Happy New Year and Hanging Schedule

Happy New Year to you all! I hope your evening is shaping up to be a great one.

I apologize for bogging you down with exhibit related stuff on a holiday, but I wanted to mention a little bit about the hanging/installation schedule so you have time to plan accordingly.

• Since many of you are available during the weekends, I am setting aside next weekend (January 9th and 10th) for primary artwork drop off, as well as time for some of the more difficult hanging and installation. Noon to 6 on Saturday and as needed on Sunday for any of you that can not make it on Saturday. The rest of the week will be devoted to the completion of hanging and installation in the space.

• Those of you with simple hanging pieces are free to drop off you art and go if you like. (You are welcome to stay if you wish, but you do not have to.)

• People with projections will need to be present in order to set up and install their projects as they will be the most time consuming and difficult to install spatially.

• All artwork NEEDS to be brought to the space, prepped and ready to be hung.

• PLEASE let me know what time you are thinking of arriving at the space.

• PLEASE let me know if you have ANY issues with this schedule.

• I will do my best to try to get you all in and out of there as quickly as possible.

• I have some idea of how I would like the art to be presented in the space, but details may change once I see the completed artwork. Just an FYI.

That is all on the schedule for now.

On a final note of the year, I just wanted to extend my appreciation to all of you for being a part of this show. You have been so wonderful, accomodating and helpful. I wish you the best in 2010 and I sincerely hope this exhibit will bring in an amazing year in art for you all.

FUTURE TENANT posts "communication through technology" promo video on their You Tube page

Future Tenant was kind enough to post Brent's EXCELLENT promo video for our show on their You Tube page. Here it is:

FUTURE TENANT YOU TUBE "communication through technology" promo video

Promo Web Video for our Exhibit

Happy Holidays to you all!

Brent has been hard at work shooting and editing video, collecting stock film, rummaging through my notes, and sifting through the massive amounts of email submitted technology phrases I have collected from others to create a film that will be displayed in the window of Future Tenant throughout the duration of our event.

In addition to this window film, I have asked him to put together a secondary, pared down, promotional video for our exhibit in the same vain, strictly for the web.

Here is this secondary video embedded in our wordpress website: Wordpress Website: Do You Understand?

Please use this (as well as the poster imagery) to promote the event. 

I am also embedded this secondary video in this blog below. Excellent work Brent:

Promo piece for "Do You Understand: Communication Through Technology" from Brent Isaac & Kim Rullo on Vimeo.

FT Exhibit posters are printed!

I picked up some of the posters and a bunch of postcards from Kate tonight and they look won-der-ful!!! I have about 14 posters and a ton of postcards in my possession as of right now. I would love to give all of you a few to pass out around town or place in some of your local haunts. Let me know if you are going to be out and about town this holiday season.

I can not wait for you guys to see them. Kudos again to Larry and Mario on a job well done.

Important addendum to the previous post regarding set up and schedule

Justin case you missed it:

From Orvokki at FT: 

Just as an addendum, we do not have regular business hours during the installation week, but if we schedule in advance, we can have staff on hand when needed to let people in and help install. A few more people can also be put on key permission if they require more time. You can be at the space 24 hours a day that week after January 7.

Bio updates and FT set up and exhibit hanging schedule

Hey everyone, what a crazy busy time of year this is. I can barely catch my breath!

First off, in case you had not seen it already, your bios were added to the Future Tenant website. futuretenant.org

Secondly, several of you had asked about the schedule for hanging your pieces. According to Orvokki, after the Vacant Lot they have scheduled on January 7th we are free to set up in the FT space. FT has regular business hours and I have a key to the space as well. I have a general idea of where I think your pieces work best within the space, but as you know, things may vary once we are in the space and hanging items. That being said we need to agree on what day works for all of you. Most of you will not need much time at all to install your piece. However I know at least one of you who may need additional time to install. I do plan to be there for most everyone's install to make sure all the pieces are hung/installed, in a setting both aesthetically pleasing as well as accommodating to the other artists. Scheduling for the same day for all of you would be the most ideal scenario.

I assume weekends work best for most of you as opposed to weekends. That is my choice as well. Either way need to decide this right after the holidays, so please give me an idea of what works ASAP.

Thanks so much!

T minus 32 and counting. Mucho updates.

T-32 days and counting until our exhibit!

It is an exciting and nerve-wracking time. I hope you all are doing well and things are moving along swimmingly.

Updates:

• Our exhibit is now listed on Future Tenant's website. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and follow the links. The bios have not been added as of yet, but your names are listed.

• In addition to the marketing of our exhibit by FT, Sarah Wojdylak has been kind enough to set up a twitter and website account on our behalf. Here are the links Twitter and Website (blog). — Please feel free to promote them. And if you want to contribute any insight, information or writings for either site let us know. Right now we have it constructed to where the Twitter site will display random quotes from famous folks regarding technology, the internet and what not, as well as quotes from those who answered my email about their likes and dislikes regarding communication through technology (anonymous to protect identities). The website will have some video clips, info and artist links. We want to create a buzz around the exhibit, so we are trying to keep the posts informative, interesting and intriquing while being careful as to not bombard the reader or over explain the exhibit.

• The final poster has been sent to the printer. There were some date and name changes that had to be corrected from the last file I emailed you so I am emailing each of you the revised final final poster and postcard. Please discard what I sent earlier and use the new files you receive, and please feel free to post.

That is it for the moment. Stay tuned.

Bio Reminder on or before Dec 1st

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and with the holiday broo-ha-ha almost upon us, hectic schedules are most likely to ensue, so I just wanted to send a quick reminder that I need a bio from all of you by December 1.

In case you need some guidance in writing yours, I have included a link below to the bios from the Dividing the Goose exhibit.

Artist List Dividing the Goose

 Thanks!

Artist list confirmation (IMPORTANT)

Larry and Mario have been working very hard for the past few months constructing and shaping the poster, postcard and logo design for our exhibit. We should be able to unveil the designs to you very soon.

Below I have the final artist list for our show. Please look through it and let me know if all your names are there and written correctly. Larry will be laying out the poster tonight and I want to be able to give him accurate info.

Lists of artists:

• Steve Birkhimer
• Jennifer J. Howison
• Isaac Rullo Conceptual Artistry
  Brent Isaac & Kim Rullo
• Andrew Halasz & Kristen Lauth Shaeffer
• Larry Hruska
• Cara Lynn Kleid
• Jessica Kowal & Maddy Landi
• Marissa Miskanin
• Prajna Parasher
• David & Laura Pinchot
• Ed Piskor
• Dave Rullo
• Stewart A. Williams
• Sarah Wojdylak
• Manfred Woodall
• Mario Zucca

And for those of you working together, do you want listed separately as shown above or together as listed below?

• Kristen Lauth Shaeffer & Andrew Halasz
• David Pinchot & Laura Pinchot

PERFORMANCES
• Centrale Electrique
• Jessica Kowal

Also, I need a bio from all of you by December 1.  In case you need some guidance in writing yours, I have included a link below to the bios from the Dividing the Goose exhibit.


Artist List Dividing the Goose

Buzz Buzz Buzz

Aside from the website and twitter, I have been looking into some ideas to generate some buzz for this exhibit. My husband reminded me of the promotional campaign Trent Reznor set in motion to promote his album:

 FROM TECH DIRT

Trent Reznor Continues To Show Different Ways To Connect With Fans

from the send-'em-on-a-treasure-hunt dept

Back when Trent Reznor was still signed to Universal Music, he tested out his own form of a promotional campaign for his latest album: he started hiding USB keys with songs off of the album in the bathroom at his various concerts. Fans would find the USB keys, bring them home and upload the songs — making it into a huge event, generating much more interest around the album. Now that he's independent and testing out all sorts of interesting business model experiments, he's also doing plenty to connect directly to his biggest fans. Take, for example, this story in the LA Times about Reznor hiding concert tickets around Los Angeles, under rocks and in drainpipes, and then putting up coordinates and clues on the Nine Inch Nails website, sending fans racing across the city to see if they can find the free tickets. While it may be a little silly, it is yet another way for Reznor to build up a really loyal fanbase. He's making being a fan fun. Sure, it's not for everyone, but it's certainly adding value to the "true fans" that support Reznor.

It might be neat to try and accomplish something like this. For example, place burnable dvds/cds in locations throughout the city with a cryptic message about the event in text speak. Like: c0m3 t0 FT, th1s j4nu4ry, d0 y0u und3rst4nd? Or USB drives. Or T shirts placed in certain locations. Or some other idea.


Thoughts?

Oct 10th Meeting Recap and Moving Forward

Hey everyone.

I wanted to take a few moments to recap on the key points discussed during the meeting on Saturday, October 10. Due to outside circumstances, some of you could not attend or arrived after the meeting had started, so I wanted to inform you on what you may have missed.

I realize all of your schedules are extremely busy, so first off I wanted to say thank you for coming to the space and meeting with me, Kate and Orvokki. I appreciate how valuable everyone's time is and know a meeting is not how most of you want to spend a Saturday. :)

Meeting Recap:

The goal of this meeting (as mentioned in the earlier blog entries) was to acquaint yourselves with the folks at Future Tenant, observe the space, and ask any questions you may have had regarding your pieces being exhibited. It was also a chance for you to meet some of the other participating artists.

The meeting itself was relatively informal in structure. As I mentioned earlier, I realize that a few of you came a little later to the meeting and missed Kate and Ovrokki's initial address at 2 p.m. They provided a rundown of the constraints and facts integral to displaying your art at Future Tenant. A handout of these facts was given to all the artists. I am not sure if all of you received it, so I am listing it here:

___________________________________________

Future Tenant Facilities Constraints and Factoids

As of 08/2009

The building at 819 Penn Ave. which currently houses Future Tenant is a space donated for use by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  The building was originally slated for demolition.  There has been construction done in order to make it a suitable gallery space, however there are some issues which need to be considered when installing works.

• The original walls were concrete.  The walls in the space are constructed with 1/4" drywall secured to firring strips.  This means that the only thing holding pieces up is a regular-strength piece of gypsum.  Anything heavier than 5lbs. will not be supported and will pull out the dry wall.  This has been addressed by copper pipes that can be installed or removed at the top of the wall in order to support weight.  These pipes can be added or removed accordingly.

• Please keep in mind that even oversized 2D works that are framed become heavy, so if pieces are really large its best if the glass from the frame is removed.

• There are two columns in the space that are concrete.  If you're comfortable and have the availability to drill into concrete, feel free and patch when you're done.  You can patch with regular spackle, as long as look the same its fine.

• Please be aware that using screws in the walls pulls the plaster out with removal.  We really appreciate if you are using screws that you sand and patch the walls to the position that they were in when you'd arrived.  We'll take care of normal nail-hole patching.

• The track lights cannot support weight, and the tin ceiling is not very secure, so it is not weight-bearing as well.  However, large pieces can be supported by the walls on either side toward the top of the wall.  If you want something to hang from the ceiling, we can help you troubleshoot this ceiling issue.

• The balcony has been renovated so that it can assist in installation.  However, the plywood is only 1/2" so
it's not really load bearing, so stuff like DJ equipment would be too much weight.  For general usage
though, it's fine.  Just be careful of the pipes, as they are the water pipes from the bathroom.

• No holes in the floors, that's a no-brainer.  And no one can use or get in the elevator, because it is a death trap.

• The neon sign in the window can't be moved, feel free to work around it.  Also, nothing in the window can be more lewd than PG-13, as innocent children often find themselves on the sidewalk.  Go nuts in the back of the space, we don't dig censorship.

• We have tools that can be used for installation.  Although not of the best quality, they get the job done.  Please let us know what your needs are in terms of installation tools and we'll get you what you need.  Please don't steal anything.

• Please don't install anything that would be a hazard to the general public, as kids/crazy people often try to touch stuff or bump into stuff. Electricity + water do not mix.

• Sorry, but nobody's allowed in the basement.  Or upstairs.  You don't want to go there anyway, actually.

If you have any questions about installation, or concerns about your piece, please let us know.  The more time we have to troubleshoot issues the more we can help you.  All staff members are full-time students, so the earliest you can let us know when you need help installing the more we can work with our schedules.

___________________________________________

After their initial words, we broke off and I spoke with each of you individually or alongside Kate and Ovrokki. Hopefully between the three of us, we addressed any questions or concerns in you may have had concerning displaying your art. I had a lot on my mind by way of putting the show together and getting any info you might need from the curators at Future Tenant and I may have not addressed everything you had concerns about, so If you still feel you require some further clarification or have additional questions please do not hesitate to ask.

While there, I hope you got a chance to review the space somewhat. I know it is difficult to decipher placement of your piece where there is existing art inhabiting the space. Please let me know if you had an idea of where in the venue you would like to see your art displayed or if you have any additional concerns regarding your piece and its positioning. I am not promising any one person any particular place along the walls, but if I can accommodate your wishes I will. I am going to start mapping things out relatively soon. With all the projected art I want to make sure things are "set up" aesthetically and acoustically sound.

Speaking of aesthetics, If you have in mind any other ideas for the look and feel of the entire exhibit space, please drop me a line. Especially in relation to your piece, i.e. painting the wall a particular color behind your art. Bear in mind we will have some typography stenciled on the walls furthermore enhancing the notion of "electronic text" communication. My intention is to keep the space a black and white motif because text in its purest form is black on white. Please let me know any additional thoughts you may have.

Lastly, I discussed the title of the exhibit with the Kate And Ovrokki. We decided upon Do You Understand?: Communication Through Technology. Again, if any of you have anything catchier let me know, otherwise this is the title.

In addition to this blog entry, I will be sending some of you individual email follow ups to information we discussed on Saturday, so please look for that as well.

Upcoming meeting, naming the project and shaping our intent

Hey folks.

First I wanted to say thanks to all of you for getting back with me regarding the meeting on the 10th. I really am excited to meet with all of you and hear more about your projects in person. Also if you have any additions or changes to your projects, please email them to me before the meeting so we are all on the same page.

Secondly, I know you are being barraged by a lot of information via email and blog entries penned by me. I appreciate you taking the time to read them all.

Thirdly, I have been taking a lot of time these past few weeks/months organizing the show and I am still struggling with the title. I certainly want it to be catchy and be as PR "enticing" as possible. I also really like the whole idea of Do You Understand? One of our artists, Kristen, had this suggestion. "As for show titles, my suggestion was to turn the title into a text-like acronym. So the show if it were called "communication through technology: do you understand?" that you could call it "CTT:DYU?" Or in turn we could call it and abbreviated version of itself. comunication thru technlgy: do u understand? (i am not good at abbreviation through text speak but you get the idea). Any thoughts?

Lastly, I sent the description as well as the title over to a friend of mine and he said that both the description and the title might be skewing things more negatively towards technology. And that the description pretty much answers the questions being asked with it's tone, that it begs for art that is anti-technology. Here is the main description:

DO YOU UNDERSTAND? communication through technology

Click + Twitter + IM = Communication. :)

Technological advancements have opened our world like never before. We reunite, collaborate and express our deepest emotions through lines of typed text. We do business at light speed through the click of a button. For some of us it is a breathtaking and necessary utilitarian device to aid us in connecting and communicating with the world for our personal and business needs. For others, it is a new form of social hermitism, with the illusion of real connectivity. Texts and IM chats replace phone calls and face to face communication. Facebook friends have become closer to us than our next door neighbors, and sending a virtual drink to a fellow coworker replaces the idea of hanging out in our “down” time. Classmates, exes and the general garden variety acquaintances from the past are now the forefront of everyday life. But are we as close to each other as we think we are? Are we communicating or are we becoming virtual and physical hermits? Are we understanding each other? Is this better living through technology or are we avoiding life but filling it with emotionless words often misunderstood? There are pro and cons to this brilliantly advanced age. Can we evolve with this technology without losing ourselves?

Local artists in their medium of choice will explore these modern day complexities and through their art will elaborate. Through their projects the complexities of human communication in this “faceless” age will be explored.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This exhibition is looking to have local artists through a variety of mediums decipher their own interpretations to answer the questions posed in the curatorial statement. Local artists in their medium of choice will explore these modern day complexities of communication and through their art will elaborate and these complexities of human communication in this “faceless” age will be explored. This will be a mixed medium exhibit that incorporates modern technology, soundscapes, film and surrealist imagery as well as painting, sculpture, graphic design, projections, LCD monitors, furniture installations, and walls of text messages, interactive installation and the like. The main goal is a cohesive and thought provoking exhibition.


As a clarification, the intent with this exhibit is neither neither positive, negative or neutral, but the intent should explore the artist's impressions of communication through technology. And in doing so attempts to answer some of the questions I presented in the theme description. I do not want to influence your impression of communicative technology whatsoever. I just want you to express your feelings on this subject via the art.

That's all for now. See you in few days. :)

FT Meeting Part 2

I have been emailing back and forth with Kate from FT and the meeting has been set for Saturday, October 10, 2009 @ 2 p.m. at Future Tenant.

The address is 819 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 (near corner of Penn Ave and 9th St, downtown) in case you do not know.

The exhibit marketing meeting will be taking place immediately following the artists meeting. So folks like Mario and Larry will need to be there (at least briefly) for that part to go over their ideas.

So for those of you who have still not gotten back with me concerning their availability please contact me ASAP.

Thanks so much.

A Very Important Entry — FT meeting

Hello there ladies and gentlemen.

I have just recieved an email from Kate Hansen and Orvokki Halme, visual programming associate director at Future Tenant. They provided me with dates they are available to meet with us.

Due to everyone's schedule, I assume a Saturday or Sunday is the best bet. I would prefer a Saturday to be quite honest and October 10th is the first available Saturday in October we can meet. The time ranges from 2-6 p.m. I would say we should meet by 2 or 3 at the latest. Unless there are any serious objections, that is the day I would like to go with. Please let me know ASAP if you have any issue regarding this. This meeting is MOST important, I can not stress that enough — You need to be there. It will be at FT. Please let me know if you absolutely can not do that day.

Secondly, if you have any changes or updates to your art projects that is different from the proposals you submitted, I need those updates ASAP. I have to give them a revised packet of information.

Thanks so much.

Dividing the Goose, FT space and upcoming meetings

Last night I attended the Dividing the Goose show at Future Tenant. It was a really whimsical and fun exhibit curated by my wonderfully creative and talented friends Lisa Toboz and Jeff Schreckengost. You all should check it out. Dividing the Goose Info.

My choice to attend was two-fold. Obviously first and foremost, I wanted to see my friends' show and support their endeavor as well as mingle with the other artists and friends I have met along the way. But I also wanted to refresh my brain and hone my memories of what the space actually looks like and what it could contain. I somehow remembered the space being somewhat smaller, but in actuality we truly have a nice sized room to work with. Walking around the place got me really excited to think of all we can accomplish. There is plenty of room for film projection and what not as well as a lot of wall and floor space.

So I really encourage you all to venture to the city and look at the space while the exhibit is going on, that way you get a sense of how it feels and looks. They painted walls and such to accommodate the show. So keep that in mind. We can actually paint things and change the space however we choose. I would like to explore the possibilities, especially if we have some creative artistic painters in the bunch. Art wallpaper — woo hoo... Or solid colored walls to accommodate your art.

I also spoke with Kate briefly and met the new PR person for FT. They are looking to set up a meeting with us at the Future Tenant Space within the next few weeks. I will let you know the dates ASAP. I strongly advise you to attend because this will help everyone decide what is needed both spatially and technically for the event. I also want to make sure all areas are covered in the planning of this and that our exhibit doesn't not appear sparse or deficient in any way.

Stay Tuned...

Graphic Design meeting

Larry, Mario and I are having a graphic design meeting @ 10 am on Saturday, August 29. Please let me know if you guys have any design ideas/input before then. Thanks so much!

Further Visualization (along the lines of our conversation prism blog entry)

More food for thought:


You've seen them. Those tag clouds in the right-hand column of Web sites with jumbled type of varying weight and size indicating the relative usage of words. Tag clouds may be the most common example of an emerging field known as "information visualization," an offshoot of graphic design devoted to the clear display of complex information. Executive pay in relation to shareholder returns. Senate voting patterns. The geographic location of cell phones. Similarities among rock albums. Graphic designers are mapping over the known world and posting their graphic interpretations on sites like Visual Complexity.


Is Information Visualization the Next Frontier for Design?


Visual Complexity

The Conversation Prism

You all must check this out. This is something closely tied to the exhibit we are doing.


Created by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas is a "new graphic that helps chart online conversations between the people that populate communities as well as the networks that connect the Social Web. The Conversation Prism is free to use and share. It’s our contribution to a new era of media education and literacy."


More info:
Brian Solis Blog


I am going to order the poster and check it out in more detail. I am also thinking of contacting the creators and asking if we can display their poster during the event if that is cool with all of you. I think it will enhance even more this idea of communication through technology.

Blog intro: FUTURE TENANT EXHIBIT: COMMUNICATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY: DO YOU UNDERSTAND? :) LOL <3

Hi everyone,

I apologize now for any typos, it has been a long summer. :)

Hope all of your summers are going well.

So, in an effort to have a clear, concise resource regarding the Future Tenant show you all have so graciously agreed to be a part of, we have decided to create a blog where all the info regarding this exhibit can be laid out before all of you for you to digest, ponder and respond to. Based upon the insight and inspiration of contributors to this exhibit, Kristen and Andrew's streamlined approach to information connectivity during their recent film project, this approach will keep all of our info in one spot, and provide an easy access resource we can go back to.

DETAILS

Date of the show:
Jan 15, 2010 - Feb 12, 2010


Lists of artists:

FILMMAKERS
• Brent Isaac 
• Kristen Lauth Shaeffer & Andrew Halasz

FABRIC ART INSTALLATION PIECE
• Marissa Miskanin

PHOTOGRAPHY
• Laura and David Pinchot

FINE ART/PAINT/SKETCH
• Jesse Riesmeyer

INSTALLATION
• Sarah Wojdylak

ANIMATED FLASH FILM WALL PROJECTION
• Stewart Williams

SKETCH IN WATERCOLOR
• Cara Lynn Kleid

INSTALLATION ART
• Mario Zucca

DANCE PERFORMANCE ART PROJECTED ON FILM
• Jessica Kowal

PAINTING
• Dave Rullo

INSTALLATION
• Jennifer J. Howison

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
• Larry Hruska

PERFORMANCES (opening night and gallery crawl night)
• Dave Rullo and Mark Gaudio (opening night)
• DJ Mac Howison (tenative) (gallery crawl night)

TENTATIVE
• Ed Piskor

NEW INFO AND UPDATES >>


Meeting:
I spoke with Kate Hansen, who is our contact over at Future Tenant. The earliest that we'd be able to get together with her is probably the end of September to go over any needs you guys may have regarding your projects spatially or otherwise. She is supposed to get back with me regarding the dates that she is available. I definitely, definitely want to have a meeting with all of you to see where we are. So if you want to meet one on one prior to this meeting in September, please let me know. You can also contact me via email kimberlymariemccarty.kmm@verizon.net.


Exhibit Name:
• The name of the event: Right now it is Communication through Technology: Do You Understand? :) lol <3. This is the tentative title, I was wondering if anyone had any other concoctions in mind regarding the title. I want to keep the same idea just a little more catchy.  

Web Presence:
• Since this is a technology based/communicative exhibit, web presence is crucial to getting and keeping the buzz going. After chatting with Kate, we thought it might be a good idea to have a blog/twitter site that we all had access to. We can place updates of our projects, or make it really mysterious and archaic and only give clues to what we are all doing. I am not sure, these are all ideas swirling around my head. But I wanted to present this idea to ask you all if you would be game for this idea and would contribute regularly. Please let us know.


Promotional Materials:
• There has also been some discussion of promotional materials, including the main image promoting the event, buttons and stickers, postcards, etc. I have spoken with a few of you regarding promotional stuff. So far we have Mario Zucca doing a main illustration for the exhibit and Larry Hruska working on supplemental promotions. We may even have the those two work together on both. I am still looking into a font for the overall look of the promotional pieces. Could be something as simple as Helvetica or Arial — a font that encapsulates the whole technology/text theme, since those are the two common most text fonts. If any of you have any ideas or would like to be involved please let me know. According to Future Tenant, we can do up to five different button designs. I am also toying with T-shirts. I want to keep this buzz going and have some nice souvenirs to come away with.


Fonts to look at:

websafe fonts

web 2.o fonts

ADDITION:

http://fontfeed.com/archives/the-logos-of-web-20/



Projectors:
Kate is working hard on the projector situation. I will keep you all posted on this front.

That is all for this moment. I will contact you via email to let you know about this post as well as future posts. Please become followers of this blog to gain access to this info.