in the midst of several nuances, i was finally able to check out some of your sites buba…..first…..www.ess.co.at……was very a scientific…..and this intersted me as an artist….however i will return to this…..what i noticed first was the various rivers that had been part of some eco water study or correction……major world rivers…..the Yangtze…..and this made me think of the Nile….and the Ganges……and then thinking of the river as how it has functioned socially and culutrually and politically ….in history as a focal point for civilizations…….a type of dependence….indeed….major cities around the world are located near or at the base of major rivers…..this makes me think of our dependnce on the RIver…..spiritually…..that the river as a constant moving body of water has a different meaning to a lake….which has a different meaning to an ocean……in terms of how we develop a relationship with not only the water….but its form….the river,…the lake the ocean…….( which makes me think of people ….some people say they are water people……however….all  people have some type of relatoinship to water beyond need……water does change people…..some more than others…..) yet to return to this…..and the history of various societies relationshiip to water is interesting in how we open up to the spiritual nature of water……..i beleive sometimes we are very stimulated by it…other times we close our minds to its beauty…….and essentially when i think of lakes and rivers and oceans….there is a permanent constant of beauty……and to be in the presence of a river …a lake ….an ocean…evokes a response in terms of our opennes to its beauty……..perhaps this is related to quantum physics….and the energy from water….in this though….looking at history…every civilization has recongized the power of the river…….that to be near to a great river….is important……obviously for physical needs….yet also just to look at a river is important…….to see water….to be near water….is the spiritual element……also in this site…., in the scientific discourse……i noticed the words ” ranking and benchmarking (objects)”…with visual  art being primarily made of objects……this seemd like the sceintific process, if not art itself, a conceptual stance…..could be translated into an art project quite directly……..however this may be too easy…yet a possible strating point for a more complex approach to benchmarking…..to ritualize it……to give ti artifice………and then ” rainfall- runoff,” were words that excited me because i like rainfall……its fun to be in the rain….if one has the correct mood…….and then ” ground water”, i was thinking of underground water bed….s…or stream…s…..that there is mystic art of find water with sticks…….a metaphysical approach to science…..this is interesting………2. ” marilynarsem.net”….i loved her work and this site was quite bizarre in its formality……i think that addressing water issues with interventions like 1999 clear water….are immense and beautiful……that people need to have alternative ways and more poetic ways of looking at and relating to water…….which brings me back to the ancients…and how they related to water…..were people in these ancient civilization more respectfull of water…say Egypt and the NIle…….CLeopatra…ect……that also the masses…the everyday people… may have.also approached water more spiritually…..that when they drank from it….bathed in it…washed their clothes in it…there was a pshycoilogical and spiritual link….that in Modernist Civilization….there was a seperation from this spirituality…..to water…..that water just became used…and then misused……and this loss is one exploanations for the World Water Crisis…….our loss of sensitiviy to the beauty of water and immense beauty of nature…….abandoned for power and profit …or to it……in this too…i see Marilynarsems  act as simple…and that there is a beauty in the simple….in the small…..act….that it does not have to physically great….to bring great change……that the small is monumental…….in some situations…and context…….or perhaps in all….this is up for question………

however, with this in mind….i have another proposal……i am interested in working with university students……

1. To ask students to measure their water consumption in a diary for two weeks…and then the following three weeks reduce their consumption….and in the difference between the two…the saved water……they can then take this amount and collect it and implement it in some way…..

   My idea was that the students could be divided into two groups……and this be a competition…..where by each individual’s saved water is added to the groups total…..say team a……and team b does the same…….then team a and team b have a competition with this saved water……..1. the fisrt idea….was that it should be fun…..” a water balloon fight” that each team sets up a table with water ballons…..in the center of their univerisy or town in a public place….and they have a water fight….and the dryiest team wins a trophy…..and each team gets their pictures taken in a group…….ect….and this occurs every year…..as a sort of celebration…..festival…..competition…….

2. the second was more serious…..that each team could use their water to grow a small vegetable garden….and then when the vegetables grow…..they make a diner …and feed people in the town or city who would benefit…….like a charitable activity….

in this perhaps there would be a raising of consciousnes of water and its spirituality…..especialy the measureing of their consumption….but also an event they could celebrate with and bond over water…..

i realize this is a Western…and possible Colonial….idea for a nations, Turkey, with completely different customs….yet the world is global and water is global and equally culturally implemented in various similarities and needs……so a post colonial theory perspective  is not relevent in this proposal……they can adopt our customs…and change them…and visa versa…..we can adopt their customs….why not…. and thats the important thing is this proposal is site psecific as much as possible….to their beliefs and values in terms of how they shape the idea…….anyways, if we constantly restrict our self to post colonial dogma and politcal correctness……..nothing creative will happen between cultures…….and now that i am addressing this point……i have to say… the “real” colonizer is not nations or civilizations…..it is technology…….  

IN terms of a ”technology” …..” we should take 14 pairs of socks, 14 underware, and 14 shirts, and enough clothes so that when we are in Cappadocia….we dont need to wash our clothes there and thus reduce the waste of water…..while visiting….”

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upon looking at the description on WATERTOALL PROJECT, it stated “
It is about art, communication and ethics, not politics.” and what interests me is this idea about “politics”. I recall once talking to someone about the political, and they said ” everything is politics”, because inherently everything we do is either a position connected to first ” economy” or sometype of demarcation that identifies us with “humanity”, and that to avoid this, in the non, is also a political act. Thus, what we believe is not a political act, no matter how small, perhaps an everyday decision, perhaps buying toothpaste, is connected to something political, then immediately becomes political- via the economic, social, environmental…etc…that there is no escape from the political. However, there are those who see levels to the political, and in this, they separate Political Acts specifically designed to address power (voting, demonstrating, writing letters to the state, voicing ideas in the media), as being THE political, and all other acts to that of the everyday or ordinary, somehow out of the reach of the political. However, the everyday is extremely political. ( the amazing 60’s….the personal is political…is true.) Thus, in dealing with the simple notion of water useage, not even waste, distribution, structure, because it is linked to so many human activities, is very political, - or perhaps socio-politcal. Further, it demands, a knowledge, and a stance. iT demands a beleif. IT demands a relations. It demands an opinion- related to, at some point, environmentalism and governmental decisions and the choice, perhaps, between the two, in terms of power. Essentially, the water situation can be seen as….lack of water = looking for water= takes away time from working= less income= poverty= economics= political. Further, when looking at the photographs in
(water reportage) they did seem to be “objective” or analyticial documentations , also poetic photos, artistic, interesting compositions, interesting color and tone and light, yet this focus on the ordinary, a water tap with running water, a stream, begged a question, and in this questioning, it seemed to
drift into the political, of asking, what IS its politcal ( yet, this could be my now, bias conscious knowledge and understanding of what is the notion of water shortage, an unescapble perspective as all water i now see fits into a category of either plentiful water, useful water, water shortage, swimming water, beautiful water, soothing water, refreshing water, in other words the relations of the water to my own needs- thus again political) Beyond this though, my first response to the photographs was that I should turn off the water fawcet in the photo. why is the water running and there are no hands, or a person in the photo. also, my response to the photos was a sensation of the environment, that is seemed dry, pale earth, emptiness……IN this, the context, was equally the meaning of the water, as the water. which brings me to two questions,…… can one look at water without context….and can one document water without out it being political.

i was watching t.v., and there was a program on the water shortage and the crisis in Africa, to paraphrase, many nations in africa suffer from water shortage and unclean water, that (to paraphrase) people spend up to 200 million hours a day looking for water, and that many families, especially children spend many hours walking to wells, or rivers or ponds, often dirty water, which takes away from time spent in education and other activities, however, the positive news is that the situation has improved in africa in the last twenty years from the intervention of the West, and that in twenty to thirty years, they believe the situation will improve dramatically…
( now in this moment is a question of not changing Africans work habits surrounding water- perhaps spending many hours walking to a water source is important,- as this activity of searching for water may be culturally significant, however, clean water, one can suggest is always and universally to each culture a situation which must be available and addressed, as it is foundational) in this .my thoughts in this are that I , and possiblely we,not necessarily take forgranted clean water, rather use it in a type of unconscious way, a relaxed way or casual way ( i am searching for a word, one that you may know from your personal experience with water), which perhaps is different than those who are dealing with in “survivalist” ideology,…..in this i have begun to become more conscious about my water consumption….i spend less time showering…..and will use an alarm clock to time a five minute shower…….and when brushing my teeth and shaving will minimize the running water….in trying to develop a more intimate relations with water……( one idea is that we create a one week water diary to see how we use water….when and how much….and if there are recycle possiblities in the process) also while in a cafe, starbucks actually, there is a bottled water called Ethos, which donates 10 percent of its sale to addressing water crisis’s in the world, and hope to raise in several years 10 million dollars, in this the idea of the ethical consumer is very interesting, …..also a question on my mind is how does dutch society approach water, in a general way, ( including history, which is obvious with dykes and canals, etc, ships, trading, exploration,) yet this may be a question for our respective countries, Japan, Serbia, Holland, Canada, Indonesia, where do our nations stand on water issues…….and the environment and sustainability, first in a general way, and then deeper