valerie rafferty

Observed on December 25

2011-09-24T14:40:00.000-04:00

I began this project just after Christmas this past year. In thinking about gift giving and the stress and frustration that comes with a holiday where, for many, gift giving has become a requirement. I decided to opt out..not to opt out entirely, but to reject the pressure placed on this single day of the year. Christmas means something different to everyone… For many though, the holiday becomes about buying. Money is tight and time moves quickly. I still wanted to take the time to give to those around me, but I wanted to actually take time to do it. I wanted to focus on the individual. I formulated a list with names and gift ideas that is constantly in flux. Every time I can, I get something from this list and give the belated Christmas gift.

Unfortunately this is where this project ended.

End of semester review: Fall 2010

2010-12-31T13:57:00.001-05:00

THE ARTISTS MOTHER APPROACHES YOU IN THE GALLERY

2010-12-31T13:43:00.001-05:00

She tells you this...

My piece at GraceSpace was based around a small book that I wrote about myself, my family, and my artwork told from the perspective of my mother. The book begins with the text ‘The artist’s mother approaches you in the gallery, she tells you this…’ Multiple copies were left available for people to take on a table as they explored the space. Speakers placed on the table played a looping telephone conversation between my mother and I.

In this piece I am investigating my relationship to my mother. The parents of artists are the creators of those creating. A week ago at an opening reception, my mother approached one of my colleagues and spoke to him for over an hour about her life and my own. Reflecting on my mother’s storytelling, I attempt to draw a connection from the way in which families influence the formation of our personalities and our decisions to the development of an artistic practice.

THE FUTURE IS NOW!

2010-12-31T13:03:00.000-05:00

Performance event at Grace Exhibition Space in Brooklyn.

http://www.grace-exhibition-space.com/performance.php?event_id=92

Sarah Hill

Daniel Cevallos

Erik Benjamins

Joanna Tam

Heidi Reynolds

Cathy McLaurin

Grace Exhibition Space

2010-11-18T11:28:00.001-05:00

Friends of mine from SMFA and I will be showing performance work here on Friday!

http://www.grace-exhibition-space.com/performance.php?event_id=92

Its difficult to read lately.

2010-10-28T12:59:00.001-04:00

Use everything.

...for Jahna Jabbour.

...and from Jahna Jabbour...

10/15/2010

2010-10-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

House Blend

2010-10-27T20:47:00.000-04:00

An introduction of one social circle to another. Performance Projects, meet Atomic coffee and the people who drink it.

Each cup corresponds to a different regular at the Atomic Cafe in Beverly, MA, where I work.The employee-customer interactions experienced here are unlike those of any other relationship I have had. These cups contain a name, the food or drink most commonly purchased, and my own anecdotal observations of this person. While my relationships with these individuals vary, they are all situated in a gray area between stranger and friend.

Art is my career. This is my day job. This work exists in the space between.

I filled my sketchbook.

2010-10-26T22:39:00.000-04:00

Fear. Failure. Relationship failure. Art failure. Words to define: relationship, dialogue, conversation, communication, romance. Observation. Things silently noticed. Male/female relationship.Cliché becomes sincere. Using modes of performance and installation to explore ideas of domesticity, comfort, anxiety, and personal relationships, I engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue investigating the space where art and daily experience intersect. Gift giving-art metaphor.The gift. Reciprocity. Traveling generosity. Gift = Bond. Value. Emotional price. Honesty. Gray area = everyday life.Thank you notes: Generosity and gift giving. Inclination to give as a gift. Last year I ended something, took something away that my peers weren’t even aware of, pointing out my own disconnection? Collective disconnection? This time I wanted to really look into the individuals surrounding me as well as my art practice. I wanted to thank them for things that I genuinely appreciate. For it is through our interactions that conversations, relationships, and art is formed. Thinking about the formality of thank you notes, I look back at my feud with my mother over writing thank you notes after my high school graduation party. Thanking people for gifts or money , generally they all say the same thing. I wanted to actually thank people and tell them why their contribution was important to me and it was taking too long. That is what I wanted to do here with the people in this class. Public interventions. Personal history in objects. Looking more closely. What is wrong with attempting to relate to another person? What is too personal for you? “The power of reality is stronger than imagination.” I am interested in the moments where life gets in the way of artmaking. “One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.” -Joseph Stalin. Poetry/prose created in real life. Romance –Idealized, irrational. Post interactive observations. Subjectivity. Semantics. Banality of self. “The local drives the meaning.” Relativism.

Fine Arts Alumni Exhibition

2010-10-26T20:06:00.003-04:00

Packing up the work!

https://www.hvcc.edu/teachinggallery/upcoming.html

Images of exhibit!

Is this getting too personal? I dont know.

2010-10-26T19:58:00.000-04:00

breaking bread again.

2010-10-26T19:55:00.000-04:00

he left this, revisited.

2010-10-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

and then there were three..

2010-10-26T17:06:00.000-04:00

unexpectedly returned.

2010-10-26T17:03:00.000-04:00

blank notecards.

2010-10-26T16:56:00.000-04:00

Blank note cards for Erik.

2010-10-26T09:21:00.001-04:00

Thank You

2010-09-22T20:23:00.001-04:00

Thank you notes written to each person in Performance Projects.

Excerpt from sketchbook about thank you notes: Generosity and gift giving. Inclination to give as a gift. Last year I ended something, took something away that my peers weren’t even aware of, pointing out my own disconnection? Collective disconnection? This time I wanted to really look into the individuals surrounding me as well as my art practice. I wanted to thank them for things that I genuinely appreciate. For it is through our interactions that conversations, relationships, and art is formed. Thinking about the formality of thank you notes, I look back at my feud with my mother over writing thank you notes after my high school graduation party. Thanking people for gifts or money , generally they all say the same thing. I wanted to actually thank people and tell them why their contribution was important to me and it was taking too long. That is what I wanted to do here with the people in this class

Memory for Forgetting

2010-08-18T18:12:00.002-04:00

http://artieclum.blogspot.com/

...final project for an english class i took at tufts this summer.

2010-08-18T14:04:00.000-04:00

Could we have done something differently years ago to prevent this awkwardness that exists between us now?

I don’t know.

2010-08-18T14:01:00.002-04:00

Like these two coffee cups, do you think these could be art? Would it have to be specifically these cups with this coffee that we are drinking right now to represent this conversation?

I don’t know.

Love always,

2010-08-18T13:43:00.004-04:00

Upon entering class on the morning of the performance, I had a total of sixteen notes in the pockets of my pants. Each was written to a different class member.
The performance began as a continuation of a preceding performance by Alaina Gurdak. Using her action as a jumping off point, I placed my audience in a semi-circle in front of a television playing her Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD beginning at the point in the episode where her piece had left off.
As everyone sat and watched the television I began pulling the notes out one by one and taking individuals aside to read them these letters, essentially ending an imagined romantic relationship with them. This continued until I had “broken up” with everyone excluding one class member who I had formerly dated and had been through a break up with and one student whose letter I had either forgotten or lost. When I realized this, I ended the action by sitting down next to her and asking her to explain what I had missed in the television show.

the unfinished scarf

2010-08-18T13:37:00.001-04:00

I didn’t love her when she was making it for me. It hid a lot. In her closet, draped over the arm of the couch. Seemingly untouched for days at a time. Crotched or knit, (I don’t know the difference,) in two shades of green that crossed her lap in thick stripes under distraught and twisting hands that worried it would never be finished before I left for Ireland. She was making plans to destroy an ex boyfriend’s scarf that she had made, and while mine was being constructed I was listening to her talk about dismantling the one that came before. Just made me feel next in line. Like someday she’d be making a scarf for some other guy, smiling and talking to him about sending mine down river. I hate that.

The colors were great. She worried about the colors, that they wouldn’t go with me or I wouldn’t like them or whatever because I never really wore green, (the whole time I was in Ireland I was looking for a green scarf.) It was thick and looked warm. There was a little flaw in it where she had done one two many rows I think, and it bowed out in places. Missed stitches. I preferred it that way, thought it had character. I told her it showed someone made it for me. Took the time. I told her that but she really wanted it to be perfect. I’ve never ever worn it.

In the end she never finished it. I imagine it postponed, deferred, canceled. Buried in her room someplace in a corner where she isn’t forced to look at it and someday it’ll end up in a plastic bag bound for the garbage or a charity shop after a spring cleaning or before a move to Boston.

I just couldn’t love her when she was making it. And I didn’t see the big deal.

He was leaving and I wanted him to have something that I had made to keep with him, remind him of home and of me. It would keep him warm while we were apart for the winter. The yarn was expensive, but I thought it would be a worthy purchase.

Muted yellow and gray, I chose the colors because it seemed like they might be found in one of his paintings (his mild colorblindness always caused us to see things slightly differently though). He likes stripes, but when making stripes I have trouble keeping them straight, always dropping stitches and gaining stitches. I had to go back and redo a portion of it at one point and it caused a bit of frustration for me.

He left in January and it was still only half done as it had been for a couple of weeks. I had planned to finish it and send it to him. This never happened. I still feel regret about it. I may finish it someday. It is more likely that I will not.

the unfinished blanket

2010-08-18T13:28:00.007-04:00

The blanket is something I only remember as a concept because it was never entirely functional or tangible. I also remember a lot of frustration being bound up in its attempt to be completed. I was also always very anxiously awaiting its being finished because I really wanted a nice, personal blanket to keep me warm. I remember giving up on it when a large portion of it was used to make an art piece.

It was to be a graduation gift. It remains unfinished. I began crocheting when we were apart and gave up on it while we were living together. I started in winter; it was supposed to be completed by May.

I actually don’t remember a lot about what I was thinking or feeling while making it. I remember that I had to start it over once or twice because I kept accidently and adding and subtracting stitches. I worked on it lazily throughout the summer and following fall before removing a portion of the unfinished object to complete a sculpture.

I liked the idea of having made a blanket for someone more than I liked making a blanket for him.

the scarf

2010-08-18T13:22:00.001-04:00

Most of what I now remember of the scarf is related to an idea of art and the contingency of the object. But beyond that it was always a disappointment to wear it because I absolutely adored the thing but could never pull it off because I never know how to wear scarves and it was really longer than I thought it should have been. I remember it being very warm and yet very itchy. I don’t clearly recall it being made or when I received it and I am also not entirely aware of when exactly it was taken back.

I started knitting in the fall of my first semester away at college. It took me nearly the entire semester to complete it. I can’t even remember now if I gave it to him for Christmas or his birthday in March. It wouldn’t surprise me if it took me the entire winter.

Maroon and gray, I don’t know for sure why these were the colors I chose for him. I think at some point in our first year together he mentioned that maroon was his favorite color, or maybe they reminded me of him, or maybe he just wore those colors a lot. I wanted it to be perfect. I remember it taking forever because I was knitting so tightly, not allowing my hands or the needles much freedom to move. It is too long. I don’t know why I made it so long. I knitted it while we were separated by the state of Massachusetts. I think I imagined him taller than he was.

I operated under the assumption that nice gifts would make things better. I gave it to him and he wore it a couple of times, maybe feeling the pressure to use what I made for him, but it mostly hung in his room much longer than his other scarves which got much more use during cold months. I eventually decided to reclaim the object after our romantic relationship had ended.

2010-08-18T13:18:00.002-04:00

4 years ago, I knitted a scarf for my partner at the time. Three years later, the relationship ended.
10 months after this end, I took the scarf back. I kept it with me for 3 weeks without fail; I wore it everywhere, kept it in my bag if I couldn't wear it, hung it on the shower door while I bathed and held it while I slept.
After these 3 weeks, the scarf was mine again.

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2 ½ years ago, he made me a sketchbook. A year later, our relationship ended.
1 year after this end, I decided to use this sketchbook. I am using it now.

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When I drive to school, I park in the lot at the Mission Hill building. When his car is there, I park next to it.

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This series of performances speaks directly to my former relationship with another current student in SMFA’s graduate program. I am using this work to examine my own ability to cope with our tangled history but I am also interested in calling attention to the complicated nature of relationships in general, utilizing the tension and uneasiness that the situation represents.

2010-08-18T12:52:00.002-04:00

We drank a lot. He came home with me that night. He left this.

This has no match because he wore it home the next morning.

I wore his socks home on the day he left the country.

2010-08-18T12:45:00.001-04:00

threadbare.

2010-08-18T12:38:00.002-04:00

end of semester review: Spring 2010

2010-08-16T16:37:00.001-04:00

review space:

living space:

2010-08-16T16:12:00.004-04:00

proposal written that remained unperformed by myself and was then performed by another student:

Materials:

- a piece of fabric used by the performer in a domestic setting (ex. bed sheet)

- canvas stretcher bars

- snap blade knife

- a staple gun and staples

- a hammer and nails

- a level

- an alarm clock set to snooze (sounding every eight minutes)

I will cut the fabric to fit the size of the stretcher bars and stretch the fabric around them. Once this is done, I will proceed to hanging the stretched fabric on the wall. Meanwhile the alarm clock will be set to snooze and sounding periodically, continually interrupting me as I work.

This piece is an attempt to call attention to “art”, “artist”, and “process”, examining the blurring of and tension between art and daily life in a very literal way.

We were then asked to focus on just one aspect of the performance, what we thought was the most important aspect.

Dear White Whale,

2010-03-12T11:13:00.005-05:00

I really think we need to be honest with ourselves. Where do we think this current is going to take us? How long can we continue to pretend we are happy together? We have drawn this out long enough. Fight after fight, “talk” after “talk”. In the end we are who we are. I can’t change you. I can’t be different. I don’t want to change anyone.

There was a time when I thought really loved you, all of you. Now..I’m not so sure. We were so young when this started. It is naive to think that we can take this any farther. You used to look at me and really see me and now I can hardly remember the last time I felt connected to you in that way. You avoid spending time with me. You avoid looking at me. You avoid touching me. I feel so alienated. Do you not think I am pretty anymore? You used to tell me how beautiful I was when I walked in the room…any room. It didn’t matter what I was wearing or if my hair was done. I would just walk in and a smile would light up your face.

I used to imagine our lives together; our wedding, our children, our home. I wanted it all. I wanted the fairytale. I was so blinded watching all of my friends get married and have babies that I didn’t even realize how obvious it was that we would ultimately fail.

It is pointless now to focus on such things. The truth is that you stopped loving me years ago and fear kept you from admitting it. I can’t blame this all on you though, I have sensed this problem for a long time and tried to convince myself otherwise. We are both cowards. We are both to blame.

That said, I do want you to know that I will always keep a place in my heart for you. My first love, my first heartbreak. Please try not to dwell on the sadness of all of this. Please just move on..forget me if you have to. I hope that you find happiness somewhere.

I wish you all the best,

Ahab

Maybe this is out of context. Maybe this needs some explaining.

I am in a course made up of workshops given by visiting international performance artists. For the most recent workshop, run by Myriam Laplante (www.myriamlaplante.net), we were asked to propose a simple performance to be done during the workshop. When we first met with her we all were then asked to place these proposals in a bucket which was handed around again for us to take another out at random. This was the performance we were meant to do.

The performance that I chose from the bucket was written by another student, Chris Zacher and read, as follows....

IT WAS THE WHITENESS THAT ABOVE ALL THINGS APPALLED ME

MY PERFORMANCE WILL BE A LOOSE INTERPRETATION OF AHAB'S FAILURE TO KILL AND CAPTURE THE WHITE WHALE. THIS PIECE WILL ATTEMPT TO REPRESENT THE STORY OF MOBY DICK IN A WAY THAT CONFUSES ITS ASSOCIATIONS TO BOTH SUCCESS AND FAILURE.

Using props provided by Chris, including a large plaster sculpture of a whale that he made, a sort of make-shift stage set, boat and whale, were created with a spotlight on the scene.

I read this letter to the whale.

2010-03-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

Poor photo of the first piece done following my end of semester review this fall.

Things Revisited. For review board.

2010-03-12T10:51:00.005-05:00

and photographed horribly..

I have since removed the text.

Remnants.

Tea.

Passed through finger tips

2010-02-26T01:45:00.005-05:00

...bits of material which I find myself handling and manipulating during intense moments of concentration or conversation....

Taking it back.

2010-02-26T00:18:00.003-05:00

4 years ago, I knitted a scarf for my partner. Three years later, the relationship ended.

10 months after this end, I took it back. I kept it with me for 3 weeks without fail, I wore it everywhere, kept it in my bag if I couldn't wear it, and held it while I slept.

After these 3 weeks, the scarf was mine again.

Conversations

2009-12-11T15:23:00.003-05:00

This marks the beginning of a series of drawings that I am working on utilizing text from my internet correspondence with a mentor about anxieties as a student and artist.

Object and Power

2009-12-11T14:56:00.004-05:00

Waiting for me, it collected dust. A burden. I held on to it hoping to fix it or salvage it in some way. It was not the most intellectually stimulating piece. It was however, the most technically challenging piece I have ever made.

Tactile Satisfaction

2009-11-23T16:40:00.005-05:00

Two friends sit in a small room with an excess amount of bubble wrap and the goal of popping it all. The enjoyment gained from this seemingly therapeutic action is quickly exhausted as time passes and hands grow sore.

2009-11-23T14:41:00.013-05:00

My first attempt at the non-visual, depicting my relationships with three different men simultaneously. Many thanks to those that participated.

Doodles

2009-11-22T18:38:00.005-05:00

These diptychs contain drawings copied exactly from doodles found in my sketchbook from the Spring of 2006 paired with text chosen at random from the same page in the book. This represents a small selection from a series containing all of the doodles from this sketchbook.

Sheet

2009-11-22T18:35:00.001-05:00

Samples From Three Years Past, fabric cut from a flannel sheet used by the artist and her former partner during the winter months of a relationship lasting three years

Tea Paintings

2009-11-21T13:29:00.003-05:00

Engage in an activity that generates a record of itself.

2009-11-21T12:53:00.004-05:00

On Saturday September 26th at approximately 10:30pm, I glued two squares of canvas to the sole of each shoe, one at the heel and one at the toe. I then left home and went to a dance party. I returned home at 3:00am and removed my shoes.

On Sunday September 27th at approximately 8:50am, I glued two squares of canvas to the sole of each shoe, one at the heel and one at the toe. I then left home to go to work. It was raining outside which caused the pieces to fall off almost immediately.

Later on Sunday September 27th at approximately 10:00 am, I glued one square of canvas to the sole of my right shoe at the toe. At 12:00pm, I removed this canvas and replaced it with a clean square. This action was repeated every two hours during my 9 hour shift until approximately 6:00pm.

On Monday September 28th at approximately 6:30 am, I glued two squares of canvas to the sole of each shoe, one at the heel and one at the toe. I then left home to go into Boston for class. In walking from the Mission Hill building at the SMFA to the main building and back, all but one square fell off before 9:00am.

Thus...13 "paintings" were made.

Studio

2009-11-21T12:46:00.002-05:00

Some images of my new studio at the SMFA!

InsideOut Sale

2009-11-10T12:16:00.005-05:00

These pieces were entered into an annual sale that takes place at the SMFA's Gallery to benefit student scholarships.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/insideoutsmfa

Sample (Warmth), feather from the inside of the down comforter found on the artists bed. 2009

Four Samples From Three Years Past, four pieces of fabric cut from a flannel sheet used by the artist and her former partner during the winter months of a relationship lasting three years. 2009

The Desire for Evidence: Documenting the Ephemeral

2009-11-10T10:54:00.008-05:00

A performance by Marylin Arsem, documented by her class at the SMFA.

The performance began outside the main entrance. Marylin gave the class instructions.

1. Don't talk.
2. Follow me.

We followed her across the street, photographing and videotaping as we went. We came to a stream, next to which was a large tree.

3. Join me one at a time behind this tree, but wait until the person ahead of you leaves the tree before you follow.

Kirk went behind the tree and walked away within a couple of minutes, Daisy followed, then Sarah, followed by myself and finally Jody.

Once behind the tree, standing with Marylin face to face we were given more instructions.

4. Close your eyes
5. Listen
6. Think of the question you've been asking yourself
7. When you've found it, ask yourself silently

She then placed her hands in her pockets and agitated what sounded like multiple small objects. She pulled one object from each pocket and held them in each fist.

8. Choose a hand

I chose the hand that was occupied by her wedding ring. We were each handed a small round object.

The last instruction...

9. Walk back to the atrium, don't look at the object until you get there and you can choose to share the object with the others if you want to.

The objects were small wooden disks each with its own inscription. Mine said:

"What did you overlook?"

Paper Girl Project Northampton

2009-11-10T10:34:00.005-05:00

http://www.papergirlnorthampton.com/project

All hair and thread on paper. Work made over the summer for the Paper Girl Project.

Page Markers from the Library of...

2009-05-11T13:21:00.006-04:00

I have a show up in the Paul M. Scott Library at Montserrat College of Art. On display is a new installation of the piece Page Markers from the Library of a Deceased Sculptor and His Daughter.

I began collecting these page markers while working for a local painter. Her father was a fairly well known sculptor of the 1950's and part of my job was to organize her and her fathers library. I began to think about the history behind these small pieces of paper, the pages that they marked, and the person who placed them there. The library seemed an ideal place for these to be displayed. I am not sure how long the show will be up at this point, either until the end of this week or next. Many thanks to Chelsea Sams for the opportunity.

Artrageous!23

2009-04-16T18:54:00.004-04:00

Hello-

My work will also be on display in Montserrat's Artrageous!23 auction this year. The auction is May 9th at 5:30 pm at 75 Sylvan Street in Danvers, MA. Proceeds support scholarships for students at Montserrat College of Art.

Venus (Pattern: CB225, Color: Mocha)
fabric sample, upholstery, thread, fiberfill, 6" x 2"

Show in the Paul M. Scott Library

2009-04-16T17:46:00.002-04:00

I will be showing some recent work in an exhibit in the library at Montserrat. The show will open on May 8th and I will be giving an artist talk in the library at some point that week. I will post more details as they come, if anyone is interested.

Coffee Cup Show

2009-04-16T17:32:00.004-04:00

Conscience keeps more people awake than coffee (Author Unknown)
fabric, battery-operated light, coffee cup

Recently participated in the Coffee Cup Show in the Paul M. Scott Library at Montserrat College of Art. This show was the beginning of new programing using the library as a gallery space led by Chelsea Sams. The show was juried by Gordon Arnold and I won a lovely grand prize for the piece below.

A morning without coffee is like sleep (Author Unknown)
fabric, thread, fiberfill, feather, coffee cup

Domestic History comes down

2009-04-16T17:22:00.002-04:00

After a month, I removed the work. While I kept the fabric for future projects, the stuffing became a fleeting installation of foam, fiberfill, and feathers inside the dumpster behind the building.

Postcard

2009-04-16T17:14:00.003-04:00

I also need to give credit to Spencer Bowen who designed these beautiful cards for the show!

A Domestic History of Beverly, MA (comfort)

2009-04-16T16:48:00.005-04:00

I recently had an installation at Frame 301 an alternative installation space at Montserrat College of Art. The space is curated by Maggie Cavallo.

Inside the Frame 301 window space, used fabric that I had collected over four months was hung in a grid or quilt-like pattern. These fabrics have been found specifically on the streets of Beverly and have been stained, worn, and discarded by their owners. The fabric has been removed from pillows and seat cushions.

Beverly is a haven for dumpster divers and trash-collecting art students. I have been contemplating why things are so easily discarded and replaced. How something, especially fabrics and cushions; whose intent is to make us comfortable and who have had so much contact with the human body, are so easily disregarded. Becoming a memorial-like window display, I hoped that viewers might have been able to reflect on the lives that these fabrics may have had, or that former owners might have recognized this material that once occupied their home. This piece evidenced a history of comfort, rest, sleep, human error, and anything that took place on or around these objects during their lives as occupants of a home in Beverly, Massachusetts.

For more images please feel free to visit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=194934&id=822645343&l=7a92703d0f

For more information: Frame 301 Gallery Archives