From my Studio to yours!

from Field Note Installation, One (2013)

Yep, I've got lots of new work to share with you!

I am nearing completion on one of the projects from my time in Kenya. It's working title is Facing Inside Surfaces, consists of a video installation and a photo/sound installation (photo above is part of that), and is an investigation of space and privacy in the central province of Kenyan via the omnipresent gate. 

I'm starting to set up studio visits via Skype (Skype name: nicolerademacher.com). Please let me know if you are interested. I would love to show you what I have been up to.

Additionally, I want to see what other artists have been getting into. In the next couple weeks I will be physically visiting studios of local L.A. artists as well as doing studio visits via Skype. I'll be sure to keep you abreast on all the info!

Thanks for your continued support.

Research and documentation for this project made possible by the North Carolina Arts Council, USA and many private donars/patrons.

Wash Day

*Esther washes all the clothes on Saturdays. "I don't have help come in, so Saturday is the only day that I can wash everything." Almost immediately she retracks the "everything" and explains that the heavy clothes are washed on Saturdays, but the other clothes, the "light clothing", is washed during the week - "a bit every day".

Assuming that she does not have a washing machine (I have yet to see a machine in even the middle-class homes), I try to calculate in my mind how long it must take her to wash the clothes and bedding for a family of three, by hand.

Everything is scrubbed with brushes, and many of the women who come in as housekeepers scrub too hard and ruin the clothes; this is why she prefers to wash everything herself. Esther has a 23 year-old daughter and shows me a photo of her on her smart phone. She tells me that she is finishing her studies, but she requires her to wash her own clothes. The loads are getting lighter, but I am still having a hard time calculating the hours it must take.

When I arrive at her house for the first time, it is a Sunday evening - after church. We enter the metal main door of the building and make our way up the dimly lit concrete stairs. Turning left at the first landing, I am greeted with, at least, one woman per doorway scrubbing and dunking, scrubbing and dunking, scrubbing and dunking. Clothes are hung on thin rope strung between walkways. A lulling chatter fills the hallway, accompanying the scrub-dunk rhythm kept by the same busy ladies.

The socialization built into the lives of Nairobians keeps me bewildered. I have been conditioned to segregate, categorize, and compartmentalize, making time for everything through strategic decision.

*Name changed for privacy.

Nicole Rademacher is a currently in Nairobi, Kenya until the beginning of May doing research and documentation for her current project investigating domestic ritual (made possible by the North Carolina Arts Council, USA and many private donars/patrons).

official website • follow her project on Facebook

A place to start

PREFACE
These posts will be in no particular order. I have created labels so that you can navigate some of the topics for my posts from Kenya:

• Common Ground (refers to the whole project in general, this will bring up all posts starting with the first from CDG)
• Kenya-YouthProgram (posts associated with my work in the Mathare Valley with the youth group)
• Kenya-Daily (posts that touch on my personal experience here living day to day)
• Kenya-CommonGround (specific posts referring to my work on the project here in Kenya)

                                                                                                                                                         

From the house where I am staying *George, my guide for the day and now-coworker, and I took the #40 bus to the center and then took a Matatu. I'm a bit leery to take the Matatu, mainly because I don't know if I will feel ready to take one on my own next time. A Matatu is a van (seats about 15) that is a mode of public transportation. All public transportation in Nairobi has fluctuating prices but the day before Morrison, my other guide/co-worker, told me that because I am white they may decide to charge me more. Maybe when I can defend myself in Swahili I will feel more confident with the idea of taking a Matatu by myself.

We take the #46 to Mathare Valley. Once we get our feet on the ground George announces it, "Mathare Valley Slum". We walk a bit further down the road to a building. He wants to show me a view of the entire slum. I find it unsettling that he continually uses that word. Perhaps it is because I am used to it being used in a derogatory manner, when really it is simply used to described sub-standard living, to describe the place. We walk behind the building and on the steps there are three children. The older sister is putting cornrows in the younger girl's hair. The little boy looks up at me, Hello, he says in English. Hi, I respond. Fine thank you, he replies. I'm a bit confused why he said that. Later I find out that what I have been taught as "hi/hello" in Swahili (habari) functions as a greeting and also asks "how are you?". George thinks that behind the building will be a good spot for a comprehensive view of Mathare Valley, but then quickly realizes that where we were before was much better. We climb back up the steps and the little boy runs after us. I vaguely hear him say something, but I can't make it out. George points and says, This is all Mathare Valley. Over there too? I ask - even though I know the answer, but it is obvious that George is proud of his home and that it is immense. Kenyans all seem to deceive their age, but it is clear that George is quite young, perhaps the same age as the other youth in the program. He is proud and happy to share his home with me. I feel very welcomed, and want to demonstrate my appreciation of his time and openess.

We return to one of the entrances to the slum, close to where we de-boarded the Matatu. George opens and goes through a wooden doorway; I follow. It opens up to an open grassy area. About ten feet after the door is a shack made with scrap metal corrugated sheeting. Inside are about seven young people - well, at this point they are all young men -two in a pair, a group of three talking quitely in Swahili, and two are sitting on their own texting. I go around to greet them.  I am a bit unsure about my barely existent Swahili. I say “hi” to the first young gentleman, in English. Then tells me his name, and we shake hands. In my self-conscious state I forget to return the greeting not telling him my name but simply moving on to the next person. Though I correct my mistake with the second young man and say, I'm Nicole. By the third student, I've gathered my confidence and greet him with "Habari" and follow up with "I'm Nicole".

Some of the handshakes are long, I just smile and continue shaking until they let go. George steps out for a moment and the students become more animated.  Several ask my name again and where I am from - which is confusing to explain. Because I mention that I live in Chile last - after stating that I am American - they stick with Chile, maybe this is because there aren't usually volunteers from Latin America. One young man knows Chile well - a big soccer fan - in fact he knows about Chile because he loves the Argentinean team. Later on, in confidence, he tells me that he really doesn't like Messi, the Argentinean soccer player, but in spite of that he's a big fan. They ask about the weather in Chile; "It's in the south. Is it summer there?" one young man asks. I tell them that when I left it was 35 degrees Celsius – they all nod their heads, agreeing that yes indeed it is summer in Chile.

More students start trickling in, and each one greets me first, since I am strategically placed right next to the door - total accident, but it served me well. They then make their way around to all of their peers. Some receive more exciting and/or complex handshakes than others. After they have greeted everyone, they take their seats and chat with their friends in Swahili. I try to make out words, but on day 2, this is difficult. One girl sits alone, not because she doesn't have friends, but because she is waiting for someone, a boy in particular. I realize this later - once the session is over - when everyone leaves the meeting room to socialize outside. I really want to talk to her because during the debate (more on that in a moment), she tried to participate several times, but the boys tended to drown her out. After the session, when I saw her intensely engaged in conversation with said boy, coyly digging her shoe into the ground,  it became clear why she had been waiting on that bench before we started. There will be time to get to know her. I didn't interrupt that conversation, only observed quietly from nearby.

The debate, activity for the day's session, was lively. George asked them to think of a topic. A few sex-war topics were thrown out, then a girl said "traditional lifestyle is better than modern". The students count off 1-2-1-2 to make the teams of pro v. con.

I was well impressed with the young adults - their knowledge of current affairs, history, the environment ... There was no preparation - they separated into groups and then started with points and counter points. They discussed pollution, transportation, life expectancy, medical advances, politics ... obviously there was no fact checker, but that made it that much more impressive. Additionally it was all in English - I know that Swahili is more comfortable for them: there was one lapse into Swahili.

After the session quite a few of the students came up and introduced themselves to me. So bright and expressive. I have recently been told that they have a lot of footage - documentary of the program - that they want to edit into finished videos, but no one knows how to edit.

I welcome your thoughts and feedback.  Please remember to be respectful to all who post and comment on the blog.

*I've changed all names except my own for their privacy.

Nicole Rademacher is a currently in Nairobi, Kenya until the beginning of May doing research and documentation for her current project investigating domestic ritual (made possible by the North Carolina Arts Council, USA and many private donars/patrons).

official website • follow her project on Facebook

SCL CDG NBO

It's started. I can't say thank you enough to everyone who donated money, time, their musical talents, organizational talents, love, reposted on facebook, retweeted on twitter ... it has been a very gratifying experience to really make this project happen.

As some of you know in the last few months the structure of the project has changed a bit: instead of 2 months, I will be in Kenya for 3; instead of being in Osieko (Western Province) I will spend February and March in Nairobi - though in April I hope to be in a more rural area investigating and documenting surely different rituals in the country. Additionally I will be volunteering part-time with Maji Mazuri in their Youth Media Program during February and March - I start on Sunday!!! The other half of the time I will, of course, be working on Common Ground (looking for participants, building rapport with them, documenting them ...) If you know me, you know that I thrive on constantly keeping busy.

In the image is my last night's sleep - well, it was almost a whole day really. After months of non-stop fundraising, planning, organizing ... I finally got to rest in a cozy hotel during my 24-hour layover in Charles de Gaulle airport.

Right now I'm using my last 10 minutes of free internet at the airport to write this post. Hoping to convey a bit of my excitement for what I am about to embark on. Not only this project, but also the experience - culturally and personally. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. It is because of all of you that I am here. I will try to report as often as I can. Additionally my posts will be translated into Spanish and posted on MisosoAfrica (http://misosoafrica.wordpress.com/http://misosoafrica.wordpress.com/). Please repost, share, retweet ...

Warm wishes, Nicole

Nicole Rademacher is a currently in Nairobi, Kenya until the beginning of May doing research and documentation for her current project investigating domestic ritual (made possible by the North Carolina Arts Council, USA and many private donars/patrons).

official website • follow her project on Facebook

Common Ground: exploring domestic ritual in Kenya

I just did a pre-launch for an indiegogo campaign!! Check out the video, I'm super proud of it!!! And the campaign is now in OFFICIAL LAUNCH MODE.

Help me GET THERE!! Join in the fun by contributing (I have a heirarchy of "perks" set up for monetary donations - you should note that my project is sponsored by Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. So contributions to support Common Ground are tax-deductible!!) and/or spreading the word.

JUST GO CRAZY! and send share this post, post/tag/comment in facebook, tweet about it ...

Other ways you can help is to get the word out there: word of mouth is the best!!

• Visit my website: nicolerademacher.com
• Like me on Facebook: facebook.com/nic.rademacher - if you haven't already ;)
• Tweet about the project and follow me on twitter: @nicrademacher
• Follow this blog: nicolerademacher.blogspot.com (I know, silly to post it here, but just in case)
• Join the my mailing list to stay up-to-date on the progress of the project and my work!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!

For sometime I have always loved playgrounds, taking pictures of playgrounds, cross-processing pictures of playgrounds - empty ones - at night... The other day I started bringing my camera with me to the plaza where I take Fu twice a day. One day this dog showed up and behind came a girl calling him "manchas" (spots). When I thought about what "manchas" are I thought it was really cute and then I thought about the translation and I thought, "well, not original, but at least it sounds more eloquent.

She started climbing on the bars where I was taking decidedly boring photos but enjoying myself nonetheless. We had a long discussion about the monkey bars - one of my favorites as well.

I snapped this at the beginning of our discussion. The colors are rich and it is as if she is in the middle of a kip or perhaps she is just floating.

Where am I?

extra sound for Verano

Apparently I am now a once a month post-er. Slack, I know. There has been lots of action here in the skinny country next to Argentina.

Summer came in a threw me into "action-mode", and I will soon have my acting debut - ha! I was an extra in the next film by José Luis Torres Leiva, called Verano.

Nevertheless, juices started flowing and I have picked up speed on several projects and added a few others in case I get bored.

Along with working comes writing and reflection. The bicultural couples piece (as you can see from the image) is turning into prints - very much in process, but I like where they are going. The lost files and then recovered corrupt ones - from my images in Cuba, opened me up (because sometimes you forget about all the possibilities) to new thoughts and ideas with this material.

in-process BiCultural 

While many of the images were recovered without damages there were several that were corrupt. They weren't just corrupt, they were mixed with other images found on the drive. Obviously this led me to think of this mixing and colliding in the bicultural couples piece (I really need a better title, suggestions welcome). So, manually, I have been going through the photos, finding moments - similar to the moments I looked for in the You are a Perpetual Tourist video series. But now I am stripping away and collaging. Like I said, these are in-process, so the stripping away part is what has got me hung up a bit. What am I stripping away? I haven't figured out why I've turned to that method. Anyhow, the image below is one of the "inspiration" images from Cuba and some-other-photo.

corruption inspiration

Meanwhile in the land of Nicole, which sometimes becomes a fantastic land of looking for new and interesting ways to procrastinate, I have started a food blog - you will notice the new link on the left. It is aptly called "FOOD". Currently it is hosted by Wordpress, because at first it was just a distraction, but I am now taking it seriously and improving my food fotography skills.

food fotography

I am planning on moving it to a sub-domain of my website (and this blog too), which do you prefer: food.nicolerademacher.com or kitchen.nicolerademacher.com? The crappy thing is that Wordpress makes you pay to redirect your blog to a subdomain, so I guess I am just going to have to reconstruct it - good thing I just started it.

Ok, so I can't guarantee that I will be posting every day (such a love/hate relationship with you, blog-o-mine) or every week, but I will be posting more often.

Using improv as material

Originally I was writing a post about process, in particular my process, meanwhile I would take breaks - since I can never focus and just do one thing anymore - to work on this new piece. Actually, I am not so sure it is a piece as an investigation. 

Do you ever do that? I think it is kind of like tinkering, right? You find something interesting so you have to take it apart part by part and play around with different combinations - to keep the creative juices flowing. So that is just what I started doing. The video is by no means complete - as with all the videos/work I post here, but again it is a thought, a way of tinkering. 

It all started when I began to help my friend prepare a DVD portfolio (the friend in the video). As I was asked to do something traditional with an improvisation, I began to realize that as the camera-girl I not only needed to do something traditional, but also improvise. So, we made the traditional video for her portfolio and now I am re-examining the work, looking, tinkering with her movements. It is an exploration of movement and gesture as an explicit symbol, not as an unconscious, yet deliberate, communication. 

(don't mind the interlaced-ness) I am thinking about the relationship of dance to pedestrian movement, the ideas that dancers and choreographers use interpreting themes, concepts, ideas as movement and the relationship that these ideas have to quotidian movements - as a viewer, as image, as moving image. 

Rather than consistently resisting traditional practices and opting for experimental, this work is accepting of a more linear way of thinking. I see this as another branch, an extension, of my work. I hope that it will organically open itself to ideas of a more experimental nature in due course.

aSpecificProposal at Streaming Festival, 5th edition, 2010

aSpecificProposal, starring Kajza Ekberg, has been selected to be a part of the Streaming Festival, 5th edition, 2010 taking place online and at The Paardcafe in The Hague. The exhibition will take place December 1 - 5 and you can all watch it online - if you don't live near The Hague, that is!!!

I have no idea what title to give this post.

So here I am, 2am and with insomnia - ok, not real insomnia, more like anxious thinking keeping me awake, but you know me: I like to self-diagnose. Lots of news and work to share - don't know where to begin.

The residency is going well. The project itself has had a lot of false starts (due, unfortunately to participants backing out or just simply not returning calls and/or answering emails - thank you to those of you who have), but I think we are finally getting going. Despite the material specifically for the project we have been researching in and around the city and we have each started our own projects. Matías has started these photo-portrait-collages. Not sure how to describe them, but once his website gets finished - they'll be up there and you can check them out. I have been doing some drawings, writings, and video-ing. Oh and I have been taking pictures. Ya know, taking in all that there is to offer here. And yet another "unfortunately" there is nothing sufficient enough to post, YET!

The drawings are based on gestures of couples: couples that I have seen interacting on the streets (then drawn by memory), or from images that I have taken. Some aren't even real couples, they are just a "couple o' people". The drawings are, of course, abstract - really, what would you expect?? I'll have to take pictures of a few and post them. [Yet, another thing on my list of things to do tomorrow - always tomorrow, but tomorrow really does get here quick!]

The photos are the same things you have always seen from me: funny juxtapositions, people on the street, pretty buildings ... I have been looking at them trying to find a camino, but one hasn't revealed itself yet.

The writings started as things on the computer, then mutated to actual physical writing in my sketch book (really, should I still call it that?? "sketch" when have you know me to sketch?), and then they became transcriptions from pretending that I am talking to an old friend (not anyone in particular, maybe I should choose someone).

Do you feel like this post is as anti-climatic as I feel it is? Oh well. I am in the smack-dab middle of the damn residency - what can one expect, really?

Oh the videos. These I am excited about. Not that I am not excited about the other things, but I feel like these have started to take a bit more form, even though I haven't actually touched any of the footage yet. Or maybe it is just because I think with these I am straying a bit from the gestures, or rather looking at them in a different way - AND starting to work with narrative again (that's how those texts started). In intimate situations (someone's home) I have been taking a lot of mise-en-scène (like how I am working on my French?) shots, which is something out of the norm for me. I have also been clandestinely recording these people's conversations. I don't know how this will all come together, but I like breaking out of my current usual. Who knows, maybe it won't turn into anything.

To Wait

I started a new video about a week ago. It is moving slowly. In part this is due to the fact that I am slowing down part of the video A LOT and then exporting that and slowing it down again, blah blah halb. And the other reason I attribute it to (besides having a million and one things going on right now, this video and Paris are only two of the many) is building a relationship with the video. It is about - get ready, this is new - perception. There is this waiting, this expectation, this subdued, controlled frenzy of anticipation. Then after the event the people scatter; there is a chaotic exodus. Basically I have been playing with cutting between the two, using two channels, changing speeds to introduce certain characters ... I think all three of them will come into play.



When I started this video, I wanted it to be a "quick-video" - you know, one of those that I make to make things happen, one of those that I haven't been able to make in over a year. Well, obviously this isn't going to be one of those.
I find something magical in this waiting that we are all so familiar with. The wait that leads to the let down, to the anticlimax. Children are notorious for embracing that wait. They don't even seem to notice it. The new toy, the new movie, the new episode, the new whatever. It happens, you see it, you buy it. And then, it is just over. The amazing part is that it doesn't bother them; thankfully, they still have yet to understand this particular type of loss.

Many of the adult situations of waiting are different (yet, I find similarities in weddings, graduations, and the like, but we will save that discussion for when I get my PhD in cultural practices and performance ... ha ha ha.). Perhaps with the anticipated flight (you know, the one to Paris) I am thinking more and more about my travel experiences: waiting just to wait some more. You wait to check-in, to wait to go through security, to wait to sit at the gate, to wait to board, to wait to sit on the plane, to wait for a drink or snack or movie or to use your approved electronic device, to wait to land, to wait to de-board, to wait to get your luggage, to wait to ...

Now that I think about it, I guess it is really the same as all the others, but there isn't a "celebrated" event around any of that waiting. Your anticipation is all about the arrival, and on the way to the arrival you have different stages of waiting. But it is that arrival that is key - because that is when everything changes.

Back to the topic at hand. Slow video.

Residency at the Cité

Mati and I have an artist residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris this May and June.

Our project is vague. I mean, I figure that is ok, since the point is to develop the project during the residency and it will take more form between now and then and during then and after then.

Shall I copy and paste the proposal (in French)? Why the hell not:

Nous avons tous les deux un fort intérêt pour la communication et les méthodes de communication. Nous allons confronter nos idées et notre vision sur la perception et la réalité de la communication. En étudiant la façon dont les couples internationaux (c'est-à-dire les couples qui sont originaires de différents pays) surmontent la difficulté d'une communication simple et / ou des questions culturelles, notre idée n'est pas nécessairement de faire un documentaire, mais d'obtenir plein d'informations sur ce sujet à partir desquels nous pourrons construire notre exposition de retour à Santiago.

En outre, nous avons l'accord d'un couple, franco-américain (ayant des racines cubaines et mexicaines),qui vit actuellement à Paris.

This couple I speak of in the proposal, they don't really know that we are going to "study" them, and, honestly, I haven't decided if we should tell them or not (they are, obviously, friends of mine).

So, as vague as it is, we have started a blog (you can either click on the link on the left side panel or just click on the word blog - the latter or the former). Need I repeat that the project is in its infancy? Probably not, I have been pretty redundant about that - perhaps I am feeling inadequate. Oh well. Or should I say: tant pis.

The flights haven't been bought yet, but soon, yes soon. The residency is slated for May 3rd - June 28th. Ah, Paris in the springtime...

I no us preocupáis, esperem fer un viatge cap a BCN. Només cal treure una raó del no-res, vull dir una raó per "treball" és a dir del projecte. (Yes, google translate had to help me. Damn my català is so rusty, sigh)

On entering

It was raw. Raw, but allowed you to enter in. It made me think about a prior piece I was working on - well several actually, that all revolve around the same thing: that story, you know the beautiful one that grinds something deep and fierce in me. Making raw work (or at least this piece) where people can still enter.

Is it enough to allow you to feel, and cringe, when the finger nails scratch slowly down the chalk board?

I want to make you cry with me, and I want to make you feel those deep and beautiful emotions that I feel - the ones that I still can't explain - the ones that are extraordinary and astounding - the ones that rub against each other to produce that spark. I want you to wash yourself in the bathtub and realize who you are. I want you to see yourself in the mirror and have it all make sense. I want you to see a picture and burst into tears. And not stop. I want your tears of confusion to pour down forming puddles on the bathroom floor. I want your wondrous tears to mutate into ones of spectacular joy. 

It was raw, like I said. Life is raw. Raw and crude.

Where do you enter? You enter in the sameness you feel, when the differentness has been broken down, when the exoticism has been surpassed because you know that this person is human too. And you think about your life, and how these events would affect you. You enter when you picture your reactions. You enter when it makes you treasure your own life whether because of the sameness or differentness. You enter when you see yourself  differently. You enter when the contact point has been made.

When you realize that you are not the only one and empathy trumps sympathy, that is when they enter, that is when you enter. 

Desde el otro lado

close and f a r a w a y

Nothing

I feel like I have nothing and nothing is going absolutely no where.

Nothing seems to make sense, but I keep looking for something. I don't think you can see the subtleties of this video with this resolution. There is disturbance, something unsettling. It feels like nothing.

I am hoping that this nothing will manifest towards something, if not into something. Every ten minutes I have, I watch it again. I move things. I write. I try to make sense of why I keep toying with this footage. Is it the footage or the idea?

Just a little bit every day, right? That will steer the gray matter.

Eyes Everywhere

I am participating in a new project: Eyes Everywhere (Ojos por Todos Lados).

Eyes Everywhere is a collective photo project in which women around the world dialogue through images. Every week artists post images from their location. Every month the theme changes. The project currently involves artists from Mexico, USA, Spain, Uruguay, Malaysia, Argentina, the Netherlands, Dubai, Austria and France. Every Saturday images and place speak, not words.

The images posted from Santiago de Chile are mine.

Enjoy!

Gesture and Contrived Realities

Much of the last week has been spent remastering and re-exporting videos for the web. As mentioned in yesterday's entry, I finally uploaded videos to my vimeo profile. And of course I am using them (well, the ones that have better quality) for my site - ah free bandwidth.

This has given me an extraordinary chance to truly look at the videos I have made over the years (even the in-camera edited one from 2002 - or maybe it was 2001). I found that even though I find text and language fascinating, I rarely use it in my work - or the dialogue that is present, I have not employed for its meaning, but rather for its noise or symbolism.

In When I grow up ... in particular, the words hold no meaning on their own, they tell no story. They story is in the gesture, in the symbolism, in the nonsense.

Similarily in día, the words only give the viewer reference to time of day and place in the world. The story is told through the order of the shots, the repetition of the actions, the gesture and acting.

This continues through every video, up to my most current work - where my MFA thesis (of 2008, which I think I may still be battling with) specifically and opening looks at gesture and its ability to tell a story - to construct a story, in fact.

I started constructing my stories through gesture, and now I document the gestures and allow them to construct their own stories. The gestures lead me to tell you what I see.

Walk with me, for instance, was nothing more than boredom on my friend's balcony in Barcelona. I saw that the women were walking in sync. I tried three times to get the right shot. I used their motions to guide me through the editing, to direct me (rather than me being the director), to reveal their story to me and thus to the viewer.

I am putting together (aka writing) a proposal for a residency, here in Chile. I have been looking at my work and the work of others (in particular Eija-Liisa Ahtila [just google her]), trying to make sense of things - ya know, in a cohesive and somewhat logical fashion. I always knew that something was missing from that series of 62 videos, but the question was: what? My thesis committee (and other faculty members) pushed me to figure that out. Unfortunately, things come when the come for me - be it slow or immediately. The missing part for this came about a year too late. I think I am a late bloomer when it comes to things of the mind, but that is besides the point. So, they pushed and pushed, and what came out? Writing: semi-poetic writing about the videos, attempts to explain in English what I saw and felt, an attempt to give the viewer more direction on how to see my work.

An aside would be how I feel about "telling" people how to see my work, but we can save that topic for another post - preferable one that isn't at almost 2am.

All in all, I think that what I wrote during those months (see thesis books) is very valid. In fact, that is where I am at with this body of work. I am interested in sucking the narrative out of the videos and finding the words. After the words have been extracted, I will need to refine them, to let them show me how their story plays out.

Well, I guess I should try to get some sleep. Any thoughts, as always, are welcome.
.

score

tap slide tap slide tap slide tap tap tap ssssssssssssslide tap tap tap sssssssssssssslowly tap tap tap ssssssssssssssssmoooooooooooothly tap slide ssssssssssssssssssssslide tap tap tap ssssssssssssssssssssssslowly smoooooooooooooooooothly slide tap slide tap slide tap slide stop taptaptap.

I think I need to work a little harder on it.

The Books Are Here!!

The books are here! The books are here! The books are here! Part one of two is done and printed/published! I ended up using Apex Book Manufacturing out of Georgia. They were fabulous. It is a short-run publisher. Many more options than lulu and much cheaper - though I would still suggest getting proofs done through lulu first. I am currently in the process of gluing in the envelopes for the DVDs - 3 of these sets will be sent to RED03(my petita gallery in Barcelona) to be sold there, others will be left at the library and given to my thesis committee, of course my family gets copies - and the rest are for sale -with or without the DVD. They will be available at the show in Charlotte. Yipeeee!


The show in Charlotte. I am so glad that I will be there next week so that I can FINALLY FINALIZE where the show will be and how it will be hung. As I mentioned before I am printing digital prints here, at Alfred. All of them are 15 x 20 inches. Ideally I will be able to install the video and have prints up. At my MFA exhibition I had the single projection, but with the space possibilities that I will have at Queens, I would like to reconfigure the set-up and make the show a multi-channel installation - choreographing the videos to work as a team of three projections.


Thanks to Rama Road Elementary School, where my mother works, I will have access to projectors, speakers, and DVD players - otherwise I might have to max-out another credit card - argh! The opportunity to separate the videos and choreograph them is súper exciting! Even though I would have had a single-channel installation at my MFA Exhibition either way, it is still rather invigorating to think of how I can WOW the visitors at my opening.



The choices for space are between the Max L. Jackson Gallery in the Watkins building (which is the art building) and the E.H. Little Fine Arts Center where the auditorium and the music recitals are held. The Fine Arts Center sounds like it will be a grand space, but without seeing either of these it is really hard. Hence, I can't wait until Monday!

Other than the show, I am still trying to print and bind the Qwertyuiop books before I leave. Looks like I may have time tonight, or else perhaps tomorrow.

New projects?¿ I am still looking for a Cortázar story to use. I found this amazing Max Aub play: ¿Qué has hecho hoy para ganar la guerra? (What have you done to win the war?) Obviously it takes place during the Spanish civil war in the 30s, but I don't see why it wouldn't be appropriate today. I would need to find the original and change it to reflect the times. Then I wouldn't need authorization from the translator. I would probably still need permission from the Max Aub Foundation. I wonder how much that might cost? Of course this would be a full-fledged narrative, more like día than the current work I am doing right now - that is unless.... hmmm. I will have to get back to you with that idea. I think I need to go shoot some photos and come up with my storyboard.