Art in the Desert - a One Day Show May 19

[ExNihiloStudio]

Vision Request (http://www.visionrequest.com/)
May 19th, 2007
Joshua Tree, CA (2-1/2 hour drive from L.A.)
Come see the art show and live performance (there will be sculpture and much more).
If you can't make it, track it on the official webpage linked at the top of this post.

Vision Request
We are pleased to present Vision Request, an exhibition and a collaborative performance hosted by Andrea Zittel and organized by Jennifer Dudley, Sarrita Hunn, and Ben Kinsley. On Saturday, May 19th, 2007 at A-Z West in Joshua Tree, CA, the works made for this venue by the individual artists will be on view and Vision Request will culminate in a Play of Light and Shadow at twilight. The exhibition will include an in-ground tea ceremony, a miniature railroad through the West, an 18 foot long motor-home turned studio called “The Establishment”, a Super 8 projection, an anthropomorphic billboard, and a self-contained nomadic sculpture arriving via USPS. These individual projects, and many others, will be accompanied by the collaborative work of all the Vision Request artists, the Play of Light and Shadow. The open desert illuminated by the light of car headlamps will create a stage for the play, and the narrative will take a seance as its point of departure. Just as the medium in a seance acts as a conduit between the physical and spiritual realms, one understanding of the artist is as an interpreter of culture or history through the physicality of his or her media. Our media in this performance will be a shadow play, which is part of the historical lineage of proto-cinematic approaches for creating illusions that includes Phantasmagoria, spinning Fantascope, and Magic Lantern shows. By creating an illusion that reveals its own construction, such devices encourage imaginative participation, allowing the viewer to simultaneously play the magician and the deceived. In such a situation the artist is neither amedium for spirits, nor universal expressions of history or culture. Rather, the artist opens up a space for a conversation about the role of illusion to take place. It is such a space that Vision Request invites you to occupy. The Vision Request artists are Colleen Asper, Elena Bajo, Katie Creyts, Benjamin Dowell, CraigDrennen, Jennifer Dudley, Takehito Etani, Sarrita Hunn, Ben Kinsley, Yvonne Lung, Katja Mater, Lilly McElroy, Andrew Ross, Adam Shecter, Mark Taber, Montana Torrey, Louisa Van Leer, andRobert Wechsler. On Saturday, May 19th, 2007 individual projects will be on view starting at 2:00 pm.The Play of Light and Shadows will commence at 8:00 pm. A-Z West, Joshua Tree, CA

[fritchie]

Congratulations, Mark. I spent quite some time in the Southern California desert many years ago. A beautiful area!

[GlennT]

By creating an illusion that reveals its own construction, such devices encourage imaginative participation, allowing the viewer to simultaneously play the magician and the deceived. In such a situation the artist is neither amedium for spirits, nor universal expressions of history or culture. Rather, the artist opens up a space for a conversation about the role of illusion to take place. It is such a space that Vision Request invites you to occupy.

Is it just me or does this language remind you of the thread, " Drugs and the process...yes or no?"

[obseq]

Mark,


I might be able to head out there for your show as I am close enough to drive.

Congratulations on your show!

[JAZ]

Hi Mark,
What an interesting project you are involved with! Andrea Zittel is a fascinating artist whose redesign of the physical world and use of art as lifestyle have made a whole world approach for herself and others. I first saw her work at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where she had installed a large wooden space that acted as both living room and furniture, then her carefully thought out mobile homes at the San Francisco MOMA, and later her rugs that are designed like beds and clothing redesigned with her own sensibility at the Addison in Andover.
The range of projects is thoughtful and intriguing. When I saw you on Sunday at MIT during the Trans Cultural Exchange conference on international opportunities for artists, your brief description of what you would be doing at Joshua Tree did not do the project justice. I am pleased that you have elaborated on this.
Could you explain for us what your USPS portable sculpture project consists of?
Congratulations on being a part of this and for sharing it. Your group is thinking clearly and well, which is admirable.
JAZ

[ExNihiloStudio]

I am documenting the progress of my project on my own webpage. (http://www.exnihilostudio.com/Sculpture/Wilderness/desert-project.html)
I'm updating the page as the project unfolds. There is plenty of planning for this event but no one knows how this is all going to work out. It might turn out to be the artistic equivalent of a NASCAR wreck.
My project is simple: pick a shipping box and make a sculpture to fit inside, then mail it far away. Chase it, and when you catch it set it up somewhere. When you're done, pack it up and send it home. There is actually more to it than that, this is all I can say for the moment. I will be on site the day of the event and I'll talk to any friendly visitors.

[ExNihiloStudio]

The documentation for this show is finally online. Go here (http://visionrequest.com/VRprojects.html) to see the whole show. Go here (http://exnihilostudio.com/Sculpture/Wilderness/desert-project.html) to read behind-the-scenes details about the production of my own project.