An Invitation to Sit

>>Submitted for Social Foundations * Revision #2<<

On 9/12/21, I wrote two bullet points:

• ​Moving forward, I will expand my vision to look at stillness as a way to “disrupt the immanence and imminence”
• The use of chairs in my performances and visual art speak to “sitting (together).” This is how I choose to address the aesthetics and materiality.

​Both of those statements are accurate nearly 30 days later; however, I am more excited about the inclusion of I-Sis into this storyline for my final project. When I observe I-Sis, I witness a lesson in stillness and presence. I also feel a sense of healing.

I-Sis is the (wo)mannequin that I bonded with during my time at the Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, NC. She helped to heal my pain from a feeling of inclusionary isolation. Now, when I think about sitting, I think about the act as a form of communication and healing. It is also an invitation to be still.

Revision # 2 w/video supplement

Change Log

Post-position as of 10/13/21

• Since the last update on 9/12, I removed bullet point #3
  • Thanks to Rachel’s feedforward, I am now looking at how breathwork, an exercise in stillness, is a form of resistance. It also speaks to Sharpe’s call to “rupture.”
• I modified bullet points #4 and #5:
  • My art is still a conversation about isolation, invitation, and inclusion, but it now approaches these spaces through a framework of healing. 
  • I am no longer focused on reimagining wake work as an extension of my chakra workshop.
• In the closing bullet point, I wrote, "​Moving forward, I will expand my vision to look at stillness as a way to “disrupt the immanence and imminence.” This represents one of the most significant revisions. (See blog above)

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Post-position as of 9/12/21

• Eco-spirituality is no longer part of my research interest for my dissertation.
• My theoretical framework is now Sharpe’s wake work.
• Thanks to Rachel’s feedforward, I am now looking at how breathwork, an exercise in stillness, is a form of resistance. It also speaks to Sharpe’s call to “rupture.”
• My art focuses on a conversation of isolation, invitation, and inclusion and I use chairs and a mannequin for this work.
• I am now looking at ways to reimagine wake work. My example in class was the space of barbershops. For me, the space of breathwork/chakra workshops
  • ​Moving forward, I will expand my vision to look at stillness as a way to “disrupt the immanence and imminence”
  • The use of chairs in my performances and visual art speak to “sitting (together).” This is how I choose to address the aesthetics and materiality.

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Pre- position as of 9/12/21

• I was considering eco-spirituality as part of my research
• My theoretical framework was Dr. Layli Maparyan’s Luxocracy.
• I enjoy breathwork and include it in my workshops, but I never saw a connection to my research.
• I did not have an artist agenda or identity prior to Elsewhere and Sharpe’s reading.​
• ​I read Sharpe through her original lens of “Black immanent and imminent death.”