So , if you had to “ place ” me , you could combine the personalities of the PBS show “ History Detectives ” and citizen scientist . The process begins with an extensive hunt for the facts , the myths , the folklore and the legends . The research takes me on the road to local , regional and national libraries . I can be in the comfort of my own home searching on the Internet or I can be out in my Sunday best meeting with doctors , scientists , survivors , witnesses and authors .
In many ways , my beginning is more like a journalist ’ s because I engage in research as a part of my studio practice . I gather my sources — be they photographs , books , periodicals or interviews — and follow each one to the next “ logical ” place . Sometimes they deliver me to an unexpected , even obscure destination , as most good stories do .
During this gathering process , I document a history of each finding , each source , each stray piece of data and thought . This chronicling is an integral part of the pursuit : with the collecting and understanding all of these specifics a type of sorting begins to occur .
When we think of sorting , we immediately think of logical organization using some type of categories ( i . e . transmission because of close proximity , similar symptomalogy , etc .) While I participate in this methodology , I also expand the discourse to include the incompatible ( i . e . the folklore ). The cataloging transpires both mentally as I make connections ( i . e . between a news campaign about clearing standing water to discourage mosquito breeding and the types of containers that exist throughout a domestic environment ) and physically as I rummage through documentation ( i . e . charts of mortality data , geographic regions and weather patterns ). These “ connections ” are not only literal links . They are also the abstract relationships my inquiry produces . As I expose myself to the material , my mind slips sideways , for example conjuring up beauty and tranquility from inert microscopic imagery in a textbook . I allow in more than ‘ just the facts .”
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