Well, I haven’t been so sure on what to report on the blog for quite some time, but since my friend Martin Cockroft recently contacted me to check for a pulse due to my eerie blog silence, I figured it was time to at least let cyberspace know I am alive and breathing.
As I’ve said in the past, it is difficult to blog about writing. While, if I am focused more on painting, I can comment on what is influencing me, or comment on my progress. Writing about art seems like a nice break while writing about writing seems like treating a headache with a hammer.
So, what have I been up to? Artistically, I have been working on a long piece of fiction. I have been trying to reconcile my ability to go on endless tangents of description and voice with actually formulating around some sort of plot. This led me to some exploration in screenwriting and plot development and using some tricks of the trade to try and bring voice, image, and plot together. In my twenty years of playing with fiction (note how many stories I have published) I have always been sidetracked by plot and character development. Maybe this is common enough, but it is extremely disheartening to get 100 pages in and discover you don’t believe that anyone cares what happens to these characters anymore. I believe I have remedied this in all my development work with this piece in progress, but we shall see.
As a side note, please say the above “He’s Alive” in true Frankenstein format. As another side note, perhaps the greatest take-off on Frankenstein of all time came in the movie “Better Off Dead,” with a Frankenstein-esque hamburger who was armed with an Eddie Van Halen guitar and did a David Lee Roth impression.
As another side note, might I suggest anything from the “Live Without A Net,” movie on YouTube if you are itching to do a Van Halen catch-up. No quibbling on Red Raider vs. DLR.
So, here is a bit of catch up on Eidsvig:
OPEN STUDIOS
Fort Point Open Studios is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the 17th, 18th and 19th of October. I won’t be opening this year, as since I have been so focused on writing, and continue to work on this one piece, I felt it might be a bit difficult to shift gears and prep for open studios. However, it is looking like a great turnout and I would urge anyone and everyone to come and check out the new work from other artists in the neighborhood.
For more information see: http://fortpointarts.org/
THE BLUES
In the past few weeks, the universe has randomly presented two stories by two very different writers to my front doorstep. I found myself listening to Elmore Leonard’s “Tishomingo Blues,” as a book on tape (there may be none better in popular fiction to study plot at the feet of) while reading “Reservation Blues” by Sherman Alexie. I didn’t even think anything of the “blues” connection, but oddly enough both referenced Robert Johnson, the famous-famous blue musician, and the infamous crossroads.
While Leonard used the “blues” to represent both music, as well as the dress uniforms of a Civil War reenactment, Alexie had his characters creating songs on and off the Indian reservation and a certain sadness throughout, of course mixed with Alexie humor. But, bizarre that I should find them both at the same time. Should probably add that I have been gravitating towards writers who I know in my bones can weave a story mixed with humor and drama, and also, that the story I am working on involves music and musicians.
As a side note, I read Alexie’s “Indian Killer” before “Reservation Blues.” While I like RS, “Indian Killer” was easily one of the best works of fiction I have read in a long, long time, if not ever. Check it out.
INSPIRATIONS
I am not sure if I mentioned it on the blog, but I have been Netflixed, which is a verb, I guess. Get your Netfix. Get your fix of flix. Net-fix. Anyhow, I have been renting movies on the internet.
This is especially good for someone like me who loves obscure art movies. I don’t mean French films. I mean documentaries about artists. For instance, “The Mystery of Picasso,” which lets you watch Picasso painting— was actually shown in one of my art classes at MassArt a million years ago (OK, make that 14-ish), but of course, I could never find it at Blockbuster. I think I tried to buy it somewhere once and it was on sale for like a million dollars (in this instance a million translates to 100 instead of 14), which seemed like a lot for a VHS tape.
All that said, I recently rented the 1997 documentary “Inspirations,” if only to see a bit of Roy Lichtenstein painting. So many of the art movies are bad— like where they tour around a museum and just talk about the work— but the ones where you see the artists working are fairly amazing. I was amazed, again, at Lichtenstein’s use, and love of, the line. It did nothing but solidify my reverence for this man. I love the idea of him strapping paintings to the roof of his station wagon and heading for Leo Castelli’s. But, alas.
Anyway, the other great surprise in this piece was the bit about David Bowie. Both for visual artists, and musicians, I would think this is a great little picture of his work. However, there is also a part about a program he uses to formulate song lyrics from found material that was wonderful— great fuel for any budding poets out there.
POLITICAL POEMS
So, Cockroft is at it again. See http://wazoofarm.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-in-my-dreams.html for a few of his new poems.
I have read out loud, and thought and thought…. wondering about the charge of words. Thinking what it might mean to mention the word “oil,” now in a poem, or how Katie Holmes can mean one thing on Dawson’s Creek and then the world changes altogether.
At first, I thought, “Sarah Palin” means too much. She means too many different things. The difference is that when O’Hara used James Dean or Spicer, Billy the Kid, they were already immortal. They could be anything in a poem. Sensitive, insecure, powerful, vulnerable, beautiful, ugly, comic, tragic. But people aren’t ready to have Sarah Palin be anything— the U.S. is too polarized, to filled with opposites. She means hope to some devastation to others. Death and life. It doesn’t have the distance of a Marilyn Monroe. We aren’t ready, democrat or republican to have Sarah Palin be that human. She is either God or Devil, not nervous or confused or able to fall in love or snort while laughing. No one is ready to see her like that, no matter what they have invested.
And then I read Martin’s poems. He is able to do things that poems should not be able to do. He is maddening and wonderful.
Long live Cockrofts.
ART IN PROGRESS
So, yes, I have been dabbling with some things. A collage here, a sketch there. Above, see what I have cooking.
As I’ve said in the past, it is difficult to blog about writing. While, if I am focused more on painting, I can comment on what is influencing me, or comment on my progress. Writing about art seems like a nice break while writing about writing seems like treating a headache with a hammer.
So, what have I been up to? Artistically, I have been working on a long piece of fiction. I have been trying to reconcile my ability to go on endless tangents of description and voice with actually formulating around some sort of plot. This led me to some exploration in screenwriting and plot development and using some tricks of the trade to try and bring voice, image, and plot together. In my twenty years of playing with fiction (note how many stories I have published) I have always been sidetracked by plot and character development. Maybe this is common enough, but it is extremely disheartening to get 100 pages in and discover you don’t believe that anyone cares what happens to these characters anymore. I believe I have remedied this in all my development work with this piece in progress, but we shall see.
As a side note, please say the above “He’s Alive” in true Frankenstein format. As another side note, perhaps the greatest take-off on Frankenstein of all time came in the movie “Better Off Dead,” with a Frankenstein-esque hamburger who was armed with an Eddie Van Halen guitar and did a David Lee Roth impression.
As another side note, might I suggest anything from the “Live Without A Net,” movie on YouTube if you are itching to do a Van Halen catch-up. No quibbling on Red Raider vs. DLR.
So, here is a bit of catch up on Eidsvig:
OPEN STUDIOS
Fort Point Open Studios is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the 17th, 18th and 19th of October. I won’t be opening this year, as since I have been so focused on writing, and continue to work on this one piece, I felt it might be a bit difficult to shift gears and prep for open studios. However, it is looking like a great turnout and I would urge anyone and everyone to come and check out the new work from other artists in the neighborhood.
For more information see: http://fortpointarts.org/
THE BLUES
In the past few weeks, the universe has randomly presented two stories by two very different writers to my front doorstep. I found myself listening to Elmore Leonard’s “Tishomingo Blues,” as a book on tape (there may be none better in popular fiction to study plot at the feet of) while reading “Reservation Blues” by Sherman Alexie. I didn’t even think anything of the “blues” connection, but oddly enough both referenced Robert Johnson, the famous-famous blue musician, and the infamous crossroads.
While Leonard used the “blues” to represent both music, as well as the dress uniforms of a Civil War reenactment, Alexie had his characters creating songs on and off the Indian reservation and a certain sadness throughout, of course mixed with Alexie humor. But, bizarre that I should find them both at the same time. Should probably add that I have been gravitating towards writers who I know in my bones can weave a story mixed with humor and drama, and also, that the story I am working on involves music and musicians.
As a side note, I read Alexie’s “Indian Killer” before “Reservation Blues.” While I like RS, “Indian Killer” was easily one of the best works of fiction I have read in a long, long time, if not ever. Check it out.
INSPIRATIONS
I am not sure if I mentioned it on the blog, but I have been Netflixed, which is a verb, I guess. Get your Netfix. Get your fix of flix. Net-fix. Anyhow, I have been renting movies on the internet.
This is especially good for someone like me who loves obscure art movies. I don’t mean French films. I mean documentaries about artists. For instance, “The Mystery of Picasso,” which lets you watch Picasso painting— was actually shown in one of my art classes at MassArt a million years ago (OK, make that 14-ish), but of course, I could never find it at Blockbuster. I think I tried to buy it somewhere once and it was on sale for like a million dollars (in this instance a million translates to 100 instead of 14), which seemed like a lot for a VHS tape.
All that said, I recently rented the 1997 documentary “Inspirations,” if only to see a bit of Roy Lichtenstein painting. So many of the art movies are bad— like where they tour around a museum and just talk about the work— but the ones where you see the artists working are fairly amazing. I was amazed, again, at Lichtenstein’s use, and love of, the line. It did nothing but solidify my reverence for this man. I love the idea of him strapping paintings to the roof of his station wagon and heading for Leo Castelli’s. But, alas.
Anyway, the other great surprise in this piece was the bit about David Bowie. Both for visual artists, and musicians, I would think this is a great little picture of his work. However, there is also a part about a program he uses to formulate song lyrics from found material that was wonderful— great fuel for any budding poets out there.
POLITICAL POEMS
So, Cockroft is at it again. See http://wazoofarm.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-in-my-dreams.html for a few of his new poems.
I have read out loud, and thought and thought…. wondering about the charge of words. Thinking what it might mean to mention the word “oil,” now in a poem, or how Katie Holmes can mean one thing on Dawson’s Creek and then the world changes altogether.
At first, I thought, “Sarah Palin” means too much. She means too many different things. The difference is that when O’Hara used James Dean or Spicer, Billy the Kid, they were already immortal. They could be anything in a poem. Sensitive, insecure, powerful, vulnerable, beautiful, ugly, comic, tragic. But people aren’t ready to have Sarah Palin be anything— the U.S. is too polarized, to filled with opposites. She means hope to some devastation to others. Death and life. It doesn’t have the distance of a Marilyn Monroe. We aren’t ready, democrat or republican to have Sarah Palin be that human. She is either God or Devil, not nervous or confused or able to fall in love or snort while laughing. No one is ready to see her like that, no matter what they have invested.
And then I read Martin’s poems. He is able to do things that poems should not be able to do. He is maddening and wonderful.
Long live Cockrofts.
ART IN PROGRESS
So, yes, I have been dabbling with some things. A collage here, a sketch there. Above, see what I have cooking.
The outlines on the one are ready for some collaging in— consider it my attempt to again fuse some sort of expressionism with pop, and in the second is an example of my use of canvas for rolling extra-large sketchbook.
I have no idea when these might be done, if ever. But art calls to me, maybe even especially, when my hands are in the words.
