Kbaumlier

Author: Kbaumlier

Kristen Baumlier’s work spans the full spectrum of interdisciplinary media, including performance, interactive installation, video and audio works.

You Are Here – A Tree Trunk of a Different Matter

Posted on May 2, 2012May 2, 2012 by Kbaumlier

In March, a new public art piece was installed in Portland, OR near the Jeld-Wen Field soccer stadium which is a cast bronze sculpture that depicts a large 9-foot diameter slice of a tree trunk. The sculpture, made by Rob Baron, is titled “You Are Here” and is a cast of a large tree trunk slice with growth rings, an edge of bark, and objects embedded into it.

Instead of dots to recognize specific years or time periods, the tree is covered with small sculptural figures and symbols that reference the history of the stadium site and the surrounding neighborhood called Goose Hollow. The work also refer to the lumber industry that sustained Oregon’s economy for over a century and also helped build Portland into the city that it is today.

The objects in the piece came from Portland’s secondhand stores and were selected so that they referred to the culture, commerce, and sports events at the site. Some of the objects include a tennis racket, soccer ball, a trophy, vegetables, baseball hat and glove, a Timber Jim bobble head doll, some greyhounds and a collection of cat figures (the stadium has a population of feral cats nearby.)

Baron’s idea for the piece came a Portland Timbers’ soccer game, where he saw the team’s mascot, Timber Joey, cut a slab from a log with a chainsaw each time the team scored a goal. The wood slabs are presented to the team members who scored the goal after each match.

The sculpture was supported by the Percent-for-Art program, which supports the policy requiring that 2 percent of the budget on large projects be spent on permanent public art installations.

Image Source:
artsamerica.org

Links:

www.ronbaron.net/

artsamerica.org

Words in Motion: Poetry and Animation on the London Underground

Posted on May 1, 2012May 1, 2012 by Kbaumlier

January can be a wet, cold, and grey month for people living in London. The group Smile For London decided to brighten up the London Underground with poetry and animation. The group asked a selection of poets and writers (which includes both famous and amateur) to contribute writings of up to 40 words that would be developed into animations that would play on the platform screens across the London Underground.

Some of the poems are poets which include Jarvis Cocker, Murray Lachlan Young and Benjamin Zephaniah. The imagery for the animation was done by illustrators, artists, animators and filmmakers including Macolm Garrett, Andy Rementer and Why Not Associates.

Forty of the Words in Motion films were created. Each piece is twenty seconds long and combines a voiceover, text, and imagery.

The Word in Motion project aims to spark an interest in poetry and writing as well and also to amuse and visually inspire the individuals who see the pieces. The pieces are no longer running in London, but you can see all of the pieces on a the Word in Motion Vimeo page. It might just brighten your day.

Image Source:
Word in Motion Pieces on Vimeo

Links:

Word in Motion Pieces on Vimeo

Maple syrup anyone? The Maple Festival in Geagua County, OH

Posted on April 30, 2012May 1, 2012 by Kbaumlier

This weekend I finally made it out to the Maple Festival out in Geagua County, a 4 day festival which celebrates maple syrup. The festival has been held in Chardon, OH since 1926.

This year due to the unusually warm temperatures, the maple syrup production was stopped earlier than expected and also reduced production. You couldn’t tell from the festival – there was things related to maple syrup everywhere. There was a Maple syrup contest, a Geauga County Maple Festival queen walking around with a sash and a tiera, maple syrup barbeque, and pancakes and maple syrup served at the main tent.

We headed to the festival on Sunday morning, and by 12 noon they were out of pancakes. Around the corner from the festival we found a church that had its own pancake breakfast event in the basement. For $9 we got all the pancakes we could eat with butter and maple syrup, sausage that I didn’t eat, and coffee, tea, or milk,

After we got our food, we sat down next to a couple who asked us where we were from. “I knew you weren’t from around here,” she said. “Otherwise I would know you already.” It turns out she was the producer of the maple syrup that they were serving at the breakfast. I have to say – it was the best maple syrup I have had. Not too sweet, and really good with the butter and chewy pancakes.

There were paddles on the tables labeled COFFEE or PANCAKES. When you ran out of pancakes or coffee you would hold the paddle in the air until you were served. Somehow I managed to eat 6 (!) pancakes which is the most pancakes I have ever eaten in my life.

At the festival we ate maple caramel corn, and for $1.00 got a small bowl of warm maple syrup and a popsicle stick. You use the stick to eat small dabs of syrup that cools ands hardens in the bowl if you don’t eat it quickly.

We planned our visit in time to make the “bathtub race,” which is a race where clawfoot tubs are put on wheels. Teams from the area compete in races where two team members push a third member who sits in the bathtub. I’m not sure how they steered it – but they had to roll down the street, make a half-circle – then head back to the finish line. The teams had matching shirts, and seemed to be from local businesses and other groups.

By 1 pm the finalists of the lumberjack competition were competing in events such as chain saw cutting, cross-cut sawing (where a team of 2 men use a oldtime giant saw with 2 handles to make 2 cross-cuts of wood), and axe flying. Complementary earplugs were available – which were good to have for the chain saw events.

The event had games and food stands like any festival, and there were lots of fried things on sticks including fried swiss cheese, fried snickers, and fried pizza sticks. There also was a French fry place that had fries that ranged in size from jumbo to bucket. Similar to how Starbucks names its sizes – jumbo was the small.

On the grounds there were historical maple syrup equipment on display, including a collection of spigots which are used to collect syrup, several setups that showed how the syrup used to be heated which included a large cauldron over a stove, and a Native American traditional setup of using a split log that would be filled with syrup and put over a log.

Menu for the Future: a 6 Week Community Discussion Course about our Food

Posted on April 29, 2012April 29, 2012 by Kbaumlier

A couple of months ago I read about a new community discussion course called Menu for the Future that explores our food system and agricultural practices. The groups that were forming in my area did not work with my schedule, but I am planning to join one of the groups that are coming up this summer.

The discussion groups use a book which has a series of contemporary readings and questions to facilitate discussion. The groups meet for 6 weeks, and if there is not a group that works for you, you can make your own group at work, in your neighborhood, at the library, or with family and friends.

The course focuses on talking about our food system and agricultural practices that promote personal and ecological well-being.

The goals of the course is:
• To explore food systems and their impacts on culture, society and ecological systems.
• To gain insight into agricultural and individual practices that promote personal and ecological well-being.
• To consider your role in creating or supporting sustainable food systems.

The topics covered in the 6 sessions include:

What’s Eating America -eating in a modern industrial society

Anonymous Food: The history of farming and present day questions about genetically modified organisms (GMO) and industrial organics

Farming for the Future: Emerging food system alternatives and sustainable growing practices

You Are What You Eat: Food systems from a human health perspective

Toward a Just Food System: Hunger, equity, and Fair Trade

Choices for Change: Inspiration and practical advice in taking steps to create more sustainable food systems.

Want to join or create a group? Right now there are 5 new groups listed on the site hat are meeting starting in May, and the site reports that there are more groups forming. You can read more about the project, and look for a group to join (or create a new one) at menuforthefuture.webs.com/
Image Source:
www.nwei.org/discussion_courses/course-offerings/menu-for-the-future

Links:

menuforthefuture.webs.com/

www.nwei.org/discussion_courses/course-offerings/menu-for-the-future

Kbaumlier’s Food Images to be Shown on Billboard in Detroit, MI

Posted on April 28, 2012April 29, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Today I just submitted 45 images to the Digital Billboard Art Project, a project where artists can submit images to be displayed on a public digital billboard. My images will be shown from May 28 – June 24, 2012 in the Detroit Metro area (Macomb County), MI.

I submitted slides about food – and made a series of images where foods are shown 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 are in the series.

Each of the food featured in the series has an interesting story related to genetic engineering or modern farming practices. I am interested to have the images show in Detroit, a city where it is reported that over half of the residents do not have easy access to nutritious food.

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.

The project was started by David Morrison, who got interested in this venue when seeing test images on a new billboard being played in 2005. He writes, “ Advertising is so epidemic and pervasive that people pay good money for clothes so that they can advertise corporate entities like Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, and their favorite sports team… So, when you see a billboard that isn’t telling you what to buy or who to trust, it carries the impact of the unexpected.”

In 2010, he acquired 24 hours of time from Lamar Advertising in October 2010. The billboard time was purchased and a date set. When he was discussing the project with a friend, he immediately asked to participate, and soon a call for artists was sent out through email. At this first project, the Richmond Virginia Art project had over 30 participants with images that ranged from being serious to comical.

This year upcoming shows include other locations such as Richmond, VA; Salem, OR; Albany, NY, and Atlanta, GA. The Detroit show is unique in that the images will be up in a month. I will post again when the show opens, and also when the documentation of the billboard is up.

Links:

Billboard Art Project