Yesterday was indeed a dubious day. Between the rain cutting in and out, and myself hurriedly pulling the plasma torch in and out of the barn, unravelling and ravelling up 120 feet of extension cord and compressed air hose to get in as much cutting
on the dumpster as possible; I leave tomorrow and still have one section left to cut! And raising the 1000 gallon oil tank on its now cured concrete pad, and meeting with some colleagues of Cal’s in the evening for a ‘meeting of the minds’, and finishing my own works, packing them up to ship, and packing myself up to ship too; it was a full and wonderful day!
This work of Lane's was fabricated, or rather un-fabricated for the 'Lace in Translation' exhibition at The Design Centre at Philadelphia University. This was a group show "featuring commissions by internationally renowned artists and designers inspired by the historical lace collection of The Design Centre at Philadelphia University, the exhibition present[ed] unexpected materials and technologies to reconcile conventional notions of lace; and it challenge[d] the supposed dichotomy between traditional and contemporary design" (Hilary Jay, "Lace in Translation" exhibition guide). In 2009 at its inaugural site the tank was exhibited horizontally with the cut outs from the pattern recomposed into a pattern resembling oil spilling from the tank.
Since then the 'Quaker Lace' patterned tank has adorned sites such as the Hudson Valley MOCA, and Toronto's 'Nuit Blanche'. It is now positioned on her property proudly seated in a vertical position much like it was exhibited in Toronto. Now Lane is experimenting with the shadow projections this oil tank is capable of producing with solar powered lights.
Working with Lane and on her works have brought much insight into my own art practice and processes. One of the most notable influences is the necessity to slow down, the process of cutting with the plasma cutter or oxygen-acetylene torch demands this. The long vertical lines of cutting out between the pickets of the dumpster require slow, concentrated attention so they effortlessly slip out of position. The clang of them falling away from their counterpart is music to my ears.
Maybe I need to balance this out in my work a little more, or simply take some more time for reflection on my work through the process towards completion? More on this in my next post which will focus specifically on the recutting and fine tuning of Lane's dumpster, which I fully completed before my departure today.
To tie this up here's an image of the last work of mine in progress, packed and ready for completion upon my arrival back at the University of Calgary. 'Double Lotus' cut from the top of the 'Double Dragon (Oil) Drum already en-route.
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