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BFA Thesis : right here. be here now.
right here. be here now. is an instillation that exists somewhere between performance and social practice; at a junction between a Wall Street Executive and a Woodstock hippie. In this art space instillation possibility and vulnerability arise. The project is an 8’ x 8’ pre-fabricated pop tent; the tent functions as a gathering place in the context for conducting a social experiment. The inside of the tent is soft, home-like, and neutral; LED candles and soft white lamps draw the participant in. Volunteer assistants are the co-authors in this piece with hand-made ceramic cups being the other player. The cups riddled with a variety of words ranging from soft, blunt, pad thai to botch, pussy, and cunt have distinct evidence of the hand, and are unapologetically raw. The range of blue and green glazes on the inside of each cup bind them together as a group while allowing them to each maintain their autonomy.
This piece functions as a sculptural assemblage when no performance is in session. It becomes animated the moment I begin in asking for 4-6 assistants. The assistants line up at the entrance of the hallway created by the cups and one by one I introduce myself, shake their hands and look them in the eye. They choose a cup and have a seat inside the tent where there is a table, stools and a teapot filled with peppermint tea. I ask them to pour themselves some tea and pass the teapot to their left. All assistants are asked to turn their cups with the word facing outward so everyone can read the words and they explain why they chose their cup. After everyone has gone around once I determine the next actions of that particular group in the moment; each set of interactions being completely different. At the conclusion of the session thank them for their generosity in sharing with me and as a token of my appreciation I gift their cup to them.
This work springs from my underlying concerns of our culture moving away from being real and open to numbing. Vulnerability researcher, Brene Brown says
We live in a vulnerable world. And one of the ways we deal with it is we numb vulnerability. And I think there’s evidence — and it’s not the only reason this evidence exists, but I think it’s a huge cause — we are the most in-debt, obese, addicted and medicated adult cohort in U.S. history.
At the heart of right here. be here now. is my intention to start a movement of people living well in their places by practicing the act of being vulnerable. Art, in this case, happens to be the conduit to which the assistant is encouraged to practice this to which becomes the receptacle for containing this new found openness.