education

On May 7th, 2012, FAREWELL OUR ORANGE DOME…

communal chopping

…or F.O.O.D., was the title given to the final public event of our Princeton Student Colony, which consisted of a variety of activities throughout the afternoon, but the highlight must have been sitting in a circle on linen squares around a student-made communal chopping board, wielding knives of varying sharpness, chopping vegetables for stew while chomping on rounds of Weatherspoon Bread Company bread, sheltered from the unexpected rain by a decidedly bougie white rental tent – and finally the last act of the day was the levitation of our well worn orange dome HQ, facilitated by one of the architecture students who had unscrewed it from the platform and fabricated a perimeter tube allowing us to gather around, grab the ring and lift it up, making us realize how fragile the architecture of our classroom had been, and kind of blowing our minds as we carried it away to another part of the campus for fruit, tea, and singalongs.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 7, 2012 | education, food
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On April 26th, 2012, PRINCETON STUDENT COLONY CROCHETING…

Paolo models the crocheted creations of the day

…is the activity for the day, as we fled the spring rain and cold and leaky drafty dome of the Colony compound to gather in the nearby anonymous modern building, where we made ourselves at home on the floor of the lobby surrounded by piles of old clothes, and scissors, and random creations we weren’t sure what to do with.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 23, 2012 | crafts
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On February 6th, 2012, THE PRINCETON STUDENT COLONY…

Princeton Student Colony, day #1

…kicked off today with thirteen students gathering for warmth, discussion, and dinner from the crockpot in the domed tent for 8 hours on the highly visible big wood public platform centrally situated on the New South lawn, that collaborator Dan wood of Work AC and I had set up – where, for the next four months, they will be making themselves at home and making things happen – plus in the following weeks to be joined by distinguished inspiring visitors J Morgan Puett, Chip Lord, Robby Herbt, Can Altay, and Lisa Anne Auerbach. (website)

We have colonized and temporarily domesticated a strategic location on the Princeton University campus where we are making ourselves at home, creating an evolving lounge / laboratory / stage / platform / headquarters for the presentation and performance of fundamental human activities often ignored by the academic disciplines, such as cooking, composting, dancing, eating, exercising, gathering, gardening, meeting, moving, napping, performing, recycling, socializing, stretching, talking, walking, washing, etc. Students of archeology, art, architecture, dance, engineering, literature, physics, politics, and beyond are working in partnership with student clubs and communities to conceptualize, design, create, and build the settlement over the course of the academic term; with the possibility for each student to develop his or her individual project(s) responding to the larger whole. We began settling the New South lawn site on February 6th, 2012, in our 20′ diameter all-weather geodesic tent headquarters on a 24′ x 72′ wood platform/stage where the Colony will gradually unfold and develop through the season, with public projects, installations, performances, meetings, and events.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 6, 2012 | education
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On October 29th, 2011, AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MILDRED’S LANE …

fig.1: Dry Goods Store as the first installation for The Narrowsburg Mews, Circa and The Mildred Complex(ity)

…one of my favorite places, just arrived from J Morgan Puett, excerpted below:

This fall, we are introducing The Mildred Complex(ity), the public face of Mildred’s Lane…located on Main Street in the village of Narrowsburg, NY, across the Delaware River from Mildred’s Lane. We occupy the top floor of the Narrowsburg Mews building at the corner of Main and Bridge Streets…setting up a project/studio space…and will serve as the office for Mildred’s Lane. The Mildred Complex(ity) is not for profit. We will fundraise to support upcoming artist projects, programming and events with Mildred’s Lane and the Upper Delaware River Valley community.Our first collaboration is in a unique little storefront called Circa currently operated by Nest, a home accessories store on Main Street…a little storefront tucked in the alley of the Narrowsburg Mews, next door, right behind Narrowsburg Roasters, the coffee shop. Anna Bern, owner of Nest, approached us to collaborate in this small storefront. We immediately jumped on this opportunity to use the space to launch a series of projects, ideas, experimental exchanges….

J. Morgan Puett, Ambassador of Entanglement

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By Fritz Haeg on October 29, 2011 | education
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On September 21st, 2011, THE NEW SOUTH LAWN AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY…

New South Lawn, Princeton University

…will be colonized by a group of students that I (along with architecture professor Dan Wood of Work A.C.) will be working with next term as a professor in the Atelier program – and today I am here to meet with students to talk about the upcoming studio project: “We will colonize and temporarily domesticate a strategic location on the Princeton University campus where we can make ourselves at home and create an evolving lounge/laboratory/stage/platform/headquarters for the presentation and performance of fundamental human activities often ignored by the academic disciplines, such as cooking, composting, dancing, eating, exercising, gathering, gardening, meeting, moving, napping, performing, recycling, socializing, stretching, talking, walking, washing, etc. ”

 

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By Fritz Haeg on September 21, 2011 | education
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On May 10th, 2011, AN INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY WORKSHOP…

two teams develop schemes for self organizing into new communities

…in advance of the ‘Open Engagement‘ conference this weekend – with the Portland State University students of the Social Practice program – culminated with all day meetings and discussions while cooking and eating.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 10, 2011 | education
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On June 24th, MILDRED’S LANE…

a typical nightly al fresco community dinner at Mildred's Lane

…is the blissful rural Pennsylvania domestic experiment – the vision of J Morgan Puett and Mark Dion – where we have arrived this evening to a gracious community meal at a long table beneath the facade of the majestic/rustic main house overlooking the meadow leading down to the Delaware River Valley – more thoughts as the upcoming days unfold. (Midlred’s Lane website)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 24, 2010 | education
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On May 31st, 2010, PROFESSOR RICHARD SCHOENWALD…

letters from Professor Richard Schoenwald

…taught a class called “Society and the Arts” which I took during my third year of undergraduate architecture studies at Carnegie Mellon University – he would make a point of personally visiting the shows and installations of his students – and then surprise each with a typed letter of detailed, thoughtful, encouraging responses to the work (I particularly remember this installation with plants that I had created in the central hall of the College of Fine Arts which he was especially enthusiastic about) – and today I am sorting and storing various artifacts including all of my old letters – especially numerous from my days living in Italy pre-email when all correspondence was hand-written on paper – and I’m coming across many letters from Professor Schoenwald, including one that I received just days before his death in 1995 – and another particularly thoughtful and encouraging letter dated December 3rd, 1992, just months after my graduation, in which he responds to to an apparent crisis of direction I was experiencing at the time:

“I hope the disorientation will lessen. You live in a world with so many choices, and also the feeling that one must have, not just a vocation, but a perfect vocation. I remember all too well my own attacks of thinking I wanted to go to med school, once when I was out and teaching and married with a baby. The attacks passed, not without some regrets from time to time in later years, and now, after such a long while, I can finally think to myself, I am able to do what my teachers did for me, which is what I always wanted to – I come into class and I open things up. It’s like a dream, but now without the if’s, and’s, but’s.”

(classmate Eric Heiman also recorded his Schoenwald memories here a few years ago)

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By Fritz Haeg on May 31, 2010 | education
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On May 24, 2010, THE MOUNTAIN SCHOOL OF THE ARTS…

cover of the new Mountain School of the Arts book

…the L.A.-based artist-run program founded by Piero Golia and Eric Wesley, has just released a book (in softcover & hardcover) published with Lulu on the occasion of their 5th anniversary, comprised of contributions and materials from the MSA^ archive, and I just ordered my copy – can’t wait. (MSA^ website)

http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/the-mountain-school-of-arts/10910546
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By Fritz Haeg on May 24, 2010 | books
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On April 26th, 2010, STUDENTS FROM THE OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN GRADUATE PUBLIC PRACTICE PROGRAM…

Otis College of Art & Design - Graduate Public Practice Program - Field Internship & Methodologies course, Spring 2010

…came over to my L.A. dome home-base for a tour and talk this evening. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 26, 2010 | education
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On April 20th, 2010, THE NEW EVERYDAY LIFE: A HIGH DESERT TEST SITES LECTURE & WORKSHOP SERIES…

High Desert Test Sites: The New Everyday Life, 2010

…is coming up soon – the latest endeavor organized by the legendary High Desert Test Sites founded by Andrea Zittel out in the stunning vastness around her place in Joshua Tree just 130 miles east of us in Los Angeles – here are the details, we hear that there are a few spots left…

Join us for our premier pilot weekend of The New Everyday Life, a lecture and workshop series that will commence Saturday May 1st-Sunday May 2nd 2010. In keeping with the HDTS mission to create truly alternative spaces for art that challenges traditional conventions of ownership, presentation and patronage, The New Everyday Life will bring together guest artists and participants whose talent and knowledge varies widely but who all share a desire to approach daily life with a blend of both experimental and practical thinking.    For our weekend-long symposium that includes four workshops and an open-air dinner, we will enroll twelve students in an immersive suite of 2 hour classes held in special locations in and around the Morongo Basin.

The New Everyday Live is an endeavor designed to both stimulate conversation and catalyze action by considering overlap between contemporary art and craft, sustainable living, survival skills, ecology and earth science, and cultural variation. Each participant in The New Everyday Life will leave with a new set of skills and inspirations, after intimately experiencing the Mojave desert’s unique context for life and living.

ITINERARY
Saturday May 1st
12:00. Meet for introduction and driving maps at the HDTS Headquarters in sunny downtown Joshua Tree.
12:30 – 2:30 Visit Wells Pollock in his school bus leather working studio encampment on the edge of the marine base and learn how to do bootleg leatherworking using readily available household tools and implements.
3:30 – 5:30 Hang out with Trinie Dalton at A-Z West Cabin and practice bookmaking stitches to make a book about your experience of the desert. (Note: Dalton will contact participants in advance about prep, supplies, and other details to maximize stitch-learning time. Beginners to advanced bookmakers welcome.)
6:30 – 9:30 Travel to section six with Chantale Doyle to learn more about how she lived for one year in her vegi-oil powered VW Vanagon while supporting herself by selling on ebay.
Dinner. Chantale will fix everyone an exotic fish taco dinner on her van’s cookstove.
Sunday May 2nd
12:00 – 2:00: Meet on the patio of A-Z West for a beer-making workshop with Katie Grinnan and a goodbye toast with her special honey basil, peach, and ginger brews.

LOGISITICS

Cost: The cost is $120 per person for the weekend that includes Chantale’s fish taco dinner. All proceeds are used to cover basic event expenses and to pay the speakers.

Enrollment: Due to the intimate nature of this event the group will be limited to twelve people. No application is needed, but spaces will be filled on a first come first serve basis.  If you would like to enroll please email info.hdts@gmail.com  – you will be emailed instructions so that you can pay via Paypal, the first 12 people who pay will be signed up for the course.

Lodging: A limited amount of campsites are available on Zittel’s property, and can be pre-arranged with the host on a first come, first serve basis.  Alternately, camping in Joshua Tree National Park or staying in a local hotel are excellent options. For lodging recommendations please visit the HDTS website’s Directions page.

For future updates and event listings for future incarnations of The New Everyday Life email us at info.hdts@gmail.com

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By Fritz Haeg on April 20, 2010 | art, education
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On April 18th, 2010, CENTER FOR URBAN PEDEGOGY (CUP) PRESENTS “FAST TRASH: ROOSEVELT ISLAND’S PNEUMATIC TUBES AND THE FUTURE OF CITIES”…

Fast Trash: Roosevelt Island's Pneumatic Tubes and the Future of Cities

…which opens this Thursday at Gallery RIVAA on Roosevelt Island and will be on view from April 22 – May 23 with more details below and on their website (by the way, you should probably know more about CUP, which is an amazing, pedagogically-progressive, hard-to-classify education organization – working with kids and schools across the city of New York to explore how the city they live in works and what it means to live there. (CUP website).

Ever wonder why you don’t see any garbage trucks on Roosevelt Island? Or why there aren’t smelly piles of trash bags on the street? Roosevelt Island’s garbage disposal is nearly invisible: the trash gets whisked away at 35 miles per hour through a series of underground pneumatic tubes. In fact, it’s so inconspicuous that few Roosevelt Islanders know it exists. CUP worked with students from Roosevelt Island’s The Child School to teach residents about their pneumatic system. After a visit to the Island’s processing facility, the crew created a handy User’s Manual and a poster that uses visual metaphors to explain the system.

Their work will be on display at the exhibit “Fast Trash: Roosevelt Island’s Pneumatic Tubes and the Future of Cities,” organized by Juliette Spertus with Project Projects.

Opening reception: Thursday, April 22, 6 – 9 pm. Gallery RIVAA, 527 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY
F to Roosevelt Island

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By Fritz Haeg on April 18, 2010 | art, education
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On March 2nd, 2010, ALTERING ALL OF MY OLD CLOTHES WITH NEW SEWING SKILLS…

pile of clothes waiting to be altered at my new sewing station in the dome

…learned from my sewing workshops with Annie O’Malley at Machine Project. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 2, 2010 | clothing
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On February 5th, 2010, SOMA – A NEW SCHOOL/COMMUNITY CENTER IN MEXICO CITY…

Mexico City has a new cultural/community center

…has just been opened by artist Yoshua Okon, including a two-year/four-quarter school system, a residency program, and a visiting lecture series – all in Spanish – though a summer quarter in English is in the works. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 5, 2010 | education
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On February 3rd, 2010, THE BROOKLYN EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD

Work AC illustration of P.S. 216 Edible Schoolyard in Brooklyn during fall harvest

…planned for P.S. 216 by Work AC is featured in a story today in Metropolis Magazine’s website including an interview with architects Amale Andaos and Dan Wood.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 3, 2010 | architecture
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On January 13th, 2010, EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE…

The amazing mossy forest at Evergreen State College

…is the innovative public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington I’m doing a lecture today, where all of the classes are team taught between disciplines, there are no conventional grades or departments, and they have this amazing forest covered in moss – an exotic sight to these dry Southern California eyes.

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By Fritz Haeg on January 13, 2010 | education
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