$300 PRIZE FOR WINNING ENTRY
Sponsored by http://www.kurtcoleeidsvig.com/
Artist Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com are sponsoring a photo contest open to photographers/models 18+ with selected photos to be included in a large-scale collage piece and other artworks— with a $300 prize for the winning entry.
The Model Consumer Photo Contest seeks photographs of entrant’s reflection taken in the mirror of a dressing room of a store.
Open To: Anyone 18 and over
Entry Fee: None
Contest Length: June 25th, 2007— August 24th, 2007 (entries must be received by midnight).
Format: Entries must be digital photos submitted electronically as an email attachment and include the name of the entrant, date of the photo, store name, and location taken.
Submission: Contest entries must include the words “Model Consumer Contest Entry” in the subject box of an email addressed to KurtColeEidsvig@yahoo.com.
In addition, each email must include the following pasted into the message:
This email and entry signify that I have read and agree to all of the contest rules and regulations for the Model Consumer Photo Contest. I grant Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com full permissions and rights for the use of the attached photograph.
Judging Criteria: Photos will be judged on creativity and overall image quality.
Disqualification: Any entry that does not fall into the appropriate guidelines of format, content, and submission will be automatically disqualified.
Notification: All entrants will be notified via the website 617Midway.Blogspot.com no later than September 30, 2007. Winning entry will be contacted via submission email address to obtain mailing information for prize delivery.
Official Contest Rules and Regulations:
1. Limit of one entry (one single image) per person.
2. All entries and contest materials received become property of Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com and will not be returned.
3. To be considered in the contest all submissions must be original, unpublished photographs taken of the photographer’s reflection in the mirror of a store’s dressing room. Each image must be accompanied by the name of the entrant/model, date taken, store name & location.
4. By submitting an entry to the contest, the contestant grants Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com the unrestricted and exclusive rights to use photograph(s) for any purpose. This includes, but is not limited to, publishing your photograph(s) in any print or electronic form for promotional purposes without further compensation, and the right to use the photographer’s name as a credit along with the photograph. The photographer must own all rights to any photographs entered in this contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to ensure that publication of the photographs raises no legal claims. Accordingly, you hereby agree to compensate Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com fully regarding any claims arising out of the use of your photograph(s). Photograph(s) previously published in full or in part in other publications, contests, etc., will be disqualified.
5. Only the photographer (which must also be the model in the case of this contest) has the right to submit a photograph.
6. By participating, entrants agree that these rules and the decisions of Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com shall be final in all respects.
7. Entrants grant Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com the right to use his or her name, likeness, portrait, picture, photo, entry form content and/or prize information for any purpose.
8 Entrants agrees to hold harmless and release Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidvsig.com from any injuries, losses or damages of any kind that (a) may result from taking a photo intended to be submitted, or (b) may result from submission and consequent publication on of any photo entered into the contest.
9. Entrant agrees that prize will be selected at the sole discretion of Kurt Cole Eidsvig.
10. Kurt Cole Eidsvig and KurtColeEidsvig.com are not responsible for late, lost or misdirected entries or email; for technical, hardware or software malfunctions, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, inaccurate, incomplete, garbled or delayed electronic communications, whether caused by the sender or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this promotion, or by any human error that may occur in the processing of entries; or for loss of or damage to any entries.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Water as Metaphor & A Dear John to Poetry
I'd been working on this poem again just last week that I read at the last Southie Slam- a sort of Dear John to poetry, some of it poking fun at the same themes that recur in my work over and over again, one of which is metaphors about water:
Dear Poetry:
I can’t write poems anymore. It’s over. This is my
Dear John to poetry; my retirement party. I
was just visiting anyway— once Spicer and O’Hara
left the party just kind of dwindled.
Sure, Alexie may have rekindled
the fire, but the kind of tears-in-your-eyes
elegies to every day and moment was gone
at the bottom of the last bottle of brandy. Forget about me—
burn these notes like those fingertips and piano keys
are matches and flint, the glint of light on white
ivory being so many dominoes on a rickety
table. I miss you, Poetry. Por favor leave my belongings
at the door.
I’d like Flathead Lake back— please return it to me
in empty-milk-gallon installments; if you use Bacardi
bottles or old plastic jugs of Cossack vodka I may be
tempted in the night, during my third trip to the bathroom
to swill down a gulp of my father’s ashes and mountain run-
off if you return it improperly. Before you even ask, I’ll
rescind the sky. No more melodic comparisons
between paint drips or jet-plane jet-wash. No more musing on
the glittering of the ground looking like an end table
in a high-end strip club where the ice in glasses pays
too much for a lap dance from the neon lights, says
“I think she really liked me,” and then melts
and melts again. You can keep any references
to powder and pigment turning to liquid— sand
to ocean; comparisons between Rothko and the sea;
and religion— save for heroin— I have a series
planned for the roads of South Boston likened to veins
and arteries:
Dorchester Heights’ white peak; a needle— Pleasure Bay;
a spoon beneath a lighter.
Poetry, you can keep my failed attempts at drug deals; my time confined
to psych wards. No one lays claim to Picasso. If I see a woman
rollerblading, she’s mine. If I see her later in the car—
still mine. If I go to sleep and wake up and her silhouette
looks like my coffee cup— stem and all— she’s yours.
In the interest of time, the following applies:
1) I give you wars
2) True, I should relinquish blue to you, but Cockroft already laid claim to it; as has M.L. Smoker. Luckily for all of us, Picasso’s already dead.
Yes, Poetry, I know Picasso never really died.
3) I would like to keep the seagulls,
4) Rothko’s show at the Whitney;
5) Rum— you can keep.
6) My failed attempts at fiction are yours, including:
a. The man who goes cross-eyed from never lifting the toilet seat
b. Mr. Valentine’s Day
c. An essay on the new Democracy and the hopelessness of voting and the power of consumer choice
Poetry, you can have reality T.V, and self-help manuals, I’m keeping
the hair gel— pomade, mouse, and creams apply.
Poetry, you can keep my attempts at melodrama— my mining autobiography:
1) Deaths in the family
2) Confessions
3) Drunken escapades
4) Shame
5) Fear— see
a. airplane rides
Poetry, you can keep the following metaphors:
1) The ocean and the sky are lovers; the horizon is a bed; they are a Mark Rothko; they are a misunderstanding.
2) Hemingway as a metaphor for false advertising.
3) Baseball— see America.
4) Drinking as a love affair.
Poetry, girls with sunglasses and headphones walking Castle Island apply.
Poetry, you can keep the following comparisons:
Anything to:
1) de Kooning
2) Pollock
3) Rothko
4) Rosenquist
5) O’Keefe
Poetry, before we break, can you write my artist’s statement for me?
**********************************
And then I got an email forward from my friend Michelle, leading me to an article from The Onion. I guess I am not the first poet to talk about water?
In other news, it is raining at Midway today.
And, yes, the above poem is still in draft. It needs some work.
Thanks Michelle:
Dear Poetry:
I can’t write poems anymore. It’s over. This is my
Dear John to poetry; my retirement party. I
was just visiting anyway— once Spicer and O’Hara
left the party just kind of dwindled.
Sure, Alexie may have rekindled
the fire, but the kind of tears-in-your-eyes
elegies to every day and moment was gone
at the bottom of the last bottle of brandy. Forget about me—
burn these notes like those fingertips and piano keys
are matches and flint, the glint of light on white
ivory being so many dominoes on a rickety
table. I miss you, Poetry. Por favor leave my belongings
at the door.
I’d like Flathead Lake back— please return it to me
in empty-milk-gallon installments; if you use Bacardi
bottles or old plastic jugs of Cossack vodka I may be
tempted in the night, during my third trip to the bathroom
to swill down a gulp of my father’s ashes and mountain run-
off if you return it improperly. Before you even ask, I’ll
rescind the sky. No more melodic comparisons
between paint drips or jet-plane jet-wash. No more musing on
the glittering of the ground looking like an end table
in a high-end strip club where the ice in glasses pays
too much for a lap dance from the neon lights, says
“I think she really liked me,” and then melts
and melts again. You can keep any references
to powder and pigment turning to liquid— sand
to ocean; comparisons between Rothko and the sea;
and religion— save for heroin— I have a series
planned for the roads of South Boston likened to veins
and arteries:
Dorchester Heights’ white peak; a needle— Pleasure Bay;
a spoon beneath a lighter.
Poetry, you can keep my failed attempts at drug deals; my time confined
to psych wards. No one lays claim to Picasso. If I see a woman
rollerblading, she’s mine. If I see her later in the car—
still mine. If I go to sleep and wake up and her silhouette
looks like my coffee cup— stem and all— she’s yours.
In the interest of time, the following applies:
1) I give you wars
2) True, I should relinquish blue to you, but Cockroft already laid claim to it; as has M.L. Smoker. Luckily for all of us, Picasso’s already dead.
Yes, Poetry, I know Picasso never really died.
3) I would like to keep the seagulls,
4) Rothko’s show at the Whitney;
5) Rum— you can keep.
6) My failed attempts at fiction are yours, including:
a. The man who goes cross-eyed from never lifting the toilet seat
b. Mr. Valentine’s Day
c. An essay on the new Democracy and the hopelessness of voting and the power of consumer choice
Poetry, you can have reality T.V, and self-help manuals, I’m keeping
the hair gel— pomade, mouse, and creams apply.
Poetry, you can keep my attempts at melodrama— my mining autobiography:
1) Deaths in the family
2) Confessions
3) Drunken escapades
4) Shame
5) Fear— see
a. airplane rides
Poetry, you can keep the following metaphors:
1) The ocean and the sky are lovers; the horizon is a bed; they are a Mark Rothko; they are a misunderstanding.
2) Hemingway as a metaphor for false advertising.
3) Baseball— see America.
4) Drinking as a love affair.
Poetry, girls with sunglasses and headphones walking Castle Island apply.
Poetry, you can keep the following comparisons:
Anything to:
1) de Kooning
2) Pollock
3) Rothko
4) Rosenquist
5) O’Keefe
Poetry, before we break, can you write my artist’s statement for me?
**********************************
And then I got an email forward from my friend Michelle, leading me to an article from The Onion. I guess I am not the first poet to talk about water?
In other news, it is raining at Midway today.
And, yes, the above poem is still in draft. It needs some work.
Thanks Michelle:
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Website Update, Poems, TV Spot, Flowers & Book Review
Looks like I finally finished the website update. Given all that’s going on (and given that I wanted to do it right after ArtWalk) I’m glad that it is done to say the least. Feel like I have been really neglecting my painting lately as a result of all this design and content work— but know that it is important given all the events going on. But, the balance between the art and the business end (i.e. website design, submissions, health insurance) is something I definitely wrestle with.
At the very least, the last O’Hara update was good for me. I have embarked on a new series that seems pretty promising.
In other news. I am scheduled to appear on Boston’s BNN Channel 9 next Wednesday night (June 27th) to discuss my art and poetry— as well as upcoming events like the FPAC Summer Show and the September Southie Slam. I will be bringing along some artwork and poetry and will update more before the show.
Above, find some recent pics taken of flowers. Got a new camera a few months back and trying to do justice to some of these flowers is a great tryout. I am toying with the idea of doing a series of 12 in color to offer for sale at Open Studios in November.
Last but not least— Kim Cockroft has accepted a recent book review of mine for her website, Notes From Wazoo Farm. The review can be found here:
At the very least, the last O’Hara update was good for me. I have embarked on a new series that seems pretty promising.
In other news. I am scheduled to appear on Boston’s BNN Channel 9 next Wednesday night (June 27th) to discuss my art and poetry— as well as upcoming events like the FPAC Summer Show and the September Southie Slam. I will be bringing along some artwork and poetry and will update more before the show.
Above, find some recent pics taken of flowers. Got a new camera a few months back and trying to do justice to some of these flowers is a great tryout. I am toying with the idea of doing a series of 12 in color to offer for sale at Open Studios in November.
Last but not least— Kim Cockroft has accepted a recent book review of mine for her website, Notes From Wazoo Farm. The review can be found here:
Friday, June 15, 2007
PAINT Show, O'Hara & Fire Escapes
The last few days I have been working long hours on a website update— which is certainly not the most interesting thing to photograph. So, I am including a few pics I took from my window a little while back that I came across while looking for images for the website. I think I have mentioned it before, but being on the 6th Floor of Midway is a bit like living with the seagulls, as they often swoop down in front on my windows, and every once in a while I can hear them thumping around on the roof and squawking at each other.
However, as the pictures show, the old fire escape is also a great perch for some other birds who will stop by from time to time.
Anytime I think of fire escapes, I think of Frank O’Hara (pic above of O’Hara on a fire escape is from http://www.frankohara.com/Pages/Credits.html). Not because of this picture, but because of his use of fire escapes in poems:
One of my favorite Frank O’Hara poems, (Untitled, but the first line “Dear Jap” refers to Jasper Johns) uses this:
“I want someday
to have a fire-escape
in 1951 I became crazy for fire-escapes
as you remember”
As does the poem “In Memory of my Feelings”:
“Five years ago, enamored of fire-escapes, I went to Chicago,”
There is another great one that I can’t find— but needless to say, I think of O’Hara when I think of fire escapes.
* * * * *
Yesterday I had another piece of correspondence (an email this time) that started out “Congratulations!” (yes, with an exclamation point again). This time, it was from LynnArts— their juror has selected my piece, “Precious Gems” to appear in their juried show “PAINT.”
PAINT has an opening reception on Saturday, June 23rd from 2-4pm, and the show runs from June 20th through July 27th. for more information, check out the website http://www.lynnarts.org/.
I think the last time I got this much mail with “Congratulations!” as the lead-in, it was from Publisher’s Clearing House and Mr. Ed McMahon (pic above is from wikipedia). This, of course, if much more exciting. Although, if Ed had ever come up with the moolah, it might have been a different story. I might even have one of those big-ass Happy Gilmore checks now.
However, as the pictures show, the old fire escape is also a great perch for some other birds who will stop by from time to time.
Anytime I think of fire escapes, I think of Frank O’Hara (pic above of O’Hara on a fire escape is from http://www.frankohara.com/Pages/Credits.html). Not because of this picture, but because of his use of fire escapes in poems:
One of my favorite Frank O’Hara poems, (Untitled, but the first line “Dear Jap” refers to Jasper Johns) uses this:
“I want someday
to have a fire-escape
in 1951 I became crazy for fire-escapes
as you remember”
As does the poem “In Memory of my Feelings”:
“Five years ago, enamored of fire-escapes, I went to Chicago,”
There is another great one that I can’t find— but needless to say, I think of O’Hara when I think of fire escapes.
* * * * *
Yesterday I had another piece of correspondence (an email this time) that started out “Congratulations!” (yes, with an exclamation point again). This time, it was from LynnArts— their juror has selected my piece, “Precious Gems” to appear in their juried show “PAINT.”
PAINT has an opening reception on Saturday, June 23rd from 2-4pm, and the show runs from June 20th through July 27th. for more information, check out the website http://www.lynnarts.org/.
I think the last time I got this much mail with “Congratulations!” as the lead-in, it was from Publisher’s Clearing House and Mr. Ed McMahon (pic above is from wikipedia). This, of course, if much more exciting. Although, if Ed had ever come up with the moolah, it might have been a different story. I might even have one of those big-ass Happy Gilmore checks now.
All that said, I am honored to have been chosen- especially given all the extraordinary work they had submitted. There is some great stuff there, and it will allow Precious Gems to be seen in a great venue for art.
So, here at Midway I am looking forward to the PAINT show and the FPAC Gallery summer show, and getting my website prepped in the process. All while living O’Hara’s dream of owning a fire-escape.
So, here at Midway I am looking forward to the PAINT show and the FPAC Gallery summer show, and getting my website prepped in the process. All while living O’Hara’s dream of owning a fire-escape.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Fort Point Summer Show, Solitary Elevator Hopping & Dr. Worm
About 4:40 today I took a break and went downstairs to get my mail. The packet was back from my submission for the FPAC Gallery Summer Show (see the June 1st http://617midway.blogspot.com/2007/06/submissions-influences-and-submission.html for the entry on prepping the materials).
I opened the envelope in the elevator wondering if they had even sent along a note, or if they were just returning my CD of images. “Maybe they will encourage me to apply again,” I hoped. Happily surprised to find an envelope with my name on it inside the package, I opened it up.
The first word of the letter? “Congratulations!”
Excited” probably isn’t the right word. I actually think I hopped up and down in the elevator. Jackson Pollock had his drunken tirades, de Kooning his long walks in Manhattan…. me? I jump up and down in elevators.
On a side note, some of my buddies at Syracuse used to do their best to jump up and down in the elevator until it got a little dislodged and got stuck between floors. They were a lot of fun.
But, back to the show— it is a 3-person show at the FPAC Gallery in Boston and it will be held from July 20 to August 17, with an opening reception on Friday, July 27th from 5 – 9 pm.
I really can’t believe it— I waited for the gallery representatives to knock on my door all evening and say “oops, we sent you the wrong letter.” But, thankfully, it has been quiet here at 617 Midway.
This Summer Show will be my first time in a show like this, and I am honored they chose me, and think it will be a great venue for some of these new pieces.
Earlier in the day I confirmed that I will be participating in another 3-person show at the Gulu-Gulu Café (http://www.gulu-gulu.com) in Lynn for October through December. Their owner attended this year’s Art Walk and contacted me about participating a little while back. Needless to say, it has been a very exciting day around here.
As for Dr. Worm? Well, I had been planning to get The Giants on here anyhow, but with today’s news, it seemed a little more timely. I had planned on seeing them in Wellfleet in July— July 27th to be exact, which just happens to be the opening of the FPAC Show. Alas, I will have to make do without the hopes of catching “Dr. Worm” live again.
They have this new video out called “Venue Songs” that you can catch pieces of on YouTube (or, for you more ethically minded, you can buy it on their website)… it is pure TMBG mad genius, and is amazing.
And as for Dr. Worm, it is definitely one of my favorites by them. The song always makes me think of the famous physicist/mathematician/all-around amazing man, Dr. Richard Feynman. He played the drums, and was a bizarre enough guy to make me think of a connection with TMBG. The pic above is from Wikipedia.
Martin Cockroft and I did a reading together at the University of Montana where Martin made an announcement using a picture of Feynman in front of a chalkboard with the words “Poetry Experiment” under it. The pic of Feynman made him look like Gary Sinise— at least I thought so. But, our announcement sharing a piece of paper with one of the people who helped create the Atomic Bomb was a little creepy and great at the same time.
A good book on Feynman is “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” There are some great stories in there.
But, back to the talk of the day— there will be more info to come on the FPAC Gallery show— should be really wonderful. Hope to see you all there.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
PAINT Submission & Rhyming in Traffic
Brought three paintings up to LynnArts for their juried show, PAINT— opening Saturday, June 23rd from 2-4 pm. Mostly I am overwhelmed by the work involved to prep for bringing up Magical Engineers, Coast to Coast, and Precious Gems.
I’d originally intended to submit Queens, which got such a great reception during Fort Point Art Walk, but with the humidity it has pulled up from the canvas a bit and needs some touching up before it is ready to show.
Also, who said that artists don’t have to commute? The traffic was atrocious to and from— but I had a chance to turn the radio off and work on some poems I am trying out for the upcoming September Poetry Slam at the Seapoint in Southie. With a $100 prize, everyone who enters will have to bring some fresh ammo.
As crazy as it sounds, I am working on some rap-like poems. One of the more interesting things about rhyme in poetry in the 20th Century is that using it eventually became a little too playful for serious poems (unless it was an ironic use), until rap of about the last 10 years. So, in the Slam format, and in devising some poems about the city, I am experimenting with sound through rhyme. Is interesting.
And, being at the LynnArts facility I was able to see many of the other entrants to the juried show. It was very humbling. They have some amazing stuff already— worth a trip to Central Square to check out for sure.
I’d originally intended to submit Queens, which got such a great reception during Fort Point Art Walk, but with the humidity it has pulled up from the canvas a bit and needs some touching up before it is ready to show.
Also, who said that artists don’t have to commute? The traffic was atrocious to and from— but I had a chance to turn the radio off and work on some poems I am trying out for the upcoming September Poetry Slam at the Seapoint in Southie. With a $100 prize, everyone who enters will have to bring some fresh ammo.
As crazy as it sounds, I am working on some rap-like poems. One of the more interesting things about rhyme in poetry in the 20th Century is that using it eventually became a little too playful for serious poems (unless it was an ironic use), until rap of about the last 10 years. So, in the Slam format, and in devising some poems about the city, I am experimenting with sound through rhyme. Is interesting.
And, being at the LynnArts facility I was able to see many of the other entrants to the juried show. It was very humbling. They have some amazing stuff already— worth a trip to Central Square to check out for sure.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Discarded Fire and Ice
In the interest of fairness, and in recording the daily life of Midway 617, I am posting this failed attempt at "Fire & Ice #3." With these smaller works on paper, I have been experimenting quite a bit with different colors and this one just went wrong. In fact, looking at it now- blue skin and blonde hair is just destined to conjure images of Smurfette.
So, adieu, Fire and Ice #3.
Image above borrowed from BlueBuddies.com.
Poetry Publications
I have been putting together my resume and past experience for a number of shows, etc., lately. And, since I have to suffer through it, you do too.
Here is a basic list of my poetry publications:
2006
“St. Petersburg”
Slipstream, Number 26, 2006
“Meet Me at the MOMA”
The Masthead, volume 1, Issue 3, Summer 2006
“Picasso on Cocktail Napkins (Pinball Music Number 4)”
The Masthead, volume 1, Issue 3, Summer 2006
“White Numbers”
The Masthead,, volume 1, Issue 3, Summer 2006
“Lunchtime Near the Pentagon”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 17, Spring 2006
2005
“Poem for Mandy/Poem for Ron” (alternate title: “Crosswalk”)
Hanging Loose, Number 86, 2005
“Counting”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 16, Fall 2005
2004
“Falling Into Briars”
Borderlands, Number 23, Fall/Winter 2004
“When I Die #5”
Main Street Rag, Volume 8, Number 4, Winter 2004
“Blue”
Hanging Loose, Number 84, 2004
“You’re Probably in Japan By Now”
Hanging Loose, Number 84, 2004
“Pinball Music #48: Finding Those Places Underwater”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 13, Summer/Fall 2004
“Chicago”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 12, 2004
“Last Will and Testament”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 12, 2004
“The Last Time I saw Johnny Blockbuster”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 12, 2004
2003
“Providence”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 11, Winter 2003
“Saint Augustine’s”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 10, Summer 2003
2002
“Missoula”
Hanging Loose, Number 81, 2002
“Fifty”
The 114th Meridian, No. 1, 2002
“Ring”
The 114th Meridian, No. 1, 2002
“Commuting”
The 114th Meridian, No. 1, 2002
2001
“Counting”
Hanging Loose, Number 79, 2001
1999
“2 Earrings”
The Watermark, 1999
1998
“Exhaling Joanna”
The Watermark, 1998
“Basketball Resentments”
Cavalcade, Fall 1998
“Arrangement”
The Rock, Volume I, Issue XI (July 23rd – August 3rd), 1998
“Relationship”
The Rock, Volume I, Issue XI (July 23rd – August 3rd), 1998
Here is a basic list of my poetry publications:
2006
“St. Petersburg”
Slipstream, Number 26, 2006
“Meet Me at the MOMA”
The Masthead, volume 1, Issue 3, Summer 2006
“Picasso on Cocktail Napkins (Pinball Music Number 4)”
The Masthead, volume 1, Issue 3, Summer 2006
“White Numbers”
The Masthead,, volume 1, Issue 3, Summer 2006
“Lunchtime Near the Pentagon”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 17, Spring 2006
2005
“Poem for Mandy/Poem for Ron” (alternate title: “Crosswalk”)
Hanging Loose, Number 86, 2005
“Counting”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 16, Fall 2005
2004
“Falling Into Briars”
Borderlands, Number 23, Fall/Winter 2004
“When I Die #5”
Main Street Rag, Volume 8, Number 4, Winter 2004
“Blue”
Hanging Loose, Number 84, 2004
“You’re Probably in Japan By Now”
Hanging Loose, Number 84, 2004
“Pinball Music #48: Finding Those Places Underwater”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 13, Summer/Fall 2004
“Chicago”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 12, 2004
“Last Will and Testament”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 12, 2004
“The Last Time I saw Johnny Blockbuster”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 12, 2004
2003
“Providence”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 11, Winter 2003
“Saint Augustine’s”
The South Boston Literary Gazette, Volume 10, Summer 2003
2002
“Missoula”
Hanging Loose, Number 81, 2002
“Fifty”
The 114th Meridian, No. 1, 2002
“Ring”
The 114th Meridian, No. 1, 2002
“Commuting”
The 114th Meridian, No. 1, 2002
2001
“Counting”
Hanging Loose, Number 79, 2001
1999
“2 Earrings”
The Watermark, 1999
1998
“Exhaling Joanna”
The Watermark, 1998
“Basketball Resentments”
Cavalcade, Fall 1998
“Arrangement”
The Rock, Volume I, Issue XI (July 23rd – August 3rd), 1998
“Relationship”
The Rock, Volume I, Issue XI (July 23rd – August 3rd), 1998
Music Video: Fall Out Boy - Dead on Arrival
It's time for me to come clean on my guilty pleasure- Fall Out Boy. They are somewhere in the mix when I have music playing in my studio this Spring/Summer. Most of all, I like this earlier album, Take This To Your Grave. I can just hear my neighbors now, "I didn't know he had children..."
I can't help it:
"This is side one/ flip me over/ I know I'm not your favorite record"
Friday, June 8, 2007
Sherman Alexie, Coke Commercials and Health Insurance
Last night at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, in an event sponsored by Porter Square Books, I got to see Sherman Alexie “read” from his new novel “Flight.”
Note; the “quotations” are not to inflict tone (I.e. you call THAT a reading???) but rather, Alexie guided the audience through a very large portion of the work seemingly from memory in an effect that was incredibly moving, funny, entertaining and all-around amazing.
The picture above is from Alexie’s website, http://www.fallsapart.com, and I would have taken some pics myself save for the request of no pictures (don’t they realize that we bloggers NEED to take pics?).
I’ve seen Alexie read 2 other times— once for the Festival of the Book in Missoula, Montana (maybe 2001?), and once in Brookline at Coolidge Corner in support of “10 Little Indians.” He was great all three times. And that is an understatement. I left convinced that I had again been lucky enough to see one of the handful of people that will certainly be considered the best writers of our time (and I am hard-pressed to think of anyone who could compare), and in wonder at his gifts with words and storytelling.
I am not sure if it inspired me to write or to give up writing altogether. We will see.
This new book of his, “Flight,” from which I have only heard this piece of and haven’t read yet, has me thinking about Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse 5.” In “Flight,” the main character travels back and forth through time, while in “Slaughterhouse 5,” the main character does the same (albeit in one baody rather than several different). I think it is a little more than ironic that Vonnegut’s hero is a man named Billy Pilgrim, and Alexie is known for his being a Native American and writing on themes around this.
Maybe it is because I am reading a book right now, “Mayflower,” that describes the uncertain relations between Indians and Whites from 1620 through King Philip’s War, and maybe it is because I love both Vonnegut and Alexie, and maybe it is because I make silly connections between things, but I think it is great.
The only negative to the evening was a lack of poetry, something that your’s truly tried to remedy. During the Q&A at the end, I raised my hand amidst a crowd, and Alexie pointed to me. He could see I was uncertain about who he was motioning toward, and said, “You, the cute guy.”
Me: (looks back and forth over shoulders)
Alexie: “C’mon, you know it’s you.”
Me: (waits for laughter to die down) “Did you bring any new poems to read?”
Alexie: No new poems, but I will recite this one (and launches into a 6 line, maybe 12 word piece, about a fly in a Hyatt hotel.
The whole scene is a bit embarrassing to put down, but it felt like my brush with greatness. I couldn’t help but think of the Classic Coke commercial where Mean Joe Green tosses his jersey to a young kid after the game.
“Wow, thanks Sherman.”
But, I at least tried to persuade some Alexie poetic greatness out of him.
One of my favorite bits of trivia (true or not) about Alexie is that in the days where he would compete in the World Champion Poetry Bout, he would walk out with a boxer’s robe with “The Sherminator” written on the back. Again, I am not sure this happened, but
it is a great story.
“Wow, thanks Sherminator.”
I also should say that my ability to relate to the young kid could be that since I have not had a haircut in a while, my hair looks like it did when I was 7.
In other news, I today signed up for Health Insurance. These are the things that one might never think of in the lives of great ones like Pollock and de Kooning, but alas, a person needs Health Insurance these days. If nothing else, the whole episode was a brutal reminder of mortality and something like a snippet from that series of “Worst Case Scenario” books.
Me: So, if I get in three accidents in one year then I have to pay the deductible three times?
Agent: Yes, but again, the likelihood of that….
Me: I know, I will be careful.
I couldn’t help but imagine my fear of airplanes which always manifests itself this way. I writhe in terror on a cross-continental flight, my back and legs exhausted from the second-by-second bracing against the inevitable plummeting that I am sure is about to occur. I make it, and relaxed, get my bags, walk out the huge double doors, smiling, only to be mowed down by a runaway taxi.
In the vision, I always have a bag in each hang and a 1950’s style suit and hat (think: the husband in Bewitched), and I end up perfectly flat on the asphalt (think: the cartoon Tom and Jerry) just waiting for a spatula to carry me to the funeral home.
Agent: Well, let’s see, this one covers radiation treatment
Me: (nods)
Agent: And this one carries half-coverage if you go in the hospital for a gastric hemorrhage, inflamed bladder or (smiles) caesarian section.
Me: (nods)
Agent: But it doesn’t cover you for epilepsy or brain tumors.
Me: I’ll be careful.
OK, neither conversation happened, but you get the drift. Basically, getting your own Health Insurance is morbid. But, now that I have it, I am off to play chicken in the middle of the highway.
Happy Friday.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Richard Serra, Revision, and Throwing Things (Out)
The article in the New Yorker this week (June 11 & 18, 2007) and the Richard Serra retrospective at the MOMA this summer, which the article covers, had me thinking of an old poem of mine, below. I decided to drag it out and attempt a revision. The original and revision follows.
The picture above is from the site, http://37signals.com/
One thing I loved about the article by Peter Schjedahl is the following:
“Serra’s mostly magnificent retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art proves that he is not only our greatest sculptor but an artist whose subject is greatness befitting our time.”
Anyone who has seen these Serra’s up close and has wobbled in their imposing presence can relate to Schjedahl’s words. Serra’s work is so many things at the same time: masculine/ feminine/ imposing/ intimate/ ambitious/ simple/ modern/ primitive— he is major and I am hoping the winds carry me to New York this summer to see this show.
I have always loved the famous image of Serra throwing molten lead in 1969, seen here in a photograph by Gianfranco Georgoni, (as found on http://members.aol.com/mindwebart3/richard5.htm); it has always seemed to me like Serra inheriting Pollock’s method (yes, we all know Pollock isn’t the first to drip paint)— only with more physicality and risk. Moving the center of the art universe from action painting to sculpture in one violent toss of liquid metal. It is a great photo that captures a shift in the focus of art.
Over the past few days I have done some additional work on the paper images— this last one I worked on I went the wrong direction with. I used colors that were a bit too heavy. It is nowhere near as effective— so, this one is headed for the trash. Makes me think of Monet, who had people scavenging through his trash for swatches of canvases that he ripped up— I think my work is still a little far from inspiring eBay hopefuls to scour through my coffee grounds.
So, as Serra is throwing things like lead, I am led to throwing things away.
Here are both the poem and the revision, which I am still working on:
MOUTHS LIKE TORQUED ELLIPSES
The picture above is from the site, http://37signals.com/
One thing I loved about the article by Peter Schjedahl is the following:
“Serra’s mostly magnificent retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art proves that he is not only our greatest sculptor but an artist whose subject is greatness befitting our time.”
Anyone who has seen these Serra’s up close and has wobbled in their imposing presence can relate to Schjedahl’s words. Serra’s work is so many things at the same time: masculine/ feminine/ imposing/ intimate/ ambitious/ simple/ modern/ primitive— he is major and I am hoping the winds carry me to New York this summer to see this show.
I have always loved the famous image of Serra throwing molten lead in 1969, seen here in a photograph by Gianfranco Georgoni, (as found on http://members.aol.com/mindwebart3/richard5.htm); it has always seemed to me like Serra inheriting Pollock’s method (yes, we all know Pollock isn’t the first to drip paint)— only with more physicality and risk. Moving the center of the art universe from action painting to sculpture in one violent toss of liquid metal. It is a great photo that captures a shift in the focus of art.
Over the past few days I have done some additional work on the paper images— this last one I worked on I went the wrong direction with. I used colors that were a bit too heavy. It is nowhere near as effective— so, this one is headed for the trash. Makes me think of Monet, who had people scavenging through his trash for swatches of canvases that he ripped up— I think my work is still a little far from inspiring eBay hopefuls to scour through my coffee grounds.
So, as Serra is throwing things like lead, I am led to throwing things away.
Here are both the poem and the revision, which I am still working on:
MOUTHS LIKE TORQUED ELLIPSES
While we walked around the Rickard Serra’s
there was this slanted shine reflected back
from black gallery floors. Your summer sandals
stretched up along those long tan legs
beneath the scandal of a button-front khaki skirt—
both our sets of ankles wobbled in reaction
to the curve of metal mouths gasping
at the footfalls of Manhattan wincing their way
around them— a trail like that of fingertips
teasing lips you want to get so much of
your mouth waters as your knees brace
against the curve of earth, and even breathing
seems so delicate that you wonder
when you’ll fall.
MOUTHS LIKE TORQUED ELLIPSES
Against the certain curve of earth
you wonder when you’ll fall. Your
knees brace below the scandal
of a button-front skirt— your uncertain
fingers fumbled against the buttonholes
this morning while the sun persuaded
its way
above the bend of river
in the distance. Someone is clapping
their hands, uncertain about
performance, or the performer, performing
mismatched rhythm in the storeroom
of a sinking barge—
or that type of forget-the-car driving
through an extra-long tunnel
on the Pennsylvania thruway. If this
were a rollercoaster, let’s face it, we’d both
be screaming. But here our ankles wobble,
roll and crest, your strappy sandals
pinch against skin, our eyes squint
and search for thin openings
in this metal manufactured light. Footfalls
click and gasp out slanted shine; reflect it
back against black gallery floors— the looping
soundtrack of Manhattan
searching for a long, drawn-out, off-to-war,
farewell kiss full of passion and memory, a dance
so delicate you forget you’re already moving;
watch the ship depart for something
else, and far away, and farther, and hold
onto the dock.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
More Fire & Ice, and Midway Studios
Worked on another of these smaller works on paper tonight- this one the 9 1/2 “ x 7” size- and put some finishing touches on the other one previously posted. Interesting to play with the colors— obviously there is something very different to the eye in seeing a mirror image that doesn’t have the same color tones (as in the first); but I think this might cause a moment’s pause which might be good on some cases for this series.
Rather than use strict watercolors (I generally favor the Koi brand), I used some scrap booking paint tonight— diluted down to varying levels with water— to play with the transparency of the paint and the images below. Also, I experimented with this second paper piece with going back over some of the image after it was painted with pen and ink again.
2 very similar approaches— in smaller works on paper with pen and ink and similar subject matter— but I find myself using these smaller works to experiment with some techniques for the larger canvases.
The other pic is the front of the Midway Studios building. Had my camera with me for a walk today, and have been wanting to post this— so here it is.
Rather than use strict watercolors (I generally favor the Koi brand), I used some scrap booking paint tonight— diluted down to varying levels with water— to play with the transparency of the paint and the images below. Also, I experimented with this second paper piece with going back over some of the image after it was painted with pen and ink again.
2 very similar approaches— in smaller works on paper with pen and ink and similar subject matter— but I find myself using these smaller works to experiment with some techniques for the larger canvases.
The other pic is the front of the Midway Studios building. Had my camera with me for a walk today, and have been wanting to post this— so here it is.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Work in Progress; Watercolors on Paper
The above pic is some recent work I have done on smaller works on paper (each is approx 7" by 9 1/2"). As you can see, I am playing with ideas of composition- still very interested in the interplay between positive and negative space and the moment where we catch a person in contemplation in the mirror- or them catching us watching them in the mirror.
I am toying with the idea of pushing on the "Fire and Ice" idea a bit more, and may continue that as a mini-series, which will allow me to further explore the blues and reds together as well as play with the poem and the same themes a bit more.
Alex Katz; Fire & Ice
I was in the new Border’s on Boylston Street on Friday and picked up a large book on Alex Katz— and was incredibly impressed.
I’ve been interested in Katz for a long time— albeit more for his connection to the New York School poets than anything else— but besides a passing appreciation, I hadn’t been exposed to much of his work. Of course, I love the image of Kenneth Koch from the cover of his “Collected” (as pictured above, and borrowed from Amazon.com), as well as some other images of O’Hara and others Katz has done— but, bottom line, I didn’t realize that I was pursuing a lot of the same ideas as him.
His use of bright colors, and some of the composition elements— being the interplay between the figures and the landscape— caught me right away. As did the incredible scale of some of his work; it had me fantasizing of 12 foot long canvases.
One of the first images I opened to was “Eleuthera” (as pictured above, and borrowed from his website at AlexKatz.com). It was hard for me not to find some similarities between this work and my, “Coast to Coast” from this year. See pic above.
I’ve been interested in Katz for a long time— albeit more for his connection to the New York School poets than anything else— but besides a passing appreciation, I hadn’t been exposed to much of his work. Of course, I love the image of Kenneth Koch from the cover of his “Collected” (as pictured above, and borrowed from Amazon.com), as well as some other images of O’Hara and others Katz has done— but, bottom line, I didn’t realize that I was pursuing a lot of the same ideas as him.
His use of bright colors, and some of the composition elements— being the interplay between the figures and the landscape— caught me right away. As did the incredible scale of some of his work; it had me fantasizing of 12 foot long canvases.
One of the first images I opened to was “Eleuthera” (as pictured above, and borrowed from his website at AlexKatz.com). It was hard for me not to find some similarities between this work and my, “Coast to Coast” from this year. See pic above.
I know they are very different in many ways- and I admit, I was a little stunned to find the 2 women in bathing suits, close-cropped on the canvas, and flat colors; but I do think the palette, the flatness, and the relation of figure and space is something I seem to be chasing Katz on; he is combining these ideas ideally. It is fun to see the similarity though.
I say this humbly, and use the word similarity on purpose. Obviously I am doing some work in layering and obviously Katz is amazing. It occurs to me that as people read this blog (versus private words in a journal) they might think that I am comparing myself to Katz, or de Kooning, or whomever I mention. Rather, I find it fascinating to catch these similarities and approach— there is truly nothing new in Art, but a different combining of the pieces— color, line, shape, tone, composition, texture, etc… So, when I stumble upon something in my art or someone else’s that resonates, I think about it and am fascinated with the connections.
In other news, tonight I worked on a watercolor— much smaller in size than my canvases (about 11 ¾ “ by 15 ¾”). It has a working title of “Fire and Ice.” Over the past few days I became occupied with the ideas of reds and blues (associated with heat and cold as well as “red” states and “blue” states in our political vernacular). While I am certainly no political Artist or poet (mostly because it is so hard to be good at), this connection between red and blue and the platforms (death by terror-bombing versus death by environmental catastrophe) each major party seems to be running on, had me also thinking of the Robert Frost poem “Fire and Ice.”
The watercolor uses some images from a recent National Geographic on global warming, and some images from an Air Force magazine circa 1944— as well as text from the Frost poem. Not only have I thought a lot about doing some smaller works on paper, I am also currently in discussions about participating in a 3-person show in the late Fall, and I am interesting in combining some of these smaller pen and ink/watercolor works with the larger canvases.
There is a picture of the in progress “Fire and Ice” above.
I say this humbly, and use the word similarity on purpose. Obviously I am doing some work in layering and obviously Katz is amazing. It occurs to me that as people read this blog (versus private words in a journal) they might think that I am comparing myself to Katz, or de Kooning, or whomever I mention. Rather, I find it fascinating to catch these similarities and approach— there is truly nothing new in Art, but a different combining of the pieces— color, line, shape, tone, composition, texture, etc… So, when I stumble upon something in my art or someone else’s that resonates, I think about it and am fascinated with the connections.
In other news, tonight I worked on a watercolor— much smaller in size than my canvases (about 11 ¾ “ by 15 ¾”). It has a working title of “Fire and Ice.” Over the past few days I became occupied with the ideas of reds and blues (associated with heat and cold as well as “red” states and “blue” states in our political vernacular). While I am certainly no political Artist or poet (mostly because it is so hard to be good at), this connection between red and blue and the platforms (death by terror-bombing versus death by environmental catastrophe) each major party seems to be running on, had me also thinking of the Robert Frost poem “Fire and Ice.”
The watercolor uses some images from a recent National Geographic on global warming, and some images from an Air Force magazine circa 1944— as well as text from the Frost poem. Not only have I thought a lot about doing some smaller works on paper, I am also currently in discussions about participating in a 3-person show in the late Fall, and I am interesting in combining some of these smaller pen and ink/watercolor works with the larger canvases.
There is a picture of the in progress “Fire and Ice” above.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Wazoo Farm & Unlocking the Sky
Just a quick note to announce a new book review I wrote for Kim Cockroft's blog: Notes from Wazoo Farm.
The book is one I just finished, Unlocking the Sky, and the review can be found at:
http://wazoofarm.blogspot.com/2007/05/contributor-book-review-unlocking-sky.html
The book is one I just finished, Unlocking the Sky, and the review can be found at:
http://wazoofarm.blogspot.com/2007/05/contributor-book-review-unlocking-sky.html
Music Video: Dropkick Murphys - Sunshine Highway
I just can't wait any longer to put the Dropkick's up. Yes, everyone knows them now from The Departed- but my good friend Oliver Benner is die hard and turned me on to them way before Leo and Matty Damon did. Basically, the Dropkick's rock. And the Sunshine Highway is my fav.
Submissions, Influences, and Submission
This week I have been prepping a submission packet for the FPAC Gallery in Boston and their upcoming summer show. This is not the stuff from which amusement park rides are made.
Piecing together an artist’s statement, resume, photographing some good images, and retouching some of my current ones was quite a bit of work. One treat was that as I lay down to bed last night/early AM, after burning the midnight oil to get ready for today’s deadline, I was witness to a fantastic lightning show in the dawn’s early light.
I will say, after dropping off my submission packet and wading through the work over the past week, I am starting to understand why the word “submission,” used for your entry into a show or journal is the same, “submission,” that describes the kind of hold a WWF Wrestler used to put on an opponent to get them to give up. “Submit!” the neighborhood bully might scream, kneeling on your forearms and getting ready to pummel your face.
Yes, I know it is now the WWE— but the days of the WWF are the golden ones. Give me pre-reality TV Hulk Hogan, and a little dose of Hulkamania, any day.
My trip over to the FPAC Gallery also allowed me to see the new show that is currently up— American Woman, with art by Joanne Kaliontzis (Digital Collage) and Carla Michel (Quilts and Fabric Art). The above images are taken from the Fort Point Arts Community website (Fortpointarts.org).
The show is spectacular— and resonates with me personally. My current work uses found objects to collage into larger images (both artists here do this extraordinarily well) and attempts to reconsider some of the influences on self- and cultural- image that the objects we see have on us— again both of these artists are doing this very, very well.
In addition, as I have been cutting out shapes of paper and gluing them to a canvas, it occurred to me that I had been creating a type of paper- or image-quilt. My mother is an amazing quilter and I have felt that this has influenced my work— her bringing together of different images and shapes and colors for a harmonious and uniform design that reveals more and more upon further inspection.
I can remember as a child looking for new designs in the tiny fabric pieces of our family quilts. Today, I often do the same when looking at my year-old reversible log cabin quilt that my mother made (see pic above). There are blue zebras and yellow bananas— tiny angels soaring with trumpets in clouds— so many things to look at and consider and enjoy, which is certainly something I strive for in my art. Undoubtedly, my mother’s eye for gardening, certain types of cooking (in teaching me both she emphasized over and over again ideas of color and shape), and quilting is a large influence on my work.
As a result, it was even more rewarding to catch this show. Carla Michel’s work with found imagery and actual quilting techniques is powerful— and works well alongside Kaliontzis. I thought a few times of James Rosenquist in considering her work— and he is someone I love, so this is high praise.
See http://fortpointarts.org/ for more information on their show. And keep your fingers crossed that my submission for consideration for the FPAC Summer Show doesn’t turn into a submission-hold Cobra Clutch type affair (above image from the WWF Wrestlefest Arcade http://www.setel.com/~mrob/festpage1.html).
Piecing together an artist’s statement, resume, photographing some good images, and retouching some of my current ones was quite a bit of work. One treat was that as I lay down to bed last night/early AM, after burning the midnight oil to get ready for today’s deadline, I was witness to a fantastic lightning show in the dawn’s early light.
I will say, after dropping off my submission packet and wading through the work over the past week, I am starting to understand why the word “submission,” used for your entry into a show or journal is the same, “submission,” that describes the kind of hold a WWF Wrestler used to put on an opponent to get them to give up. “Submit!” the neighborhood bully might scream, kneeling on your forearms and getting ready to pummel your face.
Yes, I know it is now the WWE— but the days of the WWF are the golden ones. Give me pre-reality TV Hulk Hogan, and a little dose of Hulkamania, any day.
My trip over to the FPAC Gallery also allowed me to see the new show that is currently up— American Woman, with art by Joanne Kaliontzis (Digital Collage) and Carla Michel (Quilts and Fabric Art). The above images are taken from the Fort Point Arts Community website (Fortpointarts.org).
The show is spectacular— and resonates with me personally. My current work uses found objects to collage into larger images (both artists here do this extraordinarily well) and attempts to reconsider some of the influences on self- and cultural- image that the objects we see have on us— again both of these artists are doing this very, very well.
In addition, as I have been cutting out shapes of paper and gluing them to a canvas, it occurred to me that I had been creating a type of paper- or image-quilt. My mother is an amazing quilter and I have felt that this has influenced my work— her bringing together of different images and shapes and colors for a harmonious and uniform design that reveals more and more upon further inspection.
I can remember as a child looking for new designs in the tiny fabric pieces of our family quilts. Today, I often do the same when looking at my year-old reversible log cabin quilt that my mother made (see pic above). There are blue zebras and yellow bananas— tiny angels soaring with trumpets in clouds— so many things to look at and consider and enjoy, which is certainly something I strive for in my art. Undoubtedly, my mother’s eye for gardening, certain types of cooking (in teaching me both she emphasized over and over again ideas of color and shape), and quilting is a large influence on my work.
As a result, it was even more rewarding to catch this show. Carla Michel’s work with found imagery and actual quilting techniques is powerful— and works well alongside Kaliontzis. I thought a few times of James Rosenquist in considering her work— and he is someone I love, so this is high praise.
See http://fortpointarts.org/ for more information on their show. And keep your fingers crossed that my submission for consideration for the FPAC Summer Show doesn’t turn into a submission-hold Cobra Clutch type affair (above image from the WWF Wrestlefest Arcade http://www.setel.com/~mrob/festpage1.html).
What Are You Looking At? - My Most Recent Artist's Statement
My newest works are concerned with layering. At the outset this idea is presented through collage elements beneath the surface of the paint, as well as with the primary image of the reflections of the female form in mirrors.
The collage elements beneath the surface of the paint contain everything from scratch tickets to receipts; comic books pictures to design-build drawings of fighter jets; coloring book images to clippings from the National Enquirer. This creates a very literal and physical sense of layering that lends itself to ideas of intellectual layering, metaphorical layering, and the overall layered meaning of the pieces themselves. Viewers are continually invited to look past what they are seeing to the next thing and their next set of responses.
These works use high-contrast acrylic paints with intense colors and various levels of opacity to create striking images with their collage elements showing through. Generally these collage elements are found objects that I enlarge or reduce in size and as a photocopy onto cardstock paper and then adhere to the surface of the canvas. This often creates a rippling effect of the paper that indicates a greater literal depth to the surface than a flattened approach might bring.
What are you looking at? is the overriding question these works seek to present. There are so many layers of meaning and influence in the everyday images we are bombarded with— and too often take for granted— that presenting them in different ways may inspire some new consideration of what we are all actually looking at. And maybe even, what the impact of this relationship is to our images of self and society.
Present is an inference that these images taken from education, marketing, consumerism, the mass media, etc. truly do make us who we are to some extent. Thus, the women in these mirrored scenes are presented in a moment of contemplation about who and what they see. What are you looking at? is their question, personally— as well as in direct relation to what they see in their everyday lives.
It is ours as well, as we catch them here in an intimate moment of recasting and reconsidering themselves.
The collage elements beneath the surface of the paint contain everything from scratch tickets to receipts; comic books pictures to design-build drawings of fighter jets; coloring book images to clippings from the National Enquirer. This creates a very literal and physical sense of layering that lends itself to ideas of intellectual layering, metaphorical layering, and the overall layered meaning of the pieces themselves. Viewers are continually invited to look past what they are seeing to the next thing and their next set of responses.
These works use high-contrast acrylic paints with intense colors and various levels of opacity to create striking images with their collage elements showing through. Generally these collage elements are found objects that I enlarge or reduce in size and as a photocopy onto cardstock paper and then adhere to the surface of the canvas. This often creates a rippling effect of the paper that indicates a greater literal depth to the surface than a flattened approach might bring.
What are you looking at? is the overriding question these works seek to present. There are so many layers of meaning and influence in the everyday images we are bombarded with— and too often take for granted— that presenting them in different ways may inspire some new consideration of what we are all actually looking at. And maybe even, what the impact of this relationship is to our images of self and society.
Present is an inference that these images taken from education, marketing, consumerism, the mass media, etc. truly do make us who we are to some extent. Thus, the women in these mirrored scenes are presented in a moment of contemplation about who and what they see. What are you looking at? is their question, personally— as well as in direct relation to what they see in their everyday lives.
It is ours as well, as we catch them here in an intimate moment of recasting and reconsidering themselves.
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