Kismet/Six Degrees of Separation

A Kismet artist statement

2008-05-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

By the time I landed in Budapest, my head was full of Echoes. This is my word for coincidences, and reverberations of the collective unconscious. They’re clues, reminders that reality is but a dream. They can sneak up on you like déjà vu, or trip your internal search engine, and link up disparate dots into a recognizable pattern. I learned all this at 13 from Miller, the character who tended the burn barrel in the cult film Repo Man:

“A lot o' people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch o' unconnected incidents 'n things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice o' coincidence that lays on top o' everything. Give you an example; show you what I mean: suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.”

Something changes when you open up to Echoes. It’s like walking into a movie, or a book. Innate narrative instincts kick in, the watcher inside settles back, and disbelief is suspended. So when it is against all habit to do so, you will with absolute certainty and ease sit down next to a complete stranger in a foreign airport, and say, “You’re here for the artists’ residency.” “How did you know?” says the stranger who now seems like a long lost friend.

I spent only 10 days at the International Artists’ Residency in Hungary, but it seemed like time protracted to allow several complete plots to unfold. People reported having recurrent feelings of déjà vu, and we started to hypothesize about what some called The Hungarian Effect. In other words, you can take a person out of their socio-political sphere, but you can’t take that sphere out of the person, except if you send them to Hungary. Drinking their coffee also seems to help – must be the famously rejuvenating water.

Making art seems to be a process of divination, a method for extracting things from the collective unconscious. An artist is really a kind of dowser, so it seems likely that a convergence of them in such an Echoing place like Budapest would result in tapping some form of synchronicity.

I made this diorama for the Kismet exhibit, pushing beyond my 2D illustration habits to reflect how going to Hungary has expanded my little world.

- Bridget Riversmith
artist/animator

Invites from Beata

2008-05-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

The Ferencvarosi Gallery cordially invite you for the
Beata Szechy
Costume Textile Project
exhibition at
Ferencvarosi Gallery
IX. Mester u. 5.
Opening reception: Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 6:00pm
Opening remark by Dr. Szepes Laszlone, Hedi
Cultural Ministry, Budapest
Exhibition date: May 29 - June 21.

International Artists Residencies Seminar-Budapest 2008
Seminar address: Budapest, VI. Jokai ter 9. Hunter's room.
The presentation/seminar has scheduled for
May 22, 2008
09:30 Beata Szechy, HMC, orientation
10:30 Lisa Erdman, FL, multimedia
11:30 Rudee Westphal, SD, mixed media
14:00 Megan Randlett, MA, mixed media
15:00 Benjamin Page, CA, mixed media

June 19, 2008
09:30 Beata Szechy, HMC, orientation
10:30 Odette England, UK, photo
11:30 Jenna Spevack, NY, drawing, installation
14:00 Howard M. Christopherson, MN, photo
15:00 Gregory Euclide, MN, painter
16:00 Niku Kashef, CA, photo, installation
17:00 Andreas Papanastasiu-Greek/UK, photo, painting, video

July 17, 2008
09:30 Beata Szechy, HMC, orientation
10:30 Candida Pestana, Portugal, painter, video
11:30 Hannah Verlin, MA, installation, performance
14:00 Holly Boruck, CA, painter
15:00 Marlene Vinha, Portugal, mixed media
16:00 Lana Ing Gabor, Canada, photo
17:00 Patricia Tinajero, TN, installation
20:00 Kristine Trever, VA, film

Exhibition and FilmFest opening reception:
Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 6:00pm

2008-05-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Views of the Six Degrees of Separation exhibit at the Rosenberg Library, City College of San Francisco. Will be up until September 12, 2008.

done and on the way

2007-12-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

Hi Frances & all,
Here's a photo of the finished sculpture. Many thank yous to Peter Clark for photographing it today. It's on the way, packed in peanuts and a double set of boxes. Frances - I'll send you some instructions for unpacking this delicate nightmare along with price, title, etc. Thank you again for the opportunity!

xoxo
Annie

sculpture update

2007-12-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Frances & all,
Here's my sculpture progressing, many thanks to Krista who stopped by the studio at Saint Mary's today & told me about all kinds of other products you can pour on sculptures to make them shiny. I'll be working on these vines at night for the next few days to make sure they're ready on time, & of course I need to add more blood.
Anyone who wants to post and isn't into blogging, feel free to email me images and I'll post them up for you, annieheckman@gmail.com.
xo
Annie

if at first you don't succeed, cover it in glossy white paint

2007-11-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
Light a candle for my sculpture. I'm taking this opportunity to experiment with some new installation ideas on a small scale. I'm hoping that posting images will make me want to impress you with my sculpture's speedy recovery.

Frances - the original paper installation idea I told you about is still part of this. It's just been partially eaten by glossy white paint. It will morph back into itself shortly.

More soon!
xo
Annie

"our sexual dimorphism"

2007-11-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

Hi Frances and everybody!
I'm diligently working on my piece for the show...I'm afraid I've gotten myself into a project that is waaaayyyy more time intensive than I thought (story of my life). Its a book (which I thought would be library-appropriate)...if I can't finish it, I'll send a series of prints, if that's okay! I'm just a little worried about shipping/production time. The title is "Our sexual dimorphism wasn't apparent to the naked eye, and required advanced imaging instrumentation." Click here to find out what dimorphism is. I was thinking about this idea in terms of the geographic separation between Buda and Pest....and the Turkish and European influences throughout the city.

On a side note: I have a friend who is going to the HMC residency this winter. He asked me to give him my thoughts on the residency....OY VEY...I didn't know where to start!

Happy Turkey Day!

Please post everybody! xo

2007-11-14T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hi Frances & all,
I just sent out a ton of invites for folks to post (& Frances, I just granted administrative privileges to you, so you can go in and change things in the settings whenever you like). I might change the pink.. by the time anyone reads this maybe there won't be so much pink. I'm glad you like the idea of a blog; I think it will be a great way to keep track of what everyone is doing.

Hugs all around,
xo
Annie

Chain Bridges

2007-11-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

Hi Annie,

The pix look great! What a brilliant idea to create a blog for the show. Maybe that could be part of the exhibit that the library could use for dialogue about the theme. What do you think?

I think the size of the files will be just fine and I'll pass this info on to Kate.

xoxo
Frances

Another Chain Bridge photo

2007-11-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

Hi again Frances,
I did a some work on this one - there actually was a blue sky that day. More soon xoxo.

Chain Bridge Photos from Annie

2007-11-04T14:25:00.001-08:00

Hi Frances,
I had so many photos with the chain bridge that I thought I'd start this and post them instead of filling up your inbox. They all need a little brightening up in Photoshop (although this lighting might be accurate for the weather that day). Hope these help and let me know if the blog seems to work as a format; I could pass admin privileges over to you or just email out invites to everyone if it helps. xoxo