Curtis Allen
Kelsey Olson
David Frohlich

at Art of This

Friday August 20 2010
7-11 pm
film screening at 9:30


Talk on photography has been beaten to death as of late, yet the dead-horse of the photograph, or of the process of photographing keeps moving along. That said, photography has always had an intimate connection with death: not withstanding the crisis in painting that corresponded with its uprising (the first instance of its unending death), Bayard's Self Portrait As a Drowned man, the power of the photograph to steal the soul (producing the living dead), as well as many other suggestions one could make here, the traditional conception of photography also marked, through each photograph, the death of the event, but simultaneously its de-temporization, crystallization, and carrying on; its recollection or commemoration (even if, in fact, such an event was encountered first within the photograph). Photography traditionally stood as both genesis and exegesis and it is along these lines of interest that we follow. Photography as the medium of capture par excellence: this is the unspoken motto of turn-of-the-century photography.

This makes photography the proper heir to a society of love, our society perhaps (in so far as love is the force of appropriation, or possession tout court). We have then, in a certain sense, come full circle--in the fact of our contemporary love of the image (the specifically photographic one)--that is, we have come to love the dead, which it could be argued, is already pre-inscribed into the act of love. I guess the question remains: What is one to do with a dead-horse that one loves so well?…We construct new kinds of horses (or donkeys, phoric-machines) each in our own way, to carry our love off into new directions. Some of these various directions, we hope, to put on display for you, yet never in an "instructive" manner. To be short, very short, we have as arrows; materialism as a process, photography as mediation, and the frame, fabrication, and fiction of photography as generative means.

Build, Eat, Repeat: This Thursday at 1419

Build, Eat, Repeat: New Collaboration by Leslie Kelman and Emily Gastineau

9 a.m. on Thursday, August 12 through 9 p.m. on Friday, August 13

1419 Washington Ave S.

What is the distinction between expendable labor and necessary tasks? What effect can a building have on the daily existence of two people with an excess of time? Sculpture/installation artist Leslie Kelman and dance artist Emily Gastineau will be creating a new collaborative work over the span of 36 hours and five floors at 1419. Using found materials and movements devised on the spot, they will set up and take down multiple shelters throughout the building. Responding to the temporary environments, they will investigate their own labor and process as it runs up against the necessities of food, rest, and waste. Having become acquainted solely for the purpose of collaboration, they will learn from each other over the course of the performance until they share all tasks equally. Visitors are free to drop by 1419 at any point to see what structures we have accumulated. Raw footage from this experiment will be displayed at the final event of the Open Summer Residency at Art of This Gallery on August 28th.

Throwaway Utopia: Tomorrow from 6-9

The Throwaway Utopia is an environment that can be quickly set up and tore down and made with items found at home and party supply stores. It is a play on the ephemeral nature of our consumer culture where we seek sensations and demand spectacles that are short lived and unfulfilling.

Some Sound Mapping Results:

Summer Signage

For my Summer Residency project, I am making sidewalk signs with paintings on them that function as miniature, temporary murals. They will be displayed 24-7 in the front yard of the gallery. The first sign is up now, with more to come in August. The imagery is based on quilt patterns and hand-painted signage. The project overall is inspired by the community-focused art projects that were part of the Federal Art Projects of the Works Progress Administration during the great depression. Other forms of community-focused art production are also inspirations.

Best viewed on foot while on your way somewhere else, you can also bike, ride the bus, or drive past 35th and Nicollet to see the signage. Check it out to see the full paintings!

Trophies - All you need to know