ashley ortiz-diaz
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as part of lo que se fue y lo que se dejó, this gallery contains images of the death library and processed charcoal installation. the library is a space with comfortable lighting, seating, and music for reading novels, poetry, academic, and personal writing about death and dying. the charcoal on display was harvested and processed by the artist and is used in the artists works on paper.
video link:
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(left) death library
(right) processed charcoal installation
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(left) installation of charcoal in various processing stages, collected and processed by the artist, used in drawings, prints, and workshops.
(right) adolescent long leaf pine tree. the long leaf pine is a fire adaptive plant that has evolved to include fire as a necessary tool for growth. for more, refer to this page of soñe contigo.
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process stage 1
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process stage 2 (used for drawing on hexaflexagons in the death workshop)
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process stage 3 (used in making under sheets)
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process state 4 (used in charcoal screen prints)
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death library | (night installation view)
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death library contents
things:
- a pair of navy blue slippers, impressed with a distinct foot imprint
- a black velvet ribbon with a blue flower
- a watercolor portrait on tracing paper cut in the shape of a heart, inscribed "to: Ashley, from: Mary (forever)"
- several succulent plants
- photos of the artist and her sisters as babies
- a series of etchings on paper about entropy
- twinkle lights
- a ten inch hexaflexagon
- beanbag chair with pillow
- reclining pillow with additional pillow and throw blanket
- small ottoman with throw blanket
- a vase with flowers
- a handmade candle
- a gifted record player
- a small carpet on top of a larger floor covering
- all against the windows on the southwest corner of the building
magazines:
- Blue Black, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, June 9-October 7, 2017, Curated by Glenn Ligon
- Art and Death: Facing Mortality, Artlink, Summer 1994
poetry:- The Collected Poems of Aurdre Lorde
- Spoon River Anthology
- Envelope Poems, Emily Dickinson
- In The Shape of a Human Body I am Visiting the Earth, edited by Ilya Kaminsky, Dominic Luxford, and Jesse Nathan
- Don't Call Us Dead, Danez Smith
assorted books:
- The Art of Death, Writing the Final Story, Edwidge Danticat
- The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
- Moon, Robert Massey
- Beloved, Toni Morrison
- Unclaimed Experience, Cathy Caruth
- Passed On, African American Mourning Stories, Karla FC Holloway
- Rain, Cynthia Barnett
- DYING: a memoir, Cory Taylor
- Bluets, Maggie Nelson
- Mourning Diary, Roland Barthes
- From Here to Eternity, Caitlin Doughty
- The Hour of Our Death, Philippe Aries
- The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker
- The American Way of Death Revisited, Jessica Mitford
- a pair of navy blue slippers, impressed with a distinct foot imprint
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death library detail view
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death library detail | including items personal to the artist's experience with death
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participants reading soñe contigo in the death library
