Cara Levine and Michael Namkung lived on opposite corners of the country: Levine in Portland, Oregon and Namkung in Miami, Florida. They met in the summer of 2016 and formed a unique artistic connection. In 2016 and 2017, they were making collaborative artwork from a distance, and about distance. Looking at a map of the United States, they wondered where the geographic middle point would be, as the crow flies, along the 2696 miles between them. They discovered the geodesic center point to be within a stone’s throw of Wichita, Kansas. 

Unable to travel to the midpoint themselves, the artists asked the curators of At a Distance to enact the artists’ meeting in their stead, to explore the view from the middle, and to contemplate the distance between two people. As surrogates, the curators were given precise directions for carrying out Instructions for Capturing The View From The Middle. As the exact midpoint lies on private property, the surrogates were to follow one set of instructions if they were given permission to access this point, and a wholly different set of instructions if they were denied access to this halfway point.

In exploring the physical, emotional and spiritual distance between them, Levine and Namkung ask what it means to reach across the distance, what it means to find connection with another, in spite of and because of this distance. In relationship, what does it mean to meet the other halfway? To close the distance between? As human beings, we seek connection; yet often when two people attempt to meet each other halfway, unforeseen distances are revealed.

Location of Artwork: Latitude 37.537149, Longitude -98.738443

Instructions were for two individuals to walk to the center of a field to find the exact midpoint, making a small chalk line on the ground that points NW towards Portland and SE towards Miami, standing in silence, and taking a few photographs of the landscape with a disposable camera. Precise instructions were as follows.

1. DRIVE TO THE MIDDLE (as the crow flies): GPS 37.537149, -98.738443. Discuss: the distance that separates you.

2. GET OUT OF THE CAR ON 1ST ST

3. SEEK VERBAL PERMISSION FROM PERSON IN BUILDING MARKED BY “O” TO FIND THE EXACT MIDDLE ON FIELD “X.”

4. TWO PEOPLE WALK TO CENTER OF FIELD

5. MARK EXACT CENTER WITH 2.5” W 4’ L CHALK LINE RUNNING IN THE DIRECTION NORTHWEST - SOUTHEAST.

6. STAND ON OPPOSING SIDES OF THE LINE FACING AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER, facing towards Miami (SE) and Portland (NW). Nothing in your hands. Feet hip-distance apart, backs hovering 2.5” away, the distance of the line between you. Stand for 5 minutes. Time this. Breathe deeply and gaze with eyes open across the distance - approximately 1500 mi to Miami and 1500 mi to Portland. Gaze and contemplate the distance.

7. TURN AROUND TO FACE ONE ANOTHER. GAZE INTO EACH OTHERS EYES. If 2.5” is too near, take 1 half step back each - approximating no more than 1.5’ between you two. Gaze into the others eyes for 5 minutes. Time this.

8. PHOTOGRAPH THE DISTANCE THROUGH THE BODY OF YOUR PARTNER. At the end of 5 minutes, silently, pick up your camera and place the back of the camera on the back of your partners head - just behind the eyes. Photograph the distance. Click simultaneously. Take 2 pictures, just in case.

9. RETURN TO THE CAR, in silence.

10. THANK YOUR HOST.

11. DRIVE HOME. Only converse to discuss these topics: love, meeting another, the distance that connects you.