Home / Exhibitions / The View From Here
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“Take an object, do something to it, do something else to it (repeat).” – Jasper Johns.
Now that “social distancing” has crash-landed in all of our vocabularies, it is important for us to find ways to find and nurture real human connections even as current circumstances push us apart. So many people all over the world are stuck in isolation right now, but at the same time we can share that experience as an international community and take the opportunity to show one another a little bit of the world as we are experiencing it. With the world in “lockdown”, the Elisabeth Jones Art Center proposed a project that made and nurtured connections between artists, sharing a little of the world as they saw it in a creative, re-interpretive exchange. Through our national and international connections, we introduced two artists to each other. The artists shared with one another something of the view from here—the world as they were experiencing it in this chaotic time—each taking that view and responding with a re-seeing, a reinterpretation, in the spirit of the Jasper Johns quote. |
One of the pleasures of being a creative person is meeting and making things with other creative people. And we can still do that! What’s important is not in what we have lost in proximity and comfort, but that we continue to explore new approaches to art making, and learning what other creative people are thinking and how they are doing things. In this time of lockdown, there is an added layer of difficulty. But even in our isolation we can still make amazing art together, communicating by making and shaping artwork, the exchange itself an exploration of possibilities in expressing ideas, feelings, and points of view by artistic process.
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The Exhibition
How the project worked
Two artists were paired up. In this pairing they created artwork in the spirit of Jasper Johns.
First, one artist electronically shared the view from here: some representation of the way they
were seeing the world, shared in whatever way they saw fit.
Then, their collaborator morphed and changed that image, sharing a different way of seeing it,
reinterpreting and altering it.
Here is an example of how the exchange might have proceeded:
(Take an object)
1) Artist number one, through prose, drawing or painting, describes “The View from Here”.
2) This is sent electronically to artist number two, as text, a digital file, a photograph, etc.
(do something to it)
3) Artist number two creates some kind of interpretation based on what artist #1 has sent them,
for example, a black and white sketch using the information from #1.
4) This is electronically sent back to artist number one
(do something else to it)
5) Artist number one adds color and changes to the image, adding to it.
6) This is sent electronically to artist number two
(do something else to it)
7) Artist number two transfers the electronic image and makes a real world painting.
(repeat)
8) In the interest of symmetry and sharing control, this pair now switches roles, and artist number two
produces the initial “The View from Here.” The electronic exchange will continue with the artists
exchanging tasks. Artist number one will paint the final artwork in this second exchange.
Two artists were paired up. In this pairing they created artwork in the spirit of Jasper Johns.
First, one artist electronically shared the view from here: some representation of the way they
were seeing the world, shared in whatever way they saw fit.
Then, their collaborator morphed and changed that image, sharing a different way of seeing it,
reinterpreting and altering it.
Here is an example of how the exchange might have proceeded:
(Take an object)
1) Artist number one, through prose, drawing or painting, describes “The View from Here”.
2) This is sent electronically to artist number two, as text, a digital file, a photograph, etc.
(do something to it)
3) Artist number two creates some kind of interpretation based on what artist #1 has sent them,
for example, a black and white sketch using the information from #1.
4) This is electronically sent back to artist number one
(do something else to it)
5) Artist number one adds color and changes to the image, adding to it.
6) This is sent electronically to artist number two
(do something else to it)
7) Artist number two transfers the electronic image and makes a real world painting.
(repeat)
8) In the interest of symmetry and sharing control, this pair now switches roles, and artist number two
produces the initial “The View from Here.” The electronic exchange will continue with the artists
exchanging tasks. Artist number one will paint the final artwork in this second exchange.
Visit the View from Here blog and Facebook page to see the artists' profiles and the history of the collaborations!
As a counterpart to The View from Here collaborative project, we also invited the world to share their outlook from lockdown with us on social media using the hashtag #theviewfromhere! We heard from artists from Ireland to the Philippines, who shared everything from the view of their back garden to expressive reflections on the impact of isolation, and asked a selection of those artists to send their work to the Art Center to be exhibited.
To see more on the #TheViewFromHere show, click here
Other Exhibits happening at Elisabeth Jones Art
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