Artist Multiples
For my multiples project, I appropriated the format of a Ladies’ Guide to Etiquette from the late 1800s. I wanted to update it by removing out-of-date terms, rules, and expectations for how to perform femininity, while adding in queer undertones and conflicting directions. I’ve changed the original by editing each page – cutting out words, reworking phrases, moving sentences around and writing new sections in order to skew the original meaning. I’m still waiting for a printed copy to be delivered, but the modern update for the etiquette book will have 20 pages in all, which I have included above, and will be portable (a 5.5 x 8.5 inch pocket book printed on heavyweight ivory paper for an antique effect). I was only able to complete the first chapter, since the book is too long to fully makeover by the end of this semester, but it’s a project I would like to continue going forward. Here are some previews of the final product, which should arrive early-mid December:
Scans and Spreads
MY SPREADS:
EXTRAS:
Arboretum Pictures
Environmental Videos
Swamp Stuck:
We originally filmed this video to test how difficult it would be to walk in the swamp, but I think the struggle to balance and navigate a space in nature that I should not reasonably be a part of is powerful enough as it’s own piece. The mud sucks you in and you sink quickly and deeply with little time for preparation. Although I had my own expectations of what would happen, I was surprised by how unsteady and helpless stepping into this part of nature would make me feel. I think of this as a reflection to the turbulence of life and the power of nature, which are both things we take for granted and feel we can prepare to face, but it always exceeds our expectations and we end up having to be malleable and adaptable in our solutions. When walking in a swamp, I had to reorient myself at every second, and the struggle to stand still while sinking and tipping was difficult enough, so in my next video that we filmed where I am walking, I felt even more powerless to the environment around me.
Swamp Walk:
In these clips, I’ve pushed myself further to walk across the swamp, which ended up more as a crawl and a horizontal climb than anything graceful. There were moments that I tripped and disrupted the water around me more than I had intended to, but I appreciate the calm at the end of the video even more because of it (after I have left the frame and you can only see the ripples coming from the direction I had disappeared). I like the symmetry of this piece and the singular movement of going across the frame until I have left the same spot I disrupted, but that the “ripples” of my movement and my presence are still there. It’s inevitable that our presence in this world will affect it, though it may not be as apparent as literal ripples in the water, but we leave our mark on every environment we enter, and it is important to be considerate of that.
Testing the Grass:
FutureFarmers
Futurefarmers is an art collective based in San-Francisco founded in 1995 by Amy Franceschini. They work on collaborative and diverse pieces that range from zines to public performances, which cultivate an “ethos of play”, as Franceschini describes. The Futurefarmers design studio both supports artists in residence and community based art projects, which in some cases span internationally. The members of this collective describe themselves as “artists, designers, architects, anthropologists, writers, computer programmers and farmers with a common interest in creating frameworks for exchange that catalyze moments of “not knowing“”. With their projects, they aim to deconstruct infrastructure systems as well as the concept of “certainty” by challenging their effectiveness in a playful, but almost scientific way. In doing this, much of the work that the Futurefarmers and Franceschini create bring attention to the conflict between humans and nature.
Founded in 2012 in Oslo, Norway, the Flatbread Society is a long-term project created by the Futurefarmers collective which grew internationally with a specific focus on the human relationship to the “grain”.
“Soil Procession” was a Flatbread Society project in 2015 where members worked together to bring soil from over 50 Norwegian farms to the Oslo fiord for a “ground building” ceremony. The procession included a walking parade of soil transportation, taking over an hour to complete, in order to create a foundation for the society to build and grow off of. This transported land later became home to the Bakehouse as well as the Grain Field, where they grew their own crops using farming techniques passed through generations. One procession member described the journey as: “It is not a demonstration against anything, but rather for! We are bringing forth soil from Norwegian farms to Bjørvika.”
After multiple meetings, interventions, and workshops, members of the Futurefarmers created and installed a permanent, wind-powered printing press. The piece includes the installation, the creation of a unique font, a film about the work, a publication, and an exhibition. The work alone spans multiple practices and encourages the collaboration between disciplines, as well as the exploration of more sustainable printing techniques.
Book Stacks
2.4 meters deep, 1996:
