SPARE TIME

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Salon

March 04, 2016 Annie Bandez, German Caceres, Kayla Delacerda, Lucila Garcia de Onrubia, Jan Weingarten, Glenda Romualdo, Hugo Montoya, Alan Gutierrez, Amanda Ortega, Dave Kudzma, Danielle Keener, Magnus Sigurdarson, Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts and Nick Ruiz

[s-p-a-r-e-t-i-m-e]

[s-p-a-r-e-t-i-m-e]

For immediate release

Alan Gutierrez

If you call I'll be right with you

Sunday, January 17th 2016

3pm-Sunset

154½ NW 45 St Miami FL 33127

One Five Four and a Half is pleased to present If you call I'll be right with you, a solo exhibition by Alan Gutierrez.

In thinking about the process of creating a Rorschach image we can utilize the knowledge gained when we are to use a limited amount of malleable material to make more content in an effort to present a thing which would be open to not any interpretation but possessing the potential for all interpretation.

A Rorschach image is: Simply put, an image created by applying malleable material onto a space, then folded onto adjoining empty space, creating a mostly symmetrical abstract image by means of self-similarizing duplication.

Once the Rorschach image is settled it is ready to be interpreted by either its creator or by someone else.

It is helpful that the adjoining blank space is indeed blank and has not static material of its own (malleable material is justifiable). It is also possible that the symmetry of the image aids the interpreter by making it appear more so as a contained thing.

Regardless of the outcome, it is very important to note that in order for the whole of the thing to exist for interpretation, the moment of the fold required force.

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TARA ELIZABETH LONG: RØLE MØDEL

Monica Uszerowicz

Tara Elizabeth Long. Photo: Sarah MK Moody

One Five Four and a Half, January 13,2015

It is a hallmark of grandly chaotic spectacles to be quietly defined by tight parameters, which, though seemingly antithetical to the outcome, actually contribute to the madness of it all. The best example of this might be rules that evolve in children’s playground games: this pole is home base, you can’t run past a building of this color, if you barely brush the chased party, he or she isn’t “it” anymore. Given distinct restrictions to pivot from, a restrained frenzy can feel more potent than its uncontained counterpart.

It was within a very particular framework that Tara Elizabeth Long presented Røle Mødel, a performance and installation that may or may not have been intended as a shared experience. (That part matters little.) With a GoPro camera strapped to her head, Long danced for three self-allotted hours in a roofless and mostly wall-less stone structure—a mysterious amenity in the backyard of Guccivuitton gallery co-founder Domingo Castillo, the almost-building has preceded Røle Mødelas a setting for shows and house parties. There were two DJ sets: the first by Andrew Byrd, a.k.a. Byrdipop, the second by Long’s aunt Annette Polizzano, moonlighting as Allapattah Chatta, spinning remixes of Frank Sinatra and Madonna (and killing it, in earnest). Plastic-swathed furniture (maybe a lamp and maybe a chair) dotting the space ultimately felt dystopian. Lit by blue-green laser beams and sometimes smiling, Long often closed her eyes as viewers watched her through the square openings that once housed windows or—if brave or drunk or chill enough—chose to participate and dance alongside her. But she, too, was watching us all the while; the ultimate destination and precise purpose of the GoPro footage is a mystery.

Long, who has worked on large-scale creative projects in both the art community and the entertainment industry, seems interested in an invisible Venn diagram between the two, and, in particular, the way the cultures both inform and mock each other (the event flyer featured an inevitable connection to Miami booty bass). As she danced, all revealed became ever-present, extending energetically beyond the installation itself: we are aware of her self-imposed limitations and her ability to mold and move through them; we know that Allapattah Chattah and Byrdipop may be extensions of her own self; we realize, eventually, that she is a little imprisoned, that her jail is a warm one, and that she may not even know we are visiting. It is not immediately clear, though, if she is entertaining us or creating a “space.”

In a blur of potential contexts, there is an inherent overlap among all given possibilities. The DJ booth was set up as it would be at any other nightclub; the accompanying laser lights, too. The furniture’s plastic covering seemed aesthetically intentional, but may have only served as protection from the rain—which is to say, the space really did look like a lounge. Derek Villanueva was the event’s bouncer (or “bouncer”), a representation of and stand-in for Long’s other life and career. Allapattah Chatta’s set was loud enough to hear from the street, which is residential, and neighbors assumed it was just another party.

Only when the vibe reverberated outward, beyond the lights and beyond the characters, did the aspect of play became a visible thing: this was less party than pretend party, less exhibition than pretend exhibition, and ecstatically both of these things in reality—as valid as other examples of the latter and better than most other incarnations of the former. If the apocalypse occurs, Miami is the first to sink; Miamians must have a constant, cellular awareness of their imminent doom. InRøle Mødel, buildings have already been gutted and overtaken by flora and only a few survivors are left at the club, frozen mid-motion.

Through her dance, Long had (perhaps unwittingly) created an interdimensional portal into a future in which she could self-actualize, becoming the artist in real time. Spectators were not asked to become participants, but were rather compelled; there was no initial shared dialogue, but Long was indeed watching her viewers. Røle Mødel, then, had first the effect of staring at an especially dynamic painting—carefully contrived composition and all—and then the feeling of a freaky be-in at the end of the world, the greatest time of all to close your eyes and bathe in weird neon.

http://miamirail.org/reviews/tara-elizabeth-long-role-model/

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Ramos:  ‪i attended the performance and loved it, at least as I understood it, and with a little help from Jillian Mayer who explained that your aunt had always wanted to be a DJ and you made it happen‬‬

Long:  ‪haha, sort of. my aunt had "a moment", a phase if you will, where she wanted to become a DJ. she found a video on youtube of a 69 year old lady named Ruth Flowers who dj's this heavy electronic trance and got inspired.

i told her my show could be her first gig, and so it was‬‬

Ramos:  ‪that's beautiful - you made her dreams come true‬‬

at least for that moment in time

Long:  ‪yes. a lot of my work comes from dreams‬‬

Ramos:  ‪but not your dreams‬‬

Long:  ‪all types of dreams‬‬

Ramos:  ‪dreams that you have access to‬‬

Long:  ‪sometimes my literal dreams. like making pancakes in a stair well‬‬

Ramos:  ‪haha and you did that?‬‬

Long:  ‪yes, haha‬‬

Ramos:  ‪what other dreams have you done, I find it fascinating, because you are not representing the dream as much as living it

and allowing others to live it as well

Long:  ‪yes. i think the pancake situation was the first time i did it. there was a lot going on, people were interested and confused (usually how my work is perceived) someone asked me what i was doing and i told them i was making my dreams come true. i literally was.

this is now part of my practice. its kind of like catching a bug in a bottle. i grab from current dreams or situations i am in... i grab and capture the most potent and vivid images, or people, or words, or colors, and i form them into one piece that exists only one, in a specific place at a specific time

its about the energy it creates.

Ramos:  ‪would you say is the dream that you capture or the desire within the dream or perhaps another component

or maybe it's all the same thing

but the feeling of a dream, like the haziness of it can be one component, the impossibility can be another, the possibility inversely..

maybe I'm taking the word "dream" too literal

Long:  ‪yes all of those things. and its never just one thing... like one dream, its all pieces... separate pieces, i isolate and then rearrange them together.

like a painting. these experiences i create are to me exactly like paintings. i chose everything very carefully, as a painter would choose his subject and the colors to use, and the mood. dreams give us access to something in ourselves ..

they are representations. i may not understand what they represent sometimes, but if the image is so lucid, and vivid, sometimes i like to try to represent it in the physical world. i think there is so much information we have hidden inside of ourselves and my belief is that if we study it for long enough, we would live healthier, and less confusing and frustrating lives. lol‬‬

‪idk if i am answering the questions jajaja‬‬

Ramos:  ‪yes - in fact, and this might be far fetched, but your process is a lot like meditation in the sense that you are tapping into the subconscious or the higher being within us all

‬‬except you are manifesting this meditation in multi dimensions and for everyone to experience

Long:  ‪yes. yes. i can only hope but yes i hope

‬‬Ramos:  ‪it make me think of a future in which reality TV is capturing people's dreams on the other side of the world

‬‬and you are the precursor for that

pre-tech version

Long:  ‪yes i am so LO-FI‬‬

Ramos:  ‪yes you are, but it's the only way technology is made - it has to copy something real and make it faster

‬‬make it exponential - that's what technology it's good for

Long:  ‪i think about that sometimes with my work.. a lot lately actually. i feel like exactly what you are saying... even to the point where i don't know what to call what it is im doing.

it is so much, but when people ask me, i sound like an idiot, just because the words i need don't exist yet‬‬

Ramos:  ‪well i guess that's how an inventions comes to be, you have to make new combinations of words and concepts to describe it

‬‬you are literally bringing people in to your dreams

Long:  ‪yes. i used to call these actions and situations mental landscapes. i made one called "landscape painting" that was so layered, and also involved people being locked in the space until they figured out how to get out.

i was also cooking and handing out spaghetti ...

psychological landscapes i guess would be more specific.

‬‬Ramos:  ‪or subconscious landscapes‬‬

Long:  ‪yessss thats goood‬‬

Ramos:  ‪i like the mundane aspect to these experiences - like pancakes and spaghetti‬‬

Long:  ‪always elements of , dare i say.. the BANAL ;P there is a bit of a formula to creating these pieces.‬‬

or rather, elements that, for the most part, are ALWAYS present

Ramos:  ‪such as‬‬

Long:  ‪like, the the "controls"‬‬

such as..

thinking of how to put this...

past, present future‬‬

back stage, on stage, viewer

that might be too general, like for example

‪something that awakens my personal nostalgia, like the spaghetti, or my aunt (no one has to know this, it is only important to the piece the way that each ingredient in a soup is important, the final taste isn't right without all the elements)

‬‬that is for "the past"

and when i say, "on stage, back stage" i mean...

‪in my pieces there is no hiding shit. the cables are part of it, the lights are part of it, the three elements of live performances are all together and you (as in "the viewer" ) are walking all around within it, no boundaries.‬‬

there may be rules but you wont know them until you break one. usually people don't, but i like to push a bit on these courtesies we have built for viewing‬‬

Ramos:  ‪I think the nostalgia is crucial - like if I didn't know it was your aunt, and thought it was just any lady, it wouldn't have touched me as much, i wouldn't have felt that you made someone else's dream come true,

that really got me‬‬

‪and the back stage, on stage - this is an amazing experience to feel like if I move a bit closer I am in the dream rather than being a sort of floating conscious around the dream

‬‬in the performance, there was a huge difference being within or outside the concrete space

Long:  ‪yes. and about the previous statement, i do agree it is much better to know things like, that was my aunt, these are almost like little short stories, but so abstracted.. working on ways to incorporate more of the narrative behind what i am doing

‬‬Ramos:  ‪yeah, it's definitely not typing up a description

‬‬it's more like making part of the DNA

Long:  ‪exactly‬‬

Ramos:  ‪i mean, you had a picture of her on the wall‬‬

and i thin that's scratching at the surface

Long:  ‪yes. and a digital one at that. this is where i start to enjoy making the work... for instance, these technologies were not around when my aunt was in high school (that was her high school photo) ... it also represents time in an odd and almost scary way‬‬

maybe not always scary but it becomes very real, the passing of time ... my aunt at first was not sure about putting up her picture.. she was like "thats what you do at funerals" lol. i liked that... not thinking of her as dead or anything, but ways to show time

Ramos:  ‪absolutely, and just to clarify, when i said scratching at the surface it was in relation to linking the lady DJing to you as your aunt

‬‬Long:  ‪yes  ‬‬

Ramos:  ‪like what a picture of you and her when you were a kid could have done‬‬

but yeah - that part of the narrative I didn't think about - the potential for her being a DJ then, which was not possible

just like the potential to extract her dreams in 30 years, will be different

maybe using electroencephalography

Long:  ‪totally. i thought about a picture of myself, but i realized i only wanted to be represented physically, in the present present‬‬

‬‬‪yes, oh man i want to be a pioneer of the dream recording (did u see that episode of Black Mirror or whatever where they record everything they see?? agh !

‬‬Ramos:  ‪no but someone recommended that show

‬‬Long:  ‪i don't want to record physical life so much as i want to shed light on non physical

‬‬Ramos:  ‪yeah that's much more interesting‬‬

and definitely possible eventually

something in our mind creates images for us

they are not necessarily things that we see

sometimes they are collages or deformations of them

Long:  ‪yup. and if we paid more damn attention to it we would understand ourselves and the world around us better...

‬‬Ramos:  ‪perhaps we would tap into the collective unconscious‬‬

that would be very powerful

like a new religion

a new "source"

Long:  ‪yes. been reading a lot about the occult and gnosticism , closest thing i have found to "practicing" some of the things i am bringing up here and in the "paintings"

‬‬but i am not interested in locking things down into one set dogma. like life things flow, there is no way to solidify and finalize, only an illusion of it

Ramos:  ‪but that's the beauty of tapping into the collective subconscious - not need to define or set rules - everyone would simply get it

‬‬if everyone would tap into it that is

but you are moving towards that by brining people into your subconscious

small step for Tara... giant leap for mankind haha

Long:  ‪haaaa ! yes, its crazy too how fucking determined i am to do this. took me a very long time to figure out how to participate physically in this life. i think, in my years of observation and research i have made little discoveries and i want to let others FEEL them, not just see or read, but FEEEL that shit‬‬

http://workuntitled.com/long.html

[s-p-a-r-e-t-i-m-e]

Tara Elizabeth Long, Røle Mødel

Documentation: David Cabrera

[s-p-a-r-e-t-i-m-e]

For immediate release

Tara Elizabeth Long

Røle Mødel

Tuesday January 13th 2015

6-9 pm

154½ NW 45 St Miami FL 33127

One Five Four and a Half is pleased to present Røle Mødel, a three hour performance and installation by Tara Elizabeth Long including performers Annette Polizzano, Andrew Byrd and Derek Villanueva.

Age, time, security, domestic jails and internal conditioning externalized.

Fear, success, dreams, expectations and a breath of fresh air. Surrogates.

Viewers are invited into an intimate space for a controlled, shared experience.

Long explores the gray area between performance and entertainment. She employs different levels of performance through staging rules and roles for everyone involved, including herself. The energy contained in these experiences only exist the one time it is summoned, they are meant to be lived and experienced.

Performers:

Annette Polizzano (Allapatah Chatta)

Andrew Byrd (Byrdipop)

Derek Villanueva (Security)

Tara Elizabeth Long was Born and raised in Miami Florida, and received her BFA from The New School in New York. Long is currently preparing for the release of her first EP entitled 4 tha Rich in April 2015.

In 2014 Long was involved in multiple large scale creative projects and performances such as her latest DIY endeavor #IHAITIBASEL, Redacted Love at Emerson Dorsch Gallery, #hardatwork, a performance for a group exhibition called the Little Haiti Country Club and #webecriting at Primary Projects. Long is also the founder of the production company (a performance in itself) called TWIN HAUS.