well, recipes for kneeling has been unplugged, dismantled and packed away so if you didn't make it down to the fringe gallery you can still get a sense of it by watching this video, made by my wonderfully talented friend larry.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
some more images
here are some more installation shots from the opening afternoon, courtesy of my friend dave. it was actually quite a lovely opening. someone removed their shoes. someone told me that they felt they were "connecting with G-d". someone felt that it was a sacred space. someone wanted to be careful they weren't intruding on something spiritual. several people had to get past the fact that an exhibition could be in the dark and on the floor, never mind that the work needed to be touched and opened. no one spent less than 15 or 20 minutes, and several spent considerably more time than that with the work. i realized after an hour or so that i had forgotten to play any music. other than sigur ros' ( ), i'm not sure that anything could have been better than the hush in the space...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
the images
someone has requested that i make the specific images from the books in recipes for kneeling available for viewing so, as promised, i have obliged.
these are the 12 images (click on them for details) that were placed inside the lightbox/books. the initial stages involved a combination of collage images and more linear woodcuts as well as drawings. thanks to my wonderful webster's and my etymological dictionaries, as well as the input and contributions of both friends and strangers, i had numerous images and ideas to reflect on as i developed the images. at first i was unsure about including text in the pieces, but as the images developed and began connecting to each other, i decided to complicate some of those relationships by introducing text as simply another way to point the viewer or reader in certain directions.
the texts don't always function the same way -- sometimes they seem to confirm or affirm what's happening in the images, and sometimes they create a dissonance or a friction in the interpretation. and really, that back&forth is an essential part of what i'm interested in as that means that the viewer must make a decision as to how they will 'read' a piece, and then that reading will be complicated when they engage with the next (or another) piece.
these are the 12 images (click on them for details) that were placed inside the lightbox/books. the initial stages involved a combination of collage images and more linear woodcuts as well as drawings. thanks to my wonderful webster's and my etymological dictionaries, as well as the input and contributions of both friends and strangers, i had numerous images and ideas to reflect on as i developed the images. at first i was unsure about including text in the pieces, but as the images developed and began connecting to each other, i decided to complicate some of those relationships by introducing text as simply another way to point the viewer or reader in certain directions.
the texts don't always function the same way -- sometimes they seem to confirm or affirm what's happening in the images, and sometimes they create a dissonance or a friction in the interpretation. and really, that back&forth is an essential part of what i'm interested in as that means that the viewer must make a decision as to how they will 'read' a piece, and then that reading will be complicated when they engage with the next (or another) piece.
Monday, October 13, 2008
some background
initially, i was approached and offered the opportunity to exhibit based on some previous work (i will post images if it is of interest to my readers). knowing the space, i was determined to do something new with my work and to try to take advantage of the lo-fi/ industrial mood of the space. also, i knew i had a lot of freedom and could use the space (and fill it or not) however i wished.
i had wanted to turn some books into lightboxes for quite some time (i have 4 or 5 boxes of condensed Reader's Digests, thanks to the local Catholic Church), but had no idea how to go about constructing them. that was the primary challenge since i was absolutely ignorant about the electrical logistics of the planned (hoped for?) piece, and the metaphors of books and light were core to the work. without the lightbox/books, i would have made an entirely different exhibition (though not really - it would still involve the idea of books and explore many of the same ideas). and now i can explore those ideas for other spaces.
in my sketchbooks i collect random [para]phrases and quotes, and recipes for kneeling was one that had been resonating for some time. that phrase became the generating impulse for the exhibition. i knew that i would use books, and i knew that i wanted to use light (and therefore darkness). i knew that i wanted to incorporate an interactive and physical (ritual?) element. the main issue was: how do i build them? the second issue was: what kinds of images do i want to employ (if any)? of course, there were other questions: what media? do i use collage? drawing? painting? should i use text? what size? how many? what arrangement?
to be honest, i tried revisiting previous abandoned images and pieces, but nothing seemed to really suit the piece. while i do tend to work more conceptually (.e. i have an idea and i work towards that idea, considering how the materials 'work' or 'speak', as well as what kinds of images or texts that i want to use) there is also an intuitive component to developing the work and the images/ texts, and the connections between those elements. the first image that seemed to work for the piece was a combination of the following 2 images (which did get used for the piece, albeit in slightly altered form):
these images started generating other related images, and that started the process. in addition, i researched the meaning and history of these two words, and solicited responses from friends, acquaintances and strangers through various forums i haunt. they ended up providing me with an interesting list of options and responses, both specific and general, which also generated images.
i had wanted to turn some books into lightboxes for quite some time (i have 4 or 5 boxes of condensed Reader's Digests, thanks to the local Catholic Church), but had no idea how to go about constructing them. that was the primary challenge since i was absolutely ignorant about the electrical logistics of the planned (hoped for?) piece, and the metaphors of books and light were core to the work. without the lightbox/books, i would have made an entirely different exhibition (though not really - it would still involve the idea of books and explore many of the same ideas). and now i can explore those ideas for other spaces.
in my sketchbooks i collect random [para]phrases and quotes, and recipes for kneeling was one that had been resonating for some time. that phrase became the generating impulse for the exhibition. i knew that i would use books, and i knew that i wanted to use light (and therefore darkness). i knew that i wanted to incorporate an interactive and physical (ritual?) element. the main issue was: how do i build them? the second issue was: what kinds of images do i want to employ (if any)? of course, there were other questions: what media? do i use collage? drawing? painting? should i use text? what size? how many? what arrangement?
to be honest, i tried revisiting previous abandoned images and pieces, but nothing seemed to really suit the piece. while i do tend to work more conceptually (.e. i have an idea and i work towards that idea, considering how the materials 'work' or 'speak', as well as what kinds of images or texts that i want to use) there is also an intuitive component to developing the work and the images/ texts, and the connections between those elements. the first image that seemed to work for the piece was a combination of the following 2 images (which did get used for the piece, albeit in slightly altered form):
these images started generating other related images, and that started the process. in addition, i researched the meaning and history of these two words, and solicited responses from friends, acquaintances and strangers through various forums i haunt. they ended up providing me with an interesting list of options and responses, both specific and general, which also generated images.
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