Author: Kbaumlier

Kristen Baumlier’s work spans the full spectrum of interdisciplinary media, including performance, interactive installation, video and audio works.
Faig Ahmed: Constructing and Deconstructing Language in Rugs

Faig Ahmed: Constructing and Deconstructing Language in Rugs

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed is an artist whose work focuses on the construction and deconstruction of traditional patterned rugs and carpets. Carpets were initially seen as a sophisticated form of writing rather than a decorative piece. Each element of the pattern was once a written sign. Ahmed’s work explores how a carpet is more a time structure than a graphical one.

In his recent installation, Thread Installation , he creates a visual deconstruction of the complex design of a rug. The patterns and outline of the rug start with the rectangular shape of the rug, but then the edges extend in long pieces of thread across the room. The effect is a rug that seems to be unraveled or created.
In his artist’s statement, Ahmed says “I’ve been always fond of investigating and researching every detail of anything that had interested me… I’m heretofore harried by a question others have left in childhood – “what is inside?” That’s why I’m changing habitual and visually static objects making them spatial, giving them a new depth. And this as if reveals the essence of this object – the object that was mediocre just a minute ago.”

Ahmed’s work can be see on his artist website www.faigahmed.com.

Image Source:
http://www.faigahmed.com/

 

Links:
http://www.faigahmed.com/

Hang a Swing on it! The Swings Tampa Bay Project

Hang a Swing on it! The Swings Tampa Bay Project

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Swings Tampa Bay is a group that hangs hand-made hand-painted Swings around the city of Tampa Bay, Fl.  The swings are hung on trees, bridges, various structures, inside buildings, and in other locations.

The project came out of a environmental design project to hang classic red Swings all over downtown St. Petersburg, FL.  Reuban and Hunter, the team behind the project began to notice that a swing had a powerful effect on the community. “People that would have never even acknowledged each other were immediately magnetized to their new discovery and began sharing warm conversation and new experiences while pushing each other high up into the air,” they write on the Swings website.

They received a community award, and hosted a “Let’s Paint Swings” event where anyone could hand paint a swing to be hung or hang it themselves. 100 Swings were painted at the event. Since then there has been 5 swing painting events,  135 swings have been hung, and over 1028 swings have been painted.

Why not put a swing on it?

Image Source:
http://swingstampabay.com/

Links:

http://swingstampabay.com/

Papaya and Tomatoes – Kbaumlier Images on a Billboard in Detroit, MI

Papaya and Tomatoes – Kbaumlier Images on a Billboard in Detroit, MI

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Earlier this summer, I participated in the Digital Billboard Art Project, a project where artists can submit images to be displayed on a public digital billboard.  I had 45 images in the show that were shown on a billboard near a highway in the Detroit Metro area (Macomb County), MI.  The images were of food – in both abstract and recognizable views, combined with words and slogans often used by advertisers to promote packaged food.  A tomato with the word “SAME GREAT TASTE,” a papaya with the words “50% LESS FAT*” and images of rice, soybeans, a peach, and cheese were in the series.

Each of the foods in the series has a unique story related to genetic engineering or modern farming practices.  I was interested to be part of this show since it was in Detroit, a city which is facing challenges of food access and food equity.

The images from the show are now up on flickr, and there is a new video of the billboard, which shows the images in a slideshow timed video.  It is interesting to see how the images appear in the context of being in public on the street.

The Billboard Art Project is a project that acquires digital billboards normally used for advertising and repurposes them as roadside galleries – showing images from artists. Types of work that may be displayed include images created specifically for the billboard as well as images of previously made art adapted to the format. No two Billboard Art Project shows are alike; each city features new work.

This year upcoming shows included other locations such as Richmond, VA; Salem, OR; Albany, NY, and Atlanta, GA.  The Detroit show was unique in that the images were up for a month.

Links:

http://billboardartproject.org/cities/detroit.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIGuNzOjNbE&list=UUmVsJp7-w-n6vj3QALtdqcg&index=1&feature=plcp

Tosa Market – New Food Alphabet in the Works

Tosa Market – New Food Alphabet in the Works

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Last weekend Food Font was at the Tosa Farmers Market outside of Milwaukee, WI.  People were really excited about the project, and we made two (which is a record for the number of alphabets made at one event) alphabets, both an uppercase and lowercase alphabet.

The vegetables we used were from:
Jay’s Plant Shop – Eggplant
Petzold Farms – Carrots, Pattypan Squash
Wellspring – Purslane, Italian Dandelion, Egglplant

I met a lot of interesting people, and enjoyed the soup, cheese, and gluten free muffin samples that were available at the market this day.

Below are some image slideshows from the event. (Note: These images are not edited yet.)

Images of Tosa Market Alphabet


Images from the Event – People Making Letters

 

Links:
http://www.tosafarmersmarket.com/

http://www.foodfont.com 

Kbaumlier Artist Statement

Posted on by Kbaumlier

I believe that art can go beyond being a visual object by communicating ideas that call people to action.  Community art and involving an audience in a work can be a force for social change.  Art can be a powerful tool to deepening ones’ views of ourselves and the world around us by provoking thought about social, political, and cultural issues.

As an interdisciplinary artist, I use still and moving images; audience interaction and technology in whimsical, non-traditional ways to provide multiple access points to ideas.  I see making art as a process of research, discovery, creative activity, and engagement with others.  My work seeks to develop an experience for the audience to enter into ideas, information, and dialog.

My work is socially engaging, interdisciplinary projects with social interventions or participatory components. The final piece is less about a product and more about creating surprising, interactive, real world situations that encourage audience members to participate.  Audience members become part of making the work, and I as the artist become a facilitator and collaborator.

Some of my studio work inspired my current project Food Font.  I was photographing words and letters made out of food intending to use these images to open dialog about issues related to food.  I realized my studio process had potential to be an engaging and an interactive way to promote discussion and build community around food.  I transformed my personal practice into Food Font, which is an interactive project where people can make alphabets out of food, take pictures of each letter, and later use these and other food alphabets in an interactive online design tool. With the design tool anyone can “write with food” and create images to print, save, and share.

The goal of Food Font is to engage communities and build awareness about food, health, and sustainability. The project supports the efforts and promotion of the local food movement and also education about food and health.  I want the project to create dialogue in these areas in both real and on-line communities.

– Kristen Baumlier 2012