Sigh. Observe whether anyone noticed. Repeat. (COSMOS 1536)
January 31, 2018
MESSAGE SENT VIA SATELLITE TRIGGERED TEXT MESSAGE on 1/31/17 at 8:58am.
FACT: COSMOS 1536-Zenit was a series of military spy satellites launched by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1994. To conceal their nature, all flights were given the public Kosmos (Cosmos) designation. Dozen's of spy satellites orbit overhead daily.
*FEATURED IMAGE is of COSMOS 122: Maquette du satellite météorologique russe (1966), Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Paris Le Bourget (France). Obtained on Wikipedia Media Commons
Do you find meaning in these actions?
The week following our Orbiting Together project launch at the SAM Olympic Sculpture Park has been a... learning process. Recently, I heard a colleague say, "The aim is to make a project seem so simple and accessible that it appears as if it could have been pulled off overnight. Yet, the truth of the matter is that the behind the scenes work for these socially engaged projects is belabored." I have been feeling that labor. And because the timeline for this project is breakneck, that labor is exhausting and has taken an emotional toll; maintaining conceptual rigor while maintaining simplicity and clarity has almost been an out of body experience. Given the subject matter and content of the project as a whole, I find that ironic.
Yet, when today's text appeared, I experienced the magic of this project for the first time. I felt as if the words arrived serendipitously, from the cosmos, ESPECIALLY FOR ME. It was personal and intimate. I happened to be standing across from artist and director, Jessica Cerullo, in her vocalization class. She received the text at the same moment, a huge grin filled her face. For some time we sighed as if passing the sigh back and forth in call and response. In between each exhale we slyly looked around the room at the students filing in, carefully observing them. In-the-moment-ness filled our bodies. And then, without saying a word we both went to sit at the circle forming in the middle of the room.
Today, I needed those words. And, based on the participation and feedback, it seems that others needed today's instruction too.
Today, the project felt complete and successful just for what it was.