The Creeping Conflagration

2010-08-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Following images are the images I think will appear in my thesis paper:

fig. 1 Detail of Warner River Landscape, Creeping Charlie, Horseweed, and Wheatgrass

Glass Mosaic and plants

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 2 Detail of Troublesome Object-Various Grasses

Plaster, glass, and Grasses

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 2 Detail of Untitled 1 – Crabgrass, Fleabane, Horseweed

Plaster, glass, various plants

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 4 New England Scenery

Painting

Edwin Church, 1826-1900

fig. 5 Vivarium

Nurse Tree, and Vivarium

Mark Dion, 2002

fig. 6 Partially Buried Woodshed

Stucco shed, and dirt

Robert Smithson, 1970

fig. 7 Tourist Trap

Photo

Carolyn Rodam, 2010

fig. 8 Old 103 Bridge-Stand Facing West, Gaze Down the Road and See Our Past

Photo of Found sculpture- Old bridge of route 103 decommissioned in 1960s

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 9 Troublesome Object-Various Grasses

Plaster, glass, and Grasses

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 10 Third Landscape

Garden

Gilles Clément, 1997

fig. 11 Chandelier

Samples Found in a Third Landscape, Acrylic bubbles

Gilles Clément, 2006

fig. 12 Repair and occupy an abandoned boat

Stockholm

Lara Almarcegui, 2003

fig. 13 The Wave

Water, Plexi-glass

Hans Haacke, 1964

fig. 14 Condensation Cube

Plexi-glass and water

Hans Haacke, 1963

fig. 15 Blue Sail

Fan, silk cloth

Hans Haacke, 1964

fig. 16 Ice Stick

Refigeration tube

Hans Haacke, 1965

fig. 17 Monument to Beach Pollution

Found trash on beach

Hans Haake, 1970

fig. 18 DER BEVÖLKERUNG (TO THE POPULATION) (missing- image reproduction poor searching for better images) Garden instillation

Hans Haacke, 1999

fig. 20 Personal Biospears

Plexi-glass and plants

Vaughn Bell, 2008

fig. 21 Untitled 1 – Crabgrass, Fleabane, Horseweed

Plaster, glass, various plants

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 22 Troublesome Object-VariousGrasses

Plaster, glass, and Grasses

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 23 Warner River Landscape, Creeping Charlie, Horseweed, and Wheatgrass

Glass Mosaic and plants

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 24 Schematic drawing of Watering tank

Rendered by Dudley Giberson, 2010

fig. 25 Small Boundaries – Purslane and Grass

Glass mosaic, plants

Carolyn Rordam 2010

fig. 26 Agriculture; The Foundation of Civilization – Species unknown
Glass mosaic, plants

Carolyn Rordam, 2010

fig. 27 Bag-in-tree

Photograph of found sculpture

Carolyn Rordam 2009

2010-08-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

New work for July

Create art that...

2010-07-21T14:13:00.001-07:00

...never stays the same.

...must be maintained.

...grows out of control.

...is cracked.

...has weeds.

...could be replanted.

...is life.

...needs mowing.

...blooms and dies.

...must be watered.

...could be harvested.

...could be an ecosystem.

2010-07-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a better presentation of my work. Something a bit more polished. Here is the result.

Why I chose these plants:

I was inspired by a plant thriving on the sidewalk in Boston on Newbury St next to AIB. I thought it looked familiar, I had seen it in my garden I thought. Turns out I was right. As soon as I go home there is was in the garden.

Beyond that:

This plant is known as Purslane- it is edible, it is higher in Omega 3 fatty acids than spinach and has a high concentration of vitamin C in the stem. According to the web site I found it has the same nutritional benefits of okra.

http://hsny.blogspot.com/2009/07/edible-weeds.html

Photo from Sidewalk at AIB

It has a manual interactive water administering device. (a copper cup with a large dropper). Instructions for dispensing the H2O will be included.

The frame is aluminum so the holding structure won't fall off the wall and hurt someone. (I'm just so glad when my piece fell off the wall at AIB no one was there!)

I have also upgraded the holder for the plant I have sealed the plaster so it won't break down as quickly.

New Artist Statement

2010-05-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

There’s the old heroic story, where man is at war with Nature; the romantic version,

where Man merges spiritually with Nature; and, more recently, the environmental morality tale,

in which Nature pays Man back for his transgressions, yet all of them share a premise we know to be false

but we can’t seem to shake: that we somehow stand outside, or apart from nature.

Michael Pollan

My work is a mediation of time, and the incessant and irrepressible impact of nature, despite mankind’s intrusions. It reflects the fascination I have with the details of natural systems and the cycles of growth and rebirth within those cycles. Through photographs and performance I am investigating the role of entropy in the cycles of birth and resurrection in the new England area. Through sculptures I explore critical issues involving introducing a natural system (living plants) into the traditional presentation of a work of art.

May 15th Opening...How Did it go?

2010-05-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

Well I had the opening and it was not all I had hoped. This is totally my fault, I didn't do nearly enough pre event promotion. Okay! honesty here; I did very little. I sent post cards out very late and didn't send them to any galleries or local art people. That said I did try something out of my comfort zone so I have to give myself credit there. Experience IS the best teacher.

Oh! did I mention my camera broke. So I have to rely some video and stills from my friends. I fixed the camera and went back later in the day and took shots of the labeled work without people. So as soon as I download and edit the video and get some photos from another friend I'll be posting more later.

I think it was a good idea and I really liked what I did to pull it off I guess the 'if you build it they will come' philosophy is not the one to take on this sort of thing.

Here is an excerpt from my journal of what I wanted to happen I have been working on this idea in my head since February:

Proposal for an exhibition of found sculpture at the location of old Route 103 Warner NH:

I will create an art exhibit showing the forgotten road route 103 in Warner NH. This place represents to me as an artist the results of how the natural world takes over the cultural structures of man’s world once man has stopped maintaining it. Theses places are ecologically significant because they represent biodiversity during a time that is losing species at a rate of 27,000 per year. (Wilson, Edward O. The diversity of Life, The Belknap Press of Harvard university press, Cambridge, Mass.1992)

Humans need to become observers of our ecosystem if we are to “save the planet” we have no real appreciation that we are part of a very complex biology of which we know so little about.

What is needed to make this happen:

Permission from the town of Warner and the neighboring residence to hold this event?

(Turns out I needed no permission from anyone it is public land. I did talk to the guy who owns the house next to the spot. He was all for it.)

A date should be set May 15 (is my choice)

Print cards invitations

What will be at the exhibit:

The exhibit will take place at the bridge that crosses the Warner River off of Morris Loop. On display will be the found sculpture of route 103. Also on display will be photographs of other places this phenomenon has happened. Also on display will be the sketches and prototypes of an installation work by the artists about the nature/culture dichotomy.

This is what I ended up with:

I brought my sculptures to place them in this context. I like the boxes better on a wall here they blended in too much. But the 3D work seemed to be a nice addition to this made it a sculpture garden.

Art Opening this Saturday

2010-05-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

I am having an opening!

On Saturday @ 10am in Sutton, NH.

I am creating a opportunity for people to come to the location of old route 103 and see my found sculptures. I'm planning on labeling the significant works, complete with instructions on which direction to look. We'll see how it goes I don't expect a huge turn out but I do know a few who are coming. I'll be documenting the process. More to come...

2010-04-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some more photos and reading about entropy.

This is a shed at the bottom of my hill I believe it's been there since the 40s or 50s it has been unoccupied since the early 60s for sure although people have suck stuff in there over the years. Easier than the long trip to the dump I guess.

I have been working on this guy for a couple of weeks. Just finished yesterday with the glass

next is to install watering system, then plant the plants

Here is the progression:

Finished with grout in place.

I chose black to imitate pavement and make it look old.

The transformation was a little shocking. but I'm happy with it. I reminds me of something that might be in a subway station.I can't wait for the plants to start growing : )

2010-03-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have been slammed at work rectification for me and accreditation for the school coming down at the same time!

Anyway I have been able to get some stuff done, starts and stops and disappointing for me not enough progress...never enough progress.

A lot of my time have been occupied with researching a watering system for these works.

I didn't think that plant care and how to maintain these works would become so complex! I have learned more about pumps, check valves, solenoids and fittings than I'd care to really know. Gib thankfully is a bit more versed in this area and has agreed to be my engineer.

But the first signs of spring showed up last week! Little shoots of grass growing in the 3D sculpture! Yeah! they were so cute!

Filled with hope!

I can tell the sun is getting stronger the plants in my sculptures have exploded.

This is the grass a week later...

Buoyed by the appearance of the grass and progress on the the watering systems, I have begun a new wall piece. I hope to get the plaster dry soon so I can smooth it out and start the mosaic surface.

I also have plans to work on another 3D piece. I like the idea of 3D pieces.

I think I will be altering the plants in all my sculptures right now they look a little too cultivated I want them to be more wild.

2010-02-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

A prototype for the installation idea. I need to build a companion piece, to butt up against the grass section, so it looks more like a crack.

Grass was just added two days ago we'll have to see if it stays happy in it's new home.

Watering is still an issue, the grass is in a wire mesh and it drains pretty fast, I think I'll have to come up with a way of sealing the containment system. I might just plaster it in place.

2010-02-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

Currently I am working on this sculpture .

It is plaster and glass-it has a cavity in the center I plan on planting grass in it.

I am trying to decide if I should grout in black or white. I'm not sure about the shape It looks kind of funny to me (not a good funny) I can't help thinking it looks like a goose.

Another view

on its side

This image shows the cavity where the grass will grow

This is an image from my sketchbook- it is where I think I want to go with my ideas of the earth sculptures.

I'm working on an idea to make this a contained living system, complete with and irrigation system, using pumps and grow lights. I'm hoping I can power all my stuff with a micro-algae that pr

oduces bio-diesel.

These are details of sections drawn large (24x20) I'm working with the images of places where nature has taken back- a few of these abstractions really intrigue me I am just working with the images now. I have a few ideas about how I am going to represent them sculpturally but am still working

out technique details

2010-02-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

Nature:

"The thing that was here before man and will be her long after man is gone"

E.O. Wilson

distinct form man's creations

the material world and it's phenomena

Mold

Moss

Trees

Animals

Viruses

Environment

Primitive

Mud

Water

Air

Biosphere

Vapor

Gases

Fire

Coal

Wood

Smoke

Chemical

"We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism"

Paul Brooks

Culture

2010-02-01T01:48:00.000-08:00

These works are "think drawings" I am planning an installation involving glass, grass, and plaster or cement.

I am experimenting with mosaic glues and slumping glasses for inclusion in this work

Culture- 1. The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, and scholarly pursuits.

2. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns-arts, beliefs, institutions and all other products of human work and thought.

3. Attitudes, customs and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another

4. Growth of microorganisms

Culture

Order

Organize

Label

Categorize

Price tag

Govern

Leaders

Subjects

Models

Beauty

Consciousness

Admiration

Context

Aesthetics

Story

Mythology

Religion

Worship

Spirit

Attitudes

Patterns

Behavior

Institution

AIB Jan 2010-Summary

2010-01-27T01:39:00.000-08:00

I came to January’s residency with a body of work that discussed a fascination I have with the tenacity of the natural world over man’s best efforts. First was a group of drawings, which is a continuation of a daily practice I have discovered for myself while working on my MFA.

These drawings are a represented mediation on growth and time and recently I began working on velum to bring a sculptural element to these works. My intent was to draw an environment that surrounds the viewer with an image of incessant growth. Which I feel these do successfully. Though these are very attractive and accessible to many people, I think it would be difficult to force them into a thesis body of work. Perhaps I can use this work as a point of departure for forms in the work I plan on pursuing during the next semester.

Second I brought several photographs showing what I have dubbed “found sculptures.” They depict places where the human environment is overcome by the forces of nature. At all times microbes are working, but given enough dust deposited by the wind a layer of topsoil becomes a home and eventually trees burst forth. I had a variety of photos of these places where nature saw its opportunity and moved in. Although I wish to continue to document these places and allow them to continue to inform my work I will not be using photographs as an element in my thesis work.

The third work I brought were wall sculptures, these works with cracks, glass mosaic and the living grasses in them had humor and metaphor, and they married aesthetic attractiveness with the concept behind my work. They seemed to function as a contemplative objects without the label “activist work.”

The World without us and Pods

2009-08-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is a side show of various photos I have taken of places that have been forgotten by people and nature is taking over.

The second half of the side show is photos of pods I have taken to study forms in nature

New Ideas from August

2009-08-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

2009-07-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

Real life experience of the world without us!

2009-07-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

A lesson from an expert pod maker!

I am playing with bags again

2009-07-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

In my search for the various forms for the plastic bags, I started weaving them on a wire form. This is my first attempt a bit too egg like but I had to work out how to make the wire frame and see the thing woven. I can see some possibilities.

While working in the garden I needed to put up an arbor for the peas

I was about to place this brown ugly grid on the poles when it occurred to me that all they need is a weaving to climb.

I can't wait to see how the peas grow up on the weaving and totally engulf the matrix.

2009-05-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

This is a sketch of a sculpture. A couple changes are going to be made. First the birds will not be all the same bird, second the weaving will be less regular. This is the story of the bird carrying the bags.

Found these poor guys on the road the other day. The things I've been thinking about a lot lately is the details of life. The things that pass us by most of the time but occasionally it gets noticed and then it has a new power. I have also been interested in the struggle of man and nature. Really thinking about the place where these two forces meet or collide.

These are several drawing I am doing. I am working out a language with these. They grow organically for me and they remind me of the philosophers stones in Chinese gardens.

2009-04-16T16:26:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine told me a funny story of her grandson and his beloved blankie named Linus:

Joseph can go no were without Linus and when Jo Ann picked him up at day care she forgot to grab Linus. This was okay for a little while because of the newness of being with Grandma instead of mom but after all the errands were done and Joseph is heading home with mom a very clear message was heard. Jo Ann’s daughter Alison looked desperately around. “Mom I need Linus where is it” Oh I forgot it at Sweet Pea Daycare. “Oh” said Alison “I’ll manage.” As Jo An was driving home she call Alison “ are you okay do you want me to go back to Sweet Pea and get Linus” Over the screams Jo Ann heard a very exhausted “yes please that would be wonderful.” Jo Ann being the dutiful Grandma she went back for Linus. Alison was ever so grateful.

This ensued a conversation about “blankies” Mine was Lambie I still have him, Jo Ann had Buncky and Tim had Matilda the pound puppy. Poor Marcy doesn’t know were Kooky is. Her mom threw it out years ago.

This got me thinking about things we can’t throw away. Either it has sentimental value or we have a guilt factor.

Baginatree sound and drawings

2009-04-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

This is my drawing assignment for China, the page is 11x14 done with micron pen. I have bought all the colors and plan to keep this up using colored lines instead of black.

This is a sketch for a sculpture idea, they are meant to be bags rolled into balls as one would when knitting. To me they are like cocoons, representing potential. I have had this experience when asking the staff at the high school I teach at for bags. They have completely bombarded me with bags, and every day more keeps coming. This caused me to ask why do people have so many bags saved? I guessed people don't know what to do with them, even though on the bags it says "Please recycle drop your bags in the recycle bin at the nearest participating store." We have a lot of Market Basket stores in our area and not one one them has a bin. So here we have this packaging item that people just can't throw away. This lead me to think about string; during the depression my grandfather would get packages from the store they would be wrapped in paper and string. He would very carefully unwrap the package and keep the string in a ball in the kitchen drawer. He did the same with everything.

The video is supposed to loop. So the idea is the bag is taken out put back in taken out etc. A reflection of my own struggle of do I want the bags in the trees or out.

This will be reshot without the zoom and framed better. I haven't done that it yet.

American Beauty moment. I tried not to move the camera most of the movement is coming from the wind.

There is no image only the sound. This is also supposed to loop. I think it's funny and have thought of it as a "musak" sound going on in the background of an installation.

Collecting Art Supplies

2009-03-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

The last 2 weeks have been very tough for me. I have a ton of ideas but I got this horrible cold that I couldn't seem to shake. I'm back in the game again and feeling up to doing things. Spring is showing up and that has made a huge difference.

Lately I'm reading about the work of Mierle Ladderman Ukeles. I have been inspired by her Maintenance Manifesto and Flow City. When I think of the bags in the trees I am conflicted. Is my idea to remove them because they are bad for the environment or is it because I enjoy my relationship with them the sense of discovery as I notice. Hey look! "bagintree".

Everyday I drive home from work and I see the bags they become visible. I start to see them as friends along my route and when a new one appears I notice. This activity of marking time and my journey is very comforting.

Then I know the reality of them, they break down into more and more toxic substances as they get smaller and smaller poisoning the ground as apposed to something like a nurse tree that returns nutriants to the ground and brings forth new life.

Ukeles talks in her Flow City proposal about our relationship with the earth. Earth as virgin, the untouched landscape of the romantic waiting for the swashbuckling hero to arrive on the scene, earth as mother the giver of life the always forgiving and loving, and earth as whore something to be exploited and used for our pleasure. All of Ukeles work at Freshkills landfill is to banish these anthropomorphizing visions that have become exploitations

So here is my own struggle: Am I making more commodity for consumption? Am I simply responding to my environment from a holier than thou perspective? Or am I engaged in a maintenance project of change?

For now I'm looking into maintenance.

Studio Work

2009-03-06T02:50:00.001-08:00

Progress is being made on the drawing collage. I went for a bike ride yesterday and found a nice blue plastic bag. I plan on incorporating this into theses ideas. I am also in touch with a lighting guy in Merrimack who hopefully can help me get different colored plastics to fool around with. I've been looking for interesting shopping backs but NH is very vanilla when it come to shopping bags.

I am frustrated having to be physically in my studio in order to work so I am fooling around with drawing and collage. Something I can do while at work and do at 4 am when it's too cold and dark to go out to the studio. Who knows were this will go but I've been given permission to really screw up this semester so I thought I would take advantage. Opportunities like that don't come up often!

2009-03-06T02:49:00.000-08:00

Studio Work

2009-03-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

This is done in Illustrator and I am working on cutting them out of wood for now but I have found a guy who does water cutting so the end product could be in metal or glass.

Studio Work

2009-03-06T02:06:00.000-08:00

These are castings I am working on. I am still working out the bugs in my technique.

2009-02-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

Dream about AIB work 2/20/09:

I was driving along a highway and looking into the trees and the whole forest was covered in plastic. Giant sheets of clear plastic weaving in and out of the trees, it seemed to go on forever. I said to myself "this really is everywhere isn't it." I got out of my car and started walking among the trees I was reminded of Christo's Running Fence. As I walked further I saw a small path in the woods leading to a doorway as I walked along the path I noticed these tiny hollow shapes they looked like barnacles but in the dream I recognized them as mud dauber homes. I reached the door at the end of the path it lead to the common room at AIB. A few people were milling about but I found Cindy Newsome and told her about the path the dream ended with the two of us setting off to check out the path.

Here is a picture of a mud dauber nest for those who may not know what they are:

January Summary

2009-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

January 2009- Residency Summary

Make sure my ideas “have legs.” In other words if I go through the process of getting an idea, it’s really important the ideas will sustain me over a long period of time.I feel like the bag in tree idea has that kind of potential as long as I explore a variety of possibilities for expressing the idea. I felt as thought I didn’t get many specific comments of “you shouldn’t” except for the drawings. I was asked a couple of times why the drawings were there. I saw them as studies of the form and as a means not an end. Removing them invited more of the kind of dialog I was hoping for.

I wanted to hear different possibilities of exploring the “bagintree” idea. Some of the different ideas are listed below:

I should think about weaving or somehow incorporating plastic with the glass.

The idea of the bag is strangling the tree

Play with scale and various materials: glass + iron, glass + copper, glass + plastic, and glass + clay

I should collect a color palette of plastic bags (Recycling center in Dorchester MA, Chinatown, Children’s Museum - Rachel will be invaluable resource here)

I want to create a dialogue about what happens to the garbage we produce. I’m interested in how we are so removed from the process of dealing with our garbage. In my town we don’t have curbside garbage/recycling pick up. We fill our cars with garbage and bring it to the transfer station where we sort our own recycling and dump our trash. But even with this system we don’t know what happens to our trash. It goes to this magical place called “away”. I’m interested in how we ignore the trash when it invades our natural world. This is a mindless assault on the planet.

The next set of comments is about how I might present this material visually:

Am I on the wall or off the wall?

Ask myself questions about the materials I am using. Why do I use these materials? Are these materials the best to express my idea?

I need to put more unity in my artwork, example: tendrils in hornet nest window “looks like they came from another planet.” Funny that was mentioned, the tendrils were an after thought, I guess it shows.

Two philosophies of materials 1) truth to material 2) a transcendence of material.

Suggested I work out all my technical issues on a small scale…ask the question: “What would I do in the ideal space?”

Think about continuing to put text on the glass to reduce the seduction of the material.

Am I contributing to an idea or am I questioning an idea (either is good).

Think about how I am transporting the viewer.

I want to do installation work with the “bagintree.” Some ideas I had were to cast a large bag to be mounted on the wall then use that as a projection screen for video of bags in trees. I would also like to include the sound of the bag’s environment. The sound of the wind and the highway is the bag’s world; it hisses, pops, crackles, flaps, and snaps as it struggles to be free. I have been tapeing some of theses bags for almost two years and they have a slow death.

I want to also try combining plastic and glass.

I’d like to create castings of objects normally thought of as plastic objects in glass, a kind of iconography.

The most amazing thing about events like the AIB residency is one never knows when the lessons or inspirations are going to occur. As I was driving home in the snowstorm going about 20 mph down the highway I saw in the sky the funniest shaped bird. From a distance it was impossible to tell what it was.As the creature flew in front of my car I saw it was a seagull carrying a red plastic bag, on his way home from a shopping spree, I suppose.I really want to do a piece that is reminiscent of Kiki Smith’s “Destruction of Birds” using this image of the bird carrying the bag.

In my Crit Group: Adam Bernard (group 1 Painter), Cindy Kaylor (group 4 sculpture), Nick Mancillas (group 4 sculture), Trevor Spaulding (group 2 painter), and Laura Woolfson (group 3 photography).