Hey,

Haven’t blogged in a while. Strange. Am a bit detached at this point with the opening of 100 Acres this weekend. But, that kinda makes sense. It’s the culmination of a long endeavor on my part, Type A’s part and, of course, the IMA and everyone who works (and has worked) to make the Art & Nature Park a reality. It’s at times like these that I get a bit detached. It’s a method of approaching exciting and nerve-racking times. Since there are so many ways in which this event can be “ruined,” it makes sense to take the good with the bad, as they say.

For example, the weather forecast for the opening weekend has been, how shall I say this, horrific. Maybe some people don’t mind 90 degree weather. But, add in storms and flooding…

Lisa Freiman says bring it on.

I could just get all upset and ask how could the weather gods let this be. But, it’s just a (bad) coincidence: crappy weather for an outdoor opening (paging Alanis Morissette). In any case, I could get upset or just take it in stride (I am throwing in a lot of cliches for some reason). It is as it is.

Strangely enough, this tactic of not taking things personally has led to quite a bit of introspection. Basically I go through a laundry list of the things that have happened in the time it’s taken to create and complete the project. Was Team Building successful? I’m gonna say yes. Will people notice? What kind of an effect will it have on my career? Come to think of it, where is my career now? There’s good momentum from 100 Acres. And we have a monograph out! But what’s next?

And, while we’re at it, how’s my personal life? It’s certainly different than when this project started. Well, for starters, I’m no longer married. Single dad time for me! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg (cliche alert #37). That I claim to let things go is not entirely true. It’s not true at all. In fact, it’s all personal. What to do? I can elevate the importance and get all prima donna about it.

Or…

I can think back to the whole point of the Team Building project, the whole reason for being involved with the IMA and 100 Acres in the first place.

Team Building with Type A

The experiential education elements shine through. I remember how experience occurs without an inherent value attached. Once through the experience, then all the thought processes and value placing begins. And it’s here that releasing the experience from all of that can be liberating. It makes it harder to sum up and convey, especially without the positive or negative elements that help turn the experience into anecdote. But it’s not about conveying; it’s about letting others have their experience and, if desired and possible, sharing in some way.

That’s what Type A attempted to capture in Team Building (Align). And it’s that sentiment, that modus operandi, that I am trying to apply to my pre-opening weekend jitters.

So, the park will be muddy and humid and hot and everyone’s hair will be frizzed out. Okay. And it will be stormy over the weekend and on the Summer Solstice, and clouds will block the sun from casting the ring’s shadow. Okay. In any case, the opening will continue and will be marked in a myriad of ways by everyone there. Hopefully we can share the experience communally and retain what’s important personally.

Life imitating art. Or is it the other way around?

Adam
Type A

Dear Team Builders,

So, it has been quite some time since we last blogged. Got tons of reasons why. Let’s see, we can start with our planning and facilitating our last Team Building meeting (which occurred in June). We’re also in production mode for our upcoming gallery and museum shows. We have family obligations that include end-of-the-school-year festivities. We have our other, extra-curricular activities such as martial arts and band practice.

But no excuses.

Wea culpa.

Members from a variety of IMA departments participate in the Type A project.

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Dear IMA Team and Readers of the Blog,

We’ve been wanting to write a short note to you all ever since the evening of the IMA’s 125th Anniversary Gala. What a night! A great show of energy and commitment to the museum, a rare chance to spend time with a brand new, permanent work from a major living artist and really just a great party.

Type A piece up for auction at the 125th Gala

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Just in time for the groundbreaking of the Art and Nature Park and the third Team Building session at IMA, Type A give us a peek into their on-going discussion…

Dear Count Blogula,

I’m still trying to figure out what we were trying to say last time.  Something about the Invisible Man and mirrors. Good reading. I figure we should keep going with this.

More new things percolating since we last wrote. At this point we are reevaluating what the sculpture will look like and what it means within the larger context of the project as a whole. The original conception for the piece, a 40ish-foot climbing tower suspended about 12 feet of the ground, has been expanded to include handholds that are cast from our team members’ grips, and indeed the decision to suspend or not suspend the tower has come into question.

We are back to having it in the ground and accessible to those who want to touch and climb it, and then we’re back again to the suspended version with all its visual impact and conceptual tickle. We will be discussing what all this means with the Team and we hope this could influence the direction the sculpture takes. In the end, we might have the sculpture suspended for one year and then renew the piece and give it new meaning by lowering it onto the ground for another year. So the question remains: what does it mean to build the tower and suspend it and what does it mean for it to rest on the ground?
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A continuation of the conversation between the members of Type A…did you miss the first Type A post?

Hey MC Blogmaster 5000,

Here I am again, getting back in the writing groove. Funny enough, just read a story in the last New York Times Magazine (August 3rd) about a group of internet pranksters that generally call themselves “trolls.” Seems they like to nuke web sites and mess with people very aggressively. One of them is quoted as saying that he “wants everyone off the Internet. Bloggers are filth. They need to be destroyed.” Guy seems like a real party. Too much free time, if you ask me.

But back to the arts.

The project has evolved significantly since we last exchanged thoughts this way. We’ve completed our first two-day workshop with everyone in the Team Building project and have been talking about what it all means ever since. Right after the second day concluded we went out with Lisa (Freiman) to discuss where this was going and exchanged some really interesting ideas.

Type A has always made work that respects the idea first and the medium second. Ultimately the medium we choose for a project must be in response to the concept driving that project, and, in fact, the medium ideally helps to inform and reinforce the concept.  Read the rest of this entry »