the "more light" installation diary, part 1

Install week for one of my immersive solo exhibitions is a big deal and involves all sorts of work and emotions.  Since this isn’t something everyone has experience with, I thought I’d share a little about what it was like to be me from July 12 to July 18.

Public Works Art Center was the first “real” outside gallery to allow me to do one of these exhibits way back in July 2021.  The first one ever was at Lander and it was great, but since that was essentially “home” for me, it was a big deal when Kevin Morrissey called and asked me to do something similar at the fairly new PWAC in Summerville, SC.  He hooked me up with the Executive Director, Jana, and everything went perfectly.  In the years since that exhibit, Jana has remained a very good friend and we’ve often talked about when it might be time to bring my work back to PWAC and to Summerville.

The stars aligned a few months ago and there was an opening in all 3 upstairs galleries at Public Works.  Since Jana and I had tossed around several ideas over the years, it just worked out perfectly for me to come in and do all three exhibits at the same time.  Jana has handed the curatorial duties over to Linda and she immediately got me some information and secured lodging for me for the week.  All of this was happening as the spring semester was rolling along full speed and Linda was very understanding of how busy I was and she trusted me to handle everything, even when I didn’t quite get things to her on time.  I appreciate that.

Trust is a big deal with an exhibit like this.  Drawing on the walls of a white space gallery is just shy of blasphemy.  Of course, having done it there before, Public Works knew more about what they were getting into and they knew that I was likely to do it on time and with a smile.  This is why I teach my students the importance of being nice and working hard.  Sometimes you get a show because people know you can do it.  So as time got closer, I did actually sit down and write an artist statement and figured out who was going to be in my curated show.  Even later, I finally dug through all the art in my studio and in my basement storage and got an inventory list together.  Again, Linda was the essence of patience during this time.  

I’ve said before that show dates on a calendar are very abstract ideas to me.  I put them in my phone so I don’t double book myself, but I don’t make those plans and that exhibit real in my mind until just before the event.  I slowly allow myself to think more deeply about the logistics as time gets closer, but honestly, about a week out, I’ll actually start focusing all of my attention on it.  Heck, I was still making new drawings for this show just a couple of weeks before loading up.  

On Saturday, July 12, I spent the morning carrying drawings outside and loading them into my car.  I think there were 23 of them and they all just stacked up, smaller on top of larger ones until the back of my car was nearly full.  The small sculptures started stacking along the edges and in a tightly packed plastic bin that would have to go in the trailer along with some pedestals and a large sculpture.  After the art was all checked off the list, I began loading in all the extras.  I grabbed extra paint and sandpaper in case of emergencies, all my mural equipment and markers, and all the “just in case” items for the week.  My rule is that it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.  That night, I packed my running stuff and a bag of shorts and white tshirts.  Then I spent most of the night thinking through every detail of the week ahead hoping I wouldn’t forget anything, you know, during the time I should have been sleeping but my brain wouldn’t let me.

loaded up, gassing up

On Sunday, July 13, I was up with the alarm at 5:10am.  I ran, had coffee and breakfast and hit the road to Summerville.  I arrived by 10:00am and was met at Public Works by Linda who was ready to work.  A few minutes later, Katherine, the world’s best install assistant arrived and we all set about carrying drawings and sculptures inside the gallery.  Once everything was inside, it was time to figure out where it all went.  Linda had a ton of other things to do, helping artists pick up the previous exhibit, patching walls and repainting.  With Katherine’s help, we were able to arrange all the drawings in the space pretty quickly.  We made a couple of fine tuning switches and then, in just a few minutes, we had all the drawings hung on the walls.  It went very fast and I was happy with the progress.  This allowed me to get the first two wall drawings up before leaving pretty late in the evening.  Katherine unwrapped sculptures, thoughtfully placed them in the space and worked on making things for the Vault exhibit while I drew on the walls.  Some artists were still dropping off work for the curated show and I got to see Logan Woodle and Kevin Morrissey while I worked.  I love them.  After dark, I found my way to South Porch Artist Residency, my sleeping place for the week, and got to work on my other project for the week, drawing tons of Post-It notes for the Vault Interactive exhibit.  I did this until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer and fell asleep.  

Katherine helping me "eyeball it" and make sure each drawing is exactly where I want it.  The drawings begin to relate to one another and begin a visual conversation.

End of the first day of install.  Not sure about the pedestals yet.

finished the first two wall drawings.

On Monday, July 14, I was awake early without an alarm.  The excitement and brain activity kept me from sleeping too much.  I ran at a nearby park and left a free drawing on a bench before getting a shower and heading to Coastal Coffee to grab some coffee.  One of the highlights of my week was that Coastal Coffee has added amaretto flavor to their menu.  I grabbed two coffees and headed to Public Works.  I saw my friend Emily from Public Works and a few other people who have studios in the building.  Everyone was so nice and I got a ton of wall drawings done.  I completed most of the main wall and started a new wall.  I felt really good about my progress and decided to go to Matt’s Burgers for dinner.  I decided to stay outside in the sun and air for a while and walked around the square.  I needed to get away and have something else on my mind for a bit.  Found a cool vintage shop, Retro Fly Vintage, and made it out without buying anything, but those vintage floral Doc Martens boots, oh man, they were tempting.  Went back to work on the walls for a while and then headed back to South Porch to continue working on Post-It notes until bed.  It was a very good day.  

Found a beautiful friend to run with at Azalea Park.

Two coffees and the mural box.  One coffee for breakfast and the other to fuel my day.  Ready to get started!

The development of the "main wall" along with a sculpture placement that felt right.

The Retro Fly Vintage store.  They play vinyl records while you shop.  Cool people.

End of the second full day of installing.  The walls are interacting with the drawings and sculptures now.

As you can see, I'm getting up early each day, working hard going up and down a ladder or crawling around on the floor all day, trying to remember to eat meals, and then working more on another project until I literally can't keep my eyes open any longer.  

While the physical part is demanding, there's also the mental strain of drawing on the walls knowing that you can't make a mistake and knowing that people are in the space watching you do this.  You ever try to draw with someone looking over your shoulder?  It's not the easiest thing to do.  

There's also the constant intellectual demand.  What does this image mean?  What other three or four interpretations can I also expect?  Will anyone be offended by this?  Is there any possible interpretation that would undermine my narrative?  Did I draw that correctly?  The shape is not exactly right, now how do I fix it?  Is this communicating exactly what I intended?  How did I get to be 53 years old when I still feel 12?  Am I a real artist?  Do these people think I'm a punk?  Am I going to be able to pull this off by Thursday?

Being in another town and having so much that must be done by a specific deadline creates a mental space for me that is completely focused.  I'm thinking about the imagery and composition while I eat, while I run and apparently while I sleep, for better or for worse.  Everyone at PWAC was available to help if I needed it but they were also careful to allow me to work uninterrupted for hours at a time.  I guess soon we'll find out if that worked.  

Stay tuned for the next part of the story.