bassline

There seems to have been a bunch of these Hitler parodies going around using this film clip. This one is in for the win...

In case you might not get what this is all about, here's an article referencing the story the video is mocking: Los Angeles MOCA Set to Name Jeffrey Deitch Director, Shake Up Art World

Good morning! It's just past 8:30am and this is actually early for me to be up these days but I could not sleep that much longer, so here I am. This is a mix my friend K-C made from a dj gig he had going on back in 2003. It's chock full of great deep/tribal/funky house grooves to get your day started or for getting ready to go out. Here's a link to the podcast page: My Man Friday Flashback: Saint Jack's Sessions

Today is going to be busy. I'm having a meeting with Bridgette to go over some art/gallery things later this morning. I'm hoping to find out what the schedule will be for my next solo show, as well as find out what's happening with other upcoming projects. After that, I head to work for my 'flex' day of computer work and later I'll be able to take a test spin on my new bike. I have to buy a new helmet, as well. 

Soon to be my new ride. I’m moving from a hybrid, which was totaled in a crash in October, to a single speed. It took me a while to actually start looking for a new bike because I was on the fence about buying a single-speed or geared bike. I chose to go with a single-speed because I only ever used two different gears on the old bike anyway. Plus, I’ve always liked the beautiful simplicity of having fewer components to deal with.

The main differences between the one I'm getting and the one above is that mine will have a matte black frame, instead of glossy, I'm getting straps put on the pedals, and I might have the handle bar changed out to a flat one. I should be able to test it out in a couple of days, courtesy of Bicycle Revolutions. 

More info on the bike here: Swobo bikes

Acceptance

Hello, LJ land. It's been a while since I've shown my mug here and since I'm in something of a sharing kind of mood today, here I am. 

I turned 45 back in December. So far, this year seems to be the one that's about age acceptance for me. I don't know why, but it seems that this year is the one where I've begun to shed my trepidation about being getting older and letting it show. A few days ago, I thought that it would make for an interesting experiment to see how I would feel if I let my graying chin hair grow in for a bit. It started turning gray a few years ago and I simply haven't been ready to let it just be there, so I usually keep it shaved. Lately, I've been going through a bit of an 'acceptance' period where I've been letting myself be ok with the gray showing. In some ways, I still feel like it makes me look older than I want to considering there's almost no gray hair on my head. 

The gray isn't a huge deal-it's just another of those things that's a reminder of passing time. However, we all deal with these things in different ways and this is my way of dipping my toe in the pool to see how middle-age looks on me. I've lived a few years, made mistakes, and am still learning. I think I've earned my 'stripes' so why not let them have the stage for a while?

I was having quite the ordinary, off from work, do nothing much kind of day. Late this afternoon, I thought it would be a good idea to head over to the local supermarket and pick up a few things for dinner. I made the rounds and found most of what I needed when I decided to return something to the shelf.

Walking out of the aisle, near the back of the store, I squatted down to re-tie my boot lace. As I was standing up, an older, silver-haired Italian guy passed by. He was probably in his mid- 60’s or so. As he passed, he let out a huge sigh and said, “Whatever you do, don’t use that men’s room back there. It smells worse than a skunk that crawled out of another skunk’s ass”

I just grinned, nodded a bit and tried not to laugh. I mean, for anyone with a weak stomach, he could have pretty much destroyed someone's plans for dinner...

Trailer for ‘Greenberg’, starring Ben Stiller as a New Yorker who moves to Los Angeles to figure out his life while housesitting for his brother. Stiller goes indie! This actually looks like something worthwhile to watch with Stiller in it. There seems to be just enough here to be funny without everything falling into the usual easy, shallow gags we’re used to seeing him toss out onscreen.

A satire that pokes fun of the nuanced world of the New York contemporary art scene through a pair of competitive brothers, eclectic and self-important music composer Adrian and commercially successful painter Josh. When Chelsea art gallerina and Joshs love interest Madeline attends Adrians concert featuring the sounds of paper-crumpling, glass-breaking and bucket-kicking she commissions him for a gallery performance and a love affair ensues.Further complicating the situation is that Joshs highly commercial art work the financial backbone of the gallery is sold to corporate clients discreetly out of the gallerys back room.

The New York contemporary art scene needs a parody? Really? you could have fooled me...This is like shooting fish in a barrel, but I might go see it anyway...

Sometimes, a quiet Sunday morning isn't what one needs.

I had one of my more vivid dreams last night. Too vivid for my tastes. Throughout this dream, I was being chased by a black Rottweiller through a college campus. No one else seemed to notice me running from this dog, nor the dog. In fact, I don't think they saw me at all. The only way I could keep some distance between myself and the dog was a library. Each time, I'd get in just a few steps ahead of the dog, which would get blocked by a revolving door entrance. The scene would replay itself over and over with small variations of the chase: I'd try to evade the dog through hiding and so forth, but it would always wind up coming in my direction. I'd run into the library and eventually, I'd be outside again playing the same cat-and-mouse game with the dog and each time ending up breathless in the library.

I don't know who was sending the dog after me except that it was a woman. I have no clear image of her nor any idea of why she was sending the dog after me. I guess the good thing is that the dog never caught me, but still, it was annoying being constantly out of breath in my dream...

Important

This was a real unexpected find from today. The cap is from a sample bottle of Steaz Green Tea soda I drank. I like this because it's simple, straightforward and uplifting without being over the top about it. <- (that was kind of funny)

Charles Hobbs

As promised, here are some shots of art I saw on Saturday. I took a few photos of Robert Goodman's show at Seraphin Gallery, the first stop I made on my 'art walk', but they turned out terribly, so here's a link to his page on the gallery's website. Click 'recent works' to see images of his paintings that I saw.

( Charles Hobbs: Puking Up Flowers @ Vox Populi )

( P. Timothy Gierschick, II: Patch and Plot @ Tiger Strikes Asteroid )

( Robert Chambers window installation @ The Temporary Contemporary at the Fabric Workshop and Museum )

The Watch


Roundabout

These are a couple of shots I took while walking around the city yesterday. It was my Saturday off and I needed to get out of the apartment. E wanted to do some straightening up around her desk and work areas and I needed to take advantage of having one of my two Saturdays off a month, so I decided to see some art and take some photos.

Despite being the fourth in a line of gray, cloudy days, it was pretty warm, probably in the upper 60s. Of course, I wore one too many layers, thin ones, but a little too much, anyway. Nevertheless, I had a good day. Managed to get a few good photos and saw some art that I liked. That's a post for tomorrow because I'm too tired now to deal with anything else right now.

Skyline Grey

I took this on the way back into center city from an afternoon of looking at art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with painter friend, Douglas Witmer. It's been cloudy and raining off and on (more "on" than "off") for the past three days or more. Needless to say, I'm over it and it's just the beginning of the real fall weather. I'll take a cold day with sunlight than several with just clouds any day.

One of my co-workers had me in tears with laughter earlier this evening. We had a brief conversation about how some people can't contain their disappointment when things don't go their way when they shop or just with life, in general. At one point, she says, "I don't know what people want, y'know? LIfe is tough...get a helmet!"

That line had me in stitches.

A good, soulful deep house mix I just found this morning. I'm off to work, but I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

So, I did actually get some work done after doing the self portrait yesterday. Before my open studio event earlier this month, I went through a bunch of my works on paper, sorted some out and displayed a lot of them that I haven't exhibited previously. That part was great. The not-so-great part was having to wrangle with the poor storage options I had for these works. There are good archival storage box options out there, but most of them are more expensive than I'm ready to deal with for studio storage.

I was in one of the art supply stores I frequent a couple of months ago looking for archival boxes good for long-term storage. They didn't have any in stock at the time, but the clerk I spoke with suggested using acid-free foam board and archival linen tape to make my own boxes. I thought about it and finally got around to making one this week. My first box (see photos above) measures 24" x 32" x 3" to accommodate the 22" x 30" sized works, like 'Blue Pool' in the second shot. I spent about $32-$34 in materials (acid-free foam board, archival linen tape and white velcro for fasteners) and spent almost three and-a-half hours to assemble it. I expect to improve on that time as I do more of these. The cost of good archival storage boxes in a similar size hovers around the $90-$100+ range. Of course, mine aren't made to last 100 years, but they will still go a long way towards protecting my drawings and other works on paper while in the studio for a long time.

I still need to make about one or two more in the same size as well as a couple of smaller boxes for immediate use. The one above is filled already with works I did this past spring and summer. Making these boxes is a little time-consuming but worth it for me. Now that I have the first one done, I have a better idea of what to expect and hopefully, the next few will be easier to construct.

Self (10.29.09): sans glasses

I've been in the mood to take more self portraits lately, if you haven't noticed. Hey, I'm my own best model: I can take a shot whenever and I don't have any fees attached for my time. I took this yesterday just after arriving at the studio. The bag in my right hand held one of the most delicious veggie burritos I've ever had. I devoured it right after taking this and a few other shots that didn't make the cut. They were the ones where I had my glasses on. The reflections bouncing off of the lenses were impossible to deal with, so off they went. 

 

The Workspace project, by Joseph O. Holmes, is an “ongoing attempt to examine the quasi-private spaces people carve out of their public work lives.”

This is a really great project to check out. It has always been interesting to me to see the semi-public displays of workspaces in places like restaurants, repair shops and other venues.

Video artist, Bill Viola, talking about his piece, Ocean Without A Shore that was installed at the 2007 Venice Biennale. I found this on the Tate's video channel. Viola is one of my favorite contemporary artists. His video work is always really engaging, thoughtful, and just plain beautiful to look at.