Hello.
www.highlineopenstudios09.org The tour is tonight and this weekend go to the site get a map (thanks to Randi Goldsmith, PR
www.mediasunrise.com) and check it out.
This post reminds me of the Nicole Kidman character in "To Die For" Gangbusters.
Just thinking about the concept of community and what it means to me. In 2009 this concept has a very different reality. As an artist I don't know if I would ever have described myself as a member of an artists community or group. Even though at different stages I worked with groups of people. Those groups were a means to an end. We hired a model and split the cost and that was the incentive. Of course we became friends and there was some socializing. They were groups of people getting together with a plan to draw or paint.
I feel I am part of a small group out in East Hampton. For me it feels easier to be part of something out in the country. I've been very fortunate in meeting people that I like, who have become close friends and whose work I admire and look forward to seeing progress. One of these friends, Bob Bachler a ceramist, told me of the High Line Open Studio Tour and I hadn't missed the deadline. I went home googled and signed up. I then did what I normally do which it talk about it here and try in my limited naive way of connecting with the world, which is to link to relevant sites as much as I can on every post. Again in my limited understanding as to how the Internet really works I dove in and operate on the theory that more is more. So I link up as often as I feel and hope for the best.
From the beginning The High Line Tour Director, Kevin O'Hanlon was promt at returning emails and open to my inquiries and enthusiasm. I came to the tour a month ago and feel He welcomed we right away.
So today I think of community as much broader. I could very easily be in the studio and not have much contact with the outside world and I know I am not alone. Being an artist, like any profession where you alone are responsible for the product can be very isolating. When you do this for many years it becomes very comfortable and to break out of the comfort zone takes a lot of positive energy. I always felt that I wanted to be a social person even though I new I needed to be alone to make the work. Luckily I've been around social people that have made it easier to be out in the world.
Today the challenges to be alone in the studio or with your peers are greater on many levels. I can work and connect with so many people via blogging, websites and feel like I am out there.
Community has a much broader meaning. I realize this is not a revelation but it is not something that I think of consciously and it is good to see that there are many versions of community and in this modern world this is community. The Internet allows one to connect and be a part of something with very little effort. Hopefully the next step can be taken and people actually come together in person but connection is the key word and that is happening.
