A few months ago I shared an interview with artist Karen Seneferu, who was then installing her latest work Techno-kisi, at the Skirball Museum in Los Angeles, California. Seneferu's piece got a lot of positive feedback, and was recently the subject of an interview for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Open Space blog, which you can read here: http://blog.sfmoma.org/2010/02/techno-kisi-interview-with-artist-karen-seneferu/#more-9489
Check out some video of the installation here:
And here is the artist's statement on Techno-kisi
Karen Seneferu – Techno-kisi, 2009 http://anideacalledtomorrow.wordpress.com/category/karen-seneferu-and-kwahuumba/ Technology has become the primary vehicle to navigate multiple discourses. But to some cultures, a future embedded in technology alone is not possible without engaging multiple mediums of communication for a sustainable future. Thus, collaboration will be at the center of inclusive change.
The ancient force and form of the Nkisi is to protect. Out of the Congo Basin in Central Africa, the Nkisi literally means sacred medicine; the Nkisi takes a variety of forms from sculpture to container to a charm. Seneferu’s piece Techno-kisi is the first of its kind for the entire piece is made up of charms symbolic of individual community members in need of healing while multi-media, the center of the power force, protects the community.
The technology symbolizes the belly. In this case, the console created by Buglabs shows a slide presentation of people Kwahuumba and Seneferu interviewed on film, named after the exhibition: An Idea Called Tomorrow. In collaborating with Buglabs, Seneferu attempts to unhook the seat of power, by enclosing the images of those who are often times outside of it.
In a third element of the project, Kwahuumba and Seneferu recorded interviews of people from a broad cross-section of society to answer the questions “what is a sustainable future” and “who and how is it determined?” They were interested in looking at historically excluded communities who have been deterred from participating in the dialogue and the actions needed for change. They interviewed a wide range of activists both prominent to the world of the Green Movement, such as Majora Carter, an environmental justice advocate, who promotes green-collar jobs as a route out of poverty to Tyrone Stevenson, aka “Scraper Bike King,” a youth from East Oakland California who created a mobility craze that has gained worldwide fame by incorporating art and an eco-green philosophy to change his community. There are other diverse individuals who are just as relevant. What they all have in common is that they point out that in order for us to have a sustainable future, that “everyone on the planet must be seen as having a particular value that should be shared with the world.”
Techno-Kisi is on display as part of the exhibition An Idea Called Tomorrow until March 7th, 2010. http://www.skirball.org
The atmosphere in Jon Delorme's playspace one cold February night was one of hushed awe. Audience members descended the staircase into a darkened room to find the floor scattered with "Kellyisms": purple glitter, a mirror framed in gold, candles, safety pins, honey, panties. A technicolor image of gumballs was projected on the back wall, casting a soft glow over a host of instruments: a drum set, an accordion, a keyboard, guitars. Tonight would be a special performance for many reasons: it was the 10th movement in Kelly Shaw Willman's remarkable grunge*quest series, her first live collaboration with avant-garde musician Jon Delorme, and the end of her New York residency. Willman will return home to Iowa for some quiet and space, along with a lot more bang for her buck. The 10th installment of grunge*quest was delicate and magical in sound and imagery. Kelly utilized her voice, chanting her desire for "a quiet year." Delorme moved between a tabletop steel guitar and a Turkish banjo, building a sound that went from pixie dust to a thrashing crescendo. Kelly moved ritualistically through the space, cutting apples, placing panties at the feet of an audience member, spreading glitter. grunge*quest 10 was a perfect finale to the Brooklyn-based phase of this series of movements. It was the work of a woman coming into her own, and sharing that transformational journey. Her creative presence will truly be missed here, but I'm certain we'll be seeing much more of this energetically rising artist. Here is the full video of Kelly and Jon's performance:
