For those of you who didn’t make it down to Adam Kuby’s end-of-month exhibit in March, he has posted the fruits of his residency at his website. You can click here to see them. The points and the issues they address were informed largely by the input of many, many participants over the month. Thank you to those of you who participated. The project will continue to evolve, so please let Adam know of other places and other issues you think could be included. Adam can be contacted at: adam@adamkuby.com.
Last July, when I was beginning the process of inviting artists to submit project proposals for the AiR program’s Monthly Guest Artist series, several artists who I deeply respect told me about a project that an artist fairly new to Portland was incubating. I was unaware of both the artist and the project but was so fascinated that I had to learn more. I made a call, set up a time to get together and a few days later shared breakfast with artist Adam Kuby.Adam told me about a lot of projects that he was working on and I told him about the kind of work I was interested in including in the place-making project for the South Waterfront. We kept coming back to his musings about acupuncture, urban places and the idea of looking at a city as a body in order to evaluate its health. As a dance artist, patient of Five Elements acupuncture and native Oregonian and Portlander, I allowed my mind to really linger on this image of Portland as a body and the prospect of using the concepts of acupuncture to evaluate its health. Where, I wondered, would this new SWF neighborhood find itself in this metaphorical body and what would its qi be? I was fascinated by both the poetry and potential of this image for the city. We talked about March, the energy of spring and his availability. July has become March and Adam’s project is now in full swing.
Adam’s project began on March 1st with the ceremonial placement of a single needle in the ground in the park space in the neighborhood. In the near-by AiR studio, he has created a working installation of maps that invite response and participation. Over the month, he will be convening gatherings of environmentalists, health practitioners from all backgrounds, artists, city planners, cultural leaders, neighbors, students, and many more to use the maps as a way to evidence areas in the city that have either abundant or weakened support and/or infrastructure - qi, in the city’s scale. You are invited to visit the AiR studio studio hours to become a part of the dialogue.
AiR Studio Office hours: M/W/F, 9:30-3p, T/Sa, 10a-1p or by appointment
On Saturday, March 29th from 1-3p, Adam will share the concluding images and ideas sourced over the month. The public is invited and welcome.
Our monthly guest artist series continues with Adam Kuby in March 2008. Join the discussion as they write about their experiences in creating art that celebrates the South Waterfront community.
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