Rtgarden

artist information

Rtgarden is a user name of conceptual artist Catt Avery. Catt Avery started on the internet in 1989 on the Well project as user id Lucy4. She is a conceptual artist specializing in digital arts and social media. Play and studies relating to fun theory have been part of her training since she was eight years old performing in AMAN! folkdance performance group in the San Fernando Valley. A few years later she began performing as a street performer at the nearby Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Agoura and shortly thereafter she began working as an assistant stage manager on the Main stage in Agoura. By her mid teens she was stage managing and involved in the large scale ensemble process at the show which had a regular gate of close to twenty thousand people daily. During her time at the Faire she saw a need for an outside social network to reenforcce the community established through the ensemble at the Faire and together with a group of dedicated improvisational actors known as "The Fools Guild" began building a large scale presence and center for Hollywood Parties at the 8228 Fountain (at Harper) residence of several of the actors from the Faire. Eventually the original "Guild Hall" was torn down for condiminiums however the efforts of the "Kings" and other fools maintained and expanded the social network creating an exciting tradition of fantastic parties in elaborate settings with well costumed revelers. The tradition continues today in Los Angeles.

In the late 80's she moved to Southern Humboldt with her daughter Appolonia and began writing her first novel (unpublished). Eventually studying at College of the Redwoods she helped to establish the Students for Environmental responsibility club there before transferring to Humboldt State University. Studying as an interdisciplinary student with art and science combined with computer sciences as her focus in premedical studies. At University she was introduced to World Systems Theory and Systems Theory in general. Continuing to study the convergence of art science and technology she began participating in online social networks with "The Well" in 1989. Securing a student account in 1992 she witnessed the rise of the graphical internet. The rtgarden project was begun in 1999 as an effort to reunite the original ensemble of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire an artistic performance effort that was completed in 2009. In 2008 she participated in the online MMORPG Superstruct and was introduced to the Bright Green movement and the thinking of Jane McGonnigal and Jamais Cascio. Now devoted to the studies of engaged cognition and play she is currently consulting working for universal literacy using the cell phone as the primary medium.

Using online social media the original ensemble of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire was reunited in part due to direct online performance and effort of Catt Avery using her rtgarden presence. The effort continues today with the vibrant community involvement in the Great Dickens Christmas Fair and the online ning teahouse project found at [cattavery.com]. Using the internet as a sort of studio and performance space for a community playtank Catt Avery continues to work and consult regarding the expansion of Bright Green solutions, and the use of play and performance spaces to create radical social shifts and thriving communities with sustaiability and resilience as the focus.

Area History

Rtgarden lives in Northern California in Humboldt County near the Avenue of the Giants. Nearby Garberville, Redwayand the Eel River(south fork) in the original back to the land community of Southern Humboldt most renowned the world over for the high quality marijuana grown despite the pressures of an intense repressive drug war waged on the civilian population. At times this civil action has and does include Helicopter surveilance, road blocks, community infiltration, DARE school programs, Land Seizure, raids on recognized legal medical marijuana patients, and Cointel Pro style terror tactics (see Judi Bari, Darryl Cherney,Ed Rosenthal, Chris Giaque )used on the non-violent local civilian population. The local Coastal Redwoods type environment is decimated by the previous large scale clearcutting of timber and the running of cattle on fragile land which is a desert half of the year. The community came under fire in the 1980s under President Reagan for being perceived as funding the environmental movement, which includes local Earth First! civil disobedience actions and tree sits, as well as more conventional watershed organizations, Land Trusts and State Park conservancy groups such as Save the Redwoods and Friends of the Eel River pursuing the preservation and integrity of the diverse bioregion. The local area includes the Headwaters Forest, The Matteel watershed corridor, Bear Harbor and the Lost Coast, and the six or more large sub-divided ranches with communities hours from town.

Mateel Community Center along with Peoples Productions once together hosted the annual Reggae on the River open air music festival on the Eel river at Frenches Camp the first week of August every year. The festival has featured long time local favourite Spearhead, David Lindley, Ben Harper, Jimmy Cliff, Judy Mowatt, Ziggy Marley and Julian Marley. The festival has forked into two separate and smaller reggae festivals.

The Black Oak Ranch also called the Hog Farm in nearby Northern Mendocino hosts the annual Earthdance celebration, and the kids performing summer camp Camp Winnarainbow led by Wavy Gravy and other Pranksters. The Trinity Tribal Stomp is to the east, while College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University student population provide resources and talent for many activities in the northern part of the county including Eureka and Arcata.