The State of Progress tour is complete. Please visit our work on view as part of E.P.A. (Environmental Performance Actions) exhibit at Exit Art, March 15 - May 8 2008.

Please contact us for information about the recent release of the Kind Growing collector's edition artist booklet and the A.T.T. (Alternative Transportation Trade) Taxi Service at the Scope Art Fair, March 26th-28th, 5-8pm.

The Goal of State of Progress

To tour the rural and urban routes of the United States researching and collecting images, eating locally, driving sustainably and allowing for creative time to design interactive installations that will prompt inquiry and interest to create slow food communities

Project Summary

State of Progress is a multi-disciplinary traveling art project touring American farms and fairs facilitating interactive installations with the general public and agricultural communities.

Carissa and Joanna are on a ten week tour of the United States traveling by waste vegetable oil (WVO) to explore American methods, responses and perceptions of creating sustainable and healthy agriculture. The tour includes stops along the way at a variety of farms and agricultural producers to learn from the diversity of farming methods and alternatives used in the United States.

Installing the interactive Traveling Photo Booth is a venue for artistic play, prompting ideas on farming techniques, sustainable options and innovative alternatives. Outfitted with costumes, backdrops, props and phrase cards created by Carissa and Joanna from foraged and found items, people can stage their own scene on American farming. Photo Booth participants get their picture taken, which is then catalogued in our online archive.

Why is State of Progress in rural America now in 2007?

Right now there are two very different views of agricultural progress being supported in America. We have supermarkets that can feed and nourish thousands for affordable prices using industrial growing systems that cover our rural landscapes. We also have farmers markets and CSA’s (community supported agriculture) that are growing on small scales and bringing their food to the closest towns and cities to sell.

The industrial farming models that are used to supply supermarkets create high yields and ship their products great distances to reach the stores.  For the sake of regularity, the foods are picked early and carted off, decreasing nutritional value and taste.  The industrial farming model damages eco-systems by using engineered seeds, chemical pesticides, herbicides and feeds, massive scales and large petroleum powered machines that create imbalances and compact the soil.

Farmers markets & CSA’s are bringing food fresh from the vine at the optimal time directly from the farm while it’s tasty and healthy. These local markets supports a local economy and small scale farmers tend to be more conscious stewards of the land and water as they rely on balancing eco-systems and small scale growing.

So what is progress and how do we move forward with healthier systems? We want to investigate in the fields of rural America to see the variation of growing and ideas that are changing our food systems right now. We share a passion for research, investigating routes and methods in new places, for eating locally and prompting interactions with people and farmers who create the food that nourishes us.

How does State of Progress travel?

The artists will make the tour in Buttercup, a diesel vehicle that has been converted to also run on Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), otherwise known as recycled cooking/fryer oil.

We are conducting an experiment on the functionality and efficiency of using recycled grease to travel across the country. We will use Buttercup as a learning tool, stopping at local restaurants en route to collect their used vegetable oil and giving tours of the engine and system.

We will outfit the vehicle to maximize its inventive uses for our daily living traveling needs which include and are not limited to a mini-greenhouse, a solar conductor, and the state of the art storage facility.

Where are they traveling?

We started in Brooklyn, NY in mid August, 2007 and are touring two and half months through the Midwest into Northern California, into the Southwest, Texas through the South and up the East Coast.

The State of Progress Traveling Photo Booth will be installed for the first time and unveiled to the public at the California State Fair in Sacramento on Labor Day Weekend. We are arranging and encountering installations for the rest of the tour. Please check back for more details.

We will visit an array of farmers markets, fairs, food coops, small farms, mainstream farming facilities, urban farms, print shops, small museums and libraries, resale shops, open country, abandoned barns and parks that provoke our interest and provide a venue for further creating slow food communities.

Why install the photo booth at fairs?

Fairs serve as an American tradition for showing off regional agricultural products and prides, and they’re famous for their eats and seedy undercurrents.

We are really excited to go to State Fairs. State Fair attendees represent a very diverse cross section of the American and farming public. There is an array of visitors and ideas in the State of Progress installation that will either be welcomed or surprising to participating visitors.

How does State of Progress find farmers for visits and tours?

Through online databases of farmers and markets (see Links), as well as through just stopping into towns and cities checking out the local town and farmers markets.

How does State of Progress find fuel and what is the process?

We will forage for our fuel. While McDonalds is at every highway stop, they often use shortening and they change their oil so infrequently that it would be just as unhealthy for our champion Buttercup mobile as it would be for us. We will source out restaurants with some health consciousness, fairs, Chinese restaurants, diners if their oil does not look so murky...waste oil is everywhere! Almost every restaurant has at least one fryer.  The vehicle smells like what was cooked in the oil so we try to avoid meat and fish spots.

Then we take the used oil to idyllic scenic spots (preferably with swimming holes!) to clean if the time permits.  The oil must be filtered to remove food bits before it can be put in our tank. Heated oil moves through the filter much quicker. In our trunk we keep filters, two large buckets and two capped gasoline/oil containers. Filters can be made from all kind of fabrics and we’re experimenting to see efficiency differences.

Do Carissa and Joanna eat from the same places they find their oil?

Sometimes, if we get our oil at a clean or good restaurant.

What are they eating?

We eat as much as we can from roadside farm stands and markets. We have a water filtration system to avoid buying bottled water. Buttercup is equipped with a camping stove and basic yet plentiful kitchen set-up to make delicious home-cooked road food.  

Where are they staying?

We have camping gear and hammocks to set up anywhere along the way. We also stay with family and the wealth of friends, both old and new with whom we all share the joy of a long lunch and a just picked fruit.

Where does State of Progress find art materials?

Materials for the Arts in New York City…tag sales, rummage sales, thrift shops. We have with us our most valued tools….a sewing machine, glue and scissors, needles and thread, collage images, sketch books, stamps, a bone folder, cameras and film, pens and notebooks…oh and the roll of raffle tickets!

How is the trip being filmed/documented?

At Materials from the Arts we found a beautiful 8 mm camera. We also have 15 minutes worth of film to start with. That means 30 second debuts! We have a digital camera that has the option to shoot videos…but we’ve got to check out the quality control first…We are equipped with cameras and slide film, a digital camera, and an audio recording device for interviews and sounds.

What kind of collaborations are State of Progress doing?

We are looking for print shops en route with which we can collaborate on publicity posters for the State of Progress Traveling Photo Booth installations. With Carissa’s passion for silk-screening and Joanna’s for photographs, we are seeking out colleges, artist communities or individuals with these tools in our route.

When will Carissa and Joanna have all the time for doing this?

We have a lot of driving hours ahead of us. There can only be one driver at a time. Our vehicle is our workshop. Our passenger seat is our artist studio. Many ideas will arrive there….we are sure of it.

How is all this possible?

We’re really excited about this trip. And we are really thankful to have the support of our fiscal sponsor, New York Foundation for the Arts. We are also really grateful to our family and friends whose support has made it happen. And all the people we’ve met who have shared so much vision of creation. Thank you!

How can I support State of Progress?

We welcome inquiries and ideas for new support and invite you to contact us.

State of Progress was fiscally sponsored by the New York Foundation of the Arts. NYFA is a 501(c3), tax-exempt organization founded in 1971 to work with the arts community through out New York State to develop and facilitate programs in all disciplines.