felt tanks and personal treasures
i just got some install shots from the APAture show that was at space 180 in San Francisco in sept.
i loved how the curator suggested i bring in green to relate to all the other work in the show. they also were pretty much in charge of the installation and did a phenomenal job. the whole show really flowed together. the green ended up being the thread that tied the whole room together.
i love how the flowers trail off... it's like the are exploding from the main radial formation
the other weekend i went to pick up a bunch of stuff from my grandmother's house. it's interesting to think about someone's presence within an object. i spent a lot of time with my grandparents when i was young. so there are a lot of stories in the "stuff" that they had around the house. it's hard not to get sentimental. it's also hard not to sneeze. so much dust! [even though her house was clean!]
even though there were so many treasures - and funny things [drawings that i did when i was very small] - we threw out or prepared to donate so much stuff too. it really made me think about what you want to surround yourself with. why have things just to have them? sure there are things we need - but in terms of objects - i want to be surrounded by things that have an aesthetic or personal value to me [even if in the end no one else cares or understands why i had such things].
anyway - the photo above is of my grandmother when she was a child. it's from either the 20's or the early 30's... in it's original frame [which i had to do a little repair job to]. i feel so honored to have this photo. even though it was before i ever could have known her for some reason it really embodies her personality to me. i re-arranged our bedroom this weekend and found the perfect spot for it.
hope you had a good monday. i'm holding my breath for our momentous election. it's hard to believe it's finally here. if you haven't done it already - don't forget to vote. i'll be back on wed. with an announcement about a show that opens thurs.
Comments
I completely understand trying to find an object, when I lost my grandparents and dad, it struck me as such a big choice and your photo is simply perfect!
That is a gorgeous photo of your grandmother. I spent a weekend in January helping to organize my grandmother's house. It was very intense and emotional. My grandparents' home was a very happy place for me as a child but the last thing I needed was more stuff. At the same time I wanted to weave in some of my grandparents' treasures into our home. I came home with a few chairs, their salad bowl, some cookware, aprons, and of course, photos. Beautiful, beautiful photos. I love being surrounded by them. xo
the install looks fantastic. a tank mandala! i love the portrait of your gram. so sweet and special. fingers crossed for the election. xox
the shots from the gallery are wonderful - your work stunning as ever and it seems to fit so well in that fabulous space.
ps love your new banner - such a sense of 'space' in such a small image. xx
And reading your words about objects... it's funny but i just had luch with my mother-in-law, who's a multidisciplinar artist and huge things collector; her house and workshop is full of stuff to the ceiling... and as we talked today about our material sources, she said to me, all of this I'm keeping just in case, will be put in the dump within half an hour after I die... and she laughed.
what the items
we surround ourselves
with would
mean to others.
how will people
feel about those
objects when i
(or someone i love)
are gone...
so nice that
you have these
memories
in her objects
to cherish
and hold on to.
xoxox
and that part about objects, photos, belongings... it's so tender. just like the photo of your grandmother and that beautiful frame. i'm going to hold on to that little bit of tenderness... so lovely.
i think about that question a lot- what we surround ourselves with, and why. and how i would explain to someone why certain things are in my space... and why i hold onto some things for years, and then one day decide to get rid of them. being in this tiny space now has definitely brought those issues so much more to the surface.
and your show looks wonderful! i love the pattern of the tanks, especially those tank-flowers escaping across the wall...
xox