today I went to G2 with the Text Off the Page crew, and we scouted out the gallery space for our... exhibition. yeah, everyone who knows me knows about The Exhibition, since I've been so excited and stressed out that I never stop blabbering on about it. And now, the reality is getting closer, which means I need to trim my images, figure out my text, put up my pictures, put up my text, etc and etc., which doesn't sound like too much but it is kinda tiring and I need to go buy poster tape and pin-thingys, so that's a whoooooole new layer.

But today, we looked over the floor and wall space and decided who wanted what area, and what works well with what. I think it's going to be very very cool. We have projected videos, sound pieces, tables with battlefields, installations, pictures, paintings, typed-up coffee filters by the bajillions, strings and rolodexes, video monitors, fans and rattle, and a "reading nook" that got positioned and repositioned. I think the space found it's mojo depending on whether people go with our flow or their own flow (lb and I have a beer-bet going on whether people will read my photos from LtoR like reader-readers, or RtoL like visual-wanderers [I'm betting on the latter]).

Anyhow, it was pretty fun. I was ramped up on English Muffin and Blueberry Jam, and happy to get a ride. And then I got lots of help and suggestions on how to organize the 12 pictures I'm going with, narrative/nonnarrative, visual resonances and harmonizations, height issues, blue tape redo's, and so forth. A few little bits of my basic plan were kept and quite a few new arrangements came forth. I like working with other people; writing gets to be lonely fare sometimes. Now I just need to help someone back or I'm going to feel like a smoozy shmuck.

But actually, it's interesting to see how differently people in the writing department work from people in the other departments. There's something there, but I'm not sure what it is... writers might be more bricolage or something, like do-t-do. All I know is that the non-department-writers end up using text with such precision, and the department-writers kind of muck around with it more, and are less sure of how to move what they do (whatever that might be) off the page. So some very different works come out, but maybe it's just the particular participants or that I'm projecting.

But, rock on! I'm so excited, and if you're a Chicago-ite reading this, you better come to the Friday opening party or the Saturday reading. Or I'll cry. And nobody likes seeing a toughie (or toughie poser) cry.