The Presence of Loss: Artists' Statement

The presence of loss surrounds us each and every day and takes many forms, from highly individual grieving to communal losses. As artists we’re interested not only in grieving and the darker side of loss, but also the transformative potential inherent in loss. We seek to illuminate the opportunity loss presents for personal and cultural change and a refined understanding of both self and community.

The eponymous centerpiece of the Presence of Loss exhibition at Form + Content Gallery is an installation including hundreds of words representing things lost to individuals and communities. These words were gathered during classroom visits, at community gatherings and via mail-in postcards.


The paintings for this project are inspired by the stories told by community dialogue participants, the Natural History Museum of London’s archive of fossilized images of extinct species, and Camille Gage’s personal experiences of loss, particularly the death of her mother in 1981.


The poems in this project, by Juliet Patterson, are loosely inspired by Camille’s visual images and words/text gathered in community dialogue. In part, they address the loss of sensitivity to language in our daily lives and the power of consciousness that is connected inherently to the natural world.


The genesis for our collaboration was our meeting through the Institute for Community Cultural Development at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. For the last several months, we have been convening community dialogues on the subject of loss. These conversations have contributed enormously to our creative process and we are grateful to all participants.
               --Camille J. Gage
               --Juliet Patterson




What: The Presence of Loss: a community art project and gallery installation by artist and musician Camille Gage with poet Juliet Patterson
When: Thursday, January 31 – Thursday, March 6, 2008. Gallery hours: Thursday – Saturday, noon – 6:00 pm and by appointment

Related Events:
Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Community dialogue with poetry reading by Juliet Patterson

Where: form + content Gallery
Whitney Square Building
210 North 2nd Street, Suite 104
Minneapolis, MN 55401

Info: gallery phone: 612/436-1151 or Howard Oransky 612/369-0661
http://www.formandcontent.org
formandcontent@gmail.com


What: Community dialogue and workshop sponsored by mnartists.org
When: Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Where: Walker Art Center, Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab, 1750 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis.
Info: www.walkerart.org
Reservations are required. Call 612/375-7600.

All events are free and open to the public.

form + content gallery
THE PRESENCE OF LOSS A community art project and gallery installation Camille J. Gage with poet Julliet Patterson

Here is a link to an article/audio interview with Patricia Frazier
Patricia Frazier, a U of M professor who is doing research regarding whether good can come from bad experiences. This is one of the key aspects of the Presence of Loss project.

Literature, Mixed Media, Regional