in the present

I read your blogs and thought, I could write forever. But now that I'm here, I'm blank, so I guess for me, Where are you not - is in the present. I have to start living in the present. I think about the past and those that I miss, I miss them, but pretty glad I'm not with them, just yet. I think about the future, actually worry about the future. I worry about getting old and wrinkled; my health; just living. I think about what I missed out in the past and think about what I may miss out on in the future. Why can’t I be happy with now. So for me Where are you not is in the present, living for today.

Robin, Carson City, NV

Sacramento, California

It is something I struggle with, especially now that I have a child. My whole family is in Sacramento (about 90 minutes away) and in many ways life would be so much easier if I lived closer. Also, I see my parents and grandmother getting older and want to spend as much time as possible with them. Ultimately the positives about where I live outweigh the benefits of leaving. Chief among these benefits is my husband.

Meredith, Oakland, CA

Where are you not?

Again, I pose this question, the difference being that now you have a pretty easy way of responding. After the gallery configuration of this project was de-installed last Fall I found I didn't have much to blog about, and I had always envisioned this website and blog to continue in some way, hopefully in a slightly more interactive way. After figuring out PHP and form to email stuff for another project, I thought, hey, why don't I do the same for wherewearenot.org? Unfortunately, the website is hosted on a different server than my other project, one which, apparently, won't allow image attachments to be sent with the other information requested on the form. I plan to consolidate my efforts somewhat this summer. In the meantime, however, you can submit a text response to the question: "Where are you not?" Maybe there's a place you're far from that you miss, or a location that you've always wanted to travel to and have imagined in some way, or family that you're displaced from, for one reason or another...essentially place/location that holds some meaning for you, whatever the reason, interpreted pretty broadly. And if you have images, feel free to email them to me separately; just be sure to reference your form contribution in some way. Updates will be posted to this blog.

we are where we are not

I'm not the only one exploring that idea. Seems there is a show, right here in Boston, with a title very close to that of my installation and web project from last semester. Is this a part of the current zeitgeist? From the Phoenix's review:

In his press release, Kalogiros reveals that he’s interested not only in “the way in which people, places, objects, and time all inform each other in complex and layered ways” but also in the ambiguities of time and the effects of the past on the present. He goes on: “As firmly rooted in a present moment or place as someone or something seems, they always carry with them the residue of the past.”

Totally. Interestingly, the show is about "identity construction," which wasn't necessarily central to my project, but an interesting way to interpret that statement, which kind of negates itself. This interpretation makes me think more of the idea of parallel universes, and the idea that we might exist simultaneously, in some form, in two different places. Like, maybe there's some part of me still living a life in Oakland, California, even though this conscious self is a full-time grad student in Boston.

Hmm...Guess I should see the show.

so far away

I captured this short video at about 8 a.m. Thursday morning last week while riding along Amtrak's Coast Starlight line that travels from Los Angeles to Seattle, at this point somewhere between Dunsmuir, California, and Klamath Falls, Oregon. As Carole King sings (that's what I happened to be listening to, having added a few songs from her 'Tapestry' album before our trip, weeks before I knew I'd make an unexpected detour to Oregon), "doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore?" My recent four-part travels (the last part unexpected and not exactly under the best circumstances) along the west coast reminded me just how large this country is (and how beautiful) and, no matter where I am, how far away I am from somebody I care about. I was simultaneously sad to leave the folks I'd just been with, but looking forward to the folks I was on my way to see, missing my significant other who had already returned home.

artists are people, too

So why are they so hard to reach? Since I anticipate having a couple hundred postcards left after the gallery portion of this project is de-installed tomorrow, I thought I'd extend my mailing list (initially focused on family, friends, and a small handful of art world associates outside the Boston area) to artists. Artists I admire, artists I find annoying but irresistable, artists I could get a hold of one way or another. That proved to be a difficult task. Artists used to rent post office boxes, but now it's all e-mail, if even that. And I not only have no desire to contact an artist via his or her gallery, but I'm quite sure that would be much less successful than trying to reach them directly. My postcard will likely end up in the trash anyway, but I think it's a smidge less likely if I cut out the middle man (or woman). The only artist I could think of, who has a website and - bonus - a p.o. box is Miranda July. I felt nervous just sending it out, as if I was going to meet her in person. Strange how celebrity works.

googlism as internet postmodernism...or virtual life coach

Do you remember when Google was still relatively new and you could spend hours typing in various googlisms, probably starting with your name and finding out what Google "thinks" of you and your friends? I did this with the question that this blog poses and here are some of the results:

Where are you not honoring and valuing yourself?
Where are you not letting your light shine?
Where are you not a good follower in clearly defined biblical roles?
Where are you not willing to settle?
Where are you not recognized?
Where are you not welcome?
Where are you not looking?
Where are you not going to?
Where are you not as effective as you would like to be?
Where are you not feeling strong, positive, secure, confident, independent?
Where are you not allowed to make any noise after 8 p.m.?
Where are you not being authentic?
Where are you not performing as well as you could be in your life?
Where are you not going for excellence and accepting mediocre results?
Where are you not protected?
Where are you not aligned?
Where are you not willing to compromise?
Where are you not living your values?
Where are you not doing your best because you don’t have to?
Where are you not able to adapt?
Where are you not stretching your boundaries?
Where are you not sure?
Where are you not where you want to be?

You get the idea. That last one, I guess, is the more relevant version of the question for this particular project, since travel and geographical displacement are at least intended aspects of it. I think the timing of this project's start - beginning just before Thanksgiving and extending well into the holiday season - adds a little more melancholy than it might have had any other time of year. Or maybe not. Either way, I'm okay with that.