A.N. Pritzker School Collaboration

Collaboration is a key element to this project. On May 17th, we are hosting an art class taught by Mindy Swartz (local sculptor, and UIC Grad) from A.N. Pritzker School near Wicker Park. This art class will be visiting our exhibit to collaborate with us in two ways...

1) Paper Shredding: For the last few weeks Ms. Swartz's class has been collecting and shredding paper that is traditionally disposed of at their school. Diligently these students have been redefining the system of paper product flow through their school and creating a future addition to our installation. When the students arrive on May 17th, they will be adding their collection to the pile hence redirecting their schools system to another place in the city. Stuart and I regularly discuss this as a process of Urban Warp/Weft; an urban redefinition of a system within our city.

2) Failed Utopic Projects: In addition to the shredded paper, Mindy Swartz's class will be presenting their version of their own "failed utopic ideas." This brainstorming technique supports our interest in how only from an idea will a project follow through. This book will feature their ideas for either the school or elsewhere on what could be changed architecturally, visually or conceptually. The book will be presented on May 17th, and will hang in the installation at UIC.

As a final part to this collaboration, we have encouraged the students to come to the show and group together as "art critics." After their visit we will be posting their responses to the show on our blog for people to read. Conversations and criticism welcome, we look forward to the students' arrival!

Please view their critiques as they are posted! Thanks to Mindy Swartz and the class at A.N.Pritzker!

Installation Day 1 and 2

We are artists. Together we underscore a larger idea that is about repsonding to conservation and ideas of sustainability. We are not interested in solving the problem singlehandedly, although - if we could we would. (like most people) As we went about installing, talking, thinking and sharing information and views about this issue, we realized that in our collaboration together the idea of "collaboration" and discussion are larger than the both of us. It encompasses a larger community. A collective of people that not only lives together, but talks, converses, and moves via the systems of a city. An Urban Warp/Weft.
Collaboration is larger than just us.

Today, at Home Depot it was interesting, you never know who is standing next to you in the city space, or wherever. A woman, named Kay wanted to know why we were there looking at chicken wire, she enquired if we had chickens. We said "no" and dialgoue ensued. This was interesting, yes this was social sustainability in action, where people converse for no reason other than to share information as a friendly exchange.

Our own language of HOW we collaborate is being invented as we work. This ideally, one could suppose is a work in progress, as is any social exchange in the ongoing dialogical enquiry of art and people and the everyday, as this is a response.

Terra Pass Website

http://www.terrapass.com

TerraPass is a unique web-based project that focuses on the way everyday citizens can buy back their "carbon footprint" as a way to promote funding for renewable energy projects. The website calculates specific outputs of carbon pollution on a person-to-person basis, and prices how much this output would cost to fund a renewable project.

"When you buy a TerraPass, your money funds renewable energy projects such as wind farms. These projects result in verified reductions in greenhouse gas pollution. And these reductions counterbalance your own emissions."

Please visit their website FAQ section to see the goal of the group, as well as the blog to better understand their concept of using guilt of pollution as a way to fund environmentally sound projects.

Green Festival - Chicago - Earth Day

Celebrate Earth Day at Green Festival
Chicago, IL - April 21-22, 2007
www.greenfestivals.org

Show Hours
Saturday 10AM- 8PM
Sunday 11AM- 6PM

Venue Name and Address
McCormick Place/ Lakeside
2301 S. Lake Shore
Drive Chicago IL 60616

Greenish City

Mick Dumke of the Chicago Reader posted a wonderful article on how the city of Chicago stands up to it's title of "The Greenest City." He makes a list of pros and cons...please read!

http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/chicago101/environment/

1997 Kyoto Protocol

Saturday
Egads.....Heavens to Mergatroid. Many countries have failed to meet targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions laid out in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The United States has never ratified the pact. And on Friday, the Bush administration reiterated its rejection of imposed cuts on greenhouse gases. USA did not go to the international meeting in Paris led by Jacques Chirac. Meanwhile, if a butterfly in the jungle of the Amazon can be felt on the Southside of Chicago, the question is: When will leaders, and humanity (lack of a better word) wake up to acts of social sustainability - that conversation creates change on a local level and global? With this work, we are trying to connect people, create collaboration in a new way that can maybe, just maybe make change and inspire new ways of industry to collaborate in the production of the world economy. Yes, albeit a grand gesture, and large idea. Gotta start somewhere.


Sunday
We met with Farris Wahbeh from the Center for Intutive and Outsider Art. Intuit, often purchases at auction estates of particular artists. The estate can include, floor, walls, ceiling, and everything in the space. Art for arts sake? This is a sustainable action, historicism with respect for the past, as well as understanding a new invention of the word - re-use, re-claimed.

Saturday
Egads.....Heavens to Mergatroid. Many countries have failed to meet targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions laid out in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The United States has never ratified the pact. And on Friday, the Bush administration reiterated its rejection of imposed cuts on greenhouse gases. USA did not go to the international meeting in Paris led by Jacques Chirac. Meanwhile, if a butterfly in the jungle of the Amazon can be felt on the Southside of Chicago, the question is: When will leaders, and humanity (lack of a better word) wake up to acts of social sustainability - that conversation creates change on a local level and global? With this work, we are trying to connect people, create collaboration in a new way that can maybe, just maybe make change and inspire new ways of industry to collaborate in the production of the world economy. Yes, albeit a grand gesture, and large idea. Gotta start somewhere.


Sunday
We met with Farris Wahbeh from the Center for Intutive and Outsider Art. Intuit, often purchases at auction estates of particular artists. The estate can include, floor, walls, ceiling, and everything in the space. Art for arts sake? This is a sustainable action, historicism with respect for the past, as well as understanding a new invention of the word - re-use, re-claimed.

Febrary Begins

Feb1
Yesterday we went to the Center for Neighborhood Technology. A dubious sounding name for some great people who want the world to be a better place. Yes, it sounds like abit like Noah's Ark, but I an assure you they hip to the ideas of "Green" and are keen to education and other social tenets of making change to a world that is slowly becoming big fat microwave.

Feb 2
Fertile Gardens is a beautiful Nursery on the Northside, Diversey and two block west of Ashland Ave.
The people are nice, and we might buy our tree there. Run...don't walk to this place if you can.
(who said that expression first?.........Dolly Madison, Gypsy Rose Lee ? )

Feb 3
I wanna live........Met with an engineer, he thinks that the Tree idea can work. But, it is all about the install. He asked how long it will be on the building. It would be nice longer than the show. If it can live. More coming.

January: Doug, Betsy, Jim and Chicago...

We met with Doug Garofalo today. How refreshing to know that the notion of collaboration can build a community of like minded (yes - I am like Garofalo!...pat on back motion with hand....) design, art professionals can create a dialogue about the built world. He will assist us with linking to an engineer for the work, and also had some great ideas of process with the realizing of the concepts. Interesting conversation that left Amanda and I feeling good and whistling happy tunes over coffee after the meeting. (coffee at Intelligentsia.............this is an advertisement)

January 15
Today Amanda and I just talked. It was cold, and CNN keeps predicting more global warming doom and gloom. I believe in it, but is what we are doing making a difference?...........

What day did we go to Betsy?
I am in love. Yes, people - L - o - v - e ! Betsy V at the UIC Recycing Center will help us with the collection of the sculpture paper shred pile thingy-ma-jig. The open minded, and excitement shown by this amazing person is contagious and honest. If one of the tenets of sustainability is "social" - then Betsy has shown this through open attitude and action. My question to this collaboration is: What if the City of Chicago actually had a recycling program that was visionary, with people who have the BIG PICTURE in mind a daily construct? .....Chicago needs the chutzpah and understanding of people like this, "green city" - Chicago is not. Yes, NOT. It would take the City two months if more administrative people with attitudes that are open, and wanting to see change in this arena, not more of the same apathy and questionable process with the Almighty Dollar in mind. (euro, yen, ...insert your currency here) Change happens with open minds. This was experienced today.

January 24
Today we found some Doors in an alley. Amanda's friend, Alissa told us about them. We drove, we talked, we looked, we laughed, we cried. They were heavy doors of mahogany and pine. The doors will be part of the interior/exterior door to gallery. Jim Brenner who is an amazing, yes - amazing artist who fabricates beautiful objects and ideas of any material will make a few parts to the project. Brenner has been making these fabulous doors from found reclaimed doors, a sliding, rolling effect with beautiful wood showing. The notion of "re-use" and "re-cycle" does not have to be tacky, comical (I like these things though.....) and trite. The materials that are cast off within daily life and left in the public spaces of the city can be made into the new, organic - creating a thoughtful built world. Amanda and I consider this to be an education for us, as well as an investigation of collaboration and social responsibility. This is obvious, but if you enter the space of knowing/not knowing the uncomfort makes for good learning experiences....I 'spose.

January 26
Today we made almost 32 phone calls, and 25 emails looking for plants, coffee, paper and help.
Yes.....almost 8 hours of being an office worker. We both realized that when you say the word "artist" and "project" either people laugh, cry, hang-up the phone or are interested.

December...Timothy Sharko from Wentworth Solutions, Chicago

In December, Stuart and I met with Timothy Sharko. Timothy is the Director of Wentworth Solutions, which is an organization that collaborates with businesses to shrink the IT gap. His expertise focuses on updating old business models and revamping aging systems. His website is http://www.wentworthsolutions.com/.
Before the new year, Timothy was kind enough to meet with us to discuss the process of asking for corporate donations. This was a new process for me, so it was extremely helpful to meet with Timothy who has been working with local corporations in the Chicago area for years.

The first bit of advice that Tim brought to our attention was the importance of Chicago's interest in winning the bid for the Summer Olympics. Surprised? So was I! Tim made the connection that Mayor Daley has been promoting this city as the "greenest city" in the US, and that the city may be able to help facilitate connections with corporations that have demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainable development/etc. (paraphrasing).

This theme could easily be a way for us to connect with the larger city community, and link our installation as a resource that responds to the "green" interest in our city.

What was a wake-up was the two degrees of separation between local communities and big business. Now I say this with a big grain of salt, I know that there is no easy channel between me and a huge global business that is located in Chicago. But I find it reassuring that these two big groups can be an outlet for suppor for local community projects which seeks to promote a new way of thinking when it comes to community living.

Urban Warp/Weft

Amanda Browder and Stuart Keeler, Urban Warp / Weft
an At the Edge: Innovative Art in Chicago project

April 24 - June 2, 2007
Opening reception: Wednesday, April 25, 5-8 pm

A community collaboration that will weave a combination of recycled materials with plant material throughout the interior and exterior of the gallery space as explorations of ecological connections.

Looking For Volunteers!

Calling all Volunteers: April 10th-24th or Now!
We are looking for students, volunteers, active members of the community, etc. to help with the construction of this project. We are interested in collaborating with any new groups that wish to get their hands dirty, and help with the installation of this show. We need carpenters, people that have a green thumb, people who are good at organizing other people, and more!

send us an email: amandabrowder@gmail.com or stutzart@aol.com
or call us at 312-339-7942

tell your friends, teachers and employers!