About Mandy

Baltimore City - Bromo Tower Arts District

My video narratives, are informed by class, labor and physical agency.  Domestic workers were a regular part of my upbringing and later on, working in various capacities I also became a caregiver.  In working  a series of service-industry jobs, I wore corporate uniforms and both the spaces and type of work (waitressing) were defined by physical redundancies in patterns of movement. 

After attending art school (RISD), I worked in New York City as a print designer in the fashion… more

Arcosanti

2012-2016
TRT: 11:00
4-channel Video Installation with Sound
9'x 23'

A reflective performative work, filmed at the sustainable community of the same name located in Arizona. In it I use physical (bodily) aural and textual expression as a conduit for exploration of the architect’s creative and personal attempt to integrate natural systems with intentional communal living.
In considering an alternative to the frenetic/wired pace of urban existence, I ventured to this community attracted by its premise, unique building structures, immersion in nature, and isolation from other communities.
The site is something of a relic of the ‘60’s and early 70’s, in which counter-cultural experiments in agriculture and urban living had gained currency. Embedded in counter- cultural idealism, the reality –as well as resistance– to seeing such ideas made manifest in the Western world is continually evolving. Yet it is emergent, and as all structures are built on thoughts, such concepts are continually being re-imagined.
While historically iconic and architecturally influential, Arcosanti’s initial premise –to be a self-sustaining community for up to five thousand people– remains largely theoretical. 
In my time there, a bodily reverence for the site and its playful architecture, coupled with poetic observations about the community experience set against the scenic natural backdrop, inform the textual overlays in the piece.

Made with support from the Wexner Center’s Artist Video Program, Columbus, OH

  • Arcosanti
    2016, 4:00 excerpt, TRT 11:00, 4-channel Video Installation, Dimensions variable Arcosanti is a projected experimental town with a molten bronze bell casting business in Yavapai County, central Arizona, 70 mi (110 km) north of Phoenix, at an elevation of 3,732 feet (1,130 meters). Its "arcology" concept was posited by the Italian-American architect, Paolo Soleri (1919–2013). He began construction in 1970, to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact on the earth. He taught and influenced generations of architects and urban designers who studied and worked with him there to build the proposed 'town.' In considering an alternative to the frenetic/wired pace of urban existence, I ventured to this intentional community attracted by its premise, unique building structures, immersion in nature, and isolation from other communities.
  • Arcosanti (4-channel Video Still)
    Arcosanti (4-channel Video Still)
    Still of 4-channel sequence focusing on aspects of the architectural environment
  • Arcosanti (4-channel Video Still)
    Arcosanti (4-channel Video Still)
    4-channel sequence with performative actions taking place in the community theater
  • Arcosanti (Video Still)
    Arcosanti (Video Still)
    Performative action taking place on the site's steps.
  • Arcosanti (Video Still)
    Arcosanti (Video Still)
    Performative action taking place on steps that form a portion of the roof for the theater (on the other side of the structure)
  • Arcosanti (Video Still)
    Arcosanti (Video Still)
    I found myself feeling awe at the sense of possibility present in this environment. It both inspires and suggests varying types of ideas about physicality.
  • Arcosanti (Video Still)
    Arcosanti (Video Still)
    Crouching

Playing Defense Collaboration with NYCArts Cypher

Playing Defense, (7:00) 2011-2012

 Over the course of several months I worked with the NYCArts Cypher youth working  on how their break-dance practice could be integrated into the architectural setting of Fort Jay on Governor's Island.

In this presentation, we explore and challenge the physical “setting” of a military fortress by pitting the rigor and freedom of break-dance against the discipline and demands of military life. 

The video was shot at Fort Jay on Governor's Island, a national park and a historical landmark. Formerly this was one of several military fortresses that defended New York Harbor's commercial interests, including the export of cotton from the South during the Civil War. The completed video piece was presented as part of a dance performance with NYC Arts Cypher at the Brooklyn Museum (2012) and at the Lumen Festival for Video and Performance on Staten Island.
 
Made with funding from The Council on the Arts & Humanities of Staten Island
 

  • Playing Defense, 2010
    Playing Defense, 2010 7:29 (Video) a collaborative effort with break-dance collective NYC Arts Cypher. In this presentation, we explore the physical setting of a military fortress by pitting the rigor and freedom of break-dance against the demands of military life. Performed at Fort Jay National Park Governors Island, New York City
  • NYCArts Cypher at Brooklyn Museum for Performance, 2011
    NYCArts Cypher at Brooklyn Museum for Performance, 2011
    NYCArts Cypher at Brooklyn Museum for Performance, in 2011 where they perform with the video.
  • Playing Defense
    Playing Defense
    Rehearsing moves, at Fort Jay, Goverorn's Island
  • Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
    Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
  • Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
    Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
    NYCArts Cypher at Fort Jay on Governor's Island
  • Cypher youth rehearsing for video shoot
    Cypher youth rehearsing for video shoot
    Fortress walls proved to be fertile ground for break-dance physicality.
  • NYCArts Cypher Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
    NYCArts Cypher Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
  • NYCArts Cypher Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
    NYCArts Cypher Rehearsing and shooting at Fort Jay
  • Mandy Morrison with NYCARts Cypher "Playing Defense" (in rehearsal)l)
    In rehearsal with NYC Arts Cypher at their performance space on Staten Island, prior to performance at Brooklyn Museum (2011)