week elevan: October eighteenth on

Happy Monday. I have a cold, Avis is teething and this outline has me in paralysis [paper will be written, and I will be extracting an outline]! I had a great weekend despite this cold and cranky old folk who disapprove of the presence of happy children, I digress. Saturday I drove down to Brunswick and visited my mentor, Meggan Gould in her studio at Fort Andross. Her space over looks the Androskogen river. She had just taken down her recent show from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and the framed prints punctuated the room. The blackboards and computer screens in four or five times life size take the human gesture of personalization into iconic dimension. Our discersive spaces are facinating. I notice the items within the images that are no longer part of everyday use. It is hard to come by a book of matches today. I am projecting the human need of personalization and the gestures performed to do so. Lefebvre and de Certeau have possessed me as I tap this paper away.  I showed Meg the North Woods protraits since our last meeting. We discussed the ability to get past the smile to a true portrait. Saying dead kittens is not nice, but it works. She recommended several artists to look at, in particular Alec Soth. I love his book, "Niagara." I viewed his other works online. He offers a brief narraitve of each shoot in the end of the book. I want to present my interviews in such a way that works in tandeum for a discursive space. I also showed her my everyday and pathes project which are very much works in process. I am obsessed with the 28 miles of roads from the camps to town and back. Dorffi and I may walk it this month. There are stretches of road I know by a bumb, others by a sign, and others by a tree or open space. These transcend seasonal cycles and connect my years of passing through the space.
I stayed down country and visited the Farnsworth Museum Sunday morning. I am not a fan of traditional painting, but I felt the museum is in Maine so I should visit it. I truly visited because I wanted to see their selection of the works of Louis Nevelson. I am familar with her Dawn's Wedding Feast installation, and I wanted to see more of her works. I enjoyed studying the pieces. I took a few pictures to keep the observations accurate. The two pieces which stood out for me made use of common place materials from stationary, the post, wrapping paper, cardboard, et ceteras. The lighting was a challenge in viewing particularly her paintings. Reflections were cast by the doorways and windows; one could be concerned for the deterioration of the art. I did like the folkart rug exhibit. The New Hampshire historical society has curated similar shows which I appreicate for their celebration of the everyday. The Arnold Newman portraits in the basement were the most productive thing for me to observe. I had discussed the challenges of portraiture with Meg the previous day. I admire Arnold Newman's access to the famious and his ability to get those egos to expose themselves through his "environmental portraits." The best experience of the morning was the Emily Schiffer, "Cheyenne River" exhibit. Her installation of language and photography created a discursive space that explored and exposed the childhood space of play in the backdrop of life's love and loss.  In sum, I did not care for the museum; the woman who took our admisson was curt, uninterested in directing us and unfriendly about having a child. My assessment was echoed by my friend who felt they did not want to be open on a Sunday and did not appreciate a child talking. The museum store was friendly and my friend found several special gifts for upcoming holidays. No one likes every place and the Farnsworth is a place I do not need to return to again. Cheers!