Tree House and Hummingbird by Allison Irene Hornak – Chris Randall

I met Allison Hornak during last year’s City Wide Open Studios at the Goffe Street Armory. She was one of the commissioned artists and did an all-day, completely non-verbal performance action on the front lawn of the facility. Allison’s process, and dedication to it, really blew me away.

At this year’s CWOS,  Allison’s piece was Tree House and Hummingbird and performed in room 306A+B on Saturday. I was fortunately able to observe and document a good percentage of that work.

For more info about Allison, visit: www.allisonirenehornak.com

Tree House and Hummingbird 

“I encountered a hummingbird body recently while out walking. Corpses jolt, but this was displacing. Even living, the hummingbird only briefly presents itself. If only it could have explained itself. Stopped there, with time, I felt both kinship and withdrawal over the dead snippet.

A decade ago an old tree house my father built finally separated from its bunk. It descended to the forest floor, where it persisted in lying – a mass of stuff or the familiar thing. Once upon a time you would find me inside out there. Seeing this structure imploded, I have to wonder over its core, sensing too that pining for a center is immaterial form. Oh, oh, the specter whispers, oh, the world’s secrecy. So about dueling with ghosts:

At noon on Saturday the door of my room will open to visitors. Within will be all the properties of my past tree house. Some of the properties of a hummingbird will be on my body. Other properties will also be present: old leaves, honey, cadmium paint, a section of earth, my garments, my body, music, some woodshop tools. After six hours all the properties will have, but not certainly, assembled into or around something. I will work through this process to ground my own making of things. I will force nothing more, because to beat a thing sounds more and more like a fraudulent destiny. The noise of this new building will be recorded. It and the final form can then be paired and instituted hereafter. ”    

                      -Allison Irene Hornak