Readings / Research from Residency #1 Authors / Artists / Critics: Robert Kushner El Anatsui Byron Kim Helen and Newton

Harrison Justin Lowe Mike Kelly Lygia Clark Jonah Freedman Richard Noland Richard Tuttle Robert Smithson Gedi Sibone Isa Genzken Arman Emil Lukas Marina Abramovic Vito Acconci Chris Burden Robert Morris Rirkrit Tiravanija Natalie Jeremejinko Ted Efremoff Jean Shin

Natalie Quagilitto Dan Graham Tino Sehgal Michelle Brody loss of nature; nature and technology Mons Range Javier Telez Paul Rameros Jonas Francis Alice Emily Jacir TJ Demos Sharon Hayes Allora and Calzadilla Susan Laycee Joseph Boyse Leroy Neiman

Titles: Robert Kushner s Happy Consciousness in Robert Kushner. Philadelphia: Institute of Contemporary Art, 1987. Patter and Decoration: an ideal vision in American Art, 1975-1985. By Anne Swarts, Hudson River Museum Silence, by John Cage Open Sky, by Paul Verillo Andrea Zittel: Critical Space, 2005

Envisioning Information Spectacle of the Everyday Notes on Participatory Art by Gustaf Almenberg, 2010 Land Art by William Malpus Blurring the Boundaries Formless by Yve-Alain Bois Participation, Claire Bishop, 2006 Installation Art: A Critical History, Claire Bishop, 2005. Left Curve, Volume 31, 2007 Sculpture in the Expanded World, by Rosalind Krauss Artworks Perform, by Jens Hoffman and Joan Jonas, New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 2005 Outside the Frame: Performance and the Object, Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, 1994 Performance: Live Art Since 1960, Roselee Goldberg, NY: Harry Abrams, Inc. 1998 Un-Monumental Performance Art from Futurism to the Present, RoseLee Goldberg, NY: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 2001 Idea Art, ed. Gregory Battcock, NY: EP Dutton and Co., Inc., 1973 Art and Text, London: Black Dog Publishing, 2009 Art as Life, Allan Kaprow, eds. Meyer-Herman, Perchuk and Rosenthal, LA: Getty Research Institute, 2008 Marina Abramovic the Artist is Present, Klaus Biesenbach, NY: The Museum of Modern Art, 2010

Other Research Topics: Relational aesthetics / relational art Zen (writings by Suzuki) Documentation of a project being the art vs. the idea and the creation of the work being the art

What forms social norms? How do Social Norms develop? Role of Community in current society? Urban Tribe theory. Aget prop We know what we experience. It is difficult to think of anything else as truth; but it is even harder to know it as truth. Human Nature interaction; the need for nature in today s culture The more points of view a work can have the better the art work (according to Jan s presentation). How does the involvement of the creator in the making of a piece influence the meaning of the piece? If I have someone else make the piece does it lose or gain meaning? I think it depends on who was used to make it was it contracted out, or was it made by a group of kids who through the making gained a lot from the project? Personal experience always plays into art and viewership how to utilize this / maximize this to benefit the effectiveness of a piece? Using yourself in your art? Persona and performance or public interaction is very helpful in situating yourself in the discourse. Use art to make questions / confusions / concerns more obvious. Shed light on issues, but do so obliquely. Create some confusion or at least ambiguity. Don t be literal be indirect. Create peculiar ways to approach major life issues / point out world issues. Allan McCollum said that unique and same are two sides of the same coin. We celebrate the unique, but everyone tends to dress alike; advertizing works on the fact that we all want to be the same, even when we want to be our own unique individual. The viewer completes the meaning of a work (Rauschenberg) Direct your art through the deep investigating / questioning of philosophies and norms of our culture. In the contemporary definition of Art it is not about the making; the Artist is not a technician, but much, much more. They must attach the history and contemporary discourse of philosophy and culture into their art practice; and the earlier the better. Discourse has replaced facility / technical skill. The complexity of the work should match the complexity of the ideas / depth of the research. How to create art work that has a sense of familiarity to it, while also being ambiguous, so the viewer feels like there is a connection they should be making that is just out of reach.

Paper Topics: Critical Theory Paper We are products of our environment; what we know is based on our life experiences. It is difficult to think of anything else as truth; but it is even harder to know it as truth. Comparative Analysis Paper investigate the role of the artist (artist as facilitator) and intended outcome for one of Rirkrit Tirevenija s dinner party works and Fia Backstrom s KC Museum piece on agency of the artist. Compare and contrast these two works.

Critique summaries: Sunanda regarding my sculptural work, recommended looking at the P and D movement of the 70 s (Kushner and others); also recommended looking at the cultural relation to abstraction (artists to look at include El Anatsui and Byron Kim). Regarding installation work and more participatory projects look at relational aesthetics; make people uncomfortable / challenge people s comfort zones [Note to self: this sounds like my leadership teaching use of challenge to help people grow. How can I bring in my background / expertise here???!!!] Subjective development of art combines personal experiences with objective research. Visiting / entering a space is very different than actively partitipating. Concept of active form: sense of continuing on; able to be added to; unfinished Helen and Newton Harrison proposal intensive projects; the proposal can be the artwork Experiment with placing / inserting sculptural creations naturally in the space rather than using pedestals (natural ledges, in corners, etc.) Critique on video: try adding sounds of nature rather than silent; experiment with more solid snow background so that the line shows up better (thicker rope possibly as well?? Will it still blow in the wind as well?) DTW experiment with ideas for science building proposal (e.g. do the test-tubes with water and document all of it collecting the samples, daily growth of algae, etc.); start recording the daily UV exposure world map; research other possible data to include on the monitor (radiation levels, wildfires,

drought; etc.); mock-ups of the mobile; mock-ups of other project ideas; use mock-ups to work out the design / aesthetic component; use drawings also to work on the design / aesthetic of the piece; document everything. Look at Emile Lucas discovery, experimentation, aesthetic presentation. Look at other projects of Natalie Jeremejinko (Mass MOCA upside down trees). Look at Fluxes group Survival Kit. Group crit on Barriers / Wind in the Trees proposal: ideas to experiment with different materials (e.g. wood, fabric, people ), various locations (more urban or more rural), various scales (larger or smaller). Steve Samson- explore / experiment in different directions; integrate your past experiences / expertise in with your art work; test out projects (esp. relational ideas) with students are viewers / participants; thoughts after crit: how to design reflection into the art experience when doing interactive projects (maybe use a souvenir that has text on it that is thought provoking and directs their thoughts back to the experience); need to research more about my ideas around using art as a processing tool how can I make interactive projects that will be more effective in leading the participant to reflect back on their lives / experience? Judith Barry look at current US reps at the Venice Biennale (they show at Barbara Gladstone in NY); other artists to look at: Sharon Hayes, TJ Demos, Hito Steyrolis, Emily Jacir, Francis Alice, Paul Rameros Jonas, Javier Telez, Mons Range, and also look at In-Site (San Diego and Tijuana art festival lots of participatory projects), as well as Susan Laycee, Joseph Boyse, Paul Chan; books to look at: Public Art by Tom Finklepearl, One Place After Another, Hal Foster, the upcoming Creative Time project in NY. Look at Judith s Body without limits . Think about how to use work from participatory projects in an installation after to show the work. Think about how to most effectively document the work (video, stills, etc.); can combine it with 3-D mockups, written plan, architectural plan, etc. Can you get one key photo that shows it? If not, then need to have more. This needs to be part of the planning process for the work, not an after the fact thought. Recommended moving to NY, or at least figuring out how to be spending more time there going to openings, key events, etc. to start meeting the key people.

Notes from Elective Designing Exhibition Spaces Installing the work is the finishing of the work how it works in the space and with the other work being showed will dictate how it is actually received; the entire space is the work 1) Environment a. Access b. Neighborhood (accessibility to, and feel of) c. Visibility d. Exterior of building e. What the block is like (amount of other art in the area) f. Scale of the space g. Signage

2) Space a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

Shape Volume Architectural Elements Method of display (hanging, pedestals, etc.) Color (walls, floor ceiling) Traffic flow / Entry / Exit Gestalt i. Sound ii. Layout / floor plan iii. Normal or uuniqe space iv. Wall and floor furnishings v. Smell vi. Temp. / humidity/ air quality vii. Degree of maintenance viii. Lighting ix. Outside / surrounding environment 3) The work a. Scale b. Sequence / arrangement / relationship c. Quantity d. Craftsmanship e. Flow / dividers / screening rooms for video projection f. Labeling / signage / text g. Method of display h. Media / set-up :reveal or conceal the projection system; different paint for projection surface i. Accessability j. Furniture (benches, etc.) k. Emersion into the work

Project Ideas: 1) Full proposal for the Science Building; the proposal will be the art work; go big / no limitations; elements to include a living mobile, algae test tubes, a monitor showing world UV levels, etc, and a water collection system on the roof with a self-regulating drip watering system. (1, 3) 2) Full proposal for an art walk trail to engage the viewer with the natural world; use of a quote to frame the experience and either a quote or a souvenir as a way to help increase the chance of reflection after the experience; or a guest book to sign in and share what you saw on your walk. (1, 3)

3) Revisit the butterfly effect piece (line and plane piece). Take one of the grab the stuffed animal games that has the claw to grab the toy and re-work the game so that it holds an object that casts a shadow on the base of the inside space. You have to move the claw so the object s shadow completes the butterfly shape. If not aligned within the time the object falls and breaks; or it automatically moves back to the top corner; or .??? (1, 3) 4) Interactive Impressions project: use of chance and participant creativity; have lines of text from nature writings (John Muir, Edward Abby, Thoreau, etc. )and from philosophical writings (Joseph Campbell??) in different bowls, as well as a bowl of fortune cookies. Participants role a die to determine which bowl to draw from; this is repeated a second time; then they take a fortune cookie. They can then arrange the three lines of text (two that were randomly drawn from rolling the die and the fortune from the cookie) however they want to create a poem. The poem will have a lack of cohesion (or a schizophrenia reflective of post-modern society), but this and the bit of humor created by the use of the fortunes will hopefully create a minor sense of disequilibrium and thus put the viewer / creator into a mental state that is more optimal for deeper reflection on the phrases they have chosen. Possibly have the phrases on plates with a mix of raised and engraved text which the participant would then create their poem by doing a rubbing on a piece of paper laid over the plates of text (this would have them more involved in the process and would also bring in a different visual effect / aesthetic). The fortune would then be glued to the paper using a glue stick. Have elements of physical, cognitive and creative or emotive to maximize the learning potential. (1, 3) 5) A survival kit to deal with the cataclysmic events of recent times (Fukushima, tornadoes and hurricanes, floods, ozone hole, drought, plague, cell-phone radiation ) look to the Fluxes survival kit for ideas, design / aesthetics. (1, 3) 6) Develop course outlines for things like followership (since Americans all want to be leaders), or how to make good assumptions. (1, 2) 7) Flagstones stacked in the shape of a body (designed into the landscape). (3) 8) Video clips of the sky taken from different locations (e.g. looking through / passed branches, along a tall building in the city, from in the bushes or weeds, open, etc.). Project on the ceiling. (1, 3) 9) Video of the sky taken from below a storm-drain grate (include the bars) in the city with people walking by, skyscraper, ideally a tree or bush above, clouds blowing by. Project on the ceiling. (1, 3) 10) Video of the sky taken from below a storm-drain grate (exclude the bars) in the city with people walking by, skyscraper, ideally a tree or bush above, clouds blowing by. Project on the ceiling. Mask the projection so that it appears to be from deep in a crack in the ground. (1, 3) 11) Interactive puzzles that will require participants to work together, and to enlist more people beyond their group. Use these to address the role of community and face-to-face interaction for problem solving and fun in today s society. Have rules / instructions to help enforce getting more people involved; design the activities so that a relatively large number of participants are required to solve them. Super clean lines; very high quality craftsmanship; very clean display (work toward showing these in a place like the Barbara Krakow Gallery natural wood and soft / neutral tones mixed with polished metal). (1, 2)

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a. fire swamp with linoleum or cork tile squares b. Helium stick / pole of enlightenment (long, thin dowel painted with a chrome finish, or a new tent pole with no scratches, and no manufacturer markings) c. Jewel transfer with glass or stone sphere in a holder; V-sections of wood molding; a nest out of velvet or?? d. Ball / maze game version of an all-aboard on a half-round dome center support with stainless or chrome ball from one cup to another. An outside version would be done in epoxy saturated plywood with marine paint for durability. Interactive project: invite pairs / couples to participate in each sharing a deeply held secret and fully talking it through before leaving (record the conversation); they are then sent home with art supplies and asked to forget all preconceptions about art just create a piece that is inspired in some way by the experience. Have each write about how their relationship with the other has been impacted by this experience. Project excerpts on the walls; play excerpts of the conversations; and show the art work that was created. (1, 2) Create an activity where the viewer has to pass along critical information to someone else before they leave the room. Possible idea: Room has various negative double binds on the walls and the info being passed along is key to understanding the concept of negative double binds. (1, 2) Positive double binds installation How do you know? : create 3-D letters (3-D printing?) so the questions come in and out of the wall (occasionally letters will be incomplete like they are in / behind the wall), twist and turn, like our thoughts. Use various colors, sizes and fonts to create a minor sense of confusion or disequilibrium. This puts the mind off guard and will allow a deeper level brain process on the questions. On the wall which you first see when you enter the space will be How do you know? and How could you know? repeated all over in a random arrangement. Then on the other walls will be Have you ever unknowingly been racist? , Could you have accidentally been a bigot before? , Have you ever found yourself to be selfcentered? , Have you ever unconsciously felt superior to others? , Have you ever caught yourself having thoughts based in gender stereotypes? , and Are you guilty of ever seeing Americans as somehow being superior? Above the exit will be Is there anything to learn here? (1) The Talk Shop Coffee / Tea house installation with Google voice transcripts of pre-recorded conversations about communication issues, an email string that derails , a phone conversation with a bad connection that derails (minor topic like what to pick up at the store turns into an argument with raised voices because it is hard to hear / understand, call gets dropped a couple of times, static), a recording of a monotone reading of Priest and Gass (2005) about communication, and a small photocopy of the Priest and Gass communication model. Comfy lounge chairs and sofas, hot tea and coffee, carpets on the floor, books on shelves. Painting of an ear on the wall, a couple walking outside in a field or in the woods, and of a game of cards; board games available to play under the glass-topped coffee table or on a side-table. (2) Interactive project: have students / participants create life maps from Birth to Present with all significant events (family issues, moves, schools, relationships / friendships everything that has made you who you are today). Then have participants hand write a one paragraph personal

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philosophy statement sharing core values and a one sentence life goal statement. Also have them trace their body outlines on newsprint (all in standard anatomical pose). Grid transfer these (size reduction) to BFK. Have them create the life maps over the outlines. (1) Incorporate the key components of the Outward Bound model in interactive work. Interview a few people. Ask each what has made you who you are today? Think of significant personal experiences, media, pop culture, etc. When they run out of things, repeat the question. Keep probing. Record the interview. Then give them mannequins (each the same pose, just differ to match gender and race) to paint, collage, etc. so as to be their representation of who they are and how they became this person. Can include significant smell(s). Project significant media (TV and/or movies) onto the mannequins (mask so that only shows on the mannequins). Each mannequin with a speaker inside playing edited portions of the interviews (participants allowed to give input on what to include or exclude). (1) Representations of fetuses(maybe made from nylon stockings coated in petroleum jelly) in fluid filled (with a tint of color and maybe a little bit viscous) chambers with umbilical cords hooked up to TV monitors that continually flip through shows, movies, magazine adds, web adds, you tube videos, etc. The monitors are positioned behind each tube/chamber. The viewer sees the fetus and the distorted image of the monitor directly behind. (1) New version of the trail project / art walk trail make it out of yellow pavers shaped like bricks (the Yellow Brick Road). Plays on the commercialization / Disneyfication of our public lands, as well as the fact that much of our knowledge of the wilderness is through TV rather than through experience (the Land of Oz was presented as this exotic but scary wilderness , not unlike in Avatar in contemporary times). We re not in Kansas anymore , but are we truly in nature, with this yellow brick road under foot? Like Jeff Koons using kitsch to address the commodification of art, the Yellow Brick Road would be using pop culture to address the question of what is the role of nature / wilderness in current culture; which is fitting since many people s preconceptions of what nature is like are based on media / pop culture s representations of nature, just like many people s ideas of art are more closely related to the kitschy stuff they grew up with than that of high art or contemporary art. (1, 3) Inwardly looking outward small, mirrored, concaved hourglass; the viewer gets a compressed and distorted view of their surroundings (the bigger world) and them self, just like in reality where we have a small, distorted view of the world because our view is based on our own experiences / culture / environment. To critically look at the bigger world is really to critically look at one s self.

Common Themes in Projects: 1) We are products of our environment / media / culture / experiences 2) Community / Interpersonal Relationships 3) Human / Nature relationships