janiceperry.com
Janice Perry
“Louise Fishman is a Beautiful Thing”
This video is the central component of a small sculpture/reliquary contained within an ipod wrapped in silver wire and authenticated with a seal of paint from Fishman's palette. The video can be shown on an ipad, monitor, or as an LCD projection. or (ideally) as an installation-- see below.
The video was included as part of the exhibition, "Generations" at the Woodmere Museum of Art in Philadelphia (2012-2013).
I made this piece to honor and preserve the spirit of American painter Louise Fishman. I wanted to capture her contemporaneity, her directness, her strong feminist spirit, her intelligence, accessibility and grace.
Fishman is remarkably articulate about her work process and is able to describe a clear continuum from the very earliest drawings to the most recent paintings. From the first time we met, almost all of our conversation has been focused on art and art-making, and her discourse in this piece reflects the sharpness, thoughtfulness, and immediacy of every exchange we’ve had.
See further photos at flickr.com/photos/janiceperry/sets/
Further info:
I used an ipod nano as a housing for the reliquary. In homage to Fishman’s sculptural painting style, and her commitment to the grid as a foundation for much of her work, I first wrapped flat thin silver wire around the ipod to form a flexible grid, then removed and twisted it into an abstract form to reflect Fishman’s painting style and reflect the multi-dimensional qualities in her work.
I then re-wrapped the ipod with thicker, round silver wire to form a base grid, and integrated the thin silver wire back into the piece. A seal of paint from her palette applied on the back of the housing authenticates the object.
Fishman is contained within the reliquary, but is completely accessible, portable, and rechargeable. The small screen and use of small speakers or headphones make the viewer ‘s relationship to the piece a very intimate one.
With the passage of time, the wire wrapping the reliquary will tarnish and the ipod battery will die. However, the digital information containing Fishman’s text and image will be permanently housed within.
“Louise Fishman is a Beautiful Thing” is part of a long-standing progression of performative multi-media works.
Installation:
The piece is a reliquary and should be installed as a sacred object.
The ipod screen needs to be at a height easily visible to the viewer. The video can be projected directly on a wall behind the piece (a kind of vision), or displayed within a monitor. Viewers should be able to walk around the piece, and have an option to listen to the audio with headphones.
The ipod controls should be on the left, so that the "feet" of the reliquary hold it upright, and it should be set to run in a continuous loop.
The ipod requires a cable for video out, which should be as unobtrusive as possible.
