on view

















YOU ARE HERE YOU ARE - 04/11-5/5/19

Susan Ziemba
Bob Meredith
Patti Pastella
Esther McKeever
Mairi Meredith

“What’s new in your world?” the gentleman abruptly asked of me at the onset of our brief interaction. I suppose I always have trouble answering that question. Like when someone says, “what’s up?” - it’s not really a question – yes, there is an answer, but “what’s up?” is more like saying “hello” than “how are you?”. This gentleman’s matter-of-fact delivery forced an answer out of me. I proceeded to tell him that I was working on writing-up this exhibition proposal; the “newest” thing I could think of. After stumbling over my words and describing a bare bones concept of “we’re looking for submissions of original diagrams and maps” he sort of grumbled: “Hmm.” And that was that. I had a hard time explaining it because it wasn’t formulated yet. I was hunched over my keyboard with barley the first sentence started; details actively being worked out. Now suppose if this was written and printed-out already, I could have handed it to him to read and there’s more of a likelihood he would have had a better understanding of the concept of the exhibition; a more concrete description to work with. Now, what if I had a drawn diagram to hand him? Or a map? What would that look like? How could I have distilled down my concept into a visual aid rather than into words or writing? Otto’s Abode – an Art-Centric Travel Agency and Inconvenience Store – is seeking submissions of original diagrams and maps. This could be diagram of how you make your coffee in the morning or a map of a bizarre walking ritual you find yourself participating in day after day. This is essentially an exhibition of drawings. Your submission could be anything from a doodle scribbled on a napkin to a computer-rendered and framed masterpiece. Take a look around your world.