Good morning and welcome to the first posting of a blog created to accompany my gallery installation PLEASEtouch.  In the coming days I will be posting information, discussions, photos, video, guest essays by two lovely friends, a 5 question interview of me by another wonderful friend, evolving positions and stances about making art and other very important and life changing thoughts, events, experiences and actions. 

Not to be taken too seriously, but sincere in my intent.  Questions that keep the mind and heart activated.  How to write and consider who am I writing to and for will undoubtedly be a part of it all.  Informal, but truly felt, deeply believed (until new information or a good discussion changes my mind), and, as a good friend reminds me, not a good idea to attach to it all.  

If you are reading this I am assuming you are interested in 

the installation.  I am so happy that you are.  

Here is a pic, the first of many.  This one was taken by a very talented phone photographer Robin Snyder.  It is of one gallery view of the installation.  


And here is some basic information about the installation - where it is living, for how long, what it is made of and why I made it.  I thank you for joining me for this experiment.  I'm so glad you're here.

 What is this about?  Some notes to accompany PLEASEtouch.

Often when visiting an art exhibition, one asks: what is this about?  Then one reads an artist statement, explanation, or listens to a presentation by the artist, a curator, a critic. One comes to understand that the artist is working with a formal concern such as color, brushstroke, or an attempt to render qualities of light. Or the artist may be communicating about content, such as dreams, transformation, or even political concerns.  In other words, art is about everything.  The possibilities are endless and as individual as a finger print. 

The artist is choosing to stop at this place in time and discuss something with the viewer, or who I like to call the visitor. Of course, this is a discussion that takes place not in words, but through material.

The artist is asking the visitor to stop and focus on an a particular element or subject, in this place and right now, at this time.  

With PLEASEtouch, I am asking the visitor to sharpen their focus on present awareness by using their sense of touch along with their sense of seeing and hearing (if those are available to them) to explore the installation. In this way, I hope the visitor will absorb more about the installation, by touching it.  One could argue that all art is about experiencing it in the present and of course it is - it has to be.  However  PLEASEtouch is specific in asking visitors to pay attention to the concept of present awareness through the medium of their own body.
The objects and surfaces and sounds in PLEASEtouch are all chosen to enhance the visitor's experience in the here and now.  This is not virtual experience, it is tactile.  There are objects from past installations (artifacts) -- some reworked, some not -- along with new work, and even gestures towards works not yet created. All have been chosen to intensify a visitor's experience of the now and even the sense of a past and future.  
A subtle journey.

An evocative exploration.

PLEASEtouch is the physical manifestation of ideas and concepts I have been exploring for some time now.  The artifacts you'll encounter reflect my investigations over the past 30 years into the concept of energy in all its forms, concepts, expressions and applications.  

My intention with PLEASEtouch is to move visitors in and out of conceptual time through the inclusion of past (artifacts), present (touching) and future (wondering about) submissions.  It is for that reason that I do not include artist statements, labels, pricing, or any postings that one would have to stop to read. I do not want to impede or burden the movement of the visitor’s experience, or interrupt their flow through the installation.  
Only one request for visitors: please wash your hands before wandering into and through PLEASEtouch to protect the integrity of the work and the health of all visitors.


You can find more information about the installation at the website for 
Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, the host for 










Comments

  1. jennie kiesslingSeptember 14, 2021 at 7:06 PM

    Excellent first photo of the show that opened this last weekend. So enjoy walking through the space that you have created. It is very unique and layered with meaning that, if one is interested, can stay for hours as the stories unfold through each individuals investigation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ShazzersSeptember 15, 2021 at 7:25 AM

      Thank you Jennie for your wonderful and thoughtful feedback about the installation. I am considering the idea of continuing to work the space. Altering, adding, editing, so that the installation continues to change and evolve, reflecting our everyday experience of constant change.

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