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John Parris
jparris@edc.org
Wednesday, October 25,1995, 11:18 AM
John Parris
writes:
Dear Ben,
So I am here at your web site sculpture.
I guess I' supoosed to take a picture of
me washing my dishes. Am I to send it
electronically? How will I know what to
do next? Will you be in touch via the net?
In any case I am glad that you can find
meaning in the quotidian chores of
housekeeping. I find these activities
comforting only in their hominess.
Unfortunatly for me I would rather be
engaged in another kind of repetion:
my own artwork. I enjoy the manual
repetion of cutting, carving, sanding,
and painting. The addtional repetition
of mutiples in a series creates a
reverberating experience (at least for
me). In this way I attenpt to make
time stand still ( or at least slow down).
And in the realization of the time
in between an activity and its twin I can
enjoy the purity of that time
with thinking what I did and didn't do,
only that I am feeling time.
The daily chores of cooking cleaning,
and washing collapse time for me in
a way that makes me aware of how fast
time is going by, how little I have
done between meals, and how little I
might ever achieve.
But at least those dishes are DONE.
So... your turn.
JP
Thursday, October 26,1995, 3:53 PM
Ben Kinmont answers:
o.k., john. nicely said. it's true, at least
those dishes are done.
first, pragmatics: next, if you'd like, send
in a picture of yourself to ADA WEB, attn:
ben kinmont, 32 west 22nd street, 6th
floor, new york, n.y. 10010.
i have to agree with your idea of the homi-
ness of doing dishes. perhaps that's what
i'm trying to do, bring a little hominess
into art, make it livable. in someways it
must have to do with practice and exper-
ience. i suppose that that's also what I
find nice about your discussion of making
art in terms of your experience.
thanks for your thoughtfulness,
and i look forward to seeing your picture.
yours,
ben.