(Re)Vision
This project was a study in art making: Creation in the form of firsts --a kind of vacuum creation-- versus creating in consciousness of the canon of art and the history of other artist’s firsts, and of the ways in which documentation, as a recasting of art, forms the history of art and is thus a creative act. The concept behind this project was to actively delegate one of my installations to three groups of artists, and the documentation of their creative act was delegated to two other artists. Control is key in my work, and here the control would be handed over to thirteen other artists. How would their own histories, experience, and artist’s eye shape the installation beyond my conception? It was key that the artists be timed, and arrive at the site with no idea of what they would be doing, who they would be working with, the materials or time involved. It was also essential that they work without influence of how the previous groups had solved the visual problem with the same space and materials available to them. Group Three cast a new spin of the experiment: the only group allowed to see previous work, they had the unique challenge of creating in full knowledge of what had come before. The task of making novel work was intimidating and forced, unlike the previous groups who created, in a vacuum, works very novel and different from one another without trying. By choosing other artists to document and present the work, I further tied my control. Regardless of what the previous twelve artists’ creation had been, the end result rested with the documenters of the project, they were writing the history. Displaying their handiwork alongside the original installation materials and tools used by the artists, the exhibition gives viewers a chance to see what raw stuffs were translated and re-translated by creative minds confined by time and space. Day One: Four artists (two male, two female) are brought in to create an installation within four hours. The artists are not aware of the space they will be creating in, the materials they will be working with, or the other artists in the group. The installation created by the group in documented by a photographer and a videographer invited to participate. Day Two: Another group of four artists (one male, three female) are brought in to create an installation in four hours. They are given the same space, tools and materials as group one, and are also unaware of the details of the project upon arrival to the site. Their installation is documented by the same photographer and videographer as Group One. At no time is Group Two allowed to see the installation that Group One created the previous day. Day Three: Another group of four artists (three males, one female) are brought in. All details regarding their installation are identical to those of Group One and Group Two. However, Group Three is shown images of the installations created by Groups One and Two before beginning their own installation. The Project Photographer is then challenged to prepare a pre-determined amount of images following the chronology of the three groups’ installations The project photographer is then challenged to put together a collection of photographs from the project to be exhibited. The number of total photographs and the number dedicated to each group has been pre-determined. The Project Videographer is then challenged to create three short videos from the footage collected during the installations. The Videographer is given conceptual free-reign on content, but there must be three videos and they must show the project chronology in some way. The videos must be ready to project on three walls in an exhibition also featuring the Project Photographer’s photographs and the tools and materials utilized in the three groups’ installations. The installation is site-specific and dimensions are variable. Three walls are utilized for projecting three video pieces, walls are lined with light-weight unframed photos documenting the process of the artist’s three installations. The tools and materials are on display arranged haphazardly beneath the hung photographs in the manner that the groups of artists might have found them upon installation. A vinyl wall chart (7ft x 5ft) diagrams the process and the artists involved in all stages. Vision: Steve Dubov, Roi James, Terri Thomas, and Heather Tolleson Revision: Debra Broz, Laura Caffrey, Ethan Diehl, and Amy Scofield Reflection: Michael Abelman, Jamie Panzer, Jana Swec, and Hank Waddell Focus (videos by): Sean Gaulager Overview (photography by): Shadi Dunkin