Intervals, Llano del Rio

This year (2014), Craftswoman House in partnership with Hinterculture organized an event called “Squaring the Circle” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Llano del Rio Cooperative Colony, a utopian socialist colony established in 1914 by Job Harriman, in Southern California’s Antelope Valley. The desert, as it always seems to do – proved to be a place to start anew, the barren lands allowed for new and radical thought and the cooperative was established as a social experiment, to give its people an authentic understanding of a socialist way of life.My interest in this project stemmed from the need for a more “morally conscious economy” that is based on personal values. In an evolving culture that finds itself constantly reevaluating its values, the proposition of an ethics driven society today, is a difficult task. This project encouraged a personal experience in a communal space. ‘Viewfinders’ were provided at certain vantage points for the viewer to look through and compose an image of their choice, within the given parameter of the size of the slot. This process also assisted in fragmenting the complex totality of vision, which at times muddles our perceptions and hinders our capacity to adapt and transform. A focus on individual images, values and ideas nurture an inclusive society, as opposed to one that assigns gender roles for people and flounder in preconceptions. The remains in Llano Del Rio stand as a strong voice, attesting to inclusivity.