But when we met at an opening, she was drinking a beer, laughing joyfully and totally approachable. Her work, so deeply grounded and spiritual in nature, I imagined her to be the earth-goddess-mother who, while I may admire deeply, I may feel insecure with all of my earthly attachments. Tiffany Singh, Bells of Mindfulness(detail), 2013, bells, cranes and string installation at Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, CAīased in Auckland, New Zealand, Tiffany Singh’s “philosophies and practices encompass influences as varied as Modernism, Eastern and Western spiritual beliefs, Jungian psychology and ancient cultures.” I admit, after reading her statement on her website, I was nervous to meet her. They are reminders of time - the bell clock tower in the town square, the buzzing ring of a timer, the meditation bell - these resonant sounds ring in our ears to express the simple fact that we are alive on this earth. Bells and chimes transport the internal state. I could imagine the visual power of the installation, but loved the thought of the sound of bells moving in the wind. When Donna Conwell, curator at Montalvo Arts Center, told me about Tiffany Singh, a New Zealand artist who was coming to the Saratoga residency to hang a thousand bells in a tree on the property, I knew I had to meet her. ![]() I’m renewed in my belief in the process, and I can hear my mom tell me: if it takes more energy to frown than be happy, trick your brain and smile. The act of doing something, however simple, is transformational. I’m reminded of the human-ness of this endeavor – the primal need to scratch something down, create something out of sorrow, joy, and suffering. I also look to art that snap me out of ambivalence and into some clarity. All things I know, sometimes easier said than done. And remember, these things take time everyone deals with it differently be good to yourself it may be hard to concentrate and be focused, they say. Talk to friends, exercise, write in your journal. I found the bullet point checklists strangely consoling. I googled “how to manage grief” and “am I depressed or is it grief?” to keep things on track and to make sure that this thing doesn’t spiral. Though transformed, I’m mustering the energy to pick up the pieces and move forward, or as forward-ish as I can manage. With the funerals and parties over, I return to the to-do lists and backed-logged emails. We knew that her terminal illness would eventually take her life, as it did on January 6, but she didn’t live the last three years like she was doomed. I think it’s some of the work I’m most proud of to date.įrom “One Minute Smile,” 2013, Performance – Donna Conwell, Curator, Montalvo Arts Center.Īlmost two years ago mom and I started this project together. Much of this project was conceived and developed by the artists while in residence at the Lucas Artists Residency Program at Montalvo Art Center. Consistent with Montalvo’s commitment to fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, the project features partnerships with San Francisco-based writer Christina Amini, Bay Area industrial designer Benjamin Laramie, and Seattle-based composer Tiffany Lin. As the affable tour guide narrator, she interweaves positive affirmations with moments for self-reflection and gentle prompts for listeners to engage with the exhibition environment in ways that inspire calm.įinding Your Center is conceived in dialogue with Montalvo Arts Center’s current multi-year theme about health and wellness entitled Flourish: Artists Explore Wellbeing and is envisioned as a site-specific response to the decentralizing impulse of BAN7. ![]() O’Malley’s audio tour refers to and engages with Rosenberg’s painted sculptural elements. ![]() An edition of round colored stools, which visitors can use to rest and reflect, accompanies her installation. Using a bright color palette designed to induce feelings of harmony, Rosenberg responds to the building’s repetition of the classic column shape by highlighting existing cylindrical forms as well as suggesting new ones. The project begins at the central pillar in YBCA’s anteroom and includes three additional locations in and around the galleries of the ground floor. Using color, voice, shape, and sound-and responding to the unique architectural features of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts-Susan O’Malley and Leah Rosenberg lead visitors through the exhibition spaces in search of an elusive center that is both physical and internal. Photo Credit: John Wilson White, Courtesy of Yerba Buena Center for the Artsįinding Your Center is a self-help audio tour and distributed sculptural installation that playfully responds to our quest for calm, balance, and equilibrium in the face of the demands of modern life.
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