Selected Entry 12:
“…The Process was Art.”
Much of this lecture, for me, was about Dr. Collins’ quotations. The quote regarding if his restoration projects were more science than art, he sad: “Is it art? Good question… I’m not too worried about it. The process was art.” I love that. I really do. Mostly because I feel like I worry about everything. The idea of NOT worrying is fantastic. But more on this “process”…
I am greatly tempted to talk more about Ai Wei Wei, but I do think I can come up with more artists whom have considered the process a much as the end result.
Perhaps Anish Kapoor. In his first exhibition in India, his work was divided between two exhibition spaces; one in New Dehli, and the other in Mumbai. I am trying not to bring up very specific pieces with an exhibition (I want to research the exhibition habits, more than the pieces) however… One of Kapoor’s Mumbai pieces can be seen as an excellent example of “the process” and “The finished work”. It’s called Shooting in the Corner. Where there would, literally, be nothing if there were no process. There is a violence to it, a pretty violence that acts as some sort of liberation from the repression felt by the artist from the exhibition space. It liberates me just to see it. Indeed… indeed. He didn’t worry too much if it was art, because the PROCESS was art.”
I also came across a beautiful article entitled “A Philosophy of Gardens” by David E. Cooper. That, literally, discusses the metaphysics of a garden; the differences of demeanor in large gardens vs. small gardens, the benefits of the seasons on the gardens. Half of the article, however, discussed the process of a garden. As there is no such thing as a finished one; the seasons compel different flora to sprout at different times. It was in The hournal of Aesthetics and Criticism but it read like poetry. So calming, much like Dr. Collin’s lecture.
Selected Entry 13:
“Theory. Practice. Theory. Practice… the way of the tree.”
My favorite research find is an exhibition at MoMA PS1. I think it’s beyond appropriate for Tim’s concept. The exhibition is titled “Not For Sale” and features selected works from many local, and national artists. Alanna Heiss, a more vocal curator than most, devised the idea of asking artists to make work that they will never sell and exhibiting them to patrons whom would only have the one chance to see it.
This exhibition strikes at the heart of theory and practice because it insists that the cycle continue without the interruptions of commoditization: “Theory. Practice. Theory. Practice… the way of the tree.”
Selected Entry 14:
Restoration:
MoMA extibited a landscape restoration program entited “Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape” in 2005. This exhibition brought together a global team of landscape designers where they devised 23 landscapes. All are built on top of existing urban landscapes, but each design strives to make the space better through deliberate landscaping. No one idea is alike, many push the boundaries of the possible in landscaping, but all efforts are concentrated on improving the human landscape. That exhibition may be too straightforward, not enough comparison and cotrast between Dr. Collins’ work and theirs…
There was something I found that is rather more compelling. Chinese artist Liu Bolin, a very busy artist if you see his portfolio, is famous for hiding in cities by painting his body to perfectly match the scenery. He often chooses rubble from destroyed buildings, or graffiti painted urban streets as his refuge. There is something about a man who wants to be one with his city. There’s something about “taking responsibility for what we put our toes in” as Dr. Collins would say. Much of what Dr Collins spoke about was one thing existing with another. The trees change because he is there, he chages because the tree is there. Perhaps it is the same with Liu Bolin, The landscape changes because he’s there. He changes because the landscape is there.
Selected Entry 15:
What do I love?
In my research I found an article on the role of the couch in psychoanalysis. Fear not, this is not about psychoanalysis proper. This article was about the space in which people talk to a stranger, and they see what happens as the process of being psychoanalyzed commences. Throughout the article, I could feel a sense of the uncanny, as Mignon Nixon discusses the psychology of an analyst’s office… It’s the same as an exhibition space.
What I love, is what happens inside four walls; the space in which people talk to strangers through art, and see what happens. How can I make that a practice and a theory? Then another practice, then another theory?
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