… no – not Sanders. Krause. Bernie Krause, bioacoustician extraordinare.
If ever there was a reason to listen, Bernie describes it best here:
Think about it, then next time you walk around outside. Pay attention to what you hear. What does it tell you about where you are?
It’s been a head-down, get-things-done time for several months now. Board work, projects in various stages of development requiring attention, travel, … and soon, an exhibition of work.
I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to return to the Boundary|Time|Surface project over the last several months – digging back into the images and video, thinking through the ideas again, making new work.
And soon, the results of that revisiting will be on exhibition at the Art Gallery of St. Albert!
The exhibition opens on September 5 2019, at 6:00 pm. – and continues until November 2 2019.
It has been a really interesting process to look at this body of work with the fresh eyes of time and distance, and to consider the ways in which my perceptions of the place and the thoughts it provoked have both changed, and stayed the same. Interesting too, that many of the concerns I had that were brought to bear on the first iteration of work for gallery presentation have only become more urgent – closer to the bone for me.
Every time I look at the photos and video I took in 2014 during my residency in Gros Morne National Park, I learn something more. About myself and what I value as a human being, as much about the nuances in the place itself. It was good and difficult work to go back into the material, push harder with research and art-making both, and consider the implications of bringing this work (in essence) almost all the way across the country for a second showing.
A good friend and fellow artist asked me once “when do you know the work is finished?” For this body of work … I don’t know that I will ever be “finished” – at the least, not with the ideas inherent in the project. But I am, overall, happy with the results of reading and writing and running down rabbit holes of ideas that has been going on for the past year.
SO – this exhibition with feature a good bit of brand-new work, and those pieces from 2016 that ‘made the cut’ will have new conversations and readings in relation to what I’ve been working on/through. This is also the first time this work (in any iteration) had been shown west of Newfoundland … so even “old” work feels new in this context.
I hope those of you reading this in the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada region will join me at the opening (more exciting news on that to follow soon!) … hope to see you there.
SO happy I came across this lovely work by Paul Johnson. I’m really entranced by these little moments.
Landthropologic, Earthworks In Motion from Paul Johnson on Vimeo.
Enjoy. And check out Paul Johnson !
Happy to say that the video work I did in collaboration with Deborah Carruthers – Slippages & Panelled/Slippages – is in a Group Exhibition at Zygote Gallery in Cleveland OH. Capturing the Aura of the Already Said, curated by Margaret Hart, is on exhibition until April 26th.
An Excerpt of the performance video with synched audio below:
And Panelled/Slippages, full length with audio:
After a whirlwind – and lovely – trip to Vancouver to install Macromareal(redux) at ECUAD, Scott and I are back in Edmonton and digging into all the other work we have to do.
Part of that for me has been editing the first batch of documentation from this exhibition, so I can share it with you.
So – without further hoopla:
And here are a few stills, for good measure!
Some beautiful images to start the year. My thanks to Karen McRae and her exquisite eye for capturing these moments so perfectly.
Wishing everyone a good 2019!
All images copyright Karen McRae, 2019, including ‘featured image’ at the top of this page.
It has been a quiet, gentle day. No hubbub.
A day to watch snow fall. Play some music. Make food and eat it.
Tomorrow will be busier; family coming over for a shared meal, gifts exchanged – a different kind of energy, no less delightful for all of that.
And tonight – a chance to pause again, and wish everyone a safe, happy, and peaceful night, filled with laughter and love. Be gentle with each other, and with yourself. The light is coming back, and now is the time to nurture new ideas and projects, to welcome change and the turn of the wheel for another year.
My thanks to those who read my posts here, on whatever platform. I am grateful for the privilege of being able to share my thoughts with you.
I wish each of you the Very Best this Season has to offer, however you may enjoy it.
Be well and take care of one another.
Here’s a video of the performance of Slippages, edited by Jonathan Girard to show the relationship between the Graphic Score written by Deborah Carruthers & the performance the audience heard.
It was great to be involved in this project; my thanks to Deborah, Jonathan, and John William for being such great collaborators, and for welcoming me in to this project!
Enjoy.
Happy to say that I have been busy sorting and packing work, and helping to write a presentation for the last while …
Scott Smallwood and I will be presenting a talk and our collaborative work Macromareal: a rising tide lifts all boats at Crossing Boundaries/IAST 2018 symposium, October 25 – 27th!
If you would like more background on this project, see the blog posts here>, here>, here>, and here> – and the project page HERE>
It’s going to be a really interesting few days, and I am looking forward to meeting the other participants and talking with them about discipline-bridging work. I’ve long held the belief that the ‘divide’ between art & science as disciplines is false and limiting – which is not to say that there aren’t real challenges to be faced when working this way.
But there are so many rich opportunities to be had for artists to stretch themselves and learn to ‘speak science’ a bit better, and pay attention to the precision in research & practice in that discipline – just as there are for scientists to learn how to ‘speak art’ a bit better and open up the potential for co-creation, and approaching their work with fresh eyes (and ears!)
Here’s a great little interview with Jonathan Girard and Deborah Carruthers about Slippages,and some of the thinking behind the work! Getting very very excited to see this all come together tomorrow. Enjoy!