Blogs Field Guide Ashley Duffalo

I manage Public and Community Programs in the Education Department, which I've been calling my home away from home since 2004. When I'm not at the Walker, you can find me enjoying a run, practicing yoga, reading fiction, and dreaming about interior design projects.

ROLU-in-Residence: Days 5, 6 & 7

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Don’t mistake my disappearance from the blogosphere this week-end as a pause in the ROLU action. Quite the opposite, the studio was as productive as ever and installed a few more outdoor sculptures, including Richard Serra’s Prop. I don’t know if Mike was trying to match Richard Serra’s notoriously tough-guy persona, but he certainly threw [...]

Don’t mistake my disappearance from the blogosphere this week-end as a pause in the ROLU action. Quite the opposite, the studio was as productive as ever and installed a few more outdoor sculptures, including Richard Serra’s Prop. I don’t know if Mike was trying to match Richard Serra’s notoriously tough-guy persona, but he certainly threw metal around with bravado.


Sammie’s painted string took its proper home as Fred Sandback’s Yellow Corner Piece.

Sunday the guys were in the Walker’s carpentry shop cutting wood for the large table that will become a hub for a series of projects that fall under the concept, ‘Attention as Place.’ Because ROLU spends so much of their time connecting with artists, designers, and thinkers on the internet, they wanted to invite their online community to join in the project. The result is over 20 contributions that take the form of music, fashion, prints, books, and instruction-based activities that require your participation.

One of the contributors is Rhiannon Gilmore, a UK-based designer, curator and writer, who is using this platform as an opportunity to realize her Dream Shop. When she was asked by ROLU’s Matt Olson where she focuses her attention, her response: “the shop I will never have but only dream about.” Beginning tomorrow, the Dream Shop will be installed next to the contributors’ table in the Walker’s Cargill Lounge. In it you’ll find products that Silver has curated from her own network of designers she’s come to follow on the web. Here’s a sneak peak at a few of goodies:

Boro pullover by ace&jig

small weavings by Jaime Rugh

a pillow purse by Rowena Sartin

cholas by Beatrice Valunzuela

It’s hard to believe that by tomorrow afternoon this will become the Dream Shop,

and this will be a table containing all the contributors’ projects!

ROLU-in-Residence: Day 4

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I think it’s fair to say we were all pretty groggy today. The heat and toil of the past few days combined with another day of manic weather (downpour to sweltering sunshine) made ROLU less visible on the Field. But, like any public art project, there’s always loads of “invisible” labor to be done like [...]

I think it’s fair to say we were all pretty groggy today. The heat and toil of the past few days combined with another day of manic weather (downpour to sweltering sunshine) made ROLU less visible on the Field. But, like any public art project, there’s always loads of “invisible” labor to be done like email, buying supplies, and in this case, covering and uncovering the outdoor galleries with tarps to keep up with the ever shifting weather. The work kept rolling along after ROLU and some Walker folks sat around a table this morning eating donuts and talking about ROLU’s practice. I think we were all in agreement that we’re in the midst of something special, and the infectious sincerity and generosity that Matt, Mike and Sammie have towards making and learning  seemed to imbue the group with a revitalized appreciation of art and the Walker.

The photo-worthy moments came later in the day when the sun allowed for a few good hours of building.

Ellsworth Kelly’s Gate needed some extra support today. The orange beauty is getting some rehab after an unexpected fall and crack.

Initially a set-back, the yellow yarn Sammie selected for Fred Sandback’s Yellow Corner Piece was too goldenrod for the piece.

Nothing a little paint couldn’t fix.


Meanwhile, Mike had picked up a spectrum of colored plexiglass to build Charles Biederman’s Work No. 59…

…and some heavy metal for Richard Serra’s Prop.

Inside I was hanging the results of last night’s photo shoot, when visitors were invited to frame up and shoot their own version of Alec Soth’s New Orleans, Louisiana from a diorama ROLU made of the image. If you manage to get to the Walker between now and the 29th of July, look for the wall that compares the public’s interpretation of the original, next to the original. It’s fascinating.

The guys will be outside tomorrow, stop by and say hello!


ROLU-in-Residence: Day 3

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Technically there are only 10 minutes left of day 3, so I’ll keep this short on words and long on pictures. It’s been an exhausting, exhilarating, and fun day with our artists-in-residence, ROLU. They let the public take the reigns on the concept ‘making as thinking’ during Target Free Thursday Night, as visitors made their [...]

Technically there are only 10 minutes left of day 3, so I’ll keep this short on words and long on pictures. It’s been an exhausting, exhilarating, and fun day with our artists-in-residence, ROLU. They let the public take the reigns on the concept ‘making as thinking’ during Target Free Thursday Night, as visitors made their own versions of artworks in the Walker’s collection, including Alec Soth’s New Orleans, Louisiana, Yoko Ono’s War is Over!, and On Kawara’s Today Series. But first, the guys spent the day hustling to wrap up a few pieces for the outdoor galleries, with a little help from some friends.

ROLU intern, Claudette Gacuti puts the finishing touches on Sherrie Levine’s Yellow Knot Prototype…

…while others roll on the first of what felt like endless coats of orange paint to make a version of Ellsworth Kelly’s Gate.

Sammie took us back to the Arte Povera period, by remaking Michelangelo Pistoletto’s
Quadro da pranzo (Oggetti in meno) (Lunch painting [Minus objects]).   

Arte Povera, or “poor art” speaks to the interests of a group of artists in Italy in the 1960s who were attempting to erase the boundaries between art and life through their choice of “poor” everyday materials. Three words come to mind here: labor, love, and lunch. A well-deserved, albeit brief respite for Sammie and Mike.

The Levine and Pistoletto,

and an ode to Felix Gonzalez-Torres and his Untitled (Last Light).

The screen is set for a long edition of love and peace.

No gimmicks here, just a straight-up date painting à la On Kawara. A perfect memorial to a beautiful day.


Some things are not what they seem. A close approximation to Alec Soth’s photograph, New Orleans, Louisiana.

After returning to the Walker later in the evening, I found a laughing Claudette glowing on a big screen behind the glass of the Walker.

Wonder what she’s reading? It’s all a little mysterious.

Some learning is left to chance.

ROLU-in-Residence: Day 2

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After the initial chaotic rush that comes with the opening of any big project or exhibition, day 2 of ROLU’s residency brought a welcome calm aided by the break in heat and morning rain. Although the collective were disappointed to not be on the Field building artworks for the galleries that remained tethered under tarp [...]

After the initial chaotic rush that comes with the opening of any big project or exhibition, day 2 of ROLU’s residency brought a welcome calm aided by the break in heat and morning rain. Although the collective were disappointed to not be on the Field building artworks for the galleries that remained tethered under tarp canopies, the change of scenery didn’t seem to slow their productivity or thwart amazing conversations with curious visitors.

Various Projects’ garments remained a huge hit and provided a bright beacon to an otherwise grey day.

In the art lab, ROLU’s carpentry wizards, Mike Brady and Sammie Warren got to work on the diorama of Alec Soth’s photograph, New Orleans, Louisiana in preparation for tomorrow night’s activity.

Using a mixture of collage elements from print-outs of the original photo, an architectural model of the physical space, a carefully mixed batch of paint, plus a few trickster moves with an exacto knife the room takes on the feel of a Hollywood set.

A few renovations were made along the way before getting to a closer simulation of the “photographic truth.”

Speaking of simulation, Sammie was learning from the master simulcrum-maker, Sherrie Levine…

…his version of Levine’s Yellow Knot Prototype will be displayed in one of the outdoor galleries.

And these specially-primed canvases are for you to turn into a date painting modeled after On Kawara’s Today Series. Just another way to participate with ROLU tomorrow night.

Be sure to arrive well before this time tomorrow night so you don’t miss out on the fun!

ROLU-in-Residence: Day 1

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ROLU’s residency officially began today in Open Field and we have some great photos to whet your appetite for what’s ahead the next 11 days. Over the week-end the crew was hard at work building outdoor galleries. Blue tarps kept the melamine surfaces dry. The 11 galleries will stage the Field Collection, a series of [...]

ROLU’s residency officially began today in Open Field and we have some great photos to whet your appetite for what’s ahead the next 11 days.

Over the week-end the crew was hard at work building outdoor galleries. Blue tarps kept the melamine surfaces dry.

The 11 galleries will stage the Field Collection, a series of lawn-friendly versions of works from the Walker’s collection. Each day, the public is invited to work alongside ROLU to help make the sculptures.

Despite the tropical heat, ROLU’s Sammie Warren and Mike Brady continued to be their usual amiable selves. Here they are working on Ellsworth Kelly’s Gate.

The first artwork to be completed was Richard Nonas’ Razor-Blade, which will remain on the grass.

Indoors in the air-conditioning, you could read writings by ROLU’s favorite makers & thinkers, including Sam Gould of Red76 (2010 Open Field artists-in-residence and seated on the left), Uta Barth, David Hamlow, David Horvitz, and Greg Allen.

Others, who were feeling a bit more playful, gracefully donned garments made for ROLU by Various Projects, a NY-based fashion design duo comprised of Elizabeth Beers and Brian Janusiak. Inspired by Hélio Oiticica‘s work, as well as ROLU’s practice, Various Projects’ collection of wearable sculptures is an invitation to visitors to experience what it feels like to be seen as a work of art. Anyone can participate in this act of performance, and in return you get free gallery admission!

Tomorrow brings more making as thinking and participation as performance. Here‘s an overview of artworks they’ll be building until the end of July, we’ll keep the daily log of images coming.

 

Intuiting Things with Krystal Krunch

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I am a professional collector of oddity. I write about time traveling into Marie Antoinette’s memory, ghosts who walk on roads buried beneath the ground, and words such as retrocognition and morphic resonance. So when someone invites me to a workshop that promises: “Watch your intuitive powers magically grow! Marvel as you instantly connect with [...]

I am a professional collector of oddity. I write about time traveling into Marie Antoinette’s memory, ghosts who walk on roads buried beneath the ground, and words such as retrocognition and morphic resonance. So when someone invites me to a workshop that promises: “Watch your intuitive powers magically grow! Marvel as you instantly connect with human beings,” I take the bait.

The Krystal Krunch workshop led by Los Angeles-based artists Asher Hartman and Haruko Tanaka was one part guided meditation, one part psychical exercise, and two parts object-experience (stir with lemon). I found the first two parts enjoyable, but it was the last aspect that fascinated me. After-all, this event has been paired with the Walker’s Midnight Party exhibition– the cornerstone of which is the bizarre “Wunderkammer” room. But before I jump to the art objects, I should go back to the other object-experience of the workshop.

I had invited a friend to help me avoid the promise of intuiting with strangers, but at the last minute I branched out and chose a partner at random. This new stranger—we’ll call her Betty—and I shared the same awkwardness, but we bravely soldiered on. Hartman and Tanaka led the pairs in giving one another intuitive readings. To someone immersed in literature as myself, it feels like slightly-directed stream of consciousness: you focus upon a particular chakra and “read” it aloud to your partner. “Don’t think about it,” we were told, “just say it.”

Guest blogger, Wes Burdine at the Krystal Krunch energy reading workshop. Photo by Cameron Wittig.

We began with the eyes and Betty and I use it as a chance to interpret one another. I spout off whatever comes to my mind about what her eyes say (paying particular attention to being positive). It runs along the lines of “Your eyes have a way of latching on to people and speaking with warmth.” We move to the throat, and I try to think through where Betty speaks in her throat. She speaks from high up at the back of the throat—what does that tell me? After this stage, I began to think that I was trying some sort of Sherlock Holmesian method of using a stranger’s tells to help me interpret some sort of hidden self.

For the last chakra, the top of the head (which connects us to god), I tried something else. I cut out all my words and imagined images—what came to mind? In chatting, Betty had mentioned reading a newspaper and as I gave my last intuitive reading, the motion of folding came to mind. I saw hands folding napkins with tight folds. I saw them placed on a heavy, dark-brown table. Then the image cut and for some reason I was imagining a swan on a cold, winter-fog morning. It effortlessly floated over the water, slight waves moving in its wake. No land, no other swans, nothing else was visible in my mind. Even the swan moved toward the periphery and I focused on the silver wake and the image of quiet motion. And then nothing. I had no idea why I was describing the images, but I contented myself with experimenting and letting the meditation upon an object (here, a chakra) do whatever it might want. If it means causing me to imagine folding napkins and a swan on a lake, so be it.

View of the Wunderkammer in the exhibition, Midnight Party

At the end of the workshop, Hartman and Tanaka led the group through the Midnight Party exhibit and I’ll admit I ducked out early. I wanted to beat the crowd and return to the Wunderkammer that I had seen for the first time in November. The “Wunderkammer” directly compares itself to the famous Cabinet of Curiosities of Ole Worm. The Walker’s Wunderkammer is a collection of art objects presented as natural history curiosities. Behind glass, you see oddities such as a toothbrush with teeth for bristles coolly noted with a number that refers to your museum guide (in place of the traditional art museum labels). The effect—and what caused me to fall in love with this room in the first place—is transposing the museum-goer interaction. Rather than confronting an art-object, I engaged with objects. Number 29 in the guide is Sigmar Polke’s Schieferpinselrassel. The word translates to the kenning of the three words: slate, brush, and rattle and describes the object quite literally. It looks just like a bizarre rattle composed of a paintbrush stuck inside a glass bulb filled with shale.

Schieferpinselrassel (Rasselpinselschieferstaub), Sigmar Polke 1994 Walker Art Center

Thinking back to the Krystal Krunch workshop and my eventual embrace of the meditative images of the folding hands and swan, you might imagine this led to a more aesthetic attitude toward the Schieferpinselrassel. Instead, the object-experience shifts toward imagining utility in a bizarre fashion. No, not imagining picking up the rattle and shattering the glass with its shale contents (though this crosses my mind), but instead thinking of this piece of art as a thing. What does that thing do? I won’t answer that question, Hartman and Tanaka called it “intuitive reading,” but that expression still causes me to jump toward interpretation too quickly. It is a different sort of object-experience one sliding in between the poles of formal aesthetic appreciation and utility.

White Brick, Odd Nerdrum 1984 Walker Art Center

The meditative object-experience of the Wunderkammer comes to its pinnacle as you encounter the room’s centerpiece, which is ironically the most typical piece of art in the room. Odd Nerdrum’s painting White Brick stands out for being just that: a painting. There might be a sense of release for many museum-goers, “a painting,” they think, “I know what to do with a painting!” and they lean in to inspect brush-strokes or nod at the image. But Nerdrum’s piece is itself a lesson in object-experience. The white brick shivers and floats above the background and certainly one could spend quite a bit of time admiring its formal qualities (Nerdrum is a fantastic painter). But at the center of the Wunderkammer, one sees it as another object: a brick. And you ask, “What does it do?” The important thing to remember is: don’t answer this question. The fantastic part about intuitive reading is that involves neither intuition (for god’s sake, don’t try to reason with the art) nor reading (i.e. interpreting). Instead, ask yourself the question and hold it in tension, waiting for the object to answer for you.

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Guest blogger, Wes Burdine is a PhD student in Literature at the University of Minnesota, where he spends most of his time reading about bizarre (and fantastic) theories of time.

 

About Looking: When to Unleash Your Third Eye

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It’s all too easy to think there’s a singular, definitive meaning for every object on view in a museum, and it’s our job as museum-goers to figure it out. When you can’t glean information from a wall label or speak directly with the artist, curator, or tour guide, you will likely feel dumbfounded and intellectually [...]

It’s all too easy to think there’s a singular, definitive meaning for every object on view in a museum, and it’s our job as museum-goers to figure it out. When you can’t glean information from a wall label or speak directly with the artist, curator, or tour guide, you will likely feel dumbfounded and intellectually inadequate, especially when looking at contemporary art. It’s moments like these when you simply long for a morsel of information to begin to understand the art. (I’m speaking from personal experience.)

Nowadays it’s easy enough to look up information on your hand-held device, but imagine if you were left with only your eyes and mind to shape an intuitive response to a work of art. Imagine that even if you had no way of ever knowing about the artist’s original intent, you could still have a profound experience with an object because you were fully tapped into how your feelings and energy were connected to it. Think about it, isn’t this is how we size up strangers all the time? Without ever having a conversation we begin to shape a judgement of another person based on our intuitive reading of them.

Some of us are better at listening to our inner voice than others. I bet that the intuitively gifted might be able to ascertain meanings with their eyes closed. Does this mean you’re a psychic?

Intuitive experts, Krystal Krunch, a.k.a. Asher Hartman and Haruko Tanaka, do not claim to by psychics. However, they seem like they’re in touch with their psychic potential and they claim they can teach others to achieve a deeper awareness using the five senses. I will try to keep my inner skeptic at bay on January 5th when attending the Krystal Krunch tour and workshop, because who knows, with an open mind I might learn a whole new way of seeing art, others, and the world around me.

 

Krystal Krunch: Frequently Asked Questions

Tell me more about the Never Been to Me Tour?

The program is in 2 parts. First you’ll have fun in a workshop that will jump start your intuition and then we will all march down to Midnight Party and ‘see’ the exhibition with our third eyes.

What will happen in the workshop?

In the workshop you will learn how to give and receive an intuitive reading. You will see and be seen in a way that you’ve never experienced before! You’ll hear reflections about who you are beneath the surface and you’ll be able to do that for another person. The takeaway is a connection to human beings that goes beyond the surface, appearance, common interests, and affiliations. You will enter the magic of another human universe.

First we will introduce you to some simple and practical exercises to relax and expand your awareness of the five senses. Then we will help you open your awareness of your intuition. You will be guided through a non-denominational meditation designed to uplift your spirts and serve those you love. We’ll show you the chakra system in the body and take you through simple exercises to see through the charka system into the energy of a partner you’ll either come with or someone you’ll pair off with. Everybody is embarrassed at first but it quickly becomes a warm and connected experience.

We will then head down to the exhibition and we’ll experience it psychically with our eyes closed- responding to the images in our mind’s eye and the feelings we get from the objects.

Krystal Krunch's "Dreaming the Body Politic" workshop at The Hammer Musem. Photo credit: Marianne Williams

I’m not psychic, how can I really do this?

We’re not psychic either. We’re intuitives. Everyone has intuition. We just need to learn to listen to it.

I don’t have a partner and I’m a shy person, will I feel awkward and out of place?

We hope not. Krystal Krunch provides a supportive, warm, laugh-filled environment that acknowledges everyone’s trepidation.

I’ve seen Ghost Hunters, are we dealing with the paranormal?

We watch Ghost Hunters too, but no, we are dealing with the very normal. We are looking into our hearts and eyes and seeing our inner selves. Most of us have never really been ‘seen’ by another person. It is thrilling to be acknowledged for your innate gifts and strengths in all their limitless possibility. And it is doubly rewarding to be able to give that to another. It is just as, if not more, exhilarating as ghost hunting.

I’m not psychic. How do I know I can do this?

If you’re a human you can do this! Come with an open mind, a loving heart and availability and you will have a valuable experience.

Will my dirty secrets be known?

If you whisper it to us clearly and slowly.

What if I hear something I don’t like?

Giving and receiving an intuitive reading is a collaborative process. As the giver, you give what you feel. As the listener, you stay open and available to the reader. Listen with an open heart, take the information home with you, and let it unfold over time. You’ll be surprised what you discover.

Is this appropriate for children?

No. The workshop and tour is for people 17 years and older.

Are Krystal Krunch licensed hypno-therapists/mental health counselors?

No. We are 2 artists who use our intuition to bring people closer together.

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Krystal Krunch (aka Asher Hartman and Haruko Tanaka) is a duo of artist intuitives who see and respond to energy in the body, the psyche, and architectural spaces. They are dedicated to using intuitive reading to help people come in contact with their highest and best potential, discovering who they really are so that they might approach their lives and others with compassion, self-love, and wonder. Krystal Krunch debuted in 2007 with TnT Explosive Advice: the 10 minute takeover at High Energy Constructs in L.A.’s Chinatown where they gave 10 minute intuitive readings to gallery visitors. They have since developed and presented numerous intuition building workshops including Dreaming the Invisible Body Politic at The Hammer Museum, Zero Max: Turning your trash into gold at the Eagle Rock Arts Center, Lovereflections Machine Project and Seeing Beyond Speech with students at Pomona College, Loyola Marymount University, California Institute of the Arts, and SPACES in Cleveland, Ohio.

Asher Hartman is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice centers on the exploration of the self in relation to Western histories and ideologies. Hartman’s work has been exhibited extensively including at The Hammer Museum, Whitney Biennial in collaboration with Curious Notch and Charles Long, the Beijing Open Performance Festival, The Cultural Center of the Philippines (Manila), Recontres International (Paris/Berlin), MIX/NYC and Migrating Forms (New York), London Underground Film Fest and Images (Toronto) and in a number of Los Angeles venues including numerous exhibitions at Machine Project, LACE, Sea and Space Exhibitions, Monte Vista Projects, Track 16, Highways Performance Space, and Human Resources. www.asherhartman.com

 Haruko Tanaka is an interdisciplinary artist whose artistic practice ranges from photography, film/video, and installation, to relational collaborative events and workshops. Her passion lies in the translation and transmission of intangible cultural treasures. Her work has been screened and exhibited in such places as the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Asian American International Film Festival at Asia Society, the Museum of Modern Art, the Japanese American National Museum, the CUE Art Foundation, and Sea & Space Explorations. Her collaborative relational events and workshops have taken place at South Central Farms in South Los Angeles, Crazyspace, the Hammer Museum, Machine Project, and SPACES in Cleveland, Ohio.
www.kissoftheworld.net



 

 

 

Political Revolution takes center stage for the opening of Baby Marx

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On the occasion of Pedro Reyes’ upcoming exhibition Baby Marx which opens next Thursday, we’ll have two intellectual power houses-Michael Hardt and Lauren Berlant-in conversation with Reyes to discuss some of the most influential ideas on politics and economy, as they relate to Reyes’ project and its complicated relationship to the current economic crisis. In [...]

On the occasion of Pedro Reyes’ upcoming exhibition Baby Marx which opens next Thursday, we’ll have two intellectual power houses-Michael Hardt and Lauren Berlant-in conversation with Reyes to discuss some of the most influential ideas on politics and economy, as they relate to Reyes’ project and its complicated relationship to the current economic crisis. In this video teaser is a selection of clips featuring Michael Hardt in the documentary film Examined Life (directed by Astra Taylor, 2008, clips courtesy of Zeitgeist Films) and a full-length lecture recently given by Berlant at the University of Chicago that centers around her soon to be released book, Cruel Optimism.

Lauren Berlant is the George M. Pullman Professor of English at the University of Chicago. Her work on political emotion includes The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Essays on Sex and Citizenship (1997) and The Female Complaint: the Unfinished Business of Sentimentality in American Culture (2008), in addition to the forthcoming Cruel Optimism. She is also the editor of Intimacy; Compassion:  the Culture and Politics of an Emotion; Our Monica, Ourselves: The Clinton Affair and the National Interest (with Lisa Duggan); and a two volume number of Critical Inquiry, On the Case (2007).

Michael Hardt is a political philosopher and literary theorist at Duke University, North Carolina. Hardt’s recent writings focus primarily on deciphering various aspects of globalization through the style of writing he defines as eclecticism – or bringing together in one place and connecting the ideas of various thinkers such as Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Antonio Gramsci and Thomas Jefferson. His most famous works, Empire (2000), Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire (2004), and Commonwealth (2009) were written in collaboration with Antonio Negri and are considered by many as major events in political and critical theory.

 

 

 

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