Signal Fire Arts: Talking Knots

I am very excited and honored to have been juried into a Signal Fire Artist Residency/Retreat happening this May! Signal Fire runs public-lands-based backcountry trips and residencies for artists It’s a wonderful chance to think, read, and write about my art practice and work in the Four Corners Ecogregion / Pueblo, Diné, and Apache territories in Northern New Mexico.

TALKING KNOTS: SW BACKPACKING

May 17-23, 2020
Location: Four Corners Ecogregion / Pueblo, Diné, and Apache territories

Guides: Amy Harwood and Anna Ialeggio

The Pueblo Revolt was one of the largest Native American uprisings in North America and its significance lives on. Led by Popé, a Tewa religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh, the pueblo people summoned their combined strength in August 1680 to drive the Spanish occupiers from the province. Freedom from Spanish colonial rule was ultimately short-lived, but this victory was an important turning point for the self-preservation of pueblo culture and language, and still resonates today in the social structures of Northern New Mexico.

Traveling through the Jemez Mountains of NW New Mexico, we’ll center the legacy of the Pueblo Revolt as we immerse ourselves in the deep social and ecological histories of a complex place: not as a linear set of events, but as an entangled field that is still unfolding. This trip combines short but challenging backpacking segments with periods of rest and stillness in the diverse mesas and canyons of the Jemez region. Rolling ponderosa forests open onto the vast grasslands of a collapsed volcano. It is a place of hot springs, wildflowers, and hoodoo rock formations. Evidence of ancestral and contemporary Puebloan culture abounds even in the back-country, with thousands of un-excavated archaeological sites throughout the area. Troubling aspects of the military-industrial complex are present as well, from the nuclear testing areas of Los Alamos, to the oil derricks and abandoned mines studding the public lands of the high desert.

Our group of artists will share a week together, immersed in and responding to this ecological and cultural landscape. Site visits and readings will offer entry points for interpretation and exploration. This “walking residency” is not focused on creative production per se, although we will offer time for reflection and discuss ways to incorporate the experience into our various practices.

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Tempting Failure 2018: Papaw Passing Time

Tempting Failure is a festival of international performance art and noise art, showcasing under-represented or extreme artwork that may interrogate risk or challenge preconceptions.

In 2016, TF saw their fifth anniversary and return to London, where it all began.  They hosted 85 artists from 13 different countries in 11 locations across 5 different London boroughs in a groundbreaking fifth birthday celebration.  All of which was supported by extensive outreach initiatives in the preceding months that allowed artists to directly empower and connect with their peers and local communities. 

Conceived in 2011, initially as part of his Ph.D. at University of Bristol to examine specific phenomenological concerns around body art, Tempting Failure was founded by Thomas John Bacon.  TF then subsequently expanded to become an annual event and arts organization.  

Tempting Failure is invested in the support of Performance Art and Noise Art, as well as the professional development of artists at all stages of their careers and the education of all. 

This year, Tempting Failure received 468 applications to be a part of the Biennial.  I have been selected to be an Emergent Artist at this year’s festival in London, England. I will be showing a video performance and installation piece titled “Papaw Passing Time” on July 16th, 2018 at Turf Projects in Croydon, London.

If you're in the London area in July, then join me during my performance, and witness the work of some really amazing performance artists from around the globe during the course of the festival.

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Flashbulb: An Exhibition of Performance + Video + Sound

Panoply Performance Laboratory
October 8th, 2016
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm
PPL’s Fall 2016 exhibitions


An exhibition of seven performances involving sound, projection and duration that relate to memory, particularly the contracting accuracy/inaccuracy of histories and how those affect our reality. 

The event, titled FLASHBULB, will feature Jose Garza, Valerie Kuehne, Judith G. Levy, Luke Mannarino/Crystal Bateman, Cris Schayer, Kledia Spiro, and Nathaniel Wyrick. CURATED BY Cris Schayer.

A flashbulb memory is a highly detailed, exceptionally vivid 'snapshot' of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) news was heard. The term "flashbulb memory" suggests the surprise, indiscriminate illumination, detail, and brevity of a photograph; however flashbulb memories are only somewhat indiscriminate and are far from complete. Evidence has shown that although people are highly confident in their memories, the details of the memories can be forgotten.

Flashbulb memories have six characteristic features: place, ongoing activity, informant, own effect, other effect, and aftermath. Arguably, the principal determinants of a flashbulb memory are a high level of surprise, a high level of consequentiality, and perhaps emotional arousal.

These memories, often vivid yet inaccurate, often form lasting impressions on our selves and change who we are. In this we question the reality of our own histories.

José Garza: www.sentiwere.com,www.transversalproject.com
Valerie Kuehne: www.valeriekuehne.com 
Judith G. Levy: www.judithglevy.com
Luke Mannarino and Crystal Bateman: www.cargocollective.com/lmannarino
Cris Schayer: www.crisschayer.com
Kledia Spiro: www.klediaspiro.com
Nathaniel Wyrick: www.nathanielwyrick.com

Tempting Failure 2016, London, England

Tempting Failure is a festival of international performance art and noise art, showcasing under-represented or extreme artwork that may interrogate risk or challenge preconceptions.

Prior to TF2016, the festival has programmed over 125 artists to perform, mentored 5 graduate artists, booked 39 artist speakers, and supported 25 artists through masterclasses. 

Conceived in 2011, initially as part of his PhD at University of Bristol to examine specific phenomenological concerns around body art, Tempting Failure was founded by Thomas John Bacon.  TF then subsequently expanded to become an annual event and arts organisation.  

Tempting Failure is invested in the support of Performance Art and Noise Art, as well as the professional development of artists at all stages of their careers and the education of all. 

This year Tempting Failure received their biggest intake of applications for the fifth anniversary festival running July 21st - 29th.  400 artists applied from around the world to join them over the nine days of the festival. I have been selected to be an Emergent Artist in this year’s festival in London, England. I will be performing a new work titled “Not an Egg in The Hayloft” on Tuesday July 26th, 2016 in London’s Hackney Showroom, a former print works warehouse.

If you're in the London area in July, then join me during my performance, and witness the work of some really amazing performance artists from around the globe.

Porcelain Slip-Cast eggs / Performance Objects, 2016

Porcelain Slip-Cast eggs / Performance Objects, 2016

Source: http://www.temptingfailure.com/