TONIGHT I am contributing to a panel discussion about DIY art. I heard that DIY is over and now it's DIO (ourselves instead of yourself). I'll be talking about the process of working between secret microcosms and giant macro'n'cheese.
http://www.thefield.org/p-700-the-power-of-diy.aspx
revitalize your own economy of being. these are preliminary notes on what i will present tonight.
Thursday, June 24, 6:30-8pm - FREE
Taller Boricua, Multicultural Space, 1st Floor
at the Julia De Burgos Latino Cultural Center
1680 Lexington Avenue, between 105 & 106 Streets MAP
"[T]he more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side."
PAULO FREIRE
my work has existed in between spaces for all my time in nyc.
i prefer to work in two ways at the same time: in secret and in public.
IN secret.
i stay up all night making rocks out of receipts, which i paper mache, sometimes paint gold. they become jewelry. (that is not the art part.)
the rocks become a gift, which i give to people i meet. i have sold them on the street and in galleries-- by donation.
when i give them to someone new, and i tell them what the rock is made of, we talk about debt. (there is the creative part)
with every conversation, the subject is a little bit lighter. debt is a choice. debt is something i want. debt connects me to other people. debt roots me in society. without a little debt, i would not have anything to do. debt is not just about money, it is a marketplace for relationships.
the goal of this project is to make debt physical and to cause a shift in thought through exposing the language that acts as a container for our ideas and limits the way we move in the world.
when things are less abstract, it is easier to face them-- it's just a rock, it's just debt, and the guilt and anguish that limits our pursuits can be erradicated when we change our language.
paulo freire says: language is never neutral.
i say: the future of etymology can be an adventure. affecting language is a game, a rug that can be pulled out from under the feet of future history.
i want to take ownership over the words that define how i feel and what i do, and i dont want to be afraid because i dont fully understand what my mouth is doing.
i want to understand what it is, where its roots are, and to deal with it.
i want other people to feel the same freedom to play with the habits that define their existence. by facing words, and using them.
public WORK
this work with one on one conversations is situated within the development of two large public projects, where i work with many artists, people, and bureaucrats to make something happen. the inspiration for the play with words comes out of a lot of contact with people through teaching and organizing.
i have recently co-started two large public initiatives: teaching artist union and school of the future.
in 2008, as a teaching artist with a need for advocacy, support, and for camaraderie with others who maintain a teaching as art practice, i co founded teaching artist union. we met weekly in my studio and developed a steady community of about 50 local artists.
out of the frustrations of the union members, and the lack of idealism in the public school system, school of the future developed as a response.
school of the future is a collaboration with chris kennedy and nyc. it is a free intergenerational school, and it can happen anywhere. it is a conversation, an impromptu class, an idea, a question. this summer it will manifest for one month as a free school in a park in brooklyn.
it is about redefining teaching as learning, and both as a creative practice. it is a place for playful deprogramming and feeling freedom in everything we do, especially freedom to participate and change large societal systems.
we want to make new words. what is school, what is learning, what is education.
we raised money for education for our peers, our neighborhood, and anyone who has something to learn through teaching, or vice versa.
now we can learn freely. no student loans, no guilt, debt free. the only debt we have is to eachother. you taught me so i want to teach you. it's an infinite cycle of exploration, an ecosystem of people, a marketplace for relationships.
No comments:
Post a Comment