THE MINE PROJECT will present “DaDa spill”
Sunday July 28, 3-4:30
In the mine at The Century House Historical Society,  The Snyder Estate, Rosendale, N.Y.     http://www.centuryhouse.org

DaDa spill will investigate the extraordinary local/global phenomenon of data storage and specifically the repurposing of mines for document storage. This experimental event will be staged within the vast half-acre interior space of an abandoned cement mine.  This monumental room and pillar style mine consists of enormous sloping bedrock, 18’ wide and 30’ tall standing stone pillars and an expansive groundwater lake.  The space is evocative of a ruin of a great ancient hall. This event, presented in the spirit of Dada, will have numerous overlapping presentations, sounds and visual images resulting in a massive Dada data spill.
Documents will be created, exposed, processed, discarded, stored, recovered, and eaten.

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 DaDa spill.

DaDa spill will draw on the rich and crazy history of the mines of Rosendale that began as a geological layering of dolostone made of the compressed bones of billions of tiny sea creatures. The hay days of the mines of Rosendale were from the 1830’s until 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 of these transformed mines were also developed into luxury bomb shelter housing for corporate and government leaders.   The mines were also used for mushroom and trout farming before they were developed into bomb shelters and document storage.

DaDa spill
Date:  July 28, 2013
Event time: 3 – 4:30 pm.  + Admission.  Note: some events are sequential and some will overlap.  Come on time if you want to see all.  Bring your own movable perch if you want to sit.  Wear sensible shoes.
Place:  The mine at The Century House Historical Society, The Snyder Estate,
668 route 213, Rosendale, ny

Who:  Mau Schoettle and Kate Hamilton, + crowd project.

For more information:

contact anonymous at dadaspill.themineproject@gmail.com

tel. 1.845.340.1280

http://www.dadaspill-themineproject.net

The Mine Project is the result of years of imagining by Mau Schoettle and Kate Hamilton about what could be done in the mine that would embrace its unique dreamlike environment along with the truth of its hard history. DaDa spill will be the first in a series of on-going events presented under The Mine Project umbrella.

After meeting periodically for years to discuss and research the mine’s history and explore the possibility of working artistically within the space, Mau and Kate began to focus on the strange phenomenon of abandoned mines being repurposed as document storage and emergency housing for the elite.  Gradually the information they uncovered developed into a slightly absurdist and suggestive puzzle of curious facts.  This will be the first presentation of The Mine Project.

Mau Schoettle is an artist and conceptual clothing designer.  Kate Hamilton is an artist and costume designer.  Both have worked locally and internationally on a variety of experimental projects.  Special thanks to the Ora Schneider Residency Grant from the Women’s Studio Workshop for their support.
 

Curious Facts
A mycologist buys an iron mine to grow mushrooms, which he then cans and sells under two brand names: ‘Elf’ and ‘Cavern’. His business is a huge success.  He is called the King of Mushrooms.  His interests shift, and he sets up a lab, gets government grants, and develops an important medicine to fight tuberculosis.  Then, it is the cold war:  he becomes less interested in plant mushrooms and more interested in the impact of mushroom clouds.  He transforms his mine space into bomb-proof high-security housing and document vaults, which he rents out to panicking industrialists and government agencies….more to come….