New Chaco Culture Artist in Residence John Vokoun Arrives in October
Farmington, NM, October 08, 2016 --(PR.com)-- This October, the National Parks Arts Foundation in cooperation with the National Park Service at Chaco Culture National Historical Park will host NM based painter and computer artists John Vokoun for the third and last of the foundation’s 2016 residencies. The artist will spend a month working at various locations around the wide-ranging park complex, and will stay and work in housing and studio provided by the Park Service. Vokoun is a Santa Fe based artist, who combines his technology based art practice with his work and business as a book designer. The Residency will run from October 1st to October 30th, 2016.
Vokoun, like the pythagoreans of old and the ancient astronomers of Chaco sees the world as a sort of invisible painting that can be revealed in all sorts of ways, and he sees as his job to articulate. “Influenced by Carl Jung and mathematicians Henri Poincaré and Benoit Mandlebrot, I seek universal patterns between systems. Despite the differences that fragment our world, exacerbated and recapitulated by digital media, we also share modes of communication, symbols, gestures, and geometries, and these could help us understand our evolution in a data saturated–world.”
In modern life we are often conditioned to see Art, Technology, Spirit, and Nature as antithetical. Vokoun explicitly rejects those divisions in his art practice. “I live in a geodesic dome in the woods, which I share with philosophy graduate students. I also run a business where we help produce art and photography books for many museums and institutions around the country.” Eliminating the lines between practicals and practice is key for this artist. He looks to the dramatic extensions and mysterious transformations that computer aided technology offers in the 21st century. Says Vokoun, “I am always interested in how technology can be used to make art. Since we are so quickly advancing in new technology, the options for new palette technics are almost endless. Besides working with CNC laser cutters in the last couple years, I am also interested in water jet cutters, 3-D printing, and photo-resist-electro plating as technologies with worthwhile art-making potential.” But he adds that one of the chief pleasures of working in a National Park is getting back to basics, which he plans to do. “But for me, it also goes back to the simplicity of drawing. Just graphite on paper.”
Vokoun who is an avid hiker who has walked or climbed most of the mountains in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, has often thought about Chaco as an ancient venue for linkages between people and spirit, and he is excited to be working in a place that functions as a sort of bridge between the human constructions and rituals and sky and earth. “From my previous visits to Chaco Culture National Historical Park, my feeling is that Chaco was a specific cultural and religious site, designated by its architects as a place to reach towards the outer worlds. “But this residency is also a personal milestone for Vokoun as he will be spending a significant birthday at the site. From the birthing of the earth to the connections with the stars and the transits of the solar system, I believe it to be a place to extend beyond the ego, beyond the singular worldly view and reconnect with a higher sense of self. As a turning point in my life, I will turn 40 during my time in Chaco which becomes a time and place to explore meanings beyond my own ego, beyond my own center and think about the greater meaning of being an artist working with/in technology at the turn of a new century.”
The October Resident has scheduled a talk and presentation on his work and process at the Visitor Center Auditorium on Friday, October 28th at 5 PM.
NPAF is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the promotion of the National Parks of the U.S. through creating dynamic opportunities for artworks that are based in our natural and historic hisitage. Artists may apply with their proposals for this residency and find additional information at www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org. The AiR program is made possible through the philanthropic support of donors of all sorts ranging from corporate sponsors, small business, and art patrons and citizen-lovers of the Parks. NPAF is always seeking new partners for its wide-ranging artist-in-residence programs.
Vokoun, like the pythagoreans of old and the ancient astronomers of Chaco sees the world as a sort of invisible painting that can be revealed in all sorts of ways, and he sees as his job to articulate. “Influenced by Carl Jung and mathematicians Henri Poincaré and Benoit Mandlebrot, I seek universal patterns between systems. Despite the differences that fragment our world, exacerbated and recapitulated by digital media, we also share modes of communication, symbols, gestures, and geometries, and these could help us understand our evolution in a data saturated–world.”
In modern life we are often conditioned to see Art, Technology, Spirit, and Nature as antithetical. Vokoun explicitly rejects those divisions in his art practice. “I live in a geodesic dome in the woods, which I share with philosophy graduate students. I also run a business where we help produce art and photography books for many museums and institutions around the country.” Eliminating the lines between practicals and practice is key for this artist. He looks to the dramatic extensions and mysterious transformations that computer aided technology offers in the 21st century. Says Vokoun, “I am always interested in how technology can be used to make art. Since we are so quickly advancing in new technology, the options for new palette technics are almost endless. Besides working with CNC laser cutters in the last couple years, I am also interested in water jet cutters, 3-D printing, and photo-resist-electro plating as technologies with worthwhile art-making potential.” But he adds that one of the chief pleasures of working in a National Park is getting back to basics, which he plans to do. “But for me, it also goes back to the simplicity of drawing. Just graphite on paper.”
Vokoun who is an avid hiker who has walked or climbed most of the mountains in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, has often thought about Chaco as an ancient venue for linkages between people and spirit, and he is excited to be working in a place that functions as a sort of bridge between the human constructions and rituals and sky and earth. “From my previous visits to Chaco Culture National Historical Park, my feeling is that Chaco was a specific cultural and religious site, designated by its architects as a place to reach towards the outer worlds. “But this residency is also a personal milestone for Vokoun as he will be spending a significant birthday at the site. From the birthing of the earth to the connections with the stars and the transits of the solar system, I believe it to be a place to extend beyond the ego, beyond the singular worldly view and reconnect with a higher sense of self. As a turning point in my life, I will turn 40 during my time in Chaco which becomes a time and place to explore meanings beyond my own ego, beyond my own center and think about the greater meaning of being an artist working with/in technology at the turn of a new century.”
The October Resident has scheduled a talk and presentation on his work and process at the Visitor Center Auditorium on Friday, October 28th at 5 PM.
NPAF is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the promotion of the National Parks of the U.S. through creating dynamic opportunities for artworks that are based in our natural and historic hisitage. Artists may apply with their proposals for this residency and find additional information at www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org. The AiR program is made possible through the philanthropic support of donors of all sorts ranging from corporate sponsors, small business, and art patrons and citizen-lovers of the Parks. NPAF is always seeking new partners for its wide-ranging artist-in-residence programs.
Contact
National Parks Arts Foundation
Cecilia Wainright
505-715-6492
nationalparksartsfoundation.org
Cecilia Wainright
505-715-6492
nationalparksartsfoundation.org
Contact
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