SURVIVAL POSTURES GALLERY
MARCH 20, 2011 - SPACES - CLEVELAND, OH
CARMEN TRACEY
"...The reason that I chose
learning how to sew reusable menstrual pads for Survival Postures is that, for me, everything difficult and depressing about being
female crystallizes around the menstrual cycle: the shame we’re
supposed to feel for not being “clean” enough or whatever, the
stupid sexist jokes about PMS, the extra concern about body image
that comes with being simultaneously bloated, pimply, and paranoid
that someone will find out (thanks, Seventeen
magazine!), all the additional maintenance we have to do to
deal with it each and every month for the preponderance of our lives.
And that’s barely scratching the surface.
I wanted to see if I could take this thing I am going have to survive with for 30 more years and take some of the suffering out of it, for myself and for my friends..."
MOLLY MURRAY
"...I researched methods of making sugar. Originally, I thought I might try to make it out of sugar cane, since I saw some for sale at the West Side Market. But then I saw that in order to press the juice out of the cane, people use a contraption that runs on either a big motor or oxen power. So that was out of the question.
Finally, I found some recipes that told me how to make sugar from beets. It seemed simple enough, and it is easy to get beets too. So I decided to give it a shot..."
SARA KRUGMAN
EMELIO DISABATO & JOEL SOLOW
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MARIA MIRANDA
"During the month of February I (re)embraced
femininity. I became a student of it, learning the ways in which I
was deficient in becoming a master of beauty rituals. I performed
what I simply call “pretty procedures”. These procedures were
influenced by a survey I conducted on women and their feminine
maintenance. The process was very much internal. I spent a
significant amount of time immersed in media and literature targeted
at mainstream women. I studied the art of relationships, fashion,
beauty, weight loss and achieving the balance of soft yet strong that
eludes the 'modern woman'.
Throughout this process, I experienced a spectrum of feelings that ranged from validation to nagging self-doubt. I often times felt foolish and child-like in situations where my feminine attire seemed impractical. I redeveloped complexes about everything from my weight to my ankles. I become conscious of the income earned that was spent on feminine maintenance. I only resisted for a week or so before I found comfort in conforming. People were nice to me when I smiled or demurred. I received compliments. What was a nebulous concept in my personal life become crystallized: Pretty is a physical and mental state of being..."
Throughout this process, I experienced a spectrum of feelings that ranged from validation to nagging self-doubt. I often times felt foolish and child-like in situations where my feminine attire seemed impractical. I redeveloped complexes about everything from my weight to my ankles. I become conscious of the income earned that was spent on feminine maintenance. I only resisted for a week or so before I found comfort in conforming. People were nice to me when I smiled or demurred. I received compliments. What was a nebulous concept in my personal life become crystallized: Pretty is a physical and mental state of being..."
femininity.doc | |
File Size: | 24 kb |
File Type: | doc |
JONATHAN HULL & JOSH KOPPEN
"...We built a mini cook stove. It is just two soup cans, one nested in the other, with some holes drilled in them. You can fill it with just about any dry organic matter - even things that are often considered waste - wood chips, paper, cardboard, straw from grass, etc.
The simplicity of it shouldn't hide the fact that it is cleverly designed. By controlling how the material is burned through the arrangement of the cans and the size of the holes, it doesn't actually burn what you put into it directly. Instead it heats up this material to the point that some of it becomes a gas. This gas is then channeled to the top of the stove where it is burned. The result is a clean and efficient burn with little to no smoke. When the stove goes out you are left with charcoal.
This charcoal is the key. It can be added to gardens to dramatically improve soil fertility. It is also extremely stable and will last thousands of years. This stability makes charcoal a carbon sink that can help reverse global warming.
It is a simple design that can be easily built by people in our own communities... What would it mean if communities could locally produce their own energy?..."
The simplicity of it shouldn't hide the fact that it is cleverly designed. By controlling how the material is burned through the arrangement of the cans and the size of the holes, it doesn't actually burn what you put into it directly. Instead it heats up this material to the point that some of it becomes a gas. This gas is then channeled to the top of the stove where it is burned. The result is a clean and efficient burn with little to no smoke. When the stove goes out you are left with charcoal.
This charcoal is the key. It can be added to gardens to dramatically improve soil fertility. It is also extremely stable and will last thousands of years. This stability makes charcoal a carbon sink that can help reverse global warming.
It is a simple design that can be easily built by people in our own communities... What would it mean if communities could locally produce their own energy?..."
natural_gas_and_bio_gas.doc | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | doc |
DIANA SETTE & CATHY LEE
Diana worked with master weaver Cathy Lee to learn how to process and spin lamb's wool. They organized a workshop for people to get hands-on experience cleaning, carting and spinning wool. For the exhibition, they made a Human Loom, working with real live people to mirror the movements of a loom and make a large-scale woven masterpiece.
MEGAN WILLIAMS
"I
chose to learn how to sew because I rely on my mother to repair my
buttons, even when she lives over 2,000 miles away. I refused to learn
to sew when I was a child because it was what women did-- what my mother
did. I associated it with being powerless. I didn't want to be
powerless..."
sosew.pdf | |
File Size: | 624 kb |
File Type: |
SIMON THRASHER & GIULIA FLEISHMAN
KRISTEN
"I
did not become a swift-kicking, elbow-swinging, eye-poking badass
over the month of February.
When I decided to focus on learning self defense for this project, the first thing that came up was how to defend myself if someone attacked me while alone, outside, in the dark. I borrowed two instructional videos for women from the library and asked a couple friends for help. I watched a video. I was going to learn to breathe, have a strong stance, practice these moves, then photograph them.
Stay vigilant, right? I know to pay attention to my surroundings and to not sit in my car messing with my phone. There are many actions I take in a day to discourage an attack: having my keys ready, deciding which deadbolts to lock at which times of day, mixing up my routine so no one can pinpoint when I’ll be arriving anywhere, leaving lights on when I’m not home and when I am.
I have found myself crying out of fear after carrying in groceries while leaving my preschooler strapped in her car seat. I run back out to the car, tears in my eyes at the thought of someone taking her, relieved to see her hair sticking up, still sleeping. I need to get away from an attack for my own survival and so my children don’t lose their mommy.
I wanted to stop carrying this fear so heavily. I was going to increase my confidence with the ability to physically defend myself somewhat. Then, three experiences in February – each about one week apart – shook me up and had me thinking about self defense in a whole new way..."
When I decided to focus on learning self defense for this project, the first thing that came up was how to defend myself if someone attacked me while alone, outside, in the dark. I borrowed two instructional videos for women from the library and asked a couple friends for help. I watched a video. I was going to learn to breathe, have a strong stance, practice these moves, then photograph them.
Stay vigilant, right? I know to pay attention to my surroundings and to not sit in my car messing with my phone. There are many actions I take in a day to discourage an attack: having my keys ready, deciding which deadbolts to lock at which times of day, mixing up my routine so no one can pinpoint when I’ll be arriving anywhere, leaving lights on when I’m not home and when I am.
I have found myself crying out of fear after carrying in groceries while leaving my preschooler strapped in her car seat. I run back out to the car, tears in my eyes at the thought of someone taking her, relieved to see her hair sticking up, still sleeping. I need to get away from an attack for my own survival and so my children don’t lose their mommy.
I wanted to stop carrying this fear so heavily. I was going to increase my confidence with the ability to physically defend myself somewhat. Then, three experiences in February – each about one week apart – shook me up and had me thinking about self defense in a whole new way..."
selfdefenseassurvivalposture.doc | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | doc |
DANIEL BELLINGER
Daniel made a small layered sand and charcoal system for filtering water.
In the course of his research on water filtration around the world, he began thinking more and more about how you move water in the absence of pipes. Because wells connected to pipes are much more costly than bore holes and require more maintenance, most of the world hauls water. Even if something like a bicycle pump lifts water up to a tank, someone carries the water to a basin below the tank. Hauling water is a service task in much of the world.
So, he also rigged up an aluminum backpack frame with a base that can be used to haul 5-gallon plastic jugs of water. The frame was displayed, and people tried out the task of moving 5-gallons of water around the gallery. 5 gallons of water is enough for a small family for one day, excluding bathing and washing clothes.
In the course of his research on water filtration around the world, he began thinking more and more about how you move water in the absence of pipes. Because wells connected to pipes are much more costly than bore holes and require more maintenance, most of the world hauls water. Even if something like a bicycle pump lifts water up to a tank, someone carries the water to a basin below the tank. Hauling water is a service task in much of the world.
So, he also rigged up an aluminum backpack frame with a base that can be used to haul 5-gallon plastic jugs of water. The frame was displayed, and people tried out the task of moving 5-gallons of water around the gallery. 5 gallons of water is enough for a small family for one day, excluding bathing and washing clothes.
wash_technical_reference_library_book_and_website_lists.doc | |
File Size: | 33 kb |
File Type: | doc |
water_reflection.doc | |
File Size: | 20 kb |
File Type: | doc |
JULIE PATTON
CINDY KEEGAN
"My project is about every day survival with leukemia. The Pacmen represent the out-of-control white blood cells 'eating up' all the good red blood cells.
The bills represent the fact that life has to go on. I have to keep the lights on, pay the bills.
I have to deal with chemo. The side effects, the expense and the illness.
Finally, I survive with the help of others. My team of doctors help me understand-- sort of. My family cares. My friends distract me...
My husband and daughter are my reasons to survive. Although there's no cure, I will survive. I hope this opens up a little of my world to you."
The bills represent the fact that life has to go on. I have to keep the lights on, pay the bills.
I have to deal with chemo. The side effects, the expense and the illness.
Finally, I survive with the help of others. My team of doctors help me understand-- sort of. My family cares. My friends distract me...
My husband and daughter are my reasons to survive. Although there's no cure, I will survive. I hope this opens up a little of my world to you."