Fritz Haeg's Edible Estates project for Tate Modern

Ok there are tons of lectures in Portland but the one tonight at PSU looks like a keeper. Fritz Haeg recently completed a vegetable garden for Tate Modern and generally I'm impressed with his desire to push art students to think outside of traditional studio practices and the gallery system. Besides he has a genuine manifesto attacking my least favorite western tradition, the front lawn. I love the idea of radical gardening, and practiced a bit of it as an undergrad at Illinois Wesleyan Univeristy (planting swiss chard in the flowerbeds). Also, it looks like Haeg has as show tentatively scheduled for October 2008 at Reed's Cooly gallery too (sorry Stephanie I just can't stop paying attention, this is another winner.. and this just HAS to happen).

5th Ave Cinema | Monday, October 29th, 7:30pm | 510 SW Hall St.

I'm imagining you must be a fan of Michael Pollan, and if not, you've at least read Why Mow?

a really good lecture in terms of info and process... and packed attendance-wise.

I thought Haeg's connection to Gordon Matta-Clark was really interesting too... bu without all the angry young man problems GMC had. You can really see the GMC connection in his documentary collage photos too.

His bit about coming from his training as an architect but working like an artist was informative as well... he felt an architecht ws always working for an end result but an artist is afforded more open-ended expectations. Still it seems like he's using an art practices to really understand architecture. Instead of deconstructing like GMC he seems to consider home and the way inhabitaion makes space a home or community.

Nice that his animal estates program is moving outside of the human lexicon.

He's an essentially anarchic artist and I hope he doent get more disaffected with human beings, I think he's a major aesthetic voice and his "edible estates" book might be really powerful.

It's kinda funny because in Portland (especially in the Southeast) its no uncommon to see very verdant gardens in the front yard.

Good that he brings in the crazy history of english manor estates as the model for these crazy grass wastland's people call the traditional american yard.

I visited the Chareles and Ray Eames house recently and it definitely wasn't the typical american lawn either.

I like James Rose too.