Over three days this week, we got a lot done. And, as I write this, stuff is still getting done. This is why collaboration is such a valuable model for art practice. But, it’s not just about getting stuff done, it’s the challenges, the insights, the novel perspectives that can be brought up around a …
Continue reading “BCL Report: End of April, 2011 (the Art of Planning & Collaboration)”
While we’ve been imagining and devising our own portals for How to Forget the Border Completely, San Francisco artist Jeff Waldman has been creating his own type of imaginative gateway in an endeavour he’s called ‘The Happiness Project’. Pictured above is Waldman’s first installation called ‘Shut In’, which features a couple interior locks, and a large keyhole …
Thursday night was a night of decisions and tests. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks just trying to get caught up generally with projects and Thursday marked the beginning of the deciding how to start wrapping up How to Forget the Border Completely and what direction to move in to make some more progress on …
Continue reading “BCL Report: April 21, 2011 (making decisions)”
It was Monday night and Karlyn’s Birthday, so Hiba and Kevin brought a fun cake. Other things happened as well, and strangely, or maybe expectedly, now that the semester’s done and since we didn’t meet at the very end of the week, we had a marathon five hour meeting. It was so great!!!
With almost a full crew we spent this Friday night testing finishes, planning ways to cross the border unnoticed, and building supports for the letter ‘R’, all while being filmed by a documentary crew from the Department of Communications, Media & Film. Above, some notes from Danielle’s sprawling research on inventions for tactically crossing a …
Continue reading “BCL Report: March 25, 2011 (Imaginary Portals & Ongoing Construction)”
Once again, we gathered at Lebel for another fun Friday full of brainstorming and map making. This particular Friday we met with Mel, a jewelry designer with his BFA from Yugoslavia, to discuss the best design for the CAFKA letters. We are currently deciding whether it would be best to stick with our original plan …
Continue reading “BCL Report: March 11, 2011 (Maps & Letters)”
Another Friday evening at Lebel with the crew in action — making letters stand up, cutting maps, interpreting law, and designing impossibilities. Above, Michelle, Josh, and Mike Marcon discuss what materials will work best to line the extruded part of the plywood letters. It was, in short, a great night.
We spent Friday back at Lebel, reminding us of the meetings we used to have a couple years ago when all this was just starting up. Given the size of the school and the resources readily available (like tools, multiple desks, ample light), we split up into smaller groups to tackle some “next steps” for …
Continue reading “BCL Report: February 24, 2011 (back to Lebel)”
Around the maps, we’re beginning to imagine two cities collapsing into one. As part of How to Forget the Border Completely, we’re doing and planning all sorts of things — border portals, border etiquette classes, new maps, new tourism guides, interviews, stories, and imaginary architecture. Michelle and our dear friend, Lee Rodney, spoke about HFBC …
Continue reading “BCL Report: Feb 18, 2011 (Maps & Portals)”
A few weeks ago I met with Andréanne Baribeau of Windsor’s local French CBC radio AM 540 on the Y a pas deux matins pareils show to speak about Broken City Lab’s ongoing projects Make This Better and How To Forget The Border Completely. The Episode aired the morning of Monday, January 31st. Check it …