A Liberation Abecedary

Video documentation of the May 13, 2021 of “A Liberation Abecedary” presented by Franklin Furnace and Renee Piechoki.

Recorded on Zoom, edited by Amilia Graham, 2021 Summer Intern.

A Liberation Abecedary Documentation from Franklin Furnace on Vimeo.

A Liberation Abecedary featured twenty eight collaborators who developed scenes using tools to express liberation. The tools are conceptual, physical, personal. What they chose and how they used the tools on camera was self-determined. Inspired by Martha Rosler’s Semiotics of the Kitchen, the artist shared the story of this work and how she seeks to explore liberation through many points of view, not define it or end the conversation about what it is or how it is expressed. 

Following the screenings of Piechocki and Rosler’s videos, the vocabulary of liberation grew- all were invited to create a 30 second performance to share or perform privately.  Everyone was welcome.  

May 13th, 2021

7-8pm EST

Featuring:

Renee Piechocki is an artist who works in many different settings, drawing on a range of creative practices: social practice, community arts, arts administration, photography, video, and drawing. As a result, she is sometimes an artist in the foreground as a creator, sometimes a collaborator, and sometimes an artist in the background as a facilitator.

She cares about creating situations that encourage social or emotional connections in all of her work, but especially in projects in the public realm. Depending on the project, she seeks to reach out and invite people in as observers, participants, or collaborators. 

Renee currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA; is collaborating with Nadine Wasserman to produce Compass Roses: Maps by Artists; and is working as a public art consultant on projects across the US.  Previously, she worked with Tiffany Ludwig through their collaboration Two Girls Working on their project Trappings,which explored the meaning and presentation of power in womens’ lives. www.reneepiechocki.com 

List of collaborators: 

The following people are featured in order of appearance in the video.

Jill Foote-Hutton
Christiane Dolores
Kate Hansen
Pantea Karimi
Renee Rosensteel
Jennifer McGregor
Rachel Klipa
Norie Sato
Tereneh Idia
Yona Harvey
Katie Rearick
Lucille Dabei
Rachel Saul Rearick
Marcella Vanzo
Chloe Schwenke
Sheila Levrant de Bretteville
Veronica Corpuz
Carin Mincemoyer
Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer
Janet Zweig
Kahmeela Adams
Diane Samuels
Meg Thompson
Renee Piechocki
Lareese Hall
Edith Abeyta
Mary Tremonte
Tiffany Ludwig

Interview with Renee Piechocki 
[ALIVE PODCAST]
Performance is Alive Director, Quinn Dukes, interviews Renee Piechocki about her latest video collaboration, A Liberation Abecedary, inspired by Martha Rosler’s Semiotics of the Kitchen. Both Piechocki and Rosler’s videos screen on May 13th via Franklin Furnace Loft. Piechocki is calling for participation with the project, and invites our listeners to submit a performance response.