artist survival shack journal

ADAM STENNETT: THE ARTIST SURVIVAL SHACK PROJECT abstract of lecture 

http://www.adamstennett.com/naturallyhypernaturalstennettabstract.html

NATURALLY HYPERNATURAL: VISIONS OF NATURE

International Conference - Invited Speaker

November 14-16, 2014

School of Visual Arts, New York

Naturally Hypernatural: Visions of Nature is an interdisciplinary conference investigating the fluctuating "essences" of "nature" and the "natural" in the 21st century. Each of these terms carries with it an enormity of philosophical questions ranging from the alteration of life itself to dialogues concerning the notion of the Anthropocene, a term used to describe man's intervention into the natural world. The talks presented here will focus on contemporary issues in the visual arts as they intersect with the biological and geological sciences, confirming that nature remains an intrinsically mysterious, ever more mutable entity. At the present time, cellular parts are being remixed in laboratories to create synthetic organisms while geological transformations are forecasting wild swings in weather conditions. Human reproduction regularly occurs in Petri dishes while cucumbers are grown in space. The artificial and the natural now combine to form novel entities, never before seen on earth, while animal species dwindle down to extinction every day. Animals and plants are exhibited as contemporary art, while the real is conflated with the imaginary. Technological advances and their theoretical undertones have migrated into art practice producing New Media installations, Bio Art exhibitions and a global community of art practitioners adapting novel productions to cultural resources. In addition, visual art has become a social practice platform with projects that intersect with urban farming, DIY biology and extremes in performance art. Naturally Hypernatural: Visions of Nature brings together artists, historians, curators, philosophers and scientists to examine and comment on these ideas.

Adam Stennett. Artist Survival Shack. 2012-2013. aluminum and polycarbonate greenhouse skeleton; four section wood floor/crate, 10 foot stainless steel conduit carrier/kitchen counter, four black lever top storage cylinders, 12 glass lever-top jars, wooden spoon, stainless steel desk, window screening, reflective insulation, 70 percent solar shade, Army cot with mosquito netting, wool blankets, Mexican psychoactive blanket, vintage hand grenade crate, vintage civil defense metal chest, vintage ammo box, vintage first aid kit, fire hydrant wrench, 100 watt/100ah solar panel generator 12V DC system with 1500/3000W 110 AC inverter, 12V water boiler, 55 gallon rainwater collection system, water filtration device, gas mask, 12 oz. cans of vintage emergency drinking water, replica benzedrine sulfate, vintage bomb shelter biscuits, instant oatmeal, minute rice, sardine tins, saltines, tortillas, couscous, coffee, dried opium poppies, 3.5 gallon pressurized solar hot water heater and shower, bamboo screen, solar stove/coffee maker using parabolic mirror, fresnel lens, cast iron skillet, vintage kerosene campstove, magnesium fire starter, solar, rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, AM/FM pocket radio; 36 shoe pouch; vertical grow wall and trellis, upside down tomato pedestal, vermiculture composting toilet, 11 gallon portable urine collection system, 160 LED dimmable light panel (rechargeable), rat traps, sling shot, hatchet, machete, hobo tool, vintage typewriter, zen bow and arrows, wooden painting support plank, folding chair with cushion, paint mixing table, paint brushes, paint, paper, stencils, t-shirts, spray paint, Tibetan Buddhist prayer, flags and vintage bamboo wind chimes. 78 x 78 x 114 inches

Adam Stennett: Artist Survival Shack: One Month Installation / Endurance Performance, August 1 - 31, 2013. In cooperation with Jess Frost of Glenn Horowitz, East Hampton, NY (off site East End location)

link to the original proposal http://www.adamstennett.com/artistsurvivalshack.html

On August 1, 2013, Adam Stennett began a month-long installation/endurance performance, living and working in a 6.5 x 9.5 foot, self-sufficient, off-the-grid survival shack at an undisclosed location on the East End of Long Island. The supplies, food and water he arrived with were all he had access to, and he did not leave the area for the thirty-one day duration of the performance. The artist's mission was to survive physically and spiritually, and to create a new body of work that would be exhibited along with the Artist Survival Shack itself at the conclusion of the performance.

link to information on the exhibition http://www.glennhorowitz.com/gallery/adam_stennett1

The exhibition, Survival, Evasion and Escape (The Artist's Studio), at Glenn Horowitz Bookseller was the culmination of the Artist Survival Shack experiment. Based in the artist's struggle to carve out time and space to make artwork in an economically challenging environment, the Artist Survival Shack and the works produced within are a study in what is really necessary for an artist to live and thrive. At once both serious and absurd, the Artist Survival Shack calls attention to the outsider/outlaw role artists have traditionally been accorded by society. The project draws an implicit and uncomfortable parallel between the activities of the solitary artist pursuing his vision and those of the lone madman plotting havoc. It raises varied themes- ranging from environmentalism, green design, sustainable agriculture, visionary states, and utopia, to paranoia, separatism, surveillance, security, economic collapse, and apocalypse- and holds them all in an uneasy tension.

The Artist Survival Shack, in its current state, could remain installed in a gallery or museum setting as a complete and finished artwork. Additionally, at the request of the artist (or owner of the work), the performative aspect of the Artist Survival Shack could be reengaged in another 31-day residency in a new context, public or private, urban or rural. In doing so, the cultural relevance of Artist Survival Shack would continue to evolve with each performance, and the works produced during the residency would remain perpetually attached to the project.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

My final night in the shack was an eventful one. Distant thunder started rumbling around 1am. By 4am I was in the middle of a crazy lighting storm including torrential rain. The lightning flashes lit up the entire shack. It was quite a show! As the strikes got closer it was enough to be a bit frightening. I was glad that the shack was not alone in the center of the field. It was impossible to sleep and at 4:30am, after a particularly close lighting strike, I got up and disconnected the copper wire from my solar panel on the roof (just in case). A few more strikes had me ducking. I wished I had installed a lighting rod and if I do a repeat performance somewhere else I definitely will.

By 7am the rain had stopped and I got up and made coffee for last time out here. My endurance performance was over and it was surreal to think I could leave any time I wanted. Soon I would hike up the hill to my truck and drive away. I decided to document one last thing so I unpacked my video camera I set it up on a tripod in the shack and tried to put into words my experience in the shack and how I was feeling on this last day. After I turned off the camera I closed up the shack, made sure I had my keys and walked out to the road and up the hill.

It turned out that I had one more challenge to face. After a month sitting parked I expected my battery might be dead. It was. I procured some jumper cables but the complicating factor was that that I was parked-in by a big van and there was no way to get a second vehicle close enough to jump it.