So things have a way of working themselves out, n'est pas?

Giving up on the Libra Room happened a long time ago, it feels. And in hind sight, I am not all together disappointed for two very separate reasons. First: when I was introduced to a certain person, he immediately grab his chest, pushed whatever flesh he had in reference to my bust, which in all honesty is a bit on the ample size, and says to Davide "I love artists". Naturally, I ignored the lewd gesture and made my face of disapproval, accompanied by a very large eye ball rolling. And then we were back onto business. The second reason is purely practical. If the venue closes at 11, and daylight disappears around 10, then really, this project is not going to be as fab as it will if mounted in the fall or winter.

Project #2 is officially shelved and a new venue is in the works.

So how to write about a collaborative practice when there are no projects on the go you ask? Well, one of Davide's amazing qualities is that he is very social, and therefore, he has many friends and acquaintances, so many so that art opportunities just fly into his inbox, which simultaneously impresses and annoys me, specifically because neither does he have to try very hard to get great gigs, and nor does he bother with them in a timely fashion. And even after a proposal is 4 days late, or everyone else has confirmed a meeting schedule promptly, he still gets the gig. People generally wait, and for some reason, they are happy to do so. In this case, I make my I-can't-bloody-believe-this-guy-face, throw my arms in the air and tag along for the ride =)

Project #3 is also in the works, another collaboration as described by the forementioned dynamics, specifically my tagging along, that will be later revealed, as we are under a gag order, but it could be very exciting for many participatory artist in the Vancouver area...stay tuned!

And last but not least...

Project #1 a.k.a Working with What is Left

There has been so much going on that there has been a lack of time to sufficiently blog every workshop, but I will sit down and do that hopefully tonight for the simple reason that I do not know most of the people that I personally invited tonight, nor did I the other night, and the result is that the workshop was quite quiet, so I might have some time to write. Which brings me to the next important fact:

It is too much to have 2 workshops per week when you work than full-time. And what has suffered is my marketing efforts to get participants, no! say it isn't so, and whatever you do, don't tell my clients, although their marketing is going just fine ;-)

But in usual fashion, Heidi and I have come up with a brilliant plan that will help me continue my research on this project and get me out of Heidi's way so she can make room for Natalie Doonan and the collaborating team of Kristina Lee Podesva and Joni Low.

Here is The Plan......The Hammock goes offsite, as hammocks often do! We are both very excited to plan the first mobile residency. In July I will hold 3-4 more workshops with various groups, all unconfirmed, and in August, the build and public installation will take place -more on that later- and the open house / celebration, will be in early September, most likely the weekend after Labour Day. Heidi has also assigned a volunteer assistant, Lauren, who has just joined the Hammock, to help me carry out my plans. Yay Lauren!

Now off I go to see what's transpiring in the Tin Can!

What Was Once the Libra Room is Now ?

Boys, boys, boys . Now I am not going to say that my boy was completely at fault, but I am not witness to the fact that he was not. Anyhow, long story short, we will not be showing at the Libra Room. And my advice to artists, make sure you don't piss the one in charge off, no matter who started it. At least it wasn't me this time. My mother always warned me not to get involved with Italians, although she was swept away with the kindness of this one just last night at my Dad's birthday party...but that's another story. Anyway, there will be lots of this from both sides I expect on account that we are both firey Italians.

Am I disappointed? You bet. Am I expecting that another venue will be found? Indeed I am. Will it be I who finds a venue and coordinates with the bar owner? Not a chance in hell.

So here we are at our first block in the collaborative process, and because I would still like to get laid tonight, I am forced to reconcile my own annoyance and pick the most tender words for a person who has had a difficult time lately. But I am not fixing it. And I wonder what he will think of this post.

Call For Researchers, a.k.a, Join Me in the Hammock

Working with What is Left speaks to the detritus of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, both figuratively and literally. Figuratively, the promised addition of social housing and arts programming, two of the benefits pitched by the City of Vancouver prior to the referendum, that were considered left wing, were reneged while the developers were bailed out of their financial losses. And literally, the detritus, the blue visa sponsorship posters that were distributed and displayed in many downtown retail and restaurant windows. These plastic laminated, stiff cardboard posters are a perfect building material, and will be fashioned into individual, portable housing structures / pods that will simultaneously solve the problem created by the lack of funding for artist projects and low-income housing.

Researchers are asked to participate in one or many of the workshops outlined below. Find a category that appeals to you, and please join us in the Hammock between 6pm - 10pm on the following nights.

Researchers are asked to participate in one or many of the workshops outlined below. Find a category that appeals to you, and please join us in the Hammock between 6pm - 10pm on the following nights.

June 1st: Artist's Friends and Balcone Reading Group - Making It Critical

June 10th: Art Students - Making It Exciting

June 15th: Suburban Ladies Over 60 - Making It Palatable

June 17th: Geographers and Urban Planners - Making It Functional

June 22nd: Landscape Architects - Making It Pretty

June 24th: No Fixed Address, Alternative Spaces + Off-the-Grid - Making It Practical

June 27th: Open House, 4pm to 8pm

Find the Hammock at: 1923 Graveley Street.

Enquiries can be made by contacting the artist at: liddlethought at gmail dot com.

Kind Regards,

Heidi and Rina


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Basic Logistics

So now I have two projects on the go, and Blogspot is not really great for threading through multiple projects in a linear fashion, nor in clusters, as I am able to see. Any organizational tips would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the info:

Project I -- Title: Working with What is Left

Place: Hammock Residency

Synopsis: Taking the remnants of the Olympics and using them as both the subject matter and the material stuff with which the project will be built. The "remnants" include the condition of life in Vancouver as a direct effect brought about through hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Details: In case you have, for whatever reason, not been following my seriously entertaining Blog posts, I will fill you in, as this is a project that follows out of a particular trajectory of work that looks at the way we look, including: surveillance, sousveillance and other controls of public space.
See: We Are Watching

Project II -- Title: Untitled Collaboration
with Davide Pan

Place: The Libra Room

Synopsis: Working with the frustrating City of Vancouver by-laws that serve to regulate the many small neighbourhood music venues, such as the Libra Room, Davide and I will play with what we can and cannot do, poke a little fun and have a little party. The Libra Room will be magically transformed in ways formerly unimagined by the proprietors of the art-hanging cafes, bars and restaurants. Issues of private and public are visited from the proprietor's perspective. What are the rules that serve to govern behaviour? What are the consequences for such transgressions?

Details: Davide and I are new lovers. And this tenuous relationship makes this project the perfect first try at de-sanitizing the participatory and collaborative practice, which, as mentioned in my last post, lives on as an after fact, by photography or other means of documentations, with all the messy bits edited out. There you have it, I said it publicly, and yes, it could go either way, and you get to decide what "it" is (and yes, I have asked his permission to blog about our process).