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A Brooklyn Artist Adjusts to Making Art in Solitude A Brooklyn Artist Adjusts to Making Art in Solitude
(32 minutes later)
Lesley Dill, a mixed-media artist who has had more than 100 solo exhibitions, works in a 300-square-foot studio in her apartment in an Art Deco tower in Downtown Brooklyn that she shares with her husband, Edward Robbins, a journalist and filmmaker.Lesley Dill, a mixed-media artist who has had more than 100 solo exhibitions, works in a 300-square-foot studio in her apartment in an Art Deco tower in Downtown Brooklyn that she shares with her husband, Edward Robbins, a journalist and filmmaker.
The studio is many times smaller than the museums and galleries in which she typically exhibits her art. Sometimes her ambitions force her to spill into the kitchen. But since the coronavirus appeared and Ms. Dill, 70, had to send her half-dozen assistants home, her life has contracted.The studio is many times smaller than the museums and galleries in which she typically exhibits her art. Sometimes her ambitions force her to spill into the kitchen. But since the coronavirus appeared and Ms. Dill, 70, had to send her half-dozen assistants home, her life has contracted.
She has been left alone with hundreds of yards of fabric scrolls on which she stencils lush quotations plucked from the 19th century. Surrounding her, too, are huge cloth figures dressed in spiky word-covered garments.She has been left alone with hundreds of yards of fabric scrolls on which she stencils lush quotations plucked from the 19th century. Surrounding her, too, are huge cloth figures dressed in spiky word-covered garments.
These are the components of “Wilderness: Where You Come From Is Gone,” Ms. Dill’s evolving study of divinity and deviltry in the early United States. The textile figures represent religious crusaders, social activists and Native American leaders whose voices have improbably risen from repression and exclusion. The cast includes the Puritan reformer Anne Hutchinson, the abolitionists John Brown and Sojourner Truth, the Shakers founder Mother Ann Lee, the artist Horace Pippin, the Sauk leader Black Hawk and a dozen others.These are the components of “Wilderness: Where You Come From Is Gone,” Ms. Dill’s evolving study of divinity and deviltry in the early United States. The textile figures represent religious crusaders, social activists and Native American leaders whose voices have improbably risen from repression and exclusion. The cast includes the Puritan reformer Anne Hutchinson, the abolitionists John Brown and Sojourner Truth, the Shakers founder Mother Ann Lee, the artist Horace Pippin, the Sauk leader Black Hawk and a dozen others.
Exhibited in New York in 2018, “Wilderness” is scheduled to open in its expanded version next year, on May 29, 2021, at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. In late March, Ms Dill spoke by phone about adapting to her new work style. (This interview was edited for clarity and length.)Exhibited in New York in 2018, “Wilderness” is scheduled to open in its expanded version next year, on May 29, 2021, at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. In late March, Ms Dill spoke by phone about adapting to her new work style. (This interview was edited for clarity and length.)
The space at the Figge Museum is 90 by 38 feet, with 20-foot ceilings, and my project needs to fill it. I am hoping to complete 16 3-by-12-foot scrolls that wrap the entire gallery. Plus, I’m working on five new 8-foot-high textile sculptures to add to the existing 10, plus two 8-foot-high drawings. (The existing figures are at the Nohra Haime Gallery in New York, which represents her.)The space at the Figge Museum is 90 by 38 feet, with 20-foot ceilings, and my project needs to fill it. I am hoping to complete 16 3-by-12-foot scrolls that wrap the entire gallery. Plus, I’m working on five new 8-foot-high textile sculptures to add to the existing 10, plus two 8-foot-high drawings. (The existing figures are at the Nohra Haime Gallery in New York, which represents her.)
My wonderful right-hand studio manager, Sarah Ingber, lives only four blocks away, in Brooklyn Heights, thank God. On the last day she could come here after the ban on nonessential workers, we ordered supplies from Blick and packed up a huge suitcase for her to take home full of paint, brushes and scrolls that I had already stenciled. We also packed up a large scroll and paint for my assistant, Alannah Sears, who lives in Inwood.My wonderful right-hand studio manager, Sarah Ingber, lives only four blocks away, in Brooklyn Heights, thank God. On the last day she could come here after the ban on nonessential workers, we ordered supplies from Blick and packed up a huge suitcase for her to take home full of paint, brushes and scrolls that I had already stenciled. We also packed up a large scroll and paint for my assistant, Alannah Sears, who lives in Inwood.
Our plan is to review the work in snapshots we send back and forth on our phones. Sarah, being so close, can drop off what she has done in the lobby, and I can leave things for her to pick up. When Alannah is finished, I’m going to have her FedEx it back to me. We will let whatever we have touched or worked on breathe for two or three days in some outdoor space. Of course, I spray everything with Formula 409 anyway.Our plan is to review the work in snapshots we send back and forth on our phones. Sarah, being so close, can drop off what she has done in the lobby, and I can leave things for her to pick up. When Alannah is finished, I’m going to have her FedEx it back to me. We will let whatever we have touched or worked on breathe for two or three days in some outdoor space. Of course, I spray everything with Formula 409 anyway.
For me, this sequential stenciling of the words is a music. It’s a melody. It’s like a concerto that I’m working with in terms of how the words are large, are small, how they hook into each other, how readable and not readable they are.For me, this sequential stenciling of the words is a music. It’s a melody. It’s like a concerto that I’m working with in terms of how the words are large, are small, how they hook into each other, how readable and not readable they are.
Yes, for the first time alone in my studio in 20 years, I have been playing Bach. His concerto in D minor with two violins makes me swoon.Yes, for the first time alone in my studio in 20 years, I have been playing Bach. His concerto in D minor with two violins makes me swoon.
I will have to learn how to sew with a sewing machine, so I can make the scrolls. I will have to figure out a way to make the textile figure of Horace Pippin; all the other ones are good to go.I will have to learn how to sew with a sewing machine, so I can make the scrolls. I will have to figure out a way to make the textile figure of Horace Pippin; all the other ones are good to go.
My theme is the theme of the original European-American settlers and their almost biblical sense of wilderness as a fear of the unknown. It was a place of the devil, where dangers — whether from Native Americans, wild animals or starvation — lay to be conquered, to be controlled. (Native Americans did not think of the wilderness as wild; for them, the white Europeans were the devil.)My theme is the theme of the original European-American settlers and their almost biblical sense of wilderness as a fear of the unknown. It was a place of the devil, where dangers — whether from Native Americans, wild animals or starvation — lay to be conquered, to be controlled. (Native Americans did not think of the wilderness as wild; for them, the white Europeans were the devil.)
In that sense, this virus is that wilderness beast, the invisible unknown. It is the outside force that drives us to think about it, to fear it, to think about our lives differently. And somewhat like both our early European-Americans and Native American peoples, I think we will emerge from this experience into a new land — one we will try to shape into what is familiar, but also one we don’t know yet what meaning it will have globally.In that sense, this virus is that wilderness beast, the invisible unknown. It is the outside force that drives us to think about it, to fear it, to think about our lives differently. And somewhat like both our early European-Americans and Native American peoples, I think we will emerge from this experience into a new land — one we will try to shape into what is familiar, but also one we don’t know yet what meaning it will have globally.
Updated June 30, 2020
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles.
A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico.
The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.
The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
It is just starting to. I’m in touch with Johnathan Buffalo, the historic preservation director of the Meskwaki Nation’s tribal museum in Iowa, and Ray A. Young Bear, who is the Native American author of the novel “Black Eagle Child.” Ray A. Young Bear passed along the words to me of a fellow tribesman: “Now you know how we felt when our predecessors were infected purposely with disease.”It is just starting to. I’m in touch with Johnathan Buffalo, the historic preservation director of the Meskwaki Nation’s tribal museum in Iowa, and Ray A. Young Bear, who is the Native American author of the novel “Black Eagle Child.” Ray A. Young Bear passed along the words to me of a fellow tribesman: “Now you know how we felt when our predecessors were infected purposely with disease.”
The controls and the restrictions that we find in the Shakers: They walked one by one on the simple path; they didn’t walk side by side. Walking the narrow path is something we’re doing now.The controls and the restrictions that we find in the Shakers: They walked one by one on the simple path; they didn’t walk side by side. Walking the narrow path is something we’re doing now.
Yes. I feel a sense of balance, because the deep introversion that I normally feel — the refuge, the prison, the palace of my art-making, of my heart and my mind — somehow feels matched by the quiet, the silence and the renunciation and isolation of the world right now outside my windows, in the streets.Yes. I feel a sense of balance, because the deep introversion that I normally feel — the refuge, the prison, the palace of my art-making, of my heart and my mind — somehow feels matched by the quiet, the silence and the renunciation and isolation of the world right now outside my windows, in the streets.
And I find this is true of others. My friend Barbara Takenaga is single, happily working alone in her studio with her dog, Andy, today. Another friend, Charles LeDray, is upstate with his husband, but he is never happier than talking on the phone and working on his incredibly obsessive work.And I find this is true of others. My friend Barbara Takenaga is single, happily working alone in her studio with her dog, Andy, today. Another friend, Charles LeDray, is upstate with his husband, but he is never happier than talking on the phone and working on his incredibly obsessive work.
Handwork, that’s what it’s about. It’s about the obsession of the mind being turned into tactile voice.Handwork, that’s what it’s about. It’s about the obsession of the mind being turned into tactile voice.
I would like to be the first to admit that, as an artist, I am lucky compared to many, many people: our health workers, the M.T.A. workers, the homeless, the at-risk families in New York.I would like to be the first to admit that, as an artist, I am lucky compared to many, many people: our health workers, the M.T.A. workers, the homeless, the at-risk families in New York.
I get to be safe in my studio. My deadline is not for another year. I can get lots of people to help me in the last month to try to make up for this, hopefully. I’m looking on this virus globally, as if the world is a big horse and this big horse is sick.I get to be safe in my studio. My deadline is not for another year. I can get lots of people to help me in the last month to try to make up for this, hopefully. I’m looking on this virus globally, as if the world is a big horse and this big horse is sick.
Emily Dickinson wrote “Some, Too Fragile for Winter Winds.” I think that’s a feeling that we feel now. And who are the fragile people? It’s still unknown.Emily Dickinson wrote “Some, Too Fragile for Winter Winds.” I think that’s a feeling that we feel now. And who are the fragile people? It’s still unknown.
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