A dog will bark at deer in the woods beyond the fence to protect her home, disturbing the neighbors on an early Sunday morning. She does not know that the deer pose no threat, only that they encroach on the territory she understands to be hers to guard. The family inside the house will scold the dog, shouting for her to cease her barking and come inside. They worry more about what the neighbors will say if the dog is allowed to continue barking than they do about the urgency with which this loving beast is driven to keep them safe. The deer will buck and start to run, only to slow as they realize the dog can not leave the bounds of the fence. They will carry on grazing on what slim fronds slip out from under the snow. This seemingly simple moment runs deep with complexity. Each perspective, unknown to any but the being to whom it belongs, colors the events of the moment in its own way, obscuring the true intentions or understanding of the others.

Dalida Maria Benfield was interviewed in October from Helsinki, Finland where she has been frequently traveling and working alongside her partner who works at Aalto University. Together they co-founded the Center for Arts, Design and Social Research and have created an outpost for the project in Helsinki. Benfield is also busy on a series of projects, many of which are connected to the Center. She considers pedagogy and research part of her practice and has always included these avenues in her work. One project which she created after her MFA studies concluded found Benfield working with the Community Television Network, a grassroots activist project. Benfield worked with Latinx youth to produce weekly cable access TV news programs and experimental video artwork. To hear more about this work, other projects and the Center for Arts, Design and Social Research, listen to the complete interview.

Forrest Gander spoke to Praxis in early October when he had just handed in a manuscript to his editor for a book primarily about lichen. Working from a biological theory that lichen doesn’t die, and with the knowledge that this organism changes its individual properties to combine with others, Gander uses lichen as a metaphor for intimacy. Working alongside an artist, Gander has been examining ancient trees and the lichen thereon. While the trees themselves live out their lives and die, the lichen carries on. Gander is the winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize. To hear more about his work, including live readings of some of his poetry, listen to the complete interview.