NOVEMBER 15th 2015 - PROCESS / PROGRESS REPORT

Over the past month I have been creating new journal entries in the RAW-(Material) series, since returning to North Carolina - as well as working on editing the journal entries from my time in Nottinghamshire UK.
The editing process is gradual - I go from one piece to another, working a little at a time on each ... much in the same way that a painter might work on several pieces at once - each informing the other so that they remain consistent as a body of work.
I have also written a first draft of a project description.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION (first draft)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzQ3pSVkVpSllNR3c/view?usp=sharing

BODY STUDIES 1 2 3 
http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/11/body-studies-1-2-3-first-edits.html 


NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTRYSIDE
http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/11/nottinghamshire-countryside.html


SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN AUTUMN
http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/11/southern-appalachian-autumn.html


Recent reading has included:
Subjectivity: Theories of the Self - Nick Mansfield
The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying - Sogyal Rinpoche
Angry Women - Andrea Juno
Against Interpretation & other essays - Susan Sontag

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTRYSIDE

During my stay in the UK, I was based in the rural agricultural Nottinghamshire countryside. It was harvest time & I was compelled to interact with the harvests of wheat, apples & elderberries. As well as artistic interaction, the use of these raw materials took on the practical aspects of making apple chutney & elderberry wine!



WHEAT

IMAGES

#2 – Wheat

date – August 27 2015

location – Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157658155037448

VIDEO

#2: Wheat

date – August 27 2015

location – wheat field, Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire

camera – Ana MacArthur

first edit: https://youtu.be/VpTvkOQggFU

TEXT

Wheat – journal entry

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzQzZQc1BXbGVIRFE/view?usp=sharing

 

APPLES

 

IMAGES

#3 – Apples

date – September 3 2015

location – Osmanthorpe Orchard Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157658572444635

VIDEO

#3: Apples

date – September 3 2015

location – Osmanthorpe Orchard Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire

camera – tied to tree branches

first edit: https://youtu.be/1B_7lAsJVu0

TEXT

Apples – journal entry

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzT0x3THFvSGVpT00/view?usp=sharing

HAY BALE 

 

IMAGES

#4 - Haybale

date – September 11 2015

location – Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157659355066042

VIDEO

#4 - Haybale

date – September 11 2015

location – Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire

camera – held by wheat-stalks

first edit: https://youtu.be/lecYtYuoLCU

TEXT

Hay Bale – journal entry

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzRVB0b3E4UHpMcDQ/view?usp=sharing

ELDERBERRIES

 

IMAGES

#5 - Elderberries

date – September 6 to September 30 2015 (picking fruit to bottling wine)

location – Southwell Trail, Nottinghamshire

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157657005956614

VIDEO

#5 – Elderberries

date – September 21 2015

location – Southwell Trail, Nottinghamshire

camera - tripod set-up

first edit: https://youtu.be/QGa56Spg_aU

TEXT

Elderberries – journal entry

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzRUVnZmZTUjZPMlU/view?usp=sharing

 

 

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN AUTUMN

On returning to the states in time for the beautiful Southern Appalachian Autumn season, I was compelled to respond. How to do this without producing a cliche? One of the most renowned beauty spots in the world in the height of “leaf” season – where tourists from all over the world come to take pictures & videos – along with National Geographic & everyone else!
The only way was to respond to the raw material of “mountains” & of “leaves” with the raw material of “self”.



MOUNTAINS

In Mountains, my response is tri-fold … to embrace, to salute & simply to be present:

VIDEO:
Mountains
date – October 28 2015
location – Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville NC
camera – tripod set-up
first edit: https://youtu.be/9lLF-yByY2c

LAKE EDEN

In Lake Eden, this place calms my spirit - my response is to drift with the leaves in the water.

The former site of Black Mountain College, I feel it grounding me in the deep roots of creativity.

IMAGES:
Lake Eden
date – October 30 2015
location – Lake Eden (former BMC) Black Mountain NC 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157660694277211

VIDEO:
Lake Eden
date – October 30 2015
location – Lake Eden (former BMC) Black Mountain NC
camera – hand-held & tripod set-up
first edit: https://youtu.be/_S4gOlowlzw 

AUTUMN LEAVES - dancing

In Autumn Leaves, my response is to dance with the leaves … to swirl & spin:

IMAGES:
Autumn Leaves – dancing
date – October 31 2015
location – Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville NC 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157658358090543 

VIDEO:
Autumn Leaves
date -  October 31 2015
location – Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville NC
camera – hand held & hung from tree
first edit: https://youtu.be/EVSBkyDPNaY

PLEASE NOTE: The videos are all first edits - meaning that the footage has been narrowed down to clips I am considering using. The order, length & sound are all yet to be set.

 

 

 

 

BODY STUDIES 1 2 3 (first edits)

These three Body Studies show a process that continues directly on from my ritual "stripping down" performance at Somos gallery in Berlin.
... Once stripped of superfluous baggage (or at least, as much of it as that ritual helped me to strip) - what was I left with? What do I consist of?
The questioning felt like an interrogation.

The following three videos show the process of my response.
They are first edits containing the footage I have narrowed down to use from the original recording.



1) Body Parts

First of all, I asked myself …. “so now what are you?” ….. The answer seemed to be “I am nothing” – then looking at my assemblage of body-parts … “I am my hands” … “I am my feet” … “I am my legs” … “I am my back” … “I am my head” … “I am my breasts” …. etc etc
Here is the first edit of this interrogation:

Body Study #1 – Body Parts / date – September 30 2015 & October 9 2015 / location – Tozer Dance Studios, Hockerwood Farm, Nottinghamshire / camera – tripod set-up

https://youtu.be/hSpELyiKw04


2) Body Folding

After this interrogation, my initial response was to “fold in” on myself – a hiding or disappearing by becoming smaller in space, covering my body parts ….. however, the only thing available to cover body parts with were other body parts – thus exposing them …….. for every folding that closes & hides – something else is revealed, left open & vulnerable:

Body Study #2 – Body Folding / date – September 30 2015 / location – Tozer Dance Studios, Hockerwood Farm, Nottinghamshire / camera – tripod set-up

https://youtu.be/Crkb1hSYZdE


3) Body Dashing

From here comes the urge to escape …. but there is nowhere to go besides dashing around within the confinement of the self:

Body Study #3 – Body Dashing / date – October 9 2015 / location – Tozer Dance Studios, Hockerwood Farm, / Nottinghamshire / camera – tripod set-up

https://youtu.be/nWq_s6RIZYo


These three studies feel extremely vulnerable - they are part of a necessary process for this stage of my life & art.

NOVEMBER 2nd - Problems & Images

I am having MAJOR problems with video editing software at the moment ..........
exactly at the most inconvenient time - just when I'm preparing work to show for my Crit Group presentation ...... also trying to start putting together a proposal to exhibit the work in the Spring.
GREAT!

Anyway ........
I do have some recent images up-loaded onto flickr:

Lake Eden

date – October 30 2015

location – Lake Eden (former BMC) Black Mountain NC

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157660694277211

Autumn Leaves – dancing

date – October 31 2015

location – Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville NC

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72157658358090543

The image from Lake Eden is the old Black Mountain College dining hall where all the legendary BMC Happenings occurred!

OCTOBER 15th 2015 - ADVISOR MEETING REPORT

I consider myself as extremely blessed to have the opportunity of having Linda M Montano as my Studio Advisor for this year.
As my current project & process is very much in the realm of Life-As-Art / Art-As-Life, Linda suggested - & we have both agreed - that we approach the work as "Life".
We have been conducting our correspondence in an on-going series of meetings & communications.
Linda's comments & observations have been personally challenging to me.
She has been noting aspects of the (my) Self coming through in the work - my body / actions - my interactions with materials (mainly in nature) - dealing with issues of aggression & anger, questioning if my motives are transgressive.
This has caused me to examine my motives & intentions - also to create arguments in their defence & of the resulting work. Also to find context for my arguments within the world of body-art & performance.
She has also noted that my recent trial-&-error experimentations with text come across to her as being true to myself - so I will continue to pursue this aspect of the work with honesty.
Another observation Linda made is that my photography of nature seems to ground & center me .... which, on considering this point, is very accurate.
..... In terms of creating a "piece" - very little has been discussed so far in terms of thinking towards any kind of finished product (due to the exploratory nature of this stage of the project & our agreed approach towards it) .... however, Linda did echo my thoughts on combining text, video & images in an installation format.

OCTOBER 15th 2015 - PROCESS REPORT

I began my process of stripping everything down to the RAW MATERIAL of the SELF as medium for art in my performance at Somos Gallery in Berlin at the beginning of the Summer Residency.

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/raw-material-0-ground-zero.html

During a two-month stay in the rural Nottinghamshire countryside in the UK, I began a journal of interactions - the Raw Material of the Self in fusion with the Raw Materials of the environment around me.

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/recent-images-october-3rd-2015.html

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/raw-material-2-wheat.html

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/raw-material-3-apples.html

There are also five other body-based video sketches I have shot & will present them after a first edit.

This work has been accompanied by a written journaling practice in accordance with Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down The Bones".
Other reading / research material so far has included:
Kristin Linklater - "Freeing The Natural Voice"
Guillermo Gomez-Pena - "Ethno-Techno"
Peggy Phelan - "Unmarked"
Amelia Jones - "Body Art - Performing The Subject"
Nick Mansfield - "Subjectivity: Theories of the Self"
Plus DVDs
Maya Deren - Experimental Films & Divine Horsemen
Tim Etchells / Forced Entertainment
The Live-Art video series

My Research Advisor (Laura Gonzales) has suggested I keep in mind the concept of "material culture" as I work on this project. This makes sense to me - as the material culture of a community (or in this case - me) gives information about materials available to them & serves as an expression of their practical, aesthetic, spiritual (etc) needs & desires in their choices of employment of those materials.