E-mail : jody.c.wood@gmail.com
Website : www.jodywoodart.com
SOLO ACTIVITIES
2010 seize/duplicate\repeat, (2 person collaboration with Mikel Bisbee-Durlam).
November 6 in conjunction with annual Savoir-Faire Performance Art Series,
Soho20 Gallery Chelsea, NYC
NEW VIDEO WORK, Soho20 Gallery Chelsea, NYC
2009 Martial Art Of Backstabbing, Solo performance December 10 in conjunction
with Supergirl! video art exhibition Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art,
Philadelphia, PA
Support Systems: MFA Thesis Exhibition, Art & Design Gallery, University of Kansas
2008 Sever and Repair, Solo performance March 6 in conjunction with Resounding Spirit
exhibition of Japanese Contemporary Art of the 1960s: Spencer Museum of Art,
Lawrence, KS
GROUP ACTIVITIES
2011 The Artist’s Practice; Portal Onsite, Institute of Contemporary Art Newtown,
Sydney, Austrailia
2009-10 Supergirl!, NEXUS/Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Faculty Show, Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS
Boxing Gloves and Bustiers, Soho20 Gallery Chelsea, NYC. Juried by Kate Gilmore
2008-09 Public art proposal funded for one-year exhibit, Multidisciplinary
Research Building, Lawrence, KS
2008-09 Work selected for one-year juried exhibit, Nunemaker Center, Lawrence, Kansas
2008 Video Artists Under 30, Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS
Olio, Red Door Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Swap Meet, Shift Space, Witchita, KS
Hypermedia, Prudential Building, Seattle, WA
AWARDS
2010 One of 20 artists chosen for free participation in Interactive Media Workshop for
Women Artists, Harvestworks Digital Media Art Center, NYC
2008 Funding stipend awarded for public art proposal, Multidisciplinary Research Building
Funding budget award for project proposal, Spencer Museum of Art
2007 John Merle Patterson Merit Scholarship, University of Kansas
Pat J. Ellis Merit Scholarship, University of Kansas
2006 Merit Scholarship Award, Full Tuition Waver, University of Kansas
2003-04 Emerging Artist in Residence Scholarship in Sculpture, Pratt Fine Arts,
Seattle, WA
PUBLICATIONS
2010 Philadelphia Inquirer: “Supergirl: Female Artists Show their Videos at Nexus”
Written by Edith Newhall. January 10, 2010
2009 Philadelphia City Paper: “Perspective: Supergirl at Nexus Gallery” Written
by Jonathan Wallis, PHD. December 17, 2009
2008 Lawrence.com Newspaper: “Passing Permanence; Jody Wood
and the Power of the Temporary” Written by Frank Tankard. June 9, 2008
(cover story).
2006 The Stranger Newspaper: “Blart: Communicable 2006 at the WET Gallery”
Seattle, WA.
Written by Annie Wagner. September 19, 2006
Residency
2011 Artist-in-Residence with the Culture Push Genesis Project for
performance artists. Brooklyn, NYC
2004 PONCHO Artist-in-residence in Sculpture, Pratt Fine Art Center, Seattle, WA
Jody Wood : For the past five years or so
my work has been about understanding trauma and the healing process. <Spoken
Stage> is a project I’m doing in collaboration with a good friend of mine
(and amazing artist) Park So-yeon. It was partially inspired by my continuing
fascination with the subject of death—both metaphorically and literally. In my
last project (called Preparing for Consumption) I was interviewing long-term
couples about preparing for the death of their partner, and <Spoken
Stage> brought me to the topic of preparing for one’s own death. Aging is a
process that confronts us with our own physical impermanence and mortality… in
my art I want to talk about ways to value life and each other and how to
process metaphorical deaths we all experience in life when we’re going through
a big transition: traumatic events or endings and how those deaths can bring
new growth. The project has changed a lot because I had no idea what I was
getting into, delving into this subject of death in a culture I’ve never been a
part of. It’s a universal subject but there are many cultural differences in
how it’s conceived of and talked about.
Interviewer : If I remember correctly,
you’re wrapping up a 12-week session, right? How has the experience been? And
could you give us a little teaser of what to expect in the final performance
this week?
Jody Wood : Yes, it’s been about 12 weeks.
It’s been an amazing experience and I feel really lucky to have formed a very unique
and deep relationship with this group of seniors that crosses borders, across
culture and language barriers. We structured the class to teach the subject of
poetry and self-expression through collaboration and community. We have already
had one performance on April 13th in the Senior Center Theatre, where as a
group, and individually, the seniors performed the script they had written. The
performance on the 20th will be much different and much more intimate, being
set in a private home (a traditional hanok), and will have a more private,
conversational feel to it. (The Performance which was held on April 20th was
not held at a private home, but at ‘Temporary Space Seoul’.)
Interviewer : What has the reaction been
from the participants so far?
Jody Wood : Even though it has been a
challenging process to express themselves in a non-native language, they have
been enthusiastic about learning new vocabulary in English, working together on
poetry, and performing. They’ve been really dedicated to the class and to the
process! I’ve been really impressed actually and have seen a huge growth in their
writings from the beginning of the class until now. Memorization has been a
difficulty, but actively using the mind for something as challenging as
learning a new language can help preserve it. I think that preserving the body
and mind isn’t about resisting the aging process, it’s about embracing past
history and finding value in the present moment.
Interviewer : That’s interesting, because a
lot of your work seems to deal with death and loss.
Jody Wood : True, it’s been really
interesting to see the different perspectives of Eastern & Western cultures
on the subject too. One of the seniors in class told me that a big difference
between the two is that Western philosophy is more pragmatic and Eastern
philosophy is more Karmic, embracing the past as a continuation of a natural
cycle. In my own thoughts, I’m thinking of death as a moment that is totally
unknown and totally disruptive to daily life because it brings about a huge
transition—but is ultimately transformative and necessary to bring about new
growth.
Interviewer : Was it ever uncomfortable to
talk about death with people who are so close to it?
Jody Wood : I was really surprised about
this, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. I think this is because we spent so
much time together before asking those more personal questions— now it’s like
talking among good friends. Also, I don’t think they are generally
uncomfortable with their own death, and that comes through in their poetry.
Interviewer : I can’t wait to hear more of
it! Given the so-called cultural divide, I think one question has to be asked:
Are you ever concerned that your work might be perceived as (or be) either
patronizing or even exploitative?
Jody Wood : I can’t control how people will
perceive this work, but because we are working with a marginalized group, exploitation
is a sensitive issue that we are well aware of. To do this type of community
work, artists need to be extremely aware of their responsibility and ethics.
Senior citizens are particularly important to hear from because they are
marginalized by culture and aren’t valued in the same way that young people
are. The value and role they once had when they were younger has undergone a
shift with age—their roles in their careers, in society, and also their roles
in the family has undergone a huge shift. There also seems to be a change in
the world today where younger generations are more and more mobile, moving
further away from home, and aging parents and grandparents don’t always have
the same support structure from their families that they used to have in
previous generations. So this project is really about bridging the gap between
all ages so we can better understand each other’s human value.
Interviewer : You bring up this theme of bridging
gaps and also communicating in your artist’s statement—how has being in Korea
influenced the way your work expresses these themes?
Jody Wood : There are communication
barriers for sure, and it really changes my work’s process and subject
entirely. I feel like in Korea I’ve had to embrace an organic process of
working even more than I normally would. I don’t want to approach my artwork by
having a preconceived idea, and forcing that idea to be actualized despite
cultural barriers and language obstacles. To work here, I need to have a lot of
flexibility and fluidity so my ideas can be permeated by the culture and
barriers I come across.
The <Spoken Stage> final performance
was held at Temporary Space Seoul in Anguk on April 20th 2012 (* A longer
version of this interview by Sonja Swanson originally appeared in www.
SeoulistMag.com.)
