I recently completed a photo project inspired by the current Patrick Nagatani exhibition at the Albuquerque Museum. The approach for the project was quite different from how I usually shoot, as I conceptualized the series of images beforehand, then used props and specific locations to create each photograph. I presented images last night during a musical performance staged by Chatter at the Albuquerque Museum. A 16-page booklet was distributed to attendees of the concert by FluTeBot, a "time-traveling musician for the 24th Century." My photos and a video I edited were projected during the concert. Below are the notes and images from the publication. It was a nice way to challenge myself creatively, and to collaborate with an extraordinary musician. Brava, FluTeBot.
NOTES
The photographs in this dossier are submitted as evidence in a series of extraterrestrial musical incidents that occurred in New Mexico. This information was recently declassified by unnamed government officials.
According to numerous confidential sources, various items related to a space-traveling, woodwind-playing life form were discovered, scattered around numerous locations in central New Mexico. Each item was painstakingly recovered by researchers, and a complex picture began to emerge. Though various flute parts were initially discovered, subsequent search and excavation efforts yielded additional evidence of a musical alien presence in the region. Recovered items included what appeared to be protective garb, often emitting traces of radioactivity, as well as residue of interplanetary elements (including those not found on Earth).
Researchers were astounded to have also picked up numerous musical signals traveling towardsEarth, including distinct “flute sounding” passages captured via the “Very Small Array” satellite complex (located on Lomas Blvd. in Downtown Albuquerque). Further interpretations concluded that these were actual messages from an entity researchers have dubbed “FluTeBot.”
Translations of additional messages revealed that FluTeBot was, in actuality, a time-traveling musician from the 24th Century. She originally traveled through a time warp to New Mexico decades ago, drawn here by the bright lights emitted from the nuclear testing at Trinity Site. Seeking an atmosphere similar to her home planet of Syrinx, the alien was in dire need of an oxygen source that could be brought back to her home planet. While exploring Earth, FluTeBot was abruptly called home to Syrinx, due to an impending environmental disaster, a result of uncontrolled pollution. FluTeBot has recently returned to Earth to gather her hastily abandoned items. Chatter has negotiated with her for a one-time performance, as a thank you to the people of New Mexico for retrieving her scattered items and for their generous return.
