environmental arts mentoring no.6
this week was more focussed on the signs of spring, rabbit browse and a kill site we investigated. that may sound strange, though it was amazing to see the different tracks of dogs who had already run through the site numerous times where a rabbit was killed by the time we arrived in the late afternoon.
most of the dog tracks ran up to the kill, stopped, dug around, nabbed some bit of fur, and in a shark like frenzy (remember domesticated dogs also look for those rare moments when they can pretend they are wild like wolves) would run straight up the steep bank to savour their treasure. we mostly poked around with sticks and questions.
one person says: coyote
another says: hawk
it as harder to bring these lessons directly into drawing upon arriving back, so instead we set a different lesson: to try and draw a white pine terminal bud from a birds eye, or foreshortened, perspective.
here are the results. i believe one such result is the merfox-mermaid/fox (i have noticed that attention span in drawing is often defined by the faith you have to be able to render it so others can understand it. this was made a little more public, and therefore confidence was more strained, by being done in chalk while the weekend program was running in chimney court).
we have it on good faith that in the building of this project mr. zigler was delivered at the space with a wealth of wet, muddy materials, with little concept ofwhat he was seeking to achieve, and through the course of four days and nights, build this installation. a focus on the creativity of the process, rather than a measured goal oriented design. the hay and all the materials went back into the farm. the wood for charcoal burning. the hay for bedding (although usually it would be used for feed).
an odd thing happened to this shelter when brought into the climate of the indoor gallery space. allof a sudden, the bark which was layered on the roof to keep out the rain shriveled and dried up, while when it was on the shelter that mr. zigler had build outside it somewhat served the function because of the constant english rain. all of the materials became brittle, not like the decay of the forest, all rot and dinner for a host of creatures, but the decomposition of the desert, becoming like bones which then would blow away as dust.a healthy experience, and one which signposted which direction was the most appropriate.
the gallery charged a fee to exhibit there for three weeks. another way to capitalize, or less negatively to make a living off the creativity of others, and one which this work did not fit within, seeing that few people would seek to buy such a shelter. regardless of its monetary worth within the context of a commercial gallery space, it truly had a firm opinion concerning the theme of this group show, the farm, but instead of selling this point of view in a package which makes it easier to consume, it offered a communal meal, where each viewer would have to work to take what they could. this is not being negative towards commercial art, only identifying the distance that this shelter was from it.
foolishNATURE 