Critical Correspondence

MR Festival 2009: Catalogue of Engagement: CREATE/ PROCESS

by Maggie Bennett
MR Festival Spring 2009: Roll Call

AUNTS FACTORY
RPPP Loft, Bushwick, Sat April 18, 2009, all day

Although I lack many skills of craftsmanship, I’m amazed by brain’s MacGyver ability to problem-solve, assemble objects to serve greater function. Need “Badge of Commitment and Acceptance of Friendship”: an old pot-warmer that fits on shoulder, to be decorated with ribbons, silk flowers and strings of bead necklaces, make double-sided, male and female. Don’t know how to do fine sewing work? Hot Glue Gun! Created my Badge next to Megan Byrne, also using hot glue gun, to create “Sparkle Tube” for Ana Sperber, who wants to create disco-ball lighting on rectangular trajectory (not global). I skipped pre-design phase of my project, and went straight to the making, allowing my hands to intuitively find locations for objects on the badge that were pleasing to my eye. Skipping an outline perhaps sacrificed some of the finer aesthetic possibilities, but I only had an hour as I was meeting with Levi Gonzalez, for a web-uploading lesson, who was busy creating a giant poster of a post-card he brought with him, of Southern California, by projecting its image onto a huge piece of paper and tracing, filling in, or drawing over parts of picture, sort of like a giant coloring book. The spontaneous nature of the event created an outpour of doing. There were no high-stakes, no months of forethought and investment to cripple action. So people produced, in mass.

Costume assemblage:
This peach skirt with graphic clouds and rainbows looks peaceful. 
This leather and peacock feather belt, shoulder strap, torso sash thing looks sacred, ritualistic.
This green felt Peter-pan hat with the emerald broach looks English Grandmother/ Emerald City/ Marry Poppins, and offers a nice amount of disguise
This gray blouse matches the leather peacock feather sash and cloud skirt.
I look like a peaceful Native American fairy Marry Poppins.
Perfect.