no.243 | Too Soon To Tell, Bastrop State Park, TX
Performance artist Jan Bas Ader never revealed what he was Too Sad to Tell You. Some critics believe that this is an ironic ploy. The artist creates a simulacra of intimacy by forcefully rubbing his eyes before each performance to coax tears from physical irritation rather than earned emotion. Or perhaps the ambiguity is poetic–allowing one to imagine the scenario that would personally move them to tears. I imagine the mystery surrounding the piece and his death is what makes the work so iconic for many.
Much of my work comes from lived experiences. This is why I am so drawn to photography and field recordings. These media are rooted in the world around us, but also free from the bounding context of time. It’s hard to know what is too personal to share. When has enough time passed to create the distance that may allow more nuanced work to emerge?
My mother passed away at the end of May. That feels very near and impossibly distant simultaneously. This past year, I was her main caretaker and even after her passing, there is still much to do. Although now I have more time to make things. This past weekend, PSO collaborator and dearest friend Paul and I traveled to Bastrop State Park to record some music we have been refining over the last year in a cabin built as a CCC project in the 1930s.
The audio is a composite of a spacious improvisation made just outside the cabin and the sounds of the spreading of her ashes in a small clearing where a blackened tree stood almost in partnership with a young new tree. The image is a composite of those two places. One image was made just outside the cabin during a particularly vivid sunset, and the other depicts the space where our small ceremony took place.
Email us at info(at)porchswingorchestra.org
Much of my work comes from lived experiences. This is why I am so drawn to photography and field recordings. These media are rooted in the world around us, but also free from the bounding context of time. It’s hard to know what is too personal to share. When has enough time passed to create the distance that may allow more nuanced work to emerge?
My mother passed away at the end of May. That feels very near and impossibly distant simultaneously. This past year, I was her main caretaker and even after her passing, there is still much to do. Although now I have more time to make things. This past weekend, PSO collaborator and dearest friend Paul and I traveled to Bastrop State Park to record some music we have been refining over the last year in a cabin built as a CCC project in the 1930s.
The audio is a composite of a spacious improvisation made just outside the cabin and the sounds of the spreading of her ashes in a small clearing where a blackened tree stood almost in partnership with a young new tree. The image is a composite of those two places. One image was made just outside the cabin during a particularly vivid sunset, and the other depicts the space where our small ceremony took place.
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LETS'S MAKE SOMETHING TOGETHER
I love to collaborate, remotely or in person, but if you have a piece you would like to feature on PSO (without contributions by me), by all means, please reach out!Email us at info(at)porchswingorchestra.org
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ABOUT PSO
Porch Swing Orchestra is an art project begun by Barry Stone that explores the interplay between still images and sound.Since 2018, PSO has collaborated with dozens of musicians, artists, poets, writers, and activists to publish over 200 unique combinations of images and sounds.
Most PSO pieces are made on Stone’s front porch in Austin, Texas, but PSO has traveled to Spiral Jetty in Utah, the border town of Del Rio, Texas, Maine, the San Juan Islands, and performed live in the James Turrell Skyspace, The Color Inside as a part of The University of Texas Landmarks Songs in the Skyspace Program.
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