Host This Concept: I Rock America and America Rocks Me

Amsterdam?

Geert
http://nznl.com

On 9-jun-2005, at 8:24, Curt Cloninger wrote:

> Host This Concept: I Rock America and America Rocks Me
>
> After Beuys "I Love America and America Loves Me" and Oleg Kulik's
> "I Bite America and America Bites Me" – I won't stay in a room
> with a coyote for 5 d ays or in a cage as a dog for 2 weeks, but I
> will assume the persona of a rock & roll ANIMAL (grrr) for 5 days
> straight.
>
> In lieu of my semi-annual 5-day solo camping trip, I'll travel to
> New York City with my guitar and amplifier, set up in the middle of
> a designated space (warehouse, loft, gallery, wherever), and
> perform rock/pop songs for 5 days straight. I'll print up rock
> hymnals and leave them lying around the space so that whoever drops
> by can sing along. "Turn in your hymnals to hymn 256 and join me
> in a rousing rendition of 'Suzy is a Headbanger.'" I'll have to
> sleep some and eat some, but people can watch me do those things
> too if they like.
>
> I'm not from Germany or Russia, but I am from the American South,
> so it's almost the same thing. And I've only been to New York City
> once (for 5 days on a family vacation when I was 11).
>
> Here's my ARTIST STATEMENT:
> http://playdamage.org/55.html
>
> And some PROMOTIONAL MEDIA:
> http://playdamage.org/at/
>
> And some actual proof o' concept "rockin'":
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/what_goes_on.mp3
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/cinnamon_girl.mp3
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/mona_bone_jakon.mp3
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/hungry_wolf.mp3 (get it?
> COYOTE… hungry WOLF?)
>
> Those hoping to hear Casio versions of Kraftwerk songs need not
> attend. Come to think of it, no one need attend. That's what
> Christian worship, punk rock, and performance art all have in
> common. The monks at Iona preached to the seals, St. Francis
> preached to the birds, The Brian Jonestown Massacre played a 9-hour
> set to a roomful of 11 people, and Beuys showed a dead rabbit
> around an unpopulated gallery. Plus I've been known to play a 45-
> minute version of Sister Ray, which is by THE Velvet Underground of
> ANDY WARHOL fame! Plus Beck's grandfather is fluxus artist Al
> Hansen, so what more provenance do you need? OK, you forced me to
> take off the glove:
> http://www.twhid.com/video/beuys/singing.mov
>
> In order for the concept to be accurately derivative, the space
> should be in New York City. Other allusively legitimate locales
> would be Berlin or Moscow, but then I'll have to change the ti tle
> of the piece (and I'll have to forego the guilty pleasure of
> performing J.C. Mellencamp's perennial anthem, "R.O.C.K. in the
> U.S.A."). After those three cities, I'm open to a world tour
> (pending the wife's permission), but first things first.
>
> If you or someone you know is interested in hosting this concept,
> contact me and we can work out the details. I'm free between now
> and mid-August.
>
> in all conceptual earnestness,
> curt
> +
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
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> subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/
> 29.php
>

I'm game, but the airfare would probably be cost prohibitive.

Has your shirt ( http://deepyoung.org/current/dyskonceptual/nznl.html ) arrived yet?

-

Geert Dekkers wrote:

> Amsterdam?

Mmmm.

And yes, but it might have arrived a few days back, I've not been to
my studio for several days. You know, I'm thoroughly amazed, it's
marvellous, not only an exact fit, but also exactly my taste.! Thanks
a million.

I'll send you a pic off-list.

Geert


On 9-jun-2005, at 19:56, curt cloninger wrote:

> I'm game, but the airfare would probably be cost prohibitive.
>
> Has your shirt ( http://deepyoung.org/current/dyskonceptual/
> nznl.html ) arrived yet?
>
> -
>
> Geert Dekkers wrote:
>
>
>> Amsterdam?
>>
> +
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/
> subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/
> 29.php
>

Hi curt,

MTAA wishes they could help out, but sleeping isn't allowed in our studio. Plus, when signing the lease they explicitly told us that we couldn't shoot porn videos there either. Kind of a strange clause, but it didn't stop us from peeing in a bucket for 1YPV. I guess that's not porn though.

Anyway, our studio's in Brooklyn, which all the Manhattan snobs will remind you IS NOT New York City. It's Brooklyn damnit!

A small suggestion, if you truly wish to attain hardcore-ness (hardcore-itude?), you could come to NYC, play on the corner in front of a blue-chip Chelsea (57th st. is another option of course) gallery of your choice, and stay at the YMCA.

Or better yet, play in the subway for change. In August in NYC that would be pretty hardcore because you'd probably die of heat exhaustion without a few gallons of water. Unless you did it on the actual trains, they're air conditioned. But the cops might bust you for that.

This reminds me of the mennonites (at least I assume they were mennonites) that would preach on the corner of Broad and High St. in Columbus, OH when I was in college. They were so cute. They preached as a whole family and they had a boy, probably around 12 or 13. They would stay pressed against the wall in single file, but take turns stepping into the sidewalk with bible held high and yell verses at the passersby. I remember seeing the young kid do it, the smile on his face after he did it. It looked to me like he was so happy and proud – like he was shy, but he worked up the courage to scream some truth (as he perceived it) to the infidels streaming by in the Big City.

curt cloninger wrote:

> Host This Concept: I Rock America and America Rocks Me
>
> After Beuys "I Love America and America Loves Me" and Oleg Kulik's "I
> Bite America and America Bites Me" – I won't stay in a room with a
> coyote for 5 d ays or in a cage as a dog for 2 weeks, but I will
> assume the persona of a rock & roll ANIMAL (grrr) for 5 days straight.
>
> In lieu of my semi-annual 5-day solo camping trip, I'll travel to New
> York City with my guitar and amplifier, set up in the middle of a
> designated space (warehouse, loft, gallery, wherever), and perform
> rock/pop songs for 5 days straight. I'll print up rock hymnals and
> leave them lying around the space so that whoever drops by can sing
> along. "Turn in your hymnals to hymn 256 and join me in a rousing
> rendition of 'Suzy is a Headbanger.'" I'll have to sleep some and
> eat some, but people can watch me do those things too if they like.
>
> I'm not from Germany or Russia, but I am from the American South, so
> it's almost the same thing. And I've only been to New York City once
> (for 5 days on a family vacation when I was 11).
>
> Here's my ARTIST STATEMENT:
> http://playdamage.org/55.html
>
> And some PROMOTIONAL MEDIA:
> http://playdamage.org/at/
>
> And some actual proof o' concept "rockin'":
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/what_goes_on.mp3
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/cinnamon_girl.mp3
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/mona_bone_jakon.mp3
> http://lab404.com/plotfracture/scott/hungry_wolf.mp3 (get it?
> COYOTE… hungry WOLF?)
>
> Those hoping to hear Casio versions of Kraftwerk songs need not
> attend. Come to think of it, no one need attend. That's what
> Christian worship, punk rock, and performance art all have in common.
> The monks at Iona preached to the seals, St. Francis preached to the
> birds, The Brian Jonestown Massacre played a 9-hour set to a roomful
> of 11 people, and Beuys showed a dead rabbit around an unpopulated
> gallery. Plus I've been known to play a 45-minute version of Sister
> Ray, which is by THE Velvet Underground of ANDY WARHOL fame! Plus
> Beck's grandfather is fluxus artist Al Hansen, so what more
> provenance do you need? OK, you forced me to take off the glove:
> http://www.twhid.com/video/beuys/singing.mov
>
> In order for the concept to be accurately derivative, the space
> should be in New York City. Other allusively legitimate locales
> would be Berlin or Moscow, but then I'll have to change the ti tle of
> the piece (and I'll have to forego the guilty pleasure of performing
> J.C. Mellencamp's perennial anthem, "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."). After
> those three cities, I'm open to a world tour (pending the wife's
> permission), but first things first.
>
> If you or someone you know is interested in hosting this concept,
> contact me and we can work out the details. I'm free between now and
> mid-August.
>
> in all conceptual earnestness,
> curt

Thanks Tim,

Beastie Beuys. To the 5 Buroughs. Brooklyn is New York City to me, and that's enough as far as the concept goes. New York City isn't really America, but it was America to Beuys in the piece. And he didn't actually see any of New York City. He just hung out with a coyote inside a warehouse and then flew home. He just as soon have been in any city, which I think was part of his point.

Staying true to that "singular space" aspect of his concept, I have to sleep and eat in the same space where I'm playing, and it should probably have electricity (electric guitar, rock, and all that). I do have a battery operated pignose amplifier, but it devours batteries and 5 days is a long time. A bathroom would also be nice. I'm not averse to street musicianship, and sleeping in the subway would surely be more hardcore than sleeping with a coyote or pretending to be a dog, but I want the "hardcore" emphasis to be more on the endurance of the continual playing and less on the danger of the performance environment.

peace,
curt



t.whid wrote:

> Hi curt,
>
> MTAA wishes they could help out, but sleeping isn't allowed in our
> studio. Plus, when signing the lease they explicitly told us that we
> couldn't shoot porn videos there either. Kind of a strange clause, but
> it didn't stop us from peeing in a bucket for 1YPV. I guess that's not
> porn though.
>
> Anyway, our studio's in Brooklyn, which all the Manhattan snobs will
> remind you IS NOT New York City. It's Brooklyn damnit!
>
> A small suggestion, if you truly wish to attain hardcore-ness
> (hardcore-itude?), you could come to NYC, play on the corner in front
> of a blue-chip Chelsea (57th st. is another option of course) gallery
> of your choice, and stay at the YMCA.
>
> Or better yet, play in the subway for change. In August in NYC that
> would be pretty hardcore because you'd probably die of heat exhaustion
> without a few gallons of water. Unless you did it on the actual
> trains, they're air conditioned. But the cops might bust you for that.
>
> This reminds me of the mennonites (at least I assume they were
> mennonites) that would preach on the corner of Broad and High St. in
> Columbus, OH when I was in college. They were so cute. They preached
> as a whole family and they had a boy, probably around 12 or 13. They
> would stay pressed against the wall in single file, but take turns
> stepping into the sidewalk with bible held high and yell verses at the
> passersby. I remember seeing the young kid do it, the smile on his
> face after he did it. It looked to me like he was so happy and proud
> – like he was shy, but he worked up the courage to scream some truth
> (as he perceived it) to the infidels streaming by in the Big City.

>Anyway, our studio's in Brooklyn, which all the Manhattan snobs will
>remind you IS NOT New York City. It's Brooklyn damnit!


brooklyn's ok. but williamsburg (a neighborhood in it, that smells
really toxic and is populated by kids who try to be
too-kool-for-skool artists) is NASTEEEE! steer clear at all costs.
no one deserves to get such an awful impression of this town.


seriously twhid, now i'm worried about your health. that chemical
exhaust every day's going to add up, plus smoking. you may not care
now, but you could change your mind before you're 70 with an iron
lung. leave your options open.

if money's the issue (isn't it always) there are both outa town
residencies and studio residencies you'd easily qualify for. LMCC
has a studio one every year and you can apply to most away ones
year-round.


-m. snob

curt cloninger wrote:

> Thanks Tim,
>
>New York City isn't really America, but it was America to Beuys in the piece.

Haha. Ya know? It's true. Thankfully. We NYers always say that, "new york isn't really america," but it's strange to hear someone from the "real" america say it.

Tell me, why do you say that? Just curious.

good luck.

Plasma Studii wrote:

> >Anyway, our studio's in Brooklyn, which all the Manhattan snobs will
> >remind you IS NOT New York City. It's Brooklyn damnit!
>
>
> brooklyn's ok. but williamsburg (a neighborhood in it, that smells
> really toxic and is populated by kids who try to be
> too-kool-for-skool artists) is NASTEEEE! steer clear at all costs.
> no one deserves to get such an awful impression of this town.

Hey! Billsburg ain't nasteee! It's the bomb! That's where our studio is and I love it. N. 6th st, ahhhh, what a beautiful place. Y, there are lots of posers, so what! I always said I'd never complain about bburg gentrification (or hipsterification) since I was part of the problem anyway. I ain't gonna start now :-)

Seriously tho. I lived in bburg and greenpoint for over 10 years and I have a real soft spot in my heart for that part of brooklyn. Before i moved to another part of BKLYN, I mentioned to Kevin McCoy that I lived on Grand St. btw Bedford and Berry. His reply? "Ah. Right on campus." hahahahahahaha

>
>
> seriously twhid, now i'm worried about your health. that chemical
> exhaust every day's going to add up, plus smoking. you may not care
> now, but you could change your mind before you're 70 with an iron
> lung. leave your options open.

thank you for your concern.

>
> if money's the issue (isn't it always) there are both outa town
> residencies and studio residencies you'd easily qualify for. LMCC
> has a studio one every year and you can apply to most away ones
> year-round.
>
>
> -m. snob

I don't mean that New York City is not American; I just mean that it is by no means representative of all America, as so many non-Americans think it is. Like meeting folks in San Juan with relatives in New York City, and they assume that since you are from the US you must be intimately familiar with the layout of New York City. "They live on such and such a street. You know, it's right there next to that little bakery with the red awning." As if New York City is to the US as San Juan is to Puerto Rico (or Tel Aviv is to Israel, or London is to England, etc.).

-

t.whid wrote:

> Haha. Ya know? It's true. Thankfully. We NYers always say that, "new
> york isn't really america," but it's strange to hear someone from the
> "real" america say it.
>
> Tell me, why do you say that? Just curious.

ha! this is just the kind of parochialism that the piece "foregrounds." None of it will matter because all I'll see is the inside of a room.

_

t.whid wrote:

> Plasma Studii wrote:
>
> > >Anyway, our studio's in Brooklyn, which all the Manhattan snobs
> will
> > >remind you IS NOT New York City. It's Brooklyn damnit!
> >
> >
> > brooklyn's ok. but williamsburg (a neighborhood in it, that smells
> > really toxic and is populated by kids who try to be
> > too-kool-for-skool artists) is NASTEEEE! steer clear at all costs.
> > no one deserves to get such an awful impression of this town.
>
> Hey! Billsburg ain't nasteee! It's the bomb! That's where our studio
> is and I love it. N. 6th st, ahhhh, what a beautiful place. Y, there
> are lots of posers, so what! I always said I'd never complain about
> bburg gentrification (or hipsterification) since I was part of the
> problem anyway. I ain't gonna start now :-)
>
> Seriously tho. I lived in bburg and greenpoint for over 10 years and I
> have a real soft spot in my heart for that part of brooklyn. Before i
> moved to another part of BKLYN, I mentioned to Kevin McCoy that I
> lived on Grand St. btw Bedford and Berry. His reply? "Ah. Right on
> campus." hahahahahahaha