The Distance Between Us
What If You Lived In An Artwork
If humanity lived in an artwork, would we behave differently?
Might we consider our relationship to our planet in a different light?
What if we walked along a city street the way we walk through a museum?
The Distance Between Us is an artwork exploring these questions and many more.
For one week in Eugene, Orregon, April 14-20, Willamette Street between 7th and 8th Avenues will be turned into an artwork, The Distance Between Us.
Fourteen businesses along this block are collaborating with fourteen artists. Each business/artist pair will collaborate to create a limited edition work of art that doubles as a product of the business. The artworks are available through sales and engagement.
Collectible Certificates of Authenticity will be received by participants for each sale or other engagement during the BRIDGE Exhibition. Throughout the exhibition, events will take place, including guided docent tours during the day; and discussions, live music, and a pub quiz in the evenings.
The businesses and artists involved are:
Joshua Isaac Finch and Doc's Pad are creating a mixed drink
Sunny Selby Johnston and Manifest Beer Company are creating a single keg of beer
Courtney Stubbert and London Hair Studio and Spa are creating a nail design that will be available by appointment
Sterling Israel and Ravens are creating a set of prints exploring the science and mythology of ravens
Helen Liu and the City of Eugene Facilities department are collaborating in "artscaping" the landscape elements along the block
Tallmadge Doyle and Gary Dawson Design are creating a pendant, available for sale at Urban Therapeutic, since Gary does not have a storefront
Ugochukwu Akabike and AHM Brands are creating a logo for The Distance Between Us Certificates of Authenticity
Mika Aono and Perugino Coffeehouse are creating a tea drink engaged with a transformation of the Coffeehouse space
Charly Swing and Park Street Cafe' are creating a sandwich
An artist we cannot confirm yet is working with Authentica Wines
Lisa Sansevere and Urban Therapeutic are creating a therapeutic tactile basket
Libby Wadsworth and Spence & Sabitt, LLP are creating a set of plates for visitors to the show to make their own rubbings of legal language explorations
Bret Pendlebury and the City of Eugene Parking Services are creating an activation of the City garage
Mei-ling Lee and Jeff Goolsby are working with Earthbound Moon to create an audio/video engagement with the street and the projects along it this week
There will be opening and closing events on Sunday, April 14 and Saturday, April 20.
On Wednesday, April 17, the Lane County History Museum will host their monthly pub quiz at Doc's Pad, with a focus on the history of Willamette Street and the downtown area.
On Thursday, April 18, Perugino Coffeehouse will host a roundtable discussion of The Distance Between Us with the artists and curators involved.
On Friday, April 19, Doc's Pad will transform into an experimental music venue for one night, hosting bands featuring artists involved in The Distance Between Us: Free Static and Entresol will perform sets. As well, a new composition by UO music school faculty JP Lempke will be premiered. It will be performed by a new music quintet featuring UO Doctoral candidate Milton Fernandez, UO Masters candidate Kathy Hsieh, Earthbound Moon, NFP director Lee Sparks Pembleton, and special guests.
Docent tours will explore the street and the works along it every day that the show runs, leaving from Perugino Coffeehouse at 10:00 AM and 02:00 PM; and from Doc's Pad at Noon and 04:00 PM. Collectible Certificates of Authenticity will be available for all of the works on the docent tours.
"Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole against the sky." -- Rainer Maria Rilke
The City of Eugene's BRIDGE Exhibitions, creates opportunities for innovative, contemporary art projects, pieces or experiences that explore, express or reflect social, personal, political or ecological issues of the times. Artists and organizations engage in conversation with curator, Lillian Almeida, to effectively place locally generated contemporary art projects in the public eye. These works activate public spaces and highlight artists and arts organizations that creatively contribute to the current discourse in our community and beyond.
Earthbound Moon, NFP is an art collaborative focused on terraforming Earth through the installation of contemporary artworks. They work in disparate communities and on small parcels of surface area around the world. Earthbound Moon is also the name of the artwork they are creating over the course of the next 23 generations: the planet Earth transformed into a sculpture garden.
BRIDGE Exhibitions Curator Lillian Almeida can be contacted at
LAlmeida@eugene-or.gov
Earthbound Moon Director Lee Sparks Pembleton can be reached at
Lee@EarthboundMoon.com
Lee and Lillian are available for interviews and to answer questions, as are many of the participating artists, and possibly some business owners.
The Distance Between Us is the City of Eugene's Winter BRIDGE Exhibition. It is co-sponsored by Maude Kerns Art Center. It is created by the arts collaborative Earthbound Moon, NFP.
Some Documentation Earthbound Moon