the sounds of christmas are everywhere (New Mexico/Flagstaff & Amarillo)

I saw him!!!! he almost ran us over, BUT I swear it was him. Who could miss a cheerful santa like figure blazing down the back roads of Flagstaff?

ED RUSCHA GIVES US HIS AUTOGRAPH AT BRYCE CANYON

Last night I had a dream that Nancy and I went to Bryce Canyon and we saw Ed Ruscha at one of the lookout points. I asked him if Nancy could take a photo of the two of us to post on our blog. The following morning Nancy and I practiced our daily ritual of dream analysis (previous discussion had revealed a dream Nancy had regarding a phone call from James Turrell’s gallery, eventually proving to be reality…details coming soon.) We decided that Ed Ruscha would make an appearance at Bryce Canyon; our goal was to find him.

After stopping at several different viewpoints, each of us unable to find even a close candidate, we nearly gave up. On our way back to the car from our last attempt, there he was climbing out of an SUV full of his family and friends straight from Southern California. After explaining our request for a photograph, he replied, “Oh that’s funny. My name is Ed Rolands.” His lawyer friend thankfully offered to take a photo, ultimately blurry as hell (Nancy never said that, she thought it was in focus.) Ed’s wife appears on the scene, replying to our project, “Oh does Perry look like Ed Ruscha?” Their friends inquiring if “Ed Ruscha looked like Brad Pitt?”

After backing the children away, Perry offered to give us Ed Ruscha’s autograph, we gladly accepted, Nancy running frantically to grab the blue pen and paper. Like true fans we almost passed out upon receiving this wonderful gift. Proving once again, dreams really can come true.








Dennis Hopper's portrait of Ed Ruscha from 1964

BOYZ CLUB

JAMZ TURRELL ON JAMES TURRELL

ALL RISE!!

We received a phone call yesterday from skystone requesting an explanation for our “email” we had sent. 

Hmmm. An Email? No, perhaps it was the LETTER that was being referred to that we had sent to James Turrell at his home address - with no response. (The letter and additional promo materials can be found on this PUBLIC blog.)

I explained that we would love to have James Turrell come for the grand opening tour we would be having at Roden Crater. I could hear a mouth dropping wide open – in shock – in horror – in appall. A frustrated response to my lack of reverence or perhaps my gall or maybe my inability to settle her confusion with answering that it was all a practical joke.

 A firm warning was issued: the work is not open to the public and trespassers WILL BE prosecuted. (We know a great attorney so no worries there!) She kept asking when we were coming, WHEN!!! I reassured her we could not confirm any dates on such a road trip as this. Hell we were going to Sun Tunnells and neither of us can predict exactly how this timing will all go from one earthwork to the next. 

In her attempt to prepare for the proper timing of a red alert around the "private property, only open to patrons of the artist",  I had gently reminded her that there were several groups that had toured before, her reply "these selected few that have been allowed in came at a time where there was no construction going on like there is right now." I would be willing to wear a hard hat, signed a waver, or kissed butt!! I should have offered to write a check - but that opportunity may present itself later.

In their attempt to "not be exclusive" - it just so happens THEY ARE. Not to mention the obvious distaste for performance artist, it must fall into the one of those categories. AND maybe they should have considered having construction going on over the last 30 years LIKE THERE IS NOW.

PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AT THE BEEP: SORRY JAMES

JUNE 19th I'm back on the map. WITH PHONE IN HAND...I thought after mine fell in the toilet I would just wait till the new iphone with video came out! 

TURRELL LETTER UPDATE (perhaps including an exclusive invitation to the following)

Letter to James Turrell

Dear James Turrell,

I have thought long and hard about how to compose this letter over the past few days. The fact that your address was acquired illicitly makes me believe that I should tell only the truth (leaving my co-conspirator to reveal how she obtained it if she deems appropriate).

Like many people, I have dreamed of making the artistic pilgrimage across the West beginning with Spiral Jetty in Utah and ending at Amarillo Ramp in Texas. Last summer while standing in Robert Morris’s Untitled Reclamation Project in Kent, Washington, I decided that it must happen and the sooner the better. Four summers before while ascending Spiral Hill above Broken Circle in Emmen, The Netherlands I had that same urge, but life passing and brutally changing in the years between, shoved that thought aside. Last year my dear friend and artistic collaborator, Nancy Douthey, and I decided that this would be the summer we would complete the journey.

Over the past few months, Nancy and I have brainstormed several ideas on how to visit Roden Crater. “Plan A2”, as it is now known, was to show up in a white truck, dressed as construction workers with a Styrofoam cooler of beer as a bribe. There was a lot of debate between ice cold beer vs. ice tea and we finally decided on both. Plan B features calling a pilot in Sedona who would fly a banner over the crater and your house asking permission to visit. We could be included in the flight for $300 and though that is a bit steep for our budget, we considered it. Plan C involves writing you a personal check for an exorbitant amount of money, knowing full well that it would bounce if cashed. Plan D involved perusing a satellite photograph of the crater and all the Forest Service Roads in the immediate vicinity with my stepfather who has a vast collection of Geological Survey maps. He outlined what he thought would be a good trek away from the main road. I don’t feel comfortable with Plan D but thought I would investigate anyway.

I have endlessly researched how other people have obtained access. I even emailed Suzaan Boettger, author of Earthworks: Art and the Landscape of the 1960s and asked for her advice. A couple of my acquaintances at the Center for Creative Photogrpahy were involved in a legitimate tour through the Museum of Northern Arizona. I heard about a group of high school students getting in, friends of your children, and so on. I have also read the appalling accounts of people sneaking in to find closed doors and leaving footprints all over the carefully combed interior. I am not interested in repeating the latter.

This weekend it dawned on me that Plan A1 should have been to simply ask. I imagine you have heard every plea and excuse under the sun to entice you to allow entrance into Roden Crater; how the experience will transform people’s lives if they could only see it. Part of me wants to tell you that and to express how profound every visit I’ve ever had to a Skyspace has been. On the opposite end, you are the only artist whose work I have ever viewed that has physically made me ill (the Pleiades at the Mattress Factory induced nausea). I want to tell you about two small details that occurred while immersed in the Skyspace at the Friends Meeting House or The Light Inside (both of which I visited regularly while living in Houston) but I realize I am falling into the same category of all the other people that must contact you and request permission.

Nancy and I have emailed the Skystone Foundation but am hoping that direct contact with you will prove to be more helpful. I cannot offer much in return except a promise to abide by any restrictions you may have as to what is published about this visit. I realize that I am not asking months in advance either and for that I apologize. We would be open to the 29th or 30th of June or the 1st July 2009 if at all possible.

Thank you, Mr. Turrell, for considering our request.

Sincerely,

J. Russell & N. Douthey

Flyover

Roden Crater?

"Visitor Info: The crater is located at a point 25 miles northeast of Flagstaff, and 17 miles northwest of Leupp. Visitation is not encouraged."

For further information, contact the:
Skystone Foundation
P.O. Box 725
Flagstaff, AZ 86002 OR
114 N San Francisco St # 206
Flagstaff, AZ 86001-5235
(928) 226-0937
skystone@infomagic.net (don't know if that is still working)

This is NOT how I would like to see Roden Crater.

I just read this very annoying account of this guy who did get in who worked for the Scottsdale Art Museum. Of nonrelated interest, here is how he describes Turrell's attire: "he was in and out a lot, a very quiet cool guy rocking this great look... jeans, boots, pressed shirt tucked in with a western suit coat... sometimes a bolo, like fancy rancher ( L.A. baby come AZ cowboy)."

In regards to getting in... he discovered that these are the types of people that can go: upper level contributors, members of the SMoCA staff, and high school students. I would add to that, other members of museum staff (i.e. Center for Creative Photography, etc.) and journalists who write for the New Yorker. The more I read this, the more I wonder if this is the article you read about the guy who got the tour through Turrell's neighbors. The guard is there 24/7 and has a 360 view from the top (and also has a dog named Jake). Hmm.... beer and steak as plan A2 bribes???

Okay... we're writing a letter and flying a banner. At this point, I might even pay for a flyover.

IDEA: An Air Message to James Turrell (i've been trying to do an air work forever)

I thought as I was researching today - that maybe flying a banner or better yet, having an air letter message for James Turrell over his home or the crater asking for a tour and thanking him might be cool. (I came across his home address but....) ANYWAY I called around (a former pilot himself) I thought perhaps I could call some airports, start talking to the pilots, see if there were any connections. I ended up getting Tom from SkyTreck - the Sedona Airport recommended him -Tom has flown over the crater and gave me a detailed account of his findings. "Interesting. East of Flagstaff, a symmetrical crater, the last one in the field, takes about an hour and a half to get there. 700 ft. to 800 ft. high, 1000 ft. across. Looks like some kind of scientific observation platform, there's some construction going on inside. I took some guys from Germany out there once." OH REALLY!!! how much - "$300." 

THE James Turrell Book images and info.

1.Crater's Plaza

2. East Portal

3. Sun and Moon Tunnel

4. Sun and Moon Tunnel

5. Access to crater's eye

6. Crater's Plaza and Crater's Eye

17 Days: More on James Turrell's "Roden Crater"

Robert Hughes: “Turrell’s art is not in front of your eyes. It is behind them.”





After buying the crater and the pastureland around it in 1974, Turrell designed a system of rooms, connecting passageways, and lookout points for Roden Crater. The crater stands more than 5000 feet above sea level and is within sight of the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert. Its final eruption is believed to have occurred just over 900 years ago. It stands on a volcanic field with more than 200 other extinct volcanoes nearby. Turrell once said, “It has knowledge in it and it does something with that knowledge.”


Scraping the Crater Bowl, 1982

It is about 50 miles NE of Flagstaff. It sits off to itself on the eastern edge of the San Francisco plateau. The most ancient lavas in the area are 10 million years old. The fields most recent eruption occurred at Sunset Crater, located 15 miles west of Roden Crater only 920 years ago.


James Turrell, Finished Crater Topo, 1985

"Among the phenomena visitors will be able to observe are the movement of the North Star, the details of the moon via a pinhole camera, and even the light of Jupiter. The music of the spheres, sounds from deep space, will be heard via a pool of water that picks up signals from quasars and distant galaxies."


Turrell in the bowl of the crater, c. 1980s


View from the Crater Dish, 1981


Roden Crater, Aerial View, 1989

PLAN A.2 and A.3

I had spent most of the day reading about an account of someone experiencing Roden Crater. They had the luck of meeting Turrell's neighbors and getting a full overnight tour that if I recall correctly also included singing. (Maybe I'm just thinking of doing that myself.) But anyway, after reading this posting I came across another posting, of another person, who was also able to get a tour. This person was befriended by the working crew after some good'ol chit chat. NOW there was hope. I started to devise a plan/fantasy of making our way into Roden Crater. Jacinda and I would be sure to rent a white truck, something that looked more like a construction site vehicle and we would dress in disguise - beefy, sweaty, dirty shirt wearing workers, with moustaches! We would make it in, at which point we would then be discovered. BUT we would fall back on the fact that we had conveniently brought ice tea! I would serve it like a junior league hostess, and we would get our tour. As I described my plan to Mark, he replied "you don't need the moustaches or the truck" and then - AND THEN he said "you don't even need the ice tea" WE NEEDED BEER!! I think we're going with beer but we're still dressing up!

The "Uniform" - What Smithson, Holt, Heizer, & Turrell Wore When Creating These Works

Finding what Robert Smithson wore was really easy. He doesn't look like he belongs in this space at all. There are two outfits (what do you think about combining them both or one take the role of the waiters and the other the black "I'm a NY artist" look?).


Smithson with Richard Serra, 1970


Smithson and the Construction of Spiral Jetty, 1970


Smithson and his waiters (I call, "Not It" on wearing this one)


I cannot find anything (as of yet) on what Nancy Holt wore. I surmise that this is her in the views of Sun Tunnels but cannot be certain. Whatever she is wearing, she is NOT trying to be a cowgirl or cowboy for that matter.

This is the Nancy Holt we will not be emulating:




Heizer is also easy to find. Here he is with Robert Smithson in Nevada in 1968 (I am counting on finding a white cowboy hat). Here's a more recent headshot.



And James Turrell... Oh! The black cowboy ensemble! Maybe you can buy the white gear and I'll buy the black and we'll really be covering a lot of territory.



What is so odd is that I really want them to be wearing something like in Richard Prince's Untitled Cowboys photograph from 2003. Dream on.



Of course we can always dump the whole idea and go looking like this:

SHOW DOWN

I've had visions of myself as a man on this road trip. The one who drives, gets the gas, farts and burps. And it never felt right, I'm not really up for three weeks of burping and farting and I have a feeling that you would never have agreed to take a road trip with me much less do it again had I decided upon to do this as a three week performance. 

Then I thought of myself creating these artists alter egos, perhaps giving tours of Heizer's, City or Turrell's, Roten Crater. And I may still do something like this (even if it is just for you, consider it a private tour) - BUT - I kept seeing Heizer and Turrell as these cowboys in all their photo shoots. 

And could not help but think of Richard Prince 

(flash back to road trip no. 001.) I believe that show was at the Walker? But the main idea here is the parallels between what Prince was doing in his photographs and how I feel it relates to these earthworks and these celeb. artist and (I won't come close to denying my obsessions as a fan of either celebs or artists). Combined with the history of western landscape painting as propaganda. I'm in love! And somehow all these things start clicking together even if they are in my own minds map of images and general understandings. SO - I needed to purchase boots and a hat before my departure. Jacinda, I hope you can spot me, I'm planning on full gear the first day. I have yet to decide if it will be the dirty cowboy look or a cross between Tammy Faye meets boots and fringe. I love fringe!! (Misha Barton in boots with fringe.)

Roden Crater Part 2

James Turrell, Roden Crater

"I make spaces that apprehend light for our perception, and in some way gather it, or seem to hold it. So in that way it’s a little bit like Plato’s cave. We sit in the cave with our backs to reality, looking at the reflection of reality on the cave wall. As an analogy to how we perceive, and the imperfections of perception, I think this is very interesting."

If I have any expectations for this I like to imagine lying in the crater on a bright sunny day, looking up into the blue sky above and seeing a perfect geometric form similar to all the flawless shapes I've ever seen in Turrell's work. I'd like to see a bird flying over or a cloud float by or maybe the trail of an airplane dissipating into the atmosphere. I'd like to come back with a story, a personal reference that completes the work much like the event that took place when I brought my class to The Light Inside at the MFAH and the person pushing his friend on the wheelchair looked up, was startled at the 28 people walking toward him, and dumped his friend over the edge into the artwork. I don't need to repeat that incident but something that will take away the elements of spiritualism and bring it back down to earth, something to remember it by besides the chills I hope to feel when I finally see the work I am most excited about.

Myth and Spiral Jetty

I was reading an essay by Maurice Berger in Fred Wilson: Objects and Installations 1979-2000 and the information below was mentioned. Smithson referencing the "powerful whirlpools of a mythic past" intrigues me because it focuses on the idea of combining storytelling, art and place. We don't always read about these references because they are much more commonplace then the concept of entropy and the Minimalist aesthetic of stripping all of this away. Part of me wants to find the story and give it its place or more precisely, help to make the artwork mine. Maybe I want to appropriate an earthwork ... not a photographic image of it but the real thing? And what would that resemble? What would that BE?

The two paragraphs that caught my eye are below.

“The site-specificity inherent to the earthworks of Robert Smithson, Robert Morris, and Michael Heizer, for example, relates not only to their specific location on a parcel of land outside of art world contexts, but also to their direct relationship to the social, cultural, ecological, and mythological history of their site. One important aspect of land art, land reclamation, represent an important example of the allegorical in art, because, like many allegorical paintings and stories, it incorporates ruin as a kind of metaphor of cultural decay. Land reclamation projects allegorize the ecological decline of a particular area through a similar, self-conscious relationship to the archeological or geological remains of a ruined past – an allegory that ‘merges physically into its setting… embedded in the place where we encounter it.’ Such earthworks are predicated on a rigors examination of the geological, socio-economic, and often mythic history of their site. “

“’The occurrence of a huge interior salt lake,’ writes Rosalind Krauss of Smithson’s mythological source for the Spiral Jetty on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, ‘had for centuries seemed to be a freak of nature, and the early inhabitants of the region sought its explanation in myth. One such myth was that the lake had originally been connected to the Pacific Ocean through a huge underground waterway, the presence of which caused treacherous whirlpools to form at the lake’s center.’ As in all of Smithson’s land reclamation projects, the jetty’s implicit reference to the lake’s prehistory is also ideological. It’s allusion to the powerful whirlpools of a mythic past serves as an allegory of a tragic, enervated present – a memorial to a section of the Great Salt Lake rendered barren and useless by an adjacent abandoned oil drilling operation. While Smithson’s allegories were broadly social, they were also self-consciously aesthetic, marking as they did the ruination of formalism and the art of the studio and the museum. No longer wiling to live within the limitations o the pristine white cube of the art gallery or museum, these earthworks moved out onto the land. Instead of abstruse, abstract meditations on the spiritual in art or on the retinal possibilities of splattered paint or rigid grids, this art of the land took on bigger, more socially consequential issues, such as the limitations of our natural resources. If some earthworks existed as memorials to a destroyed or depleted geological past, they were also a living and always changing testament to the future potential of art to make a difference.

A little on Turrell's "Roden Crater"

Last image: View of the East Portal Entryway, Roden Crater, 2000

Read this before we figure out how we are getting in.

And more pictures.