Beth Davila Waldman

To view documentation of performance, visit https://vimeo.com/1142175337.

The third iteration of NAVIGATION, an ongoing series led by alumni artist Alex H Nichols. For one day only, local and international artists gathered at Djerassi to create ephemeral works around this year’s theme: LINGERING.

LINGERING:

-a duration, not a pace

-an act of holding and staying

-being time, not time passing

-a recalibration of the chronological impulse

Inspired by Byung-Chul Han’s The Scent of Time: A Philosophical Essay on the Art of Lingering, the day invites guests to pause, connect, and experience art as time suspended.

THE EXPERIENCE

Guests walked down to the Old Barn, beginning by sharing a Japanese tasting bento prepared by chefs Yusuke Konno and Saya Yaegashi. A guided journey followed, moving between installations, performances, and conversations. Each participant received a hand-printed booklet and map to accompany their exploration. Together with Djerassi Program, Alex H Nichols cultivated a space of collaboration, creativity, and community.

Beth Davila Waldman, Statement:

Lingering creates madness

We must move forward

Take action, do not play dead

Lingering provides an anchoring,

A pause, a needed void, a dread

Lingering is preservation,

But one must move ahead.

Too much lingering can paralyze

A thought, a heart, your soul.

We strive to reach a balance,

Especially when our country erodes

We navigate familiar waters

Each traverse extends

A new set of choices

To reach the road ahead

Necessary pauses

Strive us forward

Adding clarity to the mind

Lingering can become a habit

It can freeze you in your shoes

Between the moments of indecision

It is lingering that defines.

To view this live performance work, please visit https://vimeo.com/1142169811. To view the full documentation of all artists presented during this project, please visit https://vimeo.com/1142173043.

Based out of the San Francisco Bay Area with a concurrent studio practice in Los Angeles, interdisciplinary artist Beth Davila Waldman's art leads with the idea of sanctuary from the various urban, undeveloped and dense urban terrains she walks through in the continuous nomadic chapters of her life.

Part of a developing series of performance artwork, this site-specific performance embraces the return to a land I was at a year ago but discovering in a new way. Time is a framework, the ground and materials provide a context. Used in several projects in the past, the gold shards carry connections of the breeching survivor while also carrying reference to symbols of wealth and colonization from my dual indigenous Peruvian and Spanish Ancestors. They are vulnerable, yet powerful, dangerous while symbolizing chance. Seeing the performance as a navigating of a personal odyssey, it is one that can only be traveled alone. Through the movements, one finds strength, one approaches defeat, one struggles to find the power within to move forward or one falls apart.

To view this performance, please visit https://vimeo.com/1143491828?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci.

To view the documentation of this project, visit https://vimeo.com/410814398.

In 2018, tensions surrounding trade on both the US and China were coming to head. At that time, we did not foresee much of what was to come especially in Hong Kong. In January of 2018, I visited Hong Kong for the first time returning again in July & again in March of 2019. My travels to Hong Kong inspired these two projects: Hong Kong Displaced & Inevitable Entails. My art strives to create a narrative between one photograph with a devolutionary spirit by breaking apart the image in order to draw attention to the intermittence moments. My work implies displacement, disaster and disintegration exploring what the price of prosperity is to the individual and to culture. It uses the reoccurring motif of the shard and an architectural vernacular to visually represent systems in crisis. Printed at 40x60 inches onto Plexiglas at Magnolia Editions, “Lamma No. 1”, this one base photograph is the base image for my “Hong Kong Displaced” collage series & three accompanying video works: “Resilience”, “Rapacity” & “Resurrection”. I am attempting to bring focus to the societal burden & responsibility of democracy & economic viability as a result of what I perceive to be an ancient & contemporary condition, abuse of power. China Camp Village was selected as a site for these works because of its history of governmental interference with its economic viability. Using the same base images to speak to not only one reality but to a plethora of outcomes from a shared experience, the “Hong Kong Displaced” series aims to create a potential of something beyond what a singular image provides to seek another solution.

To view the documentation of the project, visit https://vimeo.com/408916019.

In 2018, tensions surrounding trade on both the US and China were coming to head. At that time, we did not foresee much of what was to come especially in Hong Kong. In January of 2018, I visited Hong Kong for the first time returning in July and again in March of 2019. During those years, I embraced the practice of video performance works surrounding the creation of my collaged paintings to inform the concept and focus attention on the broken shards created in the process of shattering the chosen photograph. “Resilience” is at the heart of the Hong Kong Displaced Project as at the time, I was embracing the isolationist role our current United States administration has been taking. The video performance work is part of a construction of works that together for a larger narrative. With both video performance works “Resilience” & “Resurrection”, I am attempting to bring focus to the societal burden & responsibility of democracy & economic viability as a result of what I perceive to be an ancient & contemporary condition, abuse of power. “Resilience” touches upon the hope that our country can strive past its current context with the Trump Administration in its global decisions. It also speaks to an exhaustion and potential death of our nation as a result of its selfish and consequential approaches.

To view the documentation of this project, visit https://vimeo.com/270161589.

In 2018, tensions surrounding trade on both the US and China were coming to head. At that time, we did not foresee much of what was to come especially in Hong Kong. In January of 2018, I visited Hong Kong for the first time returning in July and again in March of 2019. During those years, I embraced the practice of video performance works surrounding the creation of my collaged paintings to inform the concept and focus attention on the broken shards created in the process of shattering the chosen photograph. “Resilience” is at the heart of the Hong Kong Displaced Project as at the time, I was embracing the isolationist role our current United States administration has been taking. The video performance work is part of a construction of works that together for a larger narrative. With both video performance works “Resilience” & “Resurrection”, I am attempting to bring focus to the societal burden & responsibility of democracy & economic viability as a result of what I perceive to be an ancient & contemporary condition, abuse of power. “Resilience” touches upon the hope that our country can strive past its current context with the Trump Administration in its global decisions. It also speaks to an exhaustion and potential death of our nation as a result of its selfish and consequential approaches.

To view the documentation of this project, visit https://vimeo.com/260668058.

To view project documentation visit https://vimeo.com/1120335344.

Beth Davila Waldman presents The Three Gratia to offer ideals of fortitude, reciprocal caring, and sanctuary as pathways within unfolding debates surrounding Mother Earth. Embracing themes of eco-feminism, this project has roots in the Latin word gratia, the architectural Caryatids of the Erechtheum temple primarily dedicated Athena, and the artist’s signature ultramarine blue nodding to the aqueduct which once revived The Valley’s economy. Ecofeminism is often presented as site-specific artwork that addresses the state of being under the control of a system that is oppressive and unfair for both the environment and of women. 

To view short film of project, please visit https://vimeo.com/1142279831.

Untitled Art Fair, Special Projects, Miami Beach, FL

THREE TURNS MIAMI, November 29, 2021, 1-8pm, EST, Curator Tony Labat, INFO

In conjunction with opening day of Untitled Art Miami Beach 2021, SF Artists Alumni (SFAA) presents a media based project curated by artist and San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) professor Tony Labat highlighting the work of contemporary alumni from the San Francisco Art Institute. For our participation in this year’s Untitled’s Special Projects under the guidance of Artistic Director Omar López-Chahoud, Tony invited Ana Teresa Fernández, Whitney Lynn, and Kit Radford, and Minoosh Zomorodinia to feature their work along side a juried group submitted video work from our broader SFAI Alumni community. This second SFAA annual Three Turns project, Three Turns Miami, stems from the concept initiated in 2020 on the historic tower of the San Francisco Art Institute, that engaged projected artworks in order to provide viewers with different entry points, prompting a deeper exploration into the individual works itself.

Participating Artists

Ana Teresa Fernández, Whitney Lynn, Kit Radford, Minoosh Zomorodinia, John Anderson, Anna Rose, Robert Earl Davis, Maya Smira, John Muse, Alisha Trimble, Zimo Zhao, Mrinalini Aggarwal, Carlos Castro, Ouater Sand, Kim Anno, Kacy Jung, Beth Davila Waldman, Irene Carvajal, Liz Oppenheimer, Lawrence White, Lisa Blatt, Linda Ford, Liz Miller Kovacs, Don Daedalus, Peter Max Lawrence, Reza Monahan, William Edwards, Meredith Leich, Toban Nichols, Chad Stayrook.

During the weeklong screening of Tunnels of the Mind, SFAI and ZAZ10TS featured Artistic Messages to Inspire from 7 to 9am and 7 to 9pm daily, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 75 artists from the SFAI community contributed additional work celebrating and reflecting on the resilience of New Yorkers during these difficult times.

Celebrating the 150 anniversary of San Francisco Art Institute, my photograph "Ancestral Construct No. 1" was one of over 75 artists sharing messages to the city of NYC through visual art in light of the pandemic - live as of yesterday everyday - on a virtual gallery billboard in NY's Time Square.

My work specially was invested in site-specific temporary and permanent works from 2003-2007 resulting from my practice in sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute; there, my studios were primarily with professors John Roloff and Jon Rubin. In 2004, I was awarded the Harold E. Weiner Memorial Sculpture Award for the best sculptural work amongst all undergraduate and graduate students by the San Francisco Art Institute. In 2005, I was selected by Shelly Willis to complete a 2007 temporary site-specific installation entitled “Alternate Visitors Center of Sonoma” comprised of six 6’w x 8’h x6’d gates installed on the sidewalks. Each gate was an assemblage of two years of photographing, scavenging, and interviewing local families; this project was funded by the Sonoma Community Center and given grant support by the Puffin Foundation. 

Inspired by the materials from which International Lofts is built, this sculpture embraces the idea of continuity. Its material origins are both the staircase on which its community ascends and descends and the copper sheeting which highlights the connection of the floors with the developing lives of those who live within the walls. Formally, the sculpture references the mathematical symbol for infinity connecting the ground with the sky, time with space, and the visible with the unknown; only the top half of the symbol is visible above ground, but the concept continues below. With a skin of alternating copper and aluminum between the steel banisters, this sculpture invites viewers to experience the work of art from all directions, transposing the site’s sky with images of black and white photographic skies from Waldman’s backpacking trips throughout Northern California silk-screened onto aluminum sheeting. The artwork encourages the space beneath the curves to be enjoyed as much as the space around it.  The design of this work is an invitation to viewers to experience the grassy space in a new way, but not to prevent that space from being used recreationally.

This project zooms our perspective out in order to see how this one street, Fillmore Street, is a representation for all of San Francisco.  A journey from Hermann Street in Lower Haight to Lombard Street in the Marina District, this project enjoys juxtaposing the wide range of socio-economic classes and various lifestyles that exist on this one street.

Having lived for two years at one end of Fillmore in the Lower Haight and having worked for two years in the middle section of Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, I developed a relationship with this street that was so differed greatly in its identity reflecting extremes of San Francisco for me.  Many a time, I walked the whole length of the street almost having the street unfold before my eyes.  In addition, I spent some time recording at different parts of Fillmore Street and experimented with displacing that video into photographs of areas of Fillmore Street that differed socio-economically.  I am providing visuals of the site and the displacements I made as well as my plan for a public project installation for the site of Fillmore Street.

Memory of The, San Francisco Art Institute Stairway
Poem that lay behind the bubble wrap that were sourced from the SFAI Archives of the title of past MFA Thesis Exhibitions.

To view this documentation of the creation of this project, please visit https://vimeo.com/90363124.

I WOULD LIKE TO PAINT AS THE BIRD SINGS              FRAGMENTS              INGROOVEMENT        ANTI-INGROOVEMENT              FLORAPHOBIA       HAPPENS EVERY DAY              STRUCTURELESS MATERIAL CALLED HUMUS REMAINS              FINISHED              EATING              DIGESTING              INSINCERITY           SYSTEM TRANSFORMING              SUBDIVISION           CONCEPTS THAT WE LIVED BY         I HAVE DIFFFERENT REMEMBERANCES            TODAY, I CROSS              I’M NOT WITH HIM              SECURITY BLANKETS              LIGHT YEARS AWAY              KIDS              VESSEL (BEAR VS BULL)              DOUBLETS OF FLOW              FLIGHT 
OF IDEAS              SQUIRT              UNDERPRESSURE              REMINDS ME OF MY TENDENCIES TOWARDS SELF-PERFECTION              BE CAREFUL WHAT YOUTHINK THOUGHTS GENERATE EMOTIONS GENERATE ILLNESS MENTAL PHYSICAL                     SO MUCH CAN HAPPEN OVER TEA              INDUCTION              BALANCE              CHEWING GUM    SPIRIT              FLEXIBLE, STRONG AND BURABLE              UNKNOWN PROCESS              POWER MARTYR                       DID YOU HEAR THAT?              THERE’S A CHICKEN IN YOUR MOUTH                         SILENCE NO LONGER WHAT IT USED TO BE              TOUGHNESS ASSUMES ITS FULL MEANING                     NON PLACED MEMORY                            THE 
DIALECTICAL NATURE OF REALITY WALKING THE MYSTICAL PATH WITH PRATICAL FEET                 AN ARTIST IS BUSY WITH WHAT IS NECESSARY                 HOLLOWED OUT REMNANTS                    TO BE FILLED WITH 
FANTASIES                  COLONIZED BY WISHFUL PROJECTIONS                         TURNED INTO SPECTACLES OF CONSUMPTION                      I STILL DRAW FLOWERS                   ABOVE 
THE CLOUDS                        THIS KNOWLEDGE PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE                      I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT LIES AHEAD                          I AM A CYNIC                            I AM $70,000 
IN DEBT                        I AM 23 YEARS OLD                  I AM NOT ALONE                          THIS KNOWLEDGE BRINGS ME JOY                      THESE TABLEAUX ARE THE TRUE ENTITIES                     IF YOU CANT MAKE IT INTERESTING, WHY BOTHER MAKING IT GOOD?                          SOME OF MY CLOTHES                      FRAMEWORK                    
REBOUND                    VIRTUAL SPACE                                          EVERYDAY I NEED TO REMIND MYSELF THAT THIS IS NOT A MAQUETTE                         KITTY COLLASPE                    
VOICE OF THE PAST                     SPINHORSE REMIX                          CULINARTILARY                 AFTERNOON SUNDAY                    HOW EXTRAORDINARY FREEDOM CAN BE                            UNDERFUNDED     MILDEWED                 ISOLATED                    COLD                 AND DAMP                  YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE ART WITH WHAT’S IN YOUR BACK POCKET                                     ARROGANT AND POMPOUS                                     HUMBLE AND UNASSUMING                         BRUSQUE AND BRAZEN                          ALIVE                            WELCOMING AND SCARY                          IT WILL  ALWAYS BE A LA BOR A TORY                            100 FT LONG SILKEN TONGUE                                     ROUND-UP                                345 HUMAN TEARS                                     A PART OF GRACE                    STILL BORN                               POST HUMOUS                                    THE NEXT TIME 
MACHINE                                   IF YOU REMAIN SILENT                                        OBSERVATION TOWER                                              FINDING PLEASURE IN THE IRONY OF LIFE                                    APOCALYPTIC PET                                         DAILY LAUNDRY                                  RECOLLECTION                     FROSTY TOES                  REBIRTH                      BOY WITH A BALL                                        PLAYHOUSE                         RETELLING OUR STORY                 IMAGING A NEW COAT                  IS IT TRUE                                 RETELLING OUR 
STORY                               ASCENT AND DESCENT                        RISE AND FALL                                GROWTH AND ASPIRATION                                THAT JOINED THE TIBERT TO THE VIA 
DI RIPETTA                      ON OF THE STRAIGHT HIGHWAYS                                THE PIAZZA DEL POPOLO                                        IN WATER                         IN CLOUDS                   TAPPED 
BY A REPLICA OF A TRIUMPHAL ARCH LIKE THAT OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERES FROM THE ROMAN FORUM                         124 STONE STEPS                                          FREQUENTED BY 
SPINSTERS                  BARREN MARRIED WOMEN                        CLIMBING STAIRS ON KNEES                               HOPING TO CONCEIVE A CHILD BY THEIR DEVOTIONS                                          MEMORY OF THE PENTITENT KNEE-ERODED STAIRS OF DURHAM CATHEDRAL                                         TO GRANDOISE INVENTIONS OF PIRANESI                     TO WATER STAIRCASES AT TIVOLI                          ASCENT TO CAPITAL                                     STEPPED PYRAMIDS                                 REACHING THE IMPOSSIBLE.

In the permanent collection of Kala Institute

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SOLD

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