Helena Keeffe

Video Listing

5.31.08
Gary N. delivers a JFK impersonation
5.24.08
Wei Wei reads from RFK's 1966 Cape Town University speech
Didi G. reads from RFK's speech "The Value of Dissent"
Mary M. reads from RFK's speech announcing the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Wolf and Shan read from RFK's Cape Town University speech
Becky D. reads from RFK's Cape Town University speech
Felicia O. reads from an RFK speech at the Americans for Democratic Action Dinner - Philadelphia
5.17.08
A patron of St. James park gives an improvisational performance of RFK's speech at Cape Town University
5.10.08
Denise B. reads from RFK's speech at Cape Town University
Grace N. reads from RFK's "Speech to Students" - UC Berkeley
Stephanie S. forgoes the RFK speech recital and reads a favorite bible passage

Historical video of RFK speeches and interviews
RFK last speech at the Ambassador Hotel

RFK Remix, 2008

In 1968, Robert F Kennedy spoke in San José a couple of months before he was assassinated. This occasion is marked by the Robert F Kennedy Memorial Forum, a concrete monument in the form of a speaker's podium located in St. James Park. This monument is intended to be used rather than admired from a distance like most traditional monuments. RFK Remix is a series of performances, an 'audio walk' and a fabric sculpture, all aimed at temporarily renovating the site and reintroducing this forum for public debate and discourse in San José.

The RFK Remix slipcover is made from approximately 100 secondhand t-shirts, cut into pieces and sewn together in a chevron pattern. The t-shirts were collected by Claire Madriz-Soto who sells used clothing at the Capitol Flea Market and used to hand out clothes in St. James park before she was asked to stop by the city. Her story is part of the audio walk available for download.

To learn more about the project, view videos of speeches recited at the monument or download the audio walk please visit www.rfkremix.info

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Sculpture Garden Carillon, 2008

Joseph del Pesco and I were invited by the Oakland Museum of California to develop a project which would reinterpret works in the museum's permanent collection. Working with the large metal sculptures that populate the museum's multi-tiered gardens, we created a sound project that marks the closing and renovation of the museum's art and history galleries. Starting January 2, 2008 and running through October, 2009 (or until renovations are completed), Sculpture Garden Carillon can be heard across the museum grounds and from the street outside the museum.

We started by digitally recording gong-like sounds emitted by twelve sculptures when struck with a fleece covered drum mallet (we were assisted by a museum conservator to insure the works would not be damaged). Using a computer program to update the museum's existing (decommissioned) carillon system, the “voices” of these sculptures sound out over the museum grounds every hour of the day and night. The number of times each sculpture rings tells the hour: one sculpture rings once at one o'clock, another rings twice at two o'clock, and so on, until a twelfth sculpture, accompanied by a chime, rings twelve times at noon and midnight. Posters distributed at the museum and in the neighborhood provide a key to the hourly chimes and their corresponding sculptures.

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Living Proof, 2008

Living proof is a web-based collection of examples of how artists make a living. Each contributor's writing is accompanied by a portrait and first name, giving viewers a sense of personal connection to each story while at the same time maintaining a level of anonymity. The project is largely driven by my personal curiosity about the practices of my peers and a conviction that shared knowledge and experience are invaluable to the health and vitality of a community. Living Proof also features links to a couple of recent studies which address the subject very thoroughly and provide statistics and analysis to create a more comprehensive portrait of the practices and livelihoods of artists in the Bay Area and across the nation.

Visit the Living Proof website

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thanks

RFK Remix was conceived of and produced by Helena Keeffe with contributions from: Claire Madriz-Soto, Stephanie Sanborn, Dale Victorine, Tommy Aguilar, The Moonlighters, Peggy Spool, Vivace Youth Chorus, and the San José Symphonic Choir.

Special Thanks to: Joseph del Pesco, Jennifer Storch, Fernando Reyes, Stijn Schiffeleers, Susan O'Malley, Chris Esparza, Ryan Summers, Bob Schmelzer, Karen Cocanour, Whi Min Lee, Neng An Yeh, Barbara Goldstein, Lynn Rogers, Tricia Kerkhof, Patrician Walsh, Jennifer Easton, Ruth Tunstall-Grant, Louis, Mauricio, Packard Jennings, Scott Vermier, Sarah Arvey, Erwin Garcia, Scott Oliver, Hilair Chism, Amber Cady, Lupita O'Malley, Angelica Muro, Kuniko Vroman, Amul Goswamy, Kristen Evangelista, Tamara Alvarado, Charlotte Kruk, Marolyn O'Neil, Ernestine Allen, Dennis Skaggs, Bob Johnson, Chris Kubik, Adrian Avila, DeBug Magazine, San José VTA riders, Trinity Cathedral, MACLA, and the San José Office of Cultural Affairs. Publication design: atomtan.com

RFK Remix is part of 'Who's on 1st/What's on 2nd' sponsored by the City of San José Public Art Program, San José Redevelopment Agency and Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority

RFK documentary youtube

5/10/08 - SCU student Denise B. reads a segment of given at Cape Town University in 1966
5/10/08 - SCU student Grace N. reads a segment of "Speech to Students"
Excerpt of the Robert Kennedy bio/documentary
RFK last speech at the Ambassador Hotel

Description

In 1968, Robert F Kennedy spoke in San José a couple of months before he was assassinated. This occasion is marked by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Forum, a concrete monument in the form of a speaker's podium located in St. James Park. This monument is intended to be used rather than admired from a distance like most traditional monuments. RFK Remix is a series of performances, an 'audio walk' and a fabric sculpture, all aimed at temporarily renovating the site and reintroducing this forum for public debate and discourse in San José.

WHY NOT?

There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

Talking to Neighbors: Jim in West Oakland, 2007

Jim Edgar is my neighbor. I moved to West Oakland in 2005, he's been here since 1939. Jim can often be found sitting out in front of his house and greets every passerby warmly and respectfully. West Oakland has seen more dramatic change over the years than most urban neighborhoods. In the interview featured in this project we talked about his experience growing up here and the changes he has witnessed. Together with Christian Frock of Invisible Venue, I transformed a non-functional phone booth on 7th Street, near the IV exhibition space, to display information about the project, inviting passersby to call up and hear the 4 minute 30 second interview excerpt. The recording is available for anyone to hear by calling the number below from November 11th - January 14th, 2008. You can also hear the MP3 by clicking the play button below.

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Download Mp3

Craft Magazine Blog

Check out the Craft Magazine Blog entry about the plush Missing Husband Pillows I made.

Bus Cards Up on Muni Fleet

Bus card adaptations of the Muni Maps poster project went up October 1st. There are three designs and two cards installed on every bus in the fleet! The bus cards feature portraits of 3 of the 6 Muni operators I worked with to make the posters as well as extended excerpts from our interviews. Many thanks to the operators for their participation and willingness to share their stories.

Muni Maps, 2007

San Francisco's public transportation system is a many layered and often overwhelming flow of people moving to and from all parts of the city. We depend on transit workers to keep this complex system running despite any number of obstacles they may encounter on their daily routes. Inevitably Muni operators gain an intimate familiarity with the city and accumulate a rich history of experiences as the travel their daily routes. Muni Maps is a series of six posters created for the San Francisco Arts Commission's Art on Market Street Program. Each poster features a route map that has been annotated with an individual operator's portrait, hand-written notes, interview excerpts and related drawings — depicting the public transportation experience from the perspective of the operator. Posters will be on view in 24 kiosks on Market Street between Van Ness Avenue and the Embarcadero from July 16th - November 6th, 2007. In addition, bus cards featuring modified designs (portraits and extended excerpts from interviews) are on view inside Muni vehicles.

The San Francisco Arts Commission's Art on Market Street Program is funded in part by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and CBS Outdoor. www.sfartscommission.org/pubart/

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Collective Furniture, 2007

As part of the exhibition "Collective Foundation" at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, I collaborated with artist Scott Oliver to alter a love seat using fabric from 25 red t-shirts. The t-shirts were cut into three-inch strips and pieced together in a pattern quilters refer to as "log cabin." Oliver removed sections of upholstery to reveal the structure underneath and I reupholstered all parts which would contact the body of a person sitting on the love seat. This is one of 30 altered pieces of furniture included in the exhibition, the other 29 are solely the work of Oliver. All of the furniture was donated by individuals to be altered for use in the exhibition and will be returned to them once the exhibition closes. For more information about the Collective Foundation and Oliver's "Collective Furniture" project please visit www.collectivefoundation.org.

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BUST Magazine

Garment Remake Exchange featured in the "Looks" section of the August/September 2006 issue of BUST magazine.

Stay Free Magazine

"The Past is Over" was featured on the Stay Free Magazine Blog.