Entries Tagged as '2006 The Stepping Up and…'

Wall of Boxes

December 7th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

Boxwall

Boxwall2

What do you do when you’ve got a great cardboard connection? Mark the perimeter of your in-house conveyer belt with a wall of boxes, that’s what. It’s part of the set for a video shoot we’re doing on Sunday.

On a side note, the studio is pretty cold these days — today it’s 16 degrees, but feels like 4 with the windchill. So, yes, Chris, it’s only December and I’m already eating my words: I am indeed missing Los Angeles. I could really go for a little Dim Sum followed by a walk on the beach right about now.

Installing Intersections

November 4th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

Murrayinthemiddle

For the last two days we’ve been in Austin “installing” The Stepping Up and Going Under Method for the Intersections show that is opening today at the Creative Research Lab. The picture above shows Murray (middle) talking to Meggie Chou (on ladder) in front of her new installation, Incubation Machine 2.2.

Our installation for this show is minimal: two videos on two monitors. We’re simultaneously loving the easy installation process (load dvd, adjust monitor, repeat) and missing the visual impact of an installation — which the other three artists are working on, probably even now, 8 hours before the opening.

Murray is having some guilt about this and is taking an unusually long time calibrating those monitors and setting the volume.

Titling Works of Art

November 3rd, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

Sugu1

Sugu2

The title of our work opening this Saturday in Austin is The Stepping Up and Going Under Method. Sometimes a title for a work comes naturally, but usually for us it’s a long process. We’ve been going back and forth for weeks, trying to find a title that sheds light on the piece, while not showing our conceptual hand and not adding new content.

We’ve got a list of potential names that ranges from the ridiculously obtuse and academic (The Trefoil Knot Crossing Method), to the simplistic and obvious (The Two-Track Method). The name we finally settled on refers to action that takes place in the video, but is malleable enough to stretch into new, more ephemeral meanings. Each character is going up. Each character could be going under.

This name references our earlier work, The Grasp Hand and Walking Method. That name came from the first line of text in the video — a direct quote from a WWII vet talking about his experience as a Marine landing on Iwo Jima: “Hold hands and walk that way” — translated into Japanese, and then translated back into English.

We love the poetry of the awkward grammar of the translation, and have been struck with the idea that coping with such small moments in human experience could be defined as a method. That perhaps if we could find a handbook that exposed the rules for handling any life event, it would be filled with chapters like The Grasp Hand and Walking Method, and The Stepping Up and Going Under Method.

Incidentally, if you apply the same translation process to this title, it becomes: It Improves, Go.

Intersections Opens Sat, Nov 4

October 30th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and..., Texas, Tools and Tech

Intersections_card_1

We’re heading down to Austin, TX this weekend for the opening of Intersections at Creative Research Laboratory. If you’re in the area, please stop by. The show runs through Dec 2. If you can’t make it out to see the show, you can check out the podcast interviews of the artists that will be online after the opening.

We were interviewed by the director of CRL, Jade Walker, and Katja Rivera, an art historian, last week via iChat audio conferencing. It was an odd experience to wear headphones and answer questions about our art practice and the genesis of our collaboration into our laptop at the dining room table at home, but it was great fun. If you listen closely, you might hear our dog scampering in the background. He was playing with his chew toy pretty enthusiastically over the course of the interview.

We’ll link to the podcast when it’s online. More info about the exhibit here.

New Video: Set

October 29th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

A5

The shoot went well on Saturday. Our performers were fantastic. They were also patient: each take required a lot of set-up time and several key events needed specialized rehearsal between takes. We’re delighted.

This project will premiere at Flatbed Gallery in Austin, Texas this Saturday as part of the Intersections exhibition with my mentor Bill Lundberg as well as Meggie Chou and Rebecka Sexton.

New Video: Construction Detail

October 28th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

A4

I am proud of this construction detail. Ever have a problem you weren’t looking forward to because you knew it was going to take an inefficient amount of time to resolve? I never look forward to those problematic details, but in the end they carry the art.

Our shoot is today at high noon.

New Video: Set

October 27th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

Videoset2

Videoset1

The set is mostly finished. Today is costumes, camera tests, last-minute lighting adjustment, and getting food for the cast and crew during tomorrow’s shoot.

New Video: Stacking Boxes

October 25th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

A3

Today we finished the lighting–well, we’re still tweaking everything but it’s mostly done. Also completed is a the stack of boxes the camera sees when it takes its first turn (above).

New Video: Fabric for Set

October 25th, 2006 · No Comments · 2006 The Stepping Up and...

Fabric1

Fabric2

We’re in the studio today, working on the set for the video shoot on Saturday. This fabric is originally from People, 29 Burdens. Most of our materials are recycled either from previous works, or are otherwise rescued from becoming landfill fodder. We’ve been waiting for the right time to reuse this material: it’s a glowing green with just the right lighting.

New Video: Honing the Choreography

October 23rd, 2006 · No Comments · 2004 - 2012 Sketchbook, 2006 The Stepping Up and...

Ideasearching

We spent the day reworking our choreography for the shoot on Saturday. It’s risky to do this so soon before the shoot, but worth it if we can pull it off in time.