Hortense and The Steampunk Tree House together again for the first time since September of aught-seven. We provided the steam, they provided the Tree, like moose and squirrel, peanut butter and chocolate, steam and art! Details found here, photos here.
Wilhelmina,
a Scripps No. 4 Sternwheeler. Original photo
by John Woodson
It began three years ago as the Miss Rockaway Armada, a group of New York City area artists and assorted others who decided to travel down the Mississippi on very handmade rafts bedecked and festooned with art... equal parts continuous happening, Vaudeville happenstance, and Mark Twain gumption. The Mississippi has long been the Country's psychic dividing line between the past and the promise of the future. The highfalutin idea was to, "solicit dialogue around subversive and constructive ways of living." The impetus was to explore America outside of the bohemian boundaries of the NYC hipster arts milieu by taking it to middle America. The neat thing was that it was intended to be a two-way street. From all reports, Middle America gave as good as it got. Boundaries were blurred; social interactions occurred that would not have otherwise. Bohemia infected the broad banks of the Mississippi and the communities along the way infected Bohemia right back.
This year, the project is
called the Swimming
Cities of Switchback Sea. In August of 2008,
the Hudson River will be the canvas, from Albany-Troy
all the way down to Brooklyn. Seven crafts are scheduled
to float down the river the Mahican confederacy called
Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk. The boats will be powered by
alternate energy systems, which is where K.S.W. comes
in. We're going Out East for three weeks! We've been
hard at work restoring an old paddle-wheel steamboat
(see above). In New York, K.S.W.'s steamboat (arriving
by truck) will support an enormous sculptural array
installed by an artist named Swoon, the larger project's
creative leader.
Speaking for the Bay Area, a powerful ethos behind the art
we create is to build community and real connections
between people. We welcome this rare opportunity to
collaborate with a new group of people, combining steam and
art. Speaking of which, Art, it costs money, steam too. The
water won't heat itself. We've never worked with Swoon
& Crew before so there are no guarantees; then again,
many successful Bay Area projects started out this way. We
hope it works, though there's a chance it might not. If
you'd like to make a donation to help KSW defray
costs associated with this project, we'd be very glad to
accept it with our thanks.
July 8, 2008: NBC11 (SF): Bay Area Steamboat Prepares For New York, a short article on the steamboat restoration and great video footage of the boat in the water, with crew interviews, by Josh Keppel. The piece aired on the 6 o'clock news on July 10, 2008.
May 19, 2008: The Boston Phoenix: Steam Dreams, a long article on steam, art, and punks, by Sharon Steel. KSW's Zachary Rukstela is interviewed (see p. 3), as is Sean Orlando (see p. 4). It's one of the more comprehensive articles that we've seen so far.
March 9, 2008: KPFA, 94.1, hour long interview: "Guests Andrew Johnstone, project leader of Burning Man Google Earth & "esteamed" artists Zachary Rukstela, Sean Orlando and Tom Sepe join host Jane Heaven for an exploration of Kinetic Steamworks, Steampunk Treehouse and the SteamPunk motorcycle "The Whirly Gig Emoto" (live!) and more."
Featured Artist Collaboration: KSW & Alan Rorie's "Dihemispheric Chronaether Agitator," in the artist's words, "...a kinetic, 'steampunk' sculpture of a 'time machine' that is powered by a real steam boiler and steam engine. It was built in collaboration with my good friends at Kinetic Steam Works. It was originally displayed at the Edwardian Ball in 2008."
