Vrooooooooom.

The Missouri Breaks

Old Trade...

I am collaborating with Becca Albee on a project for RECESS Space in which we are using conversation as art material.  Our dialogue has been primarily concerned with an appreciation of the small luxuries we extend ourselves: fine chocolate, blended teas, scented oils, condiments packaged in petite glassware,  paper goods, coffee, etc.  The nature of these products suggest a long complicated history as evidenced by The Huffington Post's entry on the 13 Products Most Likely To Be Made By Child Or Forced Labor.

Taking a look at this list I am reminded of how tightly I hold many of these accouterments as an expression of style and sophistication- despite their cruel origins.

(Note: Images are HYPERLINKED)

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CoonBox.

So, it began quite innocently- although I suppose none of my conversations with my boyfriend are innocent.  Insightful, comedic, challenging, loving, passionate? Absolutely! Perhaps that’s the inspirational appeal of our dialogue.  Anyway, we were discussing the uncanny ability that black (American) people have at confining themselves to a box.  My art practice seems to be overly concerned with disrupting this pattern as a personal matter of course, in fact breaking out of what my boyfriend calls “The CoonBox”.

Something about the word itself is aesthetically pleasing- CoonBox, CoonBox, CoonBox (say it 7 times fast :->), and I am compelled to mimic this rhythm visually. The CoonBox is an equal opportunity confiner and hope to expose its dangers.  In the meantime check below for a pieces of the CoonBox mythology I am creating…

African Folklore: an encyclopedia (Google eBook) The Coon in The Box Coon Box, MS Coon Box (on youTube) The Coon Caricature

Funny, as in Ha-Ha.

So, I've decided that I am going to prepare a stand-up routine as a performance piece.  I am already terrified, which is confirmation that I should do it.  Considering this project academically is a supple way to calm my nerves, so I'm listing my findings on my blog...  Stay tuned for more.

LINKS-

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaggy_dog_story
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blonde_jokes#Blonde_jokes
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Englishman,_an_Irishman_and_a_Scotsman
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-up_comedy  "In 2005, Bill Dana, a graduate of Emerson College in Boston Massachusetts and stand-up comedian, approached his Alma Mater about establishing an archive of comedy to help preserve the lush history of the ground-breaking comics of the last century. Over 60 interviews were conducted and a vast database of comedic information is now on record at Emerson College."

QUOTES-

• "Comedy is the last refuge of the nonconformist mind."  - Gilbert Seldes
• “Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.” - Peter Ustinov 
• "The Duty of Comedy is to correct men by amusing them."  - Moliere
• "And then technique-- You can do it either real slow or real fast. You can come out and sound like you're real brilliant or real stupid. That's the technique that that separates you. And you can do somebody else's joke. You can do old jokes. Old standard jokes that's been out there. Look at the preacher. You got different preachers and they're working out the same Bible!"  - Dick Gregory
• "A smile is a curve that sets everything straight" - Phyllis Diller
• "I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking. " - Joan Rivers
• "I am where I am because I believe in all possibilites." - Whoopi Goldberg
• "Women don't want to hear what you think.  Women want to hear what they think- in a deeper voice." - Bill Cosby
• "When you ain't got no money, you gotta get an attitude." - Richard Pryor
• "Comedy rules! Don`t let anybody tell you otherwise, and there are no rules in stand-up comedy, which I really like. You can do anything you want and you can say anything that comes to mind, just so long as it`s funny. If you ain`t funny then get the fuck off the stage, it`s that simple"  - Richard Pryor
• "Yeah, I love being famous. It's almost like being white, y'know? " - Chris Rock
• By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.  - George Carlin
• "I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately." - George Carlin

101 Greatest George Carlin Quotes (Just 'cause I think he's amazing...)

Please SAVE THE DATE! I have a feeling I'm going to need all the support I can get!

Re:ANIMATION (continued research...)

Paper Man from Adam Rosenberg on Vimeo.

Displaced Threshold + Empress Simone: More Photo Documentation

All Photos: Monica Frisell, 2010. Courtesy of Forever & Today, Inc.
NADA / The L Magazine / Bumble and bumble. University Model Project Emerging Artist Showcase, Winter 2010, Curated by Forever &Today, Inc., The House of Bumble, New York, NY, December 2010.

Empress Simone 

Kenya (Robinson) 2010

Empress Simone 

Kenya (Robinson) 2010

Displaced Threshold

Runway Model: Isis King

Wardrobe: Zulema Griffin 

Hanging Installation by: Denise Kupferschmidt

Displaced Threshold

Displaced Threshold

Artist + Performer: Kenya (Robinson)

Hanging Installation by: Denise Kupferschmidt

Displaced Threshold

Artist + Performer: Kenya (Robinson)

Displaced Threshold

Performer: Bettina Goolsby

Displaced Threshold

Performers: Bettina Goolsby, Kenya (Robinson) and Isis King

Displaced Threshold

Displaced Threshold

Hanging Installation by: Denise Kupferschmidt

Displaced Threshold

Displaced Threshold + Empress Simone

Displaced Threshold

Special thanks to: Savannah Gorton + Ingrid Chu (Co-Directors of Forever & Today, Inc.), NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance), The L Magazine, Bumble and bumble.University, Cleopatra's, Isis King, Zulema Griffin, Bettina Goolsby, Denise Kupferschmidt Simone Leigh, and Monica Frisell.

Displaced Threshold: Photo Documentation

Becca Albee & Kenya (Robinson): Type A Plan B

A Collection of Conversations Culminating in Celebration

Becca Albee (c) 2010

December 17, 2010 - January 8, 2011

Originally commissioned to create a window installation during the holiday season, Becca Albee and Kenya (Robinson) have re-imagined their assignment as a performance to activate Recess.  To negotiate the particulars of their project at 41 Grand Street, the artists will convene during a series of meetings, staged in the Recess storefront. During regular sessions, Becca and Kenya will plan their ongoing work, discuss baked goods, draw up spreadsheets and highlight a few of their favorite things that will be featured at the party on January 8th.

About the Artists

Becca Albee is a connoisseur of chocolate and scents, and a maker of photographic images and objects.  She lives and works in New York.

Kenya (Robinson) has a fondness for anything packaged, is a magician with string, and creates sculpture and performance.  She lives and works in New York.

Beauty is as beauty does...

The Colour Of Beauty

http://miss-landmine.org/
"In April 2008, the most extraordinary competition took place in Angola in South-West Africa. 'Miss Landmine' was a beauty pageant for female victims of the 27 year civil war. The conflict may be over, but Angola remains one of the most mined countries in the world with more than 70,000 people disabled so far. The competition was designed to raise awareness of the many victims and challenge traditional concepts of beauty."

Waking Sleeping Beauty

...Disney units...

"This Cat came out of his own bag." - Rev. Albert Wagner

Get It In Your Mind #23

"Men are stupid and they like big boobs."
- Marilyn Monroe as told to Joan Rivers

Latest Netflix...

10. Downtown 81

09. Claudine

08. Bucktown

07. Xala

06. Five On The Black Hand Side

05. Labyrinth

04. Tyson

03. Camp

02. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

01. Blade Runner: Theatrical Cut

It's all good press...

As an artist I am constantly reminded that most work is viewed through the filter of the press.  Even your well intentioned local friends can't support your every endeavor, not to mention the folks whose introduction to your creative practice is via the internet or print publications.  Going forward, I hope to shrink the distance between the spirit of my words/images and what is actually published.  In the meantime, I can continue to use those same tools to creatively revise some of what is available on paper and in cyberspace.  Check below for an example...

Print version

(Robinson) revision

Displaced Threshold_ Performance Score

Note: A displaced threshold is a runway threshold located at a point other than the physical beginning or end of the runway. The portion of the runway so displaced may be used for takeoff but not for landing.

MATERIALS

10 full length mirrors 

2 Krew 1300 Hooded Paint Suit 

2 Pairs of shoe-cover booties

1 Dress

1 Pair of black stiletto heels

2 Band Clamps

Pre-cut bubble wrap

Packing tape

ACTION

The performance begins when two paint-suited individuals will arrange 10 mirrors into a path through the space. The mirrors will be placed reflective side up and end-to-end. 

After the set up is complete, a runway model will strut down the mirrored “runway”. As the model approaches the 10th mirror, the two paint-suited individuals will continue creating the path from the remaining mirrors until the model exits the performance space.

Selecting the farthest mirror first, the “paint suits” will collect all 10; layer with bubble wrap, secure them with band clamps and transport the mirrors to the exit.

Kenya (Robinson)

December 5, 2010

Monthly Update...

In preparation for 2011 I am establishing a Monthly Update.  I am proud to be so deliciously busy and I want to make sure that I am able to connect with folks who might want to support my work.  I am happily 'all over the place' and you can find me making sculpture/installation work, performance, writing, sound collaging, panel discussing...

I've embedded a PDF file so you can get a taste of what the month of December is like in my crazy world!  Links are included in the document so, ENJOY!

Salon

I've been commissioned by Forever & Today, Inc. to create a new work for a one night installation at Bumble & Bumble University.  "Forever & Today, Inc. is a non-profit that is a sponsored organization of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), a 501(c)(3). Currently inhabiting a 100 square foot storefront on the cusp between New York’s Lower East Side and Chinatown, Forever & Today, Inc. is a mere thumbprint on the ever-expanding demographic of contemporary art, offering a unique set of circumstances for artists to create new work and engage the public.

Co-Directors Ingrid Chu and Savannah Gorton formed a curatorial partnership in 2008 to found Forever & Today, Inc. As an organization with no fixed identity and a playful sensibility, projects may take the form of exhibitions, site-specific installations, publications, editions, and public programs that focus on a collaboration with a single artist, collective, or collaborative entity."

An interesting match between my work, obsession with all things hair and the beauty salon setting, I am researching the 'Salon' and its historical connotations as a point of departure for the work.  The visual appeal of classic beauty salons, with their chandeliers, gilded mirrors and snappy smock flourishes offers a number of inspirations. 

MORE LINKS:

http://www.freebeautyevents.com/tag/history

http://bobbinsandbombshells.blogspot.com/2009/07/vintage-finds-of-week-curlers.html

K's Anatomy...

Having recently sprained my toe, I've been thinking about the wonderful anatomy of feet.

Get It In Your Mind #22

My work, Island Folk (Triptych) , is now a part of the Deutsche Bank Collection!