crisis <> bliss

SRLs V-1 behind the South Hall pre-show setup.

Spent the last two days trying to keep from being over stimulated and dealing with the very hot and sunny weather conditions. Just getting a good WifFi connection has been tricky. Getting enough time to do this entry in the tiny slivers of time between catching up with friends, attending the festival events and checking out the San Jose environment has been tricky too. I am a slow typer and 'bleed' over these entries. So here it is.

The official opening of the exhibition was last night with quite a few venues to visit. The biggest venue is the South Hall where there are probably a hundred different interactive electronic digital robotic sound video network phone based artworks with an unusually pleasant mixed soundscape of beeps, buzzes, low murmurs, conversation and noise vying for your attention. There a little bit a of a convention/trade show feel in the structure and that feeling is amplified by several artists actively promoting their works with handbills and such. There's a lot of artists doing work in the public sphere with interventions in the city, something I enjoy a lot. A lot of other local art galleries had openings too. Hence the potential to hit the 'wall' with too much stimulation. There's lots of local color and culture to distract one so a healthy balance can be struck.





Spent most of Tuesday afternoon in the company of John Hopkins and Ed Osborne , artists I met a long time ago while participating at the Polar Circuit residencies in Northern Finland. It was a great pleasure to catch up with them, converse on a lot of topics of common interest and share a meal. We joined the Crisis to Bliss discussions and workshop being hosted by Beryl Graham and Sarah Cook. Jon Thomson & Alison Craighead led the discusion which was concerned with balancing art , work and life. Something we artists sometimes struggle with. I spoke up a bit which is totaly unlike my usual quiet panel discussion behavior. I think the tea and cookies, very friendly informal enviroment and overall project structure was very condusive to getting people to relax and participate. Thanks Sarah and Beryl.