I've been too busy to blog much recently, but I wanted to share three superartsy things that I'll be doing this fall; the Experimental Notations exhibition, the Keeping an Eye on Surveillance exhibition, and the UC Berkeley Alumni Symposium IX.
1.
First of all, opening on Friday, September 9th, from 7 - 10 pm, and staying open til October 2nd, I will be showing the video I created for the song "Pleasure" by Blondes at Experimental Notations - an exhibition that will co-occur at the Royal NoneSuch Gallery (a dear personal favorite East Bay space) and MacArthur b arthur (it took me a few minutes to figure out what letters to capitalize in these gallery names - just wanted to point that out...). RNS is at at 4231 Telegraph Avenue between 42nd and 43rd street, super close to the BART.
As the blurb gods say, this is "an exhibition of dialogues between sound and visual representation, and the systems or interpretive strategies that inspire them." It seems like an awesome idea for a show, a cool group of artists, and I can't wait to see the work. Apparently it's associated with the 15th Annual Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, so there is a whole program of rad jams!
And in case you didn't see it the 50 million or so times I posted it to facebook, here is that video:
In addition to a super crisp uncompressed version of the video, I will be showing some of the original animated gifs I used to make the video (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check the blurb on the video's Vimeo page) as well as notes I made while planning the visuals.
2.
The following evening from 6 - 9 pm will be the opening for "Keeping an Eye on Surveillance," (facebook invite) an exhibition curated by Hanna Regev at the Performance Art Institute: 575 Sutter St., San Francisco, 94102.
This is a group show with many participants. It aims to be "a comprehensive look at societal surveillance in the 'post-9-11' world." I am contributing a piece I made with a tape that my friends John deBoer and Kirsten Dwyer and I made on September 11th, 2001 in New York. This piece is unusual for me in that it was sort of a commissioned piece made at the suggestion of Hanna Regev, the curator. When I first got the tape in the mail (thanks Kirsten!), it was just as I remembered, a distinctly non-brilliant strip of noise, but I've turned it into something else.
You are welcome to take a short listen now, but it is designed to be played to people walking in and out of the space.
"it's going to take us forever to get home" by Farley Gwazda - Live NYC, 09.11.01 by farleygwazda
Here's something I wrote about it:
"It's going to take us forever to get home" was recorded by Farley Gwazda and his friends in downtown Manhattan on September 11th, 2001, and edited ten years later.
This primary document is digitally looped into relentlessly repetitious post traumatic chants comprised of decontextualized phrases calculated to meet our expectations of an account of such a dark moment. Further listening reveals that these phrases were cut from conversations about food, sex, pop culture, and other personally meaningful topics that did not become part of the mythos of 911.
The media's replaying of spectacular recordings has led us to forget that life on this one day was a complex mish-mash of tragedy, confusion, appetites, minor complaints, and bad jokes - the concerns of nonheroic social beings making their way through shouts, sirens, street static, and tolling bells. This work takes advantage of the media's strategies to overwhelm the mind, but also offers the opportunity to reject the simplicity of monolithic negativity and let in complexity, confusion, and vulnerability."
For me this piece was inspired by the frighteningly repetitive, paralyzing thought structures characteristic of the panic attacks I had in the years following the attacks. Repetitive negative thoughts are at the root of PTSD, and accompanying these traps is something called "derealization", which, for me, took the form of a floaty feeling and a kind of fascinating nostalgia without content that would cause me to fall back into a wave of stammering nervous heartbeat fear. I hope that the odd moments in this sound piece where you hear a sample fall into context evokes an empathetic response.
That said, I haven't shared this piece with too many people, and I'd love to hear what you think!
3.
Lastly, on Saturday, October 15th from 1 - 4 pm I will be moderating the afternoon session of the UC Berkeley Art Alumni Symposium IX - HELP: Facing and Fielding Transitions. This all-day event "will explore ways of composing a career in a shifting landscape. Panelist of varied experience will address their histories and perceptions regarding exhibitions, gallery relationships, networks, critical written discussions, residencies, mentors, and legacy." I will be speaking to Taraneh Hemami, Jonn Herschend, Will Rogan, and Margaret Tedesco. I am looking forward to learning more about these artists and their practices and a little nervous about being in front of such a large group of people...
I hope to see you, dear internet, at some of these events, and hope that the Autumn finds you well!
