Catching up with the "Season 1" Residency Artists
Seems like just yesterday that Building 180 hosted our first artist-in-residency at Agapolis in Portola Valley, CA. The community was in its infancy stage, we only had an
outdoor kitchen and couldn't shower inside. We've come a long way! Season 1 (June 2018) was near and dear to us as it was our first time hosting the residency, which has become a focal point of community for
both Agapolis and Building 180 and a way to really give back to the arts. Here's a recap of their projects and a glimpse of what they're up to now.
Zach Herbert
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Zach Herbert of St. Terrible performs at Agapolis, July 2018.
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As a self-dubbed “freak folk” musical artist, Zach Herbert of St. Terrible uses his art to challenge people to examine the finite experience of existence on both a human and cosmic level. Through music,
performance, and storytelling, St. Terrible seeks to illuminate the joy and reverence that can be found in even the most bittersweet parts of life. Their performance is meant to create an immersive
experience of art and music that subverts the relationship between audience and art to provoke a dialogue with the self.
During his time at Agapolis, Zach developed a style of structured improvisation inspired by the Japanese style of dance called 'Butoh'. He worked to fold in new philosophical and aesthetic approaches to his
live performances in order to perform deep emotional work with his art. Zach is currently working on producing a short film that includes material he created and performed during the residency that is
slated to be released in December or January.
St. Terrible has performed in venues across the US including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boise, Idaho and London, UK.
Sample a St. Terrible track, 'Cosmic Nothings', and learn more about St. Terrible at www.stterrible.com
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Butoh dancers Anastazia Aranaga and Roxanna Shohadaee perform during Zach Herbert's finale showcase, July 2018. Photo by Quinn Miller-Bedell @quinnmb
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Joel Dean Stockdill & Yustina Salnikova
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Joel Dean Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova speak at the Artist in Residency Showcase, July 2018. Photo by Quinn Miller-Bedel @quinnmb
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Joel Dean Stockdill & Yustina Salnikova use sculpture and installation art to generate dialogue surrounding human habits of consumption and waste. Together they create large-scale native animal sculptures from recycled and repurposed material. They also highlight our general waste stream evoking contemplation about our environmental impact.
During their residency at Agapolis, they brought to life “Ethyl”, a life-size blue whale made from recycledplastic to embody the reality that the weight of a blue whale in plastic pollutes the ocean every minute.
Ethyl was created in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Hub Communications, The National Park Service and Golden Gate Parks Conservancy. The artists utilized the space at Agapolis to begin their commission, though the project took nearly 6 months.
Since the residency, Joel and Yustina make art (and reside) full-time at Agapolis. They have exhibited at Bioneers Conference, PlanetHome and National Geographic. Ethyl was purchased by Meow Wolf and currently swims at the Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico.
Learn More about their work at www.joeldean.me/.
Nasim Moghadam
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Nasim Moghadam presents her work at the Artist in Residency Showcase, July 2018
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Nasim Nahavandi Moghadam communicates the lived experience of female identity in relation to social, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Her work is deeply personal and elegantly synthesizes material and media to exhibit the dimensions of oppression.
At Agapolis Nasim created a site-specific installation of a carpet created out of dirt, broken beer bottles, Iranian female hair and hair from the artist. The carpet depicts a tree, a motif often used in the Quran. Hair is a common material used in her work as a physical reminder of the limited agency females have over their bodies in Middle Eastern culture. The glass also represents the oppressiveness of Sharia law, which prohibits Muslims from consuming alcohol.
Nasim has since shown at the Aggregate Space Gallery in Oakland, CA and at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco, CA.
Learn more about Nasim Nahavandi Moghadam at www.nasimmoghadam.com.
Lauren Szabo
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Lauren Szabo stands in front of the vehicle she painted as part of the residency. Photo by Lisa Vortman, @lisavortman
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Through the medium of paint, Lauren spurs conversations about the way we interact with the environment and each other as the natural landscape and a consumerist culture hybridize. What has been lost through human corruption in the name of technological advancement and what we define as progress.
During her time at Agapolis, Lauren focused on transferring her painting techniques to a 3-dimensional object that was left on the premises. An amphibious Vietnam-era military vehicle had been left on the property when the community moved in. Lauren used this as an opportunity to combine the contemporary themes of her paintings with historical facts about the vehicle. The colors of the agents used in the Vietnam war were juxtaposed against her sky typing text, which read "Friendly" "Fire" amongst other contradictory phrases.
After the residency, the vehicle has remained a part of her work, but into a new trajectory called, The Tracked Project. Lauren has developed a multi-disciplinary performance focused on her work at Agapolis, which debuted at SOMArts. The work was also documented as part of performative shoot by Lisa Vortman. Lauren also continues to paint and shows in galleries across the Bay Area.
Learn more about Lauren at: www.laurenjadeszabo.com/
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Photo by Lisa Vortman
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For more information about our residencies visit, building180.com/ab180residency. June 2020 applications open in late February. To be notified of updates, please e-mail info@building180.com with a request to be added to our mailing list. You can also visit www.building180.com and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
-The Building 180 Team
