Tag: Oral History

  • We Say Potato At Islip Art Museum

    A brand-new version of our film in-progress THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO, is currently on view at the Islip Art Museum in the exhibition “Collaboration.” There is an Artist Reception, August 3 from 1-3pm. Thank you to my collaborator Juan Lopez Espantaleon for all the great work on this project so far, and for the installation photo. Also, a huge gratitude to the 100+ participants that have given their beautiful faces and unique languages and accents to this project. I hope you some of you can attend the reception Saturday.

    THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO film and poster on view at the Islip Art Museum, 2019. Photo courtesy Jeffrey Allen Price.

    The Art of Collaboration curated by Holly Gordon
    ISLIP ART MUSEUM
    at Brookwood Hall, 50 Irish Lane, East Islip, NY 11730
    On view thru August 24, 2019.
    Museum hours:
    Tuesday through Friday 10am – 4pm
    Saturday 12pm – 4pm
    Closed Sunday and Monday

    Related Projects:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO (2016–Present)

    Related Timeline Entry:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO 2016 – TPI Timeline Entry

  • The Exhibition Ends, the Archive Begins

    Today I dismantled my JamaicaFlux installations after a rewarding three-month run. I am deeply grateful to curator Heng-Gil Han for the opportunity to participate and for producing such an outstanding catalog documenting the exhibition. Shown here are the eight pages dedicated to my projects, along with the catalog cover and expanded flaps.

    Congratulations to all of the artists who participated. It was a pleasure getting to know your work and to see the remarkable range of projects represented in the publication.

    Special thanks to Juan López Espantaleón and Dom Sindayiganza, whose photographs greatly enhanced the presentation of my work in the catalog. I would also like to thank co-curator Kalia Brooks and the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning for their support, generosity, and commitment to making Jamaica Flux such a meaningful experience.

    While the installations have now been dismantled, the ideas, relationships, documentation, and projects that emerged from the residency continue to grow.

  • 100 Participants and Counting

    THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO at-home filming progress. We are nearly complete with our film’s first flagship segments SAYing, SINGing, SCEAMing Potato in different languages and accents from around the world.

    Today Juan and I filmed each other and our families for THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO and surpassed the 100 participants benchmark.

    Jeffrey Allen Price and Juan López Espantaleón filming one another during a 2019 recording session after surpassing 100 participants in the project.

    Related Projects:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO (2016–Present)

    Related Timeline Entry:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO 2016 – TPI Timeline Entry

    Film Coverage:

    2025 — The Spud Has Its Day in the Sun — The East Hampton Star

    2024 — MainPotRe during Vidzeme Innovation Week 2024— Interreg Baltic Sea Region

    2019 — The Art of Collaboration — The Islip Bulletin [PDF]

    Project Archive:

    → Official Facebook Page for THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO

  • We Always Learn Something New About Potatoes

    We always learn something new about potatoes when we film.

    Filming Anna Prikazchikova at Suffolk County Community College. Photo courtesy Camila De La Pava.

    During a recording session for THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO at Suffolk County Community College, participants shared potato folk remedies and traditions from around the world. We heard about using the steam from boiling potatoes to help relieve colds (Russia), potato slices for skincare and facial treatments (Jordan), and even potatoes reportedly used as diaphragms for birth control (Colombia).

    It was a fun and productive day of filming with participants from Russia, Pakistan, Colombia, Jordan, Turkey, Germany, and the United States. Every recording session added new stories, new languages, and new perspectives to the growing archive.

    Thanks to everyone who participated and to Camila De La Pava for the photograph.

    Related Projects:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO (2016–Present)

    Related Timeline Entry:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO 2016 – TPI Timeline Entry

    Project Archive:

    → Official Facebook Page for THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO

  • Seeking New Ways to Say Potato

    I am excited to announce that we will be filming again for THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO during select times in conjunction with the “POTASIA: Potatoism in the East” exhibition at The Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University (thru June 15, 2018). First day of filming is March 30 (Good Friday) from 11am-3pm. Please schedule an appointment if you would like to participate. We are giving priority to languages and dialects we have not recorded yet, but anyone with a sense of humor or a love of potatoes will be considered. We are still looking to interview people that speak German, Dutch, Italian, Arabic, Thai, and many Asian and African languages.

    If you would like to participate please contact info@thinkpotatoinstitute.org.

    Related Projects:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO (2016–Present)

    Related Timeline Entry:

    → THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO 2016 – TPI Timeline Entry

    Project Archive:

    → Official Facebook Page for THIS IS HOW I SAY POTATO


  • “ARE YA LEARNIN’ SOMETHING?”

    Meyer Segal was the first documented visitor to the TPI Riverhead Temporary Headquarters today.

    A lifelong East End resident, Meyer is 88 years old and seemed to know the entire history of Riverhead—as well as nearly everyone who lived there. During his visit, he shared stories about the local community, the potato industry, and his own experiences selling potato sacks many years earlier, not unlike the historic examples displayed on the walls of TPI.

    Meyer had plenty of enthusiasm, plenty of opinions, and plenty of advice. Throughout our conversation he repeatedly asked:

    “Are ya learnin’ something!?”

    The question was both humorous and sincere. I loved it. I think it captures something essential about the spirit of the Think Potato Institute. TPI has only just now opened its doors, but already the project is doing exactly what it was intended to do—bringing people together to share stories, knowledge, memories, and ideas through the humble potato.

    Thank you, Meyer.

    Related Exhibition:

    → THINK POTATO INSTITUTE (Temporary Headquarters) 2010