neff.
This map shows the locations of mailbox | ballot boxes across the US. This project first started in NYC and is continually growing.
Find a location near you —> Click here
Host a mailbox | ballot box in your community, institution, or local park. Please send an email to mh.theamericandream@gmail.com for more information.
Exhibition titled: Built-in
@ Loyola University, Julio Fine Arts Gallery, Baltimore, MD
69.5 IN x 19.5 IN x 62 IN
Xerox print, wood paneling laminated plywood, 2x4’s
Install view of figural sculpture, Built-in.
58.5 IN x 93.5 IN x 0.5 IN
Xerox print, OSB plywood
41.5 IN x 69.5 IN x 0.5 IN
Xerox print, OSB plywood
46 IN x 71 IN x 0.5 IN
Xerox print, OSB plywood
47 IN x 25 IN x 0.5 IN
Xerox print on OSB plywood
Xerox print, OSB plywood
8 IN x 6 IN
Drawings made with graphite stick on acid free paper
MH refers to Mobile Home. This is a selection of MH park drawings I began when archiving mobile home parks through digital photos and through journaling. These drawings depict a map of each neighborhood through a line drawing.
9.5 IN x 23 IN x 15.75 IN
Cinderblock, OSB plywood, concrete casted heating vent
Xerox photographic images pasted to the façade of the gallery in upstate NY.
Largest figure is 17 FT tall
This project was part of a solo exhibition I had in upstate NY in the spring of 2019 called FAÇADE | SCAFFOLD. I wanted to create a human scaffolding using the body as building material to talk about class hierarchy and social mobility. Using scale and the structure of scaffolding the figures build their own way up to the top and comment on the female body and its labor in connection to class. This installation has been on view since May 2019 and is currently still on display.
Detail of two figures with cinder blocks
Process shot of using scaffolding to install this work.
Photo courtesy of LeAnna Click
This shows how the facade of this gallery looked as I began painting it black.
Photo courtesy of LeAnna Click
9 IN x 6 IN
Archival Inkjet Print, edition of 20
8 IN x 12 IN
Archival Inkjet Print, edition of 20
Wood paneling, paint, xerox prints, ink, tape
A scaled down model collage of the facade of the gallery as a way to figure out scale, gesture, & positioning.
8 FT x 4 FT x 4 FT
Xerox photographic print, wood paneling, cinderblocks, brick, gravel
@ The Museum of Sex
8 FT x 4 FT x 4 FT
Photographic xerox print, wood paneling, cinderblocks, gravel
@ The Porch Gallery
Xerox print, cardboard, casted concrete, cinderblock
9 FT x 4 FT x 4 FT
@ ROY G BIV Gallery, OH
7 x 19.5 x 46 feet
Fully equipped with landscaping, gravel lot, front walkway, lawn ornaments, staircase, oil tank, lamppost, electricity, and water hook up.
@ Socrates Sculpture Park
Within the dimensions of a standard mobile home plot, I combine all the amenities and embellishments that make a site a home, including regular lawn maintenance and seasonal decorations. Located at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City; the erasure of space where a mobile home once resided can be understood as a reminder of the lack of equitable, sustainable housing as a problem for both urban and rural American communities. A Take-One box was placed on the property to share information about the neighborhood and to advertise the lot for rent.
My mother, brother, and uncle all helped with the installation of this sculpture. My mother donated plants from her own MH garden. My brother helped construct some of the carpentry elements, my uncle advised me on planting and watering. The Stairs were built to the same specifications of my parents mobile and then transported to their home and installed after the show.
Skowhegan Performs 2017
Johnny Strom performs by mowing the lawn of “Singlewide”. Props include: 6 pack of beer, cigarettes, lawn mower, boombox playing classic rock. This performance comments on the socio-stigmas and stereotypes that surround mobile home life.
58.5 IN x 93.5 IN x 0.5 IN
Birch Meadows 1 is part of a window series depicting both a pictorial view and characterization of a particular space and community within mobile home parks. This has been an intimate portrait project stemming from my current practice of archiving mobile home parks across the united states. The texture from the OSB plywood comes through the image that has been pasted to the wood and layered with reflection that allows for an outsider to have an intimate view into the world of mobile home parks and the issues surrounding affordable housing.
46 IN x 71 IN x .5 IN
48.75 IN x 44.5 IN x 0.5 IN
47 IN x 25 IN x .5 IN
41.5 IN x 69.5 IN x .5 IN
46.25 x 24.75
59 IN x 37 IN x .5 IN
65 IN x 61 IN x .5 IN
48 IN x 39 IN x .5 IN
site specific installation
45 IN x 94 IN x 14 IN
Photographic xerox prints, OSB plywood
34 Ft x 4 Ft x 5 IN
Xerox photographic prints, plywood
This grouping of photographic mobile home plywood cut-outs is a traveling work that has been installed in several locations. This iteration was installed in 2016 in a field at Truro Air Force Base located off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The homes are staked into the ground; installed individually or in groupings to give them either an idyllic setting or placed in a highly visible location. This is a sampling of mobile homes I’ve photographed in a specific geographical location and shows how I’ve used the mobility of this installation as a way to share it with different communities.
Installed on the front lawn of Arlington Arts Center, VA
Front of home: 8 FT x 8 FT print
Xerox photographic print
This installation was created in Johnson VT in an abandoned mobile home. The image on the front of the home was taken from a photo album found inside. The image depicts Houston Harris who’s ring name was BOBO Brazil was an American wrestler known for breaking down racial segregation in professional wrestling. The interior image on the left was taken in a mobile home park located down the road from the homes site.
Interior left image: 8 FT x 17 FT
Interior right: 8 FT X 5 FT
I began making cut-outs of my body in the summer of 2013. These figures show my multiple identities expressing different aspects of my psyche, and my cultural subconscious.
64.5 IN x 147 IN x 45 IN
Photographic xerox print, OSB plywood, 2x4’s, cinderblocks
Photo credit: Sam Morgan Photography
photo credit: Jacob Koestler
Photographic xerox print, Wood paneling, plywood, 2x4’s, cinderblocks
Photographic xerox print, plywood, 2x4’s, cinderblocks
Photographic xerox print, plywood, 2x4’s, cinderblocks
Photographic xerox print, plywood cutouts
2016 @ Hudson D. Walker Gallery
Photographic color xerox print, OSB plywood, Cinderblock
46 IN x 36 IN x 10 IN
Xerox print, cardboard
2014
9'x8'x6"
Xerox print, cardboard
2014@ ROY G BIV
5'x 3.5'
Xerox print, Cardboard
2014
8'x2.5'
Xerox print, board, tar
2014@ Urban Arts Space
8'6"x7'8"
Xerox print, cardboard, casted concrete, cinderblock
2014 @ Urban Arts Space
Variable dimensions
Video of the installation "This Embrace" to show scale
@ The Urban Arts Space
Xerox print, cardboard, concrete
2014 @ The Urban Arts Space
figures are 46" tall
35 IN x 48 IN x .5 IN, edition of 3
photographic xerox print, roofing tar, wood paneling
Miniature series editions available
11 IN x 17 IN x .5 IN
Photographic xerox print, roofing tar, wood paneling
Miniature series editions available
5 IN x 5 IN, edition of 5
This is a photograph taken in my studio of me with a projection of my parents Mobile Home house on my body.
In the Collection of LAWRENCE MILLER
5 IN x 5 IN, edition of 5
5 IN x 5 IN, edition of 5
8 IN x 10 IN, archival inkjet prints
This is a series of Mobile Homes with defining Hedges that act as both a barrier of protection and privacy and also as an aestheticizing feature.
In the collection of MARTIN Z. MARGULIES COLLECTION
Photographic xerox print, mounted to wood panel, steel frame, Editions available
Photo credit: Neil Kohl
Photographic xerox prints, mounted to wood panel, stell frame, Editions available
Photo credit: Neil Kohl
Photo credit: Neil Kohl
Photographic Xerox print
Photographic xerox print, chalk, roofing tar, mounted to wood panel
Xerox print, cardboard
2014 @ Vermont Studio Center
11" w x 17" h
9.5 IN x 23 IN x 15.75 IN
Cinderblock, OSB plywood, concrete casted heating vent
Concrete, rebar, wood
2014 @ Urban Arts Space, Columbus OH
14"x36"
Concrete, chair
2014 @ Urban Arts Space
Concrete, wood
2013
13"x 16"x 6"
Xerox Image
North Philadelphia, PA
Xerox photographic print
North Philadelphia, PA
Xerox Image, Cinder blocks
FDR Skate Park, Philadelphia, PA
Pants Blow is a series of glass forms I made by blowing glass straight into denim jeans.
2013 @ The Soap Factory
Glass, lard, wood
Glass and soot
2013
Digital Prints
2013
This series of photographs explores the relationship physically and emotionally to the material of glass. The forms were made by blowing glass into denim jeans from a series call "Pants Blow".
A video showing the process of making the Pants Blow Series.
http://kepklub.com
KÉP KLUB is an international group of uniformed ‘art workers’ who first formed in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. The three artists: Amy Ritter (US), Kieran Butler (AU), and Rob Burton (UK), use expanded drawing, photographic and installation practices to create site responsive, often public, artworks in the context(s) they fine themselves in. Adopting a methodology of collecting images and stories KÉP KLUB works to question the role of the contemporary artist and audience. Who is the ‘art worker’, and what value does a community assign them, and how can they collaborate (or work together).
KÉP KLUB invited the people of Zalaegerszeg to donate a space or object of their choosing. Surfaces included, but were not limited to, walls, garage doors, fences or objects such as a bicycle or an item of clothing. After a site visit and interview the artists design colors and imagery specific to the individual or family in their own artistic style. In this way KÉP KLUB becomes not only a collaboration between the three artists, but also a collaboration with the community. In an attempt to understand this unknown environment, the artist create a new connection with the places and people they meet.
Kép Klub Interview
Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
Mixer Residency, 2015
Szilvie's Garage Doors
Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
2015
