North To South, Berliner Voices: My Corner,

About the event

15 monitors and 1 big projector. The exhibition presents 15 individual perspectives and personal stories on life in Berlin, including thoughts on art, education, happiness, politics.

Inspired by personal experience and local community interaction this video-based art project places a lens upon the lives and voices of Berliners surrounding meine ecke – my corner. Rather than focusing upon the more common topic, the division of east to west, this project spotlights the communities where I have spent the majority of my time living in Berlin from the north to the south.

The plan is to take this project to other venues and locations here in Berlin following this exhibition and then to take it internationally abroad. After this I will  continue to work with more participants and their stories based upon their locations and create a database of this information to present.

As the foundation for an ongoing and continuous international endeavor, this first set of video portraits presents a local and individual response to corporate or big media. Through big medias use of imagery, the individual and their opinion is typically removed from the story, defining our views on groups by focusing on differences, and reaffirming fear and anxiety of the Other, shaping our opinions on people and culture. North to South, Berliner Voices: My Corner is a project that tries to tell the story of who we are as individual people. Through a series of inquiries loosely based on a collaboration between the Proust Questionnaire and those asked by the StoryCorps project this artistic response is a visual and auditory exploration of individuals, in this case Berliner natives through their own voice, personal experiences, thoughts and opinions. What do we have in common? How are we different? What is my reality? What are my thoughts, stories, opinions?

As a young American living under the influence of media and technology as the center of ‘culture’, I believe that we are now living in a society defined by what Jean Baudrillard called ‘hyperreality’ or ‘simulacra’1. In a time when visual culture and images are so influential and readily accessed, it is essential to explore and understand how they work as symbolic production. Through artistic projects I analyze the human response to our ‘reality’ from the perspective of nationality, age, race and class. This I do from the viewpoint of the individual rather than the masses.

Why should you sponsor?

As an artist and educator I have completely funded this six month (ongoing) project and exhibition personally. I am in search of sponsors to help this work and idea continue to grow. This project is one that stands to gain public interest and is one that can be brought city to city, location to location. Exhibiting and disseminating these personal stories can continue to educate one another on our lives and commonalties rather than focusing upon our differences. I believe this is extremely important considering the current state of affairs in the world today. 

Intended Project Outcomes:

• To give personal voices and empower individuals through their introduction and stores.
• To help connect people from different backgrounds, lives, ethnicities, countries.
• To remind viewers of their shared humanity.
• To help people see the value in everyone’s life story and experience.
• To humanize social issues, events, and policies.
• To have the audience/viewers begin to think of people different from themselves as an important part of society.
• To foster interest in thinking about how society could be improved.
• To have people feel more positive about society.

Funding this  would help spread the word and provide empowerment to individuals and communties. In the age of hyper reality and mega technology I would like to present people in their real lives discussing their thoughts rather then hide behind an illusion or false profile picture.

I believe in the art, art education and creative thinking. Art presents itself as a universal form of communication.  Throughout my life I have striven for academic excellence, always wishing to make the most of my education. I have had a number of visual art and creative arts education instructors who were absolutely wonderful and would  like to continue to give back what they have given to me by continuing to grow as an artist as well as a professor or arts organization director by creating projects such as this. I know that I can provide something meaningful to the individuals that I encounter and through this project I believe this can happen.
 

Lynne Margaret Brown

Artist Bio:

Born and raised in Flushing, Queens, New York City has been my main inspiration for each artistic project. New York and specifically Queens exemplifies the idea of the multicultural and multi-dimensional metropolis. Life experience has given me a sense of internal Diaspora. In other words, I am not directly rooted to one space but rather rooted to the consistent chaos and change of contemporary ideas and culture blending with history. For me, for my life as an artist, the constant influx of changing immigrant and international culture, the visual as life and as lived experience, has been a crucial learning experience.

I am an emerging and practicing artist, PhD student in the philosophy of aesthetics at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, as well as a US based New York State certified K-12 art teacher, community worker, adjunct lecturer, freelance program consultant and administrator.  I hold a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, a Masters degree in Art and Art Education from Teachers College Columbia University, New York, New York and have just completed a Masters in Studio Art degree through New York University locate in New York City.   I received the Masters of Studio Art degree  over three summer semesters in Europe through the global programs department at the Steinhardt School. As a student at New York University I had the opportunity to build my studio art portfolio and practice while studying in Venice, Italy, New York and Berlin, Germany under the artist, professor and educational philosopher Maurizio Pellegrin who now holds the position of director at the National Academy Museum and Art school in New York City. 

At the moment I live between Berlin, Germany and New York City. I hold positions as a fine artist, art educator, lecturer as well as administrator and community worker. My artwork has been exhibited in New York, NY, Venice, Italy, Berlin, Germany and L’Isle D’Abeau France.

Background- Work History/Project Development:

For the past six years I have held a position at a small non profit organization in New York City (NYCTS) which focuses upon pedestrian/community safety as well as the health of seniors, children, new immigrants and those who live in underserved and high risk areas. This work takes place in schools, community centers, hospitals and senior facilities within Queens, Brooklyn and some parts of Long Island. I make a very humble living in my current freelance position. At NYCTS I focus upon photography/videography of events and helping with bicycle safety and helmet programs that serve new immigrant and low income populations, seniors and citizens with disabilities. Some of our programs were affected after Hurricane Sandy. I am myself a low income New Yorker and currently live with friends or family. After receiving my last degree I am heavily indebted for my education and it is necessary to have funding in order for my projects to be recognized.

Prior to working at NYCTS, I held the position of program manager at Free Arts NYC, an organization that provided creative arts programs to low income high risk New York City residents.   While at Free Arts I worked over sixty- eighty hours a week to manage fifteen program sites throughout New York City as well as meeting and training one hundred and fifty volunteers for our programs.  Before working at Free Arts I was given the wonderful chance to work full time at the university level teaching art education courses as a lecturer, field supervisor and adjunct at Kean University and William Patterson University both located in New Jersey.  Prior to holding these positions, I worked as an elementary and high school art teacher in New York City as well as an administrator and archivist to the neo realist Artist Arman.  

 

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