Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Since the Mixtape show I have started to explore different images and methods of printing in an effort to create a new project that will ultimately be a large series of images, a body of work on it's own. Many of the images have a worn quality that I'm liking for the series, very dreamy, albeit a bit strange in some cases. This is a portrait I took of Bradley in a costume he made. The outfit was based on the idea of a steampunk astronaut, but also had a very 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea quality to it. I'm still experimenting with these images, the top is a little lost, but I like where it's going. I would like to make a fairly large print as well, the details on the helmet are beautiful, a lot of gauges and tubes. It is a collaboration for us in a way beacuase the image is very much about the attire.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Anatomy of a Show

It's been a very busy couple of weeks and I am working on so many exciting things including preparations for the show "Mixtape" which is opening at 717 Studio tomorrow night. Laina Karavani, Graham Slick and I have joined our curating efforts and managed to organize 28 artists for this show. The most difficult part of this process was completed last night: hanging the show. Hanging and placing the work with the artists present inevitably becomes a scenario of "too many cooks in the kitchen". In many instances the artists want what they consider to be the prime and most flattering spot for their work, which is understandable, but it misses the big picture which is that a group show isn't about the individual, it's about collaboration. The geography of displaying diverse work from so many artists has to allow a certain flow and for work to compliment each other, not compete against each other. As an example, there is a light piece on one wall near the corner and on the perpendicular wall three framed pieces had been hung so the light was creating a lot of trouble with viewing these pieces through the glass. When I suggested we swap them with something else I was met with much resistance, maybe because some simply didn't want to re-do this area or maybe they were focusing on their own work. In the end, I gave a convincing argument and the framed pieces traded places with my own work in the show (a photograph printed on canvas) and as a result, the framed work can be seen clearly and rather than the light creating conflict in viewing my photograph, it illuminates it beautifully. So, after 6 hours of hammering, drilling, and litigating, we have produced a collaborative show that we are all proud of. The music for the show is made up of compilations or "mixed tapes" by each of the contributing artists. In addition, we are very excited that "Mixtape" has been chosen as a pick of the week on artcards.cc . If you are in the NYC area please join us tomorrow night at 717 Studio, for information click on this flier or go to www.717studio.net .

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Windmills and a Car

It was almost 50 degrees here in NYC yesterday and it inspired me to do a little pre-Spring cleaning. In a box that I have been moving from apartment to apartment over the last 7 years I found an old high-8 video camera and decided to review the tape inside. There was footage from a road trip I took from San Francisco to South Florida. I remembered that passing the windmills near Palm Springs was an impressive sight and while we were driving through this area we passed this amazing old car and the juxtaposition of the windmills, car, mountains and power lines was so surreal to me. I was in the passenger seat and grabbed the nearest camera, which was the mentioned video camera, and recorded the scenario thinking I could later print still images from the video tape. Well, it's been more than 7 years since that trip and I am yet to make these prints, but I still like the idea. As a preliminary experiment I set myself up in front of the television and shot off the screen. Here is a sample of a still image from this.