Brooklyn Jewels - rare fungal behaviour - part II

The yardmeter opening was very fun. 5 partner wearers were found and photographed! The readings were fabulous and the night was fantastic!
I have been so lucky to have the help of such stellar photographers on this project. These shots are by the wonderful jon pack.

rare fungal behaviour - opening in review

Just in from the Rare Fungal Behaviour opening and fantastically fun auction!

Craig Foltz' work was really colorful, beautifully displayed and offset the monochromatic brooches wonderfully.

Nick Boyes is officially the best auctioneer I have ever seen. He was magnificent and made the evening incredibly fun and so very exciting. I hope to have the video footage cleaned up and posted in the next few days. (I hope I didn't jiggle the camera too much with my laughter).

Five brooches were auctioned off and the winners after much suspense were:
1. Jonathan
2. Marie Erl
3. Alan Preston
4. Sophie Kaiser
5. Raewyn Walsh

Ah I am excited to have one of the two phases over.

tips for great blogging thanks to Radio NZ

There was a little blurb on blogging on the National Radio yesterday (june 8) just before 5pm and for all who missed it I took notes.

The key to having a great blog is:
1. have interesting things to say
2. be disciplined in frequent posting

Apparently around 95% of all blogs created have not been updated in the last 120 days.
Fascinating.

More information can be found here:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons

work.space.work.space.work

all photos courtesy of Marissa Ramlu

queen of the side projects

Rare Fungal Behaviour: A project in two parts

What Is It.
This project explores the ideas of value added by travel and the relationships involved in commerce and exchange. It is a project based on audience participation. Objects will be auctioned off, sold, shipped overseas, curated by strangers, and touched by the hands of postal workers.

How Did It Come About.
Initially working with the idea of a hemisphere, perhaps of the northern variety, the brooches began to look like basket fungi, tutae kehua or tutae whetu. These fungi were first explained to me as mysterious growths that always appear in the same places. Once your lawn has them, they always have them. Maori legend refers to them as ghost droppings because they mysteriously appear out of nowhere.

How Does It Work.
Of the brooches displayed, five will be auctioned off for co-ownership. The auction starts at 50 cents. The winner of the brooch will be granted co-ownership.

The brooches will then be transported to the Northern hemisphere where the same process will occur at a New York gallery space on June 19th. Brooches will be hung, auctioned and photographed. The details of both owners exchanged.

The new co-owners will fill in a form and have their picture taken wearing the brooch.

The winner of the auction will function as a mobile art gallery, displaying the brooch under sodium and fluorescent lights. Perhaps it will even see the light of day. These objects will live two separate but connected lives; one in the northern hemisphere, the other in the southern hemisphere. Like ghost droppings they will appear and disappear.

The brooches will be given to the NZ owners to wear from August 1 until Oct 1 2009. A send off party will be held and the brooches will then be mailed to the US owners to wear from October 15, 2009 – March 15, 2010, then they will be mailed back to NZ. It’s like pen pals with brooches.

A blog has been created to encourage interactive participation between the owners as well as documenting the process for interested parties. www.rarefungalbehavior.blogspot.com. It is hoped that this forum will provide additional insights into the notions of art, exchange, commerce, and private ownership. Owners will be encouraged to comment on the blog and check in on the latest stories.