CINDY ZIMMERMAN’S GROTTO PROJECT
I will be in residence at Desert Dairy early January and again in April to create a grotto in the 5’ wide x 9’ long x 8’ high milk storage room of the former dairy barn. The dairy is a remnant of the decade or so in the early 20th century when it rained a lot in the Mojave. The rest of the barn is now a studio and gallery complex, and my grotto will be situated in the lean-to portion of the structure. All my life I have been working in tight spaces and bunker-like environments, by choice and by necessity: side rooms, back rooms and closets, tiny studios, the hallway of a rec center, a pillbox on a former military base, an oversize wooden crate, a sandbag cubicle, and most recently, the Cooler Room at Art Produce Gallery in San Diego. The cave-like Desert Dairy space will become an ornate, maximalist chamber, with an altar made of concrete garden features, fake rocks, niches, weathered wood, a vintage milk can, and the illusion of flowing water. Cave paintings will feature a bestiary of lactating animals and carnivorous birds. An imagined portal opposite the door will lead into the cosmos, with heaven painted on the ceiling. The space I will create is more like the chapels you would find in an airport or a hospital, a place to go while engaged in other pursuits, for reflection, taking a pause, setting intentions, maybe creating your own private rituals. The grotto will not be religion-affiliated; it will be sacred and profane, casual rather than formal, and not purporting to have any particular wellness or occult benefits for the visitor. I will continue to return as this project unfolds, and to enjoy the solitude and validation of the visionary experiences that enable my art.
4 Comments
Michael Arata
2/9/2021 05:30:35 am
I have enjoyed all the Desert Dairy Artists in Residence projects that I have seen, but this one, this one, holds such great potential. Any project that promises a "bestiary of lactating animals and carnivorous birds" has my full attention Cindy!!!!
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4/14/2021 05:54:08 pm
This looks fabulous, Cindy. A much more complicated and deeply designed “uncommon latitude.”
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4/14/2021 08:27:05 pm
I ALWAYS love what you have to say about how your own life experience intersects with and informs your art. It helps understand how making art is a necessity of living our lives. And people who don’t make art get clued in.
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Larry Oviatt
5/1/2021 10:03:10 am
I have always enjoyed your work wherever you worked from! Keep up your body of work and let's hope more people get to see it!
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