I had the pleasure of visiting the Djerassi Resident Artist Program, on their gorgeous 600-ish-acre property, to attend their annual, one-day open house program, a collaboration with Leonardo to focus on arts with a scientific element.
My dear friend, Sanna Fogelvik, is currently a Resident Artist, so I was able to see their new work, along with the work of other artists in their cohort with diverse practices.
The property is a classic Northern California coastal landscape, complete with second growth redwood forest, and all of the magic that includes.
For anyone who wants to have a chance to see all of the art installed in the landscape, I don't want to spoil the surprise of encountering the pieces, though I can't resist sharing an interior of the Old Barn with our hiking group in it. The barn contains multiple installations that are deeply satisfying as experiences.
The art throughout the property is well-placed, very site-specific, and often just perfectly lit by rays of sun coming through the redwood canopy.
Viewing art throughout the guided hike in this landscape was wonderful, and each microclimate had something, from the dry exposed hills to the fairy rings of redwood regrowth. The art was spaced far apart, with neighborhood-like groups of art when the artists wanted to engage with the spaces, and so it was both a multi-hour hike experience and treats of art spaced well apart - there was no fear of missing something. It was well balanced, and professionally organized and led.
The Open House was spectacular - I don't have many opportunities to engage with working artists so closely (outside of my long-distance friend circle, and we are primarily-but-not-exclusively photographers). It was a very positive experience to see their work in progress (with a glorious emphasis on the process, not only the finished product!), and speak with them directly about it. The resident artists have diverse practices - dance, musical composition, digital art, analog photography, natural soundscapes, poetry, photography, speculative futures - and also aren't limited to one practice, so a group project to collect and work with local clay had participation from artists of many disciplines. That is also such a joy to see - we don't need to be in just one art box!
I'm sure it was tiring for them to answer so many questions, but they did so well, and the conversations were satisfying for me. Even listening to stories from the highly engaged other visitors were fun, as they brought their own enthusiasm and prior art experiences to their questions. Alumni from the program were present and engaging, and some of them have ongoing work that started with their resident projects. Other visitors were also in non-profits and/or working artists, and they were completely delightful - and were kind enough to take me back to SF from the program's remote ranch!
I'm exhausted in a pleasant way.
