GREGORY THIELKER

Washington Realism Exhibition

2012-01-27T13:24:00.001+05:30

Several paintings from the Under the Unminding Sky series will appear in
Washington Realism, curated by Shira Kraft, at Carroll Square Gallery in Washington, DC.

Opening Reception: Friday evening, January 27, 6:00pm–8:00pm

Carroll Square Gallery
975 F street NW
Washington, DC 20004

January 27 - April 27, 2012

Unforgotten histories in Afghanistan

2012-01-15T12:35:00.028+05:30

In early January, I traveled to Kabul to begin a project with with Noah Coburn, my good friend and Williams classmate, who has researched and written extensively about Afghanistan. The focus of our work is Bagram, site of one of the primary military airbases as well as archeological artifacts and features going back to Alexander the Great. Bagram is home to mixed ethnic groups, nominally at peace, but whose uneasiness and mistrust of foreigners and one another speaks about the condition of the country.

For a week, Noah and I toured the area and with the help of translators did a series of interviews of local people about their lives in Bagram and their relationship to the US presence. The images and content will be developed into a talk and exhibition at Skidmore College on February 20, 2012.

The northeast side of Bagram where long stretches of open road hugged the mountains.

A view of the Korean hospital, inside the security barriers of Bagram airbase. Note the old Russian troop transport on the left side.

One of the interview participants who claimed to favor American presence, despite disagreement from the other elders with him.

"Repair your mud walls today!"

A former government office and hotel in Istalif, not far from Bagram, which was torn apart by rocket blasts.

The Bagram room in the National Museum, where artifacts previously on tour have not been returned to for display.

A few studio views

2011-12-01T00:03:00.005+05:30

GT Road drawings stretching out...

Interview with Jamaal Abdul-Alim

2011-09-09T12:06:00.014+05:30

I recently had a studio visit with Jamaal Abdul-Alim, a Washington, DC, writer who was visiting India. Here is an article he published after our conversation in Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Many thanks, Jamaal!

The road is like my home

2011-07-15T12:20:00.000+05:30

I spend the whole month on the road; the road is like my home. We transport tomatoes and vegetables from one side and coal and tea leaf from other side. We drink tea and eat little food to avoid sleepiness. I feel good when we are driving, especially if we are carrying fresh food.  This is because we are given extra time to transport the food and if we transport within the time period we get 4,5 thousands extra. I feel good knowing that even though I am a driver now, I may own a truck in the future.

-        -   Pargat Singh, 32, truck driver

A story from the police

2011-06-06T11:55:00.006+05:30

Once upon a time when Sher Shah Suri was going on his horse, and saw a tiger (sher) was drinking water from Murhar River. So he thought of making a city and to build a bridge on the river. He named the city as Shirhati. I am from that area; it is 70km back near to this road.

- -Ashok Kumar, 49, policeman

Bienvenu au studio

2011-05-23T19:20:00.018+05:30

The guard dogs

The best colored pencils- Faber Castell Polychromos

The old and the new

2011-03-02T15:00:00.000+05:30

Truck drivers

2011-03-01T11:00:00.001+05:30

During this trip, just 300km (Togli border) back there was a donkey lying on the road and so many vehicles had gone on top of that...flesh was everywhere on the road.  See, this is our daily income; we can’t do any other work except this. But obviously we feel very sad, even if an animal died. Now there are many modern vehicles running on the new road. Previously it took around 15 day to go up and down but now it reduced to 6 days.  But there isn’t any more profit for us.  Now our profit is fixed, previously it was open; whatever a driver needed was always given by the owner. But now it’s Rs 10,000 for everything, our food, toll tax, transport commission, labour, two drivers, etc. So it is like non-stop, night follows day... yes, we just stop to cook for ourselves. We cook both of our lunch and dinner at a time. By cooking ourselves we can manage the whole trip for around Rs 600.00 for food, but outside it is like Rs 250 (3 persons) for one meal. 

Raju Sayad, 30, Raju Tiwari 35.

Chimbramau, 306 km from Delhi

2011-02-14T14:13:00.012+05:30

What was your impression when you knew that this is going to be your new home?

How we feel? Oh, we feel good. If my brother sees that we are going somewhere then it will be good only. Yes, obviously there were some changes here since we moved.

If there are no children then will you feel good to stay here?

If there were no children, then why would we come here? There would be no meaning to it.

-Women gossiping in Chimbramau


Chimbramau, trucks loading and unloading


New housing developments being built outside the town.

Chimbramau spread further from the road than other towns before it- and included a large housing development I saw when leaving the town. Shops lined the Grand Trunk Road and after talking with a few women in back street, I asked to be taken to a school. The women with whom I had just spoken described how important moving to this area had been for their children. The school I visited was set next to a motorbike shop, but was 3 stories and I found all of the children on the roof of the school. Classes were separated into different corners, and the children were excited to see a foreigner. I came downstairs to speak with the principal and several teachers including two sisters. The sisters seemed happier to be talking together, although the younger of the two did most of the talking.

Teachers, Preeti and Sarita Rathore (center and right)

Tell me about this road

This is the first Indian road, which was made by Sher Shah Suri. Also the longest one.

What have been the changes you have noticed since your childhood?

Nothing...

What is nothing?

Yes, some places it has changed, like road nearest areas. Not any villages. But within this last one area many places has changed a lot.

But why?

Because the council chairman belongs to this area.

Anything you want to tell people about this area?

Lots of joint families stay here, and they have plenty of love for each other. The biggest thing is, people don’t fight each other in the name of religion. Recently there was a Muslim marriage, and they have printed separate invitation card for Hindu. Also they have arranged a separate party for Hindus.

- Preeti and Sarita Rathore, sisters, teachers

An empty classroom (classes were held on the roof)

This interview actually was one of the more fluid ones in several days despite the sparcity of the transcript. I should point out that while doing these interviews with the help of Raj, nearly everyone agreed to speak with us and asked for nothing in return. Their answers were often puzzling, contradictory, and hesitant but also occasionally forthcoming and unguarded.

Later, I wondered about the sisters’ answers. Here again, we heard that nothing had changed in recent years, or changes had only affected the town closest to the Grand Trunk Road. This must have been true to a degree; villages just outside this road were unlikely to receive any benefit such as commerce, transport, manufacturing- all of which seemed to active in Chimbramau. But their comments about the marriage parties highlighted a compassionate gesture in the community by creating two separate parties for a marriage. Much of the area around the Grand Trunk Road had a high percentage of Muslims, another result of the continuous traffic on road for hundreds of years. Religions spread along it, and Islam gained a foothold in northwest India along this pathway. Further down the road, I would stop in cities like Allahbad and Mughal Sarai.

Outside of Chimbramau, I met with a group of people who were living in tents next to the road. They were "Lohar" or ironworkers. Tools were scattered on the ground and a small forge built out of cow dung occupied the middle of the tent. Again, I felt conspicuous taking photographs- especially at the beginning of a conversation. The matron of the home invited Raj, my assistant, and me inside of the tent and we sat on our heels to speak with her. She seemed to be very comfortable us, and began to speak at length, calling us “Lallah” (a familiar term).

Tell us about this road:

What should we know about this road? If we poor people get some space near road, we will cook and eat. If we stay in rural area, we don’t earn sufficient to survive. Here, these trolleys, buses and other people come to us. Some comes with their cutter, rod, etc...That’s how we survive.

Don’t you fear to stay at roadside?

Yes, we do feel a lot, but what can we do? Three, four years back my child got bellow a trolley. Then I treat him. He had three factures in his leg. Previously we are staying in villages nearby, but it was difficult to survive there. That’s why we come near to road. We just want a land near the road to build a house. And my children to grow up, I know we will not get lands for farming. See Lallah, never have we wanted to take anything from anyone, only we give, we just love everyone. We will never make enemies in any condition. See, we are staying in huts and anything can be happen here, you know, at any moment.

Don’t you have fear at night?

Some times, we are not able to sleep at night at road side. Day before yesterday’s night one of our cows died here. It costs four, five thousands rupees. (90 – 110 dollars).

- Iron lady, 45 years old.

Two Washington Exhibitions

2011-01-29T06:04:00.002+05:30

Two group exhibitions in the Washington, DC area are opening next week.

"Drive By" at Project 4 Gallery is based on the theme of moving through different environments. Works will include "Vortex", "Transference", and "Until now", which are available for sale. Contact info@project4gallery.com for details.

“Drive By”

February 5 to March 5, 2011, Reception: February 5, 6:30pm to 9:30pm.
Project 4 Gallery

1353 U Street NW, 3rd floor, Washington DC 20009

tel: 202 232 4340

www.project4gallery.com

Transference 2010 oil on linen 36 x 48 inches

Until now 2010 oil on linen 36 x 48 inches

At the Arlington Art Center, "On the road" will focus on different means of producing artwork outside of the normal studio context. I will show new paintings and drawings from the site-specific project in Norway. See my previous posts about this work here and here.

“On the road”

February 5 to March 5, 2011, Reception: February, 4, 7 - 9 PM

Arlington Art Center

3550 Wilson Blvd, Arlington VA 22201

Tel: 703.248.6800

www.arlingtonartscenter.org/exhibitions

15 km Gamle Strynfjellsveg 2010 oil on aluminum 8 x 12 inches

El Zonte Work

2011-01-22T19:58:00.008+05:30

Dark drawings 2011 colored pencil on bristol 8 x 12 inches

In El Zonte, I was struck by the extinguishing strength of night time. Perhaps, this was due to the contrast with the nights in Delhi, where lights, dust, and pollution keep the city in a perpetual black-yellow haze after dark. In El Salvador, the few streetlights or outdoor bulbs created islands of illumination with deep shadows.

I began to draw these points at which the light seemed to drop off- and shadows could be both shallow or deep spaces. Each view is paired with an object I collected at the scene, often these were minimally visible, but a piece of the site I drew nonetheless.

Like other artists at the residency, I also wanted to work with some of the natural materials of the coast. The black volcanic sand seemed like a visually interesting, but unpredictable choice of material. At some times it seemed to absorb light and crumble like charcoal, at other times it reflected light like mica flecks in granite. I mixed white glue with water and applied it with brushes and then worked in sections, alternately painting on the glue, dropping sand, and then shaking off the sand, so the image slowly revealed itself.

Fighters 2011 volcanic sand on canvas 36 x 49 inches

This image is a popular newspaper photograph from the El Salvador civil war, which lasted from 1979 - 1992. At our open house at the end of January, people who saw the drawing were able to decipher a great deal - somewhat to my surprise given that its a pretty minimal image. As I was told, the image shows rebel groups returning from a small battle. They are identifiable as rebel guerrillas from the conflict because of the presence of a woman fighter and because of her white shirt (government soldiers were exclusively men and dress in camouflage uniforms). Newspapers during the war showed fighting that people in El Salvador experienced sometimes firsthand, but often heard in the distance or read about from other parts of the country. I was curious how the reports of the war seemed both tangible but also disjointed for people living in the country during the war. Images of women fighters were a special surprise. Visiting the country now, evidence of the war is less obvious and conversations revealed a hesitancy to talk about the war and an impulse to forget its atrocities.

Fighters detail

Over the course of several days the sand began to fall from the drawing, slowly erasing the image.

Harper's Magazine Illustration

2011-01-18T18:02:00.000+05:30

Harper's Magazine, February 2011 issue.
"Bedazzler" 2008 oil on panel 8 x 8 inches. Private collection.

Hybrid Art Projects at El Zonte

2011-01-07T06:26:00.002+05:30

View from La Peniscola

Just after New Year's eve, I arrived at a residency in El Salvador. Hybrid Art Projects, run by Camila Sol, invited 12 international artists. The site overlooks the Pacific Ocean (and provided the rare seasonal occurrence of sunrise and sunset out of and into the ocean) in the costal area of El Zonte, close to La Libertad. It would provide a spectacular backdrop for artmaking.

Along Route 2

Coming back from dinner- papusas, naturally.

Markers and distances on the Grand Trunk Road

2010-12-15T06:50:00.003+05:30


NH 91 road marker

Over the course of the journey, I find a number of markers that reappear day after day. Small buildings and towns seem to line to road with good consistency- and farmland stretches out on either side. Based upon the route's history, I expected to find towns and cities clustered along it with some regularity. The concept of the "journey" or "journee" (one day's travel by foot) would lead me to think that the towns might appear every 20 kilometers, or with open areas between built up sections.

The "English" liquor shop was a common site.

In reality, houses and small towns are more evenly dispersed. With the development of the highway in the past several years, even more people have moved closer to the road. There are occasional distance markers, which usually reference the next major city. Overhead metal signs are more rare and distances seem approximate. I spoke with several people who mentioned distances in kos, an ancient measurement of about 2 kilometers. The road's measurement has changed again and again, as has the speed at which it has been traveled. What equated for one day's journey in the past has grown exponentially. Actually, this isn't entirely true since I have seen plenty of ox or camel carts on the road moving at one a few kilometers per hour. The drivers were often asleep in the cart, with the animal leading the way.


Toyota Innova and camel.

As I saw in France, large trees also mark the roadway. These provide shade- and also have been allowed to grow uninterrupted because of their proximity to the road and not in the middle of viable farmland. When I stopped to take walks, I could see these tall broad trees from a distance.

Every few hours of driving, I would see the remains of an accident. More often than not, these involved "Leyland" or transport trucks . The trucks travel day and night and several people mentioned the threat these trucks pose to other drivers or people along the road. I have been curious to talk with these drivers because of their frequent experience with the roads- they are the most frequent travelers, but also spend the least amount of time in a single place.


Accident on NH 91 involving Leyland.

Road drawing

2010-12-01T10:53:00.001+05:30

Malawan, 230 km from Delhi

2010-11-26T16:14:00.001+05:30


Temple in Malawan

In Malawan I stopped to collect interviews and do some sketches from the roadside. A small white temple stood out, with its minarette decorated by reflective bits of enamel. The town was up early in the morning and our interview about the Hindu temple quickly drew a crowd of people who seemed both curious and shy towards our questions of the road. Several people corrected us and said this was the Sher Shah Suri Road. (Grand Trunk Road is the name given by the British during occupation).

Here are some quotes/interviews.

"It is being told that, one day, a groom’s marriage procession was going on this road. And due to some punishment by a god, they all become stones, also the food. This temple is made of those stones."

- - Pramod Singh and Ram Avtar, men, age 45 and 42

(Discussing road development) "Profit is there, what can be the loss? It’s like both are there, those thing s which give you profit also gives you loss. This is a necessity."

- B. Sibsebak Mishra, 55 year old man.

(Is the road is the same as it was in your childhood?) "Why this should be the same? (Is your business developing?) Nothing is happening, just happening well. (Has your business been affected?) Nothing, it is all the same, like a single ware. There is only one pottery." (General laughter followed this response.)

-- “B.”, potter, age 43

Barbershop in Malawan


Outside Malawan, road marker showing NH 91

Village Bhadwas

2010-11-24T14:04:00.002+05:30

We spent a night with Bhai Tej Singh, the father of a friend from Delhi, in Village Bhadwas near Etah. His family has lived in the area for generations and he has a powerful standing in the community as evidenced by the number of people coming and going from the house to seek his company and advice. Mr. Singh gave us a tour of the area- pointing out several of the roadway’s original features as designed by Mughal Emperor Sher Shah Suri in the 16^th century. Emperor Suri developed the road on top of an older trade route to connect his hometown Sasaram with Agra, the capital (it was later extended from Sonargaon, Bangadesh to Kabul, Afghanistan). His innovations included sarais, or guest houses, which were built at regular intervals, as digging as water wells near the road. The road facilitated the flow of people, trade goods, military units, and communication.

Bhai Tej Singh outside of his home with a neighborhood puppy.

Near Bhadwas, I stopped to take a look at one of the original sarais, a simple structure that has existed as a mosque for many years. The local people were proud to show me the building.

A sarai in Bhadwas dating from the 15th century, converted to mosque

Water pitchers at the sarai

Tracking down one of the original water wells proved harder as it was overgrown with brush. Still, we found it, although it had been filled in some time ago.

An original well dug near to the GTR

That evening we talked about the road and the way it has changed the communities next to it. Mr. Singh spoke in a supportive way about the improvements for the community vs. the way it existed 10 or 20 years ago. From these first conversations, I was struck with how broad the topic of the Grand Trunk Road could be- and how this might complicate people’s personal connection to it. While I was searching to record personal accounts, it seems the road tends to be a litmus test for issues like regional development, upward mobility, and even how people communicate with strangers.

"Though the traffic was so slow during my childhood, we were not allowed to go there because my father was afraid that may someone kill me. Even I was not allowed to ride bicycle to run over the road. In a broader sense, it was the fear of all the nearby villagers"

- Bhai Tej Singh, 50 year old man.

GTR near Bhadwas at dusk

Buffalo (note the child's shoe around its neck, as in "I'll put my shoe on you if you mess with my buffalo")

A statue of Dr. Ambedkar, writer of the Indian Constitution, in front of a village house

Stopping at Nanau, 152 km from Delhi

2010-11-22T12:35:00.002+05:30


Delhi to Kanpur

For this trip, I had the opportunity to take a closer look at the first portion of the Grand Trunk Road. Geographically, there’s a slight difference in the older and newer highways from Delhi to Kanpur (about 1/3 the trip to Kolkatta or 429 km); National Highway (NH) 91 follows the ancient GTR and is the slower of the two, while the wider and faster NH 2 follows a southerly route which includes Agra. We took the northern route to stick with the GTR and also to gain a glimpse of what the modern highway, NH 2, might have looked like before it was expanded in the past 5 -10 years. It was mostly 2 lanes with sections mired by giant potholes. (Google maps claims the NH 91 route is faster than NH 2, but on the last trip it took me 8 hours to go 150 km on that road). I also began to collect interviews with people near to the road with the help of Delhi artist Raj Mohanty.

Near the village of Nanau, I stopped to do a painting (152 km from Delhi, stop #3). The road crosses a small river and after talking with people in the area, we discovered that although the main market is set back from the highway, that is where the original GTR passed. The new road (and bridge) are relatively recent additions. Painting proved to be tough as a crowd gathered almost immediately. But I was able to record some of the colors of the place.

Painting at Nanau

Here are some quotes from the interviews we collected on site.

(Pointing at the old road through Nanau) “First, look the ‘kankar’ (red concrete), then the cement bond, then concrete. It was here and now its the bypass. (the shifted road).

- - “A”, 68 year old man

“There was a water mill near this nala (canal). People came from distant villages to grind their wheat, to make bread in their houses. Now, all cities have electricity network so electric mills are there. Here, the mill was closed since the last 20 years.”

- - Mahesh kumar, 49 year old man, schoolteacher.

“Every side of people go through this road.”

- - Ramdulari, 60 year old woman, waiting for a bus.

Guest artist talk at College of Art, Delhi

2010-10-28T17:46:00.008+05:30

Today, I gave a talk at the College of Art, part of the Govt. of NCT of Delhi, after the generous invitation of Professor Jyotika Sehgal. It was a pleasure to share my past work and the on-going project on the Grand Trunk Road with students and faculty. As I announced, I am looking for students to do a paid internship with me. It would be a mentorship experience, where the student would assist in my work as well as create his or her own project.

Please contact me via email at gregorythielker@gmail.com with interest.

Beginning with the Grand Trunk Road

2010-10-27T16:51:00.005+05:30

This week, I began my on-site work on the Grand Trunk Road. For this project, I will create a series of paintings along the overlap of the ancient Grant Trunk Road and modern Golden Quadrilateral Highway between Delhi and Kolkata. These images will represent the landscape now, as well as what remains from the past. The project will involve paintings done at regular intervals along the roadway. Narratives collected from locals and travelers will accompany the images to give a sense of how people experience this road in the present day.

Old iron bridge, Delhi side of the Yamuna River.

While National Highway 2 has become the defacto route southeast from Delhi, actually the GTR runs along NH 91 as it leaves the city. From the very start, it was obvious that this roadway has been in use for a long time. Here we can see the old iron bridge that crosses the Yamuna River. As my father-in-law observed, its like the George Washington Bridge because it has two levels, only instead of an upper & lower level for cars and buses, here the upper level is for trains, and the lower level is for cars, auto rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, pedestrians, motorbikes, cows, etc. The riverbed is currently being used as a rickshaw depot and on the other side, as a site for digging out mounds of sand to be used in construction throughout Delhi.

The road is in poor shape, with large potholes requiring slalom style driving.

At 76 km from Delhi. Here a temple seen on the right is being used as a police station and road block between Machkauli and Jalkhera.

At 152 km. A bridge crosses the river adjacent to a small marketplace in Nanau.

Internet image flurry

2010-10-21T16:15:00.000+05:30

A number of websites have recently posted images of my work and links to my website. I am amazed (and flattered) that the images spread so quickly and that much overlap exists between websites that feature popular culture, news reporting, and fine art. I've posted a few examples here, but as a google search reveals, there are many more.

Post on The Independent.

Post on Gawker.

Post on La Repubblica.

Arrival in India

2010-10-01T22:15:00.002+05:30

I arrived in India in mid September to begin a year-long project that will chronicle the Grand Trunk Road (an ancient trade route similar to the Silk Road) as it exists today through paintings and audio interviews. It's already proving to be quite an adventure, as I came to Delhi with my family as well.

Here, I feel as though the roads change constantly- both because of the human traffic as well as the infrastructure updates. As one might imagine, there are positives and negatives to these shifts. I want to show how this is affecting the communities and individuals along this major route between Delhi and Kolkatta.

I'm grateful to the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and the United States India Educational Foundation for making this project possible through a Fulbright-Nehru grant, and for Sanskriti Kendra for the residency fellowship where I have my studio.

Please check back for more updates.

Selected Norway Route Paintings

2010-09-01T16:56:00.004+05:30

From the series Allemannsretten. These works are the result of my time in Norway: paintings that I began along the Gamle Strynfjellsveg road and finished in the studio.

6 km Gamle Strynfjellsveg 2010 oil on aluminum 8 x 12 inches

9 km Gamle Strynfjellsveg 2010 oil on aluminum 8 x 12 inches

15 km Gamle Strynfjellsveg 2010 oil on aluminum 8 x 12 inches

18 km Gamle Strynfjellsveg 2010 oil on aluminum 8 x 12 inches

En route: Painting along Norway's Tourist Routes

2010-08-05T13:14:00.017+05:30

In June of 2010, I arrived in Norway to study and document the experience of driving along several roads that had been given the special title of Tourist Route. This designation signifies the natural beauty of the area and the presence of roadside viewpoints and contemporary architectural installations. My intention in visiting and painting along each route was to find a means to express my observations about the comprehensive experience of the roadways and the ways in which they shape our understanding of nature.

This project was supported through grants provided by the American Scandinavian Foundation and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC.

Activities

June 8-9: Oslo. Visit with Even Smith Wergeland at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.
June 9-13: Gamle Strynefjellsveg.
June 13- 16: Gamie Trollstigen.
June 17- 20: Sognefjell.
June 21 – 24: Oslo. Visit galleries. Meet with artist Lars Elling. Meet with Ministry of Culture officials Eva Vincent and Mette Michelsen.

For several weeks, I drove a rental car along three routes in western Norway: Gamle Strynefjellsveg, Gamie Trollstigen, and Sognefjell. This region and the routes within it were selected after many discussions with researcher Janike Larsen, a member of the “Routes Roads and Landscapes” group at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design with which I was associated for this project. While in Oslo, I visited Even Smith Wergeland, a PhD candidate and another member of the “Routes” team. Even described how the designs for roadways in Norway have been produced through a combination of utopian schema and difficult natural geography, and this description proved to be applicable in my interpretation of the rural routes I traveled.

While these roadways have always been functional routes for traveling from point A to point B, they have been recently re-imagined to facilitate the way that we experience nature. It was my hypothesis that our sense of a place happens not simply through a single viewpoint, like the many created along these routes, but through space, time, and motion. In other words, by traveling along the road, we gain a feeling about that environment and our place within it.

My project was to divide the route into intervals and create a painting every 3 kilometers (10 paintings total) on lightweight aluminum. This method produced several interesting results. First, the experience of the roadway became more democratic; equal weight was given to different aspects of the roadway and surrounding environment. Second, the multiplicity of the series encouraged a compare / contrast evaluation between the panels. My preferred working time was between 8 pm and midnight when the long twilight created a palette of muted hues, soft gradations, and a narrow contrast range. At several points, mountains were first visible in the distance, and then rose in scale and proximity in the subsequent painting. Third, the working process of painting on-site provided a means for describing the details that I saw in each place. I also kept notebook with entries on the materials at each site, the duration of the visit, and conditions of the day.

Reflections

Before this project, my work mainly involved hyper-realistic paintings of views from within the car. By showing rain or reflections on the windshield, these images revealed a separation between the viewer and the outside world, a dynamic that never allowed the viewer to pass beyond a two-dimensional surface. With this project, I redirected many of my interests in how roads guide our experiences, but in a way that involved more of my own actions. As I worked on these paintings outdoors, often returning to a place over and over, I gained a responsibility and authorship over my visual descriptions. The paintings were an analysis of what and how I saw what was before me at that moment. If I were to return to the site a week or year later, the site would be subtly different, as would I. To use painting, as a form of documentation, both of the site and the artist, is a shift in my working method I hope to pursue further.

On choosing a site

2010-06-13T19:01:00.001+05:30

"And then I select the site. There's no criteria; just how the material hits my psyche when I'm scanning it. But it's a kind of low level scanning, almost unconscious. When you select, it's fixed so that randomness is then determined. It's determined in uncertainty. At the same time, the fringes or boundaries of the designation are always open. They're only closed on the map, and the map serves as the designation. The map is like a key to where the site is and then you can operate within that sector."

Robert Smithson. 1979.

Originally published: The Writings of Robert Smithson, edited by Nancy Holt, New York, New York University Press, 1979.