MA Independent Project: Video Log #1

Links:

• SPIN Framework


• La Société des arts technologiques [SAT] Society for Arts and Technology


• Technoculture, Art, Games (TAG) - Hexagram

Faces: Billboards, 2011

 Editing, printing, installation, strike, and documentation photos by Jillian C Parsons

Faces: Billboards, 2011, was on display at Full Tilt Creative Centre, McIvers, NL from September 4th - 10th, 2011. I would like to thank Jillian C Parsons, Eileen and Bill Parsons, Robert Reid, Patrick Allen, Colette Urban, Speed Pro Signs, and everyone else who made this project a reality. Unfortunately, I had to leave for Montreal early and you all came to gether when I needed you the most.

Thank you for everything!

For images, or additional coverage, please see: 

• Jillian's Flickr Set
• The Corner Brooker article 

This project was made possible by a Newfoundland and Labrador Ars Council (NLAC) Professional Projects Grant.

Montreal

Last Monday, August 20th, 2011, I was whisked away on an exciting, yet terrifying, journey to begin a Masters in Art Education degree at Concordia University in Montreal, QC. The story starts with your protaginist, me, packing my bags in a mad rush just two days earlier. Note: by packing my bags I mean Jillian Parsons did it for me. I was driven to the boat by a friend of the family. The ferry was comfortable, quiet, and the reserved seats  were easy to find and felt pretty secure. We arrived in Cape Breton the next morning greeted by a downpore of rain.

The drive along the highway from the ferry to Quebec was pretty uneventful. The scenery and the weather both improved dramatically and it was a nice drive.

I find myself apartment hunting and staying with family friends in the interim. I'm a little dissapointed in how unwelcoming and/or inviting Concordia seems my first week here. No one showed me how to get a student card or offered to show me the campus. I registered, but I still feel uninformed as to the structure, organization, and expectations of graduate school. It would seem that graduate students are left to their own devices. I would've liked my arrival at a large university like Concordia to have more fanfare.

On the bright side I have begun to see the sights and the nightlife that Montreal has to offer and I'm very excited. I've seen the Gaultier exhibition, I've spoken to a few really nice gallery employees, and I've started to feel more confident with my sense of direction.

I guess we will see how this story progresses.

Edit: I'm still frustrated by the lack of obvious help/assistance that's available here ay Concordia. As a new student, and having been out of the University system, I can't be expected to know everything. Hapilly, I now have my Student ID thanks to Concordia's Facebook page. I've also located the bookstore, library, and the gym. I've already started to scower the campus for power outlets for emergency iPhone/Mac power ups. Currently, I'm sitting by a large window overlooking Montreal trying to aply for GradPro seminars and trying to figure my assistantship out. I'm looking forward to classes.

Update on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:32PM by PNR

I have attended the Graduate Orientation, which was held after the first day of classes and was 99.999% concerned with plagiarism and student awards, the most useful document was the Graduate Student Handbook. Classes have started and I'm starting to understand what I've gotten myself into. Though, I do worry if I'm in the right Academic mind because I really don't enjoy articles in ArtSpeak or Academia-ese. Is it wrong to want to do an Education degree in plain english because that is how we have to teach it?

Faces in NYC

Image from rockethub.com

I have been selected to participate in a juried photography exhibition in NYC organized by Rocket Hub and Artsicle. Fve prints (unframed, 36 x24 ) from Faces: NL (2011) will be on display from August 4th - 11th, 2011.

The Location: The Artsicle Photography Show will be held at the World Monuments Fund Gallery located in the heart of Manhattan. This gallery is attached to the gorgeous Prince George Ballroom and boasts a sleek, modern space that reveals layers of the landmark building s past. Exposed brick, stainless steel folding panels, and crisp walls provide space for art to shine.

The Opportunity: A New York gallery show, opening reception, and more. The selected photographers will have the option to sell their work at the gallery a hub for art tourism and walk-in collectors and have their work distributed through Artsicle s curated online marketplace. Only five (5) artists were selected.

Updates:

• Images sent to me from the exhibition's opening reception.
• Over 200 people attended the opening according to the organizers, well done.
• I could not get to NYC for the opening tonight. I hope it goes really well!
• I'm still uncertain as to my own travel plans (if any will exist).
• I've been interviewed by WAM (CBC's Weekend Arts Magazine), and Corner Brook's Morning Show (CBC: CB).
• My images reached NYC as of Thursday July 29th, 2011.
• The Rocket Hub/Artsicle press release

Faces: Billboards (2011)

Faces: Billboards (2010) documentation photo by Jillian Cavelle Parsons

I recieved my first Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council [NLAC] Professional Project Grant to create my latest project titled Faces:Billboards (2011).

Purpose:

To install a photographic installation made up of five billboards (4‘x8’) in the fields of Full Tilt Creative Center in McIvers, NL.

Full Tilt Creative Center is a 25 hectare artists residency, organic farm, and art gallery owned and operated by Colette Urban. Colette is a well known Canadian performance artist recently featured in Katherine Knight’s Pretend Not To See Me, the art of Colette Urban. Full Tilt, open since 2006, has been host to several visiting artists, artists in residence, and local art exhibitions; including several exhibitions by Stockpile Artists Collective.

Faces: Billboards, 2011, will be installed as my entry into Stockpile Artists Collective’s third annual indoor/outdoor exhibition/performance on August 28th and will be reinstalled at the same venue for a solo exhibition in September.

Background:

Faces: Billboards, 2010, was created specifically for ‘Harvest,’ Stockpile’s second annual indoor/outdoor exhibition/performance. The intent of the project was to create a large scale billboard containing a small triptych of portraits that, once installed in the landscape, would engage the viewer and the environment. The
most rewarding element of this installation was watching people walk up to it, look at it, sit next to it, and comment on the sounds the wind made blowing against it. The billboard’s presence also changed dramatically with the rising and setting of the sun.

Faces: Billboards, 2011, will be the most recent work in this series. I will record video, and still images, of the interaction of the viewer, animals, and weather with the billboards. All documentation will be posted on this website and/or used for later exhibition/display. My long term goal will be to invest in outdoor video recording equipment to capture a POV-like perspective of the interaction of the viewer with the billboards, but this is not covered in the scope of this proposal.

Update on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 9:58PM by PNR

The structural materials for the billboards have all been delivered to Full Tilt Creative Centre, McIvers. The images are almost all taken and are currently being selected and arranged. I will have the printing completed by mid-week. The complication of all this is that I have to be in Montreal at the same time for registration, as a result I will be relying on Jillian Cavelle Parsons for the remaining installation and organization of this project. It would be impossible to finish without her help.