Ms World Book

I am on a train heading north, Elsewhere moves farther and farther away.  Around my neck is a silver key, for someday when I can return.

Some thoughts.
I transformed four objects in 20 days.  They rest on a shelf near the entrance.  Cards hang over each object, inviting the visitor to handle the objects and then to explore the spaces I did, perhaps even to find the original objects.  During my stay, I was enveloped and saturated with nostalgic objects.  The atmosphere led to discoveries in every turn, as well as confusion at times.  I had perhaps a hundred conversations with objects.  And in negotiating and performing transformations, discovered more about play.  

I head now into an Elsewhere afterlife.  I will miss the Elsewherians and their energy and flow of activities.  Regrettably, I will not be present to see their works realized.  I will be watching to see their photos as well as photos of the entire place, in its states of perpetual transformation.

 

I found this Bingo set at Elsewhere after I had made the cards. 

Since my version is an Elsewhere new generation set, it seemed fitting that the packaging should take after the ancestor.

#3 BARBIE DOLL PAPER WARDROBE
Here are the original Barbie with box and my smaller version.  I think I have freaked some Elsewherians out with the likeness of the replica.  I am surprised too … that I should have this counterfeiting skill.

#3 BARBIE PAPER DOLL WARDROBE
I had a goal of transforming 10 objects in 20 days.  But since my time is nearly halfway over and I have 3, perhaps 5 or 6 is more likely.  The Barbie clothes project took additional time for researching textile mill history.  Barbie’s wardrobe is complete; she has 18 outfits.  These will be furnished in their own box.  Tomorrow, I make the box and the colophon.  Here are some more photos. 

#3  BARBIE DOLL PAPER WARDROBE
Although the clothes where made in 1980, the styles are 1970s.  I decided not to alter the fashion style.  Instead I will “print” text and images onto the fabrics about the history and worker conditions in the industry.  The sources are:

Photos of mills
Photos of workers
Worker interviews (excerpts)
Folk or blues mill worker songs
List of mills in the area
Mill worker portraits
Mill tools and equipment
Text of conditions of child and women workers
Mill industry history text

She and I talked about her living in North Carolina for several decades now.  I asked her what she thought about the regional textile industry history?  She did not know much about it, but is willing to wear and model whatever altered clothing I design for her.

My fourth day of twenty at Elsewhere.  Arriving, one is confronted by the great quantities of objects: people’s consumption and their narratives.  However, what interests me are the objects’ respective life histories.  Inherent in every material, there is a story told in a language that is hidden. Usually, before I begin a project, I quietly observe and listen to the material.  However, at Elsewhere there are thousands of objects talking at once. 

Stéphane Mallarmé wrote that 'everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book’ and Jerome Rothenberg wrote that the reverse is also true: everything in the book exists in order to end up in the world.  

Elsewhere can be explored as a book.  As I wander through the space, I see that some things may be chosen to be transformed to reveal “pages”.  The finished pieces would be a result of a conversation with each object. 

I begin with these two objects.  

#1  SPRING FRESH

#2  RELICS    
These wood shards in a wood bowl were relics from 607 Elm St and appeared after a lightening storm at Elsewhere’s sidewalk.  These relics, due to bring 100% prosperity were for sale.   I found them here.

DSCN0936

 

I added two elements to the wood.  The first are adhered images to the shard bases. 
These are photographs of human calculi (gall stones).

Relic2

The third element are car tires that I slipped into the shard’s slits.  Each shard is like a page in a book which contains a tree, the human body, and a car tire.  When I spoke to the shards, we discussed an environmental theme: trees and cars exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.  However, one gallon of gas consumed produces 15 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Relic3

Relic16

1 comment

In these sculptures, the wood shards look like trees and rocks.

I am also working on composing these trees into a Chinese landscape painting.  I referred to one from the Ming dynasty, “Landscape: a pavilion in a mountain gorge; a single figure within” as a guide.  All the rocks in the piece are the transformed shards.  I plan to also include trees.

Mylandscape