In 2008 I found a set of diaries at a flea market recording the life of a women named Edna (no last name is revealed). The diaries span approximately 15 years, and are full of meticulous details of her daily life but absolutely no emotion. The books are records of an edited life, where what is preserved is terse, systematic and rooted in domestic and rural labor. As a reader, insight can only be gained through the accumulation of action and repetition. Very few moments stand out above the others.

The diaries interest me not only as a records of personal discipline, but also as records of a life that features the minute details that are rarely memorialized. They ask the question of what constitutes a life, and what we leave behind. What are the tools that we have to understand the lives of the dead when there is nobody to speak on there behalf? How do we fill in the emotional gaps that exist with what we’re given to reconstruct from?

While the books are from the ’60′s and ’70′s they resonate with the present day, in so far as many of us use social media tools as a forum to broadcast everyday details. Is Edna’s practice a rule rather than an exception?  What will be left for the archivists as the Library of Congress “catalogs” the entire history of twitter?

I have been using the diaries as source material for sound works, video, and works on paper. This project represents an ongoing investigation where the diaries are spring boards for a series of work that will culminate in a variety of installation formats.

Diary Photos

Photos of Edna’s diaries.

Edna Experiments, 5 channel Surround Sound Installation

Thinking about translating the diary into physical space, I have been using surround sound as a way to spatially convey time around a room. This piece will be configured  like the clock, where each speaker will act as a marker for a moment in time. The audio combines voice of a women reading from the pages with other sounds that act as time keepers.

Since surround sound requires a specific setup, I can’t post the audio. I am working on a stereo version for the web, and will upload it shortly.

Performing the Experiment, Photographs

An series of staged photographs where selections from the diaries are taken as the basis to conduct pseudo-scientific experiments. Below are video stills from a test that I did, recording the experiments as a video. I plan to re-stage these as a series of photographs.

Washed Today, Iris Prints & Water

Clear, Cloudy, Rain, Snow, Drawings & Video

In the top left corner of the diaries there is a check box for weather with the options CLEAR, CLOUDY, RAIN, and SNOW. Edna was an avid recorder of the temperature and the weather. In thinking about the lack of emotion reflected in the diaries, I also thought about how weather steers our emotions. This drawing and video is a free association wordplay on weather and feeling. I was interested in combining a kind of hyper-rational behavior with a nonsensical game.

Diary Pages, Watercolor Drawings 11″x 14″

These cheesy picture frames that I was given to make work for the an annual benefit for Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, proved to provide an interesting challenge for a series of imaginary floorplans. In the 5×7″ frames I made collages using photographs of building and facade materia and box pantone paper. Also installed are miniature lights which add depth and shadow.

These came from a very simple drawing I made, in which was thinking about how to divide and fragment a screen for a figure to move through. This piece is most likely the first iteration of a further idea. I’m excited about the three dimensional grid, and the combination of the 2-d picture plane and the floorplan, which prompts the viewer to imagine his/herself in it.

I am happy to participate in this auction and party for Gallery Aferro, a wonderful artist run space that I’ll be doing a residency at this fall. The Gallery occupies four floors of an old storefront in downtown Newark, offers large subsidized studio spaces and solo shows to its residents! Buy a ticket to support their amazing efforts!

These came from a very simple drawing I made, in which was thinking about how to divide and fragment a screen for a figure to move through. This piece is most likely the first iteration of a further idea. I’m excited about the three dimensional grid, and the combination of the 2-d picture plane and the floorplan, which prompts the viewer to imagine his/herself in it.

We came to London live on the Market Estate for two weeks and work site-specifically. In our collaboration, we approach a site as a place in which to move through and to house action. Our work together results in video installation pieces that are framed around a performative actions.

When we arrived at Market Estate,  we were immediately surprised by how my residents were still living on the estate. As artists this was ethically challenging for us, and informed our decision to work outside the estate as opposed to inside the flats. Living on the estate made us conscious of the interior flats as private spaces, and we found ourselves more interested in the construction of the building itself, and what was left behind as people moved out. Both of these pieces are Works In Progress. The final edits will be fine tuned when we return home.

Corridor
approx. 4 min (single channel or loop)
On our first day here we set up an outdoor tea station and sat down with residents and neighbors to chat about life here on the estate. With the exception of the local teenagers, most people seemed excited to leave and that the building was being torn down. Many neighbors talked about being scared walking by the building, that they would walk fast or cross the street. One resident said that it was simply just not safe here. We were interested in this idea of the estate as producing a condition of fear, and that fear often being invisible or generated from something that may or may not happen. While we don’t deny that violence was prevalent, we are also aware of the role stigma played in contributing to the living conditions on the estate. This piece explores the dynamic between what is invisible and tangible fear.

Pile (working title)
three channel looping installation (30 minute per cycle)

During our time here we have quietly witnessed the last remaining residents move out of the building. With each move, new piles accumulate in the hallways of the things that have been left behind. Initially we looked at the piles for some clue into the lives of the residents, but quickly realized that discarded items tell very little about the lives and history of the place.

We came to look at the piles as artifacts of this soon to be demolished estate that failed to successfully house its residents safely and securely. These are records of failure. The people we have talked to have many different ideas for why this place failed— the stigma, its poor upkeep, the residents, the building design. Regardless of the reasons, the fact remains that despite the high expectations for this place when it was built, it did fail. Our piece is a meditation on this failure in this odd moment in the buildings history.

Collaboration with Mary Coble
3 Channel Video Installation, 30 minutes

(3-D Render of installation configuration)

Pile was made during our residency at the Market Estate Project in London.

During our time at the Market Estate we lived in an empty flat on site. We witnessed the last remaining residents move out of the building. With each move, new piles would accumulate in the hallways of things left behind. Initially we looked at the piles for clues into the lives of the residents, but quickly realized that discarded items tell very little about the lives and history of the place.

We came to look at the piles as artifacts of this soon to be demolished housing project that failed to successfully house its residents safely and securely. These are records of failure. The people we have talked to have many different ideas for why this place failed— the stigma, its poor upkeep, the residents, the building design. Regardless of the reasons, the fact remains that despite the high expectations for this place when it was built, it did fail. Our piece is a meditation on this failure in this odd moment in the buildings history.

For more information about the Market Estate Project and collaborations with Mary Coble, go to http://coblerileyprojects.com

Collaboration with Mary Coble
Single Channel Video, 4 min

Corridor was made during our residency at the Market Estate Project in London.

Coming to the Market Estate as outsiders, on our first day there we set up an outdoor tea station and sat down with residents and neighbors to chat about their life on the premises. With the exception of the local teenagers, most people seemed excited to leave and that the building was being torn down, as it had not been a pleasant or safe place to live. Many neighbors talked about being scared walking by the building, that they would walk fast or cross the street. One resident said that it was simply just not safe. We were interested in this idea of the estate as producing a condition of fear, and that fear often being invisible or generated from something that may or may not happen. While we don’t deny that violence was prevalent on the estate, we are also aware of the role stigma played in contributing to the living conditions there. This piece explores the dynamic between what is invisible and tangible fear.

For more information about the Market Estate Project and collaborations with Mary Coble, go to http://coblerileyprojects.com

Performances:
Jessica Danser/dansfolk – “The Opposite of War” – dance (only on Saturday)
Elizabeth Glushko – music
Jane Hsu and others – performance

Experimental Film:
Jeremy Newman – “Domestic Rhythms” – Mt. Laurel, NJ
Laura Migliorino – “Sprawl” – Minneapolis, MN
Damali Abrams – “Walking With Linda Montano” – Queens, NY
Lee Young Joo – “She Smiled at Me” – Frankfurt, Germany
Kate Balsley – “Autumn” – Brown Deer, WI
Holly Bynoe – “Boogieman” – Cliffside Park, NJ
Blithe Riley and Mary Coble – “Ascension / Immersion” – New York, NY
Yaron Lapid – “Casual Mechanisms” – Israel

Visual Art:
Yousuke Sasaki – drawings
Erik Sanner – installation
Akinori Towma – paintings
Annalisa Iadicicco – installation
Chris Riggs and Betty T Kao – paintings