Report from New York Mills

First active day of my residency.

Raining, feel like 40 degree, trains go by.
(My very first free style haiku in New York Mills.)

I am intending to write reports of my artist in residency from New York Mills in this month. I may cover a little bit off topics from purely art related which will include my pop sociological observations, and comments about whatever in my head.

I arrived at New York Mills, Minnesota after 12 hours from Brooklyn.

I will be at New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, here, in a fine town in Minnesota.

Before I came in, my contact wrote me that I should bring anything unusual that I need since there are "out in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE." And She mentioned 3 times that we were "Middle of Nowhere" when she picked me up from the next town where I reached by a van service from the twin cities.One way, this is very remote place, another way it is not. Here is my expansion of my thoughts:

This place is 4 hours way from twin cities. Population is 1100. A little down town shops, which are 4 or 6 of them, completely closed down on 8:15 pm. One subway shop seems the only the national chain. The gas stations brand was unknown to me. There is no movie theater. It seems to me agriculture is the main industry. So, one sense this is very typical rural America. However, it is very much like a rest of US, Wall Mart is near by town, every family have two cars or trucks, everyone has green lawns. (For us, Brooklyn people don't have cars and lawns, but we are not typical about house and car issue.) I also had stayed a very truly remote village in Nepal where only way to get there is to walk up the steep steps on a mountains. So, compared with that, this is nothing.

However I also feel strange the fact I can be in Milan in 6 hours from Brooklyn, 12 hours in Tokyo, but took me 12 hours to come to this part of the nation. The calculating actual distance is no longer useful unit to determine the practical distance. On the shuttle van service I was on from twin cities, I gathered that major airlines are shutting down regional services. I cannot blame them for cutting those route down as I know they are loosing money every day. But I can imagine the impact.

Anyway, I have two locations for me to use in this month. I was provided with a cute house as a living space, and studio space which includes with a dance studio. (hee hee hee, maybe I make a music video.) And I can totally work at house for small pieces.

I went to the local joint for lunch. As I suspected burger was good. I have a theory about burger. Burger is the good choice in Midwest as the meat is freshly killed. I also went the local super market. Meat and meat products were cheap, but vegetable and fruit were expensive and did not look good. Packaged food was same or bit less.

Little kids came to for dance lesson now. They are in at dance studio. They seems practicing something for the Christmas. The center hosts different activities. They also host concerts.

My studio space is open area of the second floor of this art center. The first floor is used as a little gift shop, gallery, and office.

As my first step, I put my reference images on a wall. This is my normal residency ritual. By starling at them, I start composing some plan, find a direction. I have one immediate idea, making a new addition to one liner series. (Here is one image from the one liner series)