Aug 15: Your art will save your life

Aug 15: Your art will save your life

By exploration hill

With Mew, 11-4pm

Text from Weihui

The dog days seem to be over, and we can once again enjoy the outdoors. Mew is a Hunter alum and works with natural materials such as plants, sand and dirt; he also works as a florist. When we got to the studio, we chatted about cows, herding and the recent abortion ruling. Mew talked about his childhood growing up on a cattle farm.

We started the trip heading towards Earth Matters to collect material for today’s text. On our way there, we ran into five sheep, two goats, sumac trees and a bush called rattlesnake master. We also saw three chickens burrowing themselves in sand. Mew was inspired to consider a different relationship with plants after the visit to the urban farm. We got lost in between pathways, then finally climbed to the top of Outlook Hill, the tallest site with a view of the whole island. 

Mew chose the phrase “Your art will save your life” from Weihui. Similar to Weihui, Mew tried other jobs before becoming an artist. He studied Landscape Architecture in college, yet later on decided upon a career in making and creating. He considers art as something consistent in his life. “I might get bored in different jobs, but never with art”. Mew also just finished reading the book “Your art will save your life”, thus feel deeply connected to this phrase.We laid out the stencils on gravel by the sightseeing platform. The wind on the hill was strong. The sun was right in our eyes when we looked up.

We also visited Rachel Whiteread’s sculpture Cabin on Discovery Hill.

August 7: My mountain, my heart

August 7: My mountain, my heart

By Nolan park

With Ronald C, 3-5pm

Text from Freddy

The meeting with Ronald has been a month in the planning. Ronald works in security at 205 Hunter and he is super friendly, laid back and spiritual. Ronald had been working for Hunter for a long time: first in East Harlem gallery, the old MFA studio building, and then 205. He has never been to Governors Island (even though he used to take the Staten Island ferry for work), and I wanted to know more about his life beyond Hunter.

After seeing some of the text photos I have in the studio, Ronald immediately came up with his: “Understanding the WOW moment”, with special focus on “understanding” and “wow”. He explains that the ability to understand is something different than intelligence— it’s something that just comes to you, effortlessly. Like” birds of feather (flock together)”, this understanding moment comes in the form of an answer or an epiphany that doesn’t necessarily requires a hard pursuit. Ronald then explained his “wow” moment, when he saw his granddaughter crawling on the floor by herself for the first time. He was amazed by how she intrinsically understood how to use her hands and legs, without much guidance from others.

By the front steps of Admiral’s house in Nolan Park, we set up a small picnic and did Freddy’s text “My mountain, my heart”. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon right after a quick storm; the air was breezy with the after smell of rain. 

August 6 : Arent you glad you came?

August 6: Arent you glad you came?

By Noland park

With Noa and Nic, 1 to 5pm

Text from Daniel

We earlier in the blazing sun, searching for breeze in between shades of buildings. Noa works in textile, photo, sculpture and installation. We shared a class together and I really appreciate the way Noa utilizes and combines daily objects into small miracles. This is Noa’s first time on the island, and I felt honored to be the art tour guide. The island today was a big party, full of art happenings, open studios, picnic, live music and performances. 

Nic joined while we were visiting Barent @circulareconomymfg at his solar-powered micro factory right by the Lavender Field. Nic is a theater designer, educator and scholar. We continued our way west and visited Peter at NADA House, ate some chicken, and got back to Nolan Park for the text.

Noa chose “aren’t you glad you came” from Daniel @danielthomasquinn. As it happened, today was also Nic’s first time on the island. We were ardent to leave some marks for others to enjoy. The bold text across the brick walkway invited people to stop and consider the journey they took and the decisions they made along the way.

Nic suggested to try out Apple Watch as a visual guide for the selfie— it was a total life changer! We also explored wider lens shots. Moving forward, the combination of Apple Watch and clicker will greatly improve photo quality and creative shots. 

August 5: Doing something worthwhile is like growing a fruit from seed

August 5 Doing something worthwhile is like growing a fruit from seed

By Castle Williams

With Weihui, 3:30-6:30

Text from Cynthia 

To avoid the heat wave and to accommodate my schedule, Weihui and I met later in the afternoon. Before this time, we only knew each other through Instagram mutual friends.

Starting with a walk around half of the island, we visited four Tree Chuangs, part of my project with Beams Camp City. Through this walk Weihui and I got to know each other a little more. As a visual artist and an educator, she decided to pursuit her dream as an artist right before the pandemic, highlighting the book “Your art will save your life” that inspired her to pursuit an art career that allows her to continues to make, play and create. We also shared our experiences living and working in New York, a dream place and a homebase for us and many others.

Unknowingly, Weihui chose the phrase “Doing something worthwhile is like growing a fruit from seed” from Cynthia, who is also a Chinese-born visual artist that grew up in New York. Pondering our stories about the home country, we paid particular attention to the earth and the land. Our site is right in front of Castle Williams, overlapping the pink spray text left by the construction crew on the road. 

July 24: Stop thinking

July 24

Stop thinking

The back side of South Battery, Building 301

With Kate, 2:30-4:30

Text from Stefany

Kate and I knew each other since our undergrad at Pratt, when we both spent a lot of time in the print shop. Kate is a working artist, practicing painting and printmaking, and is considering to attend grad school very soon. We walked past Nolan Park and settled in front of a shaded entrance to the giant South Battery complex. Kate chose the text “Stop thinking” from Stefany, which also happened to come from her chat with Constanza, a mutual friend and schoolmate of Kate and I. We loosely chatted about medieval farming techniques and her experience working for a soon-to-be corporate art job, while tried hard not to squint looking up to the bright sky.

Instead of using the compost, we used PUREsoil that I also got from Earth Matter. The texture of these aggregates is sandy, with very little clay content: pushed and pressured so deep in the ground, this soil is void of most organic matters and cool to the touch.

Soil from the PUREsoil NYC Program comes from deep excavations at construction sites across the city. It is delivered free of charge to community-based organizations. The soil, derived from the NYC Clean Soil Bank, was deposited by the glaciers more than 10,000 years ago and is chemically pure. (PUREsoil)

Kate gave me her phrase “Grip it and rip it baby”, something she’d repeat to get herself ready for big tasks ahead. 

July 17 : Light loose fast and large

July 17

Light loose fast and large

Nolan Park, near Admiral’s house 

With Michael and Joel, 12-3pm

Text from Daniel @danielthomasquinn

Michael and Joel visited on a perfect day. It was not that hot even at noon; the sunshine  worked with the breeze and kept us moving. This was Michael and Joel’s first time on the Island and I was so excited to be their enthusiastic tour guide. We explored forts, gardens, chickens, hills, bees, goats and many more. 

As an artist and just finished teaching his first drawing class, Michael chose the phrase “Light loose fast and large” for the day. Interestingly, this phrase comes from Daniel, of his own foundation art school times. As an artist and a carpenter, Daniel recalled that his drawing professor would repeat this phrase during class to remind his pupils to go big and draw with fluid gestures. Now passed on to Michael, this advice may inspire a new generation of art students :D

Because of their help, I tried several new things today! We set up the remote monitor app Teamviewer and took photos with better phone camera. for less, but high quality images. We were also able to get photos with deeper perspective, taking in the buildings and other visitors in the background. This would otherwise be impossible to achieve. This was also my first time to do text directly on grassbeds instead of pavements on GI — the rich ground texture creates strong contrast with the dark soil. Additionally, we also tried out the big “lint roller” with rolls of transparent vinyl sticker, picking up a ghost image of the text. 

July 16: HERE WE GO

July 16: HERE WE GO

By the foot of Outlook Hill, southern part of the island

With Stephany and Mary, 12-3pm

The text comes from Alex @shahkabrah

Stephany and Mary are schoolmates, artists and friends. They fist visited the LMCC studio and decided upon the phrase “Here we go”. We walked all over the western part of the island, and stoped at the very southern part, in between two hills that have a direct view of the Statue of Liberty. We visited the Nada House, had clam chowder, and walked by many other open houses along the way. 

Before leaving the Island, Stefany gave me “Stop Thinking”, an advice given to our mutual friend Constanza. Stefany said that this simple phrase helps with her social anxiety in stressful situations. 

I’ve been thinking about different levels of exchanges that could happen out of the soilsandselfie project. It is partially the exchange of text and memories between friends and strangers, but also it is also an exchange of information and experiences. Through our walk around the park, participants could learn about lesser-known opportunities that exist on the Island. Every summer, there are countless art organizations, educational camps and experimental programs present from July to October. Additional resources such as enviromental NGOs, renewable projects and historical landmarks also have a strong presence here. Since most places only operate seasonly and smaller organizations often have a limited capacity at these satellite sites, people often time overlook the potential of these spaces. I am hoping that through our conversation during the project, participants can better familiarize themselves with the Island, and potentially realize their own projects here. 

This idea is reinforced through my recent assistant experience in theater set design. With a crew all working hard for a communal goal, I felt so much camaraderie and support from other each other. 

July 1: Vasylovych found water in the trench and is digging a well

July 1: Vasylovych found water in the trench and is digging a well

Next to the “Dead end” sign by building 107, where Beam Center operates from

With Marianna, 2-3pm

The text is from a r/ukraine Reddit post

Today is Marianna’s last day at Beam Center. As an artist and a project manager for my Tree Chuang project with Beam, she is the most amazing person to work with and learn from— Marianna did the impossible task of sorting through my spontaneous  and chaotic brain and developing a process to realize the ambitious project in a limited time frame.

We only had 30 mins on the text, so I chose the space right next to Beam. The text comes from a r/ukraine Reddit post, of a Ukrainian soldier finding water in the trench and digging a well right there in the battlefield. It is a clip that I have watched several times and it brings me hope. Even the English translation is simple yet powerful. With lineage from both sides of the war, Mariann has been deeply affected by the conflict, and I hope this description of resilience can bring her some form of hope as well.

The original Reddit post has been deleted by some is still available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQFXD5D302g. The original post comes from @miha________ on TikTok. 

June 26: Connect my senses to the body / to understand and act from there

June 26: Connect my senses to the body / to understand and act from there

Barry road, under big trees across from building 12k

With Cynthia and Alex, 2-5pm

The text is from Rocio Guerrero Marin

Cynthia and Alex came and brought with them some good company. After walking around for a long time, we finally found a shaded space for picnic.

Cynthia works in sculpture and performance, and she is also a youth art educator. We shared our experience teaching and our plans for a busy summer ahead.

The text we laid out is long and bold. Thanks to their help, it was a blast! A full bag of soil was used, and the dark text creates sharp contrast across different substrates on the ground, withstanding scooters and bikes passing by. 

Both Cynthia and I had camera clickers, while Alex held up the selfie stick. We came up several poses in response to the text and they came out lively and meaningful. Alex gave me the phrase “Here we go” as something he frequently repeats. Cynthia’s text is “Doing something worthwhile is like growing a fruit from seed” with a further explanation:

“I grew veggie from seed during the pandemic and it helped offset my anxieties and the disorientation of time. This also reminds me of the analogy of a child being like an acorn, who has the potential to become an oak tree, given adequate conditions.”

June 25: Fly your flag

June 25: Fly your flag

Outside LMCC Arts Center building

With Freddy, 2-2:30 pm

The text is from Lizzie Hurst 

Freddy takes his break at 2, so we did the fastest text piece (ever!) in under 20 mins. Freddie first gave me his phrase “My heart, my mountain”, with a text about spending his childhood growing up amongst the Texan mountains. We did the text right next to LMCC where he works. 

This weekend, GI hosts the Pride concert, so a ton of tourists are visiting under the blazing heat. Knowing the text would soon be destroyed by heavy traffic, we worked quickly inbetween ferry arrivals.

We struggled to look up under the crazy sun, hence the intense facial expression. Also, it is the first time that somebody else is holding the camera clicker. I think it is great!

June 21: I meditate on the word love

I meditate on the word love

Bocce court by building 333

With Rocio, 3-5pm

The text comes from Brad’s June 5 visit

It was Rocio’s surprise visit to New York after she left the city for Chile earlier this year. We met after Rocio’s work in the city. Rocio has an extensive practice as an artist and an art educator.

We settled on a Bocce court that appears out of the blue. The white pebbles contrasts greatly with the dark compost soil. 

We ended the trip with a slow ferry to Dumbo. On the ferry, Rocio wrote me her words: “Connect my senses to the body, to understand and act from there.” This sentence is what she focuses on during her daily meditation, something she has been practicing consistently in the past few years.

June 5: All Things Just Keep Getting Better

All Things Just Keep Getting Better

With Brad, 1-3pm, 335 Owasco Rd

The text comes from Miguel’s June 1 visit.

Brad and I selected Fort Jay theater, a theater on the island that is no longer in service. As a theater artist, Brad pondered the chance of upturning this theater while I laid down the text. It felt strange to present it today right after the news of two new shootings this week in America. The statement is therefore way more sarcastic than inspirational; nonetheless, knowing the story and the person behind, this personal prayer(-ish) phrase still brings hope.

Brad has several iterations of a word he repeats: “I meditate on the word love” and “(Breathe in) Love / (Breathe out) Love”, something Michael Posnick once told him.

June 1 : We do the work so you don’t have to

We do the work so you don’t have to

With Miguel, 12-5pm

First day on the island with a visitor!

Miguel once taught a summer camp on GI with students from Children’s museum. He works in a Cathedral, but is also saving money for a Buddhist retreat. Miguel is genuine and open, and I have always been interested in knowing more about him.

Rather than an overheard text, Miguel’s sentence comes with its own music. He shared “All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)”, a part of the theme song from TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He sometimes repeats this small clip of sound in his head when he works.