Something *ser·en·dip·i·tous*
Keeping Jerry in Detroit for more than 2 weeks lately has been a lot like trying to nail a shadow to the floor. Monday morning he was on his way back to NYC to attend and speak at the 140 Characters Conference. The conference is meant to be one of the largest gatherings of people using real-time internet for business, media, art, and personal life. Jerry was supposed to speak on a panel of futurists that included Tish Shute, Rita J. King, and Joshua Fouts. The panel was to discuss the future of augmented reality and its place in real-time internet. Both Jerry and Tish’s talks were great, but…
Unfortunately, nature had other plans for Josh and Rita, who are currently stranded in London by volcanic ash. They were, however, able to make lemonade of the sour situation, and participated in the quickly assembled TEDxVolcano talk.
So, while Jerry is in New York and Rita and Josh in London, I’m still here, in Detroit, manning the battle-station.
The primary reason for me not accompanying Jerry to New York is due to a presentation of my own. I have, over the last 10 years, attended 3 different universities and switched majors 3 times…. So, in case any of you are wondering, this unofficially qualifies me as an expert in the fields of: fine arts, library science, and the history of art, particularly the pagan empires of the Mediterranean (700bce-400ad). Today I had to present my senior thesis to a panel of faculty, which means I get to graduate….and I’m not entirely sure if I’m doing it accidentally, or on purpose.
So, for anyone who cares, here’s a few examples of my work I do apart from LOVELAND. I assure you, they are very impressive and important works of pure genius.
Shadow Pattern- 22x30” 2003 watercolor
Pink and Green- 3x5’ 2004 oil, string, and cut paper on canvas
Cobalt- 3x5’ 2005 oil and cut paper on canvas
Snowflake- 9x12” 2005 cut paper on canvas
The Snowflake Room- (approx.) 13x13x13’ 2005 cut paper installation Collaborators include: Adrian Hatfield, Julia DeClerck, Julie Dummermuth, Kevin Ewing, Matthew Sisco, Kelly Grogan, Lorraine Wiley-Desmond… and a few more.
Paper Cuts 1- 9x12” 2007 cut paper and cast shadow installation Collaboration with Laura Goins
Before LOVELAND, my work was definitely more conventional *fine art* focused but I was using the idea of the grid and the individual. I was and am very interested in how the individual collaborates and participates in a larger society. What their value is… “We are many, but we are alone” was a reoccurring theme… a major concern of mine was how to connect individuals (snowflakes) and put them into a larger network in which they communicated and collaborated in a way that made them into a more massive community than they could be on their own.
So, in a way it is rather serendipitous that Jerry and I met and began to collaborate on the creation of the Creative Army that we want LOVELAND to evolve into.
