Opening Reception - August 11. 2011
5 to 8 PM
Where? Art at 12
12 Farnsworth Street
Michele Jaquis - It's Not You, I'ts Me
Sarah Rushford - Lens Portrait
Artists: Michele Jaquis , Heidi Kayser, Jeremy J. Quinn,
Sarah Rushford, Tom Wojciechowski and Marguerite White
HK: The title for show references a … thought you wanted to say but didn't, the elephant in the room, the growing kernels of ideas you carry with you. It's about collective consciousness versus individuality, and your body vs. your mind, and you versus them.
SR: The word "proprioception" is really where this show began … It is the sense we have as humans that tells our own body where it is in space, how to fit our bodies into spaces in the world, how much pressure to exert on the objects. Proprioception is reflexive; the body is giving the body information about itself…related to the notion that the body is our infinitely personal, private selfhood, and also a physical object in the outside world.
FP: In a broad sense, it seems the artwork makes the viewer ask larger questions - Why am I here?, What is it all about? Was this something that was intentional or came to understanding after the work was gathered in a single room?
SR: All powerful art asks big questions, in specific, personal, and ideosyncratic ways. We knew which kind of big ideas we were talking about… we sought work that was highly specific, smart, not didactic, understated, mysterious, and made with great skill
FP: How did you come up with the title of the exhibition?
SR: "You hold it in your mind all the time" It's a sentence that is about the material world and about the immaterial world at once. How can one hold something in one's mind? An idea is not an object, but though convention and cultural metaphor we understand an idea as something you can hold onto. This play between the material and the ephemeral nicely parallels the other sets of dualities in the show…
FP: What is the relationship between the artists, how did you all decide to come together on this project?
SR: Heidi Kayser and I have worked together for the past several years on collaborative works for example Proprioceptive Refraction, which addresses proprioception. Jeremy Quinn and Michele Jaquis are LA based artists I've collaborated with in a group called Rise Industries an international forum for exchange between artists and a starting point for interdisciplinary collaborative projects. Their works immediately spoke to the themes I discussed above. Tom Wojciechowski is a Boston artist whose work we were made aware of through our contact with Art at 12. Tom's compelling photographs practically jumped off the screen… with his level of connection to the themes the show addresses and Marguerite White's approach is representational and has narrative elements, a much different approach than other work in the show, and further expands our ideas about this theme.
MJ: I haven't met all the artists … however Jeremy and I are married and have shared a studio space since 2000. We went to undergrad with Sarah and used to all be roommates back in Hartford during the late 90's. As one half of Rise Industries, the three of us have collaborated in various ways for years.
FP: You explain the show as "multidisciplinary contemporary art practice." Can you tell me more about this? I guess what I am asking is if you felt traditional art methods could not explain the concept in the way that you wished it conveyed? AND what contemporary art offers to the viewer?
SR: I define contemporary art practice as a way of working that begins with an idea or concept then is adapted to fit a medium. This is a change from the definition of traditional art practice in which artists are defined as "painters,” "sculptors," etc. Defining the work as contemporary art practice acknowledges that multi-disciplined does not mean unfocused, it means that the concept of the work is the foundation of the work and the artists are masters of many crafts.
Sarah Rushford - Quickening
MJ: As the Director of Interdisciplinary Studies at Otis College of Art and Design, I am always encouraging my students that it is good (and almost necessary) to work in a range of media and disciplines - I think the wider the range of technical skills and sets of knowledge one has, the more ways in which you are able to express yourself as an artist and the more employable you are (which is a growing concern of my students and their parents). I think it is a very "old school modernist" way of thinking about oneself as merely a "painter, sculptor or photographer."
I was trained as a sculptor, but quickly realized I was drawn to the expanded field of sculpture that included installation, performance, video and other conceptual forms. This training in drawing, welding, mold-making, sewing, video editing, etc., paired with a conceptual/issue based practice is similar to what Sarah described. I often start with the idea then decide the best media to get that idea across. Although in the last 13 years or so most of my work has been video-based I resist being labeled as a "video artist,” and that resistance gives me the freedom to make work that doesn't involve video from time to time (like the mask). In grad school, my peers and I spoke often about "sculptor's guilt" - the need to make things with our hands, smell the woodshop and hear the sounds of a MIG welder. I get that urge after working on the computer a lot, and then have to move around and do something physical. In our "post-post-modern times" artists can push the boundaries of the traditional art disciplines and still create a solid body of work with conceptual threads that tie it all together.
FP: I couldn’t agree more with that last sentence! What do you hope the viewer leaves with when they have experienced this show?
SR: I am touched by a quote from art theorist, Gabriele Brandstetter: “The body is a being of two leaves; from one side a thing among things and otherwise what sees and touches them.” and I hope that someone who sees and interacts with the show can apply that idea to their personal understanding of their own body and their own self in the world.
FP: Ultimately, how has the art in this show encouraged you to expand on your own work?
SR: This show has taught me that my work is heading in the direction of my piece "The lining of your coat." It is a spoken word piece. A recording of me reading …about someone who has a supernatural ability to mend the linings of people's coats, without even touching them. It’s magic realism…I will be writing more and recording more in the future, working with sound, and this show has pointed me in that direction! SR: I've also tremendously enjoyed calling on my colleagues, and new artists I've met, to put their work in a show I am organizing, it's an honor to be showing work with these artists I admire so much.
FP: A fun one! What is your favorite local FP joint where we can find you relaxing on some down time, contemplating all these life questions?
SR: I actually live in JP and have a studio in the South End. When in Fort Point I like to hang out at Made in Fort Point, and Art at 12! When in the South End, I love to relax by visiting galleries, Carroll and Sons and Howard Yezerski are some of my favorites. When in JP, the new bookstore at Tres Gatos is a real gem!
HK: My favorite local FP place is in the channel, sitting quietly in my kayak, watching the day go by.
FP: Thank All!! Looking forward to the show!
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