SLAG MAG
Vol. 3, Issue 4
A PUBLICATION OF THE OLD FURNACE ARTIST RESIDENCY
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Featured Artists JEREMY DENNIS jeremynative.com VANESSA CUERVO FORERO FOR GOOD PITCH vanessa@goodpitch.org BILGE & SERHAN HASDEMIR omnivoresbistro@gmail.com TABATHA LENDQUVIST lendquviststudio.com JAE HWAN LIM jaehwanlim.com JOHN ROSEWALL johnrosewall.com SHAUNA LEANN SMITH shaunaleannsmith.work GREG STEWART jmu.edu/artandarthistory/faculty-and-staff/ faculty/stewart-greg.shtml FERESHTEH TOOSI fereshteh.net KEITH WALSH keithwalsh-art.com SLAG MAG, Vol. 3, Issue 4 © 2018 PUBLISHED BY JON HENRY GUEST CURATOR IVY HURWIT — Arts Engagement Coordinator at UCLA EDITED AND DESIGNED BY ELIZABETH YGARTUA A PRODUCTION OF THE OLD FURNACE ARTIST RESIDENCY The Old Furnace Artist Residency is an ongoing artist project curated by Jon Henry. The residency is located in New Market, Virginia. It is open to all forms of artistry: sculpture, painting, video, sound, conceptual, poetry, fiction writers, critical theorists etc. Special attention is given to practices which are focused on social justice and being socially engaged. Emerging artists are especially encouraged to apply. O.F.A.R. is accepting residents through 2019. Visit oldfurnace.tumblr.com for more information and to apply.
INTRODUCTION “FERMENT.” I never really know what to think when I hear the word. It agitates. It gives me a queasy feeling in my stomach. All of its positives, its negatives, its origin, its appropriation, its benefits, its messiness, its outcomes—it is a lot to take in. The thought of that waiting and anticipation whirls and bubbles, extracting my energy as I try to break it down. Maybe it’s the Los Angeles in me. Fermentation is not convenient or quick, it goes at its own pace. If it’s done right, it’s not up to you or me, it’s up to the process. But ferment as it relates to socially engaged art? For some reason, that transforms my reaction. Thinking of ferment in terms of communities taking time to build, or as a response to prolonged injustice, or as a way to question changing trends of literal fermentation, or, or, or… This issue of SLAG MAG looks at socially-engaged art through the lens of FERMENT. The art speaks to the range of impacts and reactions that the word embodies. Some of the artists in this issue speak directly to the theme while others have woven it into the chemical makeup of their work. The breadth of interconnected topics and goals of each artist makes this issue incredibly unique with a drop of chaos, an ounce of tension, and a lot of change. My tip for you: consume slowly and intentionally, and to a certain extent, expect the unexpected. — IVY HURWIT, guest curator
BILGE & SERHAN HASDEMIR The Omnivore Bistro The “Ferment” Tasting Menu, 2018
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Natural and authentic gastronomic methods
to how the social and culinary significance of
commercialized and come to the fore in the
consumption trends.
to preserve foods has been around for
+
achieved a niche of its own, has become the
& sociologist Bilge Hasdemir and chef & food
innovation targeting “health-conscious”
duo, in 2016 in İstanbul, Turkey. The creative
and products have been increasingly
health economy. The practice of fermentation
the ferment has been dissolved in HEALTHY
thousands of years. More recently it has
The Omnivore Bistro was founded by curator
fastest growing sector nourished by product
researcher Serhan Hasdemir, a sister-brother
CONSUMERS.
team has been working on art and (molecular)/
By de-localizing and de-historicizing the
gastro-hacking and DIY methods and believes
ferment itself, the ferment is presented as a product of health food market.
gastronomy focused speculative scenarios, that “food” is a common ground for all. As part of the Omnivore Bistro project,
This project aims to speculate on social
fine dining tasting menus which engage
societal processes such as symbolic value
economy in a nuanced way and expands
and social economy of food in a nuanced way.
designed. The menus debate on economical,
The Fermented Menu commodifies the
food. The project involves series of tasting
conditions of changing eating trends and
in economy of well-being and experience
creation, class-based consumption patterns
realities for imagined futures have been
ferment by a willingness to attract attention
culinary and ecological implications of performances with different themes.
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FERESHTEH TOOSI Do not open until 2021 A food, culture, municipal regulation, and seven-year pickle project
After consulting family recipes and traditions, I held a number of interactive events
that addressed the intersection of food and culture. “Do not open until 2021� focuses on Persian new year traditions and the practice of making Iranian pickled garlic
(torshi-eh seer), known as Seven-Year Pickle because it is best eaten after being aged several years. I contrasted the traditional Iranian folk methods of pickling vegetables in large clay pots and aging them in cellars, with the more strict rules of Chicago,
Illinois health codes that prohibit commercial kitchens from canning because it is considered a risky food preparation process.
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GOOD PITCH BY DOC SOCIETY Good Pitch Colombia: el cine documental como agente de cambio social goodpitch.org | Submitted by Vanessa Cuervo Forero, Outreach Director Good Pitch conecta a los mejores
diversas regiones del país y uno de
los principales agentes de cambio
incluyen una exploración de la violencia
documentalistas de Colombia con
en torno a temas sociales, políticos y
medioambientales, para forjar nuevas
México. Estas poderosas historias cíclica que afecta a una
coaliciones y campañas de impacto,
comunidad afrocolombiana, una
y un punto de transformación para la
mujer indígena Wayúu transgénero, el
recorriendo el mundo con importantes
al pasado de su padre como líder
Francisco, Toronto, Sydney, Jakarta,
través del río Magdalena, la historia de
de los proyectos han tenido logros
navega múltiples identidades mientras
Mejor Documental, cambiar leyes en
horrores de la violencia del narcotráfico
de apoyo que han transformado
esa realidad en el norte de México.
que sean efectivas para las películas
película del retorno, tras el exilio de una
sociedad. Good Pitch lleva diez años
relato íntimo de una hija que se enfrenta
resultados en Londres, Nueva York, San
sindical amenazado, un viaje musical a
Nairobi, Taipei y Mumbai. Muchos
una ex-combatiente de las FARC que
sobresalientes como ganar el Oscar a
se enfrenta a la reinserción social, y los
diferentes países, y promover redes
reinventados por los niños que habitan
comunidades.
Aquí un poco sobre cada una:
El pasado 19 de abril se llevó a cabo en
http://bit.ly/GoodPitchColVid.
Barranquilla, Atlántico, el primer Good
+
cinco proyectos documentales de
Cuervo aqui: http://bit.ly/2uamlB1.
Pitch Colombia, ahí se presentaron
Lee más sobre Good Pitch y Vanessa
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TABATHA LENDQUVIST A Living Poem, Ongoing performace art project begun in 2014 If we were but a vehicle to expose the
most players possible. Tweaks that both
community gathered in space and time only
the process more available and inviting to
help further obscure my identity and make
structure of a community, a temporary
players. The effects, I have discovered, are
once; a passing community, a transitory
both immediate and profound for myself and
community? Perhaps a community we were
the players. It is an experience that manifests
embedded in or an outsider of? Could we
in a physical energy, an unparalleled place
become a mirror of meaning? Could we strip
of knowing: Although the meaning for all is
ourselves entirely of person and reflect only
as varied and unique as the individuals who
that which we take in, reflection unedited?
participate, there exists a resounding, almost
A Living Poem was conceived, in part, as a
tangible, interconnectedness.
way to express my simultaneous feelings of interconnectedness and dissociation with
the communities to which I was involved in;
Sept. 20, 2014
for a “gift of phrase”, could I somehow more
“I love you always!
Fort Worden
personal, professional, academic. If I asked
Walk gently, speak softly.
fully understand the inner and outer lying
A rose by any other name…
boundaries of a community consciousness?
Please have a nice day.
I had to become not me, a fictional version
It will be the artists and you too.
of an idea of culture, somewhere between
How is it now?
human and something of folklore, but
My gift is of magic and transformation.
without a definitive identity as a singular
To eat a dream…
person. It is a game, you see. A playful act.
An experiment in wordplay and the effects of
This moth is…
words lived. An experiment however that was completely dependent on my presence and
willingness to participate, to simply show up. You cannot see “me”. You cannot hear me. To activate requires the gift of word or
phrase. Then the game is simple, I record
and repeat what is gifted. Always backwards from the most present gift through to the first gift of the happening. I do not alter, I do not edit. Whatever is gifted is then
given through spoken word in whole. A poem that lives, created in a moment by many and that is temporaneous in nature. Each new
happening is a new poem, because the poem is defined by those who contribute.
This work is forever in progress. Small
tweaks are made as I work to entice the
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Concede no thing.
Missing trains and catching colds.
Goodnight, don’t let the bed bugs bight. What a vision!
I guess I am.
Be your awesomeness. What is love?
Thank you.
Patience, practice, and prayer.
All the freaky people make the beauty in the world.
Begin again.
Glorious pictures.
Light at the end of the tunnel. Practice giving.”
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KEITH WALSH Zerotime and Counting Ongoing project in Inglewood and Los Angeles, California Mixed media
JOHN ROSEWALL Grip Ongoing project in the Los Angeles area Acrylic on canvas
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SHAUNA LEANN SMITH I Feel It (Everywhere), Solo exhibit at Missouri State University, 2016 Image from a 3-hr live performance with a sledge hammer
Text title: Mattress Ever since I was a young girl I have had two recurring nightmares.
I would turn the corner at my elementary school and be met with a knife. He would stab me repeatedly.
The other I wake impregnated and I spend the rest of the dream fighting to prove my innocence, that this happened to me, and that I wasn’t bad. You do not have to be good. The child’s plastic bed covering only protects the mattress.
I would lay still, silent, cemented. Intruders creeping up the sheets. I can’t feel this. This is not happening. You are not affecting me. Finally I locked the door. That was my first protest. You do not have to be silent. On the floor, stains from the past owner’s children, crumbs, hair. This is where I lay,
haunted. I feel repulsion in my stomach. Gag reflexes from a toothbrush too far down the tongue.
You have survived it all. This is where I wake.
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FERESHTEH TOOSI Significant Surfaces, 9 months-plus social practice and experimental pedagogy project in Chicago Significant Surfaces was an experimental
pedagogy project comprised of a series of
hands-on workshops and film screenings. It
took place at a supportive housing apartment
building located in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.
I heard stories from the apartments’ residents
about how they had overcome their exclusion from fundamental institutions: health care,
housing, jobs, and education. Many residents were looking for classes in computer literacy,
taking workshops in art, and applying to 2-year colleges like Truman, just around the corner
from their home. I created this social practice photography project in response to these stories and desires.
The name of the project comes from the book Towards a Philosophy of Photography by philosopher Vilem Flusser.
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JAE HWAN LIM Humans in North Korea (HNK), Ongoing social practice group in Chicago and Los Angeles begun in 2016, humansinnorthkorea.weebly.com
Humans in North Korea (HNK) is a social practice group that stands for human rights advocacy for the North Korean defectors in the United States. HNK educates Korean and non-Korean people about global citizenship through the complex identities
and socio-political history of the Korean heritage. HNK develops public fora, such as symposia, lecture series, film screenings, exhibitions, and roundtable discussions, to
disperse the idea of freedom in undemocratic nations. Volunteering at North Korean
defector shelters, HNK further supports the defectors’ educational and psychological settlement in the Untied States.
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GREG STEWART A Future Before It Happened/ Detective is Criminal/ Blacks Run Beer Making ecologies, 2013 At the time of this project the city of
Harrisonburg, Virginia was experiencing
a downtown revitalization. New business
ventures were springing up around the city, including three microbreweries. I wanted to do something that might examine this
phenomenon of growth, highlight an existing local environmental concern, and to open a dialogue about local economies/ecologies and some unintended consequences of industry.
Blacks Run is the main stream running
through the city of Harrisonburg. As a result
of poor agricultural and industrial practices, bacteria levels in the stream have made it
highly unsafe for humans and other lifeforms. Blacks Run has been identified as one of Virginia’s most impaired waterways.
For this project, I created my own small
brewery that uses water from Blacks Run for making beer. During the process of
fermentation, sugar is converted to alcohol.
Alcohol, in this case, acts as a filter by killing any harmful bacteria that may exist in the water, making it safe for consumption.
Presentation includes brewing equipment and supplies, bottled beer, color prints
detailing an initial investigation of the stream, and video documentation which chronicles the history of, and recent efforts to restore Blacks Run to a healthy stream.
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JEREMY DENNIS On This Site, Ongoing photography project aimed at creating awareness of culturally significant Native American sites on Long Island, New York MANHANSUCK
Arshamomaque, NY | 2016
Manhansuck was the local Algonquian name for what is now known as Pipes Neck Creek
SAUGUST
Southold, NY | 2017
Saugust, named The Old Field in 1640, still retains its name and use as farmland. The
site was excavated between the 1940s and the
1970s by different archaeologists, which revealed
large clay deposits, 161 fire pits for firing clay
pottery, 337 separate vessels found in fragments,
and many other objects — nearly 2,500 in total, 1,854 found just on the surface. Five skeletons
and 12 burials were also found on this site.
that flows into the harbor west of Greenport.
Like many other names, this was preserved in a land deed between two colonists.
REEVE FARM SITE ORIENT SITE
Orient, NY | 2016
The Orient Site is one of four known Orient
Period (1,300 – 1,000 BC) burials on eastern Long Island. The cultural period receives its
name from the fish shaped projectile points with distinct shoulders. During this period,
the areas used for ceremonial burials were greatly removed from habitation areas,
suggesting a reverence for their preservation. Oral stories support this hypothesis.
Aquebogue, NY | 2016
Four prehistoric human remains were found at Reeve Farm Site in 1961, sparking public and archaeological attention. For decades
following, local residents flocked to the farm in an attempt to uncover more remains and
artifacts. The skeletal remains were purchased by the Bridgehampton Historical Society and displayed there for several years.
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South Harbor
Peconic, NY | 2017
The land is largely open fields and a private
farmland, but this was taken on the driveway there. During the early contact period of 1630 to 1650, local native people were moving all the time under threat of the
English colonists. Here a settlement of 125 acres was established and set aside by the
town of Southold for the American Indians. But, just five years later, they are pushed
again to a land known as Indian Neck across the channel to the south west.
Pesapunck
Mattituck, NY | 2017
Pesapunck has always been used as farmland from the earliest colonial period to the present, but the name translates to
“hothouse,” more frequently called a sweat lodge today. On Long
Island, they were described as six to eight feet tall, round, and built on the side of a brook or hill – with ten to twenty men entering and
heating the interior to extreme temperature for cleansing their mind
and body – sweat lodges are still used today through North America for healing, mourning, celebration, and initiation ceremony.
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oldfurnace.tumblr.com
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