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