When Laurel Raczka approached me about housing something in the gallery at the Bride, I am not sure either of us knew exactly what would come of it, other than that it would be potentially intriguing for us both. My notebooks have been housed in studios and black boxes and I have learned not to use the word ‘installation’ because of its weight and its connotations to an already very specified genre. Outside of its usual frame, what is it? It is research, so it is not a performance in a gallery, although you could argue for calling it a performative event over time. But since the intent is not to present but to be observed, and to facilitate active exchange, would performance still apply? In the end, much like the notebook process has allowed me to shed layers of constructed narrative around the making of the dances that I have presented to date, this new space reminds me that more than anything the integrity of intent and process trump the title and the frame in which it is dressed. So this is my performance research collection. No matter where it sits.
The gallery is a funky space, with ins and outs that invite curiosity. My collections are creatures born of my curiosity. My current query: how to leverage the space to create an environment in which i would want to explore these ideas? crazy beautiful: words, writing, speaking, books, papers, beds, asylums, images, imaginings, drifting. I wanted to deconstruct allegorical texts to create new narratives that wove together my writing and excerpts from the books. Within the piece is the idea of swimming through words, wading through thick layers of narratives. Hmmmm….. That was where I started….
The current notebook is different from the first “crazy beautiful” at MANCC in 2009. Many elements have been added and some parts that I thought were essential have simply melted away….. It reminds me that this is the idea: that as the piece develops and the spaces where it is housed shift; as I meet other artists who intrigue and inspire me; it changes, matures and eventually finds its stable form. This will probably take another year to build into performance.
(tid) open-notebook 
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