Minutiae is my muse

Finding and sharing delights since 2002

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The book about my project at the NYPL Picture Collection is out! It’s called “See Also: Making Friends in the New York Public Library Picture Collection.” (A link to get a copy is in my profile.) It documents learning from (and about) these amazing people in the Picture Collection: Aferdita Bardhi, Yolande Heijnen, Chantal Lee, Seungjin Lee, Sally Lesser, Gregory Newson, Anthony Troncale, and Jay Vissers. With special thanks to Jessica Cline, the supervising librarian of the Picture Collection. @nyplpicturecollection (at Picture Collection - NYPL) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqODQJzLyeG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Celebrate French filmmaker Agnes Varda

The festival is at the Clinton Street Theater

JJ and I were guests on a tv show! We talked about the Agnès Varda Forever Festival at the Clinton Street Theater on a show called Hello Rose City.

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Every Monday in March is the Agnès Varda Forever Festival @cst_pdx! My fave is on 3/13! Movies start at 7pm and we usually go early for a drink next door @lucky_horseshoepdx so meet us there 💌 Le Bonheur - Monday, March 6 Daguerréotypes - Monday, March 13 Mur Murs - Monday, March 20 The Beaches of Agnès - Monday, March 27 Buy tix or series pass online www.cstpdx.com #agnesvardaforever #agnesvarda #agnèsvarda (at Clinton Street Theater) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpRivTKOYKW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Today's NYT article on Jean-Baptiste Reddé introduced me to his story and his inspiring handwritten protest signs which I could look at more closely in this 2018 video from an exhibit of his work.

I imagine seeing him in the same cafe that JJ goes to and even imagine her doing these same things: "...on the day of the protest, Mr. Reddé buys a 3-by-5-foot placard, sits down in a cafe, grabs thick markers and draws the slogan in his time-tested design of capital letters and bright primary colors. 'We are governed by colorless people,' he said. 'We must put color back into this world.'”

Our Agnès Varda Forever posters are in the same "family" of public declarations.

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This week of life was full of highlights and last week I was inspired to get an Apple Pencil and today I combined the excitement about an experience at the museum I work at with the freedom of using my handwriting as a stand-in for my voice in telling a story.

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It’s a mail art and letter writing workshop! This one was for @psu_core Ideation class. Lots of show and tell with mail that I’ve received and inspiring postage stamps, books, and postal ephemera. One student even drew a portrait of me on postcard to mail to my pal JJ as a surprise! We talked about how the mail connects people to each other and places. Rad photos by the rad instructor Michelle Swinehart ❤️ (at Portland State University) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn0drrep2C9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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I like realizing that I've admired Moyra Davey for almost 15 years. And I like that she wrote about something that's been on my mind for many months: reading print versions of newspapers.

The whole article made me smile, especially:

There was a time when high-school kids in New York were taught to fold and unfold The New York Times in quarter sections, so as to not disturb other passengers on the subway. This is a long-vanished sight, as are the stacks of papers tied up with twine that would drop in the night on the sidewalks, and fill the front portions of newsstands. Vendors now reserve mere inches of shelving for newsprint.

In 2002, my friend and former coworker at the Book House taught me how to do this and I relish the memory every time I read a newspaper. I like imagining a time when this skill was necessary and when I ride the subway, wondering who else was taught to do it.

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People who do things perfectly are people who do just one thing, because they can concentrate all their energy into that. I like to be a gardener, I like to look after cats. My Japanese master gave me a surname that means I’m the one who establishes links between others. He told me that was my role in life. - Elena Palumbo-Mosca

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I’ve dreamt of speaking at Creative Mornings since it began in 2008. (That’s 14 years of dreaming!) (Dreams come true!) On December 16, I’ll talk about how minutiae is my muse and share some of my recent art projects, including my current fellowship at the New York Public Library Picture Collection. Attend in person or virtually and register via link in bio! @portland_cm @creativemorning (at Jupiter Hotel) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl-KE3oLade/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Despite my note taking methods and adherence to citing sources, I didn't record where I found this passage. Now that I'm catching up on adding keywords to my photos starting in June 2022 I'm struck by how relevant this is to what I'm thinking about this week. UPDATE: It's from Open Conversations: Public Learning in Libraries and Museums by David Parr!!! A librarian helped me figure it out!!!

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Every week for the past few years, I visit the Central Library to see the new arrangement of flowers on the staircase. While the library was closed for these past four months, I've felt the absence of this ritual. When the Oregon Historical Society shared that they digitized hand-colored lantern slides from the Portland Garden Club in the 1930s, I found some flower solace in the colors and compositions. The library reopens tomorrow!

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My first visit to Florence was in 2018. When I walked out of the train station a Fotoautomatica photo booth was one of the first things I saw. I went in, posed for four snaps of the camera and flash, and waited 4.5 minutes for the print to go through the booth’s hidden darkroom. I returned to Florence in July 2022, exploring the city and making art in response to it as part of “Citylab,” a study abroad course at PSU led and taught by Associate Professor M. Michelle Illuminato.  One assignment prompted us to identify a place we were curious about and lead a tour of it. I took a small group of classmates to a place that excited my curiosity and first connected me to the city: the photo booth by the train station. Kelly Braich offered to take photos during the tour and a few days later I used them to share the story of the tour in an Instagram Story. Much like the process of designing a printed book of photos, I created the Story by reviewing lots of pictures and selected the strongest, edited and sequenced them, and wrote descriptive captions. While a Story is considered more freeform than a Post, I wanted to extend its ephemerality by reproducing the documentation it formed without altering the original Story format. Which led me to publishing the Story as a handmade book! The first iteration was printed in an edition of three on the color copier, each page trimmed to size by hand and then post-bound. (See pic 7 which is a short movie.) But the project was incomplete until each participant had their own copy of the book. Instead of making more copies by hand, I decided to self-publish a new edition of the book! (See the first two images.) The size is “just right” and the soft pink color on the spine and inside the book seem to delight readers. The book is available far and wide through Amazon, a.co/d/6voCRTb. The original Instagram “Story” is saved in a Story Highlight. ❤️ to @kab.1981 @illuminato @srisaflorence @psu_citylab_abroad and Matteo Sani who founded and operates #fotoautomatica https://www.instagram.com/p/CjrccZ1LoJT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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For the past three weeks I’ve been an artist in residence at the New York Public Library Picture Collection. From the brilliant minds of the @nyplpicturecollection librarians to the participants in my project, I’ve been inspired and supported by so many people here. In a few days I fly back to Portland to process all of my research into a publication. My heart aches to leave the people who have been part of my life here. The Picture Collection librarians Jessica, @chantal.soonglee, Jay, Elena, and Ray and their colleagues in other departments Deirdre, Kiowa, and Miriam. Project participants @seungjin888, Gregory, @sallylesser, @atron212, Chantal, @yolandeh1, Jay, and Elena. Jean and the Wallach Division Visiting Committee for establishing the Fellowship. My fellow fellows @christian.patterson, @killeenhanson, and @beebieta. @martine451 for arranging safe and cozy places for me to stay. ❤️ I am deeply grateful for the documentation by my forever friend @evansent and my Albany people Dita, the other Laura, and Miriam, who travelled to the library. To @harrell_fletcher for helping me find the real project in the project. My mom, @inter_flumina , JJ, @achilleaswooning, @itellybra, @cereza699, @zoliepress, Ken, @mallonfilms, @saschamallon, and Josephine who keep me loved, nourished, and in the light. (at NYPL The New York Public Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiYMIkJPB_c/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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My first photo book was just published! It’s called “I Want Everyone to Know: The Black History Month Doors at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School” and documents artwork that was displayed on every door in the school during Black History Month this year. Each piece was so powerful and inspiring that I was compelled to document them all! These works transformed ordinary classroom doors into gallery walls and portals to rarely shared histories. They were created by over 300 artists who are students, teachers, staff, parents, and supporters of the school. The book includes interviews with many of the artists, including Ms. Melodie Adams, a first grade teacher who taught herself how to draw during the pandemic lockdown, her student Clio, the school principal, and many more. @KSMoCA published the book and it features an essay by co-founder Lisa Jarrett. Link in bio to see a few pages and to buy a copy! My extended interview with Ms. Adams shaped the soul of the book and she was instrumental in the entire school’s participation in making artwork for the doors. This Saturday, June 4, we will present a keynote interview together as part of Assembly, the annual conference organized by @psuartandsocialpractice. The event will be streamed live via Zoom and YouTube as well as open to the public in person. A book launch celebration will follow. Please join us! One of the best parts of making a book is working with other people to make it happen. I’m endlessly grateful to Ms. Adams, the teachers, students, and staff at the school, my own teachers @harrell_fletcher and @lisanicolejarrett, publisher @ksmoca, copy editors @jennifervanilla and Rita Glazer, my boyfriend @inter_flumina, and my classfriends @momobirdie, @cereza699, @michaelstevensonjr, @gilnotjill, and @zeroprocess. (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeKK9pgP3-F/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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My first time mending! Thank you Mai, Gigi, PSU Textile Arts, and Student Sustainability Center for making this workshop so warm, friendly, and inviting. It felt so good to take a break from computer work and do something slow and share a table with some lovely strangers going slow, too, and learning together. ❤️ @maiidepdx @c.ucarron @psu_textilearts @psu_ssc #psumending (at Portland State University) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdjpILQv-9r/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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I browsed a local bookstore super hard yesterday and couldn't take my eyes off of the neon orange cover of Babette Mangolte's Selected Writings, 1998–2015. I'm still not sure if I made the right decision about not buying it but for now, I'm holding on to the memory of the book through this excerpt:

To incite participation I often create an architecture that permits a second look. The spectator has to go around the installation before reaching the next work. Or I position work near the exit (which is also the entrance) so my work is seen twice, on arrival and when you exit...Setting up a space and making the spectator move into a defined space is how I create an interactivity that is indirect and not overt.

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I’m honored and excited to be a researcher spotlighted on the New York Public Library’s blog. My fascination with the @nyplpicturecollection began in 2018, leading to my takeover of their Instagram in June 2019 and most recently, an interview with Jessica Cline, the Supervising Librarian, for the @psuartandsocialpractice Social Forms of Art Journal. I treasure this connection to the Picture Collection and the ways it informs my art projects. Special thanks to Jessica for this opportunity, @evansent and @sarahmirk for thinking through these questions with me, and @theovamvounakis for going to the library with me in the first place. Link in bio! (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccs5l2cpfre/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=