June 5, 2009

72nd street subway station, NYC

From The Everyday

"Every day thousands upon thousands of women sweep up the dust which has gathered imperceptibly since the previous day. After every meal, too numerous to count, they wash the dishes and saucepans. For times too numerous to count, by hand or in the machine they remove the dirt which has built up bit by bit on sheets and clothes; they stop up the holes the gentle rubbing of heels inevitably makes; they fill emptied cupboards and refrigerators with packets of pasta and kilos of fruit and vegetables... [which explains the definition of everyday life:] The ensemble of activities which of necessity result from the general processes of development: evolution, growth and ageing, of biological or social protection or change, those processes which escape immediate notice and which are only perceptible on their consequences."

pg. 30

Meaning Cleaning at MISC, shot by MISC

I am drawn to sweeping on Wall Street dressed like business women.

Bring out the "DIRT"

as defined by wikipedia:

Corruption is essentially termed as an "impairment of integrity, virtue or moral principle; depravity, decay, and/or an inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means, a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct, and/or an agency or influence that corrupts."[1]

Corruption, when applied as a technical term, is a general concept describing any organized, interdependent system in which part of the system is either not performing duties it was originally intended to, or performing them in an improper way, to the detriment of the system's original purpose.

Its terminological usage possesses connotations of evil, malignance, sickness, and loss of innocence or purity.


Being the filter of what is generalized into more specifics (via actions and stories), I believe we may create openings and feelings of joy by bringing out the "dirt."

I like collaborations and am so happy that "WE" (all involved in the facilitations) as Meaning Cleaning are able to provide a forum of open discussion and participation. The duties performed are kept within an original intention which is always under scrutiny. What's the original intention? I feel it's when we're taking care of what has been brought to our attention as detri-MENTAL, honestly, and without too much over judgement. Then we begin slowly re-moving the "dirt", therefore, transforming situations. The scenarios are in plenty and am so charged to keep up our creative energy, collaborative efforts, and truthfully (sometimes brutally honest, but never unkind) conversations. I feel we're gearing up, moving with guidance, history, and current information that is both personal and universal in order to translate via action that which is both private and public experience.

Meaning Cleaning critique thoughts

the critique went really well - it was really intense, and brought up a lot of emotions for me.
the next day i was destroyed, and wound up binge eating and not leaving my couch.

As I have begun to pick myself up this week, and after talking with / to Hayley this afternoon, I see things I am attracted to in Meaning Cleaning itself. It's personally interesting for me to put myself in the public, to bring "private" work outside. I really like the interaction, or lack thereof, with passersby.

The action of public cleaning can bring to light damaged systems that allow so much to fall into such disrepair.

The action of public cleaning can also be a mirror to show possibilities of what another structure can look like.

The action of public cleaning can be both reflective and highlighting - just like the back paintings, just like the hand held mirrors.
To provide a space of real communication seems to be interesting both of us - when we retold the group stories that were told to us, we both thought "that's it!" or at least part of it.

Then the act of hidden microphones and recording others' stops being weird and becomes unnecessary.
It's our voices that retell the stories, placing us in the center of our own work.
It's the choice of location, the choice of attire, the choice of practice...

The action of public cleaning also brings out a rage from within me I am afraid to let it out.
I see the macrocosm of how poorly we treat ourselves as human beings, that I often wonder what the point is of what we are doing. But then I hear the most poignant and tragic story by someone who gets completely what we are doing, and understands everything in the three minutes she is with us. Then she's gone and I think our work has made a difference.

It's important I know to distill what it is one is truly interested in.
I have to admit, I wanted the quick fix, the easy solution.
I wanted the group to tell me what to do.
I was tired of making decisions.
But after a few days, I feel like I am able to see more clearly what it is I'm interested in.
Poor Hayley had to listen to me have a complete breakdown/temper tantrum at the cafe today.
She is a very patient person

Photos by Richard Caplan

Critics pan a plan to close the city's main intake center for homeless men and lease it to developers. > By Tram Whitehurst

More can be found at: Citylimits.org
City Limits WEEKLY #640
May 19, 2008

-The former Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, with this entrance on East 29th Street at First Avenue, is a homeless men's intake center -- but could be redeveloped into a hotel and conference center.

-And local community groups and residents argue that moving the intake center to Crown Heights will further burden a neighborhood that they say is already oversaturated with social service facilities. An analysis of city and state data by the Crown Heights Revitalization Movement (CHARM) found that Community Board 8, where the Armory is located, houses more residential social service beds per acre than any other Brooklyn community—in fact, more than five times the borough average. The Armory also has had a reputation for poor management, overcrowding and dangerous living conditions among the homeless and those who work with them.

critique

Meaning Cleaning is happy to hostess the next critique - even though it's technically at Angela's house, we would like to discuss and think about our most recent collaboration: video documentation of our October 11 performance on 14th street. We have been collaborating with an amazing video editor, and are looking forward to discuss and critique the work that Meaning Cleaning has done this far - perhaps as well to discuss our concepts for the future.

Some things that have come up for us during the editing process:

Is video documentation of performance work an art form in and of itself?
Is our video too much one or the other - meaning, too artsy or too stark?
Does it communicate clearly what it is we are doing?
Is the video too long or too short?
Where could we exhibit this work to underscore the notions of bringing "private" / domestic work into the public?
Projected guerrilla style? Submitted and shown formally?
(Should we even be thinking about that?)

Also, please note Sunday is the first day of daylight savings time - so 12:30 will feel a little earlier.

MISC

Meaning Cleaning performance at MISC opening - New York Studio Gallery, New York City
December 11, 2008
Documentation courtesy of NYSG

editing
editing
editing