Rogers Art Loft

*February was a busy month for our next door neighbors*

*The Writer’s Block: a cultural lighthouse in the desert*

In January 2022, we arrived in the US for the first time in about three years. We spent three months in the country for two artist residencies that were both productive and enjoyable, and more than replenished our collective quotas of US culture and dramatic western landscapes.

The first two months of our stay were spent in Las Vegas, a city which neither of us had yet visited, at Rogers Art Loft, a fairly new artist residency run by the Rogers Foundation in the city. What we can say about Las Vegas is that it is oddly one of those places which lives up to every imaginable stereotype immediately upon arrival: it is always strange when a place, instead of defying or exceeding expectations, is just exactly what everyone ever thinks it will be. There are slot machines in every location possible, which need to be attended to 24 hours a day, both by their patrons and by their owners, and wedding chapels on every corner (including ours). All that aside, there’s something kind of refreshing about making art here, the pastiche of plastic and neon in direct contrast with the serene opaqueness of the desert landscape that surrounds it. Whether or not we felt overwhelmed or inspired is a question for years from now though.

The loft itself is one of the most beautiful spaces we’ve ever had the pleasure to work in: it’s a space filled with artworks, aided by the epic light of the desert and tasteful interior design. It also sits atop the Writer’s Block, a coffee shop and bookstore that is one of the more culturally active spaces in the city and hosts events focused on the local creative writing scene.

Stranded without a vehicle in this city that felt wholly created for cars instead of people, was an adventure in itself as we’d often find ourselves spending half a day attempting to find our way to the grocery store or post office on foot or by bus. Since the vast majority of people here drive, our bus rides were spent observing a constantly rotating cast of characters that were all so willing to interact with each other: fervent one sided conversations about politics with strangers, stupors of intoxications of varying types, and people trying to sell all matter of things were a direct contrast to a crowd of people trying to silently commute. Our favorite vendor was the young guy who swore by his business model of only selling the “king sized” candy bars (none of that normal sized nonsense).

Once a lady struck up a conversation with us which ended in her say “Yeah, we have got to get some wheels”. Luckily enough, we did rent a car for a few days to explore the desert, and it is amazing how quickly the entire city changed for us. If you’ve never spent much time outside of the US, it’s very difficult to understand just how strange it is to exist in a society where everything is designed for cars - it’s not something we miss.

Our project at the residency was a first attempt at working with ceramics. We had to work out everything for the first time in order to try slip-casting, the method we settled on for our project, and so that meant sourcing materials and discovering all of the techniques. We decided to cast simple vessels that could be modularly combined, and use them to create sound through feedback. This was a kind of followup to the work we started in Ireland last year, and we were happy to present the results during an event at the residency. Our work also took inspiration from the local breeze-blocks, a kind of metaphor for the way in which civilization has attempted to cope with this harsh climate. They are at once beautiful design objects, time-capsules from decades past, and functional architectural elements.

The absolute highlight of our two months was exploring the nature that surrounds the city. The dramatic landscapes of Death Valley, the Mojave Desert, and Valley of Fire colored our experience here, and we felt so inspired to finally see this part of the country which has enticed artists for decades.

Kelso Dunes, in the Mojave, also had a particular impact in being a so-called singing sand dune which buzzes and drones as you descend from its peak. It’s a completely remarkable phenomenon, and as two musicians, we’re so happy to have finally experienced it in person.

The Watermill Center

*Our home for one month in Water Mill, NY*

Our travels in the States continued with our arrival to the Hamptons, where we stayed for one month in residence at the Watermill Center. The center is easily one of the most inspiring places we’ve ever stayed or visited. Robert Wilson, whose work through Einstein on the Beach left a big impact on our music, is the cypher at the center of this enigmatic complex: his art and ideas pervade every corner of the building in the form of some thousands of artworks that range from everyday objects possibly considered junk (an old armchair whose upholstery was pulled away to leave hundreds of small nails before washing ashore in Indonesia), to iconic pieces by Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, and Richard Serra. Both the privilege and intimidation of living among these hundreds of influential art objects shaped our time here: we think it was one of our most productive months ever.

On some rare occasions we are also lucky enough to be on a residency where meals are provided. The Watermill Center was one such occasion and we can say that being cooked for by someone is truly one of the most special and memorable human interactions possible: both chef Dina and Martine’s bright personalities and wonderful food had a huge impact on our stay.

*It’s healthy to build at least one synth per year*

In terms of our own art, we were able to focus our month on two big projects. The first was filming and recording 35’00” of music that will become the video documentation for our next album (more on that soon!), and the second was creating a new synthesizer and textile installation that was also a reaction to the center’s architecture as well as the surrounding nature. We had free rein over one of the Center’s enormous studios, and were so pleased to get to incorporate it into so much of our work.

The Center’s location also lent us the chance to visit many surrounding arts institutions: the Pollock Krasner House, Elaine De Kooning House, Dia Bridgehampton, and D'Amico House were all wonderfully inspiring places.