01 Mar Isla Vista: Near Goleta, But Closer – The Poetics of Place
Harry Reese (Art, UCSB) Tuesday, March 1, 2011 / 4:00 PM McCune Conference Room, 6020 HSSB In February 1991 at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Harry and Sandra Liddell Reese exhibited “Near Goleta, But Closer,” a book installation subtitled “An Unnatural History.” While making the installation, we gathered ephemeral announcements that had been posted on Isla Vista streets and the UC Santa Barbara campus – on telephone poles, bulletin boards, and kiosks. Mixing them with fragments of our own past and current print and book art, we cut and collaged the remnants into nine separate books to be handled and read. Initially conceived as satirical reflections on residing for fifteen years in this student community, our research led us to gather documents and tales of the founding and development of Isla Vista. In April 2010, as part of the IHC’s “Oil & Water” conference, I used the framework of this 1991 artist book installation to introduce the interrelated importance of oil and water in Isla Vista history. In this presentation, I will discuss how selected creative projects we have made over the last thirty years continue to enhance the quality of lived experience and imaginative potential that pass through our lives, and contribute to the overall poetic understanding of where and how we live. Click here to listen to a recording of Harry Reese’s talk for the IHC Geographies of Place series. Sponsored by the IHC’s Local Places and Geographies of Place series.