Katie Bachler {autumn 2006}
1. i am an explorer of the space(s) around me. i draw maps of brains and freeways and gardens. i am interested in new ways to interpret the familiar, in decontextualization and hidden meanings. i love the city of los angeles because of its unknowability; the possibilities for exploration are endless. my context changes as i traverse its neighborhoods and histories. la reminds me of italo calvino's invisible cities, it is never the same. my passion revolves around the place i am living. la is filled with so many constructions- the suburban ideal (irvine, valencia), bodily perfection (hollywood), the lawn.... i spend a lot of time thinking of ways to disrupt the norm. i was once very politically active and would hold small protests outside of the gap and starbucks, but now prefer to plant squash and talk to strangers in public space.
2.i like the way time exists when I am on my bike.
i think there should be gardens that attach to the back of bikes.
i am drawing peoples memories with a fine tip pen, on paper.
3. i attend graduate school at USC because I am interested in creating ways to relate in public space outside of the consumer realm. i would like to make available the personal in the seemingly homogenous space of what we see everyday. i hope to one day create a travelling archive of personal histories and lead tours through unfamiliar spaces in familiar cities.
4.If I created a school, it would be quite similar to the sundown schoolhouse.
5. i am attending a graduate program that is very practical and academic. school tends to be this way, with students complaining of extensive reading assignments and boring papers. this could never be the case at a school that begins with yoga and ends with a potluck sundown schoolhouse goes much deeper into ideas i have explored on my own. education is always.
6. i am the most excited about people who actively create communities
based on a specific time and place.
previous school experiences:
alternative high school
occidental college
USC
significant professional experiences:
curator at small LA gallery
teacher of outdoor education to 5th graders
provider of 'comfort counseling' to inhabitants of downtown los angeles in response to the lack of public space
nanny to two amazing toddlers from australia
photography teacher in east los angeles
investigator of residential hotels in downtown la
cartographer in downtown la
urban gardener
other places lived: stamford, ct / brattleboro, vt / portland, or / amsterdam / los angeles