CURRENT RESEARCH: M.A.C. Program, Queen's University

IN COLLABORATION with WhiteFeather Hunter, Principal Investigator at the Speculative Life Biolab, Milieux Institute for the Arts, Culture, and Technology (Concordia University, Montreal)

Plump and pliant: experimental fluid retention for keeping formerly living biofilms life-like

Many have asked whether my mushroom bouquets are photographs or sculptures; the short answer is that they are photographs - the 3-D sculpture decays at such at rate that I sacrifice my materials to the roasting oven rather than as an offering to fruit flies. However, inspired by Doris Salcedo's A Flor de Piel (2014) - a tapestry woven from preserved rose petals - and corresponding research concerning her materials/methods completed at the Straus Center for Conservation (Harvard Museums), I am forging ahead in search of a preservation method that would help extend the life span of my plant-based sculptures.

Described as “plant taxidermy,” this research situates cultural heritage conservation within the world of bio-art – a precarious pursuit. Bio-art by definition is or was comprised of biological organisms, formidable enemies of art conservators. Moreover, material degradation can be interpreted as ephemeral and performative. The conceptual parameters of bioart as expressed by the artists themselves must be addressed, as creation often involves cyclic stages of generation and sterilization of “active” biomaterial. How do artists situate technicalities of “living” versus “formerly living” within the ethos of their practice and when is it appropriate for the artwork to enter a stage of decay?

Existential crises aside, artists like Doris Salcedo seek to extend material life spans and to liberate plant-based biomaterials (e.g. rose-petal tapestries or pomegranate-peel skirts) from the trappings of solvent baths and glass cages. In order to comply with museum/gallery environmental safety, the biomaterials must be neutralized of biological life. This struggle drives the development of a new preservation method to serve a two-pronged purpose of: 1. for the artist, a retention of plasticity of a cellulosic material as a pliant form, even if transformed 2. for the conservator, the transfer of non-toxic, anti-biodeteriogen properties to the material in compliance with safe exhibiting/handling practices.

This experimental research is currently underway in collaboration with bioartist and Principal Investigator WhiteFeather Hunter of the Speculative Life Biolab (Milieux Institute, Concordia University). As a pilot study the research operates on a basic level, preserving plant & bacterial biofilms made from kombucha SCOBY “leather” and from lily pad-derived Gellan gum in a similar way that jerky is a pliant, preserved form of mammalian tissue. Pivoting between spheres of botanical and heritage conservation, the goal is to create a reproducible, open-sourced immersion solution and treatment for bio-art to exist externally from liquid baths and encasements. Contrary to normative conservation goals, this research embraces calculated manipulations of decay in order to extend, not immortalize, bio-art material in a fluid-retaining, life-like form.

In reassurance that this research does not stray from the realm of conservation, I'd like to revisit the fact that the utilization of biofilms within art conservation is not a completely rogue pursuit (e.g. cleaning methods using Gellan gums in paper and artifact conservation or polysaccharide biofilms such as Funori as adhesives and substrates for loss repairs, etc.). It is therefore conceivable and worthwhile to explore acetic acid biofilm (neutralized of biological activity) as a possible strength-reinforcing substrate for conservation treatments concerning cellulosic materials such as paper, textiles, and leather. Furthermore, in reaction to recent global climate crises and debates surrounding the treatments of corresponding emergency interventions, I intend to channel my research towards the antibacterial potential of these biofilms to deliver salt or enzyme-laden conservation treatments to painted surfaces under biodeteriogen attack.

MASTERS PLAY - BOOKS & THEORY

“Cuando despertó el ser humano y quiso expresar su alegría de vivir, no escribió, ni construyó, ni esculpió, pintó los muros de su caverna.” - Josep Maria Sert y Badia

I began my master's research at McGill University as a bit of an odd duck in the department: an American student studying Spanish art history within francophone Quebec. My initial focus was the marginalization of early modern artists such as Ribera and Zurbarán - too visceral, too much blood and grit? Then I came across an interesting concept: the "invention" of Basque art during the 19th century. How does one "invent" an ethically-defined tradition of art? Where were artists within the Basque country prior to this time, twiddling thumbs and whaling?

One of my professors challenges each graduate student to question why they have chosen their personal line of study. Growing up in midwestern America as child to third-generation parents, I had always chafed at the amorphous, "melting pot" identity of American culture. Strawberry shortcake, fried chicken and denim, was this my cultural identity? I admit I was envious of communities that had strong ties to a specific style of music, of dress, food, etc. It is little wonder I became fascinated with Basque regionalism - a culture devoted to retaining ancient-rooted identities as distinct from the rest of the world. (It doesn't hurt that the local food is delicious or that the geographical terrain is simply stunning).

Contemporary Basques at large do not simply look longingly towards an ancient past but rather delight in blending tradition with the hyper modern. I am a scholar devoted to visual fissures, juxtapositions of the new and the old butting up against each other for the delight of the contemporary eye. I believe, amongst the current history-is-sexy trends and clean, streamlined return to Le Corbusier modernism, we are falling in love with the harsh smashing together of the too camps.

RESEARCH TOPIC: 

Basque By Adoption:

monumental collectivity and time in the murals of José María Sert,

San Telmo Museoa, San Sebastián

I focused on murals as a medium that best weds painting and architectonic space. And what better time to study the community-focused impact of mural art than the 1930s? It was precisely during this time that the city of San Sebastián was redefining its public image as one that was both modern and ancient, Basque but also cosmopolitan. Breaking the established "Basques-only" artist club, the city invited a Catalan artist to paint nationalistic murals for the walls of a 16th-century church - part of a larger adaptive reuse project that is still continuously reinvented today.

The San Telmo Museum deliberately disrupts a traditional, linear reading of history. The museum comprises of 16th, 19th, 20th and 21st century structures; the fissures between additions have been left patently obvious - begging theoretical exploration. Within the space of the Gothic church, Josep Maria Sert y Badia's monumental, smokey golden murals still cling to the walls. Painted in a neo-Baroque, 17th-century manner, they hang below restored, 16th-century murals - disrupting a normative perception of the sedimentation of time. To my delight, the San Telmo Museum has recently funded an intensive restorative project for the murals.. The conservation efforts can be viewed via a wonderful short video produced by the museum, entitled "Anatomia de Sert." 

Examples of work by Josep Maria Sert y Badia

Rockefeller Center, NYC, 1933-40