+ What are your reasons for joining (considering to join) the 'Artist
Meeting' group?

- I like art groups and artists a lot. It's always nice to get together and find out what other artists are doing, reading and thinking about.

+ How do you think we best get to know each other/each others work?

- Well , when we get together it really helps to get a feeling of where everyone is coming from. The way we present ideas and ourselves lends itself to further understanding the thinking and working processes we all go through, however I feel that setting up a show with people is the best way to get a handle on someone elses work.

+ Do you consider it necessary to 'identify' as a group in order to
partake in exhibitions/ talks/events together?

- No, I think showing with strangers, or participating with other artists through the vision of a curator or event planner is also interesting. The melding of different heads and egos can be productive or counterproductive depending on the group dynamic.

+ I find discussing ideas -- plus documenting theses discussions --
a very rewarding part of the 'Artist Meeting' gatherings. All of this
I consider the 'piece' or the 'show.' What do you think about that?

- I think that it adds another interesting layer to our meetings.

+ Would you like to share ideas in between the 'physical' gatherings
and 'meet up' on-line more often?

- Only if it didn't take away from our meeting in person.

+ Have you ever worked in a group with other artists -- produced work
or events collaboratively?

- I've worked with other artists on a number of projects, and do event production professionally, which is always a collaborative process.

+ How would you imagine your own practice to change/expand through
group dynamics?

- The beauty of working in a group is that it can take you to places that you never could have imagined yourself.

+ Do you envision collaborating conceptually -- producing a 'theme'
for talks, shows or events together? Or, do you envision
collaborating artistically -- producing an artwork jointly with the
whole group?

- The group seems to be evolving in a way where both is very interesting and possible. In our proposal to the DUMBO Arts Festival we seem to be moving towards producing a singular piece jointly which is a great idea espically as a first project, because it helps us to lean more about each other. I would like to see more projects like that in future shows, however, it would also be great to produce our own projects, or in smaller collaborative groups to see what everyone comes up with.

+ Could you imagine submitting your work to the groups' database, so
your work could be picked anytime for any show the group decides to
organize?

- That's a great idea for a database or a show. When I was teaching I always had a project where students would edit or work with materials produced by another student. It takes away total ownership of the piece, and opens up more roads for exploration.

+ Would you differentiate between 'your' work and the work you would
produce 'for' the group?

- No, I generally focus on whatever I'm working on at any given moment, and consider that as being a part of my work

From: ghh@thing.net
Subject: 10 questions - Artists Meeting
Date: August 7, 2007 5:51:23 PM EDT
To: gh@nujus.net

Hi All,

Here's my preliminary answers to Ursula's 10 questions. Maybe we can all come up with different questions or maybe we can create some threaded discussion on post.thing.net. What do you all think?

Ursula's Questions:

+ What are your reasons for joining (considering to join) the 'Artist
Meeting' group?

A. I like the physical give and take of people sitting down and talking. In particular artists groups have always had an interesting dynamic.

+ How do you think we best get to know each other/each others work?

A. My friend Gordon Matta-Clark said that the art world is connected through their genitals. Aside from sleeping with one another I think that maybe studio visits to each of the groups artists or a special night once a month where one of the group can give demo-talk about their work in depth. This would be apart from the regular meetings so that the focus would be on that person alone.

+ Do you consider it necessary to 'identify' as a group in order to
partake in exhibitions/ talks/events together?

A. I like a loose structure that has the group name but not necessarily a group consciousness for everything we engage in. However, I think that it is much more interesting to try and escape the boundaries of our own individual obsession and work together on a common project.

+ I find discussing ideas -- plus documenting theses discussions --
a very rewarding part of the 'Artist Meeting' gatherings. All of this
I consider the 'piece' or the 'show.' What do you think about that?

A. I agree with this idea. I do think that the notion of documentation and archiving has to be fleshed out. For example, Let’s say that part of the documentation is to make an Yves Klein style body print of each individual artist. (Just an example off the top of my head.) Or maybe we can make systems of measurement based on each persons different body parts.

+ Would you like to share ideas in between the 'physical' gatherings
and 'meet up' on-line more often?

A. yes. I like to talk about what I’m thinking about without it necessarily leading to anyplace.

+ Have you ever worked in a group with other artists -- produced work
or events collaboratively?

A. Yes. I have collaborated with several people and groups. These include, Gordon Matta-Clark, Richard Serra, Les Levine, Peter Sinclair, Jean Dupuy, Colab, Scott B, Renaud Courvoisier. ArtNetWeb, the thing, Adrian Wortzel, Robbin Murphy, the upgrade and many more that I can’t think of right now.
+ How would you imagine your own practice to change/expand through
group dynamics?

A. It’s always a challenge and it accelerates and tests one’s ideas against the dynamic of group consciousness. I’ve always found that working with other artists gets reinforces many of my ideas and aesthetic decisions. It essentially verifies that I am on the right track by another artist who is able to ascertain what I am up to.

+ Do you envision collaborating conceptually -- producing a 'theme'
for talks, shows or events together? Or, do you envision
collaborating artistically -- producing an artwork jointly with the
whole group?

A. Yes I like joint works. Creative people in particular are able to solve aesthetic problems from different points of view and synthesis often creates spetacular and unexpected results.

+ Could you imagine submitting your work to the groups' database, so
your work could be picked anytime for any show the group decides to
organize?

A. Yes, actually I like the idea of doing an archive of anonymous files that the whole group can use.

+ Would you differentiate between 'your' work and the work you would
produce 'for' the group

Yes I would differentiate the type of work I would produce. This gets into the question of whether I do an individual work that fits into a group show or produce parts of a larger collaborative piece or assemble parts from a database of the groups files. Much of this is very specific to different types of creative commons licensing. Indeed, perhaps reading of the creative commons definitions of use should be a part of our discussions.

G.H. Hovagimyan
http://nujus.net/gh/
http://post.thing.net/blog/gh/

+ What are your reasons for joining (considering to join) the 'Artist
Meeting' group?

to get to know others who like to work in similar mediums or with similar ideas

+ How do you think we best get to know each other/each others work?

show it and discuss it- like an essay, compare and contrast!

+ Do you consider it necessary to 'identify' as a group in order to
partake in exhibitions/ talks/events together?

i think it is necessary in order to accomplish larger projects/goals that require more responsibility

+ I find discussing ideas -- plus documenting theses discussions --
a very rewarding part of the 'Artist Meeting' gatherings. All of this
I consider the 'piece' or the 'show.' What do you think about that?

i think anything has potential to be a piece... what matters is the moethod of SHOWING the piece- for example, we video record our meetings.... it becomes a piece when we show it in a way that we thought out, prepared, and specifically arranged, consciously displayed. wether on the internet or in a show... work needs to be thought out to its ultimate goald: to be seen

+ Would you like to share ideas in between the 'physical' gatherings
and 'meet up' on-line more often?

no-online things tend to scare me off- if you 'miss' something it's not as noticeable as a face to face encounter- i am also an instant gratification girl at heart- there's nothign better than speaking to someone face to face and getting an answer immediately... and the most important part- i can talk WAY faster than i can type..

+ Have you ever worked in a group with other artists -- produced work
or events collaboratively?

i haven't produced a piece of artwork together with someone, but i have worked colaboratively to put together a show, or to organize an event. i've done managerial/organizational things in groups, but never a work of fine art with more than one name on it- and that's something i want to get used to doing and really start working on.

+ How would you imagine your own practice to change/expand through
group dynamics?

i imagine i'll get a more rounded out view of things- people always affec other peoples' work wether they lie it or not- through osmosis if you will.. you don;t know it's even hapenning unti someone else points it out- "hey, did you get that from...____?" why yes you did and you weren't even aware! that's truly sharing..

+ Do you envision collaborating conceptually -- producing a 'theme'
for talks, shows or events together? Or, do you envision
collaborating artistically -- producing an artwork jointly with the
whole group?

i think about doing themed shows and producing themed work, not so much the talks. i feels the talk willl happen when we decide on shows or work to be done...

+ Could you imagine submitting your work to the groups' database, so
your work could be picked anytime for any show the group decides to
organize?

that's a FANTASTIC idea!!! i am 100% with you!

+ Would you differentiate between 'your' work and the work you would
produce 'for' the group?

i think wokr done with the group would ultimatelt look different than work i'd do 100% on my own- simply because i have no other direct influences/mediators between me and my work and me and the group work. would i associate it as my own work? i believe in sharing credit when credit is suppose to be shared- i'd identify working collaboratively in the group, if that's what you;re asking, but i feel itwould look different than my own work and i'd credit it as such- a group endeavor.

+ What are your reasons for joining (considering to join) the 'Artist
Meeting' group?

Because G.H asked me to be a part of it. Collaborations are fun and you never know in the beginning what will come of it. I like the fact that many of us have never met before this opportunity.

+ How do you think we best get to know each other/each others work?

Online research, our data-bodies say a lot about ourselves.

+ Do you consider it necessary to 'identify' as a group in order to
partake in exhibitions/ talks/events together?

Yes. It’s a given that we are all individuals.

+ I find discussing ideas -- plus documenting theses discussions --
a very rewarding part of the 'Artist Meeting' gatherings. All of this
I consider the 'piece' or the 'show.' What do you think about that?

I agree. It’s part of the document showing how we got from a-b.

+ Would you like to share ideas in between the 'physical' gatherings
and 'meet up' on-line more often?

Personally I think that much more can be accomplished if we are face to face.
The online component I feel is much better suited for longer term discussion.

+ Have you ever worked in a group with other artists -- produced work
or events collaboratively?
Yes.

+ How would you imagine your own practice to change/expand through
group dynamics?
When I am working in a group I tend to use it as an opportunity to break free from the confines of my own practice and always bring home useful insites.

+ Do you envision collaborating conceptually -- producing a 'theme'
for talks, shows or events together? Or, do you envision
collaborating artistically -- producing an artwork jointly with the
whole group?

Both.

+ Could you imagine submitting your work to the groups' database, so
your work could be picked anytime for any show the group decides to
organize?

Yes.

+ Would you differentiate between 'your' work and the work you would
produce 'for' the group?

Yes and no. whatever I make is still part of me. Collaborative art help break down the personal ego.

http://leewells.org

+ What are your reasons for joining (considering to join) the 'Artist
Meeting' group?

I attended the first meeting without a clear idea about the group's intent, process or history. There was talk about creating a financial structure along the lines of a modest investment fund, which sounds like an intriguing way of meeting the income needs of the artists involved, but is not an interesting first premise for making art. I suppose I was interested to see if the getogether is democratically interesting - how many women, the mix of ages, different races, and so on. I went on to attend the second meeting, and would have attended more if I didn't have to work in Asia for three months. In lieu of this, I joined the online forums and read the emails that were exchanged.

I am interested in collaborative processes; but really, I am interested in its corruptions, failures and disappearances. I don't mean only the conflict between personalities, but the formal breakdowns - the timing of the growing silences, for example. The

+ How do you think we best get to know each other/each others work?

Eating. Laughing. Fighting. Arguing. Together.

+ Do you consider it necessary to 'identify' as a group in order to
partake in exhibitions/talks/events together?

No. To make is necessary is stultifying, unless what we are aiming for is a gated community.

+ I find discussing ideas -- plus documenting theses discussions --
a very rewarding part of the 'Artist Meeting' gatherings. All of this
I consider the 'piece' or the 'show.' What do you think about that?

The best conversations I have I find at streetside tables, inside studios and homes, over a meal, coffee, wine, smokes, with artists, writers, and other creatives. I seldom find it at openings. As far as collaboration goes, it almost goes without saying that it is integral for the sort of process I want to be a part of. To borrow a term from Henri Bergson, it is the chance to fully stretch my body and mind into a wider range of movements, a wider ranger of possibilities within my reach.

However rewarding I find this, i often find it a contradiction to concretize this process, reify it as an object in a show. Mainly because the conversation has ended, and unless it can in some way incorporate the viewer as a new co-participant, the most rewarding part of the work has expired. If it has to be a physical piece, then hasn't the gallery become a vitrine of brine, preserving the fruits of our labour as a dead but visual specimen?

+ Would you like to share ideas in between the 'physical' gatherings
and 'meet up' on-line more often?

Yes, especially when the real-time face-to-face conversation is too good to let go off!

+ Have you ever worked in a group with other artists -- produced work
or events collaboratively?

I am working on a performance installation involving a composer, three musicians, a dancer, and a theater producer. I have also worked on collaborative exhibitions, where all exhibitions decisions are made collectively.

+ How would you imagine your own practice to change/expand through
group dynamics?

I think my practice is changing all the time anyway. Like the rat says in Ratatouille, change is nature.

+ Do you envision collaborating conceptually -- producing a 'theme'
for talks, shows or events together? Or, do you envision
collaborating artistically -- producing an artwork jointly with the
whole group?

I don't know if there is a strict divide between the two. So I would answer yes to both.

+ Could you imagine submitting your work to the groups' database, so
your work could be picked anytime for any show the group decides to
organize?

Yes.

+ Would you differentiate between 'your' work and the work you would
produce 'for' the group?

No. I will differentiate between different works I have made for different times, different peoples. Different relationships bring different results.