See Stream: Chapter 3
Stream: Chapter 3, our exhibition in South Windham, Vermont on August 4th and 5th was super. You can see the work in context by visiting the links below. Like Two Chairs on Facebook to get future updates on Two Chairs projects.
FOREST
artists here: Yu Jin, Juneau Projects, Zoe Walsh.
STREAM & AROUND
artists here: E.E. Ikeler, Yu Jin, Louise Lawler, Arrow Mueller, David Nash.
MEADOW
artists here: Peggy Ahwesh, Annie Berman, Kenneth Pietrobono, Rachel Stevens, Marina Zurkow.
Stream 3 is almost here
Two Chairs has organized a third year of the exhibition taking place in Vermont around a stream. This year we have an official Two Chairs Facebook page and a successful Kickstarter campaign!
Artists this year: Peggy Ahwesh (US), Annie Berman, (US), E.E. Ikeler (US), Yu Jin (China), Juneau Projects (UK), Louise Lawler (US), David Nash (UK), Kenneth Pietrobono (US), Rachel Stevens (US), Zoe Walsh (US), Marina Zurkow (US)
dreaming of the west, #artistsareintents
Still dreaming, literally, of the fantastic trip through the Klamath River Basin in southern Oregon and northern California with Signal Fire during the Unwalking the West residency. Last night I dreamt I was swimming again in Medicine Lake, high up in the Modoc National Forest. Spending 7 days straight with 11 other artists non-stop in a van or camping in close quarters could be a disaster, or it could be a gateway drug for more encounters with natural landscapes, spending time off the grid with others and devising creative ways to participate in environmental advocacy. So many years in New York City have made me thirsty for an experience like this, which included leaving the land at least as wild as when you arrived, deep dives into Klamath and Modoc mythology and history, thoughts on decolonization, tracing environmental conflicts, learning how to poop in the woods. We visited quite a few sites important to the history of the Klamath tribe and various environmental struggles. We hardly mentioned John C. Fremont, the namesake explorer for this particular trip, at all.
Meanwhile, my amazing fellow residency people have been sending back great images, like this drawing of Medicine Lake by Mika Aono, from her sketchbook chronicling the whole trip.
This photo of us swimming in Medicine Lake by Ryan Pierce.
This photo of Captain Jack’s Stronghold by Joe Hedges. We are taking turns reading the explanatory texts about this dark moment in Klamath history, and divising ways of hacking or correcting the official version.
This drawing of the Beautiful Warner Mountains during our long, uphill backpacking trek by Mika Aono.
This photo by Ryan Pierce of Jessie Landau and me, looking ahead on Summit Trail, wondering how much further to our campsite.
Joe Hedges’ photo of the campsite we finally arrived at, which was shy of the lake we aimed for since snow blocked the train.
[The panorama of Patterson Lake at the end of the trail shared by Jessie Landau. I can’t seem to share it from Facebook, which is fitting since only three of us – not me – made it there.]
And Mika Aono’s reminder of how to poop in the woods, as told and performed by Ryan Pierce.
And so many more images and memories.
A very special thanks to our two hardworking, talented, generous and inspiring guides, Tarp (aka Ryan Pierce) and Kai’ila Farrell-Smith.
And thank you to the two visiting presenters, artist Natalie Ball and environmental Lawyer Dave Becker, who generously shared their intimate knowledge of and expertise on local sites with us.
Natalie Ball sharing a special Klamath site, Singing Rock.
Dave Becker at the head of Hanan Trail, a site he advocates for through his legal work.
Here’s the Rachel’s-eye view of the whole trip (minus most of the backpacking trip, when my camera was heavy enough to leave behind).
Stream 2 Catalog
Just in time for Stream 3!
The Stream: Chapter 2 (helpless) catalog is finished and available for download.
Includes work by:
Peggy Ahwesh
Torsten Zenas Burns and Darrin Martin
Tony Do
Ingela Ihrman
E.E. Ikeler
H. P. Lovecraft
Shana Moulton
David Nash
Caleb Nussear
Jennifer Reeves
Rachel Stevens
George Wichelns
Brian Zegeer and Rachel Frank
Signal Fire residency: Unwalking the West
I am truly excited to participate in a residency this June with Signal Fire (not to be confused with the “media project of the Maoist Communist Group” nor the reimagined venture capital firm, two entities with the same name) called Unwalking John C. Frémont. It is part of their Unwalking the West theme this year. We (ten artists and two artist-guides) will be hiking, camping and backpacking in the Upper Klamath Basin region of southern Oregon while taking a deep dive into environmental, social and political issues that affect the area. Such a terrific opportunity to research and connect with a landscape in the far west for this native of Northern California who has been living the NYC life for maybe too long.
Description from their site:
What Western U.S. city doesn’t have a street named after “The Pathfinder,” John C. Frémont? This trip revisits portions of the route of Frémont’s calamitous Second Expedition (1843-4), a foray into empire-building conducted under the guise of exploration. Frémont’s journey provides an entry point to learning about an exceptional and very contested place: the Upper Klamath Basin.
We will begin our trip in the ancestral land of the Modocini, Mak’Lak and Yahooskin tribes (comprising The Klamath Tribes). Our contextual materials will include an introduction to Klamath’s ecological “knot” as well as focus on Indigenous Survivance and sovereignty, from the Modoc War to the contemporary fight for Indigenous water and fishing rights. We will introduce content about the current political landscape of a place that sees very different communities working together to solve conflicts over vital natural resources.
Both local and visitors’ voices will contribute to our understanding of the forces that have shaped the Basin: dams, grazing, and land theft, as well as problem solving through patient and resourceful strategies. We’ll spend the first half of the trip in the former Klamath reservation at Chiloquin, Modoc Point and traveling along the Sprague River, visiting important cultural sites and meeting with visiting presenters. Then we’ll head into the Lava Beds National Monument to visit the strongholds of the Modicini where Kintpuash (Captain Jack) and a band of Modocs successfully fought off the U.S. Government troops for 5 months in the late 1800’s. The second half of our trip will include a short backpacking adventure in the mountains surrounding the Klamath Basin—wildlands whose waters feed this oasis.
