They always cost the artist money, even when they don’t. They always provide unique challenges of survival. How do I get materials here? How do I get my work back? Difficulties that are compounded when the residency is in another country.
Pregnant with possibilities … a residency can lead an artist to truly unexpected solutions, producing true breakthroughs in work and can generate personal connections that could never be foreseen, altering lives and directions; irrevocably changing the course of careers and human hearts.
Recently I had the occasion to visit my colleague and frequent collaborator Charles Tucker while he was on his residency at the Art Farm. It was magic in a most unexpected way. Let me begin by saying that it is not a place for the faint of heart, the delicate or infirm. At the height of summer it is hot, buggy, a little steamy, while touting what could only be described as rustic accommodations … and it was unbelievably beautiful … and when I say magic I mean spellbinding. The range of work is profound, moving between the mundane, the inauspicious to the breathtaking. It takes on the feel of a revolving Artists' Commune with Ed at the helm.
While there Tucker continued his work exploring the means of home construction and the implications of stored valued, relegated spaces and a re-definition of Environment. He is building a cottage in a meadow which he plans to complete on his return in April of 2011. It is meant as a space of contemplation, a private space meant to provide quiet and shelter to the creative minds that might venture there … rising over the prairie it sits in conversation with its predecessor Beili Liu’s replica of her parents’ home. A community of two … Liu’s structure speaks of the past and a earthbound grittiness. While Tucker’s work raises softly … floating just down the way.
My visit to the Art Farm was remarkable and I hope to return there on my own residency in the not too distant future. I would love to set up in the old school house and do nothing but paint and work in the Artist’s Garden. But for now I am ensconced at Gallery Aferro in Newark, New Jersey… a most magical place in its own right … and one I may not want to leave … you’ll hear more about that later though. In the meantime … here are some images from Nebraska’s Art Farm...
a studio at Art Farm: "The Little School House"
Residents' House: "Victoria"
View of the Artists' Vegetable Garden
Beili Liu: "Home"
Charles Tucker: "Cottage"Art Farm, Nebraska
Gallery Aferro, New Jersey
Just a few other CIA faculty who have been away on residency: Sarah Kabot; Barry Underwood; Megan Ehrhart; Amanda Almon …
