Project Ideas

i. Create a logo. Something that can be put on the blog (or a flashier website if required) something that can go on t-shirts etc, provide a presence beyond the web. I envision something with a map of an imaginary topography, but it's not limited to that. Ideally it would be something that represents Pangaea as a specific place and as an aesthetic and ideology.

ii. Becky, your photographs that I've seen have been more conceptual, i.e. the 'OD' series, but I'd like to begin a portraiture series. Perhaps you could do a shoot with each of us to help present each of us as we'd like in particular lights. These photos could be posted online as artworks in and of themselves and/or along with bios and descriptions of our individual strengths and interests.

Linguistic Vision

As others have yet to post new threads, I shall post one of mine own, then sit back holding my breath like a child for the month of December waiting for Santa and the presents of your repsonses to come on in.

As briefly or verbosely as you'd like, take us on a tour of Pangaea, the Pangaea of your dreams.

Walk us through the grounds. What do we see? How does it smell? What do we hear? What's the feeling in the air? What can we do? What do we see others doing? How does Pangaea look as we approach it? Are there animals? What is the shape of an average day from the rise out of bed to the head hitting the pillow again?

We want to walk with you. Take us away.

Note: Consider whether or not you want to read other people's tours before you write your own. Either way could be interesting and illuminating.

Becky's Vis-Art rumbles..

Bwah HA hA ha ha! My very own thread! Tyler, you will regret ever putting this idea in my head. Through this thread I will control your minds and Pangaea will be mine! All Mine!


Ok, down to business.

I really want a thread to talk specifically about what kind of Visual Art people like. The way I am starting to see Pangaea is a place where not only are we making art but we are also inviting artists to join us, possibly having events or shows, and eventually maybe some kind of residency. For me this brings up the idea of quality. And not just quality by some silly art-market snot-nosed standards, but quality of intention, of thought, of process. For this reason I am very much immersed in conceptual art. I like visual work that is attached to the intellectual mind and plays with the boundaries between mind and sight, the mental and the tactile. Text in art gets me going every time. (See earthworks artists of the 70's{Robert Smithson}, and Rachel Whiteread,James Turrell, Ed Ruscha, Victor Burgin, ARt&Language Group, Daniel Buren to name a few)
On the other hand, I am also very much interested in the revival of the crafts movement that I see happening in visual art. There seems to be an explosion of design, clothing (refashioning), embroidery, printmaking, illustration, collage, handmade books, vegan handbags, and lots of imagery of animals.(See Otsu in San Fransisco and Motel in Portland). This seems to be happening in music as well. It reminds me of Joanna Newsom being an expert harp player or Devendra Banhart writing a whole album full of songs about animals. Am I crazy to think this is all connected and meaningful? I am so into this because to me it's about alternative ways of forming community. It's about getting down to the process and pleasure of being creative in a day-to-day way. And it's bringing people together whether through knitting circles or music concerts. People are naturally brought together as they so often are in DIY cultures and cottage industries. It is a response to the alienation that we may experience in other mass-marketed cultures. This seems important to me in relation to Pangaea, ie the quality of our community and what we make.

In this respect I am really obsessed with Andrea Zittel's work right now (See pictures in "References" thread). She seems to merge craft, community, and conceptual art into a successful little bundle. Her High Desert Test Site event is also up there on the list of things to check out. This is an art event in the middle of the desert where artists gather mostly by invitation to spend a week building sculptures and doing performances. The result seems to be that the art creates a kind of lens through which looking at the desert landscape and other people becomes an awakening experience. A very important question that must be asked is "How is this not Burning Man?". For her response see Art Forum, Summer 2005. As for my response, I believe that there is an intentionality difference. I haven't gotten much farther than that.

So, in closing, my two questions for y'all would be:
1) What kind of visual art do you like and how do you see visual art playing a role in Pangaea?
2) What is the difference REALLY between Pangaea and a hippy art commune?


Thank you for visiting my thread. I look forward to your insights!

Keeping the ol' Ball Rollin so it gathers no moss.

So we have all been rather remiss in our blogging duties. I'm at fault along with the rest, and I apologize. I would like to ameliorate (Kaplan tm) the situation as best we are able. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter, and I'd love to hear yours as well.

I. WEEKEND RETREAT MEETING

(As mentioned by Mr. Stamos) we arrange a meeting in person. I love this idea. At some point in the next 6 months, I think we should try to have a round table discussion to brainstorm and take notes. My ideal arena for this would be a weekend retreat. We could rent a house somewhere on the seashore or in the country, or go to my parents in Mt. Shasta or any number of places. There, we would turn off cell-phones and leave the tangles of the interweb to cook food, make crafts, and share conversation and ideas. I would also like to share some of the fascinating exercises I recently learned in a workshop with East Coast Artists. I realize that it might be difficult to get all of us in one place, but perhaps we could have two sessions, one east coast and one west coast.

II. PERSONAL THREADS

Each person starts their own thread with a brief question, concern, or idea. The others all respond and a dialogue is started around each of our interests respectively. I think this would help generate more personal involvement, and a wider range of topics. Plus, it could lead to more frequent check-ins and a more conversational tone.

III. E-MEETINGS, HOW HI-TECH

I'm not sure of the best forum, but we could all get on Instant Messenger or some such thing and chat about things for a while at a specified time. Thus, we would be able to exchange ideas with everyone in real time and also have an archival transcription of our discussions.

IV. IN A DIFFERENT, ECONOMIC VEIN

As a deviation from the previous three ideas, I move that we begin to put our money where our mouths are, in a small way. It would not be unwise for each of us to be saving some money each month anyway (maybe we all already are?) but how about some Pangaea money? I propose the small amount of $50 per month for each of us to put in a personal Pangaea fund. This money will add up (about $5,000) a year between us and could be useful down the road. We could actually use it as startup funds for Pangaea, or it could serve to help facilitate the weekend meeting mentioned above. If Pangaea doesn't pan out (not likely in my book) we would each have this money to do with it what we will. Better than a tax refund, eh?


Okay, I look forward to hearing from you all. I have tried my best to be brief without sacrificing content. I hope we can get excitement and discussion rolling again, because the possibilities are awesome like a rabid dog fears water.

Sinclair