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06-22-15

Spring 2015 Education Program Perspective — Mary Elizabeth Hogan, Student

Mary Elizabeth Hogan, photo: Nina Dietzel

Mary Elizabeth Hogan, photo: Nina Dietzel

Mary Elizabeth Hogan
Spring 2015 Student

I am interested in definition and the process of defining in regard to place and orientation. The efforts to explain one’s position require a similar process—delineating boundaries, difference, accounting for location in relation to otherness, and situating oneself between origin and destination. Through the use of text, performance, and collaboration, I practice making flexible formulaic inquiries such as What is this? or, Where am I? to facilitate indeterminacy and reevaluate where determinacy fails.
http://nitro-trail.ca/

Why are you interested in creating work in response to a place/site?

Don’t you think that by establishing artificial barriers we deliver a blow to the idea of limitless thought? By limiting our movement forward, we facilitate moving backwards.

I wrote down this quote while re-watching Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972). It addresses my fascination with form (formlessness) and place (placelessness) and the responsibility I feel to state and articulate my position formulaically, impose boundaries, separate, and consider things as apart. I find site-responsive and site-specific work demands a close study of both form and place, and allows for another type of translation to occur.

What is one impression that you took away from this experience?
At the FOR-SITE property, I had the opportunity to rethink the patterns I choose to notice and be affected by—the most significant being the passage of time. While exploring the property and its surrounding area with the expert contributions of geologist David Lawler, and local historian Hank Meals, I was introduced to another way of looking, measuring, and understanding a site. This meant evaluating geological landmarks, seeking out significant grinding rocks vital to the Nisenan people that first occupied the area, crawling through drainage tunnels left over from hydraulic mining, and trekking up a disintegrating mountainside to see from a new and quickly disappearing vantage. These experiences impressed upon me the importance of accruing your own non-standardized data from which to measure the little histories that frame the forming present.

In what way has this experience affected or complemented your practice?
I have recently been experimenting with different types of text written for performance, i.e. scripts for situations, short plays, speeches, and open letters. The site itself became a significant player in some of the written work I produced on-site. The collection of mindful and intelligent participants provided useful feedback and criticism. I think the full effect of my time spent at FOR-SITE will continue to influence my thinking as I work to reflect on the strata of substantial moments.

What were the benefits of working in the land as opposed to the classroom?
It was a unique experience to reimagine a classroom setting using the natural perimeter imposed by the land. With Mia’s guidance, we were able to apply a fluid pedagogical framework that focused on open critical discussion and exploratory conversation and fit our activities and meal-making. I often find that classroom settings can become limiting, and that to access most subjects requires a level of research and dedication best sought outside of the academic institution. The FOR-SITE property provided a significant opportunity to move beyond these limits. The land itself became an archive to reference, a space of respite and reflection, and material for response. And, you can’t watch a blood moon lunar eclipse from a classroom.

Were there any unexpected challenges?
I think that any challenge that occurred was physical, but it was the kind of challenge that only invites more determination. For example, hoisting yourself up a rope to reach the top of a black oak, or navigating back to camp by headlamp avoiding trees and poison oak. We also had a fantastic host and support team in [Program Director] Jackie von Treskow and [Site Manager] Joseph Meade, who addressed every possible concern, and became vital, thoughtful contributors in all of our endeavors.

Describe the artwork or project that emerged (or is still emerging) from your experience.
One of the works I developed was called Transitu: What if boundaries only appeared when you summoned them? (making landmarks for when you need them). I collected small rocks along the route I would take from my tent to our workspace, painted them with phosphorescent pigment, and placed them back in the land. On our final evening, I read an essay (of the same title) and led a flashlight-lit night walk along my chosen path. As the flashlights illuminated the ground, the painted rocks collected a charge and took on a ghostly glow. For the rest of the evening, the path remained illuminated, guiding people through dark. I was interested in creating landmarks that only existed through maintained interaction, memory, and re-illumination from a collective effort.

Mary Elizabeth Hogan, Transitu: What if boundaries only appeared when you summoned them? (making landmarks for when you need them), 2015, photo: Nina Dietzel

Mary Elizabeth Hogan, Transitu: What if boundaries only appeared when you summoned them? (making landmarks for when you need them), 2015 (process view), photo: Nina Dietzel

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  • #LandsEnd featured artist Andrea Chung’s video Come Back to Jamaica (2009), & Come Back to Yourself (2013), will be… https://t.co/HXwouRNnBa
  • FOR-SITE is thrilled to partner with local chefs & mixologists in hosting small, safe cocktail parties & suppers on… https://t.co/q1lElox0gx

Instagram

FOR-SITE collaborator @hankwillisthomas & artist @wideawakes designed  #EyesonIran flying billboards in solidarity with the women of Iran. 

The billboards can be seen this week on South beach, Miami and at @untitledartfair 

@forfreedoms multi-day, multi-media art installation spans Miami and artworks throughout @4freedomspark in NYC
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FOR-SITE collaborator @hankwillisthomas & artist @wideawakes designed #EyesonIran flying billboards in solidarity with the women of Iran. The billboards can be seen this week on South beach, Miami and at @untitledartfair @forfreedoms multi-day, multi-media art installation spans Miami and artworks throughout @4freedomspark in NYC
2 months ago
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1/9
This #GivingTuesday we want to celebrate and honor YOU and the other partners and supporters who have buoyed our wildest dreams. Access to all of our exhibition sites these past years—from the former Cliff House to Alcatraz to military batteries and churches—was gifted to us from our park partners. The 110 artists with whom we have worked blew us away with breathtaking, career-defining work, often under short order. FOR-SITE simply would not exist without the well of generosity and cooperation that is our friends, and we intend to express our gratitude this year. 

You can continue to support FOR-SITE by donating today at the link in bio.
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This #GivingTuesday we want to celebrate and honor YOU and the other partners and supporters who have buoyed our wildest dreams. Access to all of our exhibition sites these past years—from the former Cliff House to Alcatraz to military batteries and churches—was gifted to us from our park partners. The 110 artists with whom we have worked blew us away with breathtaking, career-defining work, often under short order. FOR-SITE simply would not exist without the well of generosity and cooperation that is our friends, and we intend to express our gratitude this year. You can continue to support FOR-SITE by donating today at the link in bio.
2 months ago
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2/9
The participating artists of FOR-SITE’s 2018 exhibition SANCTUARY, represented diverse ideologies and backgrounds (many including experiences as migrants and refugees), but their contributions to the exhibition—spectacularly varied in content and design—conformed to a single format, lending a unifying element that bridged racial, cultural, and religious differences. Installed on the floor of the historic Fort Mason Chapel, the four-by-six-foot wool rugs—woven in Lahore, Pakistan, using traditional materials and hand-knotting techniques—called to mind traditional prayer rugs, but they transcended religious connotations, encompassing thoughtful viewpoints on cultural identity, sense of place, and belonging.

Photo by @robertdiversherrick
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The participating artists of FOR-SITE’s 2018 exhibition SANCTUARY, represented diverse ideologies and backgrounds (many including experiences as migrants and refugees), but their contributions to the exhibition—spectacularly varied in content and design—conformed to a single format, lending a unifying element that bridged racial, cultural, and religious differences. Installed on the floor of the historic Fort Mason Chapel, the four-by-six-foot wool rugs—woven in Lahore, Pakistan, using traditional materials and hand-knotting techniques—called to mind traditional prayer rugs, but they transcended religious connotations, encompassing thoughtful viewpoints on cultural identity, sense of place, and belonging. Photo by @robertdiversherrick
2 months ago
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3/9
#LandsEnd featured artist @suzannehusky has explored interactions among humans, animals, and plants through a multifaceted art practice that includes sculpture, installation, photography, and film for the last 20 years. 

Husky sculpts her trees from used clothes and found textiles, translating our cast-off clothing—informed by age and gender, class, culture, and politics—to the individualizing characteristics of trees, suggesting the deep interconnectedness of humans and their natural surroundings. “Forest” is both an homage to an ecological system that supports countless plant and animal species and a memorial to that same system under threat of erasure. #artaboutplace
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#LandsEnd featured artist @suzannehusky has explored interactions among humans, animals, and plants through a multifaceted art practice that includes sculpture, installation, photography, and film for the last 20 years. Husky sculpts her trees from used clothes and found textiles, translating our cast-off clothing—informed by age and gender, class, culture, and politics—to the individualizing characteristics of trees, suggesting the deep interconnectedness of humans and their natural surroundings. “Forest” is both an homage to an ecological system that supports countless plant and animal species and a memorial to that same system under threat of erasure. #artaboutplace
2 months ago
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4/9
#LandsEnd featured artist @danielbeltraphoto’s striking, large-scale aerial photographs of melting polar ice caps and oil spills highlight the rate and scale at which humanity is impacting our world. His juxtapositions of nature and destruction provide an almost overwhelming sense of physical scale and emotional dread, through flattened but dynamic images that flirt with abstraction.
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#LandsEnd featured artist @danielbeltraphoto’s striking, large-scale aerial photographs of melting polar ice caps and oil spills highlight the rate and scale at which humanity is impacting our world. His juxtapositions of nature and destruction provide an almost overwhelming sense of physical scale and emotional dread, through flattened but dynamic images that flirt with abstraction.
3 months ago
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5/9
FOR-SITE turns 20 in 2023! We feel extremely grateful to all of you, the artists, and to our long-standing park partners, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (@parksconservancy), the Presidio Trust (@presidiosf), and the @nationalparkservice, for such outstanding companionship and support of our work.

Stay tuned! The celebrations begin next month, in December, followed by a milestone anniversary year punctuated by programs and events, and a to-be-announced biennial exhibition open to the public.

In the meantime, you may have noticed we changed our name and branding, with our new website coming soon. The FOR-SITE Foundation is now FOR-SITE, yet we remain dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place.

We look forward to celebrating with you this next year!
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FOR-SITE turns 20 in 2023! We feel extremely grateful to all of you, the artists, and to our long-standing park partners, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (@parksconservancy), the Presidio Trust (@presidiosf), and the @nationalparkservice, for such outstanding companionship and support of our work. Stay tuned! The celebrations begin next month, in December, followed by a milestone anniversary year punctuated by programs and events, and a to-be-announced biennial exhibition open to the public. In the meantime, you may have noticed we changed our name and branding, with our new website coming soon. The FOR-SITE Foundation is now FOR-SITE, yet we remain dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place. We look forward to celebrating with you this next year!
3 months ago
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6/9
Election Day has arrived! VOTE for the planet and the future you want to see in the world 🌍🌊 🗳️
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Election Day has arrived! VOTE for the planet and the future you want to see in the world 🌍🌊 🗳️
3 months ago
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7/9
@anateresafernandez talking sea bodies and On the Horizon on @kqed live. #LandsEnd
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@anateresafernandez talking sea bodies and On the Horizon on @kqed live. #LandsEnd
3 months ago
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8/9
“The response among members of the visual arts community in the Bay Area was swift and certain: The Times story, a consensus of those who spoke with The Chronicle said, does not represent the region accurately, and they do not see a local decline.

The most common criticism of the Times’ reporting was that San Francisco should not be viewed through the lens of an art market, but rather as a larger arts community consisting of many public and private institutions as well as independent artists, arts workers and patrons.” - @tonybravosf 

@anateresafernandez “On the Horizon” at #FORSITE’s #LandsEnd exhibition featured  in @tonybravosf “S.F.’s art scene, disparaged by the New York Times, pushes back” for @sfchronicle_datebook
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“The response among members of the visual arts community in the Bay Area was swift and certain: The Times story, a consensus of those who spoke with The Chronicle said, does not represent the region accurately, and they do not see a local decline. The most common criticism of the Times’ reporting was that San Francisco should not be viewed through the lens of an art market, but rather as a larger arts community consisting of many public and private institutions as well as independent artists, arts workers and patrons.” - @tonybravosf @anateresafernandez “On the Horizon” at #FORSITE’s #LandsEnd exhibition featured in @tonybravosf “S.F.’s art scene, disparaged by the New York Times, pushes back” for @sfchronicle_datebook
3 months ago
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9/9

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