Travelogue: Longwood Gardens and Bruce Munro's Light Exhibit

From Longwood Gardens

Waterlillies. 100 6-ft. foam lilies, 100 8-ft. foam lilies, 65,000 recycled CDs. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Earlier in the summer, my friend Jen and I drove down to Kennett Square, PA to visit the lovely (and quite large) Longwood Gardens. Aside from visiting the legendary gardens, we specifically went to see the Bruce Munro exhibit, Light. The works (on display until September 29) use light and color to express the artist's exhilaration felt while visiting the gardens.

The history of the gardens can be traced to the end of the 18th century, when Joshua and Samuel Peirce established an arboretum on their nearly 100 year-old family farm. By 1906, economic concerns put the arboretum in danger of being sold for lumber. Enter our hero, Pierre S. du Pont, a wealthy industrialist and renaissance man who purchased the land just to save the trees.

As you might have surmised, Pierre was a descendant of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (gunpowders). Pierre used his wealth, knowledge, and energy to create the marvelous fountains, conservatories, and gardens found at Longwood today. It's an impressive place, but even more impressive is the fact that Pierre spent more than 30 years designing the garden's elements and overseeing the work, all while reorganizing, and later serving as President of DuPont. He also served as Director of General Motors from 1920-1928.

Jen and I toured nearly all of Longwood Gardens, staying from mid-morning until nightfall to see the changes in the Light installations as well as the water shows. Below are just a sample of the many photos I snapped of our visit. I hope you'll enjoy them and visit Longwood Gardens before the end of September to enjoy Bruce Munro's Light.

From Longwood Gardens

The Italian Water Gardens. Longwood Gardens. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Main Fountain Theater. Longwood Gardens. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Main Fountain Control Panel, Resting Room, Peirce-du Pont House. Longwood Gardens. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Main Fountain Garden. Longwood Gardens. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Outdoor Waterlily Display, West Conservatory Complex. Longwood Gardens. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Outdoor Waterlily Display, West Conservatory Complex. Longwood Gardens. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Outdoor Waterlily Display, West Conservatory Complex. Longwood Gardens. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Water Towers in the Meadow. 17,388 1-liter recyclable bottles, 552 laser-cut wood layers, 42.9 mi (69,000m) bare optic fiber, 69 LED light sources with hand painted color wheels, 23 speakers, 1 audio control box, 1 solid-state music player. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Forest of Light. 20,000 clear glass spheres, 20,000 acrylic rods mounted on stakes,
89.9 mi (140,000 m) bare optic fiber, 80 halogen light sources with hand painted colour wheels. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Forest of Light. 20,000 clear glass spheres, 20,000 acrylic rods mounted on stakes,
89.9 mi (140,000 m) bare optic fiber, 80 halogen light sources with hand painted colour wheels. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Field of Light. 7,000 frosted glass spheres, 7,000 acrylic rods mounted on stakes, 34.8 mi (56,000 m) bare optic fiber, 15 metal halide light sources with hand-painted colour wheels. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Field of Light. 7,000 frosted glass spheres, 7,000 acrylic rods mounted on stakes, 34.8 mi (56,000 m) bare optic fiber, 15 metal halide light sources with hand-painted colour wheels. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Arrow Spring. 16 stainless steel spheres, 16 LED flashlights, over 58 mi (94,000 m) bare optic fiber, 328 ground stakes, four varieties of sage. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Longwood Gardens

Arrow Spring. 16 stainless steel spheres, 16 LED flashlights, over 58 mi (94,000 m) bare optic fiber, 328 ground stakes, four varieties of sage. Longwood Gardens. Artwork © Bruce Munro. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

Interview with the Artist, Karen Guancione -- "In Stitches"

From Karen Guancione Art

Bolsas de Mandado © Karen Guancione, Mixed media installation, machine sewn plastic bags, grommets, size: 900 square feet, photo © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

Introduction
It's difficult to be objective when I'm such a big fan of Karen Guancione and her art works. However, I made an effort during our second interview when we visited her "In Stitches" exhibition at the Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, that ran from May 10 through June 18, 2012.

The large-scale installation is a different format than that of "A Portable Constant Obsession." The interview is different as well. Karen not only speaks about her work, but also of her relationship with her mother, a woman who has had a profound influence on her life and art.

Prior to the interview, I photographed the exhibit from a variety of different angles and heights. It's difficult to convey the size of her Bolsas de Mandado (the hanging panels of sewn plastic bags), but this opening video shows the exhibit from the vestibule of the building. As Karen walks diagonally through the installation, she helps to show the scale of the work.



The Nature of the Bolsas de Mandado

In the next video, Karen talks with me about how she fashions the panels and works within a space to mount an installation. Following the video is a close-up of a panel's grommets.

From Karen Guancione Art

Bolsas de Mandado © Karen Guancione, Mixed media installation, machine sewn plastic bags, grommets, size: 900 square feet, photo © Debra Schiff.

The name Bolsas de Mandado originates from the Mexican shopping bags used to carry groceries, small items, laundry, and so forth. Below, Karen tells me about the bags and what it was like to sew them into the panels. The video is followed by a photograph of the panel she uses to explain the name.

From Karen Guancione Art

Bolsas de Mandado © Karen Guancione, Mixed media installation, machine sewn plastic bags, grommets, size: 900 square feet, photo © Debra Schiff.

Karen's Favorite Panels and Bags
In the next series of videos, Karen and I talk about the panels that have special meaning for her. I'm especially interested in her stories of the people who have donated bags from all over the world, even under extreme circumstances. Because the videos fit together so nicely, I won't interrupt them with text.











A Mother's Role in Creating Art
In this final video, Karen talks about her very first Bolsas de Mandado panel. She also talks about her mother's bag folding, and enduring influence on her art and life. If you're like me, you'll need a tissue when you watch this piece.



Conclusion
As ever, I am privileged to be able to help document Karen's work. She makes it very easy by articulating her techniques and purposes in a lively and educational way. I look forward to the next opportunity to experience her art and ask the questions I don't normally get to ask an artist when spending time with her/his work. But that will have to wait until she returns from her rejuvenating trip to Nice.

From Karen Guancione Art

Interview with the Artist, Karen Guancione -- "A Portable Constant Obsession"

Introduction

Over the years, I've had my share of fun and interesting side projects, but this year's project -- documenting a small portion of the work and life of a living artist -- could top the list. The artist Karen Guancione's work is wide ranging, from pocket-sized artists' books to gigantic installations of sewn plastic bags hanging in panels (and loads of other forms in between). The woman Karen Guancione is intelligent, energetic, focused, engaging, humorous, and inspiring. She fights for workers' rights and human rights at an international level, and takes an avid interest in her students' work.

Karen also is very generous with her time and committed to documenting her life's work, so when she said she'd like to open up the cases in the "A Portable Constant Obsession" exhibit at Rutgers, take out her art, and talk with me at length about the pieces and her life as an artist, I jumped at the opportunity. 

In previous posts, I've spotlighted some of Karen's local installations. For instance, I was incredibly moved by her "Found Journal" exhibit at the Printmaking Council of New Jersey in 2010. More recently, exhibit curator Michael Joseph gave me a tour of the "A Portable Constant Obsession" exhibit. 

Now, interspersed with beautiful photographs by Bruce Riccitelli (and a few by yours truly), here is the first in a series of my interviews of Karen Guancione. Note: In some cases, the description above an image applies to other images of the same piece. Those other images will immediately follow the one with the description above it. Additionally, some of the videos are a bit dark, and for that I apologize. 

Begin at the Beginning

We began our interview in the upstairs gallery, across from the entrance of Rutgers' Alexander Library. One of the pieces in the exhibit was Karen's first journal. Even at 7 years old, she documented the world around her.

The two photographs below show the pages Karen read in the video:

Untitled 
First travel journal created at age seven on family cross-country road trip.  Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

From Karen Guancione Art

The Cacophony of Life

During the 1970s through the 1990s, Karen continued keeping diaries, which evolved into art journals, complete with collages of ephemera, drawings, paintings, and text. 

In the video below, she talks about the journals in a display case in the "A Portable Obsession" exhibit.

Aquiloni
Within the entire installation are smaller displays, often hung with Karen's "Aquiloni." In the video below, she explains just what the works are and the amazing effect they have on children.



Below are a series of photographs showing materials Karen referenced in the video above. Additionally, I've included the "Catalog Card Aquiloni" she created specifically for the exhibit, hung in the downstairs Special Collections gallery.

Aquiloni 
Letterpress (edition of 40), Hahnemuhle and handmade paper, acrylic paint, thread, w: 5-1/4 x h: 7 3/4 x 43 inches when open, printed and published by Edizioni Pulcinelefante in 2004. The text, "Quando sono stanco di camminare, VOLO" ("When I'm tired of walking, I FLY"), was written specifically for this book and the artist’s installations by the Italian poet Roberto Dossi. The book accompanies a large-scale installation of the same name. Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

Aquiloni, Scuola dell’ Infanzia Ex-Lucca
Mixed media, with drawings of the artist’s Aquiloni installation made by 3 to 5 year old preschool children from Scuola dell’ Infanzia Ex-Lucca in Fiorenzuola d’ Arda, Piacenza, Italy. Translation of page shown: thank you from the children and teachers. Mixed media: handmade paper (wool, cotton and mixed papers), acrylic paint, small sewn photographs of students in the installation Aquiloni, linen thread, children’s original drawings and written descriptions, closed: h: 15 3/4 x w: 12 x d: 1 inch, 2005. Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

From Karen Guancione Art

Card Catalogue Aquiloni
Mixed media installation: old catalogue cards from Alexander Library, small pieces of handmade and hand painted paper, shipping tags, labels, coin wrappers, torn prints and other found materials hand sewn and suspended throughout the 2 galleries, size variable, 2012. 
Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

In the following video Karen talks about how she was able to obtain all those catalog cards, especially when the library no longer uses them. She also talks briefly about her work, "La Jupe" and the installation.

La Jupe (The Skirt)
Found skirt, acrylic paint, created in Nice, France in August 2008, w: 15 x h: 36 1/2 inches ©Karen Guancione.

The photo below shows one of the letterpress books inserted into the case.

Gli Occhi di Santa Lucia (The Eyes of Santa Lucia)
Letterpress (edition of 43), wood engraving, Hahnemuhle paper, gold leaf, grommets, ribbon, metallic pigment, shipping tag, holy card and medal, w: 5-1/4 x h: 7 3/4 inches, printed and published by Edizioni Pulcinoelefante, Osnago, Lecco, Italy, 2007. Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

Artists' Books
In the next video, Karen talks with me about the collaborative art project "Art Trash." Immediately following the video is a photograph of the letterpress cover.




TRASH ART/ ART TRASH
Letterpress (edition of 66), mixed media, Hahnemuhle paper, w: 5-1/4 x h: 7 3/4 inches, with Carmen Cheung, Asha Ganpat, Lisa Hasselbrook, Suzanne Reiman, Carolyn Salinas, Susan Valenza and Sally Willowbee, printed and published by Edizioni Pulcinelefante, Osnago, Lecco, Italy, 2004. Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

Moving to the Special Collections gallery, in the next video, Karen and I talk about what might be her most famous work, "Guide de la Correspondance Amoreuse."



Guide de la Correspondance Amoureuse 
Mixed media, found materials, red bra and underwear, scraps from antique books and actual love letters, contains collage, drawings, paintings, closed: w: 13 1/2 x h: 12 x d: 6 3/4 inches, created in Nice, France in the winter of 2004-05, (view one: front cover, view two: back cover showing closure with bra). Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

From Karen Guancione Art

Guide de la Correspondance Amoureuse 
Mixed media, found materials, red bra and underwear, scraps from antique books and actual love letters, contains collage, drawings, paintings, closed: w: 13 1/2 x h: 12 x d: 6 3/4 inches, created in Nice, France in the winter of 2004-05. Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

From Karen Guancione Art

From Karen Guancione Art

In the next video, Karen shows me one of her most recent works, "Nice 1."

Nice 1 (2011)

Mixed media, handmade paper, found materials, 100 pages of collage, drawing, painting, cover: found tile shards, stones and glass, acrylic paint, w: 13 x h: 10 1/2 x d: 3 1/4 inches, with painted zippered bag, fabric, acrylic paint, w: 16 3/4 x h: 13 inches, July - August 2011.

Next, Karen talked with me about her serendipitous experience finding a different kind of medium to use in an artists' book.

This image shows a close up of the book's cover.

Pátzcuaro (number 3)
Mixed media, handmade paper, collage, painted communion hosts, found materials, 12 plastic baby and ceramic baby Jesus figurines on cover, 100 pages, w: 9 3/8 x h: 6 1/2 x d: 4 1/2 inches, December 2009 – January 2010. 
Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Debra Schiff. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

The following two photographs are © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

From Karen Guancione Art

In the following short video, she talks about using her body as a printing press to produce "Foufune."

During the interview, I asked Karen about her training. I was delighted to hear about her punk foundation. In the video below, she tells me about that exciting time in London, as well as her piece, "No Rest."



No Rest
Mixed media: wood chair, handmade paper, encyclopedia paper, recycled papers from artist's daily life, gold leaf, mirror, gold leafed cups, 40 x 17 x 18 inches, 1998. Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

Finally, Karen warns me about touching "No Rest," and talks with me about her "Garbage Books."

Spiral Bound Garbage Books
Found materials and over 400 spiral bound books made from decades of accumulated recycled trash, packaging and paper scraps from around the world, individual scraps are dated and each book numbered, ongoing project, 2007- present.  Artwork © Karen Guancione. Photograph © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

From Karen Guancione Art

These videos represent most of the footage I collected during my interview of Karen on May 5, 2012. If you want to see more, please visit the YouTube playlist at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB889D867E48C3884&feature=plcp. Additionally, more photographs by Bruce (and me) are available on my Picasa Web Album for Karen's art here: https://picasaweb.google.com/debra.schiff/KarenGuancioneArt.

Coming soon, my next interview with Karen at her "Bolsas de Mandado" exhibit in Loveladies, New Jersey.

Documenting an Artist's Work

Recently, I had the great pleasure and honor of interviewing a living artist, Karen Guancione. The purpose of my time with Karen was to document her work currently on display at Rutgers University's Alexander Library and ask her about her experience as an artist. Earlier on this blog, I featured Michael Joseph, the curator of the exhibit (and Rare Books Librarian) talking about Karen's work. However, having the artist herself describe in detail the nature of her works in the context of her life opens up an entirely different window into the art on display.

I'd like to share with you these enlightening, revelatory, and amusing videos I recorded last month. The playlist is available on YouTube at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB889D867E48C3884&feature=plcp. Photos of the individual works will be forthcoming.

Curator's Tour of Karen Guancione's "A Portable Constant Obsession" Exhibit at Rutgers

Introduction
From the first time I experienced Karen Guancione's work at the Printmaking Council of New Jersey, I was hooked on her work. Karen has a background in fiber art as well as printmaking. Her work calls out unsung people, especially women, who do much of the hard work that goes into everyday objects, such as clothing. She also uses traditionally feminine objects (such as red leather high heel shoes and brassieres) to put a point on her feminist works.

Karen is especially interested in found objects, making hundreds of artist's books from other people's castoffs. Because I'm a big fan of artists' books and the artists who make them, I was excited to learn that Karen would be exhibiting some of her recent and early works at Rutgers' Alexander Library in New Brunswick (until August 31, you have a little time, but don't miss this exhibit).

Not only is Karen a working artist, traveling worldwide to exhibit and make her remarkable art, she also shares her knowledge as a lecturer and teacher of art and design at SUNY Purchase, as well as other schools.

The Tour
My host for the tour of Karen's exhibit, A Portable Constant Obsession, was none other than its curator (and my friend) Michael Joseph, the Rare Books Librarian at Rutgers. I first met Michael when he gave a presentation on artists' books during an MLIS course called Art Librarianship (taught by the wonderful Paul Glassman). He introduced me to an entirely new art form, and I later asked him to be my advisor for my independent study. It was great fun working with Suellen Glashausser's artists' books, and ensuring their preservation. That experience solidified my affection for artists' books and admiration for Michael's knowledge of book arts.

Note: My apologies for some of the noise in the videos below. The air conditioning in the downstairs gallery is quite loud, and the upstairs gallery is located directly across from the main entry of the Alexander Library. Suffice to say, it can be a noisy spot. I also apologize for the reflected lights in the museum glass of the exhibit cases. I hope to be there when Karen uninstalls the exhibits to take some footage without the reflective glass.

In the short video below, Michael introduces us to Karen's current installation in the upstairs gallery of Alexander Library.



In the next video, Micheal shows us more of Karen's recent artists' books, and talks about the influence of her feminism on her work.



In an exhibition such as this one, it is especially interesting to see an artist's earliest works. We are fortunate to be able to experience (in the video below) some of Karen's earliest artists' books displayed in rather a unique way. Michael speaks to the nature of Karen's display technique, as well as how these works helped her to make sense of her early life, below.



In the downstairs, Special Collections gallery, Michael shows us some of Karen's more recent artists' books, especially some in her Summer series.



In this case, Michael explains, Karen's Aquiloni are now part of books, not only suspended from the ceiling of the exhibit case. He also talks more about her books made in Nice, France.



In this next video, Michael tells us some of the history behind this large accordion-style artists' book.



We are very fortunate to experience one of Karen's best known works, Guide de la Correspondance Amoureuse. It's a fantastic piece bound in a scarlet bra. Below, Michael talks about the meaning behind this unique binding

 

Below, we see a multimedia installation that includes a video of women dancing and a selection of Karen's Garbage Books. You can see Karen smiling and dancing in the video.



Finally, Michael shows us Karen's Pátzcuaro and Foufoune works.



I encourage you to visit Alexander Library at Rutgers to see this extraordinary exhibit before it closes at the end of August.