The Civil Appetites was a success! The installation at RoCo has been deinstalled and I’m already researching my next project!
In case you missed them, be sure to check out the final 2 posts over on The Civil Appetites blog:
Tag: spurse
TODAY – spurse @ RoCo
Yep, today is the day! Join spurse and I at Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo) for a day of foraging and conversation! For more information, check out the FB event page and/or the project website.
10AM – 4PM Eating Place: An urban foraging workshop
Join us for a gleaning walk to share knowledge and sense a world of pleasures under our feet. Is it possible to map new habits and ways of being in the city? How can sensing our environment activate non-consumer patterns? We will collect edibles from parks, dumpsters, restaurants, markets and create a “freegan” picnic. Dress code: be ready for a little dirt and adventure. Meet us at RoCo at 10am. 137 East Ave.
7PM – 10PM: The Civil Appetites
Taste the local with food gleaned from the streets of Rochester. Come celebrate the launch of spurse’s experimental cookbook Eat Your Sidewalk and join in the discussion!
Also, I am thrilled to report that my Indiegogo campaign was successfully funded on Tuesday! THANK YOU to everyone who donated and helped spread the word! I really appreciate it.
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photo courtesy of spurse
Eat It @ RoCo
Have you been in to see Eat It: Artists Explore Food & Consumption at Rochester Contemporary Art Center yet? The opening was a couple of weeks ago – you can read more about that and see more photos (photo above from opening reception of Eat It) over on The Civil Appetites blog. There is also an invitation to dinner over on that blog – join spurse and I on May 3rd!
PRESS: there is a nice Eat It review over on City Newspaper’s blog.
TONIGHT – opening of Eat It @ RoCo
Just a reminder that the opening of Eat It at Rochester Contemporary Art Center is tonight from 6pm-10pm!
–> read the rest of this post over on The Civil Appetites blog!
The Civil Appetites
I am SO EXCITED to share with you what I have been working on for my MFA thesis project! I am producing and co-curating The Civil Appetites in conjunction with the exhibition Eat It at Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo).
The Civil Appetites is an experimental dinner event with research and design collaborative spurse, aimed at exploring future food ways and commons. TCA is co-curated by Matthew Friday.
Yesterday I launched The Civil Appetites website where I will be posting updates regarding the project. Matthew, spurse, and I are currently planning our installation. I’m installing NEXT WEEK!
There are two components to this project. One is the installation which will be up at RoCo from April 4 – May 12, 2013 and the second component is the dinner event on May 3, 2013. To fund the dinner, I have launched an Indiegogo campaign!
When coming up with the “perks” for our donors, spurse provided goodies from their EAT YOUR SIDEWALK cookbook/project. I designed the Collaborator Tote Bag (who doesn’t love a tote bag?!) and I’m having them handprinted by Hey Buddy! here in Rochester, NY. Yay!
Please consider donating to our Indiegogo campaign! Every dollar helps! THANK YOU!
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RSVP to the Facebook Event if you want to join us for the dinner on May 3rd – which happens to be First Friday!
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sketch of the Collaborator Tote Bag above. I will share the final product once printed.
2011
Before I jump right into 2012 I wanted to take a pause and reflect back on 2011. It wasn’t until I started going through the posts from my old blog that it really hit me – damn, I had a pretty incredible year. The last couple of months, around the holidays, are always terribly stressful for me so this was a lot of fun to focus on the GOOD. Here is a list of highlights, but really, you could just re-read my old blog, because 2011 was pretty awesome. Thanks for reading!
> I became a member of the union Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts (ILSSA)!!
> I attended a talk by Todd Hido over at GEH and he signed my copy of his book A Road Divided.
> I went to a screening and Skype-talk with Bill Viola!
> I went to a couple of outdoor screenings. Hot dogs and old movies? Yes, please.
> I watched an artist knock himself out for his art.
> I played BINGO with a bunny and watched films on the side of a bus.
> I really enjoyed learning from and working with Jen Bervin and Jason Fulford.
> I attended the Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference. Learned a lot.
> I enjoyed browsing the The NY Art Book Fair.
> I wish I could have spent more time at the Mary Shelley Facsimile Library. Love.
> I fell in love with the BMW Guggenheim Lab while it was in NYC.
> I had the pleasure of participating in fieldwork with spurse!
> I met Abbey Hendrickson of Aesthetic Outburst in person! She’s the sweetest.
> I rode around in a camera! I helped make a test strip. Fun stuff.
> I attended two SPE conferences. Nationals in Atlanta, GA (I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Sherwin – he reviewed my portfolio) and Regionals in Syracuse, NY.
> I stopped by Spark Contemporary Art Space to see two exhibitions curated by Shane Lavalette of Lay Flat: Meta Revisited and Studious. Shane was one of my portfolio reviewers at the Regional SPE conference. It was nice to finally meet him.
> I had the pleasure of meeting Ron Jude of A-Jump Books. He reviewed my portfolio at the Regional SPE Conference. Speaking of A-Jump, I bought a set of all of their titles at the VSW Auction! Score.
> I went to the Everson Museum of Art to see From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America. After viewing the exhibition I attended a talk by Alec Soth himself. Left with a lot to think about!
> I learned to letterpress! …and I’m now obsessed.
> I started working on my first book! I hope to self-publish it this year.
New Year goals? This year I decided to make a birthday list instead! This year is going to be insane and I really cannot stress enough how I want to just take it nice and slow. I’m entering into my last year at Visual Studies Workshop. Where has the time gone? I start Grad Project I in a few weeks and thesis research begins! I’m excited. I’m terrified. All normal emotions right? Those of you who have already earned an MFA – any advice?
Hello 2012.
spurse fieldwork
While I was at the BMW Guggenheim Lab a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of participating in Live Feeds FeedForward 9: Producing Empathic Fields. This field study was part of Phase Four: Understanding Ourselves as the City. Looking at their schedule, I really wish I still lived in NYC so I could have attended every event for this project, but alas I do not.
“Here is a simple but radical thought: our empathy pulls us beyond ourselves and out into the world. This not simply a mental act. Empathy links and stitches environments, practices and creatures together. How does this physical holding together happen? What are the movement-spaces of empathy? Come test and develop extended ideas of empathy via movement and way finding exercises.” –spurse
I honestly haven’t even started to go through my notes, but I am still feeling the creative-high from attending. Such an amazing experience. We departed from the Lab and walked across the street to a park. Then, spurse members Iain Kerr and Petia Morozov conducted an interesting discussion followed by a field exercise. Once I have the time to go over my notes I plan on putting together another post, so for now I’ll share what we accomplished during the field exercise.
Iain and Petia paired us all up. My partner, Scott, is currently a PhD student at The New School and was great to work with. Our assignment was to recall memories by inhibiting our sense of sight and sound in response to our environment. We were given blindfolds, earplugs, and sticks about 4 feet long. I was up first. I put the blindfold and earplugs on. I was not comfortable with this at all but it was surprising to me how quickly I allowed myself to trust Scott. With the stick to guide me I walked around (a public park across the street from the BMW Lab) while Scott walked alongside me making sure I didn’t hit anyone – or walk out into traffic! While I walked around I let my mind loosen up (a hard thing for me!) and allowed my surroundings to bring up old memories. As something popped into my mind, I would shout it out and Scott would record it. He also recorded where the memory was evoked. For example, I remembered being stranded in a canoe on a lake in my youth while I started walking onto a soccer field. Scott stopped me from actually walking onto the field as there was a practice going on! Thanks Scott! At the end of 15-20 minutes I was able to take off the blindfold and earplugs and it was Scott’s turn to recall his memories.
The entire experience was incredible. Like I said, once I’m able to go through my notes I’ll share more! I really wish I was able to attend more sessions and I can’t wait to hear how the project evolves.
BMW Guggenheim Lab – NYC
This past Friday while I was in NYC I made sure to check out the BMW Guggenheim Lab and I’m so glad I did! It was really fun to see Urbanology being conducted LIVE and all of the staff were extremely friendly and enthusiastic.
“The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a mobile laboratory traveling to nine major cities worldwide over six years. Led by international, interdisciplinary teams of researchers in the areas of urbanism, architecture, art, design, science, technology, education, and sustainability, the Lab addresses issues of contemporary urban life with the goal of exploring new ideas, developing experiments, and ultimately the creation of forward-thinking solutions for city life.
The theme of the Lab’s first two-year cycle is Confronting Comfort – exploring notions of individual and collective comfort and the urgent need for environmental and social responsibility. Part urban think tank, part community center and public gathering space, the Lab is conceived to inspire public discourse in cities around the world and through the Lab’s website and online social communities.”
While I was at the lab I attended Live Feeds FeedForward 9: Producing Empathic Fields by spurse (which I am currently writing a separate post about so check back later this week).
There was a really great collaborative energy in the space and I instantly thought of the Re: PLANT room right here in ROC. I find myself becoming more and more interested in collaborative opportunities in the community. I can’t wait to share with you my experience with spurse!
Fall in NYC
WOOHOO!!!! I’m so excited for my Fall trip to NYC in five weeks and still have a lot of planning to do. I have already set up a couple of meetings (which hopefully I will be able to share some exciting news with you all soon) and I have a couple of events to attend as well. There is a lot to squeeze into three days but I’m gonna do it!
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My main reason for heading down is to attend the sixth annual NY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1. The fair is organized by Printed Matter, Inc. and I was SO BUMMED I missed it last year.
“The NY Art Book Fair 2011 will include special projects, screenings, book signings, and performances, throughout the weekend. The Classroom—a curated series of artist-led workshops, readings, and discussions—and the fifth annual Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference—a dynamic, two-day symposium on emerging practices and debates within art-book culture—will engage visitors in lively conversation all weekend long.” [more]
After looking at the list of Exhibitors it’s a good thing I have five weeks to plan my “looking” strategy! Ha! Seriously though, have you seen that list?
The Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference (part of the fair) is FREE and open to the public for the first time this year. Yes! I haven’t decided which sessions I will be attending yet, so maybe that will be another post.
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Next up on my to-do list is to check out the BMW Guggenheim Lab. I plan on attending Live Feeds FeedForward 9: Producing Empathic Fields by spurse (Friday, September 30th 2–5 pm).
“Here is a simple but radical thought: Our empathy pulls us beyond ourselves and out into the world. This not simply a mental act; empathy links and stitches together environments, practices, and creatures. How does this physical holding together happen? What are the movement-spaces of empathy? Come develop—and test—extended ideas of empathy via movement and wayfinding exercises, led by creative consulting and design collaborative spurse.” [more]
This specific event is under the “fieldwork” category and we’ll be taking a walk around the city visiting local community gardens. I’m excited to hear what spurse has to say.
Like I said, I still have some planning to do, but I’m also trying not to over-plan that way I don’t get stressed out. This is supposed to be FUN. Does anyone know of any really great exhibitions that will be up while I’m in the city between September 30-October 2? Let me know!
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Illustration: What to focus on by Marc Johns. Image from his flickr.
Megan Charland | blog 