movement 365

whose point of view?

2011-06-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

Someone sent this link to me today and it is quite frankly the best artwork I have seen all week sooooooo....now I will share it with all you good people.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/poutine/anamorphic-typography-10u6

Memphis

2011-04-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well, finally. a list that includes Memphis that Memphians can be proud of, at least the ones that care about the arts. Unlike most of the lists that come out that include Memphis, we some o the fattest, dumbest people in America. But at least it is now recognized as a great city for young artists. I just hope that they are skinny and smart.

So, all you young artists type, make the move to Memphis. The rent is cheap.

Happy Birthday Mr. Audubon

2011-04-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

I have always been inspired by the lifework of John James Audubon (1785-1851). His illustrations are crisp with detail, rich in color and line, and laid the standard and practice for the future of scientific drawing. It is no wonder his works have inspired artists and naturalists alike.

We are lucky to have one of his large scale illustrated books, Birds of America, at the Huntington Library here in SoCal- I visit the book often and get excited when the page is turned in the big glass case. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend you make the trip to the Huntington.

Here is an image of the book for scale:

More by Audubon:

In The Playroom

2011-04-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

I came across this series of photos by Jonathen Hobin other week. It is an interesting portrayal of current events done in a twisted but humorous way....

DIANA'S DEAD

The Saints

Seal Heart

Boxing Day

White Nights

American Idol

A Boo Grave

Dear Leader

Spring Break

39 Lashes

Vegas wedding

The Twins

" In the Playroom is a metaphor for the impossibility of a protective space safe from the reach of modern media. The quizzical disposition of youth and the pervasive nature of the media are symbolically represented in my images through tableau-vivant re-enactments of the very current events that adults might wish to keep out of their child’s world. Just as children make a game of pretending to be adults as a way to prepare and ultimately take on these roles in later life, so too do they explore things that they hear or see, whether or not they completely understand the magnitude of the event or the implications of their play."

Man, what an idea...

2011-04-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Seriously, what an idea....

Okay, so the company gets a bunch of artists to basically give away their artworks, or duplicates of their works anyway, in hopes that there may be a sale for the artist someday down the line. In the meantime, the company makes cash off of the free imagery and unlimited printing rights to the works.... this seems skewed relationship.
The good of this- exposure of some sort for the artist to a mass audience, the subscribers get a rotating crop of images that is sure to keep up with the modern day attention span, and cynical people like myself have something to blog about.

Here's to the "netflix of the art world"! Seriously, why didn't I think of that.
Does anyone else find this video a bit creepy?

Long time no blog

2011-04-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

So I, and many others, have lost the spark for the good ol' M365 blog. Recently I have been thinking about ways to jump life back into it and the ways in which the format is obviously failing. I think that the super structured nature of the idea was the intrigue at first but also the downfall of the blog. By this I mean, it is hard to keep up with and easy to forget about the posting day when one's life gets busy and chaotic- the scheduled day then passes and it becomes something that is blown-off. For those of you who have been awesome at keeping up, I give kudos to you!

Where does it go now?
Ideas?

I thought maybe making it more open would help- basically post whenever you find something to share. I love the contributions that we have had on the blog and feel like the group involved is dynamic and worthy of continuing. It has been awesome to see what people have shared and how different the subject matter has been.

The main goal of the blog was to get a group of people together to inspire and motivate one another creatively. I think that in this new format we can continue to do that.
Any other suggestions are appreciated!

On that note, I have become involved in a weekly photo group and thought that I would share my image for the week, The theme was "the small things":
I have been using images like this one for a starting point in my drawing/painting process for years. This photo group is making me really appreciate the photo in its original state... but I also have a flood gate opening up for painting ideas based on this series of photos. I will be sure to post the evolution of this image.

Which also leads to a question for a-a-allllll of you, yes you (wow. I have been watching too much elmo's world), how does your artistic process start? I would love to see images of other peoples work and process!

Lets share!!!!

image list Steve Roden, Brennan Gerard & Ryan Kelly and more...

2011-03-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

There were 2 excellent college art gallery exhibitions in Southern California last month. Here is an image list of the highlights:

Cerritos College Art Gallery with Steve Roden and John D. O'Brien

Cult of Ruin:strategies of accumulation at UC Irvine ( + review in OC Weekly by Stacy Davies)
Marilyn Lowey Illuminating the Illuminati

Closing reception performance by Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly + guest performers

Katie Ammons How it Goes

Art Imitates Life

2011-03-08T16:51:00.001-08:00

In 2009 while visiting NYC, I made a trip to the rooftop garden of the Met. As I stepped out into the bright clear blue sky day to observe the city skyline and Central Park, I was met by a tangle of brushed aluminum branches seemingly growing and stretching skyward, curving, entwining and filling the space, suggesting a continual linear growth. Manmade organically shaped welded branches overlooking Central Park; the largest green space in NYC. What is it that Roxy (the artist) is trying to say? It is just that the artist is interested in undulating fluid linear forms, or is there a deeper concern...a visual dialogue to be had between what man must work at making, while in the natural world these forms are produced without man's interference. Is there a hidden social comment about what we create to replace the real thing and why we humans feel we must improve on nature. Recently on a walk along the Indian River in Florida I found myself confronted with this question. Looking up into a bright clear blue sky I observed the most beautiful tangle of weathered gray branches seemingly growing and stretching skyward, curving, entwining, filling the space suggesting a continual linear growth. Where had I seen this before??? Ah, yes...on the rooftop of The Met! Was the artist simply reminding us of the beauty of the natural world?...sharing his imagined experience with those locked into a world of concrete, steel and asphalt? If this is the case, I can accept it. But for me, even though I can enjoy the beauty of this manmade form, it will not replace the original that I found as I walked along the Indian River Lagoon. Jan Thomas

Animations

2011-03-05T09:33:00.001-08:00

I have started making animations recently. Here are some of the artists/vids I am stealing ideas from directly.

Monica Canilao

2011-02-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Indulge. Enjoy.
Monica Canilao

-Emily

Highlights from Art Los Angeles Contemporary Jan 27 - 30, 2011

2011-02-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

Image list of what you might have missed or what you may have seen:

Let's Paint, Exercise, Cook and Play Chess TV

2011-02-06T09:08:00.001-08:00

I am a day late posting this...sorry about that.

Ron van der Ende

2011-02-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

"Still Life"

bas Relief, salvaged wood, 2010

Ron makes these large scale works from doors he finds, planing them into thin veneers. The wood is never painted. Each fragment is cut, pre-drilled, then hand nailed to the structure. Often, Ron pastes large photographs to the back of his sculptures, never to be seen by the viewer.

http://ronvanderende.nl/

The Museum of Censored Art

2011-01-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

I keep forgetting to post on this blog... One of my news years resolutions is to make my monthly post.

I am sure you all have heard about the uproar of the smithsonian and the removal of the David Wojnarowicz's A Fire on my Belly

If you haven't heard on October 30, 2010, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery opened Hide/Seek, one of the first exhibitions of gay and lesbian art to appear in a major American museum. The exhibition caused no complaints from museum visitors, but did gain attention of unhappy anti-gay activists who wrongly portrayed the exhibit as Anti-Christian.

One work in particular that got the anti-gay activists going was a 4-minute video by David Wojnarowicz that criticizes society’s indifference toward AIDS. The video includes about 11 seconds of an ant-covered crucifix and this caused some upheaval from these anti-gay groups.

A good friend of mine, Mike Iacovone and his friend Mike Blasenstein protested the removal of the video and the censorship of art. Their protest was quiet. The gist of it goes like this : Iacovone filmed Blasenstein wearing an ipad around his neck showing A Fire in My Belly inside of the Hide/Seek exhibiton. Their protest came to a sudden end when security guards and police halted their statement.

The two Mikes have come back with an even bigger protest this time. They have rented a trailor through the closing of the show and have also rented two parking spaces outside of the museum. They have called this trailor the Museum of Censored Art, and they are parked on the 700 block of F Street NW outside of the southern entrance of the museum. Blasenstein, Iacovone and volunteers will work the trailer everyday from 11 am to 7 pm until the Hide/Seek exhibit closes on Feb. 13.

This whole situation raises really interesting questions and brings really interesting debates to the censorship of art.

To contact the Museum of Censored Art and learn more about the project visit
http://dontcensor.us/?page_id=128

THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT

2011-01-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

I have been working on The SketchBook Project on and off for the last 3 months. This is a unique show of artist's sketchbooks provided by Art House Co-Op, affliated with Brooklyn Museum of Art, NYC. Check out sketchbookproject.com for more details. I thought I would post some of my pages. My assigned theme is: "I'm a Savenger". The pages are collaged bits and pieces from old magazines and snippets of items that I have saved. The sketchbook is autobiographical. The most astonishing aspect of the work is how closely my life story relates to the 1949/50 SECRETS magazine's "sensational" stories written for the ladies of the day. WOW!.......I guess I should have taken those stores seriously....could have saved myself alot of heartache!!!!

films about art/artists

2011-01-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

Reflecting on the past year has sent me on a vision quest.
Well, it sent me on a lapse of time watching movies either about art or with an art theme.
Does anyone remember the documentary about the Vogel's? The couple in NY with the postman's salary and apartment crammed with hundreds of pieces of minimalist and conceptual art?
Here is what has happened since then:
Vogel 50x50 - the Vogel story and an archive of their collection.
Some people/critics have noted that their collection is not that great....it looks pretty phenomenal to me.

I recommend also The Art of the Steal
A telling documentary of civic deception and the things that people do to acquire art...

The other day I saw this little funny film with William H. Macy and Christopher Walken...they are so good in it "The Maiden Heist":

"Strange Culture" about Steven Kurtz who was detained for terrorism because he was working on art pertaining to GMO food, something the government and food industry is not obligated to inform us about...not to mention the ridiculous freedom of speech, information and expression rights that are suppressed - this is a good one to watch, too.

And in light of some personal undertakings, I was reminded of this:

Art School Confidential

Then there was "Basquiat" I saw in '96 when it came out - and I want to see the new documentary, too "The Radiant Child"....another '80's artist affiliated with Warhol was Brigid Berlin documentary "Pie in the Sky". But watch out, it is kind of depressing, yet darkly funny, too.
There are tons more, but this is enough for now. Enjoy.

Russian Ark

2011-01-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

to keep with last months theme. here is a clip from Aleksandr Sokurov's film Russian Ark, which is a single 96 mintue shot. You can watch the complete film on youtube...

beginning my new year...

2011-01-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

So..the past month of my life has been one of thte most challenging..but I'm hoping that this new year will bring great opportunities. I finished moving into my new studio today and I'm getting prepared to begin a new chapter with my work. My new years resolution is to use this blog to keep me motivated and share with other artists what I'm working on. My new year...and I'm hopeful. Jen

art and porn... happy new year.

2010-12-31T21:40:00.000-08:00

Daily Dose Pick: Destricted [NSFW]
2:00 pm Friday Nov 12, 2010 by Leah Taylor

Four years after it was banned from US release for its explicit content, Destricted brings together creative — and graphic — musings on sex and porn by artists including Marilyn Minter, Matthew Barney, and Richard Prince.

Among the DVD’s eight film shorts are Barney’s “Hoist,” a decidedly erotic take on man vs. machine; Minter’s “Green Pink Caviar,” featuring a woman kissing, sucking, and licking in extreme close-up; Prince’s “House Call,” a revision of a voyeuristic 1970s porno; and Larry Clark’s “Impaled,” for which he interviewed Gen Y-ers on their experiences with porn, then presented the reality of their fantasies. Together, the films are sexy, disturbing, and beautiful, all at once.

Visit the film’s official website, meet all of the artists involved, check out the Daily Beast’s coverage of the project, and buy the DVD.

Body Art in the Flesh

2010-12-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you today some our work from a body painting business that I and a couple friends have been doing this year in our "spare" time on the weekends. Lily Gonsalez and I (Karen Light) are the body painting artists and Lynda Guillu is the photographer. Our idea was to not only paint something that the client would like, but create an personal, perhaps even spiritual, experience that they could also take with them. We wanted our clients to really feel their individual beauty inside and out.

We have now painted women (and some men) of all shapes, colors, and sizes. All of them arrive feeling vulnerable and insecure about some part of their bodies. So, as we get to work drawing and painting, we pamper them with wine, snacks, music, incense, and friendly conversation to keep their minds off of what is happening until they forget to even be self-conscious. Slowly, as the colors start to pop and the images take shape, they become more and more excited. By the time the camera comes out, they are ready to strike a pose. Even the most shy, reserved clients become alive and open during the photo shoot.

It's been an amazing experience for me to be a part of this process. I feel very honored to be along with our clients as their transformation unfolds. I see the freedom that they suddenly feel in their own skin and find these moments of self-love to be inspiring and hopeful and it's deeply gratifying to know that I have been a part of making that happen.

Harmony Gardens Healthy Girl Initiative

2010-12-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

IT'S YOUR CHOICE
Recently, I have been involved with The Harmony Gardens Community Initiative which is working collectively with mothers and daughters living in high risk Cincinnati neighborhoods. The goal is a collaborative effort where the women come together in their communities to dialogue on the topic, "What makes a Healthy Girl?" The end results of those discussions generated a list of concepts that might be used to answer the initial question. Furthermore, the mothers and daughters were sent out into the community to take pictures to support their ideas.
The next stage of this project involves artists visually responding to those ideas and photographs by producing a visual creative connective thread that continues the dialogue through a finished piece of artwork.
For my art piece I chose to focus on the question "Who Am I" in relation to making choices. One's personal chosen direction leads to answer the question. As young girls search for their self image and explore making healthy choices, the "who they are" and "who they want to be" becomes important to their success.
The lid of the decoupaged box poses the question. The images of natural vines are dormant, with only a hint of promise in the form of a few emerging leaves. The faceless figure with the words 'who am I' stitched on the face stands before an old stone archway referencing a photo of an overpass taken by the women. Once the lid of the box is opened, the promise is revealed. The interior contains the same arch, but now, the arched image is surrounded by flowering vines and butterflies emerging from the archway. The box "contains" the promise of a fullfilling life, if the right path is chosen.
The final step in this process is to spread the message of positive self image beyond the original community nucleus. The artwork, which travels to other venues in other communities, jumpstarts that conversation, bringing the initiative full circle and providing the stimulus for those communities to start a dialogue on "What makes a healthy girl?"
Jan Thomas

real artists don't eat or breathe or recycle or use recycled items in their art for that matter

2010-12-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

I just finished a piece for a project in conjunction with the American Planning Association conference to be held in 2011.
"breathe"

I have been posting about the project on this blog, as it pertains to my idea to highlight Geographic Identity...one thing leads to another and even though I included some studio thoughts along the way, I hope that there are some universal tid-bits that anyone can glean from the project, spark new thought or make new work, too.

The piece included cigarette ash, carbon monoxide blown on the canvas, crushed pine needles, embroidery, CO2 (aerosol)...I literally put aspects of the sky and of airquality on the piece. It was a challenge, but I am happy with the results. Except the piece smells weird. So now, it has literally encroached on your clean-air breathing - you can smell the CO2, like an old house that was inhabited by smokers. I'll see what can be done about that before it goes on display...or not. Maybe that is the irony.
My statement about the process can be found here:
"breathe" about AirQuality

Making art like this made we wonder how in the heck would we be able to portray, communicate or signify AIR in a public art sculpture? Aside from sculpture or mural, but really DO something about the air...like create domes with little forests to sit in, or boxes with herb-scented public access gas masks?? Really, you would not believe that areas are mapped out all over the nation designating the responsibility for regulating the Air in an area/city/region. I find this totally ridiculous on one level, because it must be really difficult for Upland to keep their air clean with the stench from the Ontario Waste Water Treatment Plant fecal smog wafting up on a Santa Ana wind day...

I looked up some female environmental artists and am newly acquainted with Agnes Denes and was glad to see her Wheatfield, created about 25 years before the Lauren Bon Cornfield. Both very industrious projects. Here is another article on land and environmental art on World Changing dot com.

This last month I have also been thinking about sustainability which lead to thoughts about groceries. We have been really slack on getting our food garden this past year....as if we have no motivation to survive. This is unlike me...or it's as if getting papers due, and making work for the some odd 20 exhibitions I have participated in, applying to graduate school and looking for work does not require energy. This also has nothing to do, at least I don't think it does, to the fact that I gained 18 pounds in the last 12 months and none of my pants fit so I am relegated to the same pair of North Face pants that I bought for exercising in.

What in the name of creativity does this have to do with anything for an art blog, you say? Because food for thought comes from anywhere. No, I'm not making art about my weight gain. But I did notice that eating well at least makes me feel better. I have a somewhat secret stash of photos of my food. I post them every now and then to the chagrin of unsolicited advice from people who tell me that I should only post serious stuff about my art if I want to be taken seriously. I don't know, I thought everyone had to eat, but maybe in some art world circles the artists exist on osmosis or something.

Here is some information about getting good food for cheap in the LA and IE areas:
Velas Market East LA
Unity Farm, owned by 2 brothers, organic, near Jurupa State Park, Riverside County Parks. Mini golf, fishing and camping at the park, too.
Amy's Farm, Ontario + Agrarian Solutions
South Central Downtown LA
and everywhere: local harvest. org
or home delivery from farms nation-wide-- these places cost more, though.

And in the spirit of the site and eco art - this tantalizing link:
Need I say that eco-art is big on Trendsetter. That's right appropriators, we are not original, we are mainstream. Cassette tape ribbon, water bottles, junk, trash, cargo containers - Take a look.

Well, have a nice month, 'til the next 6th of it.
In the mean time, live long and prosper.

Things I Wish I Had Made Part III

2010-12-05T17:53:00.001-08:00

I have posted the things I wish I had made the last several posts. I thought, "Why not keep it going?"

William Lamson
Actions - click here to see the work on his site...fucking genius I tell you...

I am currently storyboarding a video that will be/have one long continuous take, two-three minutes. Which, is pretty hard to do well. Here is one of the best scenes that is one take...I hate the little quotes that pop-up, but, the scene is still great.

Tarantino is a master at it as well...

of course the Copacabana Shot is great

Luc Tuymans / Bad at Sports

2010-12-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

Luc Tuymans, Himmler, 1998, oil on canvas, 20 1/4 x 14 1/8″

I've been obsessively listening to Bad at Sports podcasts from the past several years. Some are great, some terrible. I recommend searching the archives for all of Michelle Grabner's (they're all good - she talks really fast and everything she says is so relevant). Also, all of James Elkins.

Luc Tuyman's first major exhibition in the U.S. is at the MCA right now. He was recently there painting a mural in the atrium (done in a single day, just like the rest of his paintings). I think it's safe to say that it has become fashionable to dislike Tuyman's work. I never understood why he was making paintings, specifically. But my view totally changed after seeing the show like eight times, and then again after listening to him here: http://badatsports.com/2010/episode-273-luc-tuymans/

Enjoy.

ARTIST I'M DIGGING ON RIGHT NOW.

2010-12-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

PAE WHITE

Still images from "Dying Oak" currently at SLAM

Link: ==> Check out a brief look into her process for her project "Metafoil"

METAFOIL is both a depiction of a new kind of landscape as well as an attempt to reimagine the heavy metal sculpture as a stage curtain. It is also a contemporary take on the centuries-old tradition of weaving, updated with digital technology.

METAFOIL takes advantages of the captive gaze of the audience, introducing a foil, a false reflection, an illusion of depth, a novel topography that disrupts expectation and challenges perception. Sculptural, seemingly spatial, the stage curtain rejects its inherent flatness.

METAFOIL plays with shifts in scale. Up close, it is a rich texture of overlapping colors; a few feet away, individual threads give way to form, a pattern emerges. From the vantage point of the audience it becomes a view into an otherworldy place, a metallic composition of colors and shapes.

I Met The Walrus

2010-12-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Seeing Grinderman tonight...

2010-11-30T20:04:00.000-08:00

So I thought this was a good video to share!

SUPERFLEX.......Check it!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

I have always been interested in the work of Superflex which lead me to a piece they did for Prospect 1 in New Orleans a few years back. Prospect New Orleans is the premiere biennial of international contemporary art in the U.S. By showcasing new art from around the world in a setting that is both historic and culturally unique, Prospect New Orleans contributes to the revitalization of New Orleans by bringing international attention to the city's visual arts community.

For Prospect.1, which Superflex present a new work titled WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE, WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE. Using a real-life incident involving friends of theirs, the subtext of the work is the impact that the post-Katrina flooding in New Orleans had on the world economy. Anticipating a slow down in the housing market as a result of thecatastrophe, Danish banks briefly dropped their interest rates for new mortgages, enabling the friends of Superflex to purchase a house in Denmark at a lower cost.

Their work, a photograph is on display at the Lower 9th Ward Village in New Orleans, priced $20.000, equivalent to the amount that the couple saved. When sold, the money paid for the photograph will go towards purchasing construction materials ( such as plywood, lumber, roofing felt, paint, etc.) which will be displayed within the outlined area in the exhibition space. The materials will then be distributed by the Lower 9th Ward Village to families in the Neighborhood.

If you are in the area you should check out Prospect 1.5 New Orleans which lasts

Nov. 6th 2010 — Feb. 19th, 2011.

UBUWEB

2010-11-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

The best place to watch video art online: UbuWeb
They are in a bit of a transition right now after the site was hacked, but everything will be 100% soon.

Click for video: Jean Painleve, Le Vampire, 1939-1945

Elsewhere IS

2010-11-11T20:28:00.001-08:00

Greensboro, North Carolina. Performed here during a tour in September with the SPORE mobile gallery. Elsewhere utilizes a former three-story antique shop or perhaps more accurately coined, hoarder menagerie owned by a deceased woman named Gloria. Seven years ago her grandson transformed this reliquary into a living museum and artist residency. Nothing leaves. Nothing enters. Nothing like it anywhere. These photos are mostly from the third floor which is only open during special events.

Perhaps a part of Gloria persists? To learn more about Elsewhere click here.

-Emily Hemeyer

Historic Preservation Participatory Urban Intervention Art Project

2010-11-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

ARTVULUPS hosted a participatory urban intervention art project this past Thursday during the Riverside Art Walk.

Carolyn Schutten did a great job conceptualizing the idea!! She emailed me to participate because she knows that I have experience with installation and with the public. I loved it the minute I heard about it...it is right up my alley!

The project was "What is historic preservation?"

Participants began by asking the question, "Who decides?" what historic preservation is. They then tied the yarn from point to point toward the answer to the ending question, "What is saved?"

Participants will move through the space creating their idea of historic preservation by creating a "web" of stakeholder visions, thus making art. Hopefully people would encounter "walls" and create tangled opposing viewpoints, maybe even bump into each other in order to exemplify conflict, negotiation and compromise to really show how personal and individual values are in relation to planning and historic preservation.

There was no one answer, nor any right or wrong answers.
18 points were on display to mix and match answers:
Institutions
Community
Public
Private
Rich
Poor
White
Non-white
Architecture
Human Experience
Historians
Urban Planners
Archeologists
Too Much
Not Enough
Native
Immigrant
WILD CARD - any response not there. We asked people to write down what was missing, a few that I remember were Gays, Family and Corporations. HHmmmm.
Smart Group, Riverside!!

I helped Carolyn with some nuts and bolts prior to the event, and then showed up to help engage the passer-by to participate and get their juices flowing to help create the "communication web" of yarn. The event was SO fun. People really loved it, and were very intrigued at how it looked at first glance. Once we shared with them the concept, we let them loose to start contributing to the dialog, and ultimately help build the installation.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous at a comfortable 68 degrees with an ever so soft breeze!!

My only wish is that we could do it for a longer period of time. Although it was quite ethereal and mysteriously invasive under the ambient night light, we only had 3 hours of intervention to make the piece. I think it would be great to do it again during a day-time long event and really get the visibility, participation and ultimately a bigger web created!

ARTVULUPS (Art as a Vehicle to Understand Land Use Planning and Sustainability) is dedicated to teaching planning and sustainability through art processes and learning through artistic collaboration. The first phase has just been completed!

15 artists were paired with 15 planners to create art based on the elements in the Riverside General Plan. (I am responsible for creating art regarding Air Quality).
The works will be on display at the Riverside Arts Council Projects space from December through February. In addition, there will be several public programs that will take place throughout the next year and leading up to the American Planning Conference in Santa Barbara, fall 2011.

Thanks go to the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, Teresa Woodward, Carolyn Schutten, Joe Berryhill and Miguel Vasquez. Images by Leora Lutz.

Things I Wish I Had Made Part II

2010-11-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

donald judd
the reason i am an artist

richard deacon
i made his work for about two years
he was always better at it

eva hesse
i wish there were more of her work
for me to see

matthew barney
makes me want to be a better artist

marnie weber
so does she
goddamn i love her videos

i know that you can see the reasons why
i wish i had made these things
maybe
maybe not
but i wish i had
i wish i could

Sunflower Seeds

2010-11-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

Ai Weiwei harnessed the power of the city of Jingdezhen, China.

spooktastic

2010-10-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

Gregory Euclide's wonderful worlds

2010-10-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

I recently came across the work of Gregory Euclide in a catalog for an Exhibition titled, Badlands: New Horizon Landscape that was a Mass MoCa in late 2008 (http://www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=369).

The work selected for the exhibition are these beautiful landscapes created on paper but instead of the image occurring on a flat plane, Euclide's landscapes occur on andin crevasses created on a crumbled piece of paper. They are really quite beautiful.

Also check out his latest installation titled: real, natural, and unsustainable

(http://www.gregoryeuclide.com/)

He is simply brilliant!

Richard Hawkins

2010-10-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Lives in L.A. His show just went up in the Modern Wing at the Art Institute. I had a studio visit with him last week. I don't really believe in luck but that was lucky (there's a lottery system for one-on-ones). He has an extremely diverse studio practice - collage, sculpture, painting, drawing, assemblage, and also what looks like some computer graphic work. I was completely overwhelmed by his show and thought I'd share. Info on the show: http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/exhibition/hawkins

It's traveling to the Hammer Museum in Februrary.

I'm breaking the date rule. Where are all the posts anyway?

Green Pornos by Isabella Rossellini

2010-10-14T23:04:00.000-07:00

Something for the boys, the girls, and the boygirls... a few of the many Isabella Rossellini mating shorts. Joy!

Sorcery?

2010-10-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

Though are connection to physical things seems ever diminished by the veil of technology, we as individuals seem to be gaining new powers.

An old friend who has taken up astrophotography came across this project:

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

Banksy & "Simpsons" Collabroate

2010-10-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

October 11, 2010, 1:50 pm
‘The Simpsons’ Explains Its Button-Pushing Banksy Opening
By DAVE ITZKOFF

How did “The Simpsons” manage to track down Banksy, the pseudonymous British artist, and get him to create the powerful opening-credit sequence from Sunday’s episode, which seems to reveal the torturous sweatshop responsible for the show’s creation? And how, after all that mockery, have the producers behind that Fox animated series been able to retain their jobs? Al Jean, an executive producer and the longtime show runner of “The Simpsons,” pulled back another layer of the curtain and explained the stunt to ArtsBeat on Monday afternoon.

How did you find Banksy to do this, and now that it’s done, how much trouble are you in?

Well, I haven’t been fired yet, so that’s a good sign. I saw the film Banksy directed, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” and I thought, oh, we should see if he would do a main title for the show, a couch gag. So I asked Bonnie Pietila, our casting director, if she could locate him, because she had previously located people like Thomas Pynchon. And she did it through the producers of that film. We didn’t have any agenda. We said, “We’d like to see if you would do a couch gag.” So he sent back boards for pretty much what you saw.

Were you concerned that what he sent you could get the show into hot water?

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it for a little bit. Certainly, Fox has been very gracious about us biting the hand that feeds us, but I showed it to Matt Groening, and he said, no, we should go for it and try to do it pretty much as close as we can to his original intention. So we did. Like we always do, every show is submitted to broadcast standards, and they had a couple of [changes] which I agreed with, for taste. But 95 percent of it is just the way he wanted.

Can you say what got cut out?

I’ll just say, it was even a little sadder. But I would have to say almost all of it stayed in. We were thrilled. It was funny, I watched “Mad Men” last night and I wondered if this was my Don Draper letter to The New York Times. I knew just how he felt. But it was great to have a secret.

One of the things Banksy is known for is disguising his identity. How can you be sure that you were dealing with the real him?

The original boards that we got from him were in his style and were certainly by an extremely proficient artist. We were dealing with the person that represented him making the movie. I haven’t met him, I don’t even know what he looks like, except what the Internet suggests. And he’s taken credit for it now so I’m pretty sure it’s him. We went through the people that made the movie so I assume they would know how to get to the real him.

Even compared to how “The Simpsons” has mocked Fox in the past, this seemed to push things to a different level. Are you sure there’s no one higher up than you on the corporate ladder who’s displeased with this?

I think that we should always be able to say the holes in our DVDs are poked by unhappy unicorns.

Has Banksy’s criticism made you reconsider any of the ways you do things at “The Simpsons” in terms of producing the show or its merchandise?

I have to say, it’s very fanciful, far-fetched. None of the things he depicts are true. That statement should be self-evident, but I will emphatically state it.

A lot of the show’s animation is produced in South Korea, but not under those conditions.

No, absolutely not.

And even that closing shot of the 20th Century Fox logo surrounded in barbed wire?

Approved by them. Obviously, the animation to do this was pricey. I couldn’t have just snuck it by Fox. I’ll just say it’s a place where edgy comedy can really thrive, as long as it’s funny, which I think this was. None of it’s personal. This is what made “The Simpsons” what it is.

Mural Arts Month in Philly

2010-10-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

One of my colleagues at the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia is the lucky husband of Jane Golden, founder and Executive Director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Project. Knowing my love of art, he drove me by a brand new mural last week while I was in town. It is called “The Evolving Face of Nursing” by Meg Saligman. The mural was dedicated during the beginning of Mural Arts Month and, like so many of the murals in Philly, it was impressive and inspiring. What really blew me away, though, was the mural artist decided to experiment on this mural using LED lights. As the lights slowly changed colors, parts of the painting disappeared while previously hidden parts emerged. The description or following pictures don’t do it justice, but if you happen to be in the area, stop by Broad and Vine and check it out. Also, check out the Mural Arts website to learn more about the incredible murals and tours: www.muralarts.org.

Also happening in Philly during Mural Arts Month, from Oct 7 – Nov 7, is the opening exhibition of a traveling mural project of the American Friends Service Committee called “Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan.” I shared one of the pieces submitted for this exhibit a couple months ago and wanted to share the rest now that it has been unveiled. 45 mural panels, each about 4ft x 6ft, make up Windows and Mirrors and it will be traveling next to Queens, New York, then L.A., and Chicago. Future locations to be determined. Check out the exhibit which has been receiving much press and was Philadelphia Inquirer's Art Pick of the Week at www.afsc.org/project/windows-and-mirrors.

Artica: St Louis's Confluence of Creative Expression and Ancient Burial Grounds

2010-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

A living entity to some, the Mississippi has churned industry and trade for a lineage of civilizations along its banks. When St Louis was established as a trading post by European explorers in the 1700s it was commonalty referred to as Mound City due to earthen structures constructed by a previous civilization, the Mississippians. In 1040 AD it's thought to have been the largest metropolis of its time.

As an homage to whom many refer to as the "mound builders" this past weekend artists, musicians, performers and members of the Burning Man community gathered for a yearly renegade art festival called Artica. The festival is on the site of the Big Mound, one of the largest burial mounds in North America removed in the late 1800s.

Artica in many ways seeks to encapsulate the City's past and connect to the future as its known for hosting a blend of experimental projects, ritualistic performances and site specific works that mimic the site's current incarnation of industrial decay.

Ironically this year's festival was dubbed "Return of the Mound Builders" as the St Louis Art Museum dumped two massive mounds of dirt from their expansion on the land. This created an exciting and drastically altered landscape juxtaposing a large homeless encampment along the riverfront.

Highlights from this year's event included a tent-size camera obscura, Stations of the Cross Grotto, a colorful woven web inside a dilapidated industrial complex, and a memory exchange project. As well as performances by the Unsceen Ghost Brigade, a group of street performers from Minneapolis traveling down the Mississippi on a raft who embody the stories of river rats of yester yor.

After sunset the Artica Effigy was ceremoniously torched as fire spinners, breathers, dancers and a light display entertained an audience of hundreds. The event concluded Sunday with a parade of dreams as festival goers floated handmade biodegradable constructions down the river.

holy imagination...

2010-10-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Strange.

Why does Jesus and the Virgin show up in food so often?

Really?

comforting? or uncomfortable?

2010-10-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

Got

Nothin!"

"You?"

Some of My New Favorites...

2010-10-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

Steve Budington

Un-Blink/Blink (diptych), oil on canvas, 24 x 22 and 24 x 24, 2006

New Weathers, oil on canvas, 84 x 59, 2009

Diana Cooper

All Our Wandering

wood, vinyl, pigment print, ink, acrylic, colored pencil, ball point pen, Velcro, foam rubber, felt

76.25 x 79.5 x 142.5, 2007

Pose

GasFace, acrylic, gouache, and cel vinyl on MDF, 48 x 72, 2010

Start em' young

2010-10-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

'Tea Party Coloring Book' is kiddie propaganda art

The best part of the article is the comments left by its readers.... enjoy.

cough cough

2010-10-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

“Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours” - Swedish Proverb

Allesandro Ricci - smog paintings
Article about the artist.

Kim Abeles
smog portraits, maps etc.

Artist known as Smog City

Charles Gaines "Greenhouse" + article in White Hot Magazine

Air Now dot gov -- link to air quality website

UK smog exhibition

I should really quit smoking. I just don't feel like it right now.

Particulate Matter - little air polluting particles

breathe in, breathe out

“If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it.” - Anais Nin

Things I Wish I Had Made

2010-10-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

How Many Billboards? Art In Stead

2010-10-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

View How Many Billboards? in a larger map

Kerry Tribe
LOCATION: La Brea Ave, north of Venice Blvd, on the east side of the street, facing north.

Ken Gonzales-Day
LOCATION: Olympic Blvd, west of Gramercy Pl, on the west side of the street, facing east.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT Kimberli Meyer

"The philosophical proposition of the exhibition is simple: art should occupy a visible position in the cacophony of mediated images in the city, and it should do so without merely adding to the visual noise. How Many Billboards? Art In Stead proposes that art periodically displace advertisement in the urban environment.

Billboards are a dominant feature of the landscape in Los Angeles. Thousands line the city's thoroughfares, delivering high-end commercial messages to a repeat audience. Given outdoor advertising's strong presence in public space, it seems reasonable and exciting to set up the possibility for art to be present in this field. The sudden existence of artistic speech mixed in with commercial speech provides a refreshing change of pace. Commercial messaging tells you to buy; artistic messaging encourages you to look and to think.

Time and space allotted for artworks in commercial space is limited, and the sea of signs is vast. How can a billboard exhibition make a strong enough impact? Most importantly, the art cannot be passive. It must take a strategic approach, be critically oriented, and explore the billboard as a site.

Artistically and culturally, Los Angeles is an aggregate of dynamic histories. Experimental architecture has been active here since the early twentieth century, radical art since the 1950s. An acute awareness of urban space has always influenced both avant-garde architectural and art practices in Los Angeles. Southern California's overlaps and interweaves of architectural adventurism, pop, and Conceptual Art have generated rich environments for artistic production and yielded influential bodies of art. My co-curators and I felt that these So-Cal syntheses are relevant for the dynamics of pop-public space in Los Angeles today.

It's a win-win situation.

Los Angeles public space begs for smart art to break up the monotony of everyday media fare, and the billboard provides a fertile position for artists who work critically and site-responsively to test their ideas in urban media space. Contemporary art gains a momentarily broad audience, and city dwellers are extended a daily invitation to reflect and contemplate. Channels are opened for experimentation, innovation, and cultural exchange.

The MAK Center, the project partners, and I invite you to explore, enjoy, and tell us what you think."

A different Nick Cave

2010-10-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

The designer, performer, and dancer Nick Cave is the director of the graduate fashion department here at SAIC. I recently became familiar with his work from seeing posters around school and reading the Bad at Sports blog. His Soundsuits are fabricated from found and collected objects, human hair, and natural materials. They are named for the rustling, crinkling, and whooshing sounds of the material when the costumes are activated by movement, and not because of added sound (which I thought was the case). These costumes are also shown as still, sculptural objects, which I imagine changes the whimsy (knowing there is a human underneath) into sleeping-giant creepiness (most of the suits are over 8 feet tall).

Below, the same costume:

It's incredible how with one object, Cave is able to create so many cultural and temporal layers. The past is tied with the future - ancient, tribal rituals, textile motifs, and transformative properties of material that in turn transforms person into beast. Then, gender designation is thrown out completely, and he gives us the formidable, faceless, alien-like androgyny we've learned, through science fiction, to attribute to the future.

I am having him as an adviser before my two years are up. Can't. Wait.

Dirk Skreber on Ego and Humility

2010-10-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

-Exhibition No. 2 Graham Walker (aka Dirk Skreber)

Slide show of exhibition.

Press Release:

Exhibition no.2 is one of an unknown number of ongoing exhibitions at unknown locations.

Over a decade ago I came across a centuries-old Chinese story about artists who, once they began to achieve fame and success, cut all ties with their names and took on new ones. Their desire to work under a new identity instead of basking in their fame and wealth impresses me immensely, and I have great respect for those who committed to this decision and its aftermath. The philosophical depth of this act is immeasurable. While I am in awe, however, I could never do it myself. The permanent consequences of such an undertaking, while certainly daunting, are not alone what would deter me.

What ultimately would prevent me is the emotionless discipline that is required to carry out such a deed, a discipline that is strange and incomprehensible to contemporary western civilization. Not knowing the story’s origin makes it even more fascinating to take a close look at its fundamental meaning. Upon analysis, it soon becomes clear that the values and actions of artists who did this are quite out of sync with those of most artists living in the western hemisphere; the former desire independence and freedom, while the latter accept their dependence on the market and wealth.

Those that did this subordinated the ego to humility in an act of self-abandonment to artistic dignity and, more often than not, poverty. For the others, however, the ego is the point and the art itself becomes beside the point. Those who did this are constantly building upon their will to concentrate on the thing – the ideas, the work, the practice – and on nothing else. For the others, success and decadence diffuse artistic practice and dedication, and they consequently remain submissive to the power and allure of the market. Jonathan Meese is one of the only young artists today who is addressing humility and who talks about art as being something larger than the artist. He interprets art as an undoubted but indescribable entity that uses the artist as a medium through which to emerge.

John Frankenheimer’s Seconds is an exemplary depiction of characters struggling with this same notion. In it, a middle aged man (John Randolph) buys a new identity from a dubious agency, which includes a new face and different body. He wakes up as Rock Hudson

living as a painter in a neighborhood resembling The Hamptons of Long Island. The agency takes care of all aspects of his production process. His neighbors do what he did as well. Incapable of adjusting to his new life, he tries to get another identity with the help of the agency. He has already broken his contract, however, by visiting his former house and speaking to his former wife, and the agency therefore decides to off him.

In both stories, the consequence is to become unable to talk about your past or who you have been and I could never go that far. Exhibition No. 2 examines the impossibility of this experiment: If executed, you can’t ever talk about it because it’s part of the experiment not to.

Dirk Skreber Amanda Schmidt 2010

ANIMALS, GO!

2010-10-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Joseph Beuys I Like America and America Likes Me, 1974

René Block Gallery, New York..

Rivane Neuenschwander & Cao Guimaraes :“Quarta-Feira de Cinzas/Epilogue” (2006) Ants Gathering Sugar Coated Confetti:

João Onofre: Untitled (Vulture in the Studio), 2002

DVD, 400 x 300 cm video projection, 9 min. loop, stereo sound

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot at Barbican Centre, London.

Zebra Finches & Electric Telecasters:

Scale

2010-09-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

After seeing this on T.V. this morning I cannot stop thinking about how scale can take the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Then it had me thinking...
Does something need to have an extreme scale to be great?
Can something with an average or medium scale still be interesting?
I will say that I love when things are tiny- everyday objects and artwork alike. For example the work of Thomas Doyle:

Thomas Doyle:
The reprisal
Mixed media
10 x 12 inches diameter
2006

Seriously- great stuff and definitely a cause for further investigation... so go to his site and check out the work.

And there is no doubt that things on a large scale get attention....

Jeff Koons- Cantor Roof Garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.

But in the case of art, does that really mean something is automatically worthy of praise? I feel like large pieces often get acclaim simply based on their size, you know, the whole skewed notion of "bigger is better".

I just keep going back to the didactic words that get adhered to art/craft, value placed on size, and most of all, gendered associations that are commonly stuck to small/large works. I hope that someday we can step away from this type of categorization.

When David Bowie and Iman come to Baltimore

2010-09-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

For some reason I continue to tell people that David Bowie and Iman are on the board at the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). I'm honestly not sure if it is true but if they aren't actually on the board, I'm sure they would love it. In many ways AVAM is the crown jewel of Baltimore Museums, as it really represents and recognizes what the foundation of Baltimore's art culture. That would be, the John Waters, seedy underbelly, papermache, cabaret, home made kinetic sculpture, pasties kind of art.

I have theorized that without a really kick ass commercial gallery market, a different kind of art has arisen in Baltimore. Perhaps this is true, but never the less the underground and experimental art events like the High Zero Experimental Music Festival and the Transmodern make Baltimore an amazing place to be...

Oh and when your in town make sure to go duckpin bowling as well...

In Rainbows

2010-09-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

I was on an airplane between LA and San Francisco on Friday. It was a really bright day and the UV filter on my camera broke up the bright light reflected off the ocean in to rainbow gradients. Try it out next time you are on a plane on a bright day! None of the pictures have been photoshopped or anything; They are actually how they looked through the camera. I think that the guy in the middle seat probably thought that I was bonkers for watching the flight through a camera, but it was a definitely worth the view!

Fun in L.A. traffic

2010-09-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

Joel Kyack: Superclogger

igor

2010-09-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Lovely images...

thanks weather.com & the Associated Press.

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot

2010-09-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

sidewalks

2010-09-13T22:36:00.001-07:00

Fascinated, of late, with sidewalk art. Small, rundown towns are not used for walking the way they once were. Most people just don't have the time. Some find the time to draw and write messages though. Sometimes it's just a game. If you weren't there for the creation these things can be pretty cryptic or even magical. Sometimes they expand and sometimes they disappear. Chalk is temporal and the weather determines its longevity. The opportunity for etching is limited. If you find the time to walk in these places, these things are meant for you.

OVERLOAD OVERLOAD OVERLOAD

2010-09-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

I am late posting this. I've been dealing with overload on several fronts... full-time teaching, repairing money problems that happened over the summer, and further considering and exploring my aesthetic tastes. With the exception of the financial part, I'm thankful and accepting of the other forms of over-stimulation. I seem to crave inundation despite the stress it usually causes. I'm thinking there's a good chance it's just part of my hard-wiring. So, if you're like me and feel drawn to visual

gluttony, you'll appreciate this site...

www.lederniercri.org/

Le Dernier Cri (The Last Cry) is a publishing house and workshop in Marseilles, France that is responsible for the creation of books, comics, monographs, prints, and animated films that provide more stimulus than your eyeballs may be able to handle.

Go ahead and gorge! You can always purge later.

Queer Culture in the Hallows

2010-09-11T16:48:00.001-07:00

For the past 5-6 hours, blurred between the scenic Tennessee highway and sluggish mass of box trucks trekking through the hills, I had an opportunity to formulate my thoughts in the meditative solitude of the road. The drive signified the completion of a 3-week venture through the South exploring concepts of community and safety through documentation while sharing SPORE mobile art gallery with persons en-route. Ironic perhaps that the trip is concluding on the anniversary of 9-11. An event that has had an unarguable impact on the past decade and our community relationships.

The concept behind SPORE, an acronym for Spontaneous Projects Orchestrating a Relevant Exchange, loosely surrounds social exploration and like many of my projects is in a constant state of evolution. Many of the scheduled visits on the trip were selected for their cultural identity and relationship with art creation. I plan on spending the upcoming months compiling writing, video footage and still images from explorations thus far. The final destination of this trip was Ida, a 17-year running radical queer and transgender intentional community in rural Tennessee. The following is a reflection of my interactions there.

"Lugging a damp tent through the lush vivacious gardens and artfully constructed structures that is Ida I paused to document the scene into memory. That morning was particularly stunning. Rays peeked through the hills illuminating the rising Smokey mist, the area's namesake, flirting with shadowy hues lurking from the night's torrential storm. A residual of Hurricane Earl in the Carolinas.

I had arrived close to dusk the previous day after a short trek through what I as a Missourian would dub mountains. I parked the van in front of an aging barn. Yellow bubble lettering expressing "Welcome Homo" was painted on the exterior. Almost immediately a jovial person with pigtails greeted me. Parade of healthy looking friendly mutts in toe.

We spoke for a moment and were interrupted by two loud characters driving and hanging out of a pickup truck which appeared to be hauling a large piece of metal piping. Later I learned it was to be used for construction of a new bridge on the property for Ida's upcoming work party and fundraiser dubbed "Work hard. Stay hard."

In one week's time over 100 people come from throughout the country will assist with community projects at Ida. All guests are fed three solid vegetarian meals and are invited to engage in pre-planned activities organized by a crew of 10 or so I met that weekend. Ida also hosts Idapalloza, a growing music festival of over 500 during the late Spring harvest.

I was led through a vibrant flowering garden into hand built mixed-use cabin with windows so exaggerated in size that the space appeared to live inside the garden. The cabin is primarily used as a kitchen, internet cafe and dining hall. The grounds vaguely reminded me of the summer camps of my youth.

Instantly I was introduced to an eccentric gathering of mixed age, race and gendered individuals engaging in a family-style dinner. That night's spread hosted a cornucopia of delicious dishes consisting of ingredients grown at Ida as well as donations from charities and perfectly editable food gathered during dumpster diving excursions.

After dinner I was led to the bathroom, an outhouse which is ironically the most decedent building on the premises. It resembles a Gingerbread cottage. I spent the rest of my evening socializing and listening to personal stories. After attempting to sleep in a catastrophic loft full of spiders next to a semi-public shower room with large windows. I groggily pitched my tent in a bamboo garden next to an empty stream and slept comfortably.

My morning was leisurely. Inquiring about the Kombucha tea jars that I noticed perched on a kitchen shelf I was shown fermentation techniques including pickling, vinegar brewing and homemade ginger beer. Most were derivatives of recipes complied by Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation who resides at nearby fairy sanctuary Short Mountain.

Later that afternoon a festively dressed Ida resident Maxine and Tom of Short Mountain shared their developing juggling routine with me. Ida's picturesque mountainside garden provided a magical backdrop. Their complex routine included jokes, twists, and multiple objects. 20-year juggling veterans, they were preparing for a gig at venue in Southern Tennessee the following day.

My remaining daylight hours were spent in the shared community building assisting another visitor, a kind-hearted British activist and sex worker called Topsy in the creation of a lavish traditional Rosh Hashana dinner.

Throughout the meal preparation process Topsy and I spoke heartfeltly our life experiences. Upon my inquiry he described his activism work and some of the horrors he'd witnessed in the Middle East which included seeing friends killed by gunfire and children disfigured by bombs. He described an immense duality of compassion with both the people of which he was living with and those he was fighting. The cause he explained was much larger than himself and was complex. His film work provided him the financial ability to be there.

Quickly I discovered that Ida much like it's sibling Short Mountain, serves as an open-door refuge for persons who may not fit comfortably into mainstream culture due to their sexuality and gender identity. Food and meals serve as cultural binders for the community. Despite Ida's remoteness, it's surprisingly connected to the outside world and could perhaps be considered an epicenter for a growing international network of queer culture.

At Ida's core it appears to be a haven in which creative expression, individualism and sustainable living are blurred into flowering cornucopia of something genuinely beautiful."

Throughout the trip SPORE engaged with folks at Camp Pleasant in Frankfort KY, students at the University of KY in Lexington performing at LOT (Land of Tomorrow), New Harmony Indiana, Marginal Arts Festival artists and Jim Leftwich in Roanoke VA, Elsewhere living museum in Greensboro NC, Common Grounds Coffee Shop in Southern Pines NC, Asheville NC, Gatlinburg TN, and Charleston WV. Visiting old friends Sean, Danielle, Tiffany, Erin and Sayde along the way. Current artist is Robert Long of St Louis, MO.

When Japanese Pop Art Hits The Palace

2010-09-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

“For a Japanese like me, the Château de Versailles is one of the greatest symbols of Western history. It is the emblem of an ambition for elegance, sophistication and art that most of us can only dream of.

Of course, we are aware that the spark that set fire to the powder of the Revolution came directly from the centre of the building.

But, in many respects, everything is transmitted to us as a fantastic tale coming from a very distant kingdom. Just as French people can find it hard to recreate in their minds an accurate image of the Samurai period, the history of this palace has become diminished for us in reality.

So it is probable that the Versailles of my imagination corresponds to an exaggeration and a transformation in my mind so that it has become a kind of completely separate and unreal world. That is what I have tried to depict in this exhibition.

I am the Cheshire cat that welcomes Alice in Wonderland with its diabolic smile, and chatters away as she wanders around the Château.

With a broad smile I invite you all to discover the wonderland of Versailles.”

-Takashi Murakami

Simplicity......

2010-09-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ecstatic Energy confounds the notion of (business in) art.

2010-09-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

Ecstatic Energy Consultancy Inc., is a conceptual masquerade, if you will, that looks like a consultancy business, but really is a collaboration with artists & other curators.
Ecstatic Energy Consultants Inc. is a Los Angeles– based firm that provides experiential assessments into the relationships between institutions, the public, and the natural sphere...Ecstatic Energy Consultants Inc. emerged in 2009 as an expression of its founders' interests in the increasing strangeness in contemporary America.

The "problems" that their "clients" seek solutions for, become schemes of intersecting ideas in order to foster witty, insightful & elaborate interventions that foster dialog, bridge lacks of awareness and inspire change.
What creates inquisitive visual confusion and humor on their website, are the stock-esque images usely seen in corporate advertising sites:

What drives the tongue to the cheek is:

Our team’s combined accomplishments in the fields of activism, art, design, new-age physical therapy, non-profit administration, publishing, psychedelics, sailing, and theater enable us to offer our clients a sensitive, multi-dimensional approach. Did I just read, sailing?

A recent "client" is Elana Mann.
Ms. Mann's work centers heavily around performance, public engagement or intervention, global and international issues, politics, gender, identity....it is very rich and full. Many of her curatorial projects are collaborative in nature.

It is here that we see the lines blurred between artist and curator - a topic of recent discussion: It is not straightforward collaboration, because there is an initiator who conceives the project without group consensus, invites others to participate, and is vested conceptually and sometimes financially in the idea. But it is not straight curating either, simply for the fact that they are participating as an artist.
Perhaps a new word is needed for this type of person/artist/curator. Curatist? Articurist?

Anyway, I can't help but see how Ecstatic Energy's clever guise as a business is a perfect solution to this very conundrum:
EEC Inc.’s Energy Assessments are first built on a foundation of research. We take a systemic view of the focus of our investigation, and try to learn the dynamics of all the kinds of energy that flow through that system. This provides us with a network of concepts, meanings, and synchronicities--a bird’s-eye view of the whole thing. We then perform an experiential analysis where we use our bodies, our senses, our intuition, and our openness to chance. Using both of theses kinds of inquiry allows us to find the myths in the systems that are so often overlooked.

Which poses the question, of art systems and Geographic Identity.* What are our masquerades and who do we masquerade as?

----The Project----
The project (case study) they created with (their client) Elana Mann, is the eec004 - Subaru Outback.
We plan to look at which car’s raw materials come from conflict zones, imagine if cars could become vegetarians, look at gridlock as a possible productive time for drivers and passengers, and find reverie in other reflections about how we get from one place to another.
The project aspects were:

Fundraiser with
Donor stickers designed by Steven Anderson of EEC, Inc. and magnetized to the car :

I chose to contribute an "inspirational message" (Kowabunga Dudes), instead of my name as a sponsor. I was thinking more like riding the wave, and unfortunately did not know it was also used by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Assess & Prep the Car:

Mojave Road Trip:

Exhibition "Driven by What's Inside":
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
7pm to 9pm
Side Street Projects in Pasadena, California
730 North Fair Oaks Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91103

Ecstatic Energy Consultants, Inc.

You can view the entire photo album on their flickr site.photo credits: Ecstatic Energy Consultants Inc. with Elana Mann and Jean Paul Leonard

* In keeping with my blog theme for movement 365 (Geographic Identity).

Adrienne Rich

2010-09-06T23:50:00.000-07:00

once said...

"There is the falsely mystical view of art that assumes a kind of supernatural inspiration, a possession by universal forces unrelated to questions of power and privilege or the artist's relation to bread and blood. In this view, the channel of art can only become clogged and misdirected by the artist's concern with merely temporary and local disturbances. The song is higher than the struggle."

Here's to making work that's unclouded by that "mystical view".

Star Wars Uncut

2010-09-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

the greatest thing ever

-Dwayne Butcher

Thoughts on the Art World..

2010-09-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

I have two jobs in the Art world. One, I am an art consultant for an Art and Framing company. The other, I am an Art Gallery Director at a local college gallery.

Both offer benefits, and networking opportunities to me in the "Art World".

But, the question I am always asking myself is what do I want to do with these connections? Do I want to sell my art? Others art?

When I first graduated from undergraduate school, and thrown into the 'real world' in 2004, I felt I was just trying to keep my head above water, I didn't think about where my career was going at all. But, now I realize my instincts led me to where I am now... but where do I want to go is the question?

This question coming from a good place, where I'm content in my life, but always striving for more.. more time to work on my 'work', more opportunities to show and sell.. more money.. more satisfaction.

Sometimes, I think that maybe this striving 'is' the artist in me. I meet other visual artists, writers, musicians, and they all have that hunger, for 'more'.

I remember saying to one of my professors in college, "what if I wake up one day and I can't draw anymore", and his response was, "you shouldn't be afraid that you won't be able to draw, but that you will lose your hunger."

On a side note, I had an opening last night at Thomas More College, Eva G. Farris Art Gallery. The artist was Richard Fruth, a 3-D artist, who works in Poplar, Bronze and Mixed Media. It was a great show, one that I was truly proud of curating, and hanging.

The artist thanked me after the show, and said how 'awesome' the opening was... I don't think I will ever grow tired of that.. the opportunity to share those moments with artists that I'm showing...

It was a great night in many ways, and I hope this gallery season continues to be a great one.

I can't wait for Jennifer Barnett Hensel's show next Winter 2011!

That's all for now! I hope to hear feedback, and thoughts...
Have a great Labor Weekend Everyone!
Jennifer Feld

"Pink" by Charlie White

2010-09-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

Don't wait any longer --send a message to your childhood self

2010-09-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Following the theme of Mash-ups check out the interactive film by Chris Milk --featuring the song "We Used To Wait" by Arcade Fire.

The site recommends using Google Chrome for a better "experience". You enter your childhood address at The Wilderness Downtown (the name was taken from lyrics in the song), and the website, which is one of the first sites on the Web using the new HTML5 standard, creates a custom video mashing-up Google Street View images from your old stomping grounds with the video's original footage.

Double Rainbows | Memes | "What Does It Mean?"

2010-09-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Sitting down at our favorite conveyor belt sushi, we noticed a "Double Rainbow Roll" slowly moving down the track. As an internet meme, the viral video Double Rainbow has quickly spread over the internet, an inside joke now used to market my lunch. This particular sushi roll was advertised as "for a limited time only" – just as memes are often here-today-gone-tomorrow, "of the moment" signifiers of our culture.

Given their differences, there are also parallels between memes and art movemenents: "cultural information representing an idea that can be transferred from one individual to another, subjected to mutation, crossover and adaptation." What happens when the art world meets meme? A smart-ass mash-up: Double Judd Rainbow. What does it mean? When was the last time art made you feel like this?

Franconia Sculpture Park- MN

2010-08-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

If you drive a bit outside of Minneapolis, down US Highway 8, you will come across the Franconia Sculpture Park.

I passed by this spectacle numerous times on my way to Taylor's Falls (another great hidden outdoor area in MN) but never made it a point to stop until our family trip this past month. This middle of nowhere plot of land has become host to some amazing outdoor sculpture and an active place to create. (For those of you who sculpt be sure to check out the call for artists on the website!)

Here are some images of a few of my favorite pieces:

"Evening" James Payne
I love this piece for its simplicity in construction but mostly for its dynamic use of natural light to create an ever changing experience for the viewer. I could have stayed for hours to watch the effects of the light and shadow as they altered the inner space- beautiful.

"Chaos, Telos; Order, Technomorphic"- Art Videen
This piece had a nice sound to it, it reminded me of being a kid in the summer months... it must have something to do with the water, wind, and clanking aluminum.

"Home Sweet Home" Glen Williams
mmmm.... particle board

"untitled" Rosalind Thomson
So this is where 80's sofas still look good...

(sorry I am not too sure who this is by)
Large cut out cowboys in a corn field... YES PLEASE.

"The Big Game" Kari Reardon
Clever, playful, and each time a sucker decides to interact, another quarter goes to the sculpture park! Sweet deal.

Expanding our notion of Public Art

2010-08-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I came across this blog but I was happy to find it.

http://makeshiftproject.blogspot.com/
(Click back to the first entries back in 2009 to get a description of her challenge and piece)
The idea of documenting this via a blog is very interesting to me. I have been talking to my students in my public art class about how the internet has become (and more so everyday) a public space and that projects like this are as much public art as more traditional public art pieces like Anish Kapoors Cloud Gate.
What do you think?

Void leaping and why I love DC

2010-08-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

Washington DC as a city is a mixed bag, but being a short train ride away to a lot of free museums is something I love. And so I headed down with some friends to see the Yves Klein retrospective at the Hirshorn.
In the end I walked away feeling Klein was a wonderfully hopeless romantic. I love this:

and I also love this:
The "Zone de Sensibilite Pictural Immaterielle" is a really glorious gesture..

23 August 2010

2010-08-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

I just wrote about this show for something Baltimore specific and thought I would post it here as well...because you never know there might be some music lovers that want to hear either of these bands.

So last week I went to a venue called the Wind Up Space to see Noble Lake play their record release and sadly last show in Baltimore for a while, as James Sarsgaard ( Noble Lake singer / songwriter ) is making the move to Chicago in a few weeks. It will be sad to see this guy leave Baltimore and not being able to see him play all the time. For those of you in the Chicago area keep your eyes and ears open for a show. Noble Lake play folk inspired music and stay true to the idea of the narrative song. Sarsgaard’s songs are tales ( and sometimes sad) about drifting, drunks, and brokenhearted love. Noble Lake just released a new record called Parting Bead, grab it and hear these songs for yourself.
http://www.myspace.com/noblelake

I got to The Wind Up Space early enough and saw the opening band, One Hundred Dollars. One Hundred Dollars are a band from Canada who pleasantly surprised me and then some. Knowing absolutely nothing about them I really really enjoyed their set, and saw them play country music to a T. They played a handful of sad, swaying, pain filled tunes that too come from the land of the narrative. Instead of singing about the mountains and the land, Simone Schmidt ( One Hundred Dollars singer ), is concerned with political issues and writes songs about the subway tracks and city stories. If you are a fan of beautiful, aching country tunes this is the band for you.
http://www.myspace.com/1hundreddollars

A new proposal from Cat Pena for the Tenessee Department of Transportation

2010-08-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

One Person, One Choice, Our Planet

General Concept:

One Person, One Choice, Our Planet is a multifaceted temporary public art mural that challenges a commonly misunderstood notion about vehicular idling while asking people to make simple choices that positively affect our planet. To further connect this piece with TDOT’s air quality campaign and the other living installations in the state, a small link to the Clear the Air Tennessee website will accompany the piece to direct viewers to further information about improving air quality.

During the 2011 Memphis in May festival (April 29^th — May 28^th), One Person, One Choice, Our Planet will be installed within the Memphis Riverfront district on the west wall of the parking garage located at 35 Monroe Avenue. This festival showcases the Beale Street Music Festival, The World Barbeque Championship Cooking Contest, and the Sunset Symphony, and brings in more than 100,000 visitors and generates $40 million in economic impact to the area.

While most of the festival is held on the riverfront, just south of the parking garage at Tom Lee Park, the locations are connected by Riverside Drive, a main throughway connecting the parking garages located in the area and the festivities.

As festival attendees walk along Riverside Drive, their attention will be drawn to the back wall of the parking garage where a mural comprised of two, vertically suspended, 8ft by 12ft living grass trucks will hang. Each truck will consist of several vertical garden planters made by Bright Green USA fixed to plywood cut to the appropriate shape (please see attached imagery). Directly below the trucks, a 24ft by 100ft reverse graffiti mural will depict a huge plume of exhaust. The mural is important to not only visually unite the trucks but to conceptually connect how each vehicle’s exhaust is linked to a larger problem. To further address this issue, text within the plume will read:

Myth or Fact? Shutting off and restarting your vehicle uses more gas than if you leave it running. Myth

Additional text in the lower left and right corners of the plume will read:

One Person, One Choice, Our Planet www.cleartheairtn.org

The text and the plume of smoke will be applied to the wall using a reverse graffiti method. This technique is a temporary application of imagery and text that will fade over several months. It is a method that was developed by green graffiti artists to selectively clean areas of a wall to yield a graphic design. With stencils, a cleaning agent, and a pressure washer, my imagery will speak to our message while being an environmentally conscious application in itself.

It is my intent that thousands of people attracted to the area will start to challenge their preconceived notions of idling and air quality to alter learned behaviors on behalf of the health of ourselves and the planet.

Guillermo Kuitca- Painting

2010-08-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Guillermo Kuitca: Everything—Paintings and Works on Paper, 1980-2008
Saw this amazing show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN.
If you can see it in person.... do so.

On a side note:
Guillermo Kuitca kept painting even when painting wasn't considered cool or cutting edge... I think that old saying "painting is dead" still rings in the ears of students today, I can't even recall how many times I had to hear that cliche saying... what a bummer. This is another great painter that went on painting and as a result we are lucky enough to have his works to appreciate today.

Guillermo Kuitca, Trauerspiel, 2001, oil on canvas 77 x 133-1/4 in.

Poema pedagógico II, 1996, acrylic and graphite on canvas 74 x 75 in.

NZ Book Council - Going West

2010-08-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Miniatures in Chicago

2010-08-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

I've always found miniatures and dioramas to be some of the most interesting things included in museum collections. By far the best collection I've seen are the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago. A lot of visitors miss them because they're tucked away in the lowest level. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you might catch a dying light bulb and the flickering turns the room into a horrorshow/thunderstorm.

Above: Art Deco Living Room
Below: English Library of the Queen Anne

We visited the Chicago Field Museum recently for the first time and found these dioramas w/ handmade figures and campy painted backdrops:

Above: Plains Indians hunting buffalo.

Below: A step in the Egyptian mummifying/burial ritual.

Lastly, there were several minis at the Museum of Science and Industry. There was an entire scale model of the cities of Chicago and Seattle connected by railroad, as well as Colleen Moore's fairy castle, circus exhibit, and parade scene.

Above: Bedroom in the castle with what looked like an albino squirrel rug.

Below: A clockwork sideshow.

friggatriskaidekaphobia

2010-08-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. -Dickens

Blood Lamp from miket on Vimeo.

The future projects light, the past only shadows. -Eileen Gray

Art and War

2010-08-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

At the American Friends Service Committee, we have been working on a mural project entitledWindows and Mirrors: The War in Afghanistan. As a peace and social justice organization, we are very concerned with civilian deaths as a by-product of war and, therefore, reached out to artists to respond to those civilian deaths in Afghanistan in their own artistic style on a piece of 4ft x 6.5ft piece of polytab fabric.

The response has been amazing with over 50 artists creating mural panels as well as college students and elementary school students collaborating on pieces. This soon-to-be travelling exhibit will open on October 7, 2010, the 9th anniversary of the war, in Philadelphia at the Quaker Meeting House at 4th and Arch. It will be on display for four weeks and a local committee is planning several events around it including participation in the First Friday gallery walk and ways for viewers to take action. It will then continue to tour the country with the next stop in New York at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College.

Although I cannot yet reveal what the exhibit looks like in its entirety, I did want to share the work of one artist, Geoff Krawczyk. The entire office was abuzz when his mural piece arrived. Staff person after staff person walked into the conference room where it was unrolled and stared into its mesmerizing sky. The little girl in the foreground seemed to be asking the heavens, "Why?" and we all sat in silence hoping for an answer.

On his website (www.geoffreyk.com), there are more works that pull us into the mystery of death and its language that we can't quite grasp. I am entranced by the juxtaposition of this destruction and the peaceful sensation created by his work. We are all thrilled to have such powerful artistic creations to engage people on the topic of civilian casualties and are also happy that this exhibit will bring the work of exciting emerging artists like Krawczyk to new audiences.

Tranformatures of Desolation

2010-08-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Despite being a historic haven of crime, unemployment, poor city planning, visible segregation and haunting abandonment lurking beneath St Louis's crusted wounds exists pockets of genuine human expression and community that quietly junxtaposes the desolation.

Like an island, trends ripple here and at times never connect with sediment on other shores. Culture is raw and insular but is indicative of the environment. To exist as a self-invested artist in this city is career suicide but to connect with community is evolutionary.

Over the past four years I've been involved with an area known as Cherokee Street. I've watched creative projects literally transform this neighborhood. The roles of artist, activist, and organizer have blurred for many of us as we buy houses, have live/work spaces, start businesses and become civic leaders and teachers.

The business district is not owned by big business nor is anyone being pushed out. Up until the past 2 years St Louis has lost population for the past 40. As a result most chains and box stores exist in the suburbs not the city. In it's current state the city is affordable, self-sustaining and architecturally stunning. Its cultural element is composed of self starters and entrepreneurs as there is relatively no national/international scene to connect with.

Museums and art institutions network and show the work of local artists along with internationally recognized artists. The regional arts commission hosts a national model for community arts training, a free fellowship program for recipients.

My observations, networks and experience in this city is expansive. I could write pages on art as it exists in St Louis alone. Today I leave you with images from several projects that exemplify the spirit of what I'm discussing.

Since 2003, 29-yr-old historic preservationist Michael Allen has been documenting architecture in St Louis through his blog The Ecology of Absence. The project, now gaining national exposure started as an effort to record what was being lost using the Internet as a tool for community awareness.

The People's Joy Parade began two years ago through the efforts of St Louis artists Sarah Paulsen and Lyndsey Scott. A growing project, diverse people from throughout the neighborhood parade together in handmade costumes, floats and puppets during the Cinco de Mayo celebration on Cherokee Street. Sarah's experiential art blog Wanderlust voices personal art interactions as they exist in her reality.

- Emily Hemeyer aka Ghosts I Have Been

Who Am I?

2010-08-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

August 8th 2010 HOMEWARD BOUND is underway. I wish to explore the concept of reclamation as it connects to the human spirit, using cast away dolls to represent the misfortune of society's young who are placed into foster and/or adoption system. Not only is the body of work about the hope for belonging, but the reclaiming of the damaged spirit through the nuturing love of another human being.
I have been collecting these forgotten and abandoned forms of a child's life for many years without knowing exactly why. I suspect the thought of these figures, left disgarded, which once represented the modeling tool for love and nurturing, for connected role playing of the parent to child ideal, and the playmate to the child's imagination, sparked in me a desire save the essential original spirit that embodied these figures. Many of my dolls are worn, damaged and patched. however, though they may seem unattractive and some, even frightening,they all possess, for me, a strong presence and desire to be. They all need a new home and heart to dwell in.
I have partnered with THE CHILDRENS HOME of Cincinnati for this show. I will be offering my dolls for an adoption fee, with all proceeds going to the social agency. My goal is to find caring adoptive art minded people/families for my reclaimed dolls and a gallery or event space to support this agenda.
This show is planned for a November 2010 Showing. November is National Adoption Month.

Jan Thomas
Cincinnati, Ohio

Art Vulups: Public Art in Conjunction with City Planning

2010-08-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

I just went to an amazing panel discussion last night regarding a new public art initiative being launched in Riverside County, California.

ArtVulups mission is to communicate land use planning and sustainability concepts through art and creative expression. This public art process involves a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach involving artists, urban planners, educators and the public.

I think they are heading in an exciting direction that could very well pave the way for the future of Public Art and art collaborations in general. Not to mention the intrinsic benefits that can begin to influence and shape community and the well-being of its people.

We are by nature, defined by where we live, where we have been or where we are from. Sometimes this is our personal own way of explaining to others who we are, and conversely it is a way that others may perceive us.

Unfortunately, the downside of "Geographic Identity" is the inherent "geographic undesirability", narrow-minded views of the intelligence level of certain geographic inhabitants and other assumptions.
I think we can all relate to this to some degree. Since moving to Riverside a year ago from Silver Lake (East LA), I find this to be a multi-fold challenge.

During the lecture, it became clear and comforting to me to hear Bob Johnson (previous planning director of Riverside, now assistant manager of Temecula) mention that Riverside is going through an identity crisis.
Hurray!! I can ride out my personal geographic storm while this rich community is going through a Renaissance and beginning to redefine itself. So timely for me, as I sink the feet further into the soil here and spread my proverbial wings across - what is for me - a new landscape.

Some of my peers and colleagues are involved in Arts Vulups.
Doug McCulloh and Ruth Nolan are teamed up with planners to address issues of Vision and Noise respectively. Doug is an amazing photographer focusing on the power of seeing things clearly.

Ruth's word-talk takes us through the symbolic shadows of the landscape.

I love both of their work.
Incidentally, but slightly relates, Doug, Ruth and I participated in a recent writing project in conjunction with the University of Riverside called Writing the Desert.

Certainly, as artists and city planners collide we can foresee our understandings of "Geographic Identity" evolving. Through their eyes and actions, new ideas of destination and habitation will occur to shape our perceptions and help redefine our place.
Both literally and metaphorically.

donald judd

2010-08-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

this piece made me want to be an artist

i saw it on the first day of sculpture I

and i knew that being an artist

is what i wanted to do

the day before

i was a history major

there is nothing too exciting about history

it never changes

unless of course

you are from texas

then you can rewrite it

but

i wasnt going to do that

besides

the art school girls

looked better than the history school girls

and the art school boys

all smoked and drank

busch in a can

i just so happened

at that time

to smoke and drink busch in a can as well

now look at me

i have moved on to PBR

but

everything i do in the studio

paintings

digital video

performance

anything

is all because of this piece

-Dwayne Butcher

That's Nasty

2010-08-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

Lynn Lim just graduated from SAIC with an MFA in Designed Objects. Her work makes me want to spend a lot of time in those fabrication studios where there are laser cutters, 3D scanners, and 3D rapid prototypers. There is also a digital loom in Fibers. That is, upload a photograph/scan an image and it weaves it autonomously. Word.

The designer's piece in the thesis show, "Leveraging Ick", is about the dualities of responding to the repugnant, in this case revulsion vs. giddiness. Below: Tripe-inspired bath mats! Bacterial tiles! A tandem toilet! I am more giddy than revolted.

When Four Wheels Become Two

2010-08-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

Folke Koebberling and Martin Kaltwasser: Cars into Bicycles, 2010, Bergamont Station, Santa Monica.

Posted August 2nd (read as August 1st).

New Piece for Le Bohneur Children's Hospital

2010-08-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is the piece I just finished for Le Bonheur Children's Hospital called "Going Up". It will be permanently installed in August 2010.

CONCEPT

The impetus for this project is inspired by the simple act of releasing balloons which happens annually at LeBonheur’s Children Hospital

GOING UP is a light box that illuminates transparent images of Le Bonheur children and their ethereal hopes, dreams, and potential. The imagery is a combination of photographs that includes children, drawings, letters, art making materials, balloons, cards, etc. All of these images are layered between 4 pieces of plexi-glass that protects and seals the imagery. Both the plexi-glass and the imagery are housed in an elaborate frame that creates a pattern of cross-contour lines in isometric perspective creating the illusion of balloons rising from the ground. Backlighting the imagery with compact LED lighting helps support the illusion of flight and provide illumination for the transparent images.

The video is an install shot from my studio...just to give an idea of scale the wall is 13' X 8.5' feet and the paper and tape behind the piece will be used as a template during the install at Le Bonheur.

Please click on the link below to watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9teJpX1sLk

a quickie but a goodie...

2010-07-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

In honor of my trip back to MPLS and it's new stadium:
The Mark Moore gallery in Santa Monica, CA gets an A+ in my book.... this is one of my favorite artists on their roster Yoram Wolberger.

If you are ever in the neighborhood be sure to check the gallery out!

5 days late and counting....

2010-07-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

As the title say, I'm late in getting this out....no surprise to those who know me! Just a few photos of my fav work at FTModern. Hope you enjoy. - Mark

Insects on the Mind!!!!!!!!

2010-07-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hello All!
My husband Nick and I just returned from a stellar trip to Seattle. We did not get to see as much art as we had hoped for but we did stumble across a little shop in the Ballard neighborhood. It was not a traditional gallery but every object was placed.......Just SO. It was truly artful and made me wish that every store arranged objects following the method of "Decisive Moments". The pictures I included are of an artist that makes insects out of human hair. While most of them are hard to tell that hair is the main ingrediant some truly give you a new appreciation for a material that we all have access to (some more than others).

Today, I discovered that a Sculpture that is an Alumni from the school that I got my graduate degree from (Ian Schneller) is working on a project with Musician Andrew Bird. Schneller makes specialized horns in which Bird plays his Violin through. Super Cool! Attached is a link about the project and a video that has insects made out of costume jewelry in it. (you should begin to see how my brain connects things)

http://www.specimenproducts.com/amps/sonic_arboretum.html

Andrew Bird - Imitosis

Andrew Bird | MySpace Music Videos

better late than never

2010-07-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

i just moved to espanola new mexico and i havent hooked up household internet. so im at borders in santa fe writing this post on my friends notebook thingy. im having a tough time posting pics and links, so i guess google stuff if it sounds interesting. if it doesnt sound interesting then dont.
ive been digging lots of australian contemporary indigenous art pretty much everywhere i see it. most recently at chiaroscuro gallery in santa fe... check out some images here: http://chiaroscurosantafe.com/exhibitions/40/?wid=1055
many of them combine stunning patterns, colors, positive/neg space relationships. i think they have a nice balance of creative whimsy and serious craft. some other artists that have a similar sensibility are:
emily kame kngwarreye
doreen reid nakamarra
clifford possum tjapaltjarri
elizabeth magill, james siena, and chris martin seem akin
also i saw some amazing bamboo art
http://textilearts.com/bamboo/

go to 23rd and 5th and then look up!

2010-07-26T20:46:00.001-07:00

I recommend it

Live Cinema

2010-07-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Take VJ software and hand it to an artist whose taste go beyond the bubblegum visuals that you find in most clubs and you may end up with something that is now being dubbed "Live Cinema." In a nutshell Live Cinema is live audio/visual performance. Although it can take many forms, it is mostly practiced with a computer, software, a video projector, and of course.. a live performer using a variety of controllers to present his bank of prerecorded video material to the audience.

I could say more about it, but Spanish artist Mia Makela (a.k.a SOLU) has the most complete explanation in her text, The Practice of Live Cinema (pdf)

Now, I know you're lazy like me.. and probably won't read 8 pages of critical analysis on this new artform just because I told you to... so here's the mini-doc on the scene.... It has a long intro, so bare thru it in order to get to the meat.

Finally, here's one of my favorite examples from Mia Makela. And here's kind of an idea of what it might be like see a the same performance live.

By The Book

2010-07-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

I have a blank sketchbook that has been waiting patiently for me to make the first scribbles on its clean pages. It's the first hardcover sketchbook that I've made myself. Making your own sketchbook is particularly satisfying, as it can be filled with any size and type of paper, and will most likely be of higher quality and a lower price than many sketchbooks available for purchase at art supply stores. Also, it isn't terribly difficult to make if you have the right tools and instructions. This book is a great resource for beginning book binding: Non-Adhesive Binding, Books Without Paste or Glue, Volume I, by Keith A. Smith. It can be found at www.keithsmithbooks.com, along with several other manuals for creating art books. The section on Coptic Sewing explains methods of creating an exposed binding which will allow the book to lay completely flat.

Supplies needed: curved needle, linen thread, small cake of beeswax, awl, paper, book board (Davey board)

These are both extensive sites for bookmaking supplies: www.hollanders.com (Ann Arbor, MI) and www.talasonline.com (Brooklyn, NY)

I used a combination of Rives BFK, Arches, and Somerset papers in different colors - white, buff, tan, grey, and black - for the pages of my sketchbook.
Now all I need to do is make some marks in it.

More Sketchbook Info

The Sketchbook Project 2011 Tour, a nationwide project initiated by Art House Gallery and Studios in Brooklyn, NY, will be accepting entry applications until October 31. This project is open to anyone and costs $25 to enter. Each entrant receives a Moleskine sketchbook to be filled, transformed, or reconstructed in response to a particular theme. Right now, there are 25 or 26 themes to choose from, including "Revenge", "This is Not a Sketchbook", "Lines and Grids", "I'm a Scavenger"... or you can have a theme chosen for you at random. The themes are not meant to be restrictive. In other words, your sketchbook will not be judged by how closely it follows your chosen theme. I believe that the only rules are (1) Don't return the sketchbook entirely blank, and (2) You cannot return a different sketchbook.
The sketchbooks will then tour the country, stopping at museums and galleries from Portland, Maine to San Fransisco. Afterward, they will become part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Library. The interactive aspect of this traveling show is especially interesting - each sketchbook receives a unique bar code so that you can track yours at any time and you can also receive an email or text each time someone pulls your book from the shelf.

Dates: Sign-up by Oct. 31, 2010 - Sketchbook Postmarked by Jan. 15, 2011 - Traveling Exhibition Starts March 2011

arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/

One More Thing

A friend recommended this website to me and I haven't been able to stop telling people about it.

Paperbackswap.com is an online book club for people willing to do some trading. If you have books that you're willing to part with and send through the mail, you can trade them for books from other members. There's no cost for the books or to join the site. Media mail shipping is all you'll need to pay for, and it's cheap. The site can be browsed by category, author, etc., and there's a sizable art/art history section.

The Aristocrats

2010-07-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

With hopes to completely forget Andres Serrano's mouth and the entire last episode of Work of Art (save Abdi's if-Daumier-made-sculptures-of-black-men heads), here is a short list of shock artist greats in no particular order:

Duchamp: Image: Étant donnés assemblage (view through exterior door), 1946

Ryan Trecartin: This guy is a force of nature. Hyper technology, mass hysteria, family drama. Please run for public office! Video: Part 1 of 5, Family Finds Entertainment

Gunter Brus: He and Otto Muhl pioneered Viennese Actionism ('body art' before it was painted Sports Illustrated models or mud-smeared hippies). My husband and I had the odd pleasure of meeting Mr. Brus in Bruges a couple of years ago. The photographic documentations of his performances are particularly strong; he used black paint which, when seen in black and white film, may or may not be blood. Image: Self Painting #2, 1964

Charlie White: Combining CGI monsters, greased-up adolescents, muppets, and transvestites can never, ever be wrong. It's difficult to choose just one image. His website is here and videos here. Image: Getting Lindsay Linton, 2001

Paul McCarthy: Still, Piccadilly Circus, 2003. Painter is a classic and my all-time favorite video.

STRAIGHT UP STICKIES

2010-07-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

Its official stickies have replaced my sketchbook. I don’t know about the rest of you but I love the stickies app on my MacBook Pro. Specifically for one main reason –stickies catch all of my fleeting ideas! You know the “that would be an awesome name for a band” rant that happens every now and again or more importantly the “long ass idea lists for future paintings / future installations”. I’ve even got a future documentaries stickies. I’ve never made anything longer than a 5min short in my life but I have a future documentary sticky! All of my ideas are now cataloged in a sticky mess on my Mac and with much hesitation I’d like to share one of these documentary ideas with the group!

Over the past few years Cat (my wife) and I have had the opportunity to get to know Winston and Elizabeth Eggleston. Winston happens to be the son of William Eggleston and also the managing director of the Eggleston Artistic Trust. (click on name for website link)

Throughout the past few years we’ve attended various dinner parties at each others homes and during one of the visits Winston and Elizabeth commented on how much they liked one of my paintings and asked if I would be interesting in selling or trading for an Eggleston print. Like any sane person I immediately said yes!With much delight Cat and I received our signed print earlier this summer and it made me start to think about the transaction. First of all, my thoughts always start with –HOLY SHIT I HAVE A WILLIAM EGGLESTON! Then I start to wonder about other “straight up” trades and informal bartering that exist in the art community. I remember Nathan Boyer (click on name to see his website) telling me a great story about trading one of his paintings for a Saab. Yeah that’s right! A car…and it ran!He drove it from New York to Columbia, Missouri numerous times.

So without further ado here is the sticky from my “documentary stickies” pile. _Documentary entitled "Straight Up" explores the trade of artwork between artists/non artist and other artist/non artists. “Straight Up” examines both sides of the trade and investigates how the impulse to barter "art objects" has been a frequent and acceptable tradition that artist and art enthusiasts practice.

Anybody have any other stories….

Things of childhood dreams or maybe it was nightmares...

2010-06-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

These are the creatures that filled my imagination and hid in my closet when I was a child. I am convinced that we have met before this artist created them. I am in love with these clothing and scrap built "No Names". They take over the gallery at night... and I wouldn't believe you if you told me differently.

My first encounter with Elisabeth Higgins O'Connor's sculptures happened when visiting L.A. for the CAA conference in 2009. I came across these "No Names" at David Salow Gallery in chinatown and fell in love:

Me falling in love.

Recently these things appeared in the show Stitches at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA. I was surprised and delighted to walk into the gallery and be greeted by these moody characters.

You can check out Elisabeth Higgins O'Connor here:
http://www.elisabethhigginsoconnor.com/Art_NoNames_01/NoNames_01_01.html
there are more pics of the "No Names"
and
The Armory Center show Stitches here:
http://www.armoryarts.org/epk/stitches/index.html

The idea:

2010-06-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be fun to setup a group blog to showcase & share one "art thing" a day. Basically have 30 people contribute once a month on their individual assigned day- so if I was assigned the 29th I would go to the blog each month on the 29th and make a post. On the occasional 31 we would have an open post day in which anyone could share what they have. To insure daily activity please post before 9pm or I will assume that day’s responsibility.

The posts could range in theme. Things like personal art happenings
and pieces, what is going on art-wise in your area, gallery visits, a
great artist that you have come across, an interesting
article/review/book, art materials, inspirations, or anything else art
related that you want to share on your day.

We want this to be a forum in which you inspire and get inspired....
while connecting with artists you may or may not already know.

July will be a test month and August will be our first full month in action and as a group... I look forward to seeing how this whole thing evolves!

-Jennifer

Days:
1-Curtis Erlinger
2- Nick Pena
3-Clare Torina
4- Amanda Salov
5-Dwayne Butcher
6-Leora Lutz
7-Lisa Leppa
8-Jan Thomas
9-Sarah Boyce
10-Mary Long-Postal
11-Emily Hemeyer
12-Karen Light
13-Demetri Kasperson
14-Steve Almond
21-Nicole Kuntz
22-Jonny Pez
23- Julie Benoit
24-Ben Utigard
25-Mark Alan Mueller
26-David S. East
27-Vaughn Wascovich
28-Jennifer Feld
29-Catherine Blackwell Pena
30-Jennifer Barnett Hensel