I am looking toward the Opening of Chaotic Bodies this Thursday at Mile Zero Dance – and not surprisingly, I am thinking a great deal about relationship, space, and how our bodies convey information.
What we communicate with gesture and movement is so vital to our understanding – to meaning-making – but also to the way and amount of space we occupy.
All this to say: one of the things I wanted to consider in the creation of Chaotic Bodies was how bodies communicate ideas of control, balance, containment, connection, release … .
And then I came across the amazing work of artist/metalsmith Jennifer Crupi.
So much food for thought here: the controlled gesture. The canonization of particular movements that render them significant, understood as physical language that conveys information through relationship to other, to space.
I find the language here telling too. The Power Gesture object requires the user to assume a particular position, as do all of these sculptural objects: (con)forming to set positions to send a message.
Pondering further: if we wish to convey information bodily, how do we control or contain that which we wish to remain hidden? What if we can’t? What if our actions in space and in relationship express or reflect what we see around us, rather than what we feel? Or conversely: what if we cannot help but express the uncontrollable within us?
These thoughts & questions, amongst others, have informed the work in Chaotic Bodies. I have no fixed answers – but am enjoying the journey through the questions.
So strange, that process: how things come out of boxes and wrapping to take on a life of their own for a while, and then disappear again.
It was a great experience – a lovely way to come ‘full circle’ with this work and see it from a different vantage point (coming out on the other side, so to speak).
That was in fact the case when a delightful group of poets I had worked with in 2007 (a decade, already?!) came to the gallery to do a reading of work from a collaborative collection titled Eyeing the Magpie. It was nice to re-connect with these poets, and to have this bird-inspired work presented in the context of this exhibition was really fun. My thanks to Nancy MacKenzie, Anna Mioduchowska, Julie C Robinson, Myrna Garanis, and Rusti Lehay (all pictured below) for presenting their work!
I am so grateful to the McMullen Gallery for the opportunity to exhibit this body of work; the context and the feedback I received throughout the exhibition was invaluable to me, and allowed me to see my work and my practice as a whole in a new way.
Deep Thanks also to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, for the support in creating the soundscape for this exhibition!
So now, a shift to new things – the first inklings of the coming spring are in the air, a new project going up for exhibition this week, and lots of studio work and new ideas percolating.
Some simple, beautiful work here. A thoughtful dialogue with the land, and our impact upon it as part of an ongoing process of creation …. and destruction. Here, as in all things, we truly do reap what we sow. Nice to know that occasionally that the product can also be beauty.
As summer slips into Autumn, I am reminded that beauty lies in the moment, and in those details that provoke a little wonder. My thanks to eMorphes for the shot of colour on a grey Monday.
The process of installing (and then striking) and exhibition always feels a little bit like alchemy to me.
It’s the presentation of a series of things transformed: from the raw materials, to the work, to the exhibition itself … and then it all disappears again. Of course it’s not that at all in practical terms.
It’s the work of being an artist, in all the different shapes that takes.
Still, it’s an interesting process to be completely inside, from start to finish …
From This:
To This:
To This:
And Finally:
And soon, all those boxes will be on their way across the country … and I have no idea where they will wind up after that!
It’s been a remarkable time; the residency and performance, the talk, the exhibition … and now that it’s all done and packed up, a little time to reflect.
The first week was all about slowing down, getting reacquainted with the town and the land … shifting gears, not unlike the tides here do every 12 hours.
There’s a generosity to the pace of life in Parrsboro; in the Maritimes in general. There’s room enough and time enough to do what you need to do. It’s a precious thing. It’s also been really nice reconnecting with people I’d met last year, seeing friends who live in this part of the country, catching up on news, feeling welcomed. A good place to start getting myself sorted, to make work, gather ideas like I gathered materials … .
It’s been a summer notable too for the generosity of several people that have left me feeling deeply grateful for the opportunity to be making work in this place.
So, this is a note of thanks, to many people, and on many counts:
To two lovely local visitors to my work space in the Nonesuch Centre for the Performing Arts (which was formerly Trinity United Church here in town). Louis Heb came by to see what was happening, and shared stories about himself and his family’s connection to the church over the years: in particular a family member who was the church organist. Tom Hatfield came by too – he remembered attending Boy Scout meetings when he was a kid, in the same room I am working in now. He also remembered the organ, and the lovely acoustics. Both Louis and Tom were happy to see that the building was going to be saved, and taken care of, and used to bring people together again. It was a real gift to be offered these stories, and to see so directly the way in which the building still houses the memories of the community in an active way. It’s remarkable to be sharing the space with all of that history, and making work derived from the landscape and objects that come from the area.
Things and places – like people – hold histories and memories of their own.
To Randy Corcoran, captain, amazing source of sea-and-boat-related stuff, and an artist in his own right. My hosts at Main & Station connected me to Randy after my residency last year, and he and I had been in touch over the winter about various materials and objects I was looking for to make sculptures. He’s a busy guy – doing charter boat tours and house painting in the summers – so I felt fortunate that he had a bit of time to spare to show me some of the things he’s gathered, and get his invaluable assistance in finding more materials and getting them to the studio. It turned out that Randy had a great stash of things that were going to be really, really useful for this project, and he’d managed to get a lead on a key item I’d been searching for …
Which brings me to thanking…
Donald McCully (the Fox) – who really made my day by parting with an old hand sewn canvas sail that became a key part of the exhibition! I also got a look at the boat he built, and hear about the process of building it, and other stories besides.
To Judith & Harvey at Main and Station, who have been a vital part of this project since its very early days, and supported Scott and me by awarding us a research residency in 2016 and the residency & Fellowships this year to realize the project.
To Susan Clarke (curator) June Wagstaff (archivist), and Lisa Miller (digital records/archives) at Ottawa House Museum. Thanks to you all for your support of this project!
Susan allowed Scott and I to do some field recordings at the Museum in 2016 that have made their way into the soundscape Scott created for our exhibition. She also allowed us to borrow a ship’s bell from the collection for the performance of “Macromareal Prelude” on August 5 & 6. June and Lisa have also been incredibly helpful to me in searching through the image archives and other holdings of the Museum.
To Krista Wells, another local artist @ Artlab – for the scrap canvas I so desperately needed to repair the sail! AND for her excellent coffee and conversation over the month, and for being part of the “Macromareal Band” for our performance on August 6th!
To ALL the musicians, who made the premiere of “Macromareal Prelude” such a success: Kyle Dinaut – tuba, Michael Fuller – baritone saxophone, Timi Levy – violin, Jamie Oatt – trumpet, Joel Robertson – clarinet, Bruce Robertson – trumpet, Krista Wells – trombone
To Angela Glanzmann, friend and fellow artist, for documenting the performance, so that I could be an active participant.
To Nancy Agati and Sara McKarney – who were also on residencies this summer at Main & Station: thanks to you both for the great feedback and insight into the work, thanks for the laughs and the beach walks, and for being such great artists. You are both so inspiring.
To Scott Smallwood, collaborator extraordinaire, colleague, and friend. Thank you for your hard work, generous sharing of ideas and knowledge, and for your faith in this project. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with you … and I hope we can do more together SOON!
To John Waldron, inspirer and supporter of cross – disciplinary doing & making, partner, collaborator, teacher, and dearest of friends.
Couldn’t do any of this without you – thank you for showing me new ways to see and new ways to think about the world.
So – thank you all, again – and thanks to everyone else that has been a part of this adventure: friends new and old – some of whom came to town while we were there – Emily Jan & Marie-Eve Martel (!) …
… and to visitors to the exhibition who stayed to chat, and the community of Parrsboro for being our home for a bit.
I’m a little boggled by how the days have passed by since our exhibition opened. Just this week, and I’m back to Parrsboro to take down the show, and pack it all up for shipping.
I’ve been really quite chuffed by the feedback we have been getting on the work. Our lovely hosts at Main & Station tell us that there have been a good many visitors, and that many of them have been spending some real time with the work. Some, up to an hour.
That is so lovely to hear. I am deeply grateful to everyone that has stopped in so far, and for the opportunity to show this brand-new work, fresh out of the studio.
And if you are in the area, macromareal (a rising tide lifts all boats) is on exhibition until August 26th at Main & Station in the 2nd floorGallery. If you do stop by, please let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the work!
Had a lovely time at the opening reception yesterday afternoon; some great conversations with people, and a good turn out! Lovely food too – thanks to Judith at Main & Station!
I was quite struck with the reaction of people to the show: several guests stayed for a long time, just watching and listening. Had several people let me know they were going to come back and sit with the work when they could.
Couldn’t be happier with that. It’s extremely rewarding to hear – and I’m grateful that people took the time to speak with me and comment on the work at length.
A short video walk-through for you here. More images to follow soon!
The days have been flying past, and I find myself here, on the eve of our exhibition opening in Parrsboro!
I am looking forward to sharing the work Scott and I have been developing over the course of this residency, and interested in hearing feedback about it.
For those in the area of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, details are:
Saturday August 12, 2017
4:00 – 8:00 pm
Opening Reception
at
Main & Station, 2nd Floor Gallery
168 Main Street, Parrsboro
Artists will be in attendance.
Looking forward to seeing those of you that can make it!
For those farther afield:
I’ll be posting images from the Opening and some documentation of the show here in the next few days.