Not Just About the History

This project actually didn't begin with with the study of Easthampton history. Initially I had little hopes and dreams of becoming an amateur historian of weird stories about this small city.

At the end of February, a couple of years ago, I had an overwhelming urge to capture Easthampton houses that I saw on night walks. I was drawn to the saturated and cinematic light of the night sky juxtaposed with the quirky architecturally styled houses that grace these streets. There is an exorbitant amount of vinyl siding and faux stone in these parts. But I find that there lies a beauty in their oddness. I feel similarly about East German buildings or say the color scheme of the 1950s & 1970s. A push/pull reaction is initiated, like you don't really want to look, but you can't help it.

So think of this. February in New England. Extended film exposures, sometimes up to 30 minutes long. This is where this project began.

Over the series of two years I photographed numerous houses throughout Easthampton. 18 or so will be part of an Installation at 1 Cottage St. Rm 1-06 opening October 10, Easthampton, MA

Why?

I was talking to a native Easthamptonite about project01027 and she kept asking me why am I doing this project. I am not native to this town, far from it. But when I moved to Easthampton I found that it was a community with many hidden surprises whether it be its natural beauty that sometimes seems hidden among the vinyl siding yard-less houses or it's immense quirky community that resides here.

This coincided with an artistic change in my work that was moving towards stepping beyond the typical norms of conceptual and community art and making work that was both conceptually interesting to me and to my community about my community, and in turn art or whatever tool I was using. Suddenly I have very few rules in my work. I use any or every medium. I do what works then. This particular project (there will be three more)is certainly odd since it has taken a historical bent. It might be connected to the obsession with local food, culture, and politics that seems to be pervasive in this country with our CSAs and buy local stickers. Am I a localrist: an artist who focuses on local culture? So, I made that up. But aren't we creating new words everyday?

So Why am I doing this project?
1.Because I adore Easthampton
2. I believe that artist's work is a reflection of their community and influences the community, and I thought perhaps it's about time to make my work represent that
3. It fascinates me and hasn't stopped yet.

And so many more reasons but I'll save those for late.

Release for Project 01027: EARTH

• Audio Stories
  
  
• Grass grown on chairs
  
  
• Night photography
  
  
• Weird and True Cell Phone Tour
  
  
• The Easthampton Alphabet
  
  
• Interactive Experience
  

October 10-November 29 Old Town Hall, 1 Cottage St, Rm 1-06, All over Easthampton MA
that's all you you really need to know, but if you have an attention span, please read on...


EARTH CITYWIDE SHOW OPENS!

EASTHAMPTON, MA—Project Elements Easthampton: Earth is a multimedia project by artist Burns Maxey, that will be shown in three parts throughout the city of Easthampton including the Old Town Hall, 1 Cottage Street in room 1-06, and a cell phone walking tour. The shows will open on October 10 and close on November 29, 2009. There will be an opening reception on October 10 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

After two years, Burns Maxey is presenting the first installment of Project Elements Easthampton that focuses on the element Earth. The three-part multimedia exhibition is an ambitious project that incorporates installation, audio, photography, illustration, and historical study all about the city of Easthampton and its relationship to the element earth.

In the Old Town Hall at 43 Main Street, the hall gallery will show 26 illustrations of found historical stories that are “The Easthampton Alphabet.” Each story corresponds to a letter of the alphabet with an illustration of the story above it. The paintings and collages vary stylistically and the stories range from quirky to poignant.

“I searched for stories beginning in the late 19^th century through the 1950s, sifting through microfilm day-by-day, hoping to find stories about the everyday people of Easthampton that affected me,” says Maxey. “It was an arduous process but every time I found a forgotten tale, it was as if I unveiled some hidden piece of Easthampton.”

The second portion of the project is a self-guided audio tour of historical stories. These stories are not typically known history, but more unusual accounts about unknown characters and occurrences of Easthampton. One story is about the fellow George Searle, who attempted to saw his house in half and move it in the middle of the night. This happened where the current day Manhan Café exists at 72 Union Street. Listeners can grab a map, walk to the destination, and call a provided number found on the map. There will be thirty total stories, and listeners can select each one by pressing the number of the story pertaining to locations throughout Easthampton’s town center. Listeners can also download a podcast of the audio tour in iTunes by searching for “Project Elements Easthampton. The tour online and podcast in iTunes will be released on October 1^st.

The third exhibition is a multimedia installation located at 1 Cottage Street Room 1-06. The installation will consist of audio sculptures whose elements encompass chairs covered in grass, telephones playing audio stories gathered from Easthamptonites, and night photographs depicting Easthampton homes. The installation will be changing dynamically during the exhibition. Visitors will be able to leave their own stories that may be included in the sculptures as part of the installation. Artist Burns Maxey will also seed new chairs during the first few weeks of the exhibition. As part of a representation of the transformative quality of nature and recognition of growth and disintegration, the grass will be growing and seeded throughout the exhibition. By the completion of the show, the chairs will have lived their life cycle and the grass will decay naturally.

Project Elements Easthampton is the brainchild of Burns Maxey who is a multi-media artist based in Easthampton, MA. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and has exhibited in San Francisco, Washington DC, New York City, and throughout the New England area. Maxey is continuously interested in finding ways to combine new technologies, art, and innovative exhibition spaces outside of the gallery confines. She recently performed and created visual pieces for a collaborative experimental show at Mobius in Boston with Butoh dancer Ellen Godena and her sidekick, the twitchie robot.

Music by Timecard, an Amherst based band, is also featured on the audio tour. Individual instrumentals may be downloaded for free at projectelementseasthampton.com on October 1st.

All exhibits are free and open to the public and take place in the Old Town Hall and 1 Cottage Street room
1-06. For those without a cell phone or mp3 player, there will be a few mp3 players to check out at the Cottage Street exhibition. More information and additional materials can be found and downloaded at www.projectelementseasthampton.com soon.

All locations found!

About two weeks later than expected I have settled on a space for the Installation that will now be will shown at 1 Cottage Street Room 106. This is an installation of grass covered chairs with night photography and city folk's stories fed through rotary telephones. I beginning to refer to as my Our Town Goes Chia installation.

That will be shown in conjunction with the Easthampton Alphabet Illustrations at the Old Town Hall at 43 Main Street in Easthampton and an audio cell tour of weird but true unknown Easthampton stories. Pick up your maps at the Old Town Hall or the 1 Cottage Street installation.

The grass growing will be quite the experience as I am planning to grow 18 chairs altogether throughout the course of a month. Actually this entire project coming to fruition is an incredible experience since it has been a two year undertaking. The excitement I feel is overwhelming.

Stories

For a couple of years now I have been sifting through microfilm day by day. It take me about two hours to go through two months. I am currently in the year of 1950 and have delved into the digital archive of 1986 to 2009. I am working fast to gather all that I can before the final presentation of the audio stories and illustrations. I hate the thought of missing out on an historical story. But it is inevitable. For instance just last night I found a story in the 1990s that discussed an article in 1918 that I had missed through my readings ages ago. It was about 200 female West Boylston mill workers who became extremely aggressive toward the police and innocent bystanders during a strike. They sought decent working conditions.

One article reads: "The women employed the same weapons as this morning, throwing ammonia, rotten eggs, mustard, ginger, red pepper etc. at the police especially. An innocent bystander, Ned Alvord, was attacked a choked by a woman who was only persuaded to loosen her grip on his throat by a club in the hands of an officer."- July 17, 1918. Rather meaty stuff to miss out on, don't you think?

In all of this time much consideration and thought has gone into how I select stories of importance. Some are mundane while others horrific and many more are hilarious mishaps. This selection process feels instinctual-- I recognize a story I want to use right when I read it. And this makes me wonder about my role in this work. I am in a limbo stage as neither(or both)artist and/or historian. In a way I relate to the idea of the trickster as one who stirs things up--as I think most artists are. Although our approach is (or can be) genuine we disturb the norm and what is considered truth. I have always related to the idea of the artist being a jester of some sort and now reading the hardly new Trickster Makes this World by Lewis Hyde (1998) allows my thoughts to linger in that idea.

I am choosing historical stories that are not (yet) remembered in our books of history of our founders and developers. They are like artifacts I am bringing to the surface. I enjoy this subtle disruption in certainty.

Has anyone noticed that this town is full of tricksters? Easthampton seems to thrive on it.

Call 413-203-6016 to tell your story

For the past year and a half I have collected stories from Easthamptonites. Some are heartfelt ramblings, others are concise stories, humorous environmental descriptions, poetry, and more. Some of these stories will be included in the audio installation.

For the remainder of the months until the show, you too can be included in this project by calling 413-203-6016 and telling your story. Please be a resident of Easthampton, MA or have some affiliation with the town.

Also you can follow my activities with this project on twitter.

The Politics of Shoes

Here's a recent Project Elements Easthampton finding:


Found 1946, Daily Hampshire Gazette: a story about an Easthampton woman who was hired as a NYC nursemaid and invited to Germany for vacation in 1938. During her visit she was apprehended by the Nazis and sent to a labor camp where she worked 36 months for 14 hour days. After fleeing the camp with the help of the Polish underground, she returned to Easthampton where she worked for the United Elastics factory.


Don't miss The Politics of Shoes at Mobius in Boston
May 23, 2009 to May 27, 2009
That will include a video collaboration by Burns Maxey and Maggie Nowinski. Not to mention a whole slew of interesting artists and performers including Ellen Godena, Jane Wang and well, just look here.