Oddity in the Meantime

Dan the accordian man not only plays the accordian, but also windsurfs. Dan spends late windy days at Oval beach. If the wind isn't right, he plays the accordian. If the wind is right, Dan windsurfs. His body is the only connection between his sail and his board--he holds it together with his body. I am jealous that Dan gets to explore the horizon, a space that is wholly imaginary to me, but then again, I am afraid of deep, empty water.

the Space Between

The 6 Foot Collaboratory moves at unprecedented speeds as ideas are externalized faster, discussed, and made manifest with passionate analysis.

Endless Horizon

The lake seems like an ocean because we can only see 20 miles ahead... this is the asymptote of perception. The untouchable horizon is a site infused with potential, a space for imagination by default.

Porous Ceramic

Paul Flickinger (teaching at the Kalamazoo Institude of Arts) has fired natural clay ceramics on the sand near lake Michigan for 40 years. His advice will help our experimentation...

Systems of Exchange

How do we circulate our work?
As producers of culture, we look to alternative models for the display and exchange of art that operate financially without giving up content for exchange value. Mess Hall's Claire Pentecost and Marianne Fairbanks reflected on their system of generosity, self-appointment and merit rather than obligation where time = money, discussing potential trajectories in our studio this week.
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If, as Marx writes, a commodity fetish obscures the mode of production, what can we gain by understanding our entire system of production (material and labor)?

Curiosity

This is the goal... curiosity, wonder, and accumulated subjective knowledge rather than strict standards of acceptable facts. An ideology of product over process limits experimentation by regimenting "success." Art as an excuse for transgressing conformity, art as a doorway to real world issues, art towards empathy, art as a slap in the face...

to come: charts of sites and assumed audiences, etc.

Joy and Grace

Liz began to explain this to me...
I wonder: what is the relationship between the search for satisfaction and the attainment itself? The journey vs. the view, the process vs. the product, experiential education...

Ingestion and Body Knowledge

A rejection of sedentary culture! Instead, tactility, muscle memory, and proprioception to understand our current location.

Filters

We are experimenting with filters: using felt to collect the material that is typically "rejected," zebra mussels as bio-filters, and a porous clay material (natural clay and a local lumberyard's sawdust) similar to a technique developed by Potters for Peace.
Other projects of interest are: the LifeStraw, and more...

The Femur Bone

The femur bone is the longest, strongest, and most voluminous bone in the body. I have an extra long femur, and so does Caroline.

What is a natural resource?

We use clay from the riverbank,


water from Lake Michigan,


zebra mussels from the lake (over-populated foreign invader from international shipping),

glass from our local brewery,


wool for felt from the sheep near us,

and perhaps kellog's corn flakes (invented here).



If, as Marx writes, a commodity fetish obscures the mode of production, what can we gain by understanding our entire system of production (material and labor)?

Resources: the BODY of water

At the Oxbow residence, drinking water comes from the Kalamazoo water treatment facility and wells. In filtering water from Lake Michigan, our biggest concern is the Kalamazoo river. The EPA assumed responsibility for the Superfund cleanup on the Kalamazoo River and The Allied Paper Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site began an 80-mile clean-up effort as our residency began (June 1, 2007). The removal effort is documented here. For more information about the quality of water look here. PCBs and non-point contaminants are discussed here and other MI watershed links can be found here.

Liz Tubergen and Caroline Woolard

We are the 6 Foot Collaboratory