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HEADSPACE

405 E Oliver Street, Baltimore

October 2017 - January 2018 / site-specific evolving installation  

Headspace engages the front room exhibition space of Area 405 in an expanded studio experiment. The installation presents fluctuating arrangements of drawings, prints, and sculptural objects. Through repeated movements and serial actions, I treat drawing as akin to taking a long meditative walk. I employ shifts of scale, repetition, found materials, and cut-outs to frame the surfaces, textures, topography, and architecture of Area 405. Adapting the dependable modernist grid to be flexible, fallible, and vibrating, I present moments of intense focus and gestures of play within the container of a studio. Throughout the duration of the exhibition, Headspace will remain in flux, activated through shifts, additions, reconfigurations, and visitor interactions.

As the building houses 40 artist studios and hosts programs and exhibitions, I interpret 405 East Oliver Street to be a site of making and a site of gathering. In this landscape, I interrogate the role of the studio as a physical and mental space: as a site of learning, a site of confrontation, a site of routine, a site of doubt, a site of endurance, and a site of rest. Within this flexible context, I attempt to devise a way of working as a place to retreat to, a place for durational ceasing, a place to reconsider, establish language, and begin again.

photos by Joseph Hyde

Review in Baltimore Beat by Maura Callahan

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HEADSPACE (details)

405 E Oliver Street, Baltimore

October 2017 - January 2018 / site-specific evolving installation

Headspace engages the front room exhibition space of Area 405 in an expanded studio experiment. The installation presents fluctuating arrangements of drawings, prints, and sculptural objects. Through repeated movements and serial actions, I treat drawing as akin to taking a long meditative walk. I employ shifts of scale, repetition, found materials, and cut-outs to frame the surfaces, textures, topography, and architecture of Area 405. Adapting the dependable modernist grid to be flexible, fallible, and vibrating, I present moments of intense focus and gestures of play within the container of a studio. Throughout the duration of the exhibition, Headspace will remain in flux, activated through shifts, additions, reconfigurations, and visitor interactions.

As the building houses 40 artist studios and hosts programs and exhibitions, I interpret 405 East Oliver Street to be a site of making and a site of gathering. In this landscape, I interrogate the role of the studio as a physical and mental space: as a site of learning, a site of confrontation, a site of routine, a site of doubt, a site of endurance, and a site of rest. Within this flexible context, I attempt to devise a way of working as a place to retreat to, a place for durational ceasing, a place to reconsider, establish language, and begin again.

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GPL TYPEFACE

2016 / Blind Letterpress Print  / 20 X 15 inches / Edition of 30

Produced in collaboration with ICA Baltimore and Baltimore Print Studios, GPL Typeface depicts 31 impressions made in polymer clay of architectural details found in the George Peabody Library. Each impression corresponds to a letter of the alphabet. Additionally, the typeface was made into a usable font which can be downloaded here. 

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ARTIST RETREAT 

2016 / The Contemporary  / 3 day convening of 50 artists + 35 arts professionals 

Through my work with The Contemporary, I organized and launched an inaugural Artist Retreat which convened 50 Baltimore artists and 35 national arts consultants including critics, curators, gallerists, and collectors for three days of intensive professional development, community building, and networking. The retreat was free for all selected artists and included transportation to and from the center, lodging, and all meals. Artist Retreat 2016 took place at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown, Maryland from Thursday, August 4th to Sunday, August 7th. 

photos courtesy of Olivia Obineme and The Contemporary

About The Contemporary

The Contemporary is a nomadic, non-collecting art museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Our mission expands the idea of a museum as an incubator that commissions site-specific and subject-oriented projects. We engage diverse audiences and advance contemporary art through projects and educational programming. Our work is inspired by three guiding principles: artists matter, collaboration is key, and audience is everywhere.

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TOPO(LOG) TYPO(LOG)  

The George Peabody Library 17 W. Mount Vernon Place Baltimore, MD 21202

2015 / series of 6 books / materials include: linen, xylene monoprints, cyanotypes, digital archival prints, and found materials / each book measures 20" X 15"

Available upon request during the library’s open hours: Tuesday to Thursday – 9 AM to 5 PM Friday – 9 AM to 2 PM Saturday – By Appointment 

topo(log) typo(log) is a series of six books documenting my yearlong studio residency at the George Peabody Library. Emulating the Dewey Decimal system of relative location, each book embodies a level of the library: General Reference; Biography; History; Language, Literature, and Translation; Science and Art; Bibliography and Books about Books. Readers are invited to navigate through the pages as they would move through the cast-iron stacks and narrow passageways of the library’s interior.

Employing tasks common to a library of choosing, collecting, sorting, recording, transferring, scanning, and photocopying, I reinterpret the building’s contents to create an associative and accumulative narrative that is specific yet arbitrary, expansive yet fragmentary. Gathering imagery from a wide range of sources including 18th century encyclopedias, architectural protrusions, guided tours, insurance maps, office supplies, renovation remains, and an essay on clouds, I investigate the nature of work, the limitations of collective knowledge, and the poetics of place.

The six volumes have been acquired and cataloged by the George Peabody Library, becoming a part of the permanent collection. 

topo(log) typo(log) is made possible in part by a Rubys Artist Project Grant from the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance.

About the George Peabody Library:

The George Peabody Library, formerly the Library of the Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore, dates from the founding of the Peabody Institute in 1857. In that year, George Peabody, a Massachusetts-born philanthropist, dedicated the Peabody Institute to the citizens of Baltimore in appreciation of their "kindness and hospitality." The Peabody Library building, which opened in 1878, was designed by Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind, in collaboration with the first provost, Dr. Nathaniel H. Morison. Renowned for its striking architectural interior, the Peabody Stack Room contains five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies. The library collection contains over 300,000 volumes largely from the 18th and 19th centuries. Notable collection strengths are archaeology, British art and architecture, British and American history, biography, English and American literature, Romance languages and literature, Greek and Latin classics, history of science, geography, and exploration and travel including a large map collection. The George Peabody Library is now a part of the Special Collections Department of Johns Hopkins University’s Sheridan Libraries. Maintaining the provisions of Mr. Peabody’s original gift, the George Peabody Library is a non-circulating collection open to the general public.

Images of opening reception in Bmoreart

Review by Michael Anthony Farley in ArtFCity

Review by Terence Hannum in Bmoreart.com

Review by Maura Callahan in Baltimore City Paper

Download the George Peabody Library Font

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031 L87 2015 FOLIO c. 1 [BOOK 1, LEVEL 1, GENERAL REFERENCE] 

2015 / bound volume of 58 monoprints  / 20.5 X 15.5 X 1.25 inches  

Book one is a compilation of images taken from material in the George Peabody Library. Images are sourced from architectural renderings by E. G. Lind (architect of the George Peabody Library), insurance maps of Baltimore, mechanical drawings, and various encyclopedias.  This book emphasizes the reference collection, the foundation of the George Peabody Library, and the connections of the library collection with the world at large. Captions to the images can be found in the sixth book in the series, 027 B197G 2015 FOLIO c. 1 [BOOK 6, LEVEL 6, BIBLIOGRAPHY AND BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS].

Part one of a 6 volume set of works, compiled and created to document the collection and site of the George Peabody Library of the Johns Hopkins University. Each part finds its expression based on the material housed in the particular level of the library.

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920 C419 L87 2015 c. 1 [BOOK 2, LEVEL 2, BIOGRAPHY] FIRST AND SECOND PART OF THE INGENIOUS GENTLEMAN DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA

2015 / 2 bound volumes housed in box / volume 1: 54 pages ; volume 2: 77 pages / box measures 20.5 X 15.5 X 1.25 inches 

Book two, consisting of 2 volumes, lists in sequence the names of each of the adventures of Don Quixote. Book 2, level 2, biography considers the biographical works housed at the George Peabody Library.

Part two of a 6 volume set of works, compiled and created to document the collection and site of the George Peabody Library of the Johns Hopkins University. Each part finds its expression based on the material housed in the particular level of the library.

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909 L87 2015 c. 1 [BOOK 3, LEVEL 3, HISTORY] THE GEORGE PEABODY LIBRARY TOUR

2015 / Accordion folded volume of archival digital prints on bamboo paper, 11 folds / 20.5 X 15.5 X 0.25 inches when closed, 440 inches in length when fully opened

Book three consists of a unique edition, pairing the transcription of a tour given by Paul Espinosa (curator of the George Peabody Library) on May 6, 2014, with digital prints of scans of surfaces found within the library's interior. The scanned surfaces are linked together to create an horizontal line, suggesting a stroll through a long landscape.

Part three of a 6 volume set of works, compiled and created to document the collection and site of the George Peabody Library of the Johns Hopkins University. Each part finds its expression based on the material housed in the particular level of the library.

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800 L78 2015 FOLIO c. 1 [BOOK 4, LEVEL 4, LITERATURE AND TRANSLATION] 

2015 / Box of 31 polymer clay impressions housed in foam / 20.5 X 15.5 X 2.625 inches

Book four consists of a unique edition of 31 impressions made in polymer clay of architectural details found in the George Peabody Library. Each impression corresponds to a letter of the alphabet and was used as source material to produce a font called The George Peabody Font. Download the font here.

Part four of a 6 volume set of works, compiled and created to document the collection and site of the George Peabody Library of the Johns Hopkins University. Each part finds its expression based on the material housed in the particular level of the library.

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501 L78 2015 FOLIO c. 1 [BOOK 5, LEVEL 5, SCIENCE AND ART]

2015 / Bound volume of found text, 58 drafting film pages, 40 vellum insert pages, and 68 cyanotypes /  20.5 X 15.5 X 0.5 inches

Book five is a unique edition of an illustrated version of Luke Howard's Modification of Clouds. The volume contains text from Howard's 1803 work and 68 cyanotypes. Objects from the offices and stacks of the George Peabody Library were collected and placed on photosensitive paper on the windows of the library. The resulting photograms were produced by exposing the paper to sunlight from the windows.

Part five of a 6 volume set of works, compiled and created to document the collection and site of the George Peabody Library of the Johns Hopkins University. Each part finds its expression based on the material housed in the particular level of the library.

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027 B197G 2015 FOLIO c. 1 [BOOK 6, LEVEL 6, BIBLIOGRAPHY AND BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS] 2015 / Box housing card catalog sized bibliography and process materials including xeroxes, microfilm, microfiche, cyanotypes, archival digital prints, sketchbooks, and essays  / 20.5 X 15.5 X 3.625 inches 

Book six is a unique edition of a combination of bibliographic information (including card catalog cards), the captions and translations for book 1, and all the material from the process of making the six part book collection. Resembling both a card catalog and the stacks of the library, part six reveals the author's experience in exploring the George Peabody Library and the sorting/shifting of this discovered material.

Part six of a 6 volume set of works, compiled and created to document the collection and site of the George Peabody Library of the Johns Hopkins University. Each part finds its expression based on the material housed in the particular level of the library. 

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GRIT FUND

2015-2017 / The Contemporary / Regional Regranting Program awarding $55,000 annually to artist-led collaborative projects 

Through my work with The Contemporary, I built and administered the Grit Fund; a grant program which provides 8-12 grants in amounts between $1,000–$6,000, totaling $55,000 annually. 

The Grit Fund supports unincorporated and collaborative artist-organized activity that contributes significantly to Baltimore's arts landscape but seldom qualifies for traditional funding. Established with generous support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and bolstered in round two with additional support from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, the Grit Fund encourages projects that generate opportunities and create platforms for artists to engage with each other and with the public. Funded activities could include but are not limited to: exhibitions, publications, public events, public art, film screenings, the ongoing work of an existing arts venue or collective, and the founding of a new arts venue or collective. 

Since its inception, the Grit Fund has awarded over $172,000 to 34 artist projects.

About The Contemporary

The Contemporary is a nomadic, non-collecting art museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Our mission expands the idea of a museum as an incubator that commissions site-specific and subject-oriented projects. We engage diverse audiences and advance contemporary art through projects and educational programming. Our work is inspired by three guiding principles: artists matter, collaboration is key, and audience is everywhere.

About the Regional Regranting Program

The Regional Regranting Program aims to support vibrant, under-the-radar artistic activity by partnering with leading cultural institutions in communities across the country. The program allows The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to reach the sizeable population of informal, non-incorporated artist collectives and to support their alternative gathering spaces, publications, websites, events and other projects. The Foundation plans to expand this program with partner organizations in areas where the level of on-the-ground, self-organized artistic activity is highest.

The Foundation’s longest running regional regranting program, administered by San Francisco’s Southern Exposure, has been in operation since 2007. With the formation of the Grit Fund, The Contemporary joins eight regranting programs in San Francisco, CA (Southern Exposure’s Alternative Exposure); Kansas City, MO (Charlotte Street Foundation and Spencer Museum of Art’s Rocket Grants); Chicago, IL (Threewalls and Gallery 400’s Propeller Fund); Houston, TX (Diverse Works, Aurora Picture Show, and Project Row Houses’ The Idea Fund); Portland, OR (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s The Precipice Fund); Miami, FL (Cannonball’s Wavemaker Grants); Portland, ME (SPACE Gallery’s The Kindling Fund); and New Orleans, LA (Press Street, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, and Pelican Bomb’s Platforms Fund) and Albuquerque, NM (516 Arts’ Fulcrum Fund).

About The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was established in 1987 for the advancement of the visual arts. The Foundation’s objective is to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work. The Foundation values the contribution these organizations make to artists and audiences and to society as a whole by supporting, exhibiting, and interpreting a broad spectrum of contemporary artistic practice.

Grit Fund design + branding by Montana Bowman

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HUMOR + ABSURDITY: JERRY SALTZ + STAVROS HALKIAS

2015 / The Contemporary / Talking Shop / Speaker Series

Humor + Absurdity was a conversation I moderated between art critic Jerry Saltz and comedian Stavros Halkias for The Contemporary’s Speaker Series, Talking Shop which partnered acclaimed artists and professionals from various disciplines to discuss the nexus of art, science, medicine, technology, politics, and more. 

photos courtesy of Olivia Obineme and The Contemporary

design + branding by Lily Clark

About The Contemporary

The Contemporary is a nomadic, non-collecting art museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Our mission expands the idea of a museum as an incubator that commissions site-specific and subject-oriented projects. We engage diverse audiences and advance contemporary art through projects and educational programming. Our work is inspired by three guiding principles: artists matter, collaboration is key, and audience is everywhere.

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I SPENT A MONTH WITH A (VASE), I SPENT TWO WEEKS WITH A (BOOK)

2013 / blue, teal, and green Risograph interior, fold-out (poster) cover, glue and tape bound, edition of 100 / 10.25" X 6.5"

52 pages

In August of 2013, I spent two weeks with a book. The edition was printed on a Risograph GR3750 stencil duplicator on the occasion of residency at SPARE, Chicago. 

I Spent a Month with a (Vase), I Spent Two Weeks with a (Book) is a re-exploration of a vase which I had replicated before. The previous projects dealt with value being created (or at least being more obviously visible) through an investment of time and labor and the translation and transitions between copies. I was curious to use a machine to further explore issues of authenticity (each print is a multiple yet unique) and memory (alignment and registration). 

About Risograph Printing at SPARE:

The Risograph GR3750 stencil printer is the basis of SPARE. The Risograph is best when its imperfections can be appreciated. It will often look a little rough, misaligned, and handmade. Similar to screenprinting you print one color at a time which brings alignment, overprinting, and other layer techniques into play. When printing multiple colors the alignment will never be precise. These qualities can be seen as limitations, but SPARE prefers to exploit, challenge and play with the capabilities of the Risograph machine.

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NEW AND COLLECTED STORIES . COM

2013 / web archive of research + writings 

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POSTCARD SALE - DE LOODS (SILO) GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS

2013 / event of selling postcards that document an action 

De Loods (Silo) is a building in Groningen that was lifted from its previous location and deposited to where it now sits. After developing a project to be housed in De Loods, I was told by the exhibition organizers that the building was not suitable and was offered another more gallery-like exhibition space. After developing another project for the second space, I was informed that the second space was no longer available and I should return (at this point reluctantly) to my first choice. Through moving between spaces and perhaps the shifting of time, I no longer had an interest in being present. This general sense of indifference was the point of departure for this site-specific project. 

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POSTCARD DESIGNS - DE LOODS (SILO) GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS

2013 / 40 postcard designs / (text from back of postcard included here as captions)

The walls of the space were remade at 1:35 scale and mailed to loved ones in the places I've lived and will be returning to as a way to both expand and destroy the site. Before mailing all but one of the walls to my family (my husband in Baltimore, my parents in Oklahoma City, my grandmother and extended family in China), I asked a photographer to document them. I’ve taken the wall I kept (which will be displayed in my home in Groningen) to locations I felt were significant in the city and documented the visits. I’ve asked my family members to take their respective walls to landmarks in their own cities. My selections from the photographs were made into postcards that were then sold for one euro each during the exhibition.