Dead animals and arsenic

Pics from a behind the scenes tour of Kristen's office/shop in the Education Department.

Imagine having a 30-foot shark diorama as your office decor... I did see some heavily patterned customized cubicles at Office Max on my last trip to Organizational Candyland, but I think an underwater specimen beats that hands down. Kristen's surrounded by the portable taxidermy known as The Field Museum's Harris Educational Loan Center that tours schools to spread knowledge of wildlife and habitats. Having worked in Rare Books and Special Collections at NIU, I have a real affection for doing grunt work among incredible or mundane documents in time. Add to the mix, my childhood obsession with petting creatures, taxidermied Wood Duck or live cat... and I was happy to see Kristen surrounded by power tools and curiosities. Getting to see Kristen is a treat in itself- she's the sole being in DeKalb that stopped by our house without calling to warn us first. I miss that.

If you are headed to the Field, I would recommend dedicating a large chunk of time to the Aztec World. I didn't wait to watch the video intro--- the objects themselves were spellbinding. I wish I was still in DeKalb and could hear Professor Jeff Karl Kowalski's lecture before heading out on the NIU Art Museum's "Get-On-The-Bus" trip to the show. Incredible!

Also, take a stroll down to the Children's Cafeteria for the sea life dioramas. The Narwhals (again not pictured out of reverence) are worth the admission charge. Brad couldn't pass up taking some shots of the Walrus, and their Suessical faces and Trompe-l'œil backdrop. After seeing how well our house in DeKalb is staying clean in spite of time, I shouldn't be so amazed that the dioramas are not dusted.



Ahh... I don't miss the snow banks but I do miss being so close to Chicago. There's quite a bit to be said about familiarity in crowded places.

Keep the old

Brad and I came back to DeKalb to drop off installation materials and visit some friends. We had a busy weekend of driving to Chicago, driving and stopping and driving through Chicago (gotta love St. Louis traffic after a trip back to Chi-town), and then coming back home.

The Art Center Highland Park had great interior space and a friendly staff. I really appreciated having the opportunity to store supplies there, so I don't have to worry about lugging it around Chicago without a car in March.

I forgot how easy it is to get into studio headspace while on long drives at night, so that aspect was productive as well. I was also pondering how music is not an artform where one may ask
"Why make it? What's the point?" Perhaps because it is more comfortably appreciated ( if you don't have music snob friends)?

Re:Music... In reading the Tale of Genji, music was an amusement of those in the imperial palace. Today we are so spoiled with personal devices and recordings that I don't know if the isolation of being the only one listening is as rich an experience as a shared one.

The Field's "Aztec World" exhibition dazzled me with transformations of stone into live objects and the glimpses into another worldview. We raced through the exhibit after meeting Kristen and Chris for lunch and a tour of Kristen's new office...

The shared late night and breakfast table are two events that make one feel incredibly welcome. I hope our hosts enjoyed the Missouri gift of Colossal Chips. The hospitality, conversation, and laughs, I'll really treasure.

I am putting my nose to the grindstone, as classes begin in a week, but grateful for good friends, new and old, and several new opportunities that have presented themselves in the past few months.

Eat after reading

I just received the postcards For A Limited Time Only! ... They look wonderful. The catalog is going to be printed and edible. I can't wait to compost it!

We are headed back to Chicago this coming weekend to drop off some supplies for the installation and visit the space. It will be great to see some friendly faces that we've sorely missed since the move South.

I've got stew cooking and am hoping for some snow tonight so I can practice birdseed doilies in a few inches of the friendly white stuff. That's on tomorrow's agenda with laundry and a contact list revamp and mail merge.

I'm in the middle (literally) of The Tale of Genji. I will read it all, and before it's overdue. It is formidable in size, but I realize how much immersion you get to enjoy by spending so much time in the world of the first novel.

This past weekend I attended a great seminar on bookkeeping as an artist. So, there are only about 7 new habits I am trying to pick up this month, before all my classes begin.

The house hunt may be drawing to a close (at least 1/2 of the waiting period is over); I feel much less claustrophobic these days.

Light Project

St Louis Light Project--- Stopped by last night on the way home from the Beuys interview and conversation with Barbara.

Incredible- I don't know if these photos of the church (Rainer Kehres & Sebastian Hungerer's CHORUS) turned out anything but blurry, but the video work (Ann Lislegaard's CRYSTAL WORLD (AFTER J.G. BALLARD) was incredible. The mix of poetry and image was quietly beautiful making the same transformation of text on page to wonderment of written poetry itself in its unfolding. I could have happily stood and watched several rotations of the cycle, but would not have been able to walk back to my car with newly minted evening companions Clare and Dave of Quincy, IL. We even knew some common friends- so the evening made the city even more a place a wonder.

The Light Project in the church transformed a sad building into one that becomes again a beacon. Truly exquisite- my only wish was to be able to enter the space and see it from below.

Humans are such suckers for luminosity- I always feel like a dog getting scratched "right there" when I see fireworks exploding above. Well executed works and a great gathering space for the public. Loved it. Dragging Brad back with me.

Projected Beuys

I met up with Barbara last night at White Flag Projects' "Drinks with Beuys." Listening to Beuys 1980 interview brought me back to the powerful personal discoveries in grad school with my short works in performance. Working on "new research" and the "unknown" was an incredible expansion of my field of experience when letting the performance dictate what happens--- but not being able to defend all that happens and practice due to the improvisational nature made me leave the performance as a studio practice that is only performed alone to get the head space to create spatial installations. I really had a strong pang of loneliness for Erin Burke and her undying belief in the power of emotionally derived works that don't require explanation. The form and meaning become apparent months after the work. When working on installations and sculptures in my pristine studio space- I would just engage with materials and let the play inform me as it seemed to have something to say. I couldn't accurately articulate it in words but it was speaking for me. I think I need a return to that aspect of play, as I otherwise (overwise-was the Freudian slip there) end up editing myself to silence.

The Right Management career counseling personality assessment highlighted the strong emotional element I bring to everything. At first I felt defeated by this notion of continuing an accounting by emotional state- but I think my ability to empathize is the strongest aspect of my ability to communicate. This aspect of communication is best suited to visual works, but the need for communication is why a try to conceptualize everything first and come up with a linear relationship to how I combine elements. I don't necessarily think this is where I find the power of the strongest artworks lies--- since it is the one "off" aspect that makes it a wonderment- and slows time because you can't understand it mentally while your body reacts first. It reveals itself before you can articulate why it affects you.

Beginnings

Wow, I'll do anything "productive" to avoid applications of all sorts and planning for class. Well, I've been recently relocated and am currently a large fan of the new city. I've got two installations set for 2009 in the Chicago area and am looking for our second house. I have the luxury of time, while being temporarily placed in a one-bedroom apartment. I haven't known the joy of being able to paint my own walls for the past 10 years, and am looking forward to it. Hoping for some pedestrian friendly streets and as great of neighbors as we left in Illinois.