South Waterfront » Artist-in-Residence

UO BFA EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Kartz Ucci — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:41:58 +0000

Upcoming Professional Practices Lecture

Kartz Ucci — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:46:22 +0000

Mack McFarland is an interdisciplinary artist and curator who makes his home in Portland, Oregon. He works in many mediums, with a particular focus on video and drawing. Characterized by humor, mysticism, chance, repetition, and the multi-sensory, his work invites the viewer to experience the intersection of the aesthetic and the cognitive. McFarland has been exhibited nationally and internationally; screening videos at Pixelodeon Festival at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, the La Enana Marron Film and Video Festival in Madrid, and at Cine Fantom in Moscow. McFarland has also created works for the Portland Institute for Contemporary Arts’ Time-Based Art Festival, and a three-month-long project for the Tacoma Art Museum, which Sheila Farr of the Seattle Times called “startling, nutty, and technologically relevant.” His future projects include a West Coast tour with Weird Fiction, the video band he help co-found, as well as a curatorial project at the Feldman Gallery. He is the recipient of the William H. Givler Thesis Award in Fine Arts, the winner of the Charles Voorhies Drawing Competition and received a Couture grant from the New American Art Union as part of the Video Gentlemen.

works in progress

Kartz Ucci — Fri, 14 May 2010 02:39:54 +0000

One of my students Chris Oshiro will be shooting a green screen film in the artist in residence studio over the next few days. If you see activity, please feel free to drop by and have a look.

Posted below are a few photo stills from Wednesday’s shoot.

LECTURE THIS EVENING JENENE NAGY

Kartz Ucci — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:39:35 +0000

South Waterfront/UO Artist in Residence Program
Professional Practices Lecture Series
The John Ross
3601 SW River Parkway
Portland, OR 97239

Jenene Nagy
Artist + curator
Wednesday May 12/2010
6:30 pm

Bio:
Jenene Nagy is a visual artist living and working in Portland, Oregon. She received her BFA from the University of Arizona in 1998 and her MFA from the University of Oregon in 2004. Nagy’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including the Portland Art Museum, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Takt Kunstprojektraum in Berlin, and Dam Stuhltrager in NY, among others. Recent awards include an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission and a three-month residency at Raid Projects in Los Angeles. Along with a rigorous studio practice, Nagy is a full-time faculty member at Clark College and one half of the curatorial team TILT Export.
www.jenenenagy.com

What the South Waterfront Artists in Residence do during their day job!

Kartz Ucci — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:56:36 +0000

University of Oregon MFA thesis exhibitions opening this Friday May 7 from 6-9 pm

Come see our Graduate Students work!

Disjecta
Noon – 5 p.m. Friday – Sunday through May 31
8371 N Interstate Avenue.

Professional Practices Lecture Series

Kartz Ucci — Tue, 04 May 2010 05:19:41 +0000

South Waterfront/UO Artist in Residence Program
Professional Practices Lecture Series
The John Ross
3601 SW River Parkway
Portland, OR 97239

Our first speaker will be presenting his work this week. Upcoming speakers are Jenene Nagy on May 12 and Mack McFarland on May 19.

Wednesday May 5/2010
6:30 pm
Cris Moss
Artist + Curator

Bio:
Cris Moss is a curator and multimedia artist based in Portland, Oregon
Noted for his ongoing series (9+) of itinerant donut shop shows. He is now Adjunct Professor of Design, Electronic Media, and Gallery Director at Linfield College . He is also part of the Red Shoe Delivery Service collective. Most recently Moss curated the Portland 2010 Biennial staged at various venues throughout Portland, Oregon during March-May 2010.

Moss’s work explores the various layers of identity as mediated through culture by employing narratives both scripted and non-scripted. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally, including The Melbourne International Arts Festival, Australia, Nottdance, UK, Display Gallery in Prague, Maccarone Inc. in NYC, Swiss Institute – Contemporary Art, NYC, Elizabeth Leach Gallery Portland, Oregon, Whatcom Art Museum, Bellingham, WA, and Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT.

Studio Activities during the month of May

Kartz Ucci — Tue, 04 May 2010 05:09:37 +0000

Please feel free to visit me at the Artist in Residence studio on Thursday afternoons between noon and 2 pm.

During the month of May University of Oregon BFA students will be using the studio to work on various projects for their thesis exhibition which takes place during the month of June at the White Box Gallery located at 24 NW First Avenue.

Matt Nixon is in the process of creating an installation using the studio windows – the piece will be visible by peering through holes or pockets in the windows which will be collaged with images from 1930s/& 40’s newspaper clippings

Chris Oshiro will be building a set in the space to document dog owners with their pets and will be using green screen to document works in progress for his BFA exhibition

Liz Bayan will be workshopping various installation configurations using multiple broadcast monitors in preparation for her BFA exhibition.

Installation by UO art professor transforms neon into spatial experience

Kartz Ucci — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:00:11 +0000

copied from Current News, AAA Blogs , University of Oregon

http://aaa.uoregon.edu/news/index.cfm?mode=news&page=news&id=1064

Art professor Kartz Ucci is taking up residence in Portland for the spring term . . . and so is her artwork. As part of the new Portland 2010 biennial, Ucci’s video installation at the Alpern Gallery in northwest Portland will be on view from April 2 to 24. A reception for the artist happens Friday, April 9, from 6 to 9 p.m. The gallery is located at 2552 N.W. Vaughn St. in Portland. Hours are Fridays, noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Across town, Ucci will serve as artist-in-residence at the John Ross Condominiums at South Waterfront throughout the spring term. She is also teaching two digital arts classes at the UO’s White Stag Block.

Portland 2010, a successor to the former Oregon Biennial, brings together 18 artists spread out among 6 different spaces between March and May. The event is organized by non-profit Disjecta and curated by Cris Moss, gallery director at Linfield College.

Ucci’s installation, “I Want to Be a Lighthouse Keeper,” is a close focused, high-resolution video recording of a 5 mm thick rod of blue neon that has been sped up to reveal the fluctuating luminosity of the neon gas. An amplified recording of the electrical hum of the neon transformer sweeps across the room from a 360 degree soundbar. Ucci describes the work as a distilled, constructed view of a horizon line, filled with potential yet empty. Its motion is that of particles of light and their magnetic oscillation at the frequency of the alternating electrical current, she said.

Originally conceived in 2008, she was unable to show the actual neon she’d had manufactured because a gallery’s space in Delaware was interrupted by columns. “Because I was unable to show the work as intended, I decided to shoot the neon as a video, and I liked how the camera was able to capture the fluctuations in light. It was a happy accident.”

Though some of the Portland 2010 exhibits are group shows, the curator selected an individual exhibition space for Ucci’s video and sound installation due to its minimal quality.

Ucci will also contribute to an event-capping group show of Portland 2010 artists at the UO’s White Box in the White Stag Building from April 6 to 17. Ucci said she plans to include a second piece that exploits the visual properties of custom neon. The White Box, 24 NW First Ave., is open Tuesdays to Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free.

Craig Hickman — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:59:20 +0000

I want to thank all who attended my presentation Wednesday evening. I had a great time and hope to see you in the future. My open studio hours are Thursdays from 4 to 6, but feel free to email me at chickman@uoregon.edu if that time doesn’t work for you.

Also, remember my print give away. I am putting three of my pictures in the windows of the AiR studio each week and the first three people who contact me, either by email or in person, can have a picture. You will need to come by the studio to see the pictures. That way you can identify which one you want. The first person gets their first choice, the second person their choice from the remaining two, etc. If you get one of the pictures, you will need to pick it up from me in person when the next set of pictures goes up the following week. Normally new pictures go up Monday evening or Tuesday morning.

South Waterfront Humming Bird

Colin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:52:37 +0000

Hummingbird from 12th floor of John Ross from Colin Ives on Vimeo.

SALMON RUN

Colin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:06:29 +0000

Participatory Art Event
South Waterfront Artist in Residence, Colin Ives

December 1st, 2nd, 8th, 10th
7:30 PM at the John Ross Artist in Residence Studio
To reserve a spot email: ives@uoregon.edu

You are invited to an interactive event where you get to walk a virtual salmon along the banks of the Willamette River and amongst the buildings of the South Waterfront. See a video of a trial run.

Machine in the Garden Student Show

Colin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:03:01 +0000

The New America Pastoral
Machine in the Garden – Final Exhibition

Friday 12.04.09
6 to 8 PM at the John Ross Artist in Residence Studio

Show of the final work produced from the Machine in the Garden studio at the University of Oregon in Portland. During the Fall term and interdisciplinary group of student and faculty explored the many ways our culture is attempting to find a new balance in our relationship with nature. Portland’s South Waterfront has been the muse and base of activity for the studio, who are attempting to find their own place of understanding, engagement and intervention.

SWF Artist in Residence in Hong Kong

Colin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:59:30 +0000

I did not get a chance to post from Hong Kong, but I thought I would let you all know that it went great. My work Nocturne was well received and during the conference I talked about the Southwater Front development. They thought it was very progressive. It was interesting to be in the most densely populated city on earth and to be talking our attempts at living more greenly here in Portland.

Ornamental Plant Breeding for the 21st Century: UO lecture 12 to 1 Friday

Colin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:11:18 +0000

Here is another Machine in the Garden Lecture by George Gessert. 12 to 1 at the White Stag
Event Room, 70 couch street portland.

For the lecture Ornamental Plant Breeding for the 21st Century, Gessert will discuss past and current uses of biotechnology to create new kinds of ornamental plants. Oregon is playing an important role in these efforts because of the red iris project, initiated by Cooleys Irises in Silverton. Engineered ornamentals such as the red iris raise many questions, but he will focus on just one: what aesthetic criteria or assumptions are shaping the new plants? Answers to this question suggest that the time is long overdue for ornamental plant breeding to beconsidered an art.

Here is a link to more information: poster

Lecture At UO White Stag Blog : Landscape + Architecture: green roofs and walls

South Waterfront Residents — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:10:40 +0000

I want to invite you all for another lecture for the Machine in the Garden Series at 70 NW couch street, room 150, from 12:00 to 1:00. The Lecture by UO’s Roxi Thoren might be of interest to residence of SWF because of her expertise on Green Roofs and Green Walls.

Also please feel welcome to drop in and talk to some of the students in our Machine in the Garden class who are coming down to my artist in residence studio here in the John Ross every friday afternoon.

cheers,

Colin

Lecture : Portland’s Urban Wild at UO Portland

Colin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:16:56 +0000

I want to invited all the residents of swf to another of The Machine in the Garden lecture series. Friday 12 to 1, in the event room at 70 couch (UO’s White Stag Block). It is a panel discussion about Portland’s Urban Wilderness featuring : Deborah Lev, Claire Puchy, Bob Sallinger, Lynn Barlow.

For more info see poster link.

cheers, colin

Colin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:45:54 +0000

This Friday my Machine in the Garden class were given a great tour of the SWF by Nicole Peterson. She spoke from the stand point of the ecological design that went into the planning process and from the prospective of a resident of SWF who cares deeply about the issues. It was a perfect introduction for students who will be using swf as a muse and an off campus site this term.

lecture Friday at 12:00 to 1:00 at The White Stag, room 150

Colin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:31:41 +0000

I wanted to let everyone know about the first up coming lecture of the series that I developed for my UO studio The Machine in the Garden: Rethinking urban gardens in the 21st century. The class will be working down here in the afternoons but I want to invite any of you who are interested to come up to the White Stag for the lectures. The first will the presentation of “case studies” from the work of the primary teachers of the class. Myself, Tad Hirsch an intel researcher, Liska Chan from Landscape, and John Arndt from Product Design. Here is a link to the poster. It is a great group to be working with!

another home stretch

Michael — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:36:47 +0000

…had to be in Eugene for a few days, I was crowned the Director of Digital Arts, a new addition to my title here at UO. I am following a great artist and director, Colin Ives. He is really responsible for getting our whole Portland White Stag program off the ground. If you saw any of my students speak at the swf studio, he can take the credit for having helped launched their thesis research back in september. I understand Colin Ives to be the next artist-in residence at the swf starting in the fall. Residents can look forward to a depth of insight concerning the environment, combined with high technology, during his stay at the John Ross. As for me, I get back the John Ross friday and I will be in the home stretch of my installation. 3-4 long days. I swing back home early next week to go to my kid’s end of school picnic, and then return from the opening-closing-unveiling-release-launch by thurs eveing at 6pm. I believe Jeremy will be manning the grill serving up hot dogs, a perfect compliment to my work. In attendance that night will be our UO art department’s friends and collaborators from the ShanDong University of Art and Design. These are faculty from China with whom we had a fruitful and fascinating relationship with over the past few years. Help us greet them to the USA, help me by checking out the show, and help Jeremy by eating hot dogs.

sophia bulgaria and back

Michael — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:37:35 +0000

I have a very large outdoor sculpture being produced in Sophia, Bulgaria and the timing required me to jet there while I am still in Brussels preparing for this thursday’s opening of my show. The image is from the studio where the piece is being fabricated.

from Brussels with love

Michael — Sat, 23 May 2009 08:52:43 +0000

…here in Brussels now installing a solo show at think..21 gallery. Considering I jetted out mid-residency to do this show and I am also planning on opening the swf show June 18th, I consider myself busy. Busy is something an artist should always desire and I am grateful I have so much going on. My collaboration with Think.21 makes this show certainly one of the best supported efforts I have ever been able to make. The result is some of my finest work and I say that with steady humility. I have done a few shows over the years, this one is special. There is a variety of works I have had the assistance of fabricators crafting and finishing the pieces, there is a giant site specific styrobot, over 20 framed drawings, 3 wall hung sculptures, and of course my banana-man. 10 hour days, jet lag, and the stress of installing has got my anxiety creeping up, but the thrill of the installation keeps me focused. I’ll be back at the swf late next week and will begin the final stages of that show, FLOTSAM

SALTER prepares for BRUSSELS, continues SWF installation:FLOTSAM

Michael — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:36:14 +0000

…….my itinerary is not in stone yet but I will travel to Brussels for a solo exhibition which opens May 28th. I will be building a large styrofoam robot on site, and as usual, about half of the entire exhibition will be site specific. There are several pieces being fabricated and its always a challenge to work in such a way overseas. I work closely with this particular gallery, Think.21, who understands me and my work intimately enough to negotiate complex production methods – even when I am not there. I develop drawings and plans, research production methods, and then they source the best fabricator. “The guy doesn’t even make his own work?” true, in some cases, I seek a level of high production so technically specific it only makes sense to use professional technical crafts people. I am sure we can find plenty of masters throughout history whom have had their work constructed by teams of assistants, but it does sound odd to some who still only understand art making as a craft exercise. I am a maker and always will be, but in my practice I continue to believe I can and should use every media, method and technical advantage I can access.

The SWF show is coming right along, and I even have a title. FLOTSAM. The random floating debris encountered in the open ocean is referred to as flotsam, not to be confused with jetsom which is the jettisoned articles a vessel will throw over board prior to running a ground or capsizing. I imagine our visual culture to be a sea. A sea filled with Flotsam so thick and dangerous that navigating through it is treacherous. Imagine the things we see are bumped into, sometimes even attaching themseleves to us, clinging to our consciousness. The work in this show is synthesized visual flotsam.

TONIGHT: UO / SWF Artist in Residence | Student Presentations

South Waterfront Residents — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:33:42 +0000

Join Artist in Residence Michael Salter and his students completing their BFA degree in Digital Arts from the University of Oregon Art Department as they present brief descriptions of their research. Considered to be the generators of our future visual culture, these artists and designers will present their motivations, insights and year-long BFA project thesis. Pizza, pop and junk food will be served.

Featured students on Thursday, April 30:
Zach Rose
Andrew Parnell
Daniel Strong
Mac Schubert
Dustin Dybevik
Peter Baston
Travis Bachmeier

UO/SWF Artist in Residence Student Presentations
Thursday, April 30, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
AND
Thursday, May 28, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
John Ross Plaza Studio
3623 SW River Pkwy., Portland, OR 97239 map it

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
RSVP appreciated, but feel free to stop by
RSVP: communityrelations@southwaterfront.com or 503.222.778

lascivious wolf

Michael — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:38:34 +0000

…though my intention was not to specifically investigate the meanings and implications of what make a space a space, or a neighborhood a neighborhood, my work inevitably responds to my environment. Fascinated by the layers of visual information that cover our world, I investigate, cull, research, dissect, inflate, translate, synthesize, hybridize, cannibalize, slice, dice, chop, and julienne the images and objects I see. This has long been a basis to my research. There are 2 pics; one is the progress I am making on a large wall painting in the studio space, the other is a new graphic I drew as part of a collection of icons I have developed over the last 8 years. These icons are inspired by the weird array of signs, logos and branding I find our current visual culture invested with. I have drawn nearly 500 of them and the number continues to grow, as you can see the construction in the neighborhood may be of some influence.

under overpass

Michael — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:44:15 +0000

well the styrofoam has begun to trickle in….but I sure am gonna need more, a lot more. Please keep me in mind as you move through your worlds, knowing I am going to breath new life in to the stuff. Don’t forget to peruse my website sometime, as when I start beating the bush for styrofoam I sometimes am referred to as the ‘styrofoam artist’, which is really just a piece of what I do. I have a long history of using what I find and trying to change the way we see it. Don’t get me wrong, I love the stuff, but I am as likely to use any number of materials at any time – and this I believe is indicative of a contemporary practice. I’ll use any media necessary to the success of the work. Essentially I am invested first and foremost in drawing, as I see it as the beginning of all visual communication. I just happen to draw primarily on a computer. I plan on making a 3 part installation, specifically for the studio site. Part of the installation will be a very large sculpture, there will also be a giant painting directly to the wall, and I intend to have at least 25 frames of a portion of my collection of drawings.

Last week I took a few photos under the overpass.

The Artist in Residence Program – Phase 1

South Waterfront Residents — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:49:11 +0000

The purpose of the original Artist in Residence program in the South Waterfront neighborhood was to create the opportunity for artists to bring their vision, perspective and energy to bear on the emergence of this new vertical community in the City of Portland. Specific to this program, artists representing all media were invited to create time-based, temporary work that explored and promoted a sense of place in the South Waterfront district. The goal of this accumulated practice of installation, performance and written/spoken word was to inspire dialogue, inquiry, curiosity and participation among the South Waterfront residents, as well as the people of Portland.

Following a program cycle curated and produced by South Waterfront Artist in Residence Linda K. Johnson, the program featured daily, weekly and major scale projects by Johnson, as well as by 13 guest artists. Johnson maintained a Storefront Studio on the ground floor of the John Ross Tower that was the hub of activity.

To review the work that was produced by Linda K. Johnson and her fellow guest artists please read through the blog posts below.

Put on Your Walking Shoes

lkjdance — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:10:56 +0000

Hmmmm – how odd! What exactly is this? Seems to be 4′x4′ with hinged appendages. Is that a stage? A coat? A device for moving? All of the above. This is little glimpse of the riffing on the standard 4′x4′ Ten Tiny Dance format that will happening this Saturday, Aug. 2nd, at the South Waterfront. Ten Tiny Dances/South Waterfront – A Performance Walkabout is an opportunity for Portlanders to see some great new works by some of the city’s finest independent dance artists all the while strolling the South Waterfront neighborhood – tram to river – amid live music. Ten new, site-based movement works are being created for 10 different locations around the district. Participating artists include: Linda Austin, Cydney Wilkes, Tere Mathern, POV Dance, Hand2Mouth Theatre, Sojourn Theatre, Hot Little Hands, Ko & Co., Rhiza A+D, and Ten Tiny Dances founder – Mike Barber. This particular object is part of the performance work being developed by Rhiza A+D, an architecture and design collective. Expect a lot more unusual formats for this TTD. While the 4′x4′ scale remains the common thread, the artists have been invited to challenge the how and the where of that structure. Presented by the Artist in Residence program and co-curated by Mike and me, this TTD offers audience members the opportunity to curate their own order of viewing, meaning – one can see all 10 performances, or sit and watch one over and over again. The 10 dances will be performed simultaneously in continual rotation every 15 minutes. A menacingly loud horn will signal the start of the next dance. While this format will make for some very tired artists by the end of the day, it also makes for a very playful chance for viewers to have some autonomy over their experience. I am always a fan of tha .To be part of this event, bring yourself to the the South Waterfront by 4p. Check in at the information booth on the corner of SW Moody and Curry to get your performance map and cool orange wristband. First dance begins on the dot at 4:15p, so if you are not walking towards your first site by 4p you may miss one. Be sure to bring some loose change so you can imbibe in the great treats for sale. Oh, and in between the dances there will be these groups of performers walking around playing some fantastic music. Please consider joining us for this free event. Secure bike parking is available at SW Moody and Curry, as the South Waterfront is an easy, green commute by bike, streetcar, tram or carpool.

Get Set for Park Action: 20×20 and Promenade

South Waterfront Residents — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:17:13 +0000

I have wanted to work with the amazing visual artist – Bill Will, for a long time. He has worked on and off with choreographers for many years, and I have always deeply admired his wit, subtle politics and use of materials. I considered it a milestone in my own making when – about 10 years ago, he went out of his way to let me know that he thought my then current project was really exciting. For me, it was a huge affirmation about how I was working. So, when it was clear that the Artist in Residence Program was going to go forward, I called him up to see if he wanted to collaborate on a major scale project for the park. Most often empty and lonely for activity, I wanted to create an event for the South Waterfront Neighborhood Park that would help to dream it into being; tatto it with the life and energy that neighborhood parks should have. This one will become a formal neighborhood park by June of 2009. The short story is that Bill said yes, and we began the very daunting process of trying to create a work that could, in scale and energy, inhabit the nearly two city blocks of open space that the park occupies. Many stunning ideas have lived and died over the last 9 months. A neighborhood in constant, dramatic physical transformation is a tough place to work. One turns around one day and the whole thing looks different. How to create something that can ride the flux, weather changes? Bill’s installation 20×20 and our shared creation of Promenade are our responses to the land, the history, the natural elements and the spirit of gathering that parks instill. Working in close collaboration with sound designer Seth Nehil and lighting designer Bill Boese, along with a core group of dancers: Daniel Addy, Noelle Stiles, Tahni Holt, Eric Nordstrom, Kathleen Keogh, Katie Arrants, Rebecca Harrison and Tracy Broyles, we are creating a very singular performance gathering. We hope you will join us on Saturday, July 19th an hour before sunset. PROMENADE

Saturday, July 19th
South Waterfront Neighborhood Park, SW Moody@ Curry
gathering begins an hour before sunset
Free; picnics and all ages welcome
Go green with the tram, streetcar, bicycle or a carpool
Safe, secure and free bicycle parking available at SW Moody and Curry

One-of-a-kind and unrepeatable, Promenade is an episodic dance, sound and light performance event that involves more than 30 performers, bicycles and a rising moon. Coinciding with Bill Will’s July guest artist residency as part of the AiR Program, Promenade will emerge from Will’s installation - 20 x 20, on Saturday evening, July 19th. Almost two city blocks in scale, 20 x 20 is a site-specific installation using simple materials that calls attention to the land, its simple proportions and subtle topography, as well as emphasizes the movement of the sun and wind throughout the day and the changes evoked by the natural phenomena of sunset, dusk, and moonrise. Promenade invites the viewer to traverse the installation at one’s leisure – sitting, resting and engaging as desired. One night only, Promenade references the rural, the urban, the past and the future of this area of the city.

Conversations Across the Fence

lkjdance — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:12:59 +0000

Last July, when I received confirmation that the Artist in Residence Program had received a green light to go forward, I began making lists of artists – artists whose work I admired, artists whose work consistently seemed to address site and place, and artists who welcomed transparency and community interaction in their work. It came as no surprise to me to find my long time colleague – visual artist Linda Wysong, on all of these lists. I have known Linda for 20 years and created my first two large-scale site-relevant works in collaboration with her. We met when I was trying to teach myself about stillness in movement by modeling for visual art classes at PNCA. She was the teacher and we just got to talking between sittings. Turns out that we had some very parallel interests and embarked on a collaboration. Over the years we have worked together on several pivotal projects – Intersection, Finding the Forest and PipeDreams to suggest a few. Linda’s work is absolutely singular in this community and I have been deeply grateful to have her as a peer and often a kind of mentor. She makes work that is genre-bending – and has, long before it became so popular to do so. So, one can imagine my excitement when she was interested in being a guest in the AiR program. True to her style, she has been preparing for this month for months, carefully researching and forming relationships to support her project – Backyard Conversations. Comprised of a series of performance tours and video portraits, Linda’s project actively seeks to raise questions and provoke dialogue about how and why we build what we build. Combining history, science, engineering and the anecdotal, each of the three tour opportunities – Water: The Machine and the Garden, Constructing Community and Footprints Along the River, invite attendees to experience the South Waterfront district from singular points of view. The project culminates on Saturday evening, June 28th, with the screening of a series of video portraits representing residents, construction workers and other individuals who work or interact with the neighborhood. To sign up for a tour, please go to here.

China-on-Willamette by Horatio Hung-Yan Law

lkjdance — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:26:41 +0000

In the last several years, our country’s cultural historians have slowly begun to tell the story of the early Chinese immigrant experience in the U.S. Denied the opportunity to own land, gain citizenship or transport their families to our mainland, these almost exclusively male Chinese laborers suffered deep hardship, all the while clearing much of the land that is now most prized in our great cities located along the entire stretch of the west coast – Vancouver, B.C. to Los Angeles. For his May project, AiR guest artist, Horatio Hung-Yan Law - a native of Hong Kong but New Yorker since the age of 16, will explore how our cities might look and feel differently had the Chinese had more opportunity to assert themselves on the cities that they so painstakingly transformed on behalf of others. In a three-part installation that traverses both the AiR studio and the South Waterfront neighborhood, Horatio will use common materials that we associate with either a Chinese or Asian lineage – rice, bamboo, chopsticks, t’ai chi – to play with how the South Waterfront district might be different today had the Chinese laborers been able to establish a presence there. Please join Horatio for his opening reception on Saturday, May 3rd from 11a-2p in the AiR studio, and for the free t’ai chi workshops that accompany his residency in preparation for the T’ai Chi for 1,000 gathering on Saturday, May 31st. In addition to the workshop on May 3rd during the reception, workshop times include: May 14th, 10a-noon; May 21st, 6-8p; May 28th, 6-8p. To sign-up, please contact Horatio at: horatiolaw@gmail.com

Acupuncture Project Follow-up: The Proposed Treatment Plan

lkjdance — Fri, 02 May 2008 06:53:44 +0000

Â Â

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. Â You can clickÂ hereÂ to see them.Â The points and the issues they address were informed largely by the input of many, many participants over the month. Â 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. Â Adam can be contacted at: adam@adamkuby.com.

Mapping Who We Are

lkjdance — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:40:31 +0000

Â Â Â I have long admired the artistic activities of visual artists Maria T.D. Inocencio – a 2x Pollock-Krasner recipient, and Mark R. Smith,Â represented by the Elizabeth Leach Gallery. Â While partners on the domestic side of life, their individual work – while often installation-based, has taken them each down very separate paths that have not crossed since their very early years in school at Cooper Union in NYC. Â Until now! Â I am thrilled and honored that they have chosen to collaborate on a project for the South Waterfront. Â Each with a history of inviting community participation in the realization of their work, the AiR program offered them an opportunity to explore how a new community comes to know itself – together! Â COMPASS, their April project, officially begins on Saturday, April 5th in the AiR studio with a series of workshops that invite hands-on participation with the artists. Â COMPASS posits Portland as the center of the world and seeks to “map” the individuals in the community through the collection of a few simple coordinates – height, birth place, gender and the spelling (or re-spelling, in this case) of one’s name. Â The resulting object of this data will be the creation of a simple flag for each individual that will be placed outside in the context of the larger installation – a 20′x40′ oval that is literally a map of the world with the South Waterfront neighborhood at its center. Â Â While allowing for anonimity, COMPASS seeks to map who we are and from where we came. Â Very family-friendly, all ages and Portlanders are invited to participate in this project. Â The workshop is from 11a-2p and repeats again on April 12th, 11a-2p. Â The final exhibition of this work will occur on Saturday, April 26th, from 11a-1p.

The Acupuncture Project: Treatment for Portland

lkjdance — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:13:38 +0000

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. Â I was unaware of both the artist and the project but was so fascinated that I had to learn more. Â I made a call, set up a time to get together and a few days later shared breakfast with artistÂ 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â Where, I wondered, would this new SWF neighborhood find itself in this metaphorical body and what would its qi be? Â I was fascinated by both the poetry and potential of this image for the city. Â We talked about March, the energy of spring and his availability. Â July has become March and Adam’s project is now in full swing. Â

Â s Acupuncture Project" />

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. Â In the near-by AiR studio, he has created a working installation of maps that invite response and participation. Â 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. Â 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. Â The public is invited and welcome.Â

Enjoying Chris Rauschenberg

lkjdance — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:00:23 +0000

If you missed the gathering or the accumulated installation of Chris Rauschenberg’s project for the South Waterfront, you canÂ click hereÂ to see the 60+ images that he captured of the interior life of the neighborhood.Â Â

Looking at the South Waterfront Through the Lense of Chris Rauschenberg

lkjdance — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:03:37 +0000

When I hear people talk about the South Waterfront district, the conversations most often center on the “green” nature of the architecture, on the development’s proximity to the river, or on the unique access to public transportation found in the tram and streetcar. Â Thus far, all of these aspects of the neighborhood have been well documented photographically, particularly the buildings themselves. Â Â Enter the incredible photographic artist, Christopher Rauschenberg, February’s guest artist in the AiR program. Â Chris was much more interested in what and who was inside the towers. Â As he puts it, the everyday “living and being” of the place. Â We queried residents to see if they would let Chris eddying in their homes for an hour or so in order to let him capture the more human side of the development. Â What resulted was 12 invitations and 60+ images now on the walls in the AiR studio. Â With several residences and a week still to go, the totality of Chris’ portrait of the inside life of the neighborhood is still emerging. Â Below find some samplings from early visits. Â Please plan on joining us in the studio – Thursday, Feb. 28th, from 6:30-8p, for the culminating exhibit of Chris’ project – Looking at the South Waterfront.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Of Time and the River and David Oates

lkjdance — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:27:49 +0000

Â There stands David on the bank of our city’s great river in the heart of the South Waterfront neighborhood. Â In the background, one can spot an osprey nest seemingly floating in the trees on the not-too-distant Ross Island. Â In the foreground, culled from a the title of a recent Oates essay, the offering – “what we love will save us.” This is the juxtaposition of wildness and urbanity that David has spent his life as a writer and activist thinking about – how our human world of thinking and feeling connects with the larger world of natural wildness. Â And, as is evident from the “where” of this photo, David’s January project for the South Waterfront AiR program – Of Time and the River and the Big Shiny Buildings, continues his exploration of these ideas. Â In a series community writing workshops over the month, David has invited interested thinkers to discover, discuss and write the past, present and future history – geologic, social, cultural, political and natural – of the SWF area. Â Generous, embodied and in David’s words, “connected” writing has resulted from these collective sessions. Â On Wednesday evening, January 30th, in the AiR studio,Â David and workshop participants will share this work in a form and style that David likens to a three-movement, bebop word symphony – layered, syncopated, bold. Â David will also read from a personal work created over his month in the district, two weeks of which he spent as an “insider” living in the Meriwether East. Â Please join us at 7p on this evening for dessert and generous literary treats.Â Â

The Party Project in photos

lkjdance — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:45:38 +0000

On Saturday, Dec. 22nd, over 125 people taunted the rain and cold by venturing down to the SWF to see Tahni Holt’s – The Party Project. Â The fourth artist in the SWF Monthly Guest Artist series, Tahni worked with a cast of 30 volunteer performers, musician/composers Kate O’Brien-Clarke, Corrina Repp and Joe Haege, and lighting designer Bill Boese to create a strolling dance event that caught the only dry spell in nearly two straight days of rain. Â If you missed the performance or want to be reminded of some of its beauty, a chronological photo essay follows. Â All these photos and the others on AiR page are by Yalcin Erhan, the AiR Program photographer.Â Folks began to gather at about 3:45p in the Bella Espresso for a 4p show. Â While frigid outside, everyone was greeted with hot cider or cocoa to warm their bones.Â Â Â When critical mass had happened, we moved everyone outside for short introduction.Enough said, let the performance begin! Â Space #1 Â - Â A leased but as yet unbuilt-out retail space in the base of Atwater Place. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â After a toast and then some breaking of glass (cups not windows), the audience strolled in a caroling-style fashion to site #2 – a second floor balcony on the courtyard of the John Ross plaza. Â Â This time from below, the audience watched the second scene.Â Â Â Â Â Â At the conclusion of episode two, all were finally invited inside into the Artist in Residence studio for the third and final event, an actual party (birthday).Â Â Â Â This is just a glimpse of 30 minutes of stunning performance. Â Visit the site again in a few weeks to see video clips from all three sites.Â

The Party Project by Tahni Holt (everyone is invited!)

lkjdance — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:48:33 +0000

Music created and played by: Kate O’Brien-Clarke, Corrina Repp and Joe Haege; Lighting by Bill Boese

Saturday, Dec. 22nd 4p; one performance only
South Waterfront neighborhood
Meet at the Bella Espresso Cafe, 3580 SW River Parkway
Portland-based dance artist Tahni Holt has been creating The Party Project as part of her month-long residency in the South Waterfront district. Drawn from the cinematic experience of viewing movies on screen, the performance takes place inside three different buildings in the SWF neighborhood – a condominium, an unoccupied retail space and the Artist in Residence studio, and uses the situation of a party to explore the phenomena of watching and being watched. The performance will be seen through the windows and balconies of these spaces. With hot chocolate or cider in hand, audience will stroll between these sites, watching the performance from the outside. The event will end as a large party/gathering in the AiR studio for the entire “cast” – inside performers and outside observers. The work has been developed and rehearsed on site in collaboration with a 30-person cast of both experienced dancers and volunteer movers.As research for this event, Holt has spent many of her residency hours in the studio watching movies that contain classic party scenes – Lolita, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Party, 8 1/2, and the list goes on. The project additionally makes reference to the dilemma between the public/private that is so often evident in architecture that incorporates wide expanses of glass surface area that invite and/or allow observation.

Full House with Artist Dmae Roberts

lkjdance — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:54:24 +0000

On Wednesday, Nov. 27th – despite a pelting cold rain, more than 100 artists, filmmakers, writers, radio producers and SWF residents joined November Guest Artist, Peabody-award winning artist Dmae Roberts, in the AiR studio for the screening of her new flash movie. Created as part of her SWF project – “Can I Tell you Something?”, this “radio with pictures” montage included the writing and voices of over 30 particpants from Dmae’s month-long series of writing workshops exploring secrets – how we hold them, why we tell them and what role they serve in our lives. Dmae also screened – Secret Asian (passing), her personal flash movie addressing this topic, which was created with project grant support from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

Each a little more than 5 minutes in length, the movies are available for viewing anytime in the AiR studio and are available for web screening by following these links: Click here to see the Secrets flash movie: . To see Dmae’s personal piece, Secret Asian (passing), click here. Or, drop by the studio to view these works, as well as projects by Tim DuRoche (September/07), Dana Lynn Louis (October/07) or Tahni Holt (December/07).

Dmae Roberts First Saturday Salon

South Waterfront Residents — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:08:02 +0000

Informal Writing Salons with Dmae Roberts:
T/Th, 3-5p; Sa, 11a-1p
AiR Studio Storefront – 3623 SW River Parkway @ Gaines off the John Ross Plaza
Free and open to the public
Culminating event: Soup and Movie Night, Wed., Nov. 28th, 6:30-8:30p

When two-time Peabody Award-winning Writer/Radio Producer Dmae Roberts (center in photo) began shaping her November Guest Artist project for the SWF - “Can I Tell You Something?”, I realized that I had not spent enough time considering how the stories I share and the secrets I reveal shape and inform all of my relationships – how they draw the like-minded close, how they repel those who do not relate, how they seduce those intrigued with the adventure or encounter or experience shared. It is something I took for granted, perhaps because my own creative work does not directly spring from the narrative – at least so far. Of course, one can argue that everything is essentially story, but I was just not tuned into soft vulnerablity and intimacy of it all – that stories are the highways, roads, lanes and back alleys that connect us to people.

I so appreciate that Dmae has chosen to manifest this particular project at the SWF as part of this program. It is profoundly relevant and timely in this place right now.

Daily Movement Journal – 178 movements and counting…

lkjdance — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:37:17 +0000

October Guest Artist Culminating Event

South Waterfront Residents — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:09:18 +0000

Nocturnal Notations: A Living Installation

It is hard to believe that it is almost the end of October and that Dana’s month of residency in the dsitrict is almost complete. Together, we have adapted to a second temporary studio, the first being the generous welcome provided to me and Tim DuRoche – the September Guest Artist, by SWF’s favorite cafe – Bella Espresso.

Many SWF residents, workers and visitors have casually wandered into the currrent AiR temporary studio over the last several weeks to look at her evolving installation. Filled with drawings, suspended objects and treatments for the floor, the studio changes daily. Many residents have also let us know how enamored they have become with Dana’s two temporary nighttime light projections that extend the images from the studio into the neighborhood. These lit installations will be active until Thursday, Nov.1.

On Saturday, Oct. 27th, Dana will present the culmination of her one-month residency in the district – Nocturnal Notations: A Living Installation. The work has been conceived and built on site and references both the artist’s as well residents’ and visitors’ dreams offered throughout the month. A ‘Living Installation’ means that the objects in the installation will be purposely inhabited during the open studio in ways that forward and nuance their meaning.

During her residency, Dana has been exploring the question of how one dreams a community into being. The accumulated installation draws connections between Dana’s experience of communities in West Africa and the very fluid process of creating community that is evident daily in the SWF neighborhood. Issues in this work involve the fluctuations in privacy between the daytime and nighttime, publicly shared space and use, as well as the collaborative energy required to co-habitate. Visitors can look forward to live music on the baliphone and hot tea. The installation time is ongoing, 7-9:30p which means that one can just drop in or stay awhile. The temporary studio is SW Bond @Gaines across from the park. All events of the AiR program are free and open to the public.

AiR LKJ

Why these Artists?

lkjdance — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:40:28 +0000

When the opportunity became available to spend a year thinking about and making work relevant to the SWF district, it was clear to me that multiple voices, perpsectives and artistic practices were necessary in addition to my own. While never having formally curated my own series, I have many times been intimately involved in a range of curatorial processes with programs and institutions of all sizes. The hybrid nature of my own pratice has also brought me collaborative opportunities across many disciplines so I have a very grounded sense of artists working in many different forms.

I found it extremely exciting to think about the broad range of makers in this city through the lense of place and site. When considering artists for the Monthly Series a few things seemed important. First, a month is a very short period of time to develop an idea or body of work in the context of a community of people, especially if that community is invited to participate on some level other than just being a traditional audience member. It seemed relevant, therefore, that I consider artists who were comfortable with a more public creation cycle and artists who had some history of working in this way. It also felt very important to include artists working across the broadest range of disciplines in order to generate the most rich and layered interpretation/imagining/dreaming/critic of the SWF district. Having been an artist who benefited greatly by being included in performances or collaborations with colleagues much more practiced than myself, it also seemed important to have the series reflect a range of ages and experience levels. Finally, as the commissions are modest at best, it also seemed reasonable to consider artists who might be so deeply intrigued by the idea of addressing the SWF neighborhood that they would agree to alter/stretch/adapt their practice in order to deal with a small budget and honorarium. Could these residencies provide an opportunity for an artist to finally explore something they had been thinking about but in a drafting kind of way? “Soft making”, as I have come to refer to it.

So, with these thoughts in mind, I started making lists, long lists. I whittled from 55 down to 25 and then began the very delightful process of talking to artists. Along the way, I also checked in with several curator colleages to get their sense of the city and who might be a good fit for this particular opportunity. Some of these conversations shifted my thinking and I pursued several other artists. In the end, I got 19 proposals from which I selected 13. Calendar, availability, duplicate concepts and discipline representation all were factors. Several projects that I could not include are still bubbling out there with a chance of happening.

I am excited and honored to be working with this group of artists. It is my hope that these projects will serve as a kind of innoculent (as my colleague and friend Brian Borrello refers to it) for dialogue and interaction.

Temporary Installation – Corpus Botanicus

lkjdance — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:45:08 +0000

Corpus Botanicus: A Temporary Herbal Apothecary Project

Over the past 15 years, I have created several temporary public projects that used plant materials as the primary language of expression. Large scale and conceptual in nature, these projects each considered aspects of our built environment and were intended to encourage dialogue about how and why we develop the land within and around our urban centers in the ways that we do.

When the opportunity became available to be engaged at the SWF for 13 months, I became very intrigued with ideas about health, healing and greenspace. The informal park in the SWF neighborhood is slated to be developed and will become a formal part of the Portland Public Park system in 2009. Until that time, it is an expansive grassy plinth used primarily for soccer and dog walking. No plants, no trees – just grass. At the northern-most edge of this greenspace is the new OHSU Center for Health and Healing, and just across Macadam Avenue, with a view of the park, sits the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. With this clear intent to foster health and healing situated around the South Waterfront district, I began to conceptualize a project that would make use of some of this temporary open greenspace by addressing the role plants have played in the history of sustaining the body.

With the permission of Portland Development Commission, I was able to break ground last week on Corpus Botanicus – a project that explores the history of herbal medicine and healing from a body systems point-of-view. Working in consultation with herbalist Missy Rohs, the Corpus Botanicus installation involves over 150 plants – many native to the region, and groups them in nine beds that each address a major system in the body: Respiratory, Skin and Muscles, Immunity and Lymph, Heart and Circulatory, Kidney and Urinary, Reproductive, Nervous System, Liver and Digestive and Spirit. About 2/3 of the plants will be planted this fall, with the remainder added in early spring. Each plant will be marked with its common and Latin name, and beds will be identified by system. Because many of the plants known to be efficacious to healing could not be planted due to their Noxious and/or Nuisance status, they will be represented in the their relevant beds with markers that note their reason for absence. Missy will be giving several informational tousr of the beds in the spring and will also offer several tincture-making classes. For more information or to attend a walk or workshop, please contact: artistinresidence@southwaterfront.com.

Scoring Place

lkjdance — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 05:26:54 +0000

On Monday evenings, a small band of Portland dance artists (Kathleen Keogh, Noelle Stiles and Daniel Addy) join me in the neighborhood to stage small interventions – “quiet happenings” as it were, throughout the property. Essentially research for a larger dance event that will happen in July/2008, these little performances pose questions or offer images about how this neighborhood might be animated or inhabited as it develops – how do certain spaces want to be used? where might people gather that is not intended by the architecture or design?; what will a bustling street life feel like?

Our process is simple. A few days before our appointed gathering time, I send a specific performance score via email, indicating where to meet, any special objects or clothes to bring, any movement or directives I want them to prepare, etc…When we gather, we review the score, change into our costumes, run the score for about an hour and then review the results. As these are not formal “dances” in a sense that someone might identify them in virtuosic terms, onlookers are invited to create a new context for what they are viewing. Often things of great beauty result, whether that be an image, an unexpected conversation or a new relationship. Several of our early scores are listed below.

#1 – A Park is a Place to Picnic: Dress fancy, wear all white and a sun hat; bring a book you are currently reading. Meet at Bella Espresso at 4:30p; we will picnic from 5-6p in the middle of the park. I will bring: kites, a croquet set, an over-sized white picnic blanket; picnic staples. SCORE: approach the park from 4 sides walking slowly; set-up picnic in suspended time; choose 4 moments in our hour of talking, playing, eating, reading where you take prolonged stillnesses (at least 3 minutes). Consider the tableau nature of our image as you choose those moments. At 6p, leave one at a time, book in hand. LKJ packs up solo and departs.

#3 – The River’s Edge is a Place to Dance: We will teach each other to waltz at the river’s edge. I will bring gowns; wear comfortable shoes. Please come prepared with one task that you will ask us to perform as a group that will serve as a complete break from the dancing image, i.e. pick a small bouquet of flowers from the wild plants along the greenway and offer them to a passer-by. We will meet at Bella Espresso at 4:30p. SCORE: We will walk in duets, arm-in-arm, down Pennoyer to the river. We will take turns sitting and waltzing; anyone can call “wait” to instigate a stillness to hold any image/”go” to return us to motion. I will ask each of us in turn to share the instructions for the tasks. We perform them exactly as described. To complete the score, we will exit back up Pennoyer in slightly reduced walking speed, arm-in-arm.

Days 1-46

lkjdance — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:28:13 +0000

Day 1, Sept. 1st, 2007: How to start, where to start the beginning of 365+ days of this practice of creating a physical journal of this place. There is no context for me here, in my orange cover-alls made into a dress. I remind myself that beginning is always the hardest, requires the most courage. One must just start and the rest spools from that moment of opening. I have decided to commit to this practice of walking and accumulating movement – rain or shine, to keep myself daily connected to the energy and physical changes and people of this place. Robert Morris’ Continuous Practice, Altered Daily comes to mind.

I convince myself to walk to the river; it is the great and ancient force here. I remind myself to breathe, smell, relax, feel my feet on the ground. I face the river for long look and feel the familiar. I have grown up next to this river; I know it and it knows me in some sense, as all places know their inhabitants. I decide to turn and face the towers, clutching my right arm nervously to my back with my left. The vulnerability of standing out in the open in this immense place is overwhelming. I ask myself what I see and feel and then notice that I am already dancing…

days 1-46: trace the Meriwether East with my eyes in a long rectangle; look over left shoulder to a voice coming from the river; dive hand to grasp a clump of clover; hear the creek spooling down the hill; machine part drops suddenly from an Atwater balcony; river smells of warm blackberries; dunk fingers into river at kayak put-in; three window washers swaying in unison from the 15th floor; crane is at perfect 45 degree angle; generator overwhelms the sonic environment; voice calls from the Zidell barge; follow the streetcar tracks to the tram; hike the hidden staircase; man is ranting up there about development and government and wildlife (try to commit some of this to memory); release onto back in the middle of the park to look at sky; trace the path of two birds; river smells rancid today; three kayaks in perfect unison; Betsy with her dog, back and forth; men water plants at river’s edge?; lonely boulder in derelict lot; sad girl smoking; three faces pressed against streetcar window; 6 folks on treadmill all in black; park is soggy; man stands staring at river; bricklayers crouch in perfect concentration; trough is straightened; windy today; slow boat down the river; oppressive whirling sound coming from Zidell lot; crow stands solo on lonely rock; steady rhythm of the pile driving; gnarled metal; caught a butterfly; the pace of walking; cloud of mosquitos; carpet of cigarette butts at river’s edge (who comes here to smoke?); measuring the distance; big wake; coxswain yells to boat, “more pressure here – use your legs”; flick a bee; avoid the bee; toss a stone; hand in water; shake it dry; stand and brush off pants; blown left; smell of paint; chocolate hands from planting; scrub boulders….

Daily Movement Journal

South Waterfront Residents — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:31:27 +0000

A day-by-day accumulation of movements sourced from a rotating series of sites in the neighborhood, this extended dance phrase will capture Johnson’s daily impressions of the neighborhood over the residency year.

Weekly Performance Happenings

South Waterfront Staff — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:05:18 +0000

Using the entire SOWA district as a stage for performance, Johnson and a small ensemble of dancers will create weekly performances that address site, place and community. These will be Mondays Between 5-6p; Mon., Sept 10th is first day.

Place-Based Installations

South Waterfront Staff — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:53:08 +0000

Johnson will also create several installations throughout the year that invite participation form the viewer/audience.

Big Dance, July 2008

South Waterfront Staff — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:51:29 +0000

The South Waterfront is begging to be used as a community-gathering place and as stage for performance. Johnson will collaborate with visual artist Bill Will to create a dance event that extends the scale and energy of the South Waterfront district.

Summer Stage, August 2008

South Waterfront Staff — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:50:21 +0000

A day-length public event that features many of the cityâ€™s most beloved performing arts ensembles, organizations and independent artists, Summer Stage is an open invitation to the larger metropolitan community to come down and discover the South Waterfront neighborhood. Take the street car, bring a picnic and settle at the South Waterfront for a wonderful day of performances.

Stay tuned…

South Waterfront Staff — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:15:16 +0000

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.

Stay tuned…

South Waterfront Staff — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:14:00 +0000

Our monthly guest artist series continues with Tim DuRoche in September 2007. Join the discussion as he writes about his experiences in creating art that celebrates the South Waterfront community.

Stay tuned…

South Waterfront Staff — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:12:55 +0000

Our monthly guest artist series continues with Dana Lynn Louis in October 2007. Join the discussion as she writes about her experiences in creating art that celebrates the South Waterfront community.

Stay tuned…

South Waterfront Staff — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:11:10 +0000

Our monthly guest artist series continues with Dmae Roberts in November 2007. Join the discussion as she writes about her experiences in creating art that celebrates the South Waterfront community.