Artists Jared Pappas-Kelley and Corey Lund created the multi-media installation Some Say She Lost Her Head, which combined found video footage and an original soundtrack displayed on the Tollbooth's monitor, with a public-interactive paper based element on the reverse. Viewers were invited to add to the installation by coloring the missing head with provided chalk. Music emanated from the kiosk eliciting another response from the pedestrians, making viewer aware of the video  on the 24" monitor.

So you have the honor of having the first show at the Tollbooth Gallery; Can you explain to me a little about the idea?

Jared Pappas-Kelley: I had finished this one channel projection called Some Say She Lost Her Head and had shown it around the country at a number of institutions and screenings, but felt it would be interesting to work it into something new. For me, it’s a pretty mysterious piece and I wanted to develop it into something that added to this impression. I think it definitely benefited from being the first installation at the Tollbooth Gallery, because one day there was nothing there and the next, Some Say She Lost Her Head was just there with no real explanation. Nobody really knew what to do with it, but we got all this really amazing feedback. It definitely didn’t hurt that it snowed heavily for the first time of the season on the day of our opening, which completely transformed the space. Everything was pure and white and muffled in that strange way that snow is... everything was still and quiet. You could hear the audio track traveling softly through the snow for blocks away and it led you to this little calm video project in the midst of the snowstorm. I think I’ll only install it when it’s snowing from now on! But at the same time we had just installed this video equipment outdoors and were trying it out for the first time in sub-freezing weather. Everyday, we drove by hoping it wouldn’t be frozen solid. I mean it was all theoretical that it would work in the snow… trial by ice.

TB: How did you come up with the interactive idea behind it? Do you think the goals of the piece were a success?

JPK: I had been planning to do an installation utilizing the woman from Some Say She Lost Her Head stenciled onto slates, where the viewer was given chalk and instructed to color her until her head was gone. The Tollbooth was the same idea, but on a bigger scale. We coated the surface of the Tollbooth with  that chalkboard  spray paint, then reverse-stenciled the paper image over it with directions for the viewer to color out her head until it disappeared using chalk we supplied. We really didn’t know what to expect. People could have just stolen all the chalk or written on all the surrounding buildings. That was part of it, putting the project into the viewers hands and seeing where they’d go with it. I actually ended up buying way more chalk than we needed, expecting to have to constantly replace it, but everyone was amazingly respectful. So yes, in that I think the goals of the project were successful. Somebody wrote something like, “Skinny Puppy Rulz”, on it which made me smile... What year is this?

 

TB: Did you feel compelled to create an interactive element as opposed to just creating a ‘picture’? How did this limit or contribute to the final work?

JPK: Yeah, I suppose I did. I think I felt the need to set a tone for the project as something more interactive. I guess I could have just made something that was more aesthetically pretty, but I was more interested in breaking that barrier between viewer/viewed and public/shared space.

TB: What were the challenges in creating the first work in this new space, and how did you come up with a paper-based element to go alongside with the already-existing video, especially with no history of shows to reference?

JPK: I definitely wanted to set the stage and do something that said “hey, this is a space where something dynamic can happen.” I thought of it as different elements being combined to create something new. First you had the Tollbooth itself, which is this rather solemn freestanding concrete structure. Then there are the video and audio elements that someone recently described as Dadaist Butoh or Buster Keaton in drag. Then there was the paper aspect that drew in the viewer and got them involved. I wasn’t that cerebral about it, but that’s kind of how I thought about it in my head.

TB: Give me some background on the video: where is it from, and how does this relate to the piece (or is it so out of context that it’s unimportant)?

JPK: Well, the video is actually built out of about 2.5 seconds of found footage, which turns out was part of a film project by Baum who wrote The Wizard of Oz. He did this project around the turn of the last century and our piece was created out of those 2.5 seconds, which we digitally re-worked completely. All the audio score was completely sequenced and built out of the original audio as well. The process reminded me almost of DNA, where we took this tiny fractional piece and blew it up into this epic thing.

TB: You’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback and praise for “Some Say She Lost Her Head.” Do you feel that it’s more successful as a projected stand-alone video or as an installation?

JPK: I personally think it’s more interesting as an installation. I think it allows people to get further into it, but people seem to be just as into it as a stand alone. For me, I tend to think of it as two separate entities, but I like the versatility that it works in a number of different arenas.

TB: I don’t want to get into talking about the Tollbooth Project itself (that’s another interview) but I’m interested, when we first got the idea for the project we fantasized about these uber-interactive works that really blurred the lines between communications and artmaking/participation. Do you feel that this is a fundamental part of the project or is a successful exhibit not necessarily dependent on utilizing this aspect? Maybe this is the wrong place for this question…

JPK: I don’t think the farthest reach of what this project could be has been reached by any stretch of the imagination. I keep waiting for somebody to really push it to that point where I go “wow, this is what it’s all really about”… Everyone who has been showing is really top notch and has been creating impressive work, so I keep waiting for that one that just really crystallizes it for me and turns it into something new. I don’t think a show has to necessarily utilize this interactivity to be successful. Vanessa Renwick’s show with the People’s History Project was basically a video loop with a series of posters, but it was powerful and worked extremely well. Tim Sullivan’s work definitely takes advantage of the space and its interactive potential with his mail project and the adjoining mailboxes. I’m curious to see what Wynne Greenwood will do. 

TB: People always think that sound on this piece is some sort of formal composition. I know the real story behind it, but would you share how it came about?

JPK: Are you saying it’s not a formal composition? Actually the sound is just as important as the video for this. For most work like this, the video is cut to match an audio score or the audio score is composed to match the video. We literally created them at the same time, so it was very organic how it came about. Some Say She Lost Her Head was definitely improvisational by nature.

TB: What kind of other projects are you working on?

JPK: Lately I’ve been working on a guerilla audio sculpture called The Story of Home, built out of interviews I did with people whose families were involved and grew up in this utopian community in rural Washington called “Home” around the turn of the last century. I also interviewed historian Charles LeWarne who wrote Utopias on the Puget Sound. The Story of Home is a mobile audio sculpture that will be temporarily installed at different locations around the region. In the piece, I attempt to blur the fact that these people are speaking about a historical place called “Home” and elevate it into a piece about conceiving the potential of what home can and should be, and then working to build that around ourselves. The piece lasts for exactly one hour and each site where it is installed is designated “Home” for that hour. I am also currently putting together a touring program of film and video, so I’ve been busy.

TB: Do you think you’ve ‘put away’ this sort of traditional videomaking that you’ve been doing in favor of more interactive or installation-type projects?

JPK: I don’t know if I necessarily put it away. I’ve never had any interest in making movies. I think I’m more interested in making work that’s flexible and benefits from being experienced in different types of venues. I like work that has a life of its own. I usually think of the video as just one aspect of a project. I’ve also been doing a lot of writing that ties in with this type of work.

TB: Why do you think the press always cuts the name of this show in half to either ‘Some Say’ or ‘Lost Her Head’ or even ‘She Lost Her Head’?

JPK: I’m not really sure. Maybe they’re paying for the words by the inch? What’s funny is that the cutting of the name could almost be seen as an illustration of what the project is about… but I’m not that deep.

TB: At what point do you stop working on the piece, or does it ever end?  Especially with this sort of non-linear/non-narrative video project, I’m curious to know how the decision is made to end the piece or stop repetition.

JPK: It’s definitely a case of when it feels done. If you overwork it, it just turns into a big wash. I usually work something a lot but leave it kind of rough, then come back to it after some time with fresh eyes and re-edit it. It’s all pretty intuitive, but eventually it just gels into something new and it’s suddenly this whole other thing. A lot of times, an element from one piece will get worked into a new project, but I am most pleased when I can step away from something and see it like a year later and be all “how’d I do that?” or “is that mine?” It’s kind of hard to explain.

TB: What shows are you looking forward to at the Tollbooth, and who would you like to see exhibit?

JPK: As I said before, I’m definitely curious to see what Wynne Greenwood comes up with and I keep hearing about this new project that Alex Schweder has been working on and is installing at the Tollbooth next year. I guess I’d be most excited to see something really amazing by somebody I’ve never heard of before.