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I had been in dialog with Chris Peters for some time before we finally settled on some April 2015 dates for a residency. During that time, we had discussed various projects and I had learned a lot in the exchange - one of my favorites was his idea of exploring apotropaic symbols and their application to the local environment including projecting eyes, potentially teary, onto the rocks behind the property. Time with Chris generally meant learning new terms, ideas, images - a part of his practice is to be reading every day and his interests range far and wide.
By the time Chris arrived, his mind had moved on and I discovered that he was going to undertake various new and continuing projects during his time at BoxoHOUSE and then created an installation that brought the ideas together.
Chris started shooting various images around the property (some while standing on a ladder facing the large rock face); did a lot of online processing and ordering; went out to Amboy and beyond to further an ongoing project where artists create symbols on the side of a large berm; went looking for a field of glass said to be near the 29 Palms dump; made small castings and intermittently took road bike breaks in the National Park. I was somewhat challenged to imagine what might result.
Once Chris started to install, the pieces came together convincingly. After a mock debate about whether the structure used to exhibit in was a garage or a studio, Chris promptly pulled his car in, closed the rolling door and installed projections through the windscreen as well as sculptures in the trunk. The dichotomy was false, the structure was both. A large banner, a BoxoHOUSE calendar, a lithograph, video and several photographs completed the scene. The completed installation was a convincing pointer to modern nomadic existence / restlessness as well as the mediation of experience.
The open house was very well attended by the local community and elicited lively discussion, a bit of criticism and a lot more praise. Many thanks for Chris for spending time out in the desert, for his well received installation and for the planting of seeds for future projects.
Eliza Kentridge is based in Wivenhoe, a quaint English fishing village on a river in Essex close to where the water empties into the sea. Quite the contrast from our desert town nestled against the rocks of the National Park. As Eliza was only able to come to BoxoHOUSE for 10 days, she came up with a wonderful idea to give the project some duration. Without resorting to the google machine, Eliza conjured up ideas and images of her imagined Joshua Tree - associations invoked by the name and stories she had heard. She then made a series of pieces reflecting these notions in her Wivenhoe studio, packed them up in a portfolio and traveled a great distance to experience the real thing.
When Eliza arrived in the desert, we immediately began a fairly intensive orientation to acquaint her with the area and provide material for the second part of the project, creating works that reflected her actual experience of the place. From walks in the landscape and hikes in the National park to sound baths at the Integratron and a fairly packed social schedule meeting local artists and even attending the Halloween party at Pappy and Scarriets (sic), Eliza took it all in. She immediately took to working in the studio, documenting her experiences and turning some of them into work in progress. Fabric, paper, drawing, gouache prints, and clay all in motion.
While we were running around the Joshua Tree area, it occurred to Eliza that, although there were many obvious contrasts to Wivenhoe, there were also many similarities. Both are small communities with significant artistic communities, though it also emerged that both are located near large military installations and have connections to a "William Loveless". We compiled a list of contrasts and similarities and posted them at the community open house held on November 8 2014. The open house featured the works made in Wivenhoe alongside the works in progress made as a response to the real Joshua Tree. A great crowd came out on a gorgeous fall day to take in the work and meet Eliza.
Many thanks to Eliza for making the journey and engaging so completely with our desert and community. I look forward to the opportunity to show work flowing from the residency in the future.
I was introduced to Hermann Niebuhr by a mutual friend and was glad to be making a connection to South Africa, my country of birth. When Hermann and I spoke on skype, it fast became apparent that a residency would be rich in potential outcomes.
Hermann's work examines the phenomena of life through the lens of landscape. His latest series of work was examining stillness - one body of work being developed with observation of the landscape in the area around his Cape studio, and the other having been explored on an extended bike tour through the Himalayas. Joshua Tree and the Mojave would inform the third part of the series.
Hermann's Cape studio is located in the Karoo, a semi-desert area that echoed aspects of the Mojave. Hermann is involved in a permaculture practice on his land there and I saw the opportunity for an exchange of ideas/practices with local practitioners. Hermann was also considering how to develop his Cape property into an artists' retreat as he spends the majority of his time in Johannesburg and his studio there. I saw the potential for some form of exchange and cooperation in this regard.
When Hermannn arrived in May, he took to the environment immediately and was soon off on his daily 10km runs which served as a source of discovery and connection with the landscape. He also set to making the studio his - a rapid reorganization that quickly had the space humming with readiness for his oil painting process. This is one of the emerging points of interest for me - watching how artists transform the space to make it work for their medium, practice and habits.
Pretty soon a series of color studies and abstract works inspired by the surrounding desert began to emerge. These were followed by a delivery of canvas and stretchers that then set the stage for larger paintings made by reference to key images. Hermann drove off on several exploratory trips including a one day marathon to Amboy, Death Valley, Johannesburg, CA and back. Phew. Some rich material quickly flowed from these bursts of energy. On the night following the full moon, we undertook a moonlight bicycle ride in the National Park which sparked the inspiration for one of the large canvases.
Discussions on permaculture were held, including an evening spent with Jill Giegrich who was instrumental in starting our local Transition movement and leads the permaculture team. A possible link to the Karoo property was also explored. I look forward to future developments on these fronts.
Hermann worked steadfastly over his three week stay and there was lots to show for it. Beyond the canvases, he created some triptychs painted on vertical slivers of board as well as 50 small works on paper. His open house was a complete exhibition and was well received by the local audience. The next day, Hermann was to be off on his next adventure which included hiking part of the Appalachian trail.
Following several weeks in Joshua Tree, Hermann made the statement that he had not found stillness as expected in the local area. Rather, he found the surrounds to be resonant with a stirring energy - likely what he tapped into to propel the body of work that emerged from his brief stay here.
When Daniell Cornell of the Palm Springs Art Museum approached me about hosting Jennifer Karady for a residency, I was immediately intrigued. Jennifer's work is a powerful quest to share the stories that soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan bring back with them which continue to affect their everyday.
I was very happy to be facilitating the project and also saw the challenge in working with Jennifer to make an image here. How to find someone interested in entering into the kind of dialog Jennifer elicits in order make a great narrative image? Joshua Tree's proximity to the Marine Corps Strategic Command at Twentynine Palms was an obvious link and, at the same time, it seemed a possibly closed avenue. After meeting Jennifer in NYC and getting further background on her process, I started to identify ways forward. We agreed to start the recruitment campaign quite early on. Jennifer was doing another project in LA in early 2014 and so would be available to qualify people and come to the desert if necessary before her residency began in late March.
My role on the Board of the local Chamber of Commerce puts me in contact with the Marine Base and I had toured the facility and attended some events. We are lucky to have a community liaison of the likes of Kristina Becker who attends Board meetings, and I started with a meeting to brief her on the project. Kristina was immediately enthusiastic and went away to discuss with her team and consider how to move forward.
I also identified people in the community who work with veterans - ranging from Mil-tree, a local non-profit working with veterans through the arts, to Copper Mountain Community College, our local institution of higher learning. I spread the word, armed with Jennifer's standard email edited for one important change - I had been informed along the way that Marines do not identify as soldiers. Text was edited appropriately although the project title stood its ground!
There were some great responses by folks in the community and much effort to assist the project though scant response from interested Marines. Jennifer also increased my apprehension by saying she wouldn't call interested veterans - she wanted to hear from them in order to ensure their interest. This was something I came to appreciate later on.
After some time, Kristina came back to say that the project had been well received on base and that she was briefing various unit leaders that would in turn talk to their troops. Pretty soon, some interested Marines were identified and Jennifer was invited to present directly to them a few days after her arrival in Joshua Tree. Jennifer was very enthusiastic about working with active duty Marines and I remained a bit apprehensive as to whether some candidates would emerge.
My concerns were unfounded - several Marines approached Jennifer about her project, some from the Base and some from the wider community, and she went straight into her intensive work process. First, she held telephone interviews to do some basic qualifying. One of Jennifer's chief concerns is to make sure the person is ready to tell their story and unlikely to trigger any negative outcomes through the process. Each qualified candidate then had an initial interview to get into their story and some of the dynamics around the project. Jennifer converted a corner of the studio into a recording booth and several Marines came round for discussions that lasted from 3-5 hour hours. It is then that I got to understand how daunting the process is for Jennifer. Conducting interviews, then reviewing the entire recording to find excerpts and ideas as well as to lead to the next round of discussions. Multiple rounds of discussions with multiple Marines - I did the math.
Called away for some time on a family emergency, I returned to hear that Jennifer had selected the story she was going to focus on. The Marine is an active duty EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) expert who has seen multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was at the Base as a trainer. Jennifer worked closely with him to determine the structure of the image. Naturally, being an EOD expert, the story called for a simulated explosion - an element which set the tone for the production dynamic that then ensued. I immediately understood that location was going to be tricky. Jennifer got working with an FX pro who advised her that getting a County permit was going to challenging. So the unincorporated areas such as Joshua Tree itself and Wonder Valley were out.
Here again, my Chamber relationships came into play. Fist we connected with Cynthia Truitt of the Twentynine Palms Chamber who speed-networked us to several people with sites in that City. Off we went scouting. Then, I reached out to the Joe Guzetta, City Manager of Twentynine Palms, who had been a fellow Board member on the Joshua Tree Chamber some time back. Bingo - The City owned a large tract of land up against the iconic mountains of the National Park and they were willing to let us use it on the condition the land was restored to its prior condition. We scouted that location and were overjoyed to find several spots suitable for the shoot. Joe and his staff were highly accommodating in helping get the permit arranged and providing some on-site facilities for use during the shoot.
Jennifer continued on overdrive working with the FX guy on getting the explosion right - several videos of test explosions flowed from an LA suburb (the neighbors must be used to it). There were also myriad other production aspects such as lighting, set and extras. Jennifer's shoots are akin to small movie shoots - an entire story told in one powerful narrative image.
A week or so prior to the shoot, Jennifer mounted 18 previous project images and associated stories on the walls of the studio. We welcomed the Board of the Photographic Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum for a viewing and discussion with Jennifer. A couple of days later, we held an open house for the community and Jennifer spoke about her work. The intense focus of the community when viewing the works was palpable and several people were overcome by emotion. Stories that needed to be told and heard.
The next day, Jennifer worked with the Marine on some test shots using production spec equipment, both to get the positioning and facial expressions rehearsed as well as to ensure that the flashes would not trigger any strong associations or discomfort. All proceeded smoothly. The rest of the week was spent in high gear by Jennifer, attending to all the production details, continuing to refine the simulated explosion and shopping for props and costumes.
The shoot itself proceeded quite smoothly - all Jennifer's hours of crafting and attending to details paid off. I was not present again due to the family emergency and so cannot give further details. Fortunately, Chuck Mobley, former Director of SF Cameraworks, was able to step in and work with Jennifer on the shoot. I have seen the resulting images and am looking forward to seeing which one Jennifer chooses for the series. Jennifer will be having a solo exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum from December 13 through March 29 2015. The whole series will be exhibited in full 4' x 4' format along with the related stories. I look forward to celebrating with Jennifer and thanking her, and Daniell, for bringing this amazing project to the Mojave and to BoxoHOUSE.
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