The Arbor, artist's project, X-TRA Contemporary Arts Quarterly, Volume 18, No 3, March 15-June 15, 2016

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A Key to The Arbor

In this issue, Claire Nereim presents The Arbor (2015), the beginnings of an astral garden. Inside the front cover, readers will find the artist's interpretive map of the Los Angeles sky on the evening of March 15 (the first day of distribution for this issue). The inside back cover charts the night sky on June 15 (the last day the issue will be available on newstands). On each of those nights, follow the maps to find, with guidance from the Pole Star and Cassioppeia in the celestial North, two new constellations, each revealing a plant in the sky.

Since 2008, Nereim has been making star maps to examine the relationship of the terrestrial sphere to celestial space. One night, when the artist was looking skyward to locate a known constellation, she found another group glimmering instead. A game of observation began––the artist recorded an identical group, then a whole series of twin patterns emerged in the sky––amidst, between, and borrowing from the canon of astronomy's figures. After these observational maps, Nereim started making research-based seasonal maps, akin to the maps comprising The Arbor.

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Tropical Tan, 2016, cabbage, glass, sunscreen

Tic Toc, 2016, risograph book, 28 pages, published by Golden Spike Press

Tic Toc 2, 2016, screenprint edition, 19 x 19", with Golden Spike Press

Egg Sky, 2016, nickel-plated pasta

Dip, 2015, concrete

Installation view (Anne Guro Larsmon, The Sirens,welded steel / Claire Nereim, Numbers A, Numbers B, ink on paper)

Numbers A, ink on paper, detail

Anne Guro Larsmon, The Sirens / Claire Nereim, Untitled (Palms)

Untitled (Palms), 2015, Mexican fan palm husks

Compass rose, 2015, paint on wall (in North corner)

Pierced pears, 2014, concrete, pears, stainless steel

Moon pots, 2014, stoneware, marble, steel

Moon pots, detail

I, xylophone, 2014, brass, silver, mahogany

Clams (S, M), 2014, aluminum, brass, copper, steel, dimensions variable

Bete grise (dream), 2012, newsprint, velvet, 21 x 36 x 24"

Father Clock, 2012, stainless steel, nickel, rubber, acrylite, motor, 16 x 16"

Installation view

Triangles B detail, 2012, ink on paper, 72 x 96"

Scale 5 (Muscle Beach), 2012, plaster, chromed metal, pyrite, plums

Still from Time Machine, 2011, single channel digital video, 5 minutes looped 4 times

Northwest pendant, 2011, string, map tacks, dimensions variable
(collaboration with Julie Cloutier)

Flag V (Did you see a ghost?), 2011, cotton twill, brass, 6 x 12'

Twins I (star map), 2009, ink on paper, 48 x 56"

Twins II (star map), 2010, ink on paper, 48 x 56"

Twins II, detail

Pendant 2, 2010, hand-dyed string, map tacks, dimensions variable
(collaboration with Julie Cloutier)

Scale 1, 2010, paper, sea sponge, lemons, eggshells, ceramic, dimensions variable

Correspondence Set A, 2010, letterpressed paper, 8 x 6"

Pendant, 2009, hand-dyed string, map tacks, dimensions variable
(collaboration with Julie Cloutier)

Stymie, 2008, screenprinted book, 26 pages, staple bound, 19 x 12.5"
(collaboration with Julie Cloutier)