OVERVIEW A single thread weaves through all of them: they involve the rational observation of one's mental state over time. This introspection becomes the foundation for a broad-ranging examination of personal relationships-both with ourselves and with our personal worlds. The first piece begins with one's personal memories. The next examines a city and the people who experience it's total demise in less than three generations. The next explores our relationship to the things we possess. The final one looks at our romance with the automobile and how it impacts every aspect of lives. Taken together they should produce a meditative exploration of an activity in which we all engage, whether we realize it or not.
These four works are complete.
RETICULUM explores memory through fragmentary insights into a woman’s life, from the initial cognition of babyhood to the flickering congruity of our waning days. Listeners connect to her experiences, sharing her inner dialog–a conversation with self that lends perspective, humor, distance and context to what we’ve been through and how we choose to remember it. Sometimes blurred and troublesome, often evocative and transcendent, always subjective and personal, Reticulum reveals how personal reflections can become the bearers of individual and family ethos through the power of recall.
2 channels, duration 00.20.58 min
NIAGARA FALLING To stand at the very edge of Niagara Falls is to feel the water’s primal pull. There, where the roaring river drops away at your feet, you can partake in an ageless miracle. Yet the nearby city of Niagara Falls has seen one of the most remarkable decline of any urban center. Where some see total collapse in less than a lifetime, others see a hometown with strong roots and culture. Still others see a landscape worshiped for its divinity over several millennia.
“Niagara Falling” is an artistic investigation, presented in a multi-dimensional, video installation. Interviews from representatives of several generations are blended with pictorial and historical material to capture the essence of this city. Its path in recent decades is laid bare without judgment or accusation in a shifting collage of shards from the past and present. Viewers are free to project their own feelings and experiences on this story of the city’s evolution.
(2 Channel, 19min)
Music written and performed by Carla Kihlstedt
WHO'S COUNTING looks at what the artists have in their home. Everything from how many teaspoons are in a drawer to the number of pillows on the bed have been photographed. If it is not attached to the wall, it is counted as an object. Room by room the artists look at how many objects they own. How many things do you own? The number may surprise you.
17 Color Prints mounted on Aluminum - 24” x 36”
Life On Wheels The car. So familiar, so entwined in American life that it's not merely an indispensable tool but an inextricable feature of our cultural history. Through a combination of multiple projections and a scale model highway representing the intrusion of the Interstate into the natural landscape, the Hodge's installation of Life on Wheels aims to incite contemplation more than action. It encourages visitors to reflect on the roles cars play in our lives and to consider what our dependence on them means in the most basic terms.
(4 channel video, 32min)
TECHNICAL All four works are complete. They are multi-channel pieces. We feel the number of channels are optimal for each piece. However these can be configured in a variety of ways. We are willing to work with you and your technical staff to make this work for your museum.
DESIGN Once we are engaged we typically will develop a design for the exhibition. We also have a technical team who can specify equipment and program the entire exhibition if needed. We will work with your curatorial staff to create the best presentation possible.
Timeline TBD
Costs TBD
Contact
David Hodge
david@hodgearts.com