Heather Kapplow, AIR 2004

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

In a recent discussion with the Berwick regarding her upcoming residency period, Ms. Kapplow was asked what she had in mind to do for her opening presentation. Or rather, she was told that her opening presentation was meant to explain to the not-quite-clear and the just-curious, what it is that she actually does. A chill ran down Ms. Kapplow’s spine when she heard this, but that’s why she’s doing the residency.

The “Help Wanted” project, in the Berwick AIR studios for the months of October-December, is about living with precisely this chill—the one that occurs in the moment between when you are asked to define yourself by your ‘work’, and when your mouth opens and stutters out its always-inadequate answer. “Help Wanted” will be exploring the achy contours of that chill in exactly the way that a tongue explores a cavity.

The main themes of “Help Wanted” are the nature of the marketplace; the commodification of identity, labor and creativity; and the relationship of these to both personal and societal definitions of mental health. “By contrasting my personal experiences of the unpleasantnesses of forcing myself to be things that I am not in order to earn money, with my experiences of the other extreme—doing things I love to do in realms that have no resources that can be lived on, I hope to create a space where people are allowed to question how values regarding ‘occupation’ are arrived at, and at what cost.” The title of this project references both the way that the phrase is used in the employment market and a more general need for (psychological? practical? spiritual?) guidance or assistance on the levels of basic and ego survival.

Ms. Kapplow will attempt to narrate some of the messy chaos of human failure with the seamlessly positive, cheesy corporate design templates of PowerPoint; use Excel to describe her entire (since childhood) work history chronologically, drawing attention to the problem of how to characterize the unofficial aspects of those experiences; and will illustrate the comings and goings of her mental faculties by means of whiteboards with ‘in’ and ‘out’ magnets. She will experiment with the boundaries of the media of competency and competition (resumes, business cards, etc.) and hopes to host an Exquisite Corpse-inspired resume workshop at the midpoint of her residency period. Ms. Kapplow will also be constructing a few “work” and “non-work” stations for visitors to interact with at the close of her residency.

If you would like more details about what Ms. Kapplow actually does, or would like to discuss any of these matters further, you are welcome to attend a Business Lunch at the Berwick on Friday, Oct. 15 from 7-9 PM and the closing on Saturday Dec. 4 from 7-9 PM. Please bring your business card (or anyone’s business card) with you to the meeting.