woke up this morning and crawled into the Flux Factory gallery. i’ve always appreciated seeing spaces in transition; spaces where work is made, where creativity and ideas are influx (no pun intended) and expanding.
sometimes I tend to see more of the ‘work’ as it is being made, in the sense that I understand it better, than when the work is ‘on show’ or finally exhibited. it’s all a matter of perspective, but i reckon this is such because one understands the concept better while the work is in transit, has movement, is at a tipping point of sorts. As for this Tatlin show though…. .. But I never intended to write a diatribe, so on with the photos!
As for my own work for this show, some things have changed, while others have been done away with completely. such is the process of making work in the space (literally and metaphorically), and coming to terms with the dynamism of the installation. contrary to a previous blog entry, I do not believe I will be making work in the space anymore throughout the duration of the show; the exhibition is no longer contextualized as a site within which things are made during the exhibition. that was its original intent, but the installation, with the inclusion of hammocks, pillows, counters, viewing stations, etc., has migrated to a type of contemplation space, or a space in which to relax or take in another activity: the hammocks to sleep; the table to eat soup; the viewing ramp to watch a video monitor; etc.
As such I have decided to exhibit only a light projection: a scrolling text emulated in giant LEDs generated from a Yahoo! widget onto the windows looking out onto 43rd Street (including the Presbyterian church across the way!). From inside the gallery the text is backwards: it is meant to be seen from street-level. I have bought my own projector, a Lumenlab eVo V1, specifically for this installation; I did not want to run or even request to run the Flux Factory projector, because my intention is to run the piece 24-7. It will be difficult if not impossible to see during the day, however with winter upon us darkness is in my favor. The piece will get around 14 hours of viewing-time a day.
This time around I am not actually particularly interested in the hype of the gallery. The box as it where, speaks a lot of rhetoric: there is talk at Flux Factory of ‘engaging the public’ or having some sort of dialogue with the ‘community’. But these terms are more like management speak for the art world than anything else, everybody uses them. Flux Factory actually has little engagement with say the local library, or community leaders, and I have rarely met people from the community who engage our space with knowledge of our activities.
Of course I’m not interested in handing out flyers either. So I think this light projection is a good first real attempt on my part to raise some of these concerns, and have a dialogue with people I’m usually unable to: passers-by, the church-goers across the street, the commuters who use 43rd Street as a bypass between Northern Blvd. and Queens Blvd., etc.
Pictures below are commented and show the installation and testing of the projection, including a YouTube video shot last night showing people still working in the space (with the gallery lights off the projection is more crisp, more advertisement-like and floats well in the dark).
The projector installed inside the gallery; Daxeon (sp?) provides the structural support between the i-beams, and creates a trough in which all the electrical cabling can rest, as well as creating a tray for the laptop running the widget to sit on top of. everything is zip-tied together and creates additional structure.
the projection after i first turned the unit on. almost spot-on with the aim already!
the test-projection, as seen from street level with the gallery lights off.
FOR WE KNOW NOW WHAT IS NECESSARY