Last Saturday we had an artists' forum for all of the artists working on the rail project. "Artists' forum" is a fancy way of saying that we all got together and took turns presenting our work, and asking questions about one another's process, as well as the future of the project. Some photos:
this would be me, setting up images on the projector. (also, please be impressed that i finally figured out how to post normal-sized photos.)
we did a lot of listening, mostly because people's work was so thoughtful and fascinating. this is evan, my walking partner from earlier posts, whose work will be hanging in the RAIL SHOW OPENING THURSDAY JUNE 12 IN DAVIS, 7PM AT THE LOG CABIN GALLERY ON 1ST AND F STREETS.
we also, apparently, were amused by one another
susan's work is digital prints, gorgeous images from the edges of the rail, taken apart and put back together, layered in a really amazing translucent way. this excites me.
steven's work can be found at "to make" -- he does maps as wells as prints and photos. at the RAIL show, he will be hanging a huge grid of 72 railroad ties that he photographed. i really like the text that goes with them:
Six
feet more or less above sea level, north latitude 37.85326766967773, west
longitude 122.2965316772461, one-thirty in the afternoon local time [9
min.slow], through an open gate at the end of heintz avenue. sound of the wind
in the eucalyptus trees. the interstate-rushing-cars in a hurry. trains take
two minutes fifteen seconds to pass at nine minute intervals. the sun blue. the
air sixty-three degrees. fifty-four percent humidity. the dew point at
forty-four. a light breeze four to
six knots._Amtrak outbound to Sacramento Oakland
monica read us poems, but also talked about freight hopping when she was a teenager. she will be reading her poems at the opening. she also talked about how this show should migrate to the california rail museum in sacramento. i can't say i disagree.
moe beitiks' work is performance based. she got the folks at the wood street train station in west oakland to let her come do site-based performance art in their space, and her friend lia walker took photos. moe has a super wry sense of humor, and these photos are really stark and also funny.
dan's photos were posted in an earlier blog post, but at the forum he showed us his 8x10 contact prints, which are super detailed and bright. those will be hanging in davis too.
the cool thing about the forum in general was how much people either knew or found out about their sites for this work. that theoretical, technical and historical knowledge is not only rad to hear about, but also makes the displayed work so much richer. the only thing i would have done differently is made it part of some sort of bigger symposium so more people could see the amazing stuff that is going on, and hear about the creative process.
