Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space

There is nothing like floatying in a warm swimming pool that is quiet and empty other than yourself. swimming underwater to the simple echos of water friction and a deep vibrato from a pump somewhere.Suspended in a hydro pool with only the souind of jets. eyes closed on a stem bath with slow deep breaths. Today i moved past my physical existence. without paying attention to water displacement i was only floating like your brain floats expeirencing the electro-chemical impulses stimulating my brain. the slow pings and pangs of morphine...a high in itself without the itchies. gums numb in an ice cream freeze. frontal lobe switched off. perception lost in the ignored displacement. Doers our everyday experiences get affected by our influence? i mean to say that are we affecting a physical environment with our prescence othert than that of the excahnge of oxygen and carbon dioxede? do we trnsmute energies that affect others and other things around us? do we carry these traces with us and leave these type of traces at the sametime? like the ghostly vapors of heat off the road? are we leaving trails in our wake? how can this be illustrated in an installation? time lapse photography/ a slow shutter speed can illustrate this, but how else can this be communicated?

graduated

how i change....changes how the things i see are....and thus changes how i understand our relationship to be. this is also true of space.to the observer. With it being in relation to myself i judge the space......,but usually without understanding the judgements being made i forget that i can change the space. The active roll i took in the installation 'like for like' changed my physical relationship and the mental picture understanding constantly. i was unable get teh whole picture until i was finished adn a week after that. And at the end of it all i looked back at the empty sculpture court and i stilll wanted to see the work. like staring at a red square for long enough. then look away and you see the residual green square. the same aspect has happened with each of my installaltions with the cardboard....not so much with the installation. more info coming down the pipe gotta simmer on it.

invigilating the (in)between

Corrugated card is such a familiar material. It is disregarded as easily as it is discarded. Most of the viewers ,who participate within the space, are there for 20 seconds, with many of them smiling. Some even smile and make comments such as, ‘ Cardboard, unh?’, ‘ Must’ve taken ages, yeah?’ or where’s the paintings?’ I even heard one show goer exclaim, ‘oh! dear’. Oh dear? What does that mean?

(in) between is in a highly trafficked area, installed adjacent to the sculpture court, a majority of the visitors ,atleast, see the mass of cardboard boxes assembled for the installation. As some venture through the space, overwhelmed by the amount of card. Constantly looking up and around the space to take it all in. Fantastic! And as they investigate, they kick tiles across the floor or bump into piles causing them to topple and take on the sculptures of David Mach.I have had feed back from people happy to see the warm corrugated cardboard. “ it brought a smile across these lips.’, one lady confessed, ‘ and that is just what I needed.’, she finished.

Everyone walks through to stop at the projection. Are we that trained to think of film or television monitors as the real piece? It is the need for having an object/image to look at for an experience I believe most are looking. i think that it has proved to be distraction in teh installation as it often is in real life.

in relation. (thoughts outloud)

how do we see objects? in relation to ourselves and in relation to other objects within space. that space is, however, a result of place and time. time being a measurement of our own accordance. place is affected by where we have been before. 'cuts in space' is then under the term of our own devices. as a painter when composing a painting, the compostition is understood by how one defines the space with the objects in the picture plane in relation to each other(the objects). the mystery and the myth come from the lack of understanding in the difference between the viewer and the painter's point of view. how about the painter's point of view the following day as they return to the scene of the crime. there is the old stable question 'when is a painting done?'. i have always thought is was when it was out of reach of the painter's brush. Any deciding point for stopping could be argued that this point of rest is a finished point. developed to a certain recognition and approval. in relation to understanding. an understanding to the intent of the artist. whose gamble is it? whose deal is it?

time

The installation for the degree show is under way. We went out to skateraw archive to gather my corrugated card used in the piece 'free space', which had been previously used in the 'like 4 like' work. it took longer to get there than it did for the three of us to box all the tiles. we returned to the main building finally to drop the boxes in place. I did some quick sketches and have added to my original plans for the new installation angles and study of place...'cuts in space'. This avenue should provide an arena more confrontational witht eh viewer, however it will continue to produce an effect of exchange. stay tuned for the developements of the degree show piece.

place

Place is a reference to a position to space and time. A relationship in conjunctiuon to surroundings. A relationship of object to object to human being. Capitalism is an arena of human beings in relation to objects ,attempting to survive and transcend their surroundings. I talk about capitalism because we live in an age that is passed that of the hunter and gatherer. i almost typed 'hunger and gatherer'. Our space in the west has reached a point that we can't solely provide for ourselves off the land in urban areas. We depend upon a system of supply and demand. Capitalism provides ........a place to consume. A place that invests on gluttony. A place that expects that the goods created and developed are a variable to supplant the existing conditions of a 'slave'. " 2. a person who is strongly influened by or controlled by something"-Oxford English Dictionary. We, in the west. are in a positon of educated choices. We have alternatives of luxury. Some within our system do not have these choices because of economic pressures and responsibilities. As a commiunity we should look after each other. Communities through time have survived because of the different roles individuals have played in the survival of the community on a whole. Capitalism doesn't need communities; just one dollar at a time. In our definitions of individuality, we cling to the limited choice of a system to represent a projected self. A system of walking signifiers of self. " [The] brand identity and personality should either represent its target consumers - their values, lifestyles, and sensibilities- or what they would like these factors to be."- Mythmaking on madison avenue- s.randazzo

minimalas maximas

I splayed out 10000 plus tiles. A work dealing with a multi-faceted level of engagement. I have brought my ideas toward painting forward into a way of explaining my ideas through installation. By continuing to use intuition in the distribution i have used a range of corrugated card tiles to explain the prevalence of the materials and give an added depth to the piece by the use of 'found' objects to age the work. My training in painting and mostly a pursuit in abstract expression originally has lead me to a form of communication that may be seen as similiar to constructivism or minimalist sculpture. By trying to describe an arena that is ubiquitous with in our culture by the simplest means through an interactive work to address the system of exchange. My earlier posts describe the role that can be played by the participant or the relevance of the work without the evidence of the viewer. I still see the installations as paintings, through their process and application. The same reference materials and range of objects used in my paintings can be found in the installations. The process is as important in the installtions as it is for me in the paintings. The installations allow me a way to create more of an environment than my earlier wall hangers. ................
A new wave is brewing just off the coast of this experience that may incorporate both of the facets. we will see.

like for like day 5 + 6

Wrapping up like for like, no pun intended, ended the way it started. Stacks of piled high card shuffled into Coruugated card boxes and toted off. The beginning and the end being alike are important. It shows the cyclical nature of the piece and shows the relationship of the work within the system. Situated in the world is where my vision lies. I look back on the last two days of 'like for like' and realize how important the time frame is for the work. I was rushing about trying to work the piece in a way that would be organic, but feel that the piece may be biased because i am the one working on it.I was actine in an intuitive manner adn looked at the lay otu as i do assess my paintings. I even did small thumbnails to describe movement of the card boroughs, that after teh arrows were added looked like football plays or weather charts. The next installment like this will be participant driven. The patterns of interaction should be employed by actual viewer participation. The piece works well aesthetically for me. i have enjoyed each stage of the project. The amount of photo documentation for this piece could have actually been more. I would have liked more film coverage, but this is the sort of thing that was to be found out in teh first attempt of something like this. A more systemic approach is in teh works for the display. The lay otu , the procedure of receiving goods, the way and times at which such a piece should be shot. A way in which it can be garnered like a business monitoring the facets, the economices needed to bulid and drive the piece to finish. Now it is time for the cutting room, keep your eyes peeled for new develpements as we discover the editing process fo trying to re create the card.

like for like Day 4

monday, two days off and a fresh look. It was great to have time to reflect on lst weeks progress and then to return to the scene of the crime. My initial concept on addressing the system of exchange was to leave an arena where participants could shuffle about the cards, create new towers, areas of developement and then to help build and shape the work. By doing like for like as a continuous project it becomes my progress and interaction with the work. i become the sole editor in a way that i had not intended. it may be that because of the lite foot traffic and the fact that i have been there constantly may inhibit any participation or investigation by the passers by. This new phase will hopefully change that with the evident movement in the cards. the grid is no longer there as the dogmatic organisational system and the organic shapes of a map are being revealed. I wasn't trying to make a map, but the evidence aesthetically and by the product of the movement reveals a map. A topographic one possibly because of the physical prescense and the evidence of the paths created because of the interaction with the participants( in addition to how the cards were aligned or organized afterwards). A definite trace of interaction is mapped out by the residual. It becomes a tally of consumption and distributon. The use of the card is because of teh materials available around me. The prevalence of these materials is reflective of their cheapness, but in no way is that to insinuate a notion of value in the work it self. The work is about the work itself. is evident of it self. and is an example of the system it was created with in. There is a fragile nature exposed here. A material that is rigid and used to protect products is also a frail thing and easy to discard for it to biodegrade or for recyclability.

like for like Day 3

With the first stage complete i am able to focus on the newer developements for 'like for like'. Another grueling day crawling around the floor for Charles and I. Ben was available for film documentation like a champ. He is probably suffering at work right now. I was tragically underestimating how long the set up would take, however i am more pleased with the fact that this installation is shown growing. The'building' becomes as important as the shufffling about. The pattering used for this piece has been the most arduous task. the rest is a more organic approach in it's developement. All the planning in the image,the tediom of creating the image. Now the card will move. I hope that other viewers will participate without instruction to move the card about the sculpture court. It's important to have this piece move. i will be taking photos of this as well as be active in the growth. I think the project means more with showing the construction because ...it is a behind the scenes set up. Like most things we buy, or places we go. I mean, to promote a product. It has to be made. It has to be test marketed. It gets shipped. There is a time investment in this that rarely gets noticed on the whole. This side of the industry is just as important an influence as it is influenced by the second half of the work. I mean that in the way that a public responds to the product. The demand. The supply chain in action. The procuring of the products. It is cyclical. This process is a mirror unto itself. This contemporary ritual of shopping is a mirro of the research and development side of sifting through ideas looking for the next thing to generate a profit. The services to produce are just that other products. Under the same scrutiny to catch teh eye of the next client. i feel that paying more attention to this chain can open the eyes to the larger pictue. Reflection on the micro can open doors to the understanding to the macro. There is more supporting material to be developed in this explanation, stay tuned.
g'night.

economically viable

"the 'everyday' needs and 'everyone' to live it or it makesno sense at all. more or less the only widespread common experience in the west these days is, for obvious reasons, shopping. But, as a communal pursuit, shopping is hopeless because our commodity selection defines us only by our individuality." Will bradley states in the article, ' The decline of the circus and the marching band is permanent and final' and he goes on further to state that 'Contemporary art never features in these representations because it is not a mass market commodity. By this i don't mean that it is not represented because it is not a part of most people's day to daylife(which it isn't), but that there is not the same kind of economic advantage to be gained by showing it that there is with c onservatories, WAP- enabled mobile phones, inflatable travel cushions or ready mixed pasta sauce." This is a dated article and is guilty of adhereing to the guilty comment of greenberg on the economic viability of minimalist sculpture in the face of trends of the current art flavor changing. The article was written in 2001 and since then we as a public who attend galleries or malls find contemporary works portrayed on ties, more and more postcards, the regular poster repro and can now even by stencils of the 'banksy' design allowing the buyer to make art like him DIY style. In the article Mr. Bradley describes a time where contemporary art doesn't challenge the 'everyday' adn describes the situations era as a blip in history. I reckon this is true because at the time the current market trends were unable to bring this ideology into their fold. With today's advances one can purchase artist designs as 'wallpaper' for their mobile phones. Graffitti, the last avante- garde, is now a common tool in marketing schemes. Anti- marketing film shorts are just as much a marketing tool as the traditional forms of commodity myth making. The pigs on the animal farm are in control. The accessibility of a contemporary art trend is based on teh economic return yeilded by a public subdued by the marketing schemes of the culture industry and the (once) high culture art world. Public monies, which had been for community service oriented programs and ones for art programs have consolidated to kill two birds with one stone. A way of saving face and saving money. It is the innate nature of the corporation to do something only if it is for the good of the company( ie the bottom line..their profits). Our contemporary art bradley suggests, ' Currently, teh 'problem of the everyday' is a very different one. Instead, of fighting the institutions of high culture in the name of revolution, it remains a struggle ( noy in the Bolshevik sense, just in the sense that it is difficult) to define sufficient, meaningful, common experiences to qualify."
Why is the current state fo affairs dealing with the culture industry not sufficient enough to come under scrutiny? The way corporations garner products for their own gain. The way trends dictate markets only because major holdings of companines sway these. The idea of the individual is becoming lost. our shopping patterns are monitored too closely adn our sense of style is contemporray or nostalgic. in the west it is not out of necessity. Our climate controlled lifestyles are suffocating this notion of the individual as we walk along under our mp3 players avoiding any newness or difference we cannot control the influence upon us. I just had to rant. this idea keeps coming back up. as a contemporary artist i feel that one has to challenge. not just art for art, but the community. it should not be any different than the average following a sitcom or a local team. We are all in this together and if we let trends dictate to us what to do( like forgetting the revolution) then we are doomed to repeat the same oppression until it results into the untelevised revolution. Un televised because 'they ' don't want others to identify with it or realise that others feel the saem way.
signing off.
g'night

like for like Day 2

Wow....today was a little more exhausting. being short two in the labour dept. in conjunction with my tiredness from the previous days workout. Ben and charles were on again today and we also got help from Zeynep. Ben was filming adn Zeynep took lots of photos for me. I have asked a few others to help me in the documentation process b/c i cannot see it all. i think to get an appropriate archive of photo documentation that i need a few more eyes than just mine. We all were diligent workers. i made a few important decisions concerning the display of the piece versus the original plan. I also made a few changes in the aesthetics of the piece given the limited nature of corrugated card available to me at this time. For the pictorial plane of the installation, a pinnacle moment in its presentation, the tape aesthetic i discuss in an earlier paper that i will post here was installed. Certain hues of card are used to create an image in the mapping of the piece. In reference to one section of the map i had to adjust an area to use packaging tape to help in the colouring so that the piece will continue to work in a positive way. After this first goal is acheived the work will evolve in an epic manner. Negative spaces will be carved through areas and new designs will emerge. card will get shifted, sifted, stacked, and moved around the arena. from opposite corners.... or from teh same quadrants.The first goa; will be completed by 1 tomorrow. then the next phase will begin at 2. an hour break will be taken to document and reflect on the piece at this stage. thanks for all those who helped today.
now off to give to charity and support the randan discotheque at the johnny cash tribute night.

like for like day 1

Day 1 went really well. I had guessed right in timing for today's schedule. If i had been granted acces yesterday i would have been able to get the surveying and the card sorting done ahead of time. With that delay we spent the first half of today taping off the install area and separating the corrugated cardboard tiles into their different hues. The separation of hues is for the replication of a pictorial reference from an older newspaper advertisement. That being graph one to follow is then complicated by a graph number two where my assistants and i were to install a padding layer giving the piece a more prevalent three dimensional aspect. Charles, Steve and most of all Ben were a huge help.The piece developed smoothly. I am at about the halfway mark for the initial install. the piece after this will develope further towards the 2nd graph adn then will develop further into distribution hubs, cityscapes, a macrocosm of consumerism mapping the microcosm levels of exchange( that can/are mirrored in the macrocosm). Tomorrow morning first thing will be to address the fulfillment of the intial installation. We were unable to have film documentation of today's events, but hope this will be sorted out tomorrow. Lots of photo documentation was acheived with our project photographer out of town on personal business. We wish her all the best on her travels and hope conchetta had a great birthday celebration in spite of the conditions for her return trip to the states. I was thinking that another approach to such a piec may be....... what if i didn't adhere so strictly to an image initially? I could have had a picture to reference, but created on the spot as if i were drawing it. Only using other people as an extension of myself in the application of tiles of course. 9 meters by 20 meters isa a large piece. I feel as confident in the execution in this piece as i do with smaller works acheiveed in the past. As commented on today, i t seems totally at home for me to work at this larger scale. This installation iss great practice for the upcoming degree show. For all of you that helped today it was much appreciated.
cheeeeeeerrrssss!

eve of like for like

The graphs are complete. tomorrow's set up has me a little anxious. It will consist of a labour cast of ben and myself. I will arrive at 8:30. Ben should be arriving at 9:30. After the survey of the site is in place we will run around the sculpture court like an inkjet printer back and forth laying tiles as described in the graphs. two graphs...two layers. may be a lil tricky as well. the ratio for the graphs is off. instead of an esy one to one they are the lovely one to one point six. I set this up and a desk and everything will be fine. Tons of ideas have piled up on how this can executed in the future with a more professional systemic documentation and performance. I like the off the cuff approach as well leaving room for adjustment. The documentation will be key. Documentation of labour. A shipping record. And lots and lots of photographs. The cameras will be rolling. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
g'night

spring......

The sun finally stays up past 7. The clocks were moved forward though. the temp is getting cosier. and soon we will be on the west coast basking in oban whisky rivers and tourists foot paths....mostly (i hope) will be the burden of peace and quiet. a heavy heavy thing calmness is. It has been too long. A figitty afternoon because there is nothing to do is going to be a nice change. Wednesday is the first day of the installation" like for like on last years margin". tonight i will be finalizing certain aspects of the production team's itinerary. Look for future posts on the developments of this continual project that evolves daily from 29 mar. thru 5 apr.
as always, i am
greggory

Testimonial Feb. 4, 2006

The best performance i have seen since my youth. tonight's show was how i had always hoped seeing nick cave would be, but ....it was better. with tearful renditions of' Mercy Seat',' Stagger Lee' and not to forget the awe inspiring song,' God is in the House'. The place was vacuous, as Cave whispered to the mic. it was Amazing! still human and being courteous entertainer, as over enthusistic fans cried for their favorites to be sung as if at one point if Nick Cave did play their request it would be some sort of validation for having picked the next song...or is it the ego of your mp3 players and compact disc players where we command the set lists and this is just another entertainer sent here to do that for them. i am glad their requestss went unawarded. the band was fantastic belting out the thunderous clamour of tonights epic tales. i feel blessed having witnessed the grace and power. Thanks Nick!

It's all relative.....

Place determined by perception. Your experiences affect the way you see a place just as the place has an effect on how you see other things after your visit or perhaps during your visit. The present, past and what you project all affect the place. A relationship has begun. both under the influence. a sembiotic event. Time will change either of you irregardless, b ut your interchange with place will surely affect you. Place determined by destination and time.......i am trying to gather thoughts on the relationship and experience of the viewer to works of art and how that can be influenced....made more subtle or made more sophisticated.........."the objective environment of the human being assumes ever more relentlessly the characteristic of the article. - Walter Benjamin c.77"

Happy new year!!!!!

It has been too long! i am glad that the retail season is in intermission until the easter sale. oops! FORGOT ABOUT THE VALENTINES DAYS SALES! halmark wil hunt me down now. anything new? i saw 'the producers'. It was alright. I want to see the original. Will ferrel? great. The cast of homosexuals FANTASTIC! uma....she did a good job. bimbo is not a hard roll. Nathan lane and Matthew Broderick. there was something that did not quite gel. they are both very talented actors. both experienced in theatre and on the stage. so why did this not work so well? It may be that parts of it where shot like a play. the viewer is confined to seeing the arena for the action adn not so much the in between action. like the office. or the roof top. the directors flat. then seeing it on film almost gives it an anesthetic feel to it. like a documentary representation of the events. but that has nothing really to do with lane and broderick.they had great moments....but then again, they were almost exagerating some of the character quirks like one would on stage to communicate the action for an audience that is not able to scrutinize so closely like one can with film. Maybe that is the charm of what mel brooks was intending to do....or atleast the actors and director got together this time and said hey...what if we show it like this? Who knows. that is why i want to see the original.
i was just thinking outloud.
L8R