ROAD TRIP

SALT LAKE CITY

SPIRAL JETTY

We knew that the Jetty wouldn’t be visible this time of year, but I wanted to get a photo of the Jetty fully submerged. I am interested in how Robert Smithson created this piece so that it would be very difficult for man to control the experience of viewing it. His work deals with the idea of Man’s involvement with nature, and time. The Jetty’s difficulty to reach, and its unpredictable viewing times all become part of the artwork.

TREE OF UTAH

This is a monumental sculpture created by Swedish artist Karl Momen in the 1980s. It stands just off I-80 on your way west to Wendover, UT/NV. The spheres at the top are encrusted with a sampling of all the types of rocks commonly found in Utah’s geology.

SALT FLATS

I drove through this nearly 50mi stretch of Utah’s landscape, which was flat, desolate, bright white in color. The portion of I-80 used to access this region is a straight as an arrow expanse of freeway and all around you is the white flat hot ocean floor. Off into the distance, mirages, mountains and the curvature of the earth play on your perception. I HIGHLY recommend spending some time here! Photos do it no justice, though the film Independence Day starring Will Smith does.

WENDOVER

Wendover is a town that occupies two states, It is simultaneously in Utah and Nevada. 

CLUI

“The Center For Land Use Interpretation operates an interpretative research site in Wendover, UT as part of it American Land Museum.” There are two galleries to access, among other interesting site to see. Each gallery has artwork and research projects that deal with the landscape. Call (310) 839-5722 when you arrive.

-Jamey Herman, Frontier Fellow

I have been helping out at the Community Center, where they run an after school program for kids ages 4 to 12. On Valentines Day we crafted cards and decorated cakes. Which was exciting but not as much as when on Presidents’ Day we made Lincoln hats and beards!

I came into this program expecting to make friends, make art and help the community. I never expected I would be working with kids, nor did I think I would love it so much! It feels good to talk with them about their aspirations; I like to tell them I’m an artist, I went to college, and that I come from Oregon. They ask questions like where is Oregon? Will you draw me something? Will you read to me?

-Jamey Herman, Frontier Fellow

Well, I hope you all had fun yesterday on Mardi Gras because we now challenge you to 40 days of serving your community! Ha!

During Lent, many commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury. However, maybe this year instead of “giving up” sweets/television/[insert your personal vice here], how about just giving? Here are a few ways to “give in” and not “give up”:

1. Give 30 minutes daily to a local Food Bank, shelter, Boys & Girls Club, church, community center, or Habitat for Humanity. There are 1440 minutes in a day, so 30 minutes is only 2% of your day!

2. Abstain from a daily luxury that costs money (that morning latte, that afternoon cookie, that after work cocktail). Set that money aside for 40 days, and then donate the money to your favorite local organization (or Epicenter even!).

3. Ask your best friend, significant other, or coworker to join you in one or both of the above challenges.

Enjoy!

Epicenter’s response to the blog post “Community by Design” from More/Than/This (Blog)™, re-blogged at the bottom of this post.

 In regards to the question of, “Where does the community enter the design process?” This is our perception:

The point at which the community engages is in the idea generation found in brief conversations at the post office or at longer brain storming, off-the-cuff comments at community meetings, or, to say it concisely, the input. Importantly, the cultural and historical nuances are certain to be discussed. “That won’t work here” needs to be asked “Why?” And “We tried that before” needs to be followed by “When? What happened? Who tried?” The designer is present as the facilitator for this analysis. The designer does not, however, create the input other than acting as the coordinator and recorder.

Then, it is the role of the community to comfortably release some control. The education of the designer prompts for designers to take the myriad of factors, categorize and knoll the input, and solve it in one product. We are charged in the output. It is not necessary (and even not possible) for those in the first stage to micromanage those creating the product. We trust the information provided in the input; you trust that we have the concern and ability needed to translate that into an output.

The most meaningful (successful) outputs undergo a review and critique process, elevating the initial (obvious) output into an output that everyone (the community and the designer) can put on their mantel (an artifact). And yes, at this point of completion, this is not the end. The engagement of the community so as they become an informed advocate, empowered by the interested group that has been formed, is yet another output; it gives power to the output to become an agent of progress; perhaps it’s the most meaningful output in a “community-driven design” project.

Lastly, it is equally challenging and valuable that the designer stops short of providing (to much of) the input. In this case all to often, the whole project responsibility becomes the designer’s, a self-congratulatory exercise in an inward-looking world lacking responsiveness to the context. And, many times in this scenario, the community loses the authorship, and the designer becomes “those kids from Alabama that are doing that thing over there.” Without the delineation of roles, each group’s skills are not capitalized on. And without the community taking ownership, the project dies when/if we leave.

Original post:

morethanthisblog:

Last weekend, I found myself in a situation not unlike situations past, whereby I (designer) was being instructed by a group of individuals (non-designers) in the layout of a 12-page independent newspaper called Critical Moment. CM, which was first organized and published by graduate students at the University of Michigan, began in 2003 as a forum that could help progressive/radical groups on campus communicate with each other about campaigns, upcoming events, etc.

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Turn off your TV - Leave your house - Know your neighbors - Look up when you are walking - Greet people - Sit on your stoop - Plant flowers - Use your library - Play together - Buy from local merchants - Share what you have - Help a lost dog - Take children to the park - Garden together - Support neighborhood schools - Fix it even if you didn’t break it - Have pot lucks - Honor elders - Pick up litter - Read stories aloud - Dance in the street - Talk to the mail carrier - Listen to the birds - Put up a swing - Help carry something heavy - Barter for your goods - Start a tradition - Ask a question - Hire young people for odd jobs - Organize a block party - Bake extra and share - Ask for help when you need it - Open your shades - Sing together - Share your skills - Take back the night - Turn up the music - Turn down the music - Listen before you react to anger - Mediate a conflict - Seek to understand - Learn from new and uncomfortable angles - Know that no one is silent though many are not heard. Work to change this.

(via MCAD Rural Arts Initiative)

We’re ecstatic to announce a Future Frontier Fellow, Sarah Baugh!!!!

Sarah graduated from Portland State University where she focused on graphic design. Sarah lives in Portland, Oregon. She regularly collaborates with past Frontier Fellow, Nicole Lavelle, and one of favorite visitors ever, Justin Flood. Check out our favorite collaboration between Sarah, Nicole, and Justin called North South Portland.

Sarah currently works with Wieden + Kennedy and Wilder Quarterly. Recently, Sarah collaborated with Nicole Lavelle on the identity design for the upcoming Open Engagement conference. Open Engagement is an international conference that sets out to explore various perspectives on art and social practice and expand the dialogue around socially engaged art making.

Most of her work is rooted in context and place, so Green River will truly be a creative paradise for Sarah. On Turkey: the land of figs, cats, hazelnuts, olives, pomegranates, honey, ayran, turquoise water, pine trees, chickens, boats, buses, dust, headscarves, greenhouses, cigarette smoke, sunflower seeds, glasses of çay, the static of the adhān blaring from loudspeakers and echoing through valleys, crumbling stone, hairpin turns, Atatürk, piles of cat food on the street, yogurt containers filled with water, sun, and identical loaves of bread.

Sarah will join us in July, and will stay in Green River for one month as a Fellow making beautiful artifacts and enjoying summer in Utah. View more of Sarah’s work on her website.

Apply for the Frontier Fellowship (suggested date of February 29th to be considered for 2012).

morethanthisblog:

There are several “Design for Good” entities that will likely never move past surface-level efforts for social change until they realize that systems change is (1) a cross-disciplinary sport, (2) a long haul and (3) not always popular.

Until designers find a way to move beyond our networks of peer support, the result of any Design for Good (or Social Design if you prefer) Lab, Workshop, Blitz, Brainstorm, Think Tank, Do Tank, Summit, Session, etc will forever be a bunch of designers (“top creative minds” if you will) sitting in a hallway for seven days dreaming up big ideas, without the capacity or knowledge-based needed to implement and sustain.

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The Epicenter is seeking immediate fulfillment of a new AmeriCorps VISTA position. Contact us very soon if you are interested. We intend to fill the position by February 16th.

Information on the position:

The position was granted to us courtesy of the County’s Business Expansion and Retention Program. The position is for one year in Green River, Utah at the Epicenter. Below you’ll find a job description, timeline to apply, probable projects, required skills/interests and much more information. Applicants must notify Epicenter of application submission to the AmeriCorps website, apply directly to Epicenter, be able to pass a background check, be at least 18 years of age, be a US citizen or have other approved status to live and work in the US, and have a bank account (for direct deposit of stipend).  

Due to the very short timeline for filling this position, please call Epicenter [(435)564-3330] immediately if you are interested! Feel free to forward this information on to anyone. Apply for the position here. Thank you!

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Job Description
AmeriCorps VISTA member will work towards economic development in partnership with the residents of Green River, Utah. Along with creating and nurturing the development of direct economic development of businesses, VISTA member will work to alleviate housing burdens by identifying and matching regional resources to specific families to exhibit tangible pathways out of substandard, unaffordable, and/or unhealthy living conditions. VISTA member will work within the office of the Epicenter under direct supervision of the Director of the Epicenter with oversight by the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Green River Positive Action Community Team, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of the residents of Green River.

AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTAs) receive…

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