This week, we got to listen to a presentation by Xtina Burroughs as well as meet them in person to discuss poetry and its significance. Xtina during their presentation described and showed excerpts of their book, inspired by their old project “New Works: Case studies in web art & design.” I thought it was very interesting that they decided to use an interview style for their book with all the artists that they included – I thought it added a more raw, personal perspective and description of the artists’ intents and ideas without losing meaning through paraphrasing or rewording. The main question “What do you mean art as social practice?” definitely floated through my mind as we went through the presentation, as I have never given the idea much thought. However, as the presentation went on, I realized that there wasn’t any one answer – the perspectives that the different panelists shared were so diverse and creative in their own ways. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the anticapitalist work of the panelists; the mixing of low/no tech techniques with high tech techniques was particularly inspiring. I also liked their statement about how their work was a collaboration across time, different life forms, with living, lived, and yet to live – it really spoke to me about how art, and anything that we do or express, is an accumulation of all that we have experienced, what others have built for us, and our wishes for the future.
Coven Intelligence Program SpellWeaver application. Source: https://ybca.org/after-life-coven-intelligence-program/.
Something that really piqued my interest was the spell-writing workshop to resist things like police violence, white supremacy, and general structural enemies. While perhaps outlandish-sounding, the actual concept and ideas of the project really spoke to me, and I appreciated the political stances and strong messages of the work. I also thought the SpellWeaver application from Coven Intelligence Program was interesting because it was an example of the mix of high tech and low tech techniques. Getting a textile pattern based on the spell one inputed as well as plant suggestions for the rituals was incredibly intriguing, making me want to see this in action. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the presentation as it really opened my eyes to a new world and perspective of art and its purpose in society.
Our class outside with Xtina for our poetry workshop.
When we met in person, we got to compose poems with our peers and share them with the group as well as add them to the poem bank on the hotline Xtina gave us. Our group was hesitant at first, as none of us identified as a poet and in fact was not a big fan of poetry, but Xtina gave us a lot of good tips to figuring out how to go about choosing a topic as well as how we could collaborate with each other to create our poem. We ended up choosing nature and environmentalism as our topic, and we talked a bit about deforestation, connecting back to our talk first week of class about pencils and their detrimental effects to the environment through resources used and shipping, and based our poem on the style of Dr. Seuss. The exercise was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed spending time outside as a change of pace.
Deforestation in a dense forest. Source: https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/deforestation_fronts_/
References:
“After Life: Coven Intelligence Program.” YBCA, 22 Dec. 2020, https://ybca.org/after-life-coven-intelligence-program/.
“Coven Intelligence.” Covenintelligence.net, https://covenintelligence.net/spells.html.
“Deforestation Fronts.” WWF, https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/deforestation_fronts_/.
Mala, Alisa. “How Many Trees Are Cut down Each Year to Make Pencils?” WorldAtlas, WorldAtlas, 2 July 2020, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-trees-are-cut-down-each-year-to-make-pencils.html.
National Geographic Society. “Deforestation.” National Geographic Society, 15 July 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/deforestation/#:~:text=Deforestation%20is%20the%20purposeful%20clearing,altered%20landscapes%20around%20the%20world