Visiting Artists Responses
VJAA at the Walker
I didn't have an understanding of what Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos did in the art field before going to their presentation at the Walker. This made it very interesting when I found out that they were architects and highly respected in the area as well as in their field of work. VJAA have had projects all over the US where they're able to use contemporary design styles and techniques. Their attention to the environment and surrounds of the areas was consistent in all of their architecture. They take into consideration the history of the cities or towns and use as much natural energy as they can. Their works are all very energy efficient because of their high regard for energy efficiency and their ability to creatively, but affectively, use their natural surroundings. A few examples of this come out of their use of water as natural cooling systems in a couple of locations. One is through the use of fans blowing air against water that's falling down steal-mesh panels horizontally hung in a room. The other use is the circulation of water from some body of water around the site located along the shoreline. I've never been to any sort of presentation like this and found myself really enjoying the experience. They even opened up the floor for questions after they discussed their works.
Slow Art by John Kelly and Arden Reed
John Kelly and Arden Reed discussed slow art in the from of tableaux vivant; people staging themselves as famous artworks. John Kelly spoke on his experience in the field. It seems as though he does his artwork all on his own which is what intrigued me most about their presentation. John doesn't always go directly off the artwork either, he creates his own variations as well. John sets up the scene then has a camera record while he acts out what the original art piece, posing every few seconds. He then watches the video and creates still images to use. He had only intended the footage to be for his eyes but brought along some of it and showed it to us. It was hilarious. He had even compiled them all into a ten or so minute long video that we watched and laughed at with him as he acted out the emotions he found in the artworks. Arden Reed showed a film of a tableaux vivants from a european artists photography. It's an unusual experience to watch people stay perfectly immobile for long amounts of time, but just as I'd be getting bored of it I would start to watch to see if anyone was moving and get sucked back in. At the end of his talk Arden Reed discussed this feeling and explained how that's a part of tableaux vivants.