Each Age is a Dream That is Dying Or One That is Coming to Birth
We made it to Louisville Kentucky five days ago late into the night through thunderstorms, blue skies and a bacon induced fog (I get it, people like bacon. But do we need bacon in every menu item dear truckstop?) My least favorite stop along the way was at a gas station in Ohio whose posters boasted "Fill up on freedom" across images of eagles, American flags and the Statue of Liberty....also available at this location was a fur covered dream catcher (the fur obscuring any web of dream catching abilities!) with the porcelain idea of a Native American glued to the center...what an American dream we are cultivating here! I guess this is all fuel as to why I feel Gravity is so necessary...or why art in general is so necessary right now...
After watching (almost all) of a Max Ernst documentary before embarking on our trip I saw the evolution of dada and surrealism fighting out against WWI and then II, making images to deal with, comment on, and document the nearly unimaginable state of things. I find that I keep looking for a current movement in art, one that is speaking out against all of the injustices across the globe but I'm not seeing too much of it! When I moved to rural Pennsylvania (pictures seen here) to start Gravity it was definitely because I heard messages in Brent's work that I find to be very important, socially moving and that I had hoped to find in art when I moved to NY. Don't get me wrong, I know a bunch of artists are broadcasting much needed messages (Mel Chin, Karyn Olivier, Jackie Goss, Chris Doyle to name a few) and that graffiti and DIY movements have been going strong for a few decades now taking on some political angst but not nearly enough in the face of the seemingly constant global meltdowns.
I also know that many groups have been coming together in recent days to cause some actual revolutions but where are the artistic ones? Why does it seem so difficult for groups of artists to come together and speak the same message? I know that when I was living in Brooklyn I felt a strong sense of artists being guarded about their ideas due to the competitive nature (and the potential profit) of the Chelsea art scene...I really hope that that palpable sense of tension has dissipated in the post art boom in New York and that the artistic collectives, collaborations and progressive, creative ideas that I was looking for when I moved there are happening and I mean in a genuine, immediate way (looks sideways at recent influx of artistic collectives that are slooowly reacting instead of initiating any sort of change). Now I must get back on the ladder, installing the Gravity set in Louisville, helping to build the messages I feel so strongly about for a whole new audience, one nail at a time! But first: how to get ssssuper glue off of ones fingersss...?
After watching (almost all) of a Max Ernst documentary before embarking on our trip I saw the evolution of dada and surrealism fighting out against WWI and then II, making images to deal with, comment on, and document the nearly unimaginable state of things. I find that I keep looking for a current movement in art, one that is speaking out against all of the injustices across the globe but I'm not seeing too much of it! When I moved to rural Pennsylvania (pictures seen here) to start Gravity it was definitely because I heard messages in Brent's work that I find to be very important, socially moving and that I had hoped to find in art when I moved to NY. Don't get me wrong, I know a bunch of artists are broadcasting much needed messages (Mel Chin, Karyn Olivier, Jackie Goss, Chris Doyle to name a few) and that graffiti and DIY movements have been going strong for a few decades now taking on some political angst but not nearly enough in the face of the seemingly constant global meltdowns.
I also know that many groups have been coming together in recent days to cause some actual revolutions but where are the artistic ones? Why does it seem so difficult for groups of artists to come together and speak the same message? I know that when I was living in Brooklyn I felt a strong sense of artists being guarded about their ideas due to the competitive nature (and the potential profit) of the Chelsea art scene...I really hope that that palpable sense of tension has dissipated in the post art boom in New York and that the artistic collectives, collaborations and progressive, creative ideas that I was looking for when I moved there are happening and I mean in a genuine, immediate way (looks sideways at recent influx of artistic collectives that are slooowly reacting instead of initiating any sort of change). Now I must get back on the ladder, installing the Gravity set in Louisville, helping to build the messages I feel so strongly about for a whole new audience, one nail at a time! But first: how to get ssssuper glue off of ones fingersss...?
posted by Donna K. at
1:30 AM
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