Joseph Grigely
24hr Cornwall
Public Realm: BBC Radio Cornwall 103.9. 95.2 FM Sound montage
Joseph Grigely's art is an art about conversations, the paths they take, the shapes and colors they have, and the stories they tell in the process of being retold.
Grigely became deaf at the age of 10 after falling down a hill while playing the game of "King on the Mountain" with friends. For 38 years he has been totally deaf.
Since then he has investigated everyday communication, initially as a literary scholar, and since the mid-1990s through art. Rooted in his own experiences, his work takes the form of a philosophical inquiry into the complex nature of language, exploring the nuances between reading and listening, between the written and spoken word.
As his raw material Grigely uses written conversations from his daily life. For example the scraps of paper on which hearing people have written notes, names, or phrases in order to 'converse' with him when he cannot read their lips. He often uses these scraps of conversations to build wall pieces and installations that all take, as their subject matter, the unavoidable differences between speech and writing, and reading and listening. He creates artwork that explores the multifaceted issues surrounding communication and language. Utilizing these residues of conversation he builds text-based wall pieces, installations that take as their subject matter the unique characteristics and complexities of communication, whether spoken, written, read or heard.
For social systems, Grigely has created a sound piece in collaboration with local communities, which – while based on conversation – might be considered as a living still life ortableaux vivant. Broadcast on BBC Radio Cornwall, 24 Hour Cornwall features conversations between specific groups of people, such as surfers, farmers or knitters. Giving various communities a voice, it has the potential to make connections across otherwise discrete groups, and to reveal through language, a snapshot of everyday life in Cornwall.
With thanks to: James Churchfield and Daphne Skinnard at BBC Radio Cornwall, Alistair Crombie, and all the groups and individuals that have contributed their time to 24h Cornwall .
Supported by Henry Moore Foundation, Arts Council England South West and Penwith District Council.
selected biography
Born 1956, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, USA
Lives and works Chicago, USA
Galleries
Cohan and Leslie, New York www.cohanandleslie.com
Air de Paris, Paris www.airdeparis.com
Selected Exhibitions
2007 St. Cecilia, solo exhibition, Baltimore Contemporary Museum, Baltimore; Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), Newport Beach, California; Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
2007 The Magic Line, Museion-Museo d’arte moderne e contemporanea, Bolzano
2006 Very Different Things About the Same Thing, solo exhibition, Cohan and Leslie, New York
2006 Remembrance as Future, Institute Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt
2005 It’s Everywhere, solo exhibition, Air de Paris, Paris
