haunting the subdivision…

One of my graduate advisors, Jen Delos-Reyes, found this quote and forwarded it along to me:

“To me, a detective is the most magical type of character, because mysteries are to me the greatest thing. Puzzles and things like this are thrilling, clues, things like finding money. Everything is a mystery and we’re all detectives. Even scientists are detectives and they’re all looking for clues to solve the big mystery. There are so many detectives going around and so many mysteries.” – David Lynch

While in NY, we bumped into a friend or ours from Toronto, Allyson Mitchell. 

She is in New York, doing the Canada Council residency program – this means she gets an apartment in Chelsea, a studio in Williamsburg and some money to hang out and make work. Sweet deal. The only bad thing about the Canada Council NY residency is the terrible art in the apartment.

Allyson told us about a lesbian haunted house that she is planning for Nuit Blanche. Amaze.

I have been reading, with great interest, many of the reviews and talk back blogs from the Creative Time Summit – Revolutions in Public Practice, which I had the opportunity to attend in NYC. Claire Bishop’s commentary in Art Forum had a predominantly snide & condescending tone. Although I find this degree of cynicism a little difficult to digest, she did make a number of interesting points.

-

“At its best, the “Revolutions” summit offered an immensely valuable overview of a wide range of engaged practices otherwise lacking visibility in New York, while the discursive format provided an appropriate alternative to the exhibition as a means of presenting this often visually evasive work. Socially, it was dynamic—and in this respect, it had much in common with the energy of Hans Ulrich Obrist’s marathons. On the other hand, the summit was only an overview and did nothing to problematize “public practice” as a direction in contemporary art. It assumed (along with many of the positions presented) that art as a discipline can and should be marshaled toward social justice. I would have liked to see more pondering of the specifically artistic competences that can be deployed toward these ends.”

-
The main point of contention, in the talk back section centers around the question of critical discourse, and it’s potential failings and benefits. I strongly believe that a critical discourse has the potential develop a subject area – as members of an engaged and invested community we rely on each other to advance our practices. It was noted in another blog entry by Jennifer Allen that Bishop’s adopted tabloid style of writing is also akin to the kinds of work that she privileges – work with spectacular and antagonist content.

Something that I have been thinking about lately is the relationship of the Uncertainty Principle to a documentary-based practice. Hito Steyerl writes in her article entitled “Documentary Uncertainties”, ‘the closer to reality we get, the less intelligible it becomes. Let us call this ‘the uncertainty principle of modern documentarism.’”
This line of inquiry, I hope, will lead to some kind of panel for Open Engagement.

“I am looking for the body, my body, which exists outside its patriarchal definitions. Of course that is not possible. But who is any longer interested in the possible?” Kathy Acker

A couple of weeks ago, Hannah and I had the opportunity to visit New York City. We stayed with a friend we met at Mildred’s Lane – Caroline Woolard. Caroline is a genius. So are all of her roommates.

We were visiting New York for a number of reasons – reconnaissance at Smack Mellon and Apex Art for upcoming show opportunities, a class visit to Parson’s New School and the Creative Time Summit – Revolutions in Public Practice.

We were staying in Emcee CM, Master of None’s bedroom. Coincidence, because Smack Mellon suggested that our class group should make a connection with him, as someone who has recently completed the studio program at Smack Mellon. Oh, we made that connection.

Our home away from home

breakfast surprise, by caroline woolard