Another Layer

Have had other projects on the fire, now, but with some time to reflect have wondered if taking the time to read each of the dangling collages may be unrealistic, especially if there is pressure to move on from behind. Think I will investigate adding layers of audio that can convey the same concepts in a different way, maybe from different directions.

Used iMovie HD to create a video and will work on getting it posted..... eventually.

Aftermath

 It was thrilling to come back to the installation, after such a fabulous party and see that there were a number of petitions on the wall. What was noticeable was that some 'petitions' were more like responses to ones already posted. The one to the left is two different posts.

Drawings popped up and notes to people that would be going through after the post-er.

I am still awed by how quickly people come to the heart of the matter and without possibly knowing it, post words of wisdom, comfort, advice for each of us to ponder. There is something important and noteworthy to me, that in this day of computer generated content, emails and text, that the human mark is still powerfully provocative and important. Handwriting is unique to the writer and I like being reminded of it even it is at times illegible.

Pandemonium 2010

What a fantastic party! And so well done. The Who's Who of art patronage in Cleveland turned out to a "Where the Wild Things Are" themed night. The torrential downpour did not deter the partying for long. It eventually cleared up and made roaming between the theatre and art installation locations more manageable.

Everywhere there was something to see, up, down all around. Oversized 'monsters' roamed the outside courtyards. Musicians performed at various stage venues. A writer wrote continually on a scrolling roll of paper, while his muse and antagonist threw out phrases from past events in the author's life. Peace poets performed under Day of the Dead puppets in an old church, the air filled with incense and fiery commentary on contemporary life, politics and capitalism. Aerial performers strapped into harnesses danced across old factory walls 3 stories up. Belly dancers whirled across the stage. It was pandemonium! And people went through my installation and participated!

Heavy Sky

Driving home from the installation was an amazing sky. It didn't bode well for the opening the next day,  but it was the epitome of heavy. The installation had to be finished by the end of the night. It was... 98%. Still had some signage to put up and then, too, to let go of any ideas that didn't meet the time frame, always a challenge.

Enough is Enough

There is always 'more' than can be done, sometimes pushing goes, too far. Who hasn't found that out???? Snap, twang, yow, %&*#! Then again, when the pool of experience is so shallow, just getting to enough, is enough.

It was important, in developing this installation, that there be no waste of materials, or ideas. Which can of course be confusing to the viewers and maybe not as polished as I tend to like things. But the idea of dangling collages, is reflective of the countless demands placed on us for attention from the media, politics, family, social etc. I wonder if the competition for our attention is numbing, in a societally detrimental way? And then, it occurs to me that it is more than numbing, it is shaping the way we edit and view the world........

Layers

I love the idea of layers of semi-sheer fabric. Objects and references are obscured but not hidden.

Notes

There were so many ideas floating around as the installation evolved in the Parish Hall. And the location, as part of a de-sanctified catholic church, has so many correlations to my background, having grown up in parochial schools through elementary. Seemed like it was intended to be a perfect place to pick at loose threads. The slit in the blue veil of sky became emblematic for Madonna, woman. Pin lights were hung on the overhead light, what a trick with hangers, became the stars of more than the sky.

Mad Genius

These two images share the same thread, one I have been picking at since 9/11. Having lived through it from closer perspective, it has a different reality to it than others may have, who didn't. That is the interesting thing about interacting with people in real time, the picture is always bigger than the piece we carry with us.

Working with Reality, or is that Truth?????

I have often wondered and wandered in the gap between reality and truth. They seem to be the same sometimes, but they are really very different. Reality is touched through the senses and truth is something we gage it against. We each have what we think is our own truth, own way of seeing. Ask 20 people who see the same thing what happened and there will be 20 variations. One of the challenges of working with collage is picking the right imagery that is ubiquitous enough to be recognizable but interesting enough to have the connections between reality and truth made in the observer. I look at the juxtaposing imagery as signposts the viewer has to fill the gaps between with their own truth and reality.

This imagery is about political (in)correctness. Is Obama snakebit?

People expect the President to instantly fix every disaster that comes along.

It's so unfair.

GW

  

It's Working

The collages are working well. Balloons as thought bubbles adds a nice contrast to the flat collages. There's an orderliness and randomness, too. the open windows makes everything move and sway. This has to be completed by 9/10 and I think I am going to make it without a total crash and burn.

What Was I Thinking?

I'mg starting to loose my train of thought and time is going faster now. What was it I was trying to do??????? I wouldn't say I am panicking, more like sorting out my thoughts, going through those notes I jotted down, a lot less leisurely.

I find doing collage by juxtaposing magazine imagery a useful way to pick threads and see what comes loose in my thinking and understanding. There's a literal and figurative implication to materials, and collage allows them to push and pull each other around. Seems like small collages that have fronts and backs might be a good way to create questions and tension. Leaving just enough space to walk through and be bumped by, like all the random bits and bites of sound around us, demanding our attention. It's like translating sound into imagery.

Did some test imagery scratching out words, using sharpie markers, opening up possibilities.

Goodwill Hunting

Been in more thrift stores than ever before in my life. There's a smell, can't quite put my finger on what it is, a mix of humanity and dust rubbed together. Wonder if it will linger in the installation? Found a funky bridesmaid dress that might work great between the layers of fabric walls. Picked up some purses, too, think I'll use one. Have to look through my collection to see what else I can build into my walls, like lingering memories of past lives.

Pacing not Racing

There have been times in my life when I have had to have the pressure of a dead line to get the energy flowing. For this one, though, the slower pace is allowing for more reflection. I seemed to have crossed a line I had previously walked up to and then turned back. Don't know if it's the project, much more complicated than others, or the push it is forcing me to make to meet a standard I hadn't thought about before. It's problem both and more.

Starting Construction

The original design of using two opposing L shapes isn't going to work the way I want it to. Once the racks started to be put together, I had to think of how people would know which is the entrance and which is the exit. It has to be really obvious or the overall affect won't be as strong. It's really great to be able to just mess around with material and see how it comes together. My brain can only do so much theoretical mumbo jumbo. The action of moving in space and creating frees my mind to think about what to do next. Jotting down thoughts helps to uncover layers of unspoken thought about the whole idea of this project.