REINCARNATE, RECYCLE, REUSE
Tim Kopra combines archival materials and environmental samples from Mills College campus in order to discover fresh applications for physical and historical data.
We consume information in a variety of ways, pushing through the constant encroachment of media and compartmentalizing the ubiquitous digital channels we monitor daily. For his residency at Museum Records & Research, artist and researcher Tim Kopra repurposes historical data from the Museum’s archive and environment into functional products for the contemporary consumer.
Culling ingredients from Museum’s exhibition records dating back to 1928, and Mills campus botanicals, Kopra distills installation checklists into oils and essences, recycles artist correspondence into stationary, and mulches show fliers with the local terra into compost for future flowering. A custom-built Teleidescope presents suprising visual findings through modifications to perspective.
Between November and December, Kopra invited students and public to observe weekly demonstrations, that revealed his processes and procedures: a combination of ritual and performance, research and experimentation.
Sample Recipes
Archival: Legacy
Essential Oils of Alumni and Student Exhibition Data, Essential Oils of Bay Laurel, Essence Water
Archival: Influence
Essential Oils of Faculty Exhibition and Collection Data, Essential Oils of Redwood, Essence Water
Archival: Infamous
Essential Oils of Collection Data — Works by Dorothea Lange, Pablo Picasso, Imogen Cunningham, Henri Matisse, Essential Oils of Eucalyptus, Essence Water
Publications are made available for view at MCAM library and by request through Tim Kopra.
https://tim-kopra.com
