Ruth Dusseault

Background

Ruth Dusseault - Personal Website

RUTH DUSSEAULTs numerous projects examine utopian expressions in the built environment. Her work reveals the paradoxical relationship between utopian and dystopian realities in our immediate histories. In her Atlantic Steel Redevelopment Project (High Museum 2006), she tracked the six-year transformation of Atlanta's last large-scale industrial site from a century-old steel mill to a new urbanism city within the city, the largest urban redevelopment in the U.S. In an ongoing photographic study, Play War, (Emory 2010) she documents the growing trend of homemade recreational battlefields. With Modern Nature, she conducted an architectural survey of early 20th century tourist attractions that interpret the landscape. Artist in Residence at Georgia Tech's College of Architecture for 11 years, she also teaches summer continuing studies at Stanford University. She has curated touring exhibitions that merge art and architecture, including Terrain Vague: Photography and Architecture in the Post-Industrial Landscape (Atlanta Contemporary Art Center 2002, Carnegie Museum of Art 2003). For her work, she has received over a dozen artist awards, including one from New York's Artadia Foundation (2009), the Emerging Artist Award from the Forward Arts Foundation (2003) and an NEA Design grant (2006). Her work is exhibited and collected internationally.

Questions

How long would you be on site?

What accommodations would you need?

Do you agree to release your video to the creative commons?

How much of Marcin's time would you need?

Would you be willing to work with us on technical documentation?

A: If awarded the Guggenheim, I will be traveling next summer between you and Joplin. My schedule would depend on yours. I would try to be present for some important events, but would also like to be present during intermittent periods so I can obtain a few interviews. I would probably request one formal interview with Marcin, with the goal of recording his vision and reflections. The rest of my shooting would be ambient with casual conversation on the sidelines. I understand your concerns about interference, and I hear that clearly. I like to work with light equipment so that I can maintain maneuverability and speed. I will spend time studying your work patterns before shooting, so I can better "embed" myself. I will not require lodging, I know you need rooms for OSE participants. My budget will include housing in Cameron. Yes, I would indeed be willing to film technical documentation footage and release it to the creative commons.

Aaron, as I mentioned in our conversation earlier, I find that wherever someone is articulating a utopian expression, they are somehow reflecting the historic reality in which we live. There is always self knowledge to gain in capturing that expression on film. And the most vivid moment is the threshold where that vision enters the real world. That is my reason for wanting to film Joplin as it re-imagines itself, and for wanting to film OSE.

There is also a smaller grant pending that might allow me to make a trip a little sooner. I will let you know as soon as I do.

Questions:

• What is your overall work product for the Guggenheim and how does that benefit the OSE mission?
• What video production experience do you have?
• How many hours of interviews do you need from Marcin?
• How many days are you going to be on site at Factor e Farm?
• What technical documentation experience do you have?
• Please send a resume.
• Link to portfolio.

Outcomes and Risk Assessment

• What is the outcome of this engagement?
• What time commitments is the Founder expected to make?
• What time commitments are other team members required to make?
• What is the organizational overhead required to make this happen successfully?
• How does this outcome benefit OSE?
• What is the overall cost to OSE? (time, money, space, other resources)
• What is the likelihood that project succeeding?
• What are the metrics of success?

A: I will be making a documentary film and still photographs of OSE and Joplin. The Joplin story has already begun https://vimeo.com/38502470. Considering the grant turnaround time, the work will be shown at Emory University in 2014. A successful production would be entered into film festivals or aired on public stations. I also have a Vimeo site that can be linked to OSE if you wish. Technical segments can be edited separately from the overall film for contribution to OSE wiki.

For 11 years, I taught photographic/video documentation skills to students of architecture, industrial design, urban design and mechanical engineering in my role as Artist in Residence in the College of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology. I do have the skill set you need to film technical demonstrations, and I would be willing to contribute them to the creative commons. I am a practicing artist/academic who works with engineers. You will see a line of related research, and a portfolio, on my introductory wiki post. http://forum.opensourceecology.org/discussion/901/ruth-dusseault-filmmaker-city-builders-and-ecopunks

I hope to be there by June 2013. There is a slight chance I could also win a smaller grant (pending) that would allow me to come sooner, but that date cannot yet be determined.

Until I win the grant, I do not know my budget and cannot safely estimate my length of time in Missouri. I will also be traveling to Joplin, trying to target events there. My time on the farm would depend on your work schedule. As time draws nearer, I can find your schedule on the wiki and propose a specific visit. A general nod of approval today would be good to include in the grant proposal.

I hope it is obvious that I do not want to hinder any work while I’m there, but wish to record daily life as it is. As a practitioner in the humanities, I see value in qualitative reporting. I have filmed some intentional communities recently, and I find that residents are able to articulate the concerns of this generation with a longer view of the future than most people. I feel it is important to document this for historic reasons, most poignantly in the voices and stories of community members. What is it like to be here? What brought you here? What reflections can be shared?

This film is not about politics. Rather, I see a story building vertically with Joplin taking the ground view, reflecting current global conditions and approaches, and OSE holding an aerial perspective of the future. There is much to learn from both activities happening simultaneously, and it sets a good narrative. Joplin’s ancestors were skilled homesteaders. If it helps you to know, one critic called my work too objective.

Depending on Marcin’s interest and ease, we could go about it a few ways. I could request an hour from him to step away from work for a formal interview; or he could go about his normal workday with me as a shadow, as in “a day in the life” segment. He does not have to decide before meeting me. I would also like to talk with other members during down time and take ambient footage. I will not interfere with production (note: I have documented a steel mill demolition and military games and have experience working around others while they work).

My grant budget will include funds for food and lodging nearby. Any or all identification of persons or locations can be kept confidential or disclosed upon OSE's wishes.

Your strategic plan focuses on machine development this year, which is good. Are you also planning any new construction projects? Are there other local OSE chapters or intentional communities?