The Mine Project – Dada Spill will be presenting artifacts and Theo Cote’s Video Documentation of Dada Spill at this international conference.
Thank you Deep Listening Institute for this opportunity.
Art Science Collaboration Inc. featured our project in their April Newsletter. Thank you!
Cudos to Cynthia Pannucci for 25 years of trailblazing work as the Director/Founder of ASCI.
Video documentation of the performance/installation and crowd project Dada Spill, July 28, 2013 by Theo Cote ( http://www.theo-cote.com/ )
10 minutes long
Upon entry into the mine, the crowd was asked to fill out Identity Release forms in triplicate, essentially generating the ‘data’ to be ‘mined’.
One copy was filed, one was shredded and delivered to the re:docx seamstress in a distant section of the mine who created new identities from old, and one was secured in plastic bottles and thrown onto the internet sea only to be phished out by the unassuming phisherman.
“Dada spill” performance showcases Rosendale mine’s unique past (with photo gallery)
Press: New Paltz Times, August 7, 2013
by Erin Quinn on Aug 7, 2013 • 6:30 am No Comments
Caroline Osborn and Alissa Cordeiro perform in ‘Wrench’ as part of the Mine Project DaDa spill at the Widow Jane Cave in Rosendale last weekend.
Photos by Lauren Thomas
More than 300 people of all ages wound their way through the Widow Jane Mine at the Century House Historical Society (CHHS) in Rosendale last Sunday to take part in a multi-media event entitled “Dada spill.”
Anne Gorrick, president of the CHHS, welcomed people into the cave and said the “Dada spill” event is a “meditative and thought-provoking experience of how this space was used in the industrial era. It was used as a cement mine, there were mushrooms grown here, it was used for an atomic bomb shelter and now many of the adjoining caves are used for document storage. The presentation is a way to think about our local industrial history, situated in this magnificent space, which is really a living museum. I love the idea that a modern use for this space is for art!”
Sunday’s event combined two themes: Dada, the name of the art/literary movement that originated in reaction to the horrors of World War I, as well as “data spill,” which refers to a security breach. With that, Mau Schoettle and Kate Hamilton collaboratively produced “The Mine Project — Dada spill.”
As people entered the cave on Sunday, they were asked to create identity forms for secure storage in the mine by paper clerical workers (dressed in recycled cloth uniforms that were cut and reduced to pulp and sewn back together to make paper facsimiles of the original garments). They were adorned with wearable paper helmets with lights attached to illuminate the meaning of document storage and security.
In the underground lake, “The Phishing Man” could be seen in a boat trolling for personal information in the “Internet Sea” where people’s identity and information had been stuffed into plastic bottles and tossed into the water.
One of the men in the performance who was placing people’s “secure information” into a plastic jug was Joseph Alessi. “No data is ever truly secure,” he said. “They can claim that these data-storage mines are secure, but in the internet sea, anything can be leaked or stolen.”
He said he was “loving being a part of this. What an awesome space, people are so into it.”
In the center stage of the cave was “The Shredder” — the itinerant timekeeper that bears the burden of the data excess. The character was inspired by a local 19th-century historical figure “The Leather Man,” whom reportedly, for years, walked a regular circular route, spoke almost no words and took shelter in caves. The Shredder’s shingled costume was built using paper components created by the Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) in Rosendale. It consisted of pulp made from recycled phone books, letters, craft paper and cardboard. There was a large roulade that people could hand to “The Shredder,” who walked back and forth along the stage and would turn, pause, receive an index card and read it out loud, creating a “Rolo-Dada poem” — intermixing facts and observations and reactions.
A short play entitled Wrench by New Paltz-based playwright Elana Greenfield was performed by two actors on ladders in the water wearing high rubber boots, futuristic looking hats, headlamps and vests containing various items.
Their dada-inspired narrative talked about everything from seeing a man who looked like one of their dead brothers, to Sigmund Freud, images at the edge of the horizon, a doctor who spoke few words but touched them on the shoulder and the city that was all light.
In the middle of the dialogue there was an abrupt silence. Towards the entrance to the cave walked a ghost soldier who sang the operatic Ponts-de-Ce song by Francis Poulenc, in a transfixing, beautifully haunting tone that left the crowd speechless and in awe as they followed the trail of her echoing voice and light towards the lake where she joined the two woman. After finishing her song, the dadaistic dialogue continued.
The event finished with a banquet table set up with a candelabra and fine china. A round chocolate tart was placed on each plate with the word “delete” spelled out in white frosting.
Following the performances, the cast and crew introduced themselves to the crowd, who in turn gave a loud round of applause to the creators and participants of the “Dada spill.”
Schoettle and Hamilton hope to obtain grant funding to continue the mine project, making “Dada spill” the first in a series of cave-related pieces.
photo by Stephane Spira
THE MINE PROJECT
DaDa spill
The title of this event refers to the term: ‘data spill’ – a security breach – the intentional or unintentional release of secure information to an un-trusted environment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_breach
‘Dada’ is the name of an art/literary movement that originated in reaction to the horrors of World War 1. Dada relies on intuition, nonsense and irrational thought in order to search for sense in a seemingly senseless universe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada
http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htm
We propose to blend the two ideas, to create a massive DaDa spill.
Collaboratively developed and produced by
Mau Schoettle and Kate Hamilton
Program
Part 1: Intake and Identity Release and Protection
Part 2: The Enterprise Zone
Part 3: Wrench
Part 4: Banquet
Part 5: The Whistle is Blown
Welcome to the cavern of bureaucracy!
Participants: Actors, Designers, and Support personnel
conet project sound piece designer: Jeff Mullan
data girl: Chelsea Culpepper
data boy: Aaron Lockhart
option: Joey Alessi alt: Nate Schoettle-Greene
the phishing man: Peter Mitchell
the shredder: Shabbat Rusciolelli
docX (seamstress): Nancy Graham
data sifter (knitter): Jenny Lee Fowler
woman 1 (Wrench): Caroline Osborn
woman 2 (Wrench): Alissa Cordeiro
ghost soldier and singer (Wrench): Jessica Goldring
(Pont de C, song by Francis Poulenc, words by Louis Aragon)
playwright (Wrench): Elana Greenfield
director (Wrench): Charlotte Meehan (Sleeping Weazel)
sound designer (Wrench): Patrick Rashleigh
amazing, talented intern: Chelsea Culpepper
photographers: Eric Johnson, Cindy Furlong
videographer: Theo Cote
baker: Stacey Schaffer
icing word printer: Laura Johansen
inventor of ‘Unicorn’, 3-D icing printer: Richard Johansen, PhD.
fabricators of garments/props: Hamilton and Schoettle, with help from Chelsea Culpepper
DaDa spill draws on the rich and crazy history of mines in the Hudson Valley. The mines of Rosendale began as a geological layering of dolostone made of the compressed bones of billions of tiny sea creatures. The mining industry was active from 1830 through the mid-1950’s. Nineteenth century miners excavated many square miles of limestone to make cement to build cities. In the 20th century, there was a widespread move to fill the voids of former mines with high-security vaults for government and corporate data storage. During the cold war, many mines were also developed into luxury bomb shelter housing for corporate and government leaders. Some mines were also used for mushroom and trout farming.
Part 1: Intake and Identity Protection
Crowd participants will create identity forms for secure storage in the mine.
Paper clerical worker garments and accessories: Actual cloth uniforms were cut up and reduced to pulp. The pulp was formed into paper sheets, which were sewn back together to make paper facsimiles of the original garments. Workers will wear original and facsimile garments.
Wearable paper helmets: Many crowd participants will wear paper helmets with lights to illuminate the meaning of document storage and security. These helmets are made from a mix of recycled phone books, photocopies and hand-made paper (abaca, cotton, flax). Straps: handmade paper printed with collages of mine related maps, plans and directions.
Furniture spill: The mine expels domestic artifacts of identity.
Sound piece: A layered, aural landscape of Conet project recordings.
Part 2: The Enterprise Zone
The Phishing Man: The deceitful fisherman trolls for personal information in the Internet Sea.
The Shredder: The itinerant timekeeper bears the burden of data excess.
The Shredder is inspired by a local 19th C. historical figure, ‘The Leather Man’. For years, this itinerant person walked a regular circular route, spoke almost no words, and took shelter in caves on his route. He was as regular as a clock. The shingled costume was built using paper components created at WSW, consisting of pulp made from recycled phone books, letters, craft paper, cardboard, and a mix of abaca/cotton/flax fiber paper pulp.
Rolo-Dada poem (the shredded mine files): A crowd project DaDa poem will be made by handing rolodex texts to the Shredder for her to speak.
Re-docx: The identity seamstress converts and extracts multiple docx to save as new docx. New identities are strung out to dry and saved for all eternity in the mine. Her wig is a mix of historical Dada movement texts, mine research and corrugated-box dreads.
Data Sifter: The knitter stays safe and productive with secure EMF blocking hat, RDIF blocking booster bag and anti-static skirt as she works on a magnetic-tape craft project. She knits cassette tape together into an aural word-shawl.
Part 3: Wrench (a play)
Part 4: A Banquet to Delete Cookies
Part 5: The Whistle is blown and the Shredder leaves the mine.
We are deeply grateful to the local businesses that helped sponsor this event with donations and publicity. Please help us thank them by doing business with them!
R&F Handmade Paints, Codhill Press, Greene Realty, Artists Work Space, P&T Surplus, True Value of New Paltz, Inc, PDQ Printing, Home Depot, Catskill Art Supply, Women’s Studio Workshop and the Deep Listening Institute.
A huge thank-you to Anne Gorrick (president) and Gayle Grunwald of the Century House Historical Society, for their protection and stewardship of the mine and its historical archives.
This event could not happen without the productive residency period we were granted by the Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) in Rosendale. Thank you Women’s Studio Workshop!
Thanks to Lisa Alt, David Appelbaum, Scott Christianson, Matthew Greene, Mary Hark, Julie Hedrick, Karen Hendrickson, Drew Herman, the Libraries and Librarians of New Paltz, Rosendale, Kingston and NYC, Judy Mage, Larry Morton, Autumn Seguin, Rickie Solinger, St. Ann’s School, Tona Wilson, and many, many anonymous souls.
Thank You to the many volunteer participants, an amazing group of talented artists, actors, musicians, sound designers, writers, directors and artisans, who have made this event happen. Without them, the mine would be dark and quiet today.
We hope this Dada spill sheds light on overlooked facts and reminds you to search for meaning beyond the assumed surface.
We invite you to contribute to this investigation, in your own way. More to come………….
Support and comments are welcome!
http://www.themineproject-dadaspill.net
Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure of this DaDa spill.
The Century House Historical Society
www.centuryhouse.org Visit the facebook page. Become a member. Snyder Estate Museum, open on Sundays 1-4pm, until Sept 1.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39183944@N08/sets/72157634839734129/
Jeff Mullan’s photographs from the event
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99725769@N05/
Eric Anthony Johnson’s photographs from the event
the mine project - dada spill 