Month: November 2012

These are the seedlings that were grown in the greenhouse for this workshop by Jeff Gilardi.  They are of sunflower and blue corn.

As part of my research for “last days/first field”  I held a student workshop on campus this past weekend.  We had an all-day experience together that was both a workshop and a part of my artistic research. It centered around the exercise/ritual of planting a field of seedlings indoors. The field was our anchor. We were joined by composer/musician Kristin Norderval and dancers from my company, jill sigman/thinkdance.

We discussed our experiences in trying to create change in the world. We also looked at the significance of a field—politically, as it raises questions about farming, food, energy, labor, climate, and consumption, and ritually, as it signifies a certain connection to land and environment and demands a certain durational practice. We also engaged in a number of physical explorations around the ideas of duration and contemplation—how can we use body and voice to reflect and connect in different ways?

We then planted together. This allowed me to see a part of my new work take shape, and allowed us to discuss and reflect obliquely on questions of sustainability, the connection between ritual and social change, and durational practice.