Drawing a line, without needing it to be the start of something else, but to be itself.
watching.
I listen. I needed to know more about being.
When I was young my Mother bought me a portable cassette player. I played tapes in the garden. Once I pressed 'record' instead of 'play' and found that I had the sound of the garden on the tape. It was more interesting than the music I had taped over. Since then I have listened like this.
How many people truely appreciate and respect the opportunities that travel affords them ? How many go to locations other than thier usual place and yet try to carry on living in the same way ? How many keep thier ears tuned to the same sounds they hear every day ?
I am in Mooste, Estonia. The sounds are all different from anywhere else. I take photographs and they remind me of the visual differences. I make recordings and they remind me of this place.
I explore sounds through the location and the location through the sounds. I take photographs more in the way I make music - my emotions are at play not just my eye.
I explore my life too. Things that have been stressful. Things where I have not done well or have made mistakes. I work things through.
I eat.
always alive and glad to be so.
I create stories to send to my daughter and this is a wonderful experience. I talk to her as often as I can. I miss her and I miss my home, but they will be there to welcome me when I return.
I will go back with all of the experiences and explorations of this time in Estonia - so something has been added to life. To mine and therefore to those who I share it with.
I won't write a thesis for my work. I am interested in people knowing something about me - thoughts are only a very small and somewhat clumsy part of who we are. We invent them. If I use the word 'art' to describe my creativity then I hope that my work speaks. The theory might well be there but I don't feel it needs to be stated. I might miss reaching some people that way, but I am happy to reach the people who can respond on an intuitive and emotive level. If this comes first there is the freedom to think more about the work. If we arrive via the theory it is not possible to connect in the same way. - see ? I said thoughts are clumsy.
- Jez riley French, May 2009
One of the most important things I realize, deeply within me, is that Time passes by in a non-linear way. Time accuracy depends not in facts but to the relation with thought (act of reason and act of emotion).
March residency, 2009
Today a book came by post - “Lisboaleipzig 1, o encontro inesperado do diverso”, Maria Gabriela Llansol.
(Free translation from Portuguese to English)
I organized my working table – the place where I am entirely happy; opened some manuscripts, and I realized that reading them took me, not has the books but has rivers floating in real life. (…) p.35
I remember of having imagined that, when it snows – what is different will became evenly covered with white snow. White for the trees, for the boxes that lie in the yard, for the walls to cover with stucco; then, it is needed to verify, that the volumes and colors where covered, and not to named them by the generic name of white. However, I will not have control over this phenomenon of the snow, and I will call them fulgor scenes (…). p.36
March 19 - Mooste
___________________________________________(sketchbook excerpts)
Today I went with Julia to a small walk in the morning. We went near the frozen lake. (I would like to try to do my circle there. My one hour walking circle as I tried before)
On our walk, we saw something really curious. It looks like cocoons coming out of the snow. The exterior was cover with straw and inside was just earth. I go back again, to take a better picture and perhaps to bring inside the house one of these cocoons.
(…) Continuing my research around the Light and Ground materials…until now I am very fascinated by the Sun (I keep going to Soho/ Nasa website to see the latest real time images. Still don't know what to do with it).
I’m living and working in Moks house since some weeks…as not excepted I am working mostly inside (in the studio). It’s curious…to travel to here………………and realize that the place I am completely happy is my working table. March 21st - Mooste
Making fire
Instructions by Jonh Grzinich
1. open vent
2. fill oven with wood - try to use same size logs; - put wood face down
3. use paper to start fire – don’t worry it can take 2 or 3 times
4. after some time check to see if all logs are burning
5. when red coals form check with metal stick. Put burning logs on top.
6. At the end “rake” the coals. Make sure there is no flame. Never close the oven if there is flames.
7. When coals are ready close the door and vent.
(Fetch the wood logs at least one day before from the outside storage)
March 3th – house of Mooste
Making life
For trying a Spa “Värska Sanatorium”, at Varska. For local food taste “Kama” (Kama flour mixed with kefir and sugar), “Tatar”(cook like rice, eat with sour cream-Hapukoor in Estonian). Visit the zoological Museum (amazing dust covered stuffed animal) part of the Natural History Museum in Tartu. In need of tools, paint or other construction materials go to “ ” (good grief, i forgot it!); “Vanakau Bamaga” (Chinese shop) for small something, in Tartu. Be aware of the buses timetable (during week they end pretty early).
[gallery=7]
I am still upon the emotion of the definitive return travel to Portugal, and came to this so small room, to accumulate intensities. I never had I subtle passion, and had several by “physical phenomenon”, including the candlelight and the first snow leaf. (…)p.38
On my stay in the house of Moks in Mooste I found the right context for some of my project intention, which until now only existed as idea. The white charcoal dust over the wood stick is one of theme. Here I continued to research on the materials from the project from my previous residency in Nodar, Portugal. _____ I had time and I didn’t have time. I struggled with the contemplating landscape and soundscape. Not to expect and let things to arise. I am still continuing my research, i would say. The house routines slowly started to establish. I made a friend in my stay in Mooste and this is the most precious thing in the world that could have happen to me. Julia Wandel from Hamburg. It is expected to have a great time as artist in residency. My time was reasonable, with some exceptional days, good ones and bad ones. I would have preferred not to be so depending on Estonian speaking language to communicate. English can be not enough. I would have preferred to eat more meals with Evelyn and John. I would say that if one is searching for remoteness, Mooste in March is perfect. But we might not be up to our expectations to what a retreat means.
______________of Portuguese nature “is difficult do distinguish if the past is our future or if the future is our past”.
May, 2009 - Lisbon studio
"Self-portrait in motion"
Siim; Meeri; Liis; Andeus; Irja; Üno; Ene; Merike; Ülle; Küllike; Mari; John; Evelyn; Julia; Andrea.
March, 2009 – Mooste
The most recent meeting of X-OP took place in Maçao Portugal and was hosted by Instituto Politecnico de Tomar. On the first day, April 27th there was a seminar featuring X-OP partners or guests invited by them. On the following 3 days, the Mutopia workshop was held. This workshop is a collaboration between Tero Nauha of MAA art school in Finland and John Grzinich of MOKS which started in 2008 at AVAMAA. Also joining the workshop from Estonia was Taavi Tatsi of Worldfilm and 3 students of ethnography/anthropology, Piibe Kolka, Jaanika Jaanits and Birgit Rosenberg. 5 students from Art Shool MAA and 7 students from the Escola Superior de Artes e Design in Porto. Special thanks to the participants for their time and energy and to Goncalo and Judith for their organizational efforts.
[nggallery id=8]
photos by John Grzinich
Exhibition of six MoKS/Binaural related artists at Galeria Santa Clara Coimbra, Portugal
Photos of the Parahouse event in Berlin by John Grzinich. It was very difficult to get an overview that evening since I was busy with my "feed back" installation. You can see photos of this at the end (where people are feeding each other). Thanks to Marko for the conceptual push and to Moni, Joulia and others for helping organize. If only we had more time...
[nggallery id=6]
Next week will be a busy one. The first X-OP events will happen, a conference organized by Media in Motion and a performance organized by Marko Kosnik. All this runs in parallel with Transmediale. More reports to follow soon...
Monday, January 26, 21.00
*Electropera Act 1: Parahouse_12
self-evolving participatory environment
by Egon March Institute and partner productions
Studio Martina Schumacher & Joulia Strauss in Ullsteinhaus
Monday-Thursday, 26th – 29th of January
X-OP- Conference Berlin
„True Art / Truely Merchandise“
at ConcentArt