Much to do about nothing

For the next two days, I will be meditating all day at The Shambhala Meditation Center's City Meditation Retreat. Even though I can not participate for the whole week, I am looking forward to the challenge of the next two day, starting today.

My work used Buddhist concepts, before I knew what they were. People would say my work looked zen, and I would think "Hmm, I better look into this zen thing." So my meditation practice is separate from, but informative to my artistic practice. I started meditating for my mental health, but have since then starting making work about meditating.

The Evolving Self

I have finally finished The Evolving Self by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I loved it! It is evangelical science. Its thesis is that our genetically programmed responses to desire leisure, and ease are not actually the sources of pleasure and are in fact sources of individual discontent as well as detrimental to the environment, society and the world. His solution is to work towards complexity at every choice, by choosing options that are and offer diversity and integration in all aspects of life. And that by choosing complex and rewarding options for our personal lives we have the opportunity to create harmony around us.

He suggests that evolution for the next millennium will be a conscientious choice, not an impulse of instinct.

I am very interested in his idea at the end of the book in creating "evolutionary cells," groups that are interested in researching, collaborating, and acting in complex, diverse and integrated ways. Anyone interested?

White Balloon: a performance of Butoh at Links Hall in January.

I am pleased to announce, my collaboration with Butoh dancer,  Wannapa Pimtong-Eubanks, for her performance White Balloon.  I created a set for her performance which will be performed in the festival Method to Madness, which will take over Links Hall for all of January.

White Balloon will be performed Friday & Saturday, January 11 & 12, 8pm and Sunday, January 13, 7pm, for the cool cost of $12 ($10 students, seniors) with many other performances.

After attending a planning meeting for all the performances for the whole four weeks, I can not recommend this show Method to Madness enough and especially week 2, which will feature Wannapa's performance and the set I created for her.

Method to Madness
Week 2

Links Hall
3435 N. Sheffield, 2nd floor
Chicago, IL 60657
Telephone: 773.281.0824
info@linkshall.org

Thanks!

-Renee


una-love.com/renee

second city syndrome...

Sharkforum, a Chicago art blog, sites a New York critic's criticism of Chicago as valid, I agree.

Peter Schjeldahl asserts: Chicago is Now a Mere Receptor Art-City

Greener Grass

Today, Michael and I went to look at studios at 3057 N. Rockwell, run by Gold Realty. They were really small, dismal, and expensive.

On Saturday we went to look at a studio at 5250 NW HWY, the whole building was left unlocked, unheated, and down right scary and miserable.

A few weeks ago I went to see a place at Kedzie and Carrol, which was big and cheap, in a bad neighborhood, run by a kinda sketchy manager, a little too far from my house, and I would have to rent out 1/2 of it myself. But my friend Annie rents there, so I really wanted it to work out.

So my small residential basement studio is looking better and better. I am thinking about building the walls I desire to work on, asking the landlords to rent a little more space, and staying there.

Its amazing what a disease "greener grass" syndrome can become in your head. Now that I've seen the grass, I think I might like my plot after all. Its right near Lincoln Square, I can walk to nice coffee shops, its totally secure, totally private, and drama free.

Red dress set at my studio.

Three Conversations

Last night at Hilary's annual Festivus party I had two interesting conversations.

Hilary and I talked off and on about consciousness in reaction to another conversation she had. She had recently read the answers to an annual question posed to a community of scientists and mathematicians: "What do you believe in, but can not prove?"

Also, Tesia, George and I talked about the idea of souvenir in relationship to contemporary art. Like when a video artist sells still images from her work. How this is a simplified and thus consumable version her practice. This idea has interested me in my work. But until last night I hadn't thought about the relationship that may exist between the "dumbing down" of work and its saleability. But upon writing the word "souvenir" here in this blog, I realized am very interested in a sovereign and consumable version of my art!

And, I think Brian Gillis an I are starting to really talk about curating and exhibiting in a religious art and topics in contemporary practice show, hopefully for Chicago, but maybe we could even get it to travel? He just sent me a really interesting statement, via email.

Studio Search

Last year I began renting a studio in the basement of a two flat, directly behind our old apartment. It is really basic, low ceilings, shedding brick walls, humid in the summer cold in the winter... I rent about 200 square feet, for pretty cheap. Its still in a great location for me, even since we moved, but it seems so unprofessional to have curators to visit. I have been looking to upgrade, but it has been a sad search, so far. Big cheap spaces, in very bad neighborhoods, with sketchy management. I seek a studio that I like to hang out in, like to read books in, have fun organizing, would like to have people over to...