The Final Post

It has already been over a month since The Night Shift installation was completed, but the time between then and now has flown. Our final BFA show is up and evidence of the installation is at the show. Here are a few images from my portion of the show:





Also, www.nightshift07.com has been fully updated with audio, video and images. Take a look at this site for a more steamlined understanding of the image. Thank you for all your support over the past few months and I hope to hear from you in the future.

Week Fifteen: It's Here!

Well, well. After months of planning the day is finally here. In about 5 hours the Night Shift will be "engaged" (that sounds a bit militaristic). I hope you can come be a part of this installation, but if not, there will be images to follow this posting.

TONIGHT APRIL 28, 2007, 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm THE NIGHT SHIFT

If you are leaving from Eugene, please meet in the PLC parking lot at 6:45 and transportation will be arranged from this point. Remember, check out www.nightshift07.com for more information! Cheers and I hope to see you all there!

Week Fourteen: Drawing Close

This week has been a blur already and already (just one week now) the installation will be up. Not much to say other than tell your friends, grandparents and neighbors about the project. Read on for updates:

UPDATES:

• The great news this week is that the installation was published in the April 21st version of Siuslaw News. The article, by Wesley Voth, deserves a thorough read, which you can do below:

  Do you wish to save the changes you have made?

  All my life I have heard laments from my elders on changes happening that they believe has ruined a certain place. Most of these have had to do with development, the cutting down of trees, altering of waterways, bigger-faster-straighter-wider roads, disappearing views and skylines, blocked access or fee access to favorite places. Probably I have come to sound just the same. I do realize there are many things that are better, but I do cling to memories and mementos that preserve on some level what is vanishing.

  When people first come to places, they have a tendency to name them. The major rivers around here carry the names of original inhabitants (either that or the people carry the names of the rivers with which they were associated), like Siuslaw, Umpqua, Coos, Siletz. Using those names helps keep alive a rich past. Many of the creeks around here still carry the family name of homesteaders, like Labar, Bernhardt, Sweet, Hadsall, Shoemaker, Thompson, and some of these then also lend their names to the roads that follow them. Some of the burgs as well—Brickerville for example is named for the Brickers. But then there are also the descriptive: Mapleton, Tide, Swisshome, Deadwood--and places, like Rainrock, Firo, Point Terrace, Dead Dog Hole.

  As a culture we have ways of clinging to disappearing images and names—photographs of former generations and icons, paintings of dammed waterfalls or long ago torn down covered bridges, published books and diaries, keeping old maps that show routes and names and understandings that would otherwise fade into oblivion.

  Not that long ago this area was characterized by salmon canneries and lumber mills, most now the faintest shadow beyond historical archives. Of those now only one mill in the area continues to operate, American Laminators in Swisshome; just downriver from the functioning mill the old Murphy Veneer Plant is an empty shell.

  On Saturday night April the 28^th from 6:00 – 11:00 pm this shell will be the arena for an artistic rendering of a scene from the past. Fine Arts student Andrew Van Dyk from the University of Oregon is planning to bring light to bear on this structure. To quote his intentions, “The Night Shift - a large scale light installation - seeks to breathe new life into the Murphy Veneer Plant, abandoned in the early 1990's near Swisshome, Oregon. More than 20,000 watts of generator powered light will illuminate the structure and resurrect the memory of the abandoned lumber mill. On the evening of April 28, 2007, the Murphy plant will be brought back to life for one last night.” More information including his thinking and planning is available on his website www.nightshift07.com

  The event will give curious folk the opportunity to view the structure close up without having to trespass. And it is likely there will be those there who can speak firsthand about the operating days of the plant; I’m looking forward to seeing what the now full-of-holes building will look like at night with powerful light beams angling out through every crevice and opening into the night sky. A one-of-a-kind event. Maybe I’ll be inspired to print out the poster to remind myself of that time in the distant past when that guy lit up that place that used to be where the something or other is now…

• One last tidbit is the Van that I will be renting from the State Motor Pool requires a lot of paperwork and all that good stuff, but I'm sure that will all get sorted out soon. Have a good weekend.
  

Week Thirteen: Still Moving Along

Not too much to mention this week. I have been putting the last few things into place (mainly transportation) and trying to get a gauge on how many people will be attending. I wanted to take a minute to share an installation with you entitled "Space Balls". It is supposed to reference the feeling of being in the Australian bush. Check out this link for more information (photos below).

Week Twelve: Announcing Nightshift07.com

Hey all, another week is near closing, so its time to write up what has happened this week. I have been pretty busy with everything (as usual), but lately I have been thinking more about this summer and what I will be doing. Work? Travel? Study? Internship? A lot to think about, but for now lets stick to the...

UPDATES:

• ANNOUNCING: The opening of my website: www.nightshift07.com it will serve as a more professional face to the project. It has all the information someone would need to check out my project. I hope that the word is being spread and I get a good turn out.
• Transportation: it's a kind-of-sort-of issue. Not really, because I think there should be good carpooling, but its best to have more than enough transportation that not enough. I am hoping to rent a van from the school and perhaps a school bus if the price is right.
• Thats about it for the updates, remember the date APRIL 28th, 2007 - 6:00p - 11:00p. Hope to see you and friends there.
  

APRIL 28, 2007: THE NIGHT SHIFT

Week Eleven: The Night Shift

Well, after a winter term, it feels like I can actually get my hands dirty. I spent so much of last winter term with proposals, conceptual images and all that jazz, but now I can actually work. If you have been keeping up with this blog, you noticed that I had my lights donated at the end of spring term, which was huge! Now, with a fresh start on things, I have started the full production portion of this project. Also, the project has an official name: The Night Shift. Read on for updates....

UPDATES:

• This weekend, I was able to rent one of the light towers, a generator and one of my auxiliary lights. Basically, this means that I put together a small scale rehearsal of the show. It turned out better than I had imagined, slightly different, but generally good. I can't wait until the final show. One problem that arose during the staging of the project was the time that it actually gets dark. As the days drag on, it stays light longer and longer. For this project, that is a problem because the full effect cannot be witnessed unless it is fully dark. But, that problem will be ironed out in the next few weeks. Anyway, check out some photos from Friday night:
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• I aI also have started making a website dedicated to this project to give viewers more information and directions to the site. The site is: www.thenightshift07.com . It isn't up yet, but it will be soon.
  
  

Week Ten: Holy Cow...It's Gonna Happen!

Spring is definitely here and so is the sun and warmer weather. One thing that this means is that the sundown times are going later and later in the night. Anyway, more on that later. The most important part of the week was that I have nailed down the date when this installation will take place: April 28th, 2007. It is the last weekend in April on a Saturday. Overall, it was a huge week for the project and me, so read on for the updates!

UPDATE:

• The big, huge, gigantic, out of this world thing that happened this week was that I had the light towers for the installation donated! Thats right, totally free! That means one night for the installation and another night for set up. The kind person who did this was Rich Bolen from The CAT Rental Store. He was totally kind and interested in the project. If you are looking to rent any kind of machinery contact Mr. Bolen at his store. Here is a link to their website: Peterson Machinery Co.
  
• Another thing that I have been working on this week has been learning to re-wire the lights that were given to me from a co-worker at Home Depot. Check out some images of how thats going here. If you could tell...not very well. But, no worries, I will figure this one out soon enough.
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• If you have been keeping up on this blog, you can see my progress so far this term. It is clear that everything is in place for the installation of this project now. I have the lights all ready, the site ready, and the date. The last few things are just going to be creating the identity for the installation and getting the information out there. This spring break I will be traveling via train down to California, so I won't update for a week, but after that, the updates will continue.
  

Week Nine: Installation Show + More

Well, things have been progressing a bit slowly as of late, but there is a good chance for increased productivity in the near future, because I have passed a few deadlines. One of the big ones, is my installation in the Laverne Krause Gallery. It went up this weekend and will be up for the coming week. Myself and others put over 30 hours of work in just this weekend, so needless to say, I've been keeping busy.

Updates:

• A co-worker from the Home Depot was able to let me borrow some lights for my installation. They have 400 watt bulbs which can put out 1300 watts of light when fired up. I will post images of the lights in the near future. The only problem with these lights is that they need to be rewired for 220 volts. Since I'm not an electrician, this could be an issue. But, its just one of those things that come up and have to be worked.
• I also got in contact with some more people from the community and I hope to further these connections as the date draws nearer for my installation.
  

Install8on

Dear friends, come to this show. Laverne Krause 3.12.07 -> 3.16.07

Week Eight: Water Everywhere Oh My!

Well a lot has happened in a week and I am inching towards a more definitive date of my first practice run with the lights. This weekend I visited Swisshome and Mapleton. It was a really good experience. I met a lot of people and had another look at the factory site which has had some drastic changes: 85% of the building has 1-6 inches of water covering it. Check out the photos from this weekend at this link. Without much fanfare lets get into the updates.

UPDATE:

• I have been corresponding with a woman from Swisshome named TR Kelly from Swisshome, Oregon. I found her blog about Swisshome and the surrounding areas interesting, so I sent her an e-mail. She was kind enough to respond and gave me some tips for meeting some of the locals. Her profile can be found here: http://www2.blogger.com/profile/14920875187314486401 . Be sure to check out the links to her blogs at the bottom)
  
• On Saturday I went to Swisshome to make some contacts in the community. I was able to meet some really kind and considerate people. A lot of people said they would be interested in attending and maybe even tell their friends! It was great to get out there and talk to people about what I was doing, but also a bit scary because I know there are so many unanswered questions.
• The big news of the weekend was the WATER! Oh man, I never thought there would be so much in the plant itself. I think because of the heavy rains we have been having, it seems that the rain has increased. Perhaps by the time my installation rolls around (late April - Mid May) there will be less. Regardless, the light could create a very interesting visual element which will reflect and bend the light inside the factory itself.
• I also got some information from the residents in and around Swisshome about the old factory. One of the most interesting was by a man named Wesley who remembered the haystack near the Veneer plant being lit up at night. The old hay-shaped-smokestack had a conveyor running cuttings from the mill directly into this stack. At night, it would glow like a wood stove, with light shooting out of all the holes. It was a very vivid memory for him, and is exactly what I am hoping to create by lighting the factory.
  

Week Seven: Oregon Logging Conference!

Recently I stumbled across an interesting little link showing photos of people who used perspective creatively in their photography. I found it interesting and thought you all might be interested in taking a look. Click here for that link.

I also read an article entitled "Is Hef really having a better time at the Playboy Mansion than you are at home?" by John Carlton. The article basically discusses the authors realization that you shouldn't compare this glammed up life of luxury to your own, when in fact your life is a lot more interesting. He says:

Abe Lincoln was right -- most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be. I am blessed with a deep list of good friends and colleagues. People who can lift my spirits in a two-minute chat. People I rely on, and who rely on me and make my life full and robust.

I found a lot of connections between this articles message and creating artwork based on honesty with self rather than buying into the latest fads. That article can be found here.

UPDATES:

• I heard great news this week that Ron Boching from United Rental will be allowing me to take 25% off my rental at United Rental. This probably will save me nearly $100 or more. So thats great, but the cost is still out of my reach. I may have to call some manufacturers to get a better feel for donations.
• I finished the group show with Ben Young, Nathan Dinihinian, Jenna Bryant and Tyrone Swanson. It turned out great. We had a good mix of people at the opening and it seemed that a lot of people came through. Our show was a mixed media and concept show, but it did a good job to give a view of where we all are at in the art making process.
• The highlight of my weekend was checking out the Oregon Logging Conference to do a little research on the logging industry. I came out with a good feel about the people and machines that were doing this work. Check out the photos here:
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Sixth Week: Can anyone hear me?

Another whirlwind week. I have been formulating plans for my week ten installation in the Laverne Krause. It will be a pretty big endeavor, requiring a good amount of construction. The installation will combine audio and video and will involve inserting a user into an unknown space. I have been plugging away at contacting people and trying to gather the resources to pull this whole installation off. So far, progress has been a little slow. Especially with Ron Boching from United Rental. Read the following update for more.

Update:

• This week I talked to Sana Krusoe a little about my project and she was nice enough to give me the contact information to her brother who works on lighting for movies in Los Angeles. I gave him a call this week and he e-mailed me back. So far, I sent him a description of my project. It read as follows :
  
  Dear Patrick, Thank you so much for your response. Before I go into too much detail on the project, take a look at the attached photos. Two of the photos show conceptual images, another is the floor plan for the site and the final is some images of the site itself. If you want to see more images follow this link: http://www.uoregon.edu/~avandyk/bfa/first_visit/ Now, let me try to give you a better idea what I am doing for my installation. I am lighting the interior of an abandoned lumber mill in Swisshome, Oregon. The site is devoid of any facilities (electricity, water, etc) and is about a one hour drive from Eugene itself. My installation date is planned for an evening in May As you can see in the conceptual images there are many holes in the factory sides, the roof, windows etc. I would like to create the effect of light spilling out from these holes into the night. To do this, I want to use a Magnum MLT 5060M MH light tower and several generators which can support multiple halogen lights of 500-750 watts. The light towers operate on generators, so the lack of electricity will be solved. Also, I have read that these light towers can put out 3-4 acres of light, so two of them should be enough to cover the main factory floor. The smaller generators will light the interior of the shop and the office / break room that you see on the floor plan. I hope this gives you a better idea as to what I am doing. At this time, I am trying to have this equipment donated to me from United Rental. I have asked for two days of rental so that I can align the lights on the first day and on the second have my audience visit the site. My main question for you is: will the lights listed above give me the desired effect? And if not, is there a way to achieve this effect? I truly appreciate your time and I hope that we can have a small discussion about the project in the future. I am available for contact during the day at 503.708.8286. If you prefer, I can call you to cover any long distance charges. Thank you for your time, Andrew Van Dyk
  
  
• I called Ron Bocking Ron Boching of United Rental to check up on the progress on my proposal, but he said that he didn't get my e-mail last week, so I sent him another this week. Since I didn't show them last week, here are the images that I sent along with the e-mail to give him a better idea what I am doing.
  
  
  
  
  

Fifth Week: Arghy Hargh Peeky Poo

Wow, we're already through week five. This term is flying by, which is both good and bad. Good, in that I am getting closer to graduating. Bad in that I have a lot to do before the BFA project comes together. This week I had an installation at the Eric Washburne Gallery entitled "Live Feed". I think that it was generally well received and I had a lot of feedback on it from non-art students as well, which is always healthy. Check out this little documentation I did of it:



UPDATE:

• I was finally able to get a hold of Ron from United Rentals. It seems like he may be a rough sell, but I hope that I can win him over. I called just to set up a meeting with him and immediately he sniffed out my hints of donations, even though I never said the word. I first mentioned I was looking to get some kind of reduced rate and he immediately got huffy. He said that I will have to give him some information and if he will allow it, he will send it forward to Corporate. Corporate: such a dreaded word! Anyway, I sent him the e-mail today so we'll have to see how it all turns out.
• I am working on an audio portion of my project. This is a new development that will play in the transportation on the way to the factory. I assume it will last about 10 minutes and will play prior to arriving at the factory site. I'm working on a script as I write this. It will most likely combine stories from the factory and the file I have as well as some statistics about logging or industry. But I'll have it more nailed down soon.
  

Ron Mueck

Just a quick post. Check out this link to Ron Mueck. His sculpting is amazingly lifelike and at a scale that I have not seen before. Good stuff here for a weekend adventure!

Fourth Week: I'm An Art Student...

Well, the weeks seem to be flying by so fast lately. I just went through my second full week of work, and I must say, it has been draining. Basically I have been busy from 6am til' 9pm. So, finding time to do my work has been difficult. This week has been basically about working the phones and trying to get donations. I did an installation in the Washburne Gallery and it will be up during the entirety of week fiv. My installation is entitled "Live Feed" and is in the ceramics building. The code is 4:5:3 to get in. Here comes the update!

UPDATE:

• Well, I have made contact at the United Rental location. His name is John and although he was only a truck driver, I think we had a connection. I found out the managers name was Ron. So, as in the same form as I did with Mr. Murphy, I have been peppering him with phone calls to try to get a meeting. I have put together a package of information that will help him see my plan and in the end, I need him to DONATE the use of the light towers to me as well as 1-2 generators. The trick will be convincing him that I am an art student and that allowing me to use his equipment will be good for his business. I am planning to include his business information on my printed material so it could make it more viable to him. More on this later.

Third Week: People Are A Pain

Well, the third week has already flown by and its time to take a look back at what I did. This week I was able to install in the Laverne Krause Gallery in the Cinema Effect class show. My piece was titled "One November" and can be seen on the web at www.onenovember.com . Although this piece wasn't originally made for a gallery setting, it seemed to work mildly well there. As far as the BFA, read the following...

UPDATE:

• After calling Mr. Murphy about 5 times, he finally got back to me. I was trying to get in contact with him all week, but to no avail. The good news is he called back. The bad news is he is still working out the details of my installation with his lawyer. I have to sign a liability form that is put together by his lawyer that covers his insurance at the site.
  
• A few weeks ago I stumbled across a project called Detroit. Demolition. Disneyland. They paint derelict houses around Detroit in Tiggeriffic Orange. They are trying to call attention to ruined homes around Detroit. You can find their home site at this link and they had a good NPR radio report that you can view here. The city really doesn't like what they are doing, but in fact, I find it a really good way to create awareness about the community around you. In a way, my project calls attention to these abandoned space as much as this DDD does.
  
  

Marketing or Crime Spree?

The AP Poll recently put up an article about a man who put up little LED lights of the Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and was arrested. The authorities thought the little LED figures were bombs...go figure. Anyway, a funny read especially after Steve Kirtz' visit. Check it out here.

Ken Robinson's Chat About Creativity in the Academic Setting

Just a quick post commenting on this video featuring Ken Robinson @ the TED conference. He speaks to how creativity and the arts are consistently devalued in our current academic system and how creativity and different styles of learning for students is often seen as a type of handicap rather than a good trait. Also how children's creativity and imagination is often squandered. He says "We don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it".

I am installing a piece dealing with some of the topics discussed in this peace during week seven at the Laverne Krause. So, go ahead and spend 19 minutes and watch a great video.

Second Week: "Money Doesn't Grow on Tree's"

Week two. Let's see...I got another job (Home Depot), started getting some progress done on some long term projects as well as some new work and of course, worked on BFA. So, without too much personal mumbo-jumbo, here's the....

UPDATE:

• It's over yes, but a lot has been done this week. I was able to make it out to the other location that Mr. Murphy would rather have me use. The location can be seen on this map. The setting is more in the forest, has a set of train tracks and also has a stream running through the middle of the factory which is a nice addition. You can check out the photos of the new site at this link. So, I think that I will go ahead with this site. The new location is logistically better: not right off the highway, more parking and slightly closer to Eugene. But, it has its drawbacks too. I was hoping to draw some visitors from Florence, but now this is a bit farther out of Florence it may be difficult to convince people.
  
• I also did some calling around about pricing for the light towers and renting a bus. The prices are as follows: Light Towers = $95.00 / 24 hrs rental with 8 hrs of run time. Generators = $66.00 / 24 hrs rental no limit on runtime. Bus = ~$1200.00. Miscellaneous Costs = Who knows. SO, I need to make some decent cash here to even have a hope of setting this up. I just hope that I can get some donations or something. IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO HAS CONNECTIONS TO MASS TRANSPORTATION OR EQUIPMENT RENTAL LET ME KNOW. Sorry for caps.
• I've been researching artists like James Turrell. He has worked with light installations and is currently working on a project called "Roden Crater". Check out his stuff here. How he talks about the essence of light at it's most elementary level: luminosity, brightness, darkness, etc. It's really opened up the installation for me.
  

Week One: 90% of Your Work

Well, it's that time again and we're all back in school. I think that it's been a little bit tough getting re-adjusted into the school mode because of the long break. One quick way to get shocked into realizing that it's time to work is Salter saying "I want 90% of your work done by the end of this term". I know this got me thinking. I was mainly considering how I can actually judge how much of a percentage that is done.

It's a question that I constantly ask myself anyway...how do I judge my progress as an artist? Is it through the number of works that I create? The times I have drawn and re-drawn a sketch? Anyway, thats a bigger question that will probably take a few to answer. Let's get past the babbling and get to the....

UPDATE:

• I met with Mr. Murphy this week. He owns the plant in Kushman (just outside of Florence). I went to his office and had an real official meeting with him while he sat in his big leather arm chair. He was a real nice guy and offered me an alternate place to use instead of the initial factory. This could totally change my construction of the project
  
  
• In reference to the first point, my perception of the project has adapted anyway. It has become more and more about the audience, the space itself and the notion of memory in a place rather than about the files themselves. The files were a great jumping off point and will likely be included in the final presentation, but they are not the driving force behind my perception of the project at this time.
  
  
• I have a lot more planned for the following week including what could be a more difficult meeting with Mr. Murphy regarding my choice of plants. We'll see how these go. The next couple images show some conceptual drawing of the space as well as a floorplan. Enjoy and good luck!

Image One:
Image Two:
Image Three: