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The Habitat For Artists exhibit/project/fundraiser opened this weekend at Van Brunt Gallery. The gallery will serve as the conduit for the activities at the heart of the project. There will be some screenings, talks, and the space will be partially transformed in to a work space for the duration of the show.
So I'll be spending a portion of the upcoming weekends at the gallery tinkering and cavorting and I'm looking forward to it.
Above is an image of my "insulated tile" which is part of the initial stage of the exhibition. Participating artists created work on 14" tiles which conform to a modular format which can be used as the skin of a shed habitat - or make for a lovely little objey for the den. The colorful striations on the piece are one-by-two's that formed a grid from last Summer's hab at Spire Studios. I used some surplus paint from a few jobs to punch up the wood, then sliced them up and randomly re-gluing the pieces. The packing peanuts are held in place by plastic sheeting stretched over the piece. It's a sketch, really. It's silly, it's colorful, it's stupid. I love it.
As I've discussed before, I'm into the aspect of maximizing resources that is a central component of the project. Not just material, but spacial, and intellectual resources. It's a highly resonant topic, now given the "hard times" we're currently experiencing. I feel moments like this can be rather exciting as they shake up the status quo, imposing another level of resourcefulness from more people.
There's not a lot of bad in that, as I can see. Difficulty, sure, but not bad really. Ok, maybe some bad, but bad goes away. Hell, things are difficult even in times are supposedly good. Change is good too, and difficulty fosters change. So in a way, let's embrace doing things the hard way. That's almost a mantra for me. Throw in a constraint or an obstacle here and there and see what comes up. As Donovan says, you've got to pick up every stitch. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it feels apropos, and it just started running through my head.
I made a trip yesterday down to Brooklyn to attend a salon hosted by Sharon Butler and Austin Thomas at Thomas' place Pocket Utopia. The vibe and the activity at PU parallel that which I hope HFA will engender while at Van Brunt. I spoke briefly with C-Monster on the blessedness of the marginal space (and by extension -in my view- the beauty of the unexceptional), which will undoubtedly see a rise in these uncertain times.A shot of Pocket Utopia as Sharon (seated at table) kicks of the discussion.
Shortly thereafter, the space filled to capacity.
I must have mentioned here, somewhere before, an idea with which I have been fixated with since I don't remember; the thought of using every part of the buffalo (what a weird lookin' word). Somewhere along the way in school, I learned that the Indians Native Americans didn't let any portion of the buffalo go to waste, and it is now a hardwired fascination that I have. In fact, I've absorbed this notion so fully that it's part of my chemistry. It feels less a thought than an instinct, and without a doubt, a compulsion. I've known Peruvians to have the same approach to the pig. I've still got the cacophonous crunching of pigs feet in my head to prove it.
So I appreciate the approach the Pocket Utopia is taking in its sliver of a storefront down in Bushwick. It feels fully occupied.
In this same vein, I was really excited to learn recently (via bad at sports) of spcmkr.com. Nick Lucking and Tim Ivison established this Wiki site to assist "culture producers" to "institutionalize their resources" by sharing what they have in surplus with others in the form of establishing small residencies for other artists. This an exciting concept and it advances the cause of the gift economy while it serves up a sense of shared self sufficiency. I'm trying to see what scenario I can cook up that would fit within then tenets of the concept. The habitats fit right in with the spirit. And although not a living situation, the habs can offer a traveler a residency of a couple of hours to process some thoughts. A commenter on C-Monster's post about the kork project suggested creating a writing residency at DBB's office in addition to the other projects that are going on there. Regardless of whether that would actually work out in this situation, it's a great idea, and the right type of thinking.