Day Three, Tuesday, Afternoon Addendum

Pace House Residency

Once I was given news of my acceptance to this residency program, I immediately started brainstorming various projects to work on while I was here. I have to admit that I didn’t have much in my mind when I first got here. Of the maybe 6 or 7 different projects in my head, the one I was most excited about was a suite of photographs entitled “14 Pictures From The Place That Stephen Painted”. My inspiration came from a painting Stephen made from the hill behind the house, a painting that depicted a panoramic view of the house and the property it sits on. I was really excited about this project, as I felt like it embodied much of my conceptual leanings and durational activities but also provided me with the framework to create pieces that were uncharacteristic of the rest of my practice, in this case more or less traditional landscapes. My frustrations about the project were quickly realized upon arrival, as I found that the literal place that Stephen made the painting from has been, at this point (almost 40 years later), been obscured by trees and bushes that have grown large since the painting was first made. Or, perhaps the view from which he made the painting was an interpreted view and didn’t actually exist. Either way, the camera equipment I brought wasn’t suitable enough to make the exact photographs; my lenses are just not wide enough to shoot the entire length of the house and barn and the surrounding property.

So, not to be defeated, I’ve still been making the images as intended, only I have been forced (and am patiently allowing) the work and project to be re-informed by the situation with which I have been presented. Kathleen has been the biggest help in showing me how to re contextualize this work. She has stressed to me the need to not let the piece (or any work for that matter) be bound to the confines of the original concept. This is amazingly hard for me, being normally bound to the idea than to any formal revelation at hand.

Additionally, much of what I have been making has been conceived and executed after my arrival.  I’ve been working fairly productively, but for every one or two ideas that I brought with me, I have three or four that have been presented to me after spending time at the Pace house.