PhillipMarchJones
Lexington, KY - After years of traveling, having lived in locations that include Atlanta, West Africa and France, Lexington native Phillip March Jones decided to embark on an ambitious project in his hometown: the creation of a non-profit, contemporary art and performance space in the heart of downtown Lexington. Located at 193 N. Limestone, Jones's gallery, Institute 193 -
which celebrated its two-year anniversary in December - has hosted over a dozen exhibits and more than 20 live music performances, with a strong focus on local and regional artists but also hosting artists and musicians from around the country and world. The gallery focuses "first and foremost on the artist," Jones said, by "giving them a platform, repackaging their work, and allowing the world to see it in a beautiful, professional, well-thought-out way."
In addition to acting as the creative director for Institute 193, Jones is also the curator for the UK Chandler Hospital Art Museum and the director for an organization called Souls Grown Deep, based in Atlanta, where Jones divides his time. This month, his first book of photography, "Points of Departure: Roadside Memorial Projects," will be released. Largely funded through the online crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter, the book is a collection of Jones's Poloroid photos of highway shrines and memorials paying tribute to people who have died in automobile accidents. Jones took hundreds of these photos up to the months surrounding the time when Poloroid halted the manufacturing of its iconic instant film in 2008; the book features 172 of those images.
Jones took some time to answer some questions about his book, Institute 193 and his thoughts on Lexington's arts community.
Discuss how the idea for Institute 193 came about and how you determined that it would be a good fit for Lexington.
I opened Institute 193 in Lexington, because the artists I wanted to work with were here. I also fell in love with the space we are in. It is beautiful, small and visible. It is also manageable for both myself and the artists we work with. There are lots of spaces in Lexington that are larger but none are as gracious. In regards to Lexington, I never thought that it would be a good fit, per se. It still doesn't fit, which is a big part of its success. Institute 193, as a physical space, is less important than the ideas, projects, publications, relationships, press and web traffic that result from our work.
After two years, looking at how the Institute has manifested -- how has it met or failed to meet your initial vision?
The most pleasant surprise of the last two years is that we are still here. The financial realities of our programming have always been daunting, and we have done everything on a shoestring budget without sacrificing quality. My initial vision was quickly grounded by the reality of running a physical space that organizes traveling exhibitions, publishes a book for every show, and does various interventions and projects in the Lexington community, but also in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, New York and Paris.
In your opinion, what are some of the greatest assets to the Lexington arts community? What are its greatest needs?
The artists. Lexington has an unbelievably talented community of artists, writers, dancers and musicians. Our biggest problem, in my opinion, is a false sense of inferiority regarding the arts, and the noticeable absence of a major visual art museum. There is no one to look up to.
"Points of Departure: Roadside Memorial Polaroids" was largely funded through donations and advanced purchases made through the online platform Kickstarter. Discuss the process of relying on crowd-sourced funding, and whether or not it's a platform you'd like to try again in the future.
I love Kickstarter. Institute 193 has used crowd-funding to produce two major publications: "Guy Mendes: 40/40" and J.T. Dockery's "Spud Crazy." Platforms like Kickstarter are great for mobilizing existing networks, but it still requires a lot of time on the phone, Facebook, e-mail and in person to get people to contribute. The best thing about these sites is the additional benefit of allowing others to invest in your project with you. Teamwork. Teamwork. Teamwork.
What is it about these roadside shrines, and the notion of freezing them in an image, that is so compelling to you?
These roadside memorials are public manifestations of mourning, warnings to others and physical structures that with time become parts of our physical landscape. They mark geographical points of departure in places that are generally devoid of real human interaction or activity and are almost always built in the no man's land bordering our country roads, interstates and highways. We pass them at 60 miles an hour, sometimes glancing back but are never afforded the time to actually see them. This project is about slowing down. I wanted to give people a chance to really look at them. This book makes it easier (and much less dangerous).
The images themselves are documentation of a moment, and Polaroid was a natural choice. Early in its development, Polaroid film was widely used by police officers and other law enforcement, because it produced an unalterable instant photo - irrefutable evidence of a particular event. These photographs are evidence of something greater - an unspoken need to commemorate and celebrate our own fleeting lives and stories.
Where can people pick up a copy of "Roadside Memorials," or find more information on the book or Institute 193?
"Points of Departure: Roadside Memorial Polaroids" will be available locally at Institute 193 and the Morris Book Shop in January 2012. In the meantime, there is information on my personal website: www.phillipmarchjones.com. The best way to see what's going on at Institute 193 is to follow our blog or our Facebook account. Our blog address is www.institute193.org/blog.