Middle of Nowhere I & II
2016, 2019 Site-Specific event
Whitesbog Historic Preservation, Brendan Byrne State Park, Pine Barrens New Jersey
outdoor and gallery installations, musical performances, film screenings
produced and curated by David Scott Kessler
co-curators - Kristen Neville Taylor (2016), Jen Brown (2019)
co-producer (2019) - John Pettit, Atlas Obscura
co-producer - Whitesbog Preservation Trust
David Scott Kessler, The Pine Barrens 2016 Edition
live score by The Ruins of Friendship Orchestra
photo by DSKessler
Nancy Holt, Pine Barrens. Film 30min 1975
Barrel Factory Installation 2019
photo by DSKessler
Whitesbog Preservation, Browns Mills NJ
photo by DSKessler
About
On two occasions in 2016 and 2019, set at Whitesbog, a 3000 acre historic Pine Barrens village, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE consisted of gallery and site-specific contemporary artwork including sculpture, video, sound installations, film screenings, musical performances. Attendees were invited to tours of the historic cranberry and blueberry farm to view the installations among the fields, bogs, trails, and industrial structures.
Founded by David Scott Kessler as an extension of his ongoing Pine Barrens project, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE’s aim was to celebrate and reflect on the challenge and mystery of the natural world; how it shapes our identities, and our symbiotic -- yet often destructive relationship with it.
New Jersey’s One Million Acres of Undeveloped, Otherworldly Land - Hyperallergic
Lost in the Pine Barrens: An Essay on Middle of Nowhere - Title Magazine
Sound and Visual Artists 2016:
Steven Carty, Micah Danges, Shelby Donnelly, John Heron, TJ Hunt, David Scott Kessler, Jesse Kudler, Nick Lenker, Kristen Neville Taylor, Nate Ricciuto, Kara Springer, Steven Earl Weber
Music Performances 2016:
Mary Lattimore, The Last Whippoorwill
Film 2016:
J. Louise Makary, David Scott Kessler with The Ruins of Friendship Orchestra
Curated by David Scott Kessler, Kristen Neville Taylor
produced by David Scott Kessler, Whitesbog Preservation Trust
presented by Bowerbird
Sound and Visual Artists 2019:
Kristen Neville Taylor, Emily Carris & Corey Duncan, Nick Lenker, Raúl Romero, Rebecca Saylor Sack, J. Alex Schechter, Jacob Lunderby, Steven Earl Weber, Theo Mullen, Megan Biddle, Tory Fair, Austen Camille Weymueller, John Vigg, Sarah E. Brook, Steph Mantis, J. Makary, Christina P. Day, Kaitlin Pomerantz, and Rita Leduc
Music Performances 2019:
Laraaji & Arji OceAnada, Jackson Pines, Grassland, Erik Ruin’s Ominous Ensemble
Film 2019:
Nancy Holt, David Scott Kessler with The Ruins of Friendship Orchestra
Curated by David Scott Kessler, Jen Brown
Produced by David Scott Kessler, John Pettit, Atlas Obscura, Whitesbog Preservation Trust
