Pruitt Igoe

Many of us seem to be fascinated by and even cynical regarding faulty utopic dreams, failed projects, & decrepit buildings. One of the things that drew me to St Louis initially was the abandoned buildings. I have been photographing ruins for years. But after learning more about the city, the fallen buildings I once romanticized have more of a sinister presence in my mind.

I first learned about Pruitt-Igoe (a former utopic St Louis housing project) in an art history class in college. Its history fascinated me. I used as the subject of an essay I wrote about the failures of modernist architecture in regards to humanism in urban development. If that subject interests you I suggest looking up more, there are quite a few fascinating essays that were much more coherent than mine.

Since it's demolition in the 1970s, Pruitt-Igoe is now a large empty plot that resembles a wildlife refuge in the heart of North St Louis. Here's a clip form Koyaanisqatsi, a documentary and a fun Le Courbusier video.

For delightment play all 3 simultaneously.

If you have even a vague interest in historic & abandoned buildings, I suggest checking out the Ecology of Absence website. The site examines the fate of historical buildings throughout St Louis and includes some information on Pruitt Igoe.

photos from this past weekend...

.

the family farm

Atnas video

I'm sleepy. Really sleepy. Just did the final performance of "May These Changes Make Us Light". Still wearing my furry dress that I spent most of yesterday constructing. It turned out to be a really beautiful show. Here's a clip for those of you who couldn't make it. It's from Lyndsey's piece in the performance. I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!!

Holiday Fantasticness

CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS...

Recorded a holiday single in Alton (photos from the trip) with some friends and am in a performance this weekend "May These Changes Make Us Light" with several St Louis friends and performers. I'm also doing my favorite holiday activity, singing again in Celia's Yuletide Express.

hilariousness...

missing stan

Here's a fun photo from Stan Chisholm's Cranky Yellow show featuring myself, Carolyn, Jaxon and Zack. Stan one of the nicest guys I know. He was our intern at SCOSAG camp last summer and rented a spot at Arcadia. He's in his last year at the Chicago Art Institute.

past clothing projects

Posting these to remember. I made these dresses back in 2004 and actually hand-dyed the fabric, silk-screened and felted. Was fortunate to have friends who didn't mind modeling. Also including photos from some of my other projects. I made T shirts for the Free Form Film Festival and started my own line of reconstructed garments, Ragamuffin in 2002. One of the projects I'm most proud of during this time was Pro-choice/Pro-fashion show. We were able to raise enough money to send 200 people to the March for Women's Lives in Washington DC.

photos from a roadtrip with Sandra

I recently got to spend time with my old friend Sandra and former cat Cleo in Portland. Found these photos from a roadtrip she and I took a few years back. Sandra and I ended up in New Harmony Indiana by "accidentally" following a 69 exit sign. Ironically New Harmony was the 19th century home of utopian religious cult, as my dad calls them, the Harmonists. Most fascinating to me, the group built labyrinths and dug wells based solely on tree formations.

The town also has an installation by Patric Dougherty ,A Carolinian who harvests vines from his property and makes large scale dwelling-like installations. As you might imagine, we had fun climbing them.