The 7D Oasis Closing show will take place on Saturday, February 8th from 7-11 p.m at Resonator, 325 E Main St. Norman, OK.
Lauren Panichelli photo by Johnnie Curtin
Q. How did 7D start and what were its original goals?
A. There's a personality style video that I've seen a few times for work about people who work in straight lines, and those who work in zig-zags, and abstract patterns. 7D evolved organically from an art community that maybe missed collaborating. 7D started because we all needed to see each other again. 7D started because we knew that with a certain amount of space we could see our works next to each other for the first time even though we'd been evolving independently. The first 7D gave artists a deadline to work towards, and in the interest of inviting experimentation, the theme of the first show was left open ended. The only thing that we knew for sure was that we were exploring the territory of mixed media art shows in a way that was bonding for us, and a title emerged from blending all dimensions.
In short, 7D's original goals were to bring people together in an exploratory art environment where artists were encouraged to use the space as a laboratory.
Q. How has 7D evolved and why was “Oasis” the theme?
A. The evolution from last year to this year has been that this show is more streamlined and cohesive as a group. The core goal was to transform the space, and to provide a comfortable, relaxing space for visitors to recenter. Everyone involved in bringing this show together physically, theoretically, financially, conceptually, has had a hard year! This past year has been a really wild ride! From a library perspective, the #'s were all about diversity, the #metoo movement, and some fantasy that I never go into.
But 7D has grown in a way that has responded naturally to our environments. Truthfully, time, flexibility, and empathy has been at the root of 7D's natural development. From an organizing perspective, the organic development of the show has been necessary due to my heavy school and work schedule. Instead of seeing this as a crutch, it's been beneficial to understand the nuances necessary in working collaboratively with other people. Everyone has lives, responsibilities, priorities, necessary downtime, etc. Working with a group in a way that is sustainable and recognizing what is possible over the course of a few months was what was at the heart of 7D.
The Oasis theme grew out of a moment shared between friends on treasured family land in Texas.
Last October this was the 2nd of two trips to “the Ranch.” Photo by Boob Jackson aka Bryan Page.
Q. You experienced some personal difficulties in the lead up to 7D Oasis’s opening, how did that effect you and how has it shaped the trajectory of the installation and everything that’s come after?
A. WOOOOO!
WOOOOOO!
I need to first and foremost THANK YOU for this honest and difficult question! I work with a young mother who said '2020 the year of clear vision’ a few months ago, which has like totally blown my mind, and really applied to everything.
So before this show opened my house burned down, and my partner and I lost everything that we had. I lost my cat, and my dear friend's cat who I was watching for a year while they study abroad. We have rebuilt our lives thanks to the financial, physical, spiritual, and endless methods of support we have recieved from our family and community.
But ALL of my art was burned! All of my tools, my materials, my crotheting, clay, ceramics, prints, shirts, etc, were burned and destroyed. I had an art closet in my house which fell through my floor and into my downstairs neighbors apartment. I pulled out some singed prints and partial remnants of crochet pieces. I laid them out on our lawn on a sunny morning while my partner waited in the car so that we could get breakfast before I had to go to work. She walked to the backyard as I was laying out prints, and I haven't been back to retrieve them yet.
So for the show, I had to organize. I had to show up for those who had shown up for me in anyway that I could, which meant hauling plants around and providing feedback on placement for an incredible fountain. It meant abstracting effort that I would put into my physical work into curatorial and managerial efforts.
Q. What have been your favorite parts of Oasis?
A. I'm obsessed with the experimentation that has happened with programming and community building. It has been really exciting to see the limits that the space can push physically, and how a community can push their own limits in educating one another. Because this is the first year these moments definitely pertained to a treasured preliminary group. I can't wait for these initial sparks to guide the way into future projects and programming. So maybe my favorite part of the show so far is that it is a launching pad for future endeavors.
Jenna Bryan and Braden Denton pose next to their first fountain on 7D Oasis opening night, Jan 10, 2020.
Q. What are some of the types of art and influences that have gone into Oasis and the subsequent month-long programming?
A. At its core, 7D is inspired by alternative education, intentional communities, methods of participation in the art world, access to resources, and wellness. I would say that all of the participating artists at one point of another have questioned barriers persistant in education and the arts, and continue to prod into the barriers that exist between art and institutions. While its creators have shared ties in anarchic performance art, and chaotic installations, Oasis and its programming aim to look at art through a more soothing lens that encourages synthesizing irl/url, plant health, preservation/documentation and wellness.
Queer Aerobics
Q. What are some fun, new features people can expect to see at the closing?
A. QUEER AEROBICS will be making its debut performance. The All New Interactive Boobtube that is not a waterslide, but should be advertised as two tiers above one, will make its interactive appearance with full Wifi connection! A medium-size curation of plants has grown in the space that has been kept thriving by lights throughout the month. If anyone forgot to take their vitamin D in January, these plants are here to shame you. So I'm expecting shaming, but healthy plants, disco, magnets, and hopefully a few portals runningeth oveteth with truth.
“Boob Tube” by Boob Jackson
Q. You’ve started the year in a really big way, what else are you excited for this year: up-coming shows elsewhere, other art opportunities, etc?
A. OH MY GOODNESS.
SO, I'm excited for things in a hierarchy of ways. First, I'm excited to have my MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science), and to proceed into the landing terminal of librarianship. Maybe I will become a fashion librarian someday, but this month I’ve been able to have my first glimpses of practical hindsight into my graduate studies. A lot is starting to sink in about organization, classification, cataloging, equity, diversity, etc. Because of this, I have started to look for a flexibility in the world, and because of this I am thanking the universe for this righteous challenge the first month into the year. For real I appreciate it, but I would have appreciated a little warmup you know?
ANYWAY.
SO I'm really excited to extend my efforts OUTWARDS. Both through librarianship and arts organizing. I am excited to kick off this year with an aerobics project that I have been dreaming of since 1998, and to be dancing in this project with a dear Aquarian, life partner.
I am excited for year 5th of the School of the Alternative (SoTA), in Black Mountain NC. SoTA is a radical alternative arts project that looks to recontextualize what it means to teach and learn in contemporary America.
“The Cascade Effect” was an experimental, free writing class during 7D Oasis. Participants were asked to reimagine what their writing could look like as mixed with art, drawing, and collage.