Spectres of Liberty

I cannot take any credit for this amazing art piece, but I was happy to have a role in setting it up, taking it down, and documenting the event. What I enjoyed most about this work was that it successfully functioned on many layers. First and foremost the piece was aesthetically compelling and beautiful. Secondly, it addressed the local community's contemporary social issues while referencing its historical past. It also spoke to the need to be vigilant and organize against systems of oppression. Finally, the piece didn't tell you what to think about it - instead it existed primarily as an experience. A very cool experience. From the website about the project:

"Spectres of Liberty is a public memory, site-specific art project. Beginning with a sense of loss about the changing built environment of Troy, New York, we set out imagining ghosts of demolished buildings and structures. Through imagining inflatable sculptural extensions to buildings whose facades have been destroyed to thinking about recreating vanished historic sites, we decided on creating a ghost of the Liberty Street Church."

Spectres of Liberty is a project by Olivia Robinson, Josh MacPhee, and Dara Greenwald.

What Happens Next?

In cinema, as in life, we desire resolution. However, we must remember that the journey is as valuable (if not more) as the destination. All too often this cinematic structure becomes a well-worn path to the resolution. "What happens next?" is an engaging collection of short video art collected from a diverse group of artists living and working in the Hudson Valley area.

Each artist approaches their craft with a variety of intentions. Some seek to entertain, to some, creating the moving image is an experiment, and to others the image represents a personal or political statement. Regardless of their intentions, each of these works relies on the audience to intellectually interact with it and thereby complete its thought. What Happens Next? was curated by Bart Woodstrup for the Beacon Sitelines and Hudson Plugged In art festivals.

Artists Include: Dara Greenwald + Bettina Escauriza, Jaanika Peerna, Christine Sciulli, LoVid, Shawn Lawson, Penny Lane, Matthew Biederman with Alain Thibault, C. Ryder Cooley with Jen Smith and Gretchen Hildebran, J. Craig Tompkins, and Project-K.

Plugged In, Hudson NY

Through my friend Chip Fasciana (with whom I collaborated last year on Obsequi) I was invited to participate in the inaugural "Plugged In" electronic art festival in Hudson, NY. The event was organized by Melissa Stafford, who did an amazing job of bringing together a great lineup of artists including: Kathe Izzo, Ingrid Ludt, Jesse Matulis, Jillian McDonald, Michael Oatman, Fernando Orellana, Christine Sciulli and many more... for more info: http://www.hudsonpluggedin.com/

After submitting several proposals and struggling to find a venue, Chip and I were fortunate to occupy two narrow walkways on either side of Hudson's City Hall. Our main goal was to create work that would infiltrate the peripheral sense of the passerby. Chip is inspired by and uses found objects in his work. For the piece Schematic Nests he suspended various vintage electronic devices in the east walkway.

In the west walkway I suspended ten small speakers from the second story of the City Hall building. Incorporating contemporary sounds collected from downtown Hudson with generated sounds representing Hudson's past I composed a multichannel sonic art piece entitled Erstwhile.

After setting up the exhibit, Chip and I crossed the street to enjoy a brew and watch the passersby interact with our work. The most rewarding moment of the night was when a group of young people noticed the work. They were visiting Hudson for the first time and were surprised by the "surreal, movie-like" feelings that our work inspired in them. They left saying "Hudson is a cooler town than I thought, let's stay here for a while tonight."

Read a review [here].

...and another [here]

To Painting in SoHo

Composed by Jane Rigler, To Painting (2006-07) includes flute, piano, cello, dance, textile, images and electronics. The title refers to the series of poems “A la pintura” written between 1947 and 1967 by the Spanish poet and painter Rafael Alberti. These illuminative poems were the inspiration behind Robert Motherwell’s series of paintings (1976) of the same title.

To Painting made its New York City debut when it was performed at Roulette (roulette.org) in SoHo. (Note: the images below were taken during soundcheck - we had a full house for the performance). You can watch a video from an earlier performance of To Painting here.

For more info see http://www.janerigler.com/

Feet To The Fire Festival

I had the honor of exhibiting Climate Control and The Hottest Year On Record at this year's Feet To The Fire Festival in Middletown, CT. "Feet to the Fire is an eco-arts festival for the whole family featuring music, dance and theater performances, interactive exhibits and a farmers market with food from Connecticut vendors. Exhibits coordinated by the Jonah Center for Earth and Art will highlight energy conservation, sustainability and resilient communities."

"The festival is a part of an eighteen-month project, funded in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Creative Campus Innovations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional partners are the Center for Creative Research and the Green Street Arts Center."

Perhaps not the best venue for the type of work I do, but I enjoyed the food, people, and music. The site had received quite a bit of rain the day before so as you can see by the photos, the event was muddy and best experienced barefoot.

Temporary Art Space in Chelsea NYC

In 1996 my college mentor invited me to accompany his family on their annual trip to NYC. Upon arriving I immersed myself in the burgeoning Chelsea art district. What I enjoyed about Chelsea at that time was that it seemed unpretentious and raw, yet still featured a sophisticated art experience.

With the exception of a few galleries, Chelsea today seems more like an art outlet mall. With that in mind I was proud to make my Chelsea debut by teaming up with the great art organizer Chip Fasciana (and friends) and overtaking a vacated 1-800-FLOWERS shop; turning it into a one-weekend art venue.

With only one week to prepare, I assembled three new laser cut paper pieces and a video installation. The video piece (a series of animated schematic drawings) was incorporated into a performance by Alex Chechile and his brainwave controlled noise machine. Alex and I finally got the opportunity to meet our benefactor Trudy Morse (pictured below).

Check out [THIS] video of the performance.

Gathering Lore - Off The Grid

Gathering Lore debuted at the Off the Grid show at the Neuberger Museum of Art - SUNY Purchase. *note* the show has been extended through August.

< Image courtesy of Jacqueline Shilkoff.

Hoover - Of Great and Mortal Men (compact disc artwork)

As part of a writing project Christian Kiefer, Matthew Gerken, and Jefferson Pitcher began writing songs about the presidents of the United States. Their project culminated into a multi-disc compilation of music and art; featuring themselves, their colleagues, and friends. In late January Jefferson, a friend of mine, asked me to produce an illustration representing one of the presidents. I chose Herbert Hoover (1929-33). To find out more about the project, click on these links:

http://www.jeffpitcher.com/
http://www.christiankiefer.com/
pitchfork

Gathering Lore
In the great Asian Tsunami of 2004 many animals knew of the impending danger.  They were said to possess a sixth sense which warned them of the coming calamity that sent them searching for higher ground.  Any trace that humans possess this sense is revealed in folklore:

"red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in the morning, sailor take warning"

Our electronic systems of gathering environmental information are not that different from the weathercocks and Cape Cod glasses of yester-year – only more precise. However, our increasing reliance on electronic sensation is dulling the remnants of our "sixth sense."

This folklore, based on observation and experience, is in essence, a dialogue with nature. It is a conversation in which we are losing fluency, perhaps even affinity for. However, the need to understand and adapt to the changing weather of our world has never been greater.

"Gathering Lore" uses real-time sensor data from a locally installed weather station to interface with a database of imagery, iconography, and text that acts as a bridge between technology and historical, cultural folklore and myth.

vodstrup on YouTube

I've begun to play with YouTube. So far, I've only uploaded some old videos. I am currently exploring the medium for 'art' possibilities. I'll likely reemerge on YouTube in pseudonym form soon.

For now, enjoy some videos and leave me a comment: http://youtube.com/vodstrup

 

 

Animatzione
While in India in November of 2007, I was invited to visit/consult this animation studio. They have an interesting concept for developing a school around a working studio. From their website:

Animatzione Studio has some of the most skillful people working for it. They are artists who have been chosen from the renowned art colleges of India . Geared to meet all professional challenges, Animatzione is currently working on 2D classical animation and Flash animation in pre-production and post-production arenas. Work on 3D animation is ready to be launched as well.

 

More information can be found [here]

animatzione.in

Predictions
I was asked to contribute a series of images and writings on the subject of "predicting the future" for a forthcoming book on the subject. Several of the pieces shown here will be featured, in addition to images and writings about the piece Climate Control.

 

 

 

LED Temples
Inspired by the LED lamps found on the dashboards of many Indian rickshaws, I have designed and am building several 'green' powered temples. Each are in devotion to the god from which they derive their power. Currently, Surya is for solar power and Vayu for wind.

Steina Vasulka Podcast
On September 26, 2007 Steina Vasulka performed Violin Power at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. An interview about her work was recorded the following day.

Steina was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1940. Trained as a violinist she joined the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in 1964. She began working with video in 1969, and since then her various tapes and installations have been exhibited in USA, Europe and Asia. Although her main thrust is in creating Video Tapes and Installations she has recently become involved in interactive performance in public places, playing a digitally adapted violin to move video images displayed on large video projectors. [listen here]

Find out more at www.vasulka.org/Steina