The Politics of Shoes

2011: Walkin' The Tightrope - Liv Chaffee

2011-05-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

Photo: Sara Skolnick of Time Out Boston Magazine

Walkin' The Tightrope
Article for this blog by Liv Chaffee

Five of her students:

Deandre Dewhollis
Jose Pena
Kyshuari Santana-Everet
Rayuana Martin-Milton
Xavier Barrientos

participated in The 2011 Mobius Wearable Art Runway Show

‘Walkin’ The Tightrope’ is a Visual Art program that explores the connection between the art of sneaker design and the power self-expression with third, fourth, and fifth graders.

Students began this journey by creating detailed studies of real sneakers from observation. During this more in depth look at a seemingly ordinary object, great discussion was generated about the ART of sneaker design; opening students’ eyes to design not only as a form of creative expression, but as a marketable career path that they may have never realized existed.

This year I orchestrated ‘Walkin’ The Tightrope’ at the John Marshall Elementary School with my 2nd-5th grade students. One hundred and ten pairs of sneakers were donated by Converse for our young aspiring artists to make their own. Their design had to be autobiographical. It was required to tell the viewer something about the artist through the use of color, imagery, written language, symbolism, or pattern. As a way to gain a better understanding for one another as well as our community, a written component was included as a part of each final product. Each student answered two questions:

If you walked a mile in my shoes you would know…
To continue taking steps in the right direction I promise to…

We then debuted their final sneakers, as well as their initial drawings, paintings, and written pieces at a local Boston venue. The sneakers were set up in the space as part of a large-scale installation as if they are strung from telephone pole electrical wires. In local neighborhoods, shoes hung from wires typically have negative connotations attached. Some are used to mark gang territory, to signify where drugs are sold, or to commemorate someone lost to violence. One goal of ‘Walkin’ The Tightrope’ is to transform these assumptions from negative to positive. The function of the exhibit was to recognize and celebrate student work and to connect the school with the greater community.

These sneakers became a catalyst for imagination, self-expression, ambition, and hard work in my classroom:

“If you walked a mile in my shoes you would know that I have speed and talent. You will know that because you will see the flames that come out of the bottom of my shoes. To continue taking steps in the right direction I promise to act like a scholar.” –Omari, 3rd Grader

“If you walked a mile in my shoes you would know that I want to be an architect and a designer. To continue taking steps in the right direction I promise to make shoes that YOU will want to wear everyday.” –Daniel, 3rd Grader

In addition to Converse, we were honored to have the support of Nike’s Jordan Brand lead Designer D’Wayne Edwards, who read about us in the Boston Globe and decided to come from Oregon to visit my students at the Marshall. He inspired the children and shared insights on his artistic journey and career at one of the most prominent footwear companies in the world:

“If, you walked a mile in my shoes you would know I am a product of the inner city and ART saved my life. Without being exposed to art at such a young age I would not have fulfilled my dream of becoming a professional Footwear Designer. To continue taking steps in the right direction I promise to share the gift I was blessed with to as many young aspiring designers so they to get a chance to walk in shoes they designed.”-D’Wayne Edwards

We also had the support of local publications and business owners such as The Boston Globe, Stuff @ Night Magazine, Time Out Boston, The Good Life, The Tannery, and Karmaloop.com. The community support played a major role in making this program a success and it had an amazing impact on my students as well as their parents. We are currently partnering with Karmaloop.com to create a ‘Walkin’ The Tightrope’ t-shirt designed by my students to be sold on karmaloop.com worldwide- all proceeds going to the John Marshall Art Department.

Please feel free to learn more about our Walkin' The Tightrope journey at our website www.tightropeboston.blogspot.com and follow the progress on our current Walkin' The Tightrope T-shirt design contest!

Photos: Sara Skolnick of Time Out Boston Magazine:

Photos: Liv Chaffee

2011: These Belgium Shoes

2011-03-31T14:00:00.001-04:00

A worker in the non-profit sector, which includes nurses and social workers, throws his shoes onto the steps of the stock exchange building, during a protest in Brussels, March 29, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Thierry Roge

An image depicting another example of shoes throwing, sent to us from Joanne Rice.

Accompanying article:

REUTERS US Edition

BRUSSELS - Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:58am EDT
Analysis: Should the world be more like Belgium?
By Philip Blenkinsop

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-belgium-idUSTRE72T1AO20110330

2011 The Return of Shoes in Politics - Part 2

2011-03-02T12:00:00.012-05:00

"Walk in My Shoes" in the United States

On Saturday February 26th, states around the country show solidarity with their union brothers and sisters in Wisconsin.

In Boston, this shoe "installation" was displayed on the steps of the State House and alludes to the following quote from now President Barack Obama's election campaign speech in South Carolina, 2007:

"And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself. I’ll walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States."

Photos from MoveOn Rally in Boston, MA
February 26, 2011

photo by Milan Kohout

photos by jw

2011 The Return of Shoes in Politics - Part 1

2011-02-27T14:00:00.005-05:00

Shoe Throwing in the Middle East Redux

February 10, 2011 EGYPT: Shoes held up in protest

Anti-government protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square wave shoes in dismay as President Hosni Mubarak speaks to the nation February 10, 2011. Mubarak provoked rage on Egypt's streets on Thursday when he said he would hand powers to his deputy but disappointed protesters who had been expecting him to step down altogether after two weeks of unrest. Leave! Leave! chanted thousands who had gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square in anticipation that a televised speech would be the moment their demands for an end to Mubarak's 30 years of authoritarian, one-man rule were met. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

Source:
http://totallycoolpix.com/2011/02/the-egypt-protests-the-shoes-come-out/

February 24, 2011 BEIRUT - Return of Iraq's Shoe Thrower

Evan Vucci / AP

Time online article about Muntazer al-Zaidi
The Return of Iraq's Shoe Thrower: A Rebel's New Cause
By Nicholas Blanford
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2049523,00.html

"The Politics of Shoes"

2009-08-13T20:01:00.001-04:00

"The Politics Of Shoes" The Politics of Shoes Exhibit @mobius – May 23 through May 31th, 2009
Mobius – 725 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA – www.mobius.org

by Jill Furumoto

The Red Ruby Slipper, a twisted nest of wire coiled,

A powerful red shoe, bigger than you, stands alone at the front door

Let the games begin- here, in a place called

"The Politics of Shoes"

Inside:

View

The defiled sole of a dirty shoe, A

Projectile weapon hurled at George W. Bush-

A dirty sole aimed towards another soul, tainted

with the blood the innocent.

Arrested, the shoe is shuffled away.

Step into the another puddle of sand,

Sand puddles on your shoes

Are tracked as you step across the floor to read about the

The 63 homicides that took place in Boston Last Year.

As you walk away, your footsteps

Drag the dirt around the room. Nobody is safe, even

running leaves traces of the crime scene-and panic spreads like

dust in a windstorm

Women's shoes in the corner window

High heels, pointed toes, fine leather and textiles of varied design.

These women are deceased, but their shoes endure to archive

intimate details of their lust for

beauty, style, fashion, and social acceptance...

I was told that people will judge me by my shoes (and my hair)

After I am dead, what tales will my shoes tell? No one will think much of me.

I didn't bother to dress up my feet. I have tried to free myself of

The Politics of Shoes.

Turn another corner and view- running shoes with steel protracting high heels

Can't a woman be athletic and feminine at the same time?

Where does the politics of shoes end?

Not in my backyard.

We hear these old songs, and we step over torn up sheet music.

Songs of racism and oppression are strewn all over the floor-

While scattered footprints cover their lyrics, the message is revealed

to those who look closely.

The Politics of Shoes-Where does it end?

Maybe with a click of a heel, a video loop

Two shoes knock to together, walk together, try to get along.

But this is not right, this is the bizarre tale of two left feet trying to act as a pair.

I'm ready to go home now, enough of the Politics of Shoes.

David Chin - "The People's Shoes"

2009-08-10T08:13:00.003-04:00

David Chin posted each of his photographs for the Politics of Shoes exhibit with the accompanying text/comment by the wearer:

http://www.prehensileeye.net/peoples_shoes/#i/01.jpg

The Politics of Shoes: Artistic Profile Sam Tan

2009-08-03T19:45:00.017-04:00

The Politics of Shoes: Artistic Profile Sam Tan

by Jill Furumoto

After viewing the Politics of Shoes art exhibit hosted by Jane Wang, many thoughts and feelings and images flooded my mind. There were so many ideas and so much to look at.

As I reflect on my experience with the Politics of Shoes show, a few of the exhibits stood out in my mind. One of them was the piece "63 in '08", by Sam Tan. This piece engaged me, and I immediate felt that I had literally "stepped into the artist's" medium when I crossed a sand puddle on the floor to read the names of the 63 homicide victims in Boston in 2008.

After reading their names, I stepped back across the sand puddle and tried to move on to the next piece. In doing so, I tracked the sand across the floor and realized that I was now part of the art piece. Yes, it made a direct impression on me. The interactive aspect of this piece grabbed me. The violence in the community rubs off on our souls or our soles, in this case, and when we try to walk away, the residue symbolically follows us. This was a great idea, and it made me stop and think about what the Artist was trying to say.

I decided that I would like to learn more about Sam Tan's artistic process and his journey towards making 63 so I interviewed him electronically and was glad he was willing to share some of his thoughts and background via facebook. Here is a summary of the interview.

Question: What is your background? Did you go to art school?

I am largely self-taught and my background was originally in psychology. I've always enjoyed visiting museums and galleries and was intrigued and inspired by the creative journeys that the artists went on. After following the programming of quite a few of the local galleries for awhile, I felt that I had the courage to jump into the deeper and see what would come out of it.

Question: What is your favorite modality?

I don't have a specific modality that I stick to. I don't like to box myself in, and I enjoy shaking things up now and then. That is why I found the open call to participate in "The Politics of Shoes to be appealing and challenging as I have not made site specific work in the past .

Question: What inspired you to do your piece 63?

Some of my work; like abstract biomorphic paintings are more intuitive and fluid in its process while others like “63 in '08” and my other work which involves using gay pornographic imagery are more conceptually based and linear in its process.
I came across the Politics of Shoes through an open call posted on the net.

The inspiration behind my piece was that I had been basically (and continue to be) troubled by the homicides that took place in the city. I wanted to communicate the idea that we are all interconnected to one another even though we may live in much safer neighborhoods that have not been a witness to such crimes.

Question: What are you working on now?

I am currently working on abstract paintings that have collage elements. Its a continuation of the work that I have shown earlier this year at the artists foundation gallery in Boston. I have no plans to make other site specific installations like "63 in '08". Although I could conceivably create variations of that work in the future.

The responses I have gotten from my piece have been good. Because of the sobering content of the piece, some viewers have been moved by it while some others were able to make interesting cross-cultural connections.

Appreciating Sole Food: A Reflection on “The Politics of Shoes”

2009-07-08T19:42:00.010-04:00

Appreciating Sole Food: A Reflection on “The Politics of Shoes”
The Politics of Shoes Exhibit @mobius – May 23 through May 31th, 2009
Mobius – 725 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA – www.mobius.org

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald

I thought I had a clear idea about the political nature of footwear when I arrived at “The Politics of Shoes” at Mobius in Boston on a muggy night at the end of May 2009. Seared among my preconceptions was the infamous shoe-throwing incident of 2008, when then-President George W. Bush ducked to dodge a pair of projectile insults that had, moments earlier, wrapped the feet of a Baghdad reporter. Shoes, I thought, were by definition the lowest of the low. They shield the skins of our feet from spit, spillage and everything else that ends up on the streets. To use a shoe in a political statement is to express unmitigated disgust, I assumed. I arrived ready to see what was making Boston’s artists angry enough to take aim with their shoes and fire.

At first, I got a taste of what I’d expected from Milan Kohout’s installation: "The Politics of Shoes". Shoes photographed on a flag-draped doormat took a swipe at America’s national symbol. Another sequence of photos depicted the Baghdad shoe-throwing episode. Shoes equal insults, I thought. What other targets have these presenters lined up?

But by the time I’d finished going through the exhibit, I was seeing shoes as instruments with much more to say than: “I loathe what you represent.” I came to appreciate how shoes are deeply personal items. Hence when they’re politicized, they pack a person’s identity – frailties and passions alike – into their punch. My coming to see shoes as multi-layered vessels with subtleties to speak was a testimony, I think, to the artists’ individual and collective success at presenting installations that stretched the mind into some unexpected territory.

Sam Tan’s "63 in ’08" pushed me to a new place, even though I learned later that I hadn’t quite grasped the project. Since I visited at night, I couldn’t see the 63 Boston murder victims’ names listed on the window. I also thought the footprints in the chalk on the floor were supposed to be those of people killed (they were actually those of previous visitors to the show). But pondering the written message and studying the markings of soles in chalk, I got a strong and arguably rightful impression that a footprint – especially one of a person now deceased – is very personal, almost sacred sign. It seems to deserve protection of its integrity as an act of reverence for the one who left it. I imagined I was looking at actual footprints of young, imaginative people who’d been gunned down. Their footprints, at least figuratively speaking, were all they’d really left on this earth. How intimate it is to regard a person’s footprint, and by extension, the shoe that makes it! Perhaps a shoe isn’t merely a cold vessel of disdain and repulsion.

In the adjacent corner, my line of thinking about shoes-as-intimates found more fuel. "I dream of boots and an army of women" by Leigh Waldron-Taylor showed a semi-circle of paired shoes, all pointed at a loosely hanging ladder. Aha, I thought: a statement about social climbing. Women amass shoe collections, I inferred from the display, as a means to appear that they’re making progress up a ladder of social status. That’s so sad, I thought, but also so human. Later Jane Wang, who’d invited me to the show, noted offhandedly that these shoes had belonged to women who are now dead. That insight made the display all the more poignant to me. These women had donned what were in most cases fancy shoes. They tried to climb, never reaching the top, and then died. Now the casings that had wrapped their feet for years and protected them from the elements of New England weather were alone in this space to make a final statement. Again the intimacy, even the vulnerability, of the shoe form was palpable. These weren’t screams of insult; these were whispers of longing. Both, it seems, are woven into the power of shoes to make political statements.

As I made my way around the exhibit, I got a sense that the artists behind these artworks were in tune with the close bonds that people feel with certain favorite shoes. Lauren McCarthy’s "Dress Shoes for Spontaneous Departure" spoke of how important a shoe can be. She rendered these sneakers as her freedom, her ability to run at any second. If fashion demands heels, she seemed to suggest tongue-in-cheek, then she would absurdly weld them onto the sneakers that give her autonomy in a world rife with threats and constraints. Along the wall, David Chin’s "The People’s Shoes" conveyed how much people love their old, well-worn, simple shoes – and how ambivalent they are toward the rest. Captions to some of his 20 or so photographs of shoes worn by Mobius visitors during a SoWa Art Walk spoke to the contrast. “These are my favorites. I can wear them without socks,” said one. “These are new and don’t make me feel any different,” said another. Shoes, when loved, become a part of you and me, I gathered. Nothing the well-worn ones say – in any assemblage or act of defiance – can be divorced from the earnest aspirations of those who’ve given them a unique shape and contour.

My new appreciation for the intimacy of shoe-packaged statements made the rest of what I saw resonate on a deeper level. J. Ellis Coleman’s "Stay in Your Own Backyard" depicted oversized footprints in a suggestively enclosed space. They stood on sheet music with such racist lyrics as “a coon like you” should stay in his own backyard. I saw these footprints as a symbol of one person’s deep longings to be free, to explore and to achieve. Perhaps I would have seen them in a similar light had this installation been my first stop at the show, but the other artists’ works had sensitized me to just how inseparable are a person’s footprints from his or her being. To confine mobility, either literally or figuratively, is perhaps to muffle humanity.

It seems I don’t see shoes in quite the same way as I did before this show. More importantly, I think I appreciate the frailty of human existence more than I did before. Even the most coarse and blunt of instruments for delivering insults is apparently inextricably connected to an individual’s personal story and deep longings. And if a weapon can have such a tender human dimension, then perhaps human beings too are capable of more than a little humaneness.

BIO: G. Jeffrey MacDonald is an independent journalist specializing in religion, ethics and social responsibility. His articles have appeared in TIME magazine, USA Today, MS. magazine, American Executive, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Christian Science Monitor among others. His stories in USA Today are archived here:
http://content.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=213

Jeff is a recipient of religion journalism’s top award, the Templeton Reporter of the Year prize from the Religion Newswriters Association. The American Academy of Religion has also honored him four times for his in-depth reporting on religion. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University and Bachelor of Arts in American history from Brown University.

His forthcoming book, “Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church and the Selling of the American Soul,” will be published by Basic Books in Spring 2010.
(http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/basic/home.jsp).

Milan Kohout - installation & action May 23-25 2009

2009-07-04T09:00:00.001-04:00

composite photo:

photos: Milan Kohout (MAG)

Milan Kohout (Mobius Artists Group)
"THE POLITICS OF SHOES"
photographs, collage & political commentary
& audience participatory action/performance art

Videos of Milan Kohout's Participatory Action:

Video #1 - May 24 2009:

Milan Kohout : Action for The Politics of Shoes @mobius 05-24-09 from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Video #2 - May 25 2009:

Milan Kohout : Action for The Politics of Shoes @mobius 5-25-09 from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

"Shoe is the dirtiest think in Iraq as you know .. therefore I put it on the hands of that tortured person american cowboys boost.. -also taken immediately when the abu graib prison scandal was exposed... even my mobius comrades were pissed about me... well while it was so so so so so obvious what this empire was doing.. but in some ways the native americans were so brainwashed and blind and did not admit that... and are still unfortunately...there is so deep propaganda bullshit embedded in the heads of the people here that I can believe that... well fascist Germany was a similar story..

Something about our export of "democracy" ; what is also intensely interesting is that after each big bombing in IRAQ the reports said that there was a lot of shoes all around and some of them were falling from heaven seconds after the explosion...

Something relating to Bush & Shoe performance in Bagdad. This picture I took in the rebel camp in Bangkok where I performed two weeks ago -just the illustration how strong is a symbol of a shoe in those cultures.

To call somebody a dog is the worst offense in Iraq- therefore I used a dog as a symbol for our soldiers (picture taken at the beginning do the iraqi war - of-course some people here wanted to kill me for that at that time)..

Let us express the solidarity with our real performance artist from Baghdad!!!!! Those shoes on the american flag were the homage to the painting of a surrealistic artist Magritte called This is not a pipe. Did you notice? On the side of the flag there is Made in China and it is a scarf."

Milan Kohout (now a US citizen) is originally from The Czech Republic.. Here he got his M.S. in Electrical Engineering. He was an independent artist in so-called “Second Culture”. Later he becomes a signatory member and art activist of the dissident human rights organization CHARTER 77 (group of mostly artists from “Second Culture” was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1985 and initiated non violent Velvet Revolution which toppled totalitarian regime in 1989). Following many interrogations he was forced by CZ security police to leave his country in 1986 due to his political art activism. After several years in a refugee camp he was granted asylum in the United States.

In 1993 Milan received his Diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Since 1994 Milan has been a member of the Mobius Artists Group (www.Mobius.org). Here he has created many full-scale Performance Art pieces (both collaborative and solo) His work concentrates mostly on the subject of human rights (recently rights of Roma/ Gypsies) and politics (critique of totalitarian capitalism and fundamentalist religions) As Mobius Artists Group member he has participated on numerous international art exchange programs and festivals around the world (China, Thailand, Croatia, Taiwan, Czech Rep, Poland, Cuba, USA etc). and has been the recipient of number of awards, grants, residencies (Grant from The Fund for US Artists at International Festivals, Tanne Foundation Annual Award, First Prize at International Theater Festival in Pula, Best National Czech Independent Film Award, Arizona State University residency, PSi conference in London 2006 etc.)

http://www.mobius.org/mobius_artists.php?id=milan

Note from the Curator:

Perhaps this was really meant to be published on July 4th - Independence Day.

Updates/Glitches

2009-07-01T01:29:00.002-04:00

1. For some strange reason, the last two automatically scheduled Featured Artist of the Day posts didn't occur as scheduled:

6/29/09 Jane Wang and Karen Aqua was just published (on 6/30/09)
6/30/09 Milan Kohout's post will publish on 07/01/2009 at 9:00pm EST

2. Had forgotten to add Sam Tan's links to his post - they were just added.

Jane Wang & Karen Aqua - installations

2009-06-29T21:00:00.015-04:00

cameraphone

cameraphone

cameraphone

cameraphone

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Karen Aqua/Jane Wang
"Meditation on The Politics of Shoes" mixed media

shoes and death
shoe bombs
cancer cells radiation skulls animation/cartoons cute fuzzy animals?
vicious animals?
violence in Sunday morning cartoons?

shoes flung over telephone wires...
is it about ennui in youth
is it about something as innocuous as getting a new pair of shoes?
is it a neon sign saying“drugs here”?
is it about gangs and territory?
is it about someone died here/a child's sneakers?
could you fry if you touched a live telephone wire?

white for bones, red for bodies which have been skinned alive

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Jane Wang
"Giant Red Ruby Shoe"
electrical wire installation (outside on patio)

"Keep tight inside of them -- their magic must be very powerful, or she wouldn't want them so badly!"
- from the Wizard of Oz film with Judy Garland

Lermontov: When we first met ... you asked me a question to which I gave a stupid answer, you asked me whether I wanted to live and I said "Yes". Actually, Miss Page, I want more, much more. I want to create, to make something big out of something little – to make a great dancer out of you. But first, I must ask you the same question, what do you want from life? To live?

Vicky: To dance.
- from the Michael Powell film “The Red Shoes”

“Dance you shall,” said he, “dance in your red shoes till you are pale and cold, till your skin shrivels up and you are a skeleton! Dance you shall, from door to door, and where proud and wicked children live you shall knock, so that they may hear you and fear you! Dance you shall, dance—!”
- from Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale “The Red Shoes”

"Something about the power of ruby/red footwear – either to empower or overpower the wearer. It's strange that both although the ruby slippers and the red shoes ostensibly represented these two very different kinds of power, the end result was similar - for wasn't Dorothy flung back (even though through her own will) from a dreamland in lurid color to an arid, Grapes of Wrath type existence in black and white – a kind of living death? And in both cases, one could only remove the red shoes/ruby slippers by dying.

Isn't that kind of weird that so many children's stories turn out to be about death?"

Jane Wang is a member of the Mobius Artists Group. Although she primarily composes music for dance, theater and performance art theater-based work, her principal instruments being double bass, piano and toy pianos, she has recently returned to her on-going love of sculpture and 3-dimensional structures. Inspired in part by the touring exhibition, Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting, and the performance artist Hanne Tierney who she frequently collaborates with, she started working in the medium of wire to create large sculptures.

http://www.myspace.com/janewangcomposer

Leigh Waldron-Taylor - “I dream of boots and an army of women”

2009-06-28T21:00:00.005-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Leigh Waldron-Taylor
“I dream of boots and an army of women”
mixed media installation

Original intention was to place a very tall aluminum ladder resting against the window. Pairs of varied types of women's boots are placed around the base of the ladder enclosing and encircling it.

The artist states in an email to the curator:

"In my perfect world, the ladder would be an unextended aluminum extension ladder affixed to the floor invisibly with very strong double-sided tape and the top resting against the window. I would put some soft material such as fleece invisibly between the metal and glass to protect the window. The boots would surround and fill in the space at the bottom of the ladder to form a circle. That's what I see in my mind's eye.

That said, the height of the ladder issue is important and an interesting challenge to be reconciled as I think about it and your suggestions. There's a solution somewhere"

Leigh Waldron-Taylor explores what is the same but different through various genre and media. Leigh’s recent work is conceptual and organized as performative installation in which anything is up for scrutiny and rendered in any way possible. This represents a movement away from work done previously which focused on visual representation via painting and printmaking. Leigh has studied in Providence, Toronto, and Provincetown and exhibited in Boston, Toronto, Provincetown, Berlin, and San Francisco.

http://leighwaldrontaylor.com

Notes from the Curator:

1. A few visitors to the exhibit said they wished that the artist hadn't divulged so much of the process in her statement about her work. I told them that that was entirely my fault. Actually the artist hadn't really said anything in particular about her work, other than the title. I was the one who was fascinated by the process of how to take an initial thought and transform it into reality.

All that said, everyone had different interpretations of what the installation and "dream" was about. Some thought all the shoes/boots belonged to the same person and perhaps it was a commentary on the excess of shoes and upward mobility. Others thought it might be something about going to heaven especially after I revealed that the artist said that since she had found many of the more ornate high heeled shoes at second hand shops or estate sales, perhaps some of the shoes were from elderly ladies who had passed away. If one interpreted the piece that way, it's interesting to note that the boots, which might represent the working class, are closer to the ladder and the more ornate shoes, perhaps representing the aristocracy, fall further behind. Finally, I must confess that when the artist first mentioned "army of boots", I wasn't sure if this might be some kind of "support our women in the armed forces tribute" of some kind.

The artist never revealed to me what the true meaning underlying her work meant to her. Perhaps that is best and as she intended.

2. I especially loved how beautiful this installation looked at night with the shadow play of the ladder against the white pole. Sara June in her two performances made use visually of the artist's installation and had encounters with some of the shoes. Fortunately Leigh was fine with having her shoes and boots moved around during the performances and wasn't attached to a particular arrangement even during the ensuing exhibit.

Sam Tan - "63 in '08" installation

2009-06-27T21:00:00.017-04:00

Video stills and photos showing gradual
disintegration of Sam Tan's "63 in '08"
Variation and Original Concept:
unless noted otherwise, all photos taken by Bob Raymond (MAG)

Day 1: Curator forgot to move chairs around installation
(video still)

Day 2: Rectangle still remains intact
(video still)

Day 3: Showing chalk puddles and initial installation

Sam Tan
“63 in '08”
site-specific installation

There were 63 homicides in Boston in 2008. The installation offers the opportunity for the viewer to question oneself the degree of connectedness to such crimes in the city as well as ruminate on ways that everyone could help to lower violent crimes in the future.

Sam Tan is an emerging artist who is based in the Boston area and he has been exhibiting extensively for the past eight years. He currently has works in The Boston Drawing Project at Carroll and Sons Gallery in Boston, as well as Pierogi Flat Files in Brooklyn. He recently had a solo exhibition at the Artists Foundation Gallery in Boston. Tan’s works have entered into private and corporate collections, and have been acquired by public companies. He has been awarded scholarships from the Bertha Walker Foundation and his works have been published in various publications, including the Harvard Advocate.

Note from the Curator:
1. I have to confess that I loved the artist's initial concept of the 63 chalk puddles (as we both called them) on the floor. When the artist proposed a variation on his initial submission, I said, why not do both and said we could get some extra people to help create the puddles (which in reality turned out to be David Chin of course) if we could install the puddles on Monday right before the evening's performances. My hope was that someone would make use of the puddles in their performance. As it turned out, Monday had fewer performances (and shorter ones - being almost all dance/movement/butoh oriented) so I decided to perform myself with the intent of doing something meditative with the puddles. Once again, events transmogrified as I also wanted Karen Klein's installation to be destroyed. How these disparate actions were accomplished was revealed and described at some length in a previous post (Karen Klein - June 12 2009 ).

(video still)

2. In case there is some confusion about this, Sam Tan installed two versions of his concept. The first was actually a variation on his original proposal. It is the installation of the names on acetate enclosed by a red frame on the window with a rectangle of white chalk on the floor. The second is 63 chalk puddles on the gallery floor which he installed (with help from David Chin) during the afternoon of Monday May 25 2009.

Comments from Visitor's Book:

"63 in '08 seemed very heartwrenching for me - the transparency on the window with tiny black text of deaths (so how come so many in Dorchester??) yet, as you read the names my eyes also took in the flowering shrubs outside and the beautiful blue flowers. Why is it like this?"

"63 in '08 is powerful. The chalk (now dispersed) on the floor reminds me of ground drawing in voodoo ceremonies for spirits that are carefully created (hours of work) and then erased/dispersed in an instant when the actual ceremony begins and people dance over/through them. Such are the momentary portals between the living and the dead/spirits"

Links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samtan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artistinmass2/

Ival Stratford-Kovner (CT) - "Voting Shoes 1970's Edition #2

2009-06-26T21:00:00.014-04:00

video still

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Ival Stratford-Kovner (CT)
"Voting Shoes 1970's Edition #2
mixed media installation

"I was studying at Boston University College of Fine Arts and living in Cambridge with eight other artists/architects/students when the presidential elections rolled around. We were voting for president of the United States for the first time in our lives and I was voting for the first time ever. I was eager to feel this important step in my life and decided to hand paint my pump shoes - stripes of red and white with big, white stars on a field of blue - on both shoes. I recall that the day of the election the town mothers looked a little bewildered by the fact that we'd also painted our faces, red, white and blue. Years later, I would be a poll checker at that same election site when I worked for Carolyn Mugar's late husband who was then running for Congress. Many decades had passed by the excitement of that first election remained in my mind clearly. I was asked to join a show with twelve women called "Fitting" and I thought of how I fit into those shoes each time I voted - wearing them proudly in various states where I'd lived over the years. My fellow artists could not believe I still had the shoes -and they ended up in our show - now formally presented within a white box with flag and wooden stars. I have made many assemblages as well as my large format oil paintings over the years - and one small box was called "Little Dig" about our big dig in Boston - with monopoly pieces of battleships glued on the inside lid with small hotrod pieces driving through a white bone within the box.”

Ival Stratford-Kovner has a BFA from Boston University, MS, MFA, from Western Connecticut University Ival is a certified Art Teacher in Massachusetts, also in Computer Graphics/Web Design (Clark U.), and has an Arts Management Certification (UMass Amherst). She was awarded a fellowship in 2006 and 2008 from the Vermont Studio Center. Ival has taught at Rivier College, Newbury College, Bunker Hill Community College, Harvard GSD (faculty workshop offered), BU (alumni drawing), WCSU. She is currently with the Cavalry Trooper of 2nd Co. Governor's Horse Guard, studying hippo therapy and equine riding therapy for NAHRA certification. Ival has had solo exhibitions internationally & nationally including: Milan, Italy, Ukraine, San Diego, Nashville, NYC, Boston, NH, Maine etc.

This installation is generously being offered for sale by the artist. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Mobius. If you are interested in purchasing this piece, please email: politicsshoes@gmail.com with the Subject: Interested in purchasing "Voting Shoes"

Jennifer Hicks (& Matt Samolis) - Country Shoes May 25 2009

2009-06-25T21:00:00.012-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Jennifer Hicks (former MAG) and Matt Samolis
"Country Shoes"
Mon May 25, 2009: butoh performance with live music

Video of Jennifer Hicks and Matt Samolis "Country Shoes"

Jennifer Hicks / Matt Samolis : Country Shoes @mobius 05-25-09 from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Jen's in depth study of Butoh and other forms of movement are a natural pairing for Matt's unusual flute style which also draws largely on eastern cultural influences.

The politics of shoes is the politics of leather, which is the politics of meat, which is the politics of land use and corn and fuel and hunger and of poverty. It is of confinement and freedom, allowing one to do something one could not do otherwise, while also restricting so much on another end. But this is a simple dance in a complicated world, a series of movements which will be performed in shoes made of only wood and rope from China. These are shoes of the land and shoes of the poor and shoes that limit ones movements.

Jennifer Hicks M.F.A., R.Y.T, director of CHIMERAlab Dance Project, is a performer, choreographer, teacher and visual artist. She received her MFA from Naropa University in Contemporary Performance, her BFA from Tufts University and Degree in Fine Arts from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston. She is a guest artist for the 4th year at Naropa University in the MFA Contemporary Performance Department directing The Embodied Poetics Project. Jennifer has won several prestigious awards for her work including The Traveling Scholars Award from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Franklin Furnace for an installation/performance about medicine called “Training For Uncertainty”. She is an alumni of the experimental performance collective called Mobius and a founding member of the former Pan 9 in Boston.

As a dancer, Jennifer studied ballet, modern and jazz since childhood but began her interest in Butoh back in the mid 1980's. She began to study Butoh seriously in the early 1990’s at the San Francisco Butoh Festival. Her main performance influences are Tatsumi Hijikata, KATSURA Kan, Maureen Fleming, Wendell Beavers, Barbara Dilley, puppet work, early cartoons, nature and silent films. She has been dancing in KASTURA Kans International Dance Company for over 8 years and has her own company based in Boston and Boulder CO. She has been teaching movement, creating original work and performing for over 25 years. Ms. Hicks is a certified Shintaido Instructor, certified TranceDance International Facilitator and a Yoga Instructor registered with the National Yoga Alliance. Her training also includes graduate level training in The20Viewpoints with Wendell Beavers, Roy Hart Vocal Training with Ethie Friend and Jonathan Hart, Body Mind Centering® principles with Erika Berland, Suzuki Actors Training with members of SITI Company, Contemplative Dance with Barbara Dilley, Vocal Training with Meredith Monk, Lecoq Neutral Mask with Amy Russell, Grotowski Based Physical Theater with Stephen Wangh, Performance Art with Marilyn Arsem (founding director of Mobius) and Moment Work from Moises Kaufman and Leigh Fondakowski.

She has also studied shiatsu massage and acupuncture at Boston School of Shiatsu and New England School of Acupuncture. She studied her puppetry with Julie Szabo ( who worked with Bread and Puppet for over 10 years) and Julie Morrison (who trained at the University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts Program). Both Julie’s enjoys “putting an edgy twist on traditional forms of puppetry, as well as exploring connections between the puppet, the audience, and the performer”. This work translates into puppetry techniques for the body which Jennifer uses as a tool in choreography.

Links:

http://www.fragilecreep.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxG9Q99izZE

http://www.archive.org/details/TrioImprovisationsForVoiceFluteAndPreparedCelloOpenCircuits

Anne Stanner - "If the Shoe Doesn't Fit, Wear It Anyway?"

2009-06-24T21:00:00.008-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

video still

Anne Stanner (NYC)
"If the Shoe Doesn't Fit, Wear It Anyway?"
mixed media

"This is a welded woman's high heel shoe, life size, created with welding rod, sort of like a fanciful cage, and a copper piece for the heel. Inserted inside is an old wooden shoe stretcher with a metal handle. I think of this as a commentary on the pain and discomfort, as well as lack of full mobility (ie, ability to run) that women have had to endure in order to seem fashionable and more attractive."

"I have worked in metal sculpture for over 25 years, and have been a technical instructor in the Art Students League of NY’s metal program since 2003. I also taught art in New York City public schools and served as an assistant welding instructor at the Educational Alliance Art School. I have also more recently created figurative sculpture in clay, plaster and concrete. Professional affiliations include the Sculptors Alliance, Inc. (President), the New York Society of Women Artists (Vice President), and the City College of New York Art Alumni (Treasurer). I have curated group exhibitions at the Theatre for the New City and Third Street Music School. I have held one-person exhibitions at the Ellenville (NY) Public Library and Museum, Pace University, Long Island University and the City College of New York. Two-person exhibits include The Brooklyn YWCA and Middlesex County College (NJ). I participated in numerous group shows in galleries and other venues including the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College, Pleiades Gallery, Noho Gallery, Broome Street Gallery, 2/20 Gallery, Salmagundi Club, Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center, Pfizer, Inc., and A.I.R. Gallery, all in New York City, and Bertoni Gallery in Sugar Loaf, NY, Northern Westchester Center for the Arts, Hopper House Art Center in Nyack, NY, Kleinert Gallery in Woodstock, NY, Flinn Gallery in Greenwich, Conn. I have an MFA from the City College of New York."

work can be seen on the following group website:
www.nyartistscircle.org/artists/stanner/stanner.html

Karen Krolak & Jason Ries - dance and spoken word May 25 2009

2009-06-23T21:00:00.028-04:00

May 25, 2009 - Improvisation #1

May 25, 2009 - Improvisation #2

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Karen Krolak & Jason Ries
“a series of dance improvisations using shoes”
Mon May 25 - dance performance (Piece #1 and Piece #2)

Videos:

Video of Improvisation #1, Part A:

Video of Improvisation #1, Part B:

Video of Improvisation #2, Part A:

Video of Improvisation #2, Part B:

Using a character by the author, in 1999, named Princess Pamplemousse, Karen plays with how shoes make us move and how they make us feel. As part of the performance she initially planned to record people's shoe stories or encourage the audience to write their stories down.

Karen Krolak is choreographer, performer, costume designer, teacher, and writer. Since 2000, she has been the Founder/Artistic Director of Monkeyhouse (www.monkeyhouselovesme.com) , an award winning nonprofit that connects communities to choreography. Through Monkeyhouse, her work has been presented at First Night 2009, the Cool NewYork Dance Festival 2009, Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Mobius, and fringe festivals in New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Winnipeg.

She recently traveled to Italy for a workshop and performance and danced in David Parker and the Bang Group’s Nut/cracked, was invited to the Jacob’s Pillow Choreographers’ Lab, and became the Artistic Director for the BoomTown Festival.

She is a professional shoe blogger and was quickly dubbed Fitness Footwear Guru for Shoetube.tv (http://shoetube.wordpress.com/).

Karen choreographed Coriolanus for Actors’ Shakespeare Project. For the last 13 years, she has been a faculty member at Impulse Dance Center in Natick, MA where she developed the Modern Dance curriculum. In 2005, she co-taught two workshops on movement and technical design at Theater Methods 05 in Malpils, Latvia with her favorite collaborator Jason Ries.

http://conversingwithchoreographers.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/monkeyhouselovesme
www.monkeyhouselovesme.com

Notes from the Curator:

1. Due to a last minute variation in the program, I asked Karen Krolak if she would be willing to do two improvisations instead of one (her proposal suggested the possibility of more than one performance). Fortunately, she was willing and able. The start of the program for the Monday May 25 2009 set of performances was:

i. Improvisation #1: Karen Krolak & Jason Ries
ii: Moving Sound Meditation on Sam Tan's "63 in '08": Jane Wang
iii: Improvisation #2: Karen Krolak & Jason Ries

2. A technical note: Charles Daniels and the curator had to swap out ultraflip video cameras between Parts A and B of Improvisation Piece #2 (hence the jittery camera work and loud sound of a screw turning).

3. The "true" endings of both pieces were almost sabotaged unintentionally. As Karen Krolak and Jason Ries' Improvisation #1 was ending, I started the next piece too early because I had misunderstood my start cue - thus not giving the audience a chance to give Karen and Jason much well-deserved applause. For Improvisation #2, David Chin was trying to wait until both dancers relaxed into "we're finished" body language but since that didn't happen, Jason got up and ran to pick up all the shoes which I actually thought added a nice tag to the ending.

Scott Rummler - “Politics and Tabloid Headlines and Shoes”

2009-06-22T21:00:00.018-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG):

video stills:

Scott Rummler

“Politics and Tabloid Headlines and Shoes”
xeroxed collage from newspapers and magazines

Scott Rummler "Theme: Politics and Tabloid Headlines and Shoes" - The Politics of Shoes from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Images are of Adlai Stevenson with a hole in his shoe, Howard Dean's famous scream, and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg in dress shoes.

Back story:

Stevenson's picture was taken showing a hole in his shoe, unusual since he was very sharp and well dressed. His team claimed it showed his common-guy pavement pounding approach. Those opposed to him may recall differently: that he lost the election because the photo made him look bad.

Howard Dean had to yell to be heard in a giant noisy room because the audio wasn't working. Journalists used a special mike to drown out the background noise making him sound like a yelling madman. Journalists acknowledged the piece was fake, but said Dean should have expected it, therefore he wasn't presidential, and replayed it endlessly.

Bloomberg is in favor of green projects. He doesn't quite fit in here with his fancy shoes. At a city pool opening he wore a white t-shirt and shorts to go swimming. Here he is in Bermuda shorts - he is criticized for going to his Bermuda mansion and being out of pocket on weekends. He is sometimes thought out of touch. His financial info company was used to create the derivative products that ruined the economy; he is the only top billionaire to get richer last year. He sent his former deputy mayor to be the new co. president and restructure the company as the housing bubble burst, so some think he knew what was going on. Used cosmetics kingpin pal to change city law allowing him to run for a third term, on grounds his expertise is key in handling the financial crisis. Owns giant news conglomerate.

Scott Rummler is a creative artist in New York City. He has shown his art work in a number of alternative spaces and currently is in a show at Gravity Arts in Norwalk, CT. He has an MFA from RIT, and works in other areas including Web design, writing, and acting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/srummler/

Note from the Curator:

The original proposal from the artist transformed due to time constraints. Here is the progression:

Initial proposal: "These are images painted on newsprint. Multiple copies will be sent to the Curator. General performance specs are to distribute images to audience, or to tear up by performers, or both, or in any way that best suits the performance, in keeping with the general tenor of this message and final discretion to the Curator."

Version #2: "What I have now is photocopy collages. Not high production values, but there is a precedent for that type of thing and the concept is solid. I'll mail in an envelope tomorrow. Might be nice to do something more high fidelity but not enough time, so I hope you can use these."

Further Clarification: "The connection is tabloid journalism: both guys brought down by doctored news media. Keep or leave as you like. I'll send a few more more that highlight that.. but if they are not shoe-ey enough you can leave them out."

David Chin and the Curator weren't sure how to use the xeroxed collages in an audience participatory action. Many people potentially didn't even know who Adlai Stevenson was and would be puzzled by the headlines. For this reason, the Curator decided to use them in the exhibit and scattered them on the floor in a somewhat haphazard manner (and stepped on them for good measure). The artist was fine with the resultant installation of disposable media and presumably disposable politicians.

A side note: when the journalist G. Jeffrey MacDonald came to visit the exhibit, he commented that when he was reporting on Howard Dean before he became a presidential candidate, Dean was seen as a conservative by the press and his constituents, a far cry from his later "liberal" platform. Waffles anyone?

Sara June & Joleen Westerdale - butoh May 24, 25 2009

2009-06-21T21:00:00.021-04:00

May 24, 2009:

May 25, 2009:

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Sara June and Joleen Westerdale
Untitled
May 24-25, 2009 - butoh dance performance

Videos:

Sara June / Joleen Westerdale Untitled #1 @mobius 5-24-09 from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Sara June / Joleen Westerdale Untitled #2 @mobius 05-25-09 from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Butoh performance with human installation (Joleen Westerdale), power drill and taped music by Richard Lainhart.

Sara June is an independent choreographer and artistic director of the Umi no Bodi dance troupe. Her movement work is known for its odd, humorous, and other-worldly qualities; she finds her dances through stripping away the foundations of movements we create in our daily lives to uncover states of stillness, birth, and the primitive qualities of animals and machines.

Sara founded Umi no Bodi (a Japanese phrase meaning ‘Ocean’s Body’) in 2008 with the goal of creating large-scale, site-specific installations that transform outdoor spaces not traditionally used for performance. Umi no Bodi dancers create isolated movement studies that explore a range of states and conditions in nature; troupe members train through an image-based choreographic process that results in spontaneous improvised work based on each mover’s internal process developed during rehearsals. Essential elements of the site environments feed this process; dancers train using methods that will help them to experience and transform these spaces on several sensory levels, (e.g., through blindfolds and partner work). The installations are shaped by thematic structures and each performance includes innovative costuming, original sound compositions performed live, and the use of machines as non-human dancers.

In addition to Juddertone, Sara co-curates the Zeroplan performance series with musician Max Lord. This series was created in order to offer seasoned experimental musicians and dancers an opportunity to improvise together in informal performance settings. Other projects include the Anywhere Performance Project, an online collaboration with California-based artist Deborah Butler that utilizes remote video technology as a basis for dialogue between the two dancers. Sara’s training and background is based in a decade of study in butoh, a Japanese avant-garde form, and other indigenous dance forms. Since 2000, she has shown solo and group work at venues in Boston, Providence, Philadelphia and New York City. Sara is a former member of the Boston-based Kitsune Butoh (2003-06) and the NYC post-modern butoh troupe, the Vangeline Theater (2006-08). She has performed with Master butoh artist Katsura Kan (Curious Fish, 2002, 2008), and trained with international artists Hiroko Tamano, Su-En, and Diego Pinon. She received her formal education at the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA, 1997), and Harvard University (Ed.M., 2005).

http://www.oceanbody.com

http://anywherepeformanceproject.ning.com

http://juddertone.ning.com

John Murphree - installation & action May 23-25 2009

2009-06-20T21:01:00.027-04:00

video stills

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

John Murphree
"Cultural Juxtaposition"
steel gongs and rack installation

John Murphree - Action for The Politics of Shoes @mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

This clip was taken at the Monday May 25, 2009 (Memorial Day Observed in the US in 2009) evening of performances.

Viewers are encouraged to take off their shoes and throw them at the gongs! The act of throwing a (probably) Chinese made American icon (the tennis shoe) at an American made chinese icon is the impetus of this piece.

John Murphree makes his home in Medford with his wife Jeanna Allegrone. He studied composition at the Berklee College of Music, B.M. and recently completed his master's in composition at the Boston Conservatory. Through collaborations with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, John has begun making bowed sculptures whose purpose is to explore the transfiguration of artistic energy into musical output.

Notes from the Curator:

1. I had heard about John Murphree through Juddertone, as he is one of the artists selected for the 2009 Juddertone ning forum and concerts. He had posted the video below on the Juddertone ning site as an example of one of his previous works so I immediately contacted him about creating an installation for The Politics of Shoes. He said that he wouldn't be able to create a new piece in time for the exhibit (since it was less than 3 weeks away at that point) so I asked him about what completed pieces he had which might fit the theme whereupon he described a rack of gongs that his housemates threw their shoes at when they had a rough day or just for the hell of it. Of course I said perfect! At the last minute, John called me and said he was having second thoughts about bringing his piece because he thought thematically perhaps his piece didn't fit into the show to which I responded with horror - no PLEASE! I have to have your piece in the show. Fortunately John brought his installation to be part of the exhibit and series of performances. It turned out to be one of the performance audience and exhibition favorites.

Find more videos like this on juddertone

2. From the book of comments at the exhibit:

"Love the gongs - very therapeutic!"
"Felt so good to throw shoes at the gong (sounded great too)!"
"Also, the metal panels were fun!"

3. Most of the visitors to the exhibit had to be encouraged to throw their own or Karen Klein's (who had offered up her beautiful sequined high heeled shoes up for sacrifice) at the gongs; once they felt free to do so, without exception, everyone really got into the action and often laughed or looked supremely happy once they had experienced the gongs. Other than visitors who had written their comments in the book, these two visitors' experiences were particularly memorable:

- An elegantly dressed artist with an Australian accent came dashing into the exhibit right before the show was due to come down. She told me that she had driven down from Newburyport (an hour or so north of Boston) to see the exhibit. When I offered her Karen Klein's shoes to throw at the gongs, she really went at the gongs with such relish and ferocity that I wish I had taken a video of her. It was simultaneously wonderful and alarming.

- Maggie Nowinski came to deinstall Burns Maxey's and her video installation (which the same elegant artist above had also enjoyed immensely and was the only person who I had heard laugh out loud while watching the video). Maggie took some time to walk around and view each installation carefully. She looked at the gongs and read the artist's statement and I told her she was welcome to throw her shoes at the gongs. She said that she couldn't throw her sneakers at the gongs because they weren't Made in China and perhaps it would go against the artist's intent. I then had to confess that I had begged John for his rack of gongs and he had kindly come up with his statement as a way of "justifying" the gong's presence in the exhibit and that I knew that John was fine with people hurling shoes of any country of origin at his gongs.

4. The curator takes a moment to play the gongs:

Improvisation using john Murphree's Gongs @mobius from Jane Wang on Vimeo.

5. I had decided that the safest place for the gongs was in front of the handicap ramp leading up to the second level of the gallery space since there were no windows or fragile installation in "firing" range of the gongs. During the performances, one 9 year old girl threw her shoes so wildly that she almost hit one of the windows and another artist managed to throw her shoe directly between two gongs which is much more difficult than hitting one of the gongs. Much deserved kudos to both participants.

6. Please note that although John Murphree is principally known as a composer, he also makes instruments - he welded the gongs which he sells individually or in sets if you are interested (the Curator bought two of the artist's gongs). You may contact him directly via his website:

www.johnmurphree.com

Matt Samolis - Composer/Musician May 24,25 2009

2009-06-19T21:00:00.028-04:00

video still
photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)
photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

video still

Matt Samolis - Composer/Musician
May 24, 25 2009

Matt Samolis - The Politics of Shoes @mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Matt Samolis has been working in sonic and visual mediums since 1987. He began studying flute, and later composition and tenor banjo. He has worked with ensembles at New England Conservatory, Brandeis University, Berklee, and Tufts, as well as Open Hand Theatre, Pilgrim Research Collaborative, Mobius, Roy Hart Theatre, and numerous other projects. Currently, his primary work is with his collective, The Metal & Glass Ensemble, freelance photography, flutist, and as old time songster, Uncle Shoe.

www.myspace.com/uncleshoe
www.myspace.com/metalandglass

Gwen Murphy - Lonely Wooden Tower

2009-06-18T21:00:00.013-04:00

video clip: Jane Wang (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond

video clip: Jane Wang (MAG)

Gwen Murphy
"Lonely Wooden Tower"
wall sculpture

"Lonely Wooden Tower" is an image of the feet of Christ and looks at the crucifixion as supreme personal sacrifice and as political assassination.

The artist stated in an email to the Curator:
"I'm very happy to be able to show "Lonely Wooden Tower" (Christ's feet). It's exciting and a little scary. As a figurative sculptor, I feel like never portraying the crucifixion would be like a song writer never writing a song about a broken heart. I was raised Christian, but I no longer have beliefs about the literal truth of Christ's life. I see Christ's life it as a powerful series of messages (like forgiveness). I sincerely hope not to offend anyone, but if a work of art doesn't disturb just a little, or at least surprise, then it's not an aesthetic experience, it's anesthetic."

Gwen Murphy is a sculptor living in Acton, Ma., with a studio at Art Space Maynard. She has been making figurative sculpture for over twenty years. Ms. Murphy received a BA in fine arts from New College of Florida, and an MFA in sculpture from Boston University College of Fine Arts. She has taught and exhibited in museums & galleries throughout New England and New York. Her most recent work has been the "Foot Fetish" series of shoe sculptures. Photographs of her sculptures may be viewed online on her website: www.gwenmurphy.blogspot.com

Email from the Curator to the artist:
"I did want to tell you that many many people commented on how beautiful and moving your piece is. And several were trying to figure out what material it was made of and how you constructed it ( some thought it was wood, some thought it was ceramic or clay - maybe they thought the title was allegorical?)

When my friend who was a minister and now is a full time free-lance journalist came to see the show, he asked me if he should look at the work in any particular order and I said no, just however he wished. I was working on my laptop while he was walking around and when I looked up, I saw that the first installation which he gravitated to was yours! I had to tease him about that saying "Jeff, you picked the one installation that was about religion".

Thanks again for your beautiful piece."

DeAnna Pellecchia & Matt Samolis - "PLATFORM.." May 24 2009

2009-06-17T21:00:00.018-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond

DeAnna Pellecchia and Matt Samolis
"PLATFORM - A Live Performance Installation"
May 24, 2009 - dance performance with live music

Videos:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Originally designed for the stage, PLATFORM can be adapted to any performance space and includes a series of movement structures both set and improvisational which take place in , on and around dozens of platform shoes. The solo addresses the socio-political "platforms" of our time. Adorned in red, white and blue DeAnna incorporates strong visual imagery with sharp, disjointed choreography to comment on the personal choices we as Americans make on a daily basis. Matt Samolis accompanies on tenor banjo with a mash up of americana from different genres and styles, adding a layer of association and depth to the imagery set in motion by the visual movement.

DeAnna Pellecchia is a dancer, athlete, aerialist, actress, and choreographer committed to collaborating with artists of different mediums including musicians, filmmakers, and visual artists. She creates performance pieces that seamlessly blur lines of integration between disciplines, ultimately producing multi-sensory works of live art. Her mission as an artist is to expand the perception of ‘dance’ as an accessible form of art by engaging audiences of all kinds. In the process of achieving this goal she has not only danced, but soared, climbed, hurdled, hydroplaned, hovered and flown through countless unconventional landscapes across the United States; she has been featured in rodeos, operas, plays, fashion shows, magazines, movies and music videos; and she has taught and been taught by movers of all kinds. The Boston Herald has described her as “stunning…one of the area’s finest artists”. Bay Windows has defined her as “…muscular, mesmerizing, unforgettable…” As co-choreographer of Kairos Dance Theater, she crafts original performance pieces with Ingrid Schatz. She also creates site-specific performance installations incorporating all-live music with musician Ed Broms under the name Savage Amusements. DeAnna is a principal dancer with internationally acclaimed New York-based Paula Josa-Jones/Performance Works (featured soloist and original cast member of RIDE, PJJ/PW's Equestrian Dance Theater Performance, in which DeAnna dances with live horses). She also dances with Boston-based Kinodance Company (named one of Dance Magazine's "Top 25 to Watch" in 2008). DeAnna resides on dance faculty at Boston University; she is also a mentor-artist-in-residence at The Cloud Foundation.

Links:
www.deannapellecchia.com
PLATFORM photos on FLICKR

Note from the Curator:
Matt Samolis will be profiled in a later post.

Lauren McCarthy - Dress Shoes for Spontaneous Departure

2009-06-16T21:00:00.017-04:00

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

video clips: J. Wang (MAG)

Lauren McCarthy
Dress Shoes for Spontaneous Departure
interactive sculpture

The work is a pair of shoes that allows the wearer to exist simultaneously in formal and non-formal social situations. An ordinary pair of running shoes have been transformed through decoration and the addition of hinged heels. The heels can be folded down to function as heeled dress shoes, or folded up to lay flat and function as running shoes. The transformable qualities of the shoes provide the wearer the freedom of spontaenous movement while maintaining the ability to conform to formal dress situations.

Viewers are invited to try on the shoes and experience their function as convertible dress and running shoes.

Lauren McCarthy is a designer, artist, and programmer currently living in Cambridge, MA. She recently graduated from MIT with degrees in visual arts and computer science. Her work explores the structures, systems, and boundaries of different social spaces, and the way that these affect our relationships with our physical bodies. Participants are invited to interact, experience, and question through participatory interventions that require both physical and mental engagement. She also works as a designer at Small Design Firm, creating interactive installations and media environments for various museums and institutions, including the Visitor's Center at Monticello, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Links:

lauren-mccarthy.com/bodyextension.html
lauren-mccarthy.com/networkout/networkout.html
lauren-mccarthy.com/ushmm.html
(more work here) lauren-mccarthy.com/projects.html
www.lauren-mccarthy.com

You can see how these shoes work by viewing this 39 second excerpt

Kira Seamon/ Matt Samolis - dance/live music May 24 2009

2009-06-15T20:59:00.021-04:00

video still: Jane Wang (MAG)

fd1024 - referred to in email below

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Kira Seamon and Matt Samolis
Untitled
May 24, 2009 - choreographed dance performance with live music

Videos of Kira Seamon's Untitled piece:

Part 1:

Part 2:

A dance/spoken word and sonic exploration of foot-binding as a function of the politics of China, from the Dynasty era to the Communist era, when the practice of the foot-binding was finally prohibited. The dance piece will use highly specialized movements to highlight the nature of the cramped foot position and then grow into a "healthy dancer.”

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

Bound feet became an important differentiating marker between Manchu and Han. The practice continued into the 20th century, when a combination of Chinese and Western missionaries called for reform and a true anti-footbinding movement emerged. Educated Chinese began to realise that this aspect of their culture did not reflect well upon them in the eyes of foreigners, social Darwinists argued that it weakened the nation, for enfeebled women inevitably produced weak sons and feminists attacked it because it caused women to suffer.^[2] At the turn of the 20th century, gentry women, such as Kwan Siew-Wah, a pioneer feminist, advocated for the end of female foot-binding. Kwan herself refused the foot-binding imposed on her since her youth so that she could grow normal feet. Through the centuries there were unsuccessful attempts to stop the practice of footinding. Various emperors issued edicts to this effect but they were never successful. The Empress Dowager Cixi issued such an edict following the Boxer Rebellion to appease the foreigners, but it was rescinded a short time later. In 1911, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the new Republic of China government banned foot binding. Women were told to unwrap their feet lest they be killed. Some women's feet grew a half inch to an inch after the unwrapping, though some found the new growth process extremely painful and emotionally and culturally devastating. Societies developed to support the abolition of footbinding, with contractual agreements between families promising their infant son in marriage to an infant daughter that would not have her feet bound. When the Communists took power in 1949, they had the power to maintain the strict prohibition on footbinding, which is still in effect today.

Kira Seamon is an award-winning dancer/choreographer who has produced concerts in the Cambridge area, specializing in unique, original choreography and live music. She was named to Capezio's list of Rising Stars and am also on Dance Magazine's List of Active Female Choreographers. She recently auditioned for a Reality TV show and was sent an email from the producer after the audition, which stated in part: "We are creating a list of all the acts we loved in Boston and you are on that list!" Kira trained across the US and in Europe and has an extensive music background as well. She was a State winner in piano performance and have received gold, silver and bronze awards for my playing. Kira was thrilled to have played the keyboard at the Harvard Theatre Collection as part of a long-term research project by the composer Lugwig Minkus. Kira was born in Hawaii, and is familiar with Asian History and customs.

Email from Kira Seamon about the creation her piece (mentor: Danny Swain):
"I love all the pix, but think my favorite for the blog might be this one, fd1024...I like that it shows me sitting by the pathway created by the shoes, which illustrates walking towards the future....I know Danny Swain liked my idea but kept yelling in rehearsal "Make sure all the shoes are going in the same direction!!"

...The ending was a combination of Danny, Matt and my own ideas.. At first, I just sort of quickly shoved the shoes in 2 lines, thinking I've got to get it done and get up to do the walking through part...Both Matt and Danny realized the moment would be more meaningful and powerful if I slowed that down and looked at the shoes as I placed them, like I was really remembering those women who wore them..Matt even sent me the link to Joanne Rice's awesome stone installation @ Trinity Church, to show what the pace could be like....I thought Joanne did a beautiful job, and I definitely thought of her as I placed my shoes...In fact, I was "so in the moment" of my piece, that at the end, when I walked away toward the windows, it took me a couple of seconds to "come to", as I actually got lost in thought and remembrance...Finally, my brain kicked in and I said, "oh yeah, turn around and take a bow"... "

"Chinese Hair" by Kira Seamon's hairstylist: Blake
photo: Eva Seamon

Notes from the Curator:

1. Matt Samolis will be profiled on a separate Performer of the Day post.

2. Joanne Rice (MAG) has been performing the durational piece "The Human Cost of War" every day at noon since October 2007 at Trinity Church in Boston. The performance will end on Oct 6th, 2009. If you get a chance to see this beautiful performance live, please do so. You may read about Joanne Rice and her performance at http://www.mobius.org

MAG = Mobius Artists Group member

Burns Maxey & Maggie Nowinski - video installation

2009-06-14T21:00:00.003-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Burns Maxey and Maggie Nowinski
Untitled
video installation

Memesis from Burns Maxey on Vimeo.

The piece is a free-standing video with audio of a collaborative performance with Maggie and Burns of a conversation or attempt to communicate via shared tap shoes -- one on the left, one on the right. The audio is a translation of the conversation/story.

Burns Maxey
2009 "Politics of Shoes", Mobius, Boston, MA
"Project Elements Easthampton: Earth, a preview", Grubbs Gallery, Easthampton, MA
2008 "Art Can Be Useful aka Whenever I do Laundry, I am a star", collaboration with San Huxley, Easthampton Laundromat, Easthampton, MA
"Experimental Dance/Movement WIP, collaboration with Sara June, Mobius, Boston, MA
2007 "DIMENSION: determining the dynamics of space", Repetti Gallery, Long Island City, NY
2006 "Works on Paper", Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA, first prize
2005 "your travel environment", A.P.E. Ltd., Northampton, MA
"Works on Paper", Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA
2003 "Paintings, Prints & Installations", Up/Stair/Fine/Art, New Bedford, MA
"POV: Bringing the World into Focus", Artoconecto, Washington D.C.
"Halpert Biennial", Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Boone, NC
2000 "Tails of the City", Metreon, San Francisco, CA
1999 "Post-Postcard 4", Four Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1998 "The Norms", Benson Hall Gallery, Providence, RI, Solo show
1997 "Mother", AS220, Providence, RI, Performance, actor
"Paraphilia", Benson Hall Gallery, Providence, RI
"Union", Union Street Gallery, Providence RI

EDUCATION
1998 Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI BFA
1993-1995 Bard College. Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

http://www.burnsmaxey.com/

Maggie Nowinski is an interdisciplinary artist in Western Massachusetts. Her work incorporates a variety of materials and contexts. She makes paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptural installations, with constructed and/or found objects, video and sound. She received her B.F.A. in painting from SUNY New Paltz in 1997, and her M.F.A. in Visual Art in 2007 from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

http://maggienowinski.com/

Note from the Curator: I knew of Burns Maxey's work through Sara June I emailed Burns about submitting an installation for The Politics of Shoes. I was expecting her to come up with or already have a sculptural installation of some kind for the show. Burns replied almost immediately:

"Funny you should mention shoes because I a friend of mine, Maggie Nowinski, have been having an ongoing conversation about tap shoes with for the past couple of weeks. This sounds like it would work in context for The Politics of Shoes show. The piece is a free standing video with audio of a collaborative performance with Maggie and me of a conversation or attempt to communicate via shared tap shoes-- one on the left, one on the right. The audio would be a translation of the conversation/story. We would supply the monitor/DVD player and earphones. If Mobius does not have an available podium/stand, I could probably locate one. If that's the case, you would only need to supply the electricity."

At first I was a bit disappointed I must admit because I needed more 3 dimensional pieces in the show (at the early stage of the submissions, I had almost exclusively 2-D work proposed and accepted). However Burns kindly supplied everything including the podium as promised, detailed and clear instructions drawn in pencil on a turntable cutout.

Another fortunate happenstance was having the opportunity to meet Burns Maxey's collaborator Maggie Nowinski when she literally had to drive from Western Massachusetts to Boston to de-install their installation.

The video is stunning, humorous, tragic. It seems to have take on layers of meaning the more times you watch it. If you have a few minutes to watch the original video embedded above (generously supplied by Burns Maxey), please enjoy.

Shana Robbins - "Tree Ghost" May 24 2009

2009-06-13T20:45:00.006-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Shana Robbins (Atlanta, Georgia):
“Tree Ghost”
May 24, 2009 - performance art with tree installation

Videos of Shana Robbins' "Tree Ghost":

Part 1A:

Part 1B:

Part 1C:

Part 2:

Part 3:

A performance installation representing a hybridization of American military camouflage, an Islamic Burqa, a tree, and a "stripper" or courtesan in a ritualistic and sexually charged interaction with a dying, decrepit tree. Some of the inspiration of this work comes from:
Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed--by Harold Koda: “..the platform sole's impairment of a woman's walk was seen as a way to control her morality, since mobility was directly associated in many cultures and times with the potential for unrestrained sexuality."

"..the Oiran of the Yoshiwara, the quarter of the "Floating World," wearing their dochu-geta, were known for their slow progress when walking through the streets. These shoe styles lifted women higher than the norm, endowing them with greater public stature. Their encumbered walking was also an asset; it imposed a slow ceremonial gait that allowed the crowds to study the courtesan's beauty and fashions more closely.”

Shana Robbins is a painter, performance, and multimedia artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has exhibited and performed internationally in a variety of galleries, alternative spaces, and natural locations. Many of Robbins’ performances occur in remote areas with no audience except for the natural environment. This year, her work was featured in STUDIO VISIT MAGAZINE, OFF THE STRIP at the Las Vegas Contemporary Arts Center, and the STATE OF THE NATION V: Tipping Point--Art and Performance Festival in New Orleans.

Creating drawings/paintings as visual maps or references for handmade costumes, performance objects, and ritualistic actions, Robbins is engaged in an ongoing exploration and dissemination of the ecofeminist character she calls Monstrous Feminine. Various iterations of Monstrous Feminine, such as Tree Ghost and Axis Mundi, “haunt” places in order to reclaim space and destabilize static notions of the female body and of the natural realm.

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/shana_robbins_nature_versus_nurture/Content?oid=353256

Links:
http://www.shanarobbins.com/ (not fully updated)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n-aWKPP1Uk
http://www.losingyourself.com/?p=123
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhWtL1bDTI4

Notes from the Curator:

1. First of all, I want to thank Shana (pronounced Shahna not Shayna) for her wonderful performance and for driving her tree all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to be a part of the Politics of Shoes.

2. Because all the other performances on Sunday night were going to be dance/movement pieces and were all relatively short (15 minutes or less), I told Shana that she could make her piece as long as 40 minutes if she w anted to. As Shana told me after her piece without laying the blame at my feet (although she could have most definitely), she would have made her performance 20 minutes or less.

3. There was a nine year old girl in the audience who was enjoying herself tremendously (throwing shoes at gongs and in the air) throughout the entire evening. When the performances ended that evening, her mother approached me and after some innocuois chit-char suddenly said that she thought Mobius should "warn parents" ahead of time of "unsuitable material". Needless to say, I could feel the surge of anger rising when I almost choked out: "You mean you think we should CENSOR the artists and performers?" and had trouble keeping myself from going into a long and angry discourse on Civil Liberties and pointing out that her offspring could see a hell of a lot worse on television and the trouble with the world is due to _ like you! and what do you think this exhibit and set of performances is all about and what is wrong with you, do you call yourself an AMERICAN? Fortunately, when I told Joanne Rice, one of the other Mobius Artists, about what had happened, she was able to calm me down.

Karen Klein - "Brand Names installation artist

2009-06-12T20:00:00.017-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond

Karen Klein
"Brand Names"
cedar, styrofoam, cardboard, paper, mixed media

The purpose of this installation is to call attention to the comodification of shoes and of art. The artist states that her work: “It is not part of any performance, but could be destroyed during a performance, or persons, could throw their shoes at the tower of shoe boxes, if they wished.”

Karen Klein is a visual artist and a dancer. As an artist, she makes wood and wire sculptures, installations, and ink drawings. A member of New England Sculptors and Studios Without Walls, she has had eight solo exhibitions and been in numerous juried and invitational shows. As a dancer, she is a member of Prometheus Dance Elders Ensemble and has also performed in works choreographed by Daniel McCusker, Emily Beattie, and Kee Chin.

www.nesculptors.com
www.gallery333.com

Notes from the curator:

1. The small cedar shoe was hand carved by the artist.

2. Karen Klein generously donated the entire installation to Mobius including the cedar shoe and the sequined high heeled shoes which were used to activate John Murphree's gong installation by various performers, audience members and visitors to the exhibit. The artist said her days of wearing the sequined shoes are long over and if anyone can fit into them and would like them, they are welcome to them. Needless to say, the curator kept the cedar shoe as a memento of The Politics of Shoes.

How Karen Klein's installation was used in performance:
If you want to experience a sped up version of what the audience experienced, watch Video #1.
If you'd just like to skip directly to where Karen Klein's is actually "manipulated", watch Video #2.

Video #1:

Moving Sound Meditation on Sam Tan's '63 in '08" The Politics of Shoes @mobius - Shorter version 7:20 mins from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

** SPOILER WARNING - VIDEO #2 and DISCUSSION BELOW **

Video #2:

Performance vs. Theater discussion:

The destruction of the artist's installation was referenced in a discussion amongst members of the Mobius Artists Group. I've included the salient points here:

From Margaret Bellafiore to the group in answer to Tom Plsek's question:
"RE answering the question:Theatre and/vs? Performance, the range of answers would be quite personal, I would think. For me, I find Performance converges with life, or "life" or LIFE, while Theatre, for the most part, does not, though sometimes it does. (!) I can think of a very recent example, where there seemed to be a convergence of Theatre, Performance and Life. Last night, Jane was dragging bells in the space in an improvisational way ( aha, improv seems more a part of Performance and not Theatre, again for the most part). Then another "performer and/or actor" (Karen Klein, I believe) charged into the space from outside wearing a wig and carring a large bright red pocketbook. She proceeded to smash up a small installation swinging that red bag, beating it to smithereens ( aha, the presence of smithereens might be key part of Performance or perhaps Theatre, or perhaps both!) Then, she left, storming out the front door. All during this time, Jane continued to drag bells. It seemed to me, that tit was the interaction of the two women in the space that felt like performance because it seemed neither one really knew (I assume) what the other was going to do next. (The actions of Karen if she had done it alone felt like Theatre.) Before I delete all of the above, as I am realizing I can't aswer your question-- I do want to note what felt last night like 100% Performance: Some people were walking outside the space on the sidewalk during some movement actions and stopped to gawk through the windows at the patio end. Then, they really started to pay attention and began slowly walking to the other side, watching and slowly becoming part of the piece inside. When they reached the far end, they waved and clapped and the audience inside did the same. Those moments of unpredictability and convergence: is that it? AHHHH!"

From Jane Wang to the group:
"hi all. would you believe that was actually Liz Roncka and also the piece being smashed was by Karen Klein (who is also a dancer a strange coincidence no?) i was originally going to just do a SHORT walk thru the gallery somewhat serious and somber even with my stupid wild outfit but i was thinking rashomon or some other trippy japanese film... but then the night before i told liz, longingly - that karen really wanted someone to destroy her piece (and i really wanted someone to do it) so liz said - ok i'll do it -- and then she came up with the idea of running in and smashing the thing and running out... she was further fueled by Haggai (the musician she performed with on Sat and Sun) basically saying he didn't believe she would do it -- a DARE if you wish... we thought about whose performance she could interrupt and then i thought well maybe i'll turn my piece into a durational "waiting for liz " piece and make it deliberately long and dreary and when will this stupid thing be over already... but that doesn't answer tom's question either... (-:"

video credits: Charles Daniels, Matt Samolis, Liz Roncka, Jane Wang

Email from Karen Klein - June 14, 2009:
"I loved seeing the video--you draped like some ancient figure and Liz romping through my installation. Also loved how she used the actual shoes as weapons. That made me realize that we do use shoes as weapons. Think of Nancy Sinatra's "These boots are made for walkin'" for the gender wars and the jackboots of thugs and paramilitaries who kick folks into submission. Our term 'kick ass' hides the shoe image but implies it."

Joshua Kent - "I Heart America ..." May 23 2009

2009-06-11T19:11:00.041-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Joshua Kent "I Heart America and America Hearts me, or How the mighty have fallen"
Sat May 23, 2009: Performance Art

Videos of Joshua Kent's
"I Heart America and America Hearts me, or How the mighty have fallen"

Joshua Kent (Chicago, IL)
"I Heart America and America Hearts me, or How the mighty have fallen"
Sat May 23, 2009 - durational performance art

March 17, 1993 supermodel Naomi Campbell walked a Vivienne Westwood runway show wearing 10-inch platforms, causing her to not only fall, but also to create a moment that has since become part of a greater runway lexicon.

In May 1974, Joseph Beuys spent three days in a room with a coyote in a performance of his piece, I Like America and America Likes Me. In I Heart America and America Hearts me, or How the mighty have fallen I would like to combine the two events and create a hybrid meditation on politics in regards to; fashion, how we transcribe politics onto our bodies, the politics of our desires, and this complex thing called America.

Joshua Kent was born and raised in the Midwest. He attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003, where he received the Presidential Merit Scholarship for his portfolio. While at SAIC, he became interested in fiber and material studies and explored this area for some time in his undergraduate. Through his process oriented fiber pieces Joshua began to investigate labor in a more intentional way, which lead to his development of a performance practice. Within Performance art, Joshua found he was best able to explore his interests in labor, human interaction and the complexities of identity that he had begun to examine in his earlier work. He is in his last semester at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his work has been in Minneapolis, Southern Illinois, Chicago, and its surrounding suburbs.

Note from the Curator:

In a conversation with Joshua Kent about documentation of his work, he said he preferred photographs to videos because he felt that videos fail to capture the essence of his live performances. For this reason, included are a series of photographs taken by Bob Raymond along with two video clips. I found a lot of humor in his piece and couldn't stop laughing until the very end when things turned suddenly dark and almost unfathomable. Josh's performance far exceeded my expectations and I was honored that he flew in from Chicago to perform his piece. When I asked him why he chose to do so, he said that Mobius is one of few venues where he is able to perform his work. It is my hope that we, the Mobius Artists Group, will continue to be able to host/present the work of experimental artists in all media.

Kate Hanrahan - "The Drowned Children"

2009-06-10T19:57:00.017-04:00

#1 - BEFORE artist reset piece ...........#2 - AFTER artist reset piece

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Kate Hanrahan (Brooklyn, NY)
“The Drowned Children”
mixed media installation

The artist wrote:

"I have been working on a series called “The Drowned Children”. It encompasses the effects of war on children as well as today’s political and societal effects.

This piece focuses on the recent war waged by Israel against the Gaza Strip which has resulted in the deaths of 1434 Palestinians. These deaths included 960 civilians, among these were 437 children under the age of 16, 110 women and 123 elderly, in addition to 14 doctors and four reporters. These statistics show that the number of children who died amounted to more than 45% of the total number of civilian casualties of the war. Nearly 1500 children have joined the already lengthy list of orphans in Gaza.

The installation is an old, dilapidated wooden chair, with white painted, children shoes piled on the seat. Distorted, silver forks file down stuck through the shoes. Part of the bottom of the seat is broken through where a single shoe lace hangs down bound around a dangling silver fork."

Kate Hanrahan was born in Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia also studying on their campuses in Lacoste, France and Atlanta, Georgia. She is currently living and working Brooklyn, New York. In the last two years she has been pursuing her painting, installation work, performance pieces and experimental video to explore the psychological effects of war and society on children. Memory, loss of life, and loss of innocence are common themes in her mainly figurative work.

coroflot.com/whiteshoes

Note from the Curator:

During the first evening of performances, the installation had to be moved slightly. I hadn't had the foresight to take a photo of exactly how Ms. Hanrahan had installed her piece so when the artist came to de-install, she noticed that it was not exactly as she had set it. Fortunately, she was willing to reset her piece and Bob Raymond took several photographs of the installation as originally intended before she had to take her piece back to Brooklyn on May 25th.

For the remainder of the exhibit, with the artist's consent, two photographs of "The Drowned Children" were placed in the windows adjacent to the corner shown in the photograph labelled:
#2 - AFTER artist reset piece

Chuck Chaney - "Old Style Ways: Shoes from a simpler time" May 23 2009

2009-06-09T18:23:00.030-04:00

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

video still: Jane Wang (MAG)

Chuck Chaney “Old Style Ways: Shoes from a simpler time”
Sat May 23, 2009: audience participatory performance led by artist
and resultant installation of a completed pair of woven sandals for exhibit

Videos of Chuck Chaney's "Old Style Ways: Shoes from a simpler time"

Part 1A:

Part 1B:

Part 2

Part 3

An audience interactive performance of weaving sandals in an old style manner from Banana or Ki leaves. These sandals will then be offered to audience members to create a social relationship and bond of unified experience as we will walk together in them, and perhaps even work together in producing them, depending on time and willingness. Having this shared experience that is one one hand the everyday, walking, it will also be unique as we will all feel the sensation through our feet of the way it may have felt to walk the land before the adoption of animal and eventually synthetic based footwear.

Chuck Chaney is the director of a summer artist residency in Alaska, The Homestead AK. He is also teaches at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He received his Master of Fine Arts in 2008 from SMFA/Tufts. Before graduate school Chaney worked in the photographic industry, from owning a commercial studio to managing professional retail entities. The artist’s current multidisciplinary practice spans photography, performance, and installation. Recent exhibitions have included venues such as Seven Stars Center (VT); VQS (Puerto Rico); Palac Mastactva (Belarus); Firehouse 13 (RI); Mobius, Studio Soto, Gallery 1581, and Space Other (MA).

One Was Too Many
Cleansing
Roots

James Ellis Coleman - "Stay In Your Own Backyard"

2009-06-08T20:46:00.029-04:00

James Ellis Coleman: "Stay In Your Own Backyard"
mixed media installation

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

video still: Jane Wang (MAG)

video still: Jane Wang

An installation that examines the subtle relationships between the images of shoes and the coded messages of turn of the century song lyrics about African Americans and the Irish.

As the Artist states:
“Lyrics that were intended to be humorous but are in fact racially insensitive."

James Ellis Coleman has an MFA and a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art. He has had solo shows at the Sherborn Public Library, Sherborn MA., Harris Berman Diversity Gallery, Tuffs, Watertown MA, Gallery at Concepts, So. Natick MA, and The Center for Art in Natick, Natick MA. He has also shown in group shows at the Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton, MA, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, MPG Contemporary, Boston, MA, Limner Art Gallery, Hudson NY, Amazing Things Art Center, (juried), Framingham MA, Brush Art Gallery and Studios, Lowell MA, Hera Gallery, (juried), Wakefield RI, and the annual juried show at the Zullo Gallery, Medfield MA.

He was honored to have a commission from Urban Arts, in Boston Ma. in 2004 as well as a residency at The Vermont Studios in Johnson Vermont in 2005 and won first prize at the Amazing Things Art Center in Framingham Ma.

Notes from the Curator:

1. You can see/hear a brief conversation with James while he is de-installing his piece if you watch the two videos posted on June 6th from the POV of a visitor to the exhibit.

2. A couple of visitors responded to and "got" this piece instantly: the journalist G. Jeffrey MacDonald who often reports on social and religious issues and the other is the jazz pianist and vocalist Carolyn Wilkins who previously had heard about the song but had never previously seen the lyrics.

Liz Roncka / Haggai Cohen Milo - movement/music May 23, 24 2009

2009-06-07T21:09:00.037-04:00

Photos from Saturday May 23rd, 2009 performance:

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Video from Saturday May 23rd, 2009 performance:

Liz Roncka / Haggai Cohen Milo: Improv. #1 @mobius 5-23-09 from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Photos from Sunday May 24th, 2009 performance:

video still: Jane Wang (MAG)

video still: Jane Wang (MAG)

video still: Jane Wang (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

photo: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Video from Sunday May 24th, 2009 performance:

Liz Roncka / Haggai Cohen Milo : Improv. #2 @mobius 5-24-09 from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Liz Roncka and Haggai Cohen Milo
"a site-specific improvisational duet of movement and music"
May 23, 24 2009 - movement and live music performance

The piece will be a structured improvisation and will incorporate interactions with the audience, artists and installations in the space. The architecture of the space (physical, sonic, energetic) will also heavily inform the improvisation. Thematically, the question of what it means to be "political" in one's "art-making" will be explored.

Liz Roncka is an avid practitioner of movement improvisation and contemporary dance. Her early training was in the tradition of classical ballet at the School of the New Bedford Ballet. In college, Liz’s focus shifted toward contemporary dance and improvisation. She was a member of the Dance Collective of Boston from 1998-2005.

Liz has had the pleasure of performing modern dance and improvisational work under the direction of: Ramelle Adams, Emily Beattie, Ruth Benson-Levin, Debra Bluth, Alissa Cardone, Sean Curran, Andrew Harwood, Dawn Kramer, Light Motion, and Micki Taylor-Pinney. Her improvisational work has been presented in Boston, NYC, Paris and Budapest. In addition to her own improvisational work, current performance projects include the Falling Flight Project, Moving Sound, The White Box Project and the Moment Quartet.

Liz has a daily blog "The Dance-a-Day Project" wherein she creates and videotapes improvised dances on a daily basis: "The intent of this project is to deepen my practice of improvisation. The commitment to and repetition of this process will inevitably lead to the evolution of my work. I am seeking information regarding patterns and themes in my work; my personal responses to the dances; the viewers' responses; what is my technique/my method; what characteristics define my work; where are the blocks; where is the magic; where is the "truth"?!"

David Chin - "The People's Shoes" & MC all three nights

2009-06-06T01:08:00.024-04:00

David Chin: "The People's Shoes"

photographs and installation

Dave as MC:
May 23, 2009 @mobius

May 25, 2009 @mobius
photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

This exhibit of photography presents a cross-section of the shoes of visitors to Mobius during SoWa Art Walk. Wearers of the shoes recorded their reasons for wearing those particular pairs of shoes. With the pictures, I redirect the audience’s perspective to one that is uncommon in everyday life. With the shift in perspective, I hope to catalyze thoughts of how one’s response to another shifts as well.

BIO
David Chin was born and raised in Malaysia, where his interest in photography was sparked by his mother's fashion magazines, weekly news photography magazines, and the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Mary Ellen Mark. Photographing a cousin’s wedding cemented his interest in capturing moments of everyday life. He received his PhD in Physics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. While at Michigan, he trained in dance, and performed with the Weave Soundpainting Orchestra, an improvised performance art group. His training in empirical science and in dance have combined to intensify his interest in observing people and the unspoken emotions they project with their bodies.

Photographs are available for sale by the artist at $30 each. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to Mobius.

Notes from the Curator:

1. You can see each of his twenty photos if you watch the two videos posted on June 6th from the POV of a visitor to the exhibit. If your shoes are in one of the photos, please comment on this blog if you wish.

2. David Chin was also the MC/stage manager for all three evenings of performances.

Quotes from The Politics of Shoes Exhibit Visitor's Comments Book:

" My favorite is the shoe pictures ... From left to right... Picture #5. The comment "I like my shoes, I love them" that's how I feel about my shoes today ... and every day."

"I really enjoyed the shoe photos and the reasons why people chose to wear them."

The Politics of Shoes Exhibit - The Movie

2009-06-06T00:29:00.008-04:00

Short and Full Length Versions:

1. In both cases, a brief comment/conversation with James Ellis Coleman who was de-installing his installation.

2. You can see each of David Chin's photographs and in some cases the accompanying text in the full length version - kind of a blur in the less than 2 minute version.

hyper-sped up video from the point of view of a visitor to The Politics of Shoes exhibit:

The Politics of Shoes Exhibit @mobius (Short Version) 1:41 mins from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

full length version video from the point of view of a visitor to The Politics of Shoes exhibit (for those who want to spend a little time with the installations):

The Politics of Shoes Exhibit @mobius (Full Version) - 14:55 mins from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

El Putnam - "Status": May 23,24,25 2009

2009-06-05T23:55:00.025-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

Photos by David Chin of El's Performance @mobius
http://www.prehensileeye.net/EL_Putnam_Status/page.html

Durational performance over all three evenings (May 23-25, 2009) with resultant installation of
paper, yarn, mixed media.

El Putnam & Joshua Kent - The Politics of Shoes @Mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Youtube video of El Putnam tracing shoes including videographer's:

Artist's original proposal and statement:

I will be dressed in business attire and a pair of “Fuck me” heels. I will trace the outline of the shoes of the audience, making note of their occupation, gender, and the type of shoe. Images of shoes are then measured and organized according to size, creating an installation that will last the duration of the exhibit. This will be a durational performance. I will only speak to the audience to ask them questions pertaining to the information I need, as listed above. When not tracing shoes, I will be pacing the installation space, counting my steps, whispering the number and marking it on a legal pad when I have to stop to trace shoes. I will only be allowed to drink water from a specific container (still to be determined) during the duration of the performance.

This work behaves a commentary on the treatment of shoes as a status symbol, determined by a variety of factors involving cultural identity, including class and gender. The reduction of the shoes to an outline while presenting only the information that the shoes are meant to symbolize plays with notion in a literal sense, pointing out that the use-value of a shoe extends beyond the need to protect the feet. My actions are also related to this commentary, with my pacing in intentionally uncomfortable shoes that will harm my feet functioning as a painful reminder of the concepts I present through this work.

BIO
EL Putnam is an interdisciplinary artist who works predominately in photography, video, and performance art, and has a studio located at the Washington Street Arts Center in Somerville, MA. Her work draws from multiple themes and sources, though are all intertwined through notions of personal and cultural circumspection. Currently, she is exploring the potential of subtle radicalism and its contribution to a new feminist aesthetics. At the moment, she is currently working on a doctorate in aesthetics, art theory, and philosophy at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. She also teaches at Emerson College in the Visual and Media Arts department.

Video Clip of Final Installation:

El Putnam's Installation - The Politics of Shoes @mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.

Karen Aqua - installation artist

2009-06-04T09:31:00.013-04:00

video clip: Jane Wang (MAG)
from telephone wire installation hanging from ceiling

from shoe bomber installation on floor

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG) except as noted

Karen Aqua

Untitled
felt-tip drawing on canvas shoes

More than any other article of clothing, you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear. Karen Aqua, who usually works in the medium of animated film, has recently expanded her creative expression and love of drawing to a new canvas: the surface of shoes. These shoes were created for Jane Wang expressly for this exhibit.

Karen Aqua has been making animated films since graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in 1976. Her award-winning films have screened worldwide, at festivals in Europe, Asia, North/South America, New Zealand, and the Middle East. She has received fellowships from American Film Institute, the MacDowell Colony, Millay Colony for the Arts, Fundación Valparaíso (Spain), the LEF Foundation, Berkshire Taconic Trust, and the Puffin Foundation. Aqua has taught animation at Boston College, Emerson College, and at workshops and residencies around the US. She has served as a juror for film festivals in Japan, the US, and Canada, and has presented numerous one-person screenings of her work. Since1990 she has directed, designed, and animated 22 segments for "Sesame Street." Aqua's newest film, "Twist of Fate," recently premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.

“Much of the Karen Aqua universe is populated with creatures spawned from a mating between Matisse cutouts and carvings on Incan tombs. Made of neon-bright colors and sharp angles, her exuberant stick figures give off an energy that’s neither entirely human nor entirely animal. What’s more, they’re caught up in a natural system that may be sinister, but never lacks a sense of humor.”

— Robin Dougherty, Boston Phoenix

“Aqua ... is clearly one of the finest animation artists in the country.”

— Michael Blowen, The Boston Globe

http://aquak.home.att.net

Rosie Banach - "Under Foot" May 23rd, 2009

2009-06-03T16:32:00.018-04:00

photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)

"Under Foot"

May 23rd, 2009 durational performance on patio of Mobius, 725 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

with resultant videos:

1. original 3 hour video of performance and

2. DVD specifically created for exhibit by the artist (sped up and edited version).

If the videos become available online for viewing, the links will be added here.

The artist/performer states:

"In continuation of my current work, I am proposing an installation/performance piece, for presentation at the “Politics of Shoes: Installations and Site-Specific Performances”. I will use the patio pathway and patio outside the gallery as the surface on which the real-time stream of conscious will be recorded. I will use chalk to cover the entire area with writing prior to the opening of the show. The performance will be video taped and made available for viewing. The foot traffic, other performances, and natural forces will then take part in the gradual degradation of the installation."

The videographer was standing slightly over ground level in the corner of the patio next to the front door of the gallery.

Boston-based artist, Rosie Banach’s current work integrates the tactics of graffiti art with the constraints of performance art. Using real-time stream of conscious writing, each performance is unique and creates an inimitable dialogue between the artist, the surface, and the audience. Upon completion, each piece becomes an impermanent installation and is left to the whims of the environment. Wear and tear from traffic and natural forces speak to the fragile nature of communication and self-expression.

Rosie has completed and documented over thirty of these performances. Her work has recently been shown at the Photographic Resource Center in Boston, MA as well as the Gallery at One Washington Center in Dover, NH.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO-uppN3wc4

http://www.rosiebanach.com/newworkbandw/

Notes from the Curator #2 - Thanks to ...

2009-06-03T16:32:00.017-04:00

THANK YOU

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank those artists and people behind the scenes (including ones not in the show) who gave their extra help to make this exhibition and set of performances happen and basically helped me keep from collapsing in a heap many many times. Hopefully I didn't forget someone - please forgive me if I do forget.

First though, an explanation of why this show was thrown together so quickly:

I had been thinking about putting together an exhibition with related site-specific performances at some point on The Politics of Shoes since December 2008. As many of you may know, Mobius the space has been up in the air for some time due to a huge property tax bill, the troubled economy and discussions of whether to stay or not, or buy or not. Basically we the Mobius Artists Group have been operating by the skin of our teeth for some time, not knowing if we will have to move within a week or stay for an extra month. We have thus been under the unfortunate burden of having to book month to month since we had no idea if we'd even be in the space the following month.

At one of our meetings late in April 2009, we decided we would stay through May 2009. We all felt that given that circumstance, we needed to book May as much a possible and try to fill every weekend with events.

Since none of the other artists were available to book something for Memorial Day weekend, I decided to finally put together The Politics of Shoes that long weekend even though I'd already planned to be in Italy from May 11-22nd. The fallout from that was that I needed a LOT of help to make this thing happen.

Therefore - Extra Special Thanks to:

1. Ian Colon: Ian gamely agreed to co-curate the performance art part of the show even though he was about to graduate and had twenty zillion things he had to do simultaneously. He was fine with just trying to work around whatever I booked for the three nights and fill in where he could.
Before I left for Italy, Ian said he had two proposals and hoped to get some more while I was gone. We agreed to meet and so on when I got back and he was willing to MC all three evenings.
When I got back from Italy, I saw an email from Ian saying that the two artists who had submitted proposals didn't work out and no one else had submitted proposals. I immediately called Ian on the phone and asked what happened with the two artists? Ian said that what they proposed would be destructive to the installations. I said, I could work around that by giving them more gallery space and moving the installation to the sides of the gallery, and what is it that they proposed? Ian replied that one artist wanted to flog himself with paint and walk all over the gallery - I replied ok, you're right, that won't work - what about the other artist? Ian said that artist wanted to get the entire audience to PEE ON THE FLOOR OF THE GALLERY...

Needless to say, at that point I had to agree with Ian that those two performing artists would not be appropriate for this site-specific installation led set of performances.

2. Jennifer Hicks: for throwing together a poster and some PR last minute and putting me in contact with an Italian Online Magazine all while she was driving across the country (?!) and for bringing in additional performers to the mix.

3. Sandy Huckleberry (MAG) for checking the politicsshoes@gmail.com and answering questions from artists while I was away, handling any late proposals and offering to let one of the out of town artists stay in her house.

4. Cathy Nolan (MAG) for trying to organize the mass (mess) of emails which were in random order into something that made sense for this blog, for artist profiles and for keeping up with the mobius facebook related information.

5. David Chin (honorary MAG and miracle worker and all around great person) for taking wonderful photographs for the SOWA Art Walk, posting a facebook page for this event and for taking on MC duties last minute all three nights (which included being a stage manager/ tech/
and putting the program order together the last night) and for helping with putting artists bios and statements together to be printed for the exhibit.

6. Bob Raymond (MAG) for his awesome photos of all the performers and the installations.

7. Margaret Bellafiore (MAG) for her considerable help both mentally and physically in putting up the installations.

8. Kate Hanrahan (one of the guest installation artists) who drove in from Brooklyn, NY with her beautiful installation and asked "how can I help" - she also worked on the artist profiles and dressed two stacked speaker cabinets in white craft paper to display another artist's installation.

9. Marilyn Arsem (MAG) for patiently making the program for the last evening of performances.

10. Joanne Rice (MAG) for moral support and enthusiasm when it was most needed.

11. Matt Samolis for performing with three very different choreographers/performers and for taking on extra tech support at the last minute.

12. Charles Daniels for running my ultra-flip cameras for me the last evening and for also taking some fantastic photos with his own camera - simultaneously...
www.charlesdaniels.us

13. Liz Roncka and El Putnam for surviving all three evenings intact and for tackling some last minute mayhem and whackiness.

14. G, S & J...

and finally Milan Kohout (MAG) without whom this show would not have even been conceived.

Notes From The Curator #1 - Blog Intent

2009-06-02T18:53:00.006-04:00

It's June 2nd and sadly, The Politics of Shoes Exhibit is completely down except for some wire hanging from the ceiling and the rolling video station from which I hope to periodically display both videos specifically created for the exhibition and videos documenting the installations and performances in the evenings which may be viewed through the windows of Mobius, 725 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA.

Because of the mad dash nature of how this series of performances and exhibit were thrown together, we were unable to blog in real time as events occurred.

It was always my intention to document the performances and installations as much as possible and blog in reverse so to speak.

Over the next several weeks, I am planning on daily featuring either:

1. one of the installations artists (or in some cases, collaborative teams) in surname alphabetical order

OR

2. one of the performers (or collaborators) from each of the three evenings of performances in order of appearance.

I am hoping the featured artists will upload, add their own stories and particulars/experiences to this blog and that visitors to this blog will add their comments to this documentation in reverse blog.

I also plan to add notes/commentary along the way about the experience of the exhibit and performances and events leading up to the Politics of Shoes as well as articles/reflections/comments from visitors to the exhibit including two invited writers/journalists who are not art critics because I think of this particular exhibit as one that crosses boundaries into disciplines other than the arts. One journalist G. Jeffrey MacDonald principally writes on social and religious issues/news and the other, Jill Furumoto, has written for Spare Change, one of the local Boston papers which focusses on social issues and more specifically, the homeless and disenfranchised in our community.

Thank you for reading and enjoy,

Jane Wang aka angryjane
on behalf of The Mobius Artists Group

ps, I "borrowed" this Daily Dose of Art concept from Liz Roncka's Dance-A-Day