Unstillness by John Schuerman Book Release Party, Join us at SooVAC, Saturday December 18th from 2-4pm. This event will feature looping videos from a few of the author’s walks in a comfortable setting (thanks to the current installation by Peng Wu at SooVAC). Remarks by John at 3:00pm.
"Unstillness is a collection walks made and documented during the year from vernal equinox of 2020 to vernal equinox of 2021.
My walking projects from this time examine the social upheavals in Minneapolis (and beyond), the loss of socialization caused by the pandemic, the effects of experiencing nature from within the grid of the Twin Cities, and my life in relation to these vast domains. Often, I was responding to/reckoning with recent events such as the dawn of Social Distancing, the murder of George Floyd, and the attack on the U.S. capitol. Most of the walks in this book were each completed in a single day." -John Schuerman
Unstillness is a book by artist John Schuerman of quiet walks through the chaotic year from spring of 2020 to spring of 2021. As we were changing for better and worse, Schuerman walked, observed, and reported back. Unstillness is a reflective chronicle of self in society and nature, through drawings, photos, and text. The book documents 22 walks that examine the social upheavals in Minneapolis (and beyond), the loss of socialization caused by the pandemic, the effects of experiencing nature from within the grid of the Twin Cities, and the author’s individual life in relation to these vast domains. These are walks of reckoning and as such provide few answers, but rather bring us face to face with the possibilities for progress, stasis, or collective failure on deep issues such as climate change, racism, the pandemic, and fascism on the rise.
Ultimately Unstillness is a search for wisdom, but perhaps its real value is the simple reflection on a moment in time that it affords, so that we might remember our part in it, and decide on our role in shaping what comes next.
John Schuerman is an environmental artist and independent curator. His artwork reflects his deep interest in nature both human and nonhuman. His aesthetic style and social consciousness formed as he grew up on a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin. His primary art practices are Walking and Drawing, which he uses to examine his community’s physical and psychic landscapes. As a curator he’s produced over 30 exhibitions across the Midwest on topics that address current concerns in our collective psyche.
