Escalation Proposal PageScott Kolbo and Lance SinnemaEscalation Surveillance ProjectExhibition ProposalThis proposal is intended to provide galleries, museums, and alternative spaces with information about the “Escalation Surveillance Project” and other works available for exhibition from the collaborative team of Scott Kolbo and Lance Sinnema (The Stinktown2 Collective). We are currently looking for opportunities to display these works and it would be an honor to be considered for your venue. Our Collective is primarily interested in the use of humor in serious art, as well as exploring the way that violent and debased language has escalated in our current social/political culture. Since 2012 we have collaborated on performance based video pieces inspired by the increasingly volatile language that surrounds our current political discourse. In our first collaborative project we monitored the social media forums where much of our political argument takes place. We cataloged the most frequently used phrases and words and transferred them onto foam letterpress clubs and boxing gloves that were then used to stamp this aggressive political speech onto human bodies. These physical props were used in various performances and interactive activities - the resulting documentation was turned into projected video pieces, prints, digital photographs, and collaborative drawings. The “Escalation Project” was exhibited at the Saranac Art Projects in Spokane Washington in the spring of 2012. Audience members were invited to watch video documentation of the performances and then asked to vote for the side that “best represents your values.” At the close of the exhibit the votes were counted and a live battle was staged – the winner being determined by the votes of the audience members. The collective was invited to repeat the performance in Anacortes Washington in the summer of 2013, and we are willing to stage other performances in the future if this fits with your curatorial program. This exhibition proposal includes most of our pre-existing pieces in addition to a new body of work focused on the prevalence of surveillance and “drone” technology. Thanks to a generous GAP Grant from the Washington Artist Trust we were able to purchase a remote control “drone” which was used to record a series of performances investigating the attitudes our society expresses toward surveillance and the ubiquity of electronic devices. Alter-ego characters created by the artists alternated harassing and annoying each other with the flying drone, mocking our conflicted desire to keep close watch on people we don’t trust, yet not wanting to be monitored ourselves. The resulting footage was edited into a series of video pieces that are capable of being exhibited as large scale projections, displayed on video monitors, and/or available on-line. Other pieces available for display include collaborative drawings, and prints, and absurdly constructed sculptural “drones” that may be used in public performances.Potential pieces for display:• Large scale projections (or displayed on video monitors) of the Escalation Project pieces. • Documentation of the first “battle” at the Saranac Art Projects. • Documentation of the second “battle” at Anchor Space Gallery.• Artifacts and objects used in performance – suits, clubs, sculptural objects, etc. • Large scale projections (or displayed on video monitors) of the Escalation Surveillance Project pieces. • Live performances or interactive activities in the exhibition space or at other locations in conjunction with the exhibition. Potential activities:• Interactive exhibition elements, including audience participation, “voting,” and on-line components. • Live performances - “battles”.• The creation of temporary wall drawings/murals while the artists are in residence. • Lectures, class visits, or demonstrations by both artists as a team, or by only one member of the collective. Budget:• The budget for this proposal is flexible depending on the size of the venue and the desired scope of activities. • Shipping costs would need to be covered by exhibition venue. The works are easy to ship, with lightweight materials and digital files for projection, etc. • Installation and insurance costs would need to be covered by exhibition venue.• Travel expenses outside the pacific northwest for one (or both) of the artists in the collective would need to be covered by the exhibition venue. Thank you for your attention to this proposal. If you have any questions, would like to dialogue about the work/arrange a studio visit, or negotiate budgetary issues please do not hesitate to contact us. Best regards, Scott Kolbo/Lance Sinnemascott.kolbo (at) gmail.comThe Stinktown2 Collectivehttps://stinktown2.wordpress.com

Stinktown2 ResumeStinktown2 (Scott Kolbo and Lance Sinnema)http://stinktown2.wordpress.comThe following Resume is a list of the activities Kolbo and Sinnema have undertaken as a collaborative team. For a full record please see each Artists individual CV - available on their personal websites. Scott Kolbo - www.scottkolbo.netLance Sinnema - www.lancesinnema.comEXHIBITIONS2014• Presenter Exhibition. Yuma Art Center. Feb. 21 – March 31, 2014. Yuma Arizona.• Other/Self. Anchor Space Gallery. June 2013. Anacortes, Washington2012• Young Punks, Old Fools. Seattle Pacific Art Center Gallery. Seattle Pacific University. Oct.-Dec. 2012. Seattle Washington• Escalation. Collaborative exhibit with Lance Sinnema. Saranac Art Projects. Spokane WashingtonPERMANENT COLLECTIONS• Washington State Art CollectionEDUCATIONScott Kolbo• 2000 M.F.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison: Printmaking and Drawing• 1996 B.F.A. Boise State University: Painting and PrintmakingLance Sinnema• 2003 M.F.A. Washington State University• 1999 B.A. Whitworth UniversityBIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION FOR COLLECTIVE MEMBERSScott KolboSeattle WAscott.kolbo@gmail.comwww.scottkolbo.netScott Kolbo was born in Washington State in the early seventies and grew up the Northwestern United States. As a kid he spent countless hours drawing to stave off boredom, and drawing continues to play a dominant role in all his work. He became interested in the tradition of satire by looking through art books in the library and realizing that he was most attracted to prints with funny looking people in them. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking from Boise State University in 1996 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000. Scott lived in Spokane Washington for twelve years while working as a Professor at Whitworth University, and in 2012 he took a faculty position at Seattle Pacific University. He teaches a variety of courses including; Printmaking, Drawing, Design, New Media, and Contemporary Art History. His interests revolve around the study of culture, aesthetics, literature, film, and contemporary art. In his studio art work he is interested in the incorporation of new technologies into traditional art making strategies and mixing together elements from high and low culture. Scott exhibits his work locally, nationally, and in web-based formats.Lance SinnemaSpokane, WAwww.lancesinnema.comLance Sinnema has been living and working in Spokane Washington since 2003. He is currently a Lecturer at Whitworth University teaching ceramics, design and seminar courses, as well as serving as the Gallery Director for the Bryan Oliver Gallery at Whitworth. Along with his teaching role, Lance has been involved in Spokane’s greater art community. He is a founding member of the Saranac Art Projects Co-op, and served as its President for two years from 2010 to 2012. He has shown his own work regularly in Spokane, and the cooperative work created with Scott Kolbo as a member of the Stinktown Two Collective has been show more extensively.

Escalation Surveillance Project Coming Soon TrailerThe Stinktown Two Collective is primarily interested in the use of humor in serious art, as well as exploring the way that violent and debased language has escalated in our current social/political culture. For the "Surveillance Project" our collaborative team purchased a drone and other related equipment and filmed a series of performances investigating the current attitudes our society expresses toward surveillance and the ubiquity of electronic devices. Alter-ego characters created by the artists took turns harassing and “surveilling” each other with the drone, and the resulting footage was edited into a series of video pieces that will be exhibited as installation pieces and available on-line. The artists also collaborated on drawings and prints that utilize digital image captures from the performances, and created absurdly constructed sculptural “drones” that will be used in public performances.

Escalation 2 upSince 2012 Scott Kolbo and Lance Sinnema, working as an artist team, have collaborated on performance based video pieces inspired by the increasingly volatile language that surrounds our current political discourse. In their first collaborative project the artists monitored social media forums where political argument takes place, and cataloged the phrases and words that appeared regularly as individuals argued with each other about political issues. This anonymous language was then transferred onto foam letterpress clubs and boxing gloves and used as a means to impress this aggressive political speech onto human bodies. The artists used these props to stage performances and interactive activities, and the resulting documentation was turned into projected video pieces, prints, digital photographs, and collaborative drawings emphasizing spectacle, slapstick humor, and audience participation.

Escalation Drawing This series of collaborative drawings were created by printing digital stills from the Escalation performance on full size sheets of Rives BFK paper. The artists then passed the drawings back and forth, alternately making marks and adding details (such as the cauliflower ear and the comical "lump"). Many of these pieces were purchased for the State of Washington Art Collection, but the artist have others available and will continue to create new drawings and prints in response to more recent performances.

Escalation Exhibit DocumentationDocumentation of the 2012 exhibit at the Saranac Art Projects in Spokane Washington.

Escalation Final Battle DocumentationThis video documents the final performance associated with the "Escalation" art exhibition at the Saranac Art Projects, located in Spokane Washington. Votes cast by visitors to the show were tallied, and the "team" with the most votes also attained final victory in the physical battle. The words and phrases on the boxing gloves were pulled directly from the political discourse that was taking place in the media at the time. Scott Kolbo and Lance Sinnema scripted and arranged the piece, which took place at the Saranac Art Projects in March 2012.

Escalation Anacortes Performance DocumentationThis video documents a performance of "Escalation" at the Anchor Art Space, located in Anacortes Washington. Votes cast by visitors to the show were tallied, and the "team" with the most votes also attained final victory in the physical battle. The words and phrases on the boxing gloves an bats were pulled directly from the political discourse that was taking place in the media at the time. Scott Kolbo and Lance Sinnema scripted and arranged the piece, which took place behind the Anchor Art Space in July, 2013.