Artist Statement
Do you believe in kindness, and if so, what is its color? What does the world look like from a non-violent point of view? What potential does the act of holding up a mirror have in a time of war? These are some of the questions that have inspired my publicly-engaged performances and installations. Through these questions, I hope to encourage more generous and empathetic interactions among neighbors and strangers in situations they routinely encounter. I work from the standpoint that attentiveness and shared creativity enable rapport, empathy, and compassion amidst human differences.
I draw upon the poetics of visual and tactile forms, as well as cultural theory and psychologies of exchange, to catalyze thoughtful interactions. I ask project participants to put objects, images, and stories into motion at sites reflective of issues such as war, civil rights, and our treatment of the environment. Together, project participants pay attention to the small shifts in familiar daily activities that sometimes give way to insights. For example, in Apologies Project, hand cast soap bars embedded with the words “I’m Sorry” were offered to passersby. The soaps connected conversations about apology and forgiveness to Ground Zero. In Mirrors Project, walking in Manhattan became an opportunity to look upward, in search of sunlit signal mirrors displayed by neighbors who wished to recover from seeing airplanes as bombs.
More recently, I invited participants to utilize video cameras as tools for paying exquisite attention to their worlds as they unfold, frame by frame. In workshops, we critique our videos and share stories. The emotional connection we recognize as rapport often develops as participants make “response” videos, inspired by one another. The resulting split-screen, collaborative video works have shown in several museum exhibitions; however, the most engaged screening occurred last spring, during a Syracuse University event, during which students and faculty improvised a sound track of bell chimes. What ensued was 18 minutes of rapt attention to videos of often mundane events: daffodils blowing, a bag on the sidewalk stomped upon absent-mindedly, a brown river tide swirling and making its way down the banks. Audience members became highly aware of one another as they reacted not only to the video images, but to one another’s bell songs. A complete circuit of attention uniting contemplative video, videographers, and audience members was formed and held. http://www.annebeffel.com/contemplative-video.html
“What is the color of kindness?” This simple question launched my current project. In it, I am drawing 100 color interpretations of individuals’ free associations as they imagine the color of kindness and strive to describe it in words. This project is an experiment in the power of words to connect human beings, and the simultaneous failure of language to completely embody the phenomena of color. It is a study in the practice of listening. It is an engaged performative piece, based in my neighborhood, and portable enough to travel the world. In fall 2012, my 100 color studies and micro-stories about color and kindness will be on exhibition at Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan. The early stages of the project may be seen at http://www.annebeffel.com/color-kindness.html
I draw upon the poetics of visual and tactile forms, as well as cultural theory and psychologies of exchange, to catalyze thoughtful interactions. I ask project participants to put objects, images, and stories into motion at sites reflective of issues such as war, civil rights, and our treatment of the environment. Together, project participants pay attention to the small shifts in familiar daily activities that sometimes give way to insights. For example, in Apologies Project, hand cast soap bars embedded with the words “I’m Sorry” were offered to passersby. The soaps connected conversations about apology and forgiveness to Ground Zero. In Mirrors Project, walking in Manhattan became an opportunity to look upward, in search of sunlit signal mirrors displayed by neighbors who wished to recover from seeing airplanes as bombs.
More recently, I invited participants to utilize video cameras as tools for paying exquisite attention to their worlds as they unfold, frame by frame. In workshops, we critique our videos and share stories. The emotional connection we recognize as rapport often develops as participants make “response” videos, inspired by one another. The resulting split-screen, collaborative video works have shown in several museum exhibitions; however, the most engaged screening occurred last spring, during a Syracuse University event, during which students and faculty improvised a sound track of bell chimes. What ensued was 18 minutes of rapt attention to videos of often mundane events: daffodils blowing, a bag on the sidewalk stomped upon absent-mindedly, a brown river tide swirling and making its way down the banks. Audience members became highly aware of one another as they reacted not only to the video images, but to one another’s bell songs. A complete circuit of attention uniting contemplative video, videographers, and audience members was formed and held. http://www.annebeffel.com/contemplative-video.html
“What is the color of kindness?” This simple question launched my current project. In it, I am drawing 100 color interpretations of individuals’ free associations as they imagine the color of kindness and strive to describe it in words. This project is an experiment in the power of words to connect human beings, and the simultaneous failure of language to completely embody the phenomena of color. It is a study in the practice of listening. It is an engaged performative piece, based in my neighborhood, and portable enough to travel the world. In fall 2012, my 100 color studies and micro-stories about color and kindness will be on exhibition at Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan. The early stages of the project may be seen at http://www.annebeffel.com/color-kindness.html
