3 - 26 - 2013
My apologies for my absence in the past couple of weeks on the blog end of things. I promise that I have been active in other ways. After my last post on March 5th, I traveled to the East Coast for a week to see the Whitney Biennial in New York City and visit a childhood friend in Boston. So I suppose that is where I will begin.
This was my fifth time visiting New York. The first time I ever went was three years ago, so I feel very fortunate that I have had friends that live in the city for me to visit and that I have been able to return time and time again. I see something new every single time that I land there, and it has been exciting to visit different friends that know different parts of the city.
The friends that I stayed with this past visit, are the definition of “foodies” and know where all the best spots for a coffee, cookie, snack, dumpling, and duck breast are. It felt as though I was on a continuous food tour, using the cities underground subway system to navigate the different neighborhoods and allowing time for my palette to cleanse before the next stop.
I think I would have gained about five pounds in five days, if we were not walking so much. Eating wasn’t all that we did, but it was certainly a highlight (in a close 2nd to seeing the Whitney Biennial).
The Whitney Biennial opened the day that our spring break began, so a large number of Milwaukee-ians flooded to the East coast with anticipation of seeing one of the first Biennial’s to have such a strong Midwest presence.
Out of the three curators that were selected for the 2014 Biennial, two of them have strong roots in the Midwest. On the second floor, is Anthony Elms. Elms grew up in Michigan, but is now Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. And on the fourth floor is Milwaukee and Chicago’s sweetheart, Michelle Grabner who places herself in both extremes of contemporary, urban Chicago and the rural and distant landscape of Manawa, Wisconsin.
For our final writing assignments and reflections, I plan on writing about the Midwest connections that happened in the Whitney this year, and the role that the curators played in the physical placement of the artwork and the choices of what artists were represented. From Pedro Velez, to Elijah Burgher, to the late David Foster Wallace.
I hope that the writing will evolve into a critical “walk through” that asks questions about the choices behind the exhibition but also allows for room on researching individual practices within the large atmosphere of a “group show”.
One artist I am very excited to write and learn more about is, Ken Lum. His use of signage to communicate the complicated ways that neighborhoods evolve and change due to the people that occupy them. His fictive signs mirror this evolving nature of how different demographics cluster. This clustering happens on large scales in communities and cities, but can also be seen on a smaller scale in an architecture such as a shopping mall.
Anyways, upon my departure from New York City, I was boarding a bus to Boston (so I thought), but accidentally woke up after taking a nap in, PHILADELPHIA! The fear that came over me when I realized I was moving in the opposite direction, and had absolutely no connection to anyone in Philadelphia on such short notice, made me wonder how I would spend my time. Transportation got the best of me on that Thursday, it definitely won.
Luckily, I was back on a bus to Boston in no time, and all that was really lost was time with my childhood friend that I would be visiting. I think I spent about nine hours on the bus that day. My body was tired from sitting for so long, but the range of the East coast that I got to see by bus in one day was an experience that will probably never happen again.
After arriving late in Boston that night, I went to sleep the second we returned to my friends dorm room. After sleeping, I felt less exhausted from my travels, but was starting to feel the overall effects of my durational week of nonstop seeing, walking, experiencing on the East coast and was starting to crave the space and time that Milwaukee provides.
Despite my approaching “home sickness” and not to mention the extreme case of Spring Fever, my friend and I bared the cold winds and navigated downtown Boston. After just being in New York’s gridded transportation system, I was amazed by the cyclical nature of paths and points of connectivity in Boston’s downtown. I learned that these paths came from the original cattle paths from early settlers, all placed around the Boston Commons, a large grass covered park in the heart of the city that was once the localized place for all of the animals.
Boston was beautiful, and full of history at every turn. The contrast between the contemporary and the historical was noteworthy and the tension between the two could be felt as a new comer to the city. I can only imagine what Boston would be like with green grass and sunshine, breathtaking I am sure.
Upon my return, I have been busy working on my thesis work, and focusing on the creation of Highway Excursion Agency of the Midwest. Currently, it is a one-person agency, me. I am the founder and the spokeswoman. I also have been occupying new territory of sales woman, but that is still up for debate. I will write more on the evolutions of my thesis, as it is quickly approaching and will be here in no time.
Until my next post, lets make Spring happen faster.
3 - 5 - 14
Roadside Engagement Choreography Cards Performances featured on The Midwest Field Reporter's most recent tour: "Off Season"
The following three videos document different stops that we made on our day trip across Southern Wisconsin this past Sunday from Milwaukee to Aztalan State Park to Wisconsin Dells and back to Milwaukee. Click on the links to see the different choreographies that we created, and continue reading below to read a reflective synopsis.
Next Exit On Your Right!
Breaking the Hypnosis by Jenna Knapp
Exit to the nearest gas station is taken.
Car is parked. And engine is turned off.
The yellow deck of cards is taken out of the glove box and passengers exit the car.
Group begins to follow instructions by forming a circle on a snow covered parking lot on the north side of the “General Store”.
Each individual selects one card.
Each individual is asked to create a movement prompted by the symbol on the face of the card.
All individuals stand without moving for a moment, seemingly unable to think of any movement.
One individual does a back jump.
Group breaks out in laughter.
Another individual does a quarter turn.
And another individual does a knee touch to the front.
The next does a knee squat to the right.
And the last walks away from the set “stage”.
More laughing happens.
Then the teaching begins.
First is the jump backwards, then the quarter turn, then the knee touch to the front, then the same thing to the right, then you walk away, casually.
Okay, they got it!
Everyone has now taught and been taught.
And now they begin to focus on their synchronicity.
Within two dress rehearsals they are prepared for their debut.
The camera is set in place on the tripod and the red recording button is pressed.
Configuration breaks with the jump in a backward direction.
Their is an uncomfortable laughter that follows the quarter turn.
But a “yayyy” that follows the exiting of the stage.
Everyone throws their hands in the air like “we did it!”
The curtains are pulled, the camera’s red recording button is pressed, and the performance comes to a close.
The performance is created, practiced, executed, and performed in less than five minutes.
The group enters the Concord General store to use the bathroom, grab a drink, purchase toe warmers, and return to the car stuffing the heat into their boots.
The group assures they are ready to continue driving.
The yellow cards are placed back into the glove box.
Everyone gets in.
Seat-belts click.
Engine starts.
And the pavement of the on-ramp meets the tires rubber.
2 - 26 - 14
Preliminary Post REWORKED!
Due to time constraints, we will be reformatting the itinerary of the trip and no longer can visit Donn Q Inn. In response to this change, I will be revisiting a previous line of work that I explored on our group southwest trip, called Location Studies.
While in the van for two weeks, we relied on frequent gas stops, snack stops, and peeing in the desert. In order to break from the hypnotic pace of highway travel, I prompted our group to break out of their insular experience of being in the car and participate in a group movement exercise.
I am reinventing this project for my current thesis work, Highway Excursion Agency of the Midwest and retitling the cards: Roadside Engagement Choreography Cards. We will create a movement piece at every stop that we make on our trip to Wisconsin Dells this coming Sunday.
New Deck of Cards Printed and PDF (and the new logo for HEAM!)
Examples of movement pieces from Southwest:
2 - 12 - 14
As we move forward towards our fundraiser, I have been working on creating an official logo for our group to put on materials that we want to sell to promote our research and work as Midwest Field Reporters.
Additionally I have been doing research about where I would like to go for our next trip which will be on March 2nd (about three weeks away!). Tonight we are going over our potential places we would like to visit and all of mine seem to be centered around ideas of the midwest being a center for tourism, exoticism, and escapism.
Exotic Midwest. Sounds strange, right? But have you heard of Don Q Inn? It is the definition of exotic, and has elements of escapism as well. And the reason why it is where it is, is because a lot of tourists come through the area to visit The House on the Rock, a major attraction for this area.
House on the Rock is a unique architectural attraction that draws regional and national tourism year round. Alex Jordan, the architect, created the house and opened it to the public in 1959. Today, it costs $30 for general admission (too expensive for us to visit...) But allows for a number of hotels, waterparks, and small attractions to build up their reputation around the draw of House on the Rock.
More exoticism. House on the Rock is known for its Infinity Room that juts out 218 feet from the house, a lot of couples in love come here and get engaged due to the WOW FACTOR of the view.
And where do the lovers go after they are engaged? Don Q Inn.
http://www.donqinn.net/index.asp
The Don Q Inn is a unique theme-style hotel located in the rolling glaciated hills of southwestern Wisconsin that is truly unique. Bits of history meet you around every corner. Relax and play in one of our 25 theme and Fantasy Suite theme Rooms. They're a great way to spice up your stay!
Although we will not be staying at Don Q Inn, I will organize a tour of the hotel for Midwest Field Reporters to partake in, we will reflect on this type of venues importance in the remote area of Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
Desert Test Sites I am interested in collective practices that involve archiving and community. Influenced and inspired by these structures, I will be researching aspects of community and systems in the Midwest landscape throughout the course of this semester, locally and regionally.
Iʼve been a Wisconsinite my entire life and moved from rural to urban to pursue my education at Milwaukee Institute of Art ad Design three and a half years ago. I have negotiated a balance between rural Wisconsin and urban Milwaukee ever since, mostly
in the form of car transportation. Routes that I once needed to Google Map before my departure are now embedded into my muscle memory behind the wheel. Most of these routes lead me to the Interstate Highway System and direct me to see the same things on most of my trips. It is easy to be transported from point A to point B without engaging in the passing landscape.
Since my return from our Southwest Trip, I have taken a different approach. I no longer let the muscle memory of the wheel take over, but attempt to question, read, and interpret the passing and changing geography, no matter how many times I have traveled Highway 94 West or Highway 43 South.
As a culture, we aim to attract and lure, and as my research continues I wish to investigate the curiosities (both positive and negative) behind the systematic planning of cities, communities, and developments around these major veins through our homeland.
2 - 5 - 14
Over the past week I have been working on developing context for in regards to my interest in the derelict, the forlorn, and the foreclosed. As I posted previously, I am working on creating an agency that will provide a platform for these sites to exist in the form of tours. Several weeks ago I posted my initial logo design (which has been revised and can be seen below!)
I have decided on the name: HIGHWAY EXCURSION TOURS OF THE MIDWEST. This name was chosen due to the fact that highways are actually at the core of the sites that I am interested in, dictating the rhythm in which we travel and participate in the buildings that surround us.
I have included my most recent statement that aims to describe my interest in these empty sites that are filled with potential:
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If You Build It, They Will Come
Every site that we visit contains a history of transformation, whether it be radical or minimal, there is evidence of the new replacing the old, and failures being erased. The cyclical nature of our reclamation, retrofitting, and redeveloping keeps us current while building on top of our past. But what about the moments in our city, state, and country where that cyclical progress of a site becomes stagnant?
For instance, Google Maps has digitalized the geographical, but continues to lack updates and maintenance of the “now”, therefore developing its own fictional archive of current locations. The permanence of our landscape is just as malleable as the permanence of the world-wide-web, and is constantly dictated by the on-going evolutions in communities, ephemeral and physical.
And the sites that are noticeable on a day to day basis, in our communities or on our commute to work, remain separated from the changing surrounding area, offering a physical reminder of what lead to it’s demise. By examining the evolutions behind the inactive buildings, places, and communities we begin to understand moments in history that have left their scars.
By implementing fiction into these sites through the process of re-imagining, we can begin to appreciate the potential that the derelict, forlorn, and foreclosed possess, as opposed to the burden they carry.
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Additionally, I have designed a rough draft for a brochure that would take guests to Geneva Lakes Kennel Club:
In conjunction to my writing and studio work, I have had some time to do research on the highway system and its history (books are siting in my Amazon cart!). As my practice has been inspired by the presence of these derelict sites, I am realizing that I am drawn to the repercussions that constructing the highway caused in individual buildings, small communities, and large cities. As research continues, I am branching into topics of architecture, urban planning, land and city development, and segregation. Quickly, these topics can become charged with political content on how a city or space is utilized or underutilized. I am using this time to take in all of these factors, but wish to have a more poetic way of communicating these political concerns that are embedded in the themes of my current practice.
Reading Research List:
Milwaukee’s Bronzeville: 1900-1950 (Images of America)
Paul H. Geenen
Onramps and Overpasses: A Cultural History of Interstate Travel
Dianne Perrier
Asphalt and Politics: A History of the American Highway System
Thomas L. Karnes
The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
Earl Swift
1 - 25 - 14
Almost three years ago I looked up directions on how to get to Lynden Sculpture Garden from the Eastside, to begin an internship that would evolve into a summer job. At the time I did not anticipate that this route would become a frequent trip that I would invest a regimented amount of time into almost on a daily basis.
Turn right onto N Van Buren St
Continue onto N Holton St
Turn left onto E North Ave
Turn right onto N 7th St
Take the ramp on the left onto I-43 N
Take exit 82B to merge onto WI-100 W/W Brown Deer Road
Make a U-turn (destination will be on the right)
So much rich history to explore! I'm glad you are injecting your objective research with personal responses...it will be interesting to see how these two ways of observing/understanding will combine in your work.
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