I could cry,
I could scream,
I could just die!
Above is my statement from my most recent exhibition, One Artist's Attic, which has been on view at the Quonset Hut in Louisville, KY from February 1 through February 17. (Open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 12 - 5 pm)
Ephemera, gathered over the years, collects, builds up, accumulates, piles up, in my case in my attic. Is it art or is it just stuff? Does a change in venue change the stuff? According to Foucault, heterotopias are "spaces of difference" temporal different orderings. Does putting stuff together in new spaces, orders, systems provoke us to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things.
Taking paraphernalia from the attic making a heterotopia hopefully brings about apophenia. At least this Merz-ing of life and art is the play and the critique I hope for. Who takes what (ephemera- discardable items of little or no commercial value) indicates some value of some kind to someone. Watching this "taking away" is mysterious process, engaging an inclusive collaborative artistic practice, having a personal exchange and contributing to a shared arts community. As a "stand up" comedic maker, for me seeing art and life come together through indeterminate generally valueless materials is as good as a great game of pinball.
Are we having fun yet?
