Houston - SKYDIVE Art Space

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houston
nancy zastudil
Houston
Interview With Skydive
by
Nancy Zastudil
Houston because of Hurricane Rita. I arrived at a very socially
In May 2008, I first saw the work of artists
charged moment.
Sasha Dela and Ariane Roesch in the Houston
Area Exhibition at Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum
Ariane Roesch: Coming from Germany and having to
of the University of Houston (May 10 –August 2,
relocate due to family reasons, I had visions of a sprawling
2008). I was drawn to their respective pieces in
desert and having to adjust to ranch life. It was a pleasant
the show and was thrilled to learn of their
surprise to encounter that Houston is a large city with lots of
collaborative endeavor, SKYDIVE - a new exhibiopportunities and activities going on. I have lived here since
tion project space in Houston, TX. What follows
1996.
is an email interview with Sasha and Ariane
about SKYDIVE’s early development stages.
NZ: Sasha, what are some attributes or characteristics of
Houston that have kept you here?
Nancy Zastudil: What brought each of you to Houston?
Sasha Dela: I’ve always felt drawn to Houston. Years before I
moved here for the Core Program, I was curious about this
place – the wild capitalist experiment of Houston. I had seen
the photographs of the shotgun houses in the massive dark
shadows of corporate towers. I had heard of Houston’s no
zoning laws. It’s the home of oil and oil money, sprawling
freeways, and sudden floods. But Houston also has amazing
soul food, palm trees and fried plantains, black beans and rice.
And there is great funding for the arts. It’s pretty much the
perfect place to experience total disillusion and tremendous
happiness, all at the same time.
SD: One thing that immediately comes to mind is the fact that
folks in Houston are so friendly! I moved from San Francisco
to Houston and at first the adjustment was difficult, as my
studio practice is engaged in social economic and environmental/green issues. In the Bay Area, everyone is familiar with this
and has a somewhat active role in the green movement. In
Houston, there is an opportunity to deal with a completely
different audience who arguably is more in need of that sort of
dialogue.
NZ: Ariane, how has Houston shaped your artistic career?
But ultimately it was the Core Program that brought me here – I AR: Houston has been a great place to create work and
started my artist residency in 2005 and finished the summer of develop various projects, like SKYDIVE, and also Mechanical
Perception, an exhibition featuring work by five University of
2007. It was a strange transition coming from a very liberal
Houston alumni from the Photography/Digital Media
place – San Francisco to Houston. Also, a couple weeks after I
department that I’m co-curating with Toby Kamps, Senior
arrived, Hurricane Katrina hit and evacuees poured into
Houston. And not long after that, there was an evacuation from Curator at the CAMH, and Stephan Hillerbrand, Associate
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Professor at the University of Houston. It is wonderful and
encouraging to have such a closely-linked arts community that
makes it possible for such projects to happen, and I hope to
take these experiences and apply them elsewhere.
NZ: How did you two meet?
AR: Recently, we were each selected to be in the Houston Area
Exhibition, curated by Claudia Schmuckli at Blaffer Gallery,
the Art Musaum of the University of Houston. We were also
included in the exhibition OUTPOST at CTRL Gallery.
Sasha was looking for a new studiomate, since her previous
studiomate, Jonathan Durham, was moving to New York. We
liked each other’s work, and after visiting the studio and seeing
the great skyline view, I was ready to move in.
SD: We had been nodding and helloing each other at Blaffer
while we were each putting together these intense installations.
We really started talking during the install at CTRL Gallery
for OUTPOST. We already knew about our mutual interest in
installation, but we also each have an interest in found material
and imagery from magazines. She was hanging these collages
and sewn works with these intricate combinations of limbs and
body parts inserted into various machines and office furniture.
And she was flipping out about these books of mine called
Mixed Volumes that I make by gutting the insides of found
books and rebinding them with pages of other found material
like junk mail, porno magazines, and car adds. So we had a lot
to talk about.
NZ: So you two really hit it off, but how did you conceive of
and settle on the idea of SKYDIVE? How is it structured? Can
you describe its format?
AR: We discussed the best way to use the extra room we had in
the studio, and we both liked the idea of having a project space
which would bring in artists from outside of Texas. Since the
studio is in the same building as the notorious SkyBar, a
Houston jazz club located in the heart of the Montrose district,
we settled on SKYDIVE, which, while referencing the
proximity to SkyBar, also refers to taking a risk. And it is sort
of a dive - it’s a room in the studio, not a fancy institution.
SD: The idea for SKYDIVE came pretty fluidly after that
conversation, each one of us having new ideas on a daily basis
p.
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for its structure and position in Houston. Our mission is to
broaden the spectrum of the dialogue in Houston by bringing
in artists to create work for the 12 x 14’ exhibition space. The
aim of SKYDIVE is to host a range of art practices that push
the limits of their material forms, including non-traditional
methods of sculpture, installation, video, performance, and
works that engage the viewer through participation, as well as
text and web-based projects.
AR: SKYDIVE utilizes an open and collaborative model for
producing its programming. In addition to us, it also consists
of a group of artists and curators that function as advisors to
help create shows, invite artists, and collaborate in the mission
and programming of the space. Previous to each exhibition,
participants in SKYDIVE will be invited to Houston for a
sustained number of days to make their work, interact with the
Houston community, and see the sites in Houston and
surrounding areas. They will be welcomed by a selected group
of SKYDIVE advisors. The community will be invited to
SKYDIVE for the opening celebration and to an artist/curator
talk the following day.
NZ: Who are these advisors, how did you select them, and
what can you say about their role as you continue to develop
SKYDIVE?
SD: We have some amazing SKYDIVE advisors, who will
collaborate in the programming, curate shows, and possibly
volunteer to house a visiting artist, just a few of the many roles
that advisors can take on. Dolen Smith, artist, local legend, and
founder of Museum of the Weird, will be helping to revamp the
space, and with his experience with nonprofits, he will help us
rally all those involved. Also on the list of advisors is John
Smith, an architect based in Houston who is currently
developing some green housing of his own design; Marcus
Cone, a local experimental musician; Margo Handwerker, who
is leaving Houston to pursue her Ph.D at Princeton but will
continue to be involved; and Jonathan Durham, an artist who
is primarily located in New York. The list is ongoing.
Gathering advisors to participate in SKYDIVE has been a
fairly organic process. Ariane and I came up with a list of
people who were doing projects that we were excited about in
Houston and outside of Texas. We also were clear that
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