Did nothing for Halloween…

posted by on 2012.10.31, under culture

Ok, I didn’t do anything for Halloween. But I have been sick the past 24 hours or so, and that kind of blew my planning. Not that I was going to get up to much anyway, but I was supposed to carve a pumpkin and possibly dress up for a contest at work. Here is a pumpkin test I did this weekend, trying to make an 8-bit pumpkin. A bit shoddy and labor intensive, I think that the idea needs CNC action to execute properly.

I am pretty bad at Halloween for some reason, and usually don’t really get into it. I have thrown a couple of costumes together in the past, but nothing spectacular.

I think this eviscerated Teddy Bear (Michele had a matching one) was the best in recent years:

Once I was a Werewolf Mechanic, because I had a werewolf mask, coveralls, and a tool box. That was OK. Kind of funny even.

So today I was thinking, if I did have the energy, and had though of this a few days ago, what would I wear? Here are some ideas I will store for next year.

Bez, dancer from the Happy Mondays. The best part about this one is that no one will get it, its like a private joke with myself. Even explaining it will not help in most cases. Also, its easy. Baggy pants, big striped shirt. Maracas. Lunatic eyes, dance like a crazy person. Bez might be my #1 choice.

The corn, from Children of the Corn. Unexpected, and self explanatory. Also easy, if you can find whole corn stalks, just tie a bunch to you. You can also whisper evil things in there.

Captain Bligh. This one is topical, as he can be wondering around looking for his ship, The Bounty. Which just sunk (too soon?). Also awesome because my dad’s CB radio handle was Cptn Bligh. Therefore mine is Son of Bligh. Any time-period appropriate nautical get up will do the job. Also, the movie The Bounty rules. Go see it.

Ernest Hemingway. No one does writers, plus he is bad ass. Can do the roll neck sweater thing and carry a Swordfish and Margarita, or go shirtless with shotgun. Talk in terse sentences. Reek of rum and the sea.
Alternately, do James Joyce and blather on in nonsense words.

For some reason I also though about going as Al Stewart, also because no one would get it. Dress kind of 70s foppy, long hair wig, carry a guitar, and respond to people only in lyrics to Year of the Cat. A surefire hit!

Hollywood Storage Building

posted by on 2012.10.28, under architecture, photo

I have been taking photos of this storage building in Hollywood just about every weeknight lately. I park in a lot that gets this 3/4 view of it, and there is just something about this tall, vaguely classic building that fascinates me. The thin ribs that catch the setting sun and cast vertical shadows, the percentage of window to blank wall (making it obvious it’s storage, but still a bit visually jarring). The way the finish changes with the color of the setting sun. I love the detail of the American flag up on top – letting you know the relative wind speed and direction in each photo. Everyone once in a while some mundane, background building in LA catches my attention for awhile…

Anyway, I will keep shooting it. These are all with my cell phone but I shoot a few with film now and again too. Here is what I have shot so far:

 

Constructing Fantasy at Beacon Arts Building

posted by on 2012.10.25, under art, review

A few months back (yes I am really slow with posting these days) we caught the closing reception of Constructing Fantasy at the Beacon Arts Building curated by the BAB director, Renée Fox – a really fantastic local sculpture show, in a space which has been doing a lot of fantastic things. Sadly, Renée told us that the gallery will be closing (by the time I got around to posting this it has closed) – though the studios throughout the rest of the building will of course remain. Perhaps another art space will move in there, and I hope Renée and the team behind the shows will continue to put on shows at some other venue. I only made it to a handful of the shows over there at Beacon Arts, but always found something I liked. This one in particular had a lot to like.

Vesuvius, Travis Novak (in background)

The Spirit, The Breath, The Flesh, Larissa James (foreground)

 

The Spirit, The Breath, The Flesh, Larissa James

 

Vesuvius, Travis Novak

 

Untitled #14, Jefferey Hastings (in background)

 

Go Hard, Eric Johnson

 

Go Hard, Eric Johnson

 

Go Hard, Eric Johnson

 

Untitled #14, Jefferey Hastings

 

Wind Blowing… Ripples Running, Snezana Petrovic

 

Just a Secular Babe, Catherine Fairbanks

 

Just a Secular Babe, Catherine Fairbanks

 

Slab 1, Pontus Willfors

 

Untitled, Catherine Fairbanks

 

Metrophonix, Winter Jenssen

 

Untitled, Sophie Lee

 

Untitled, Sophie Lee

 

Hatching, Rachel Kaster

 

Hatching, Rachel Kaster

 

Metrophonix, Winter Jenssen

 

I May Be Getting Tired of This Arrangement, Michelle Carla Handel

 

Okay, So I Do Need You, Michelle Carla Handel

 

Okay, So I Do Need You, Michelle Carla Handel

 

No Name, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor

 

No Name, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor

 

No Name, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor

 

Metrophonix, Winter Jenssen

 

Feeling Your Love, Michelle Carla Handel

 

Transference is Tough Row to Hoe, Catherine Fairbanks (video)

 

Transference is Tough Row to Hoe, Catherine Fairbanks (video)

 

Welcome to the Jungle, Larissa James

 

several works by Michelle Carla Handel

 

The Universe is Inside of You, Larissa James

Laminar Flow

posted by on 2012.06.01, under art, video, VSC Residency

More work from my residency at Vermont Studio Center. This video installation was a test for a new, portable projector I got, and a method of projecting on drawings. It is inspired by the transition from laminar flow to turbulence in a waterfall.

Dirge

posted by on 2012.05.30, under art, video, VSC Residency

I made a new video on Memorial day this week, taking footage from the parade in Johnson, VT. This little parade for me brought up ideas of American identity, loss, memory, and militarized culture (which is nothing new, though maybe taking new forms these days).

Swimming Holes, Hexagons, Newts and Video

posted by on 2012.05.26, under art, VSC Residency

Time has been flying by up in Vermont, sort of. It goes by fast, but it goes by slow too. We have made some excursions out to a few great swimming spots, in various rivers, brooks and a reservoir to jump off rocks, swing off rope swings and generally attempt to get accustomed to the cold, cold water. As many know, I have a great love for water, especially entering it at high speed from tall places. And I am very much into rivers, brooks and all that. Luckily Johnson has plenty of that.

As far as the art production goes, I have been simultaneously working on a few projects. A couple of videos, a couple of drawings in preparation for a wood sculpture (maybe with video?), and a little bit of sound editing.
The drawings and potential sculpture revolve around my current fascination with the hexagonal column structures of basalt found in several locations around the world. One example is at Devil’s Postpile at Mammoth Mountain in CA – where I went a couple of summers ago. Another is Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Not sure yet where this project will go, but I have been doing a hand-sketch drawings and a measured drawing of the hexagonal forms so far. I hope to cut out a bunch of wood hexagons this week, if I can get the right wood posts for a reasonable price.

In the video department, I have one small projection on drawings that I have completed, using the nearby waterfall and the transition from laminar flow to turbulent water for inspiration (here is a pic of the set up without the video, video documentation to come).

The other video is a called Still Life (Red Flag), and consists of several long shots of compositions I found interesting around the area my studio is in. I then took the audio from these shots, heavily processed it, and created a soundtrack. I also added in a little Etta James (as one day I was driving around with Harlan from the sculpture dept. and it came on the radio). The mood becomes eerie, and reminds me of hot, bored yet anxious summer evenings. I recommend headphones and full-screen HD when watching it.

To wrap up the post, here is a photo of a newt. We have been seeing a lot of these, some in the orange phase some in the olive green water dwelling phase. I believe its the Eastern Newt, or Red Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). They have some sort of compass sensing in their brains, but more about that later.

At Vermont Studio Center

posted by on 2012.05.16, under art, video, VSC Residency

This month, and into the first week of June, I am doing a residency at Vermont Studio Center way up in Johnson, VT. That’s about two hours south of Montreal, and pretty much out in the country. It is rather beautiful. VSC hosts 50 artists every month of the year, making it the largest artist residency facility in the country. I have spent the last few days setting up my studio, getting settled in, meeting everyone, and even getting a little work done. I ran around a bit shooting photos on my trusty Yashica, and staged a video installation on the back of my studio building. I don’t really have a good title for it yet, so lets just call it Waterfall for now.

River soundtrack in the video is provided by the actual river, which is right behind where I shot this.

My studio is across the Gihon river from the mill building (photo at the top of this post), in the Barbara White studio building. Sharing the first floor with me are several printers and a photographer, and there are a slew of painters upstairs. If they let me, perhaps I can post some of their work later in the month.


Barbara White building.

VSC hosts writers as well as visual artists, and there is a pretty good mix of people working in different media so far. Tonight there will be artist slide talks, for those who want to share work, which I am really looking forward to.


My Studio

I will try to keep on a regular posting schedule while here, so check back for more in a few days!

Portland Japanese Gardens II

posted by on 2012.04.29, under photo

Here are the rest of the photos I shot of the Portland Japanese Garden. All shot on a Yashica Twin Lens Reflex, medium format. I highly recommend making a trip up there, especially if you can time it so that the sun peeks out for an hour or so while you are at the gardens.

Postcards from Portland

posted by on 2012.04.17, under design

I made some postcards from a couple of photos I took while in Portland a week or so ago. These were shot on my trusty Yashica medium format camera in the Portland Japanese Garden.

To all the Ferns out there

posted by on 2012.03.05, under design

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