New X - O Graffiti Painting

Above, see some shots of my new painting in progress. The canvas is 4 feet x 6 feet and is working off the themes of x's and O's, as these recent works have been.

Working title is something like "Three Red O's" or "Two Red X's and an O." But, will have to wait and see how the finished product comes out. Am also about to commence on some additional smaller works playing with popular iconography and x's and o's.

Am reading Vonnegut's "Bluebeard" again, which has me wondering about the heart of art and expression and representation. Can't help but watch the meditation of my mind during a painting versus a poem or a piece of fiction. There is a quality of my mind squeezing through the emotions of my world when I paint. In the best outlook for this, one would hope this process helps wring them out or express them. Different from fiction, as the craft requires so much of the intellect. And different for me from poetry as this seems to be a bridge between the two. Painting is the emotions swirling while my hand is on the brush.

Have also been thinking more about graffiti, and on that note, Jonathan Lethem's "Fortress of Solitude"... a must for any aspiring tagger. For those who have read: "Dose, Dose, Dose." And for those that haven't: what's stopping you?

These x's and o's are graffiti on canvas for the time being. Representation and emotion in black and white. Three red o's or some such and the painting plods along.

More More More X-O Cowboys and Spring Art Walk

Above, see another shot of this version of the X-O Cowboys appearing on paper. I think it is fair to say that all this Boston Shepard Fairey has warped my color pallette. I think in red, yellow, and white right now.

There has been this conversation going on on my head. Yes it is loud up there. It is basically: "Why cowboys?" I keep thinking of Jasper Johns waking up one day and saying he dreamt he was painting a flag. Of course, I have a more detailed answer than that- and will likely post something about my cowboy ideas sometime, but for now: observe the paper giving way to something else.

Spring Art Walk

It is official. I will be participating in Fort Point's Spring Art Walk this year. Mark your calendars: Saturday and Sunday, May 9th and 10th from noon to 5 pm. Hope to see you all there.

More X-O Cowboys

Another work on paper in progress in this X-O series.

Sprung!

Beantown (specifically Fort Point) and spring have started to rekindle their love affair. Here are a few shots of the two of them getting a bit more intimate today. Man, what a bunch of voyeurs we are.... but it is beautiful to watch.

More X – O Cowboys, Movies and the New Yorker

Quick update to show some shots of this new work on paper. As you can see, I have been experimenting further with the X’s and O’s, and further with the cowboys. As with the other large painting, the silhouettes are borrowed from western clothing catalogs. And the X’s and O’s? Consider it some blend between Lichtenstein’s dots and old cattle branding. Although, the more I get in, the more intriguing the X’s and O’s seem to be as a launching pad: XXX, hugs and kisses, zeros, etc. We will see.

This work is smaller: maybe 14” x 18” and far from done. It is either going to be the basis of a larger painting or a stand-alone. Either way, it is challenging my colored Sharpie collection.

New Yorker

Check out this week’s New Yorker (March 23, 2009) for a couple nice pieces on some of my art world favs. Nice little piece by Peter Schjeldahl on Ellsworth Kelly and a Chris Burden write up that is not to be missed—either by disgruntled economists or contemporary art lovers.

Movies

To catch up on my movie watching: Choke was impressive—no, not as great as the book, but one of the better movie adaptations I have ever come across. Sam Rockwell was great. Truly enjoyable.

Conversations with Other Women, shown entirely in split-screen, is interesting if only for that fact. Plus, it recalled to me the Warhol films I have seen done in similar ways. And any movie with the new Two-face (even if he isn’t as slick as Billy Dee Williams) is OK by me.

Colt 45. Works every time.

Happy springtime everyone.

Do It C's, Do It & Peace Out Winter

Went to the Garden last night and watched as the Celtics clinched the division. Got some good shots of Beantown being beautiful on my walk home as well and will share one above.

There's only an hour or so left of winter here in Boston and March Madness is in full swing. As of right now I am 9 for 12 on my bracket (or my Dance Card if you will). Not bad, not bad at all.

Happy springtime!

Happy Evacuation Day and More X’s and O’s

Happy Evacuation Day! As if Boston needed any more reason to be declared the Hub of the Universe: how many cities make up a holiday just to make sure that everyone gets St. Paddy’s Day off work?

For those unfamiliar, a guy by the name of James Michael Curley, who—among other things—was Mayor of Boston for two years while he was in jail, lobbied to have “Evacuation Day” made into a holiday. The date of the British Evacuation from Boston was hard to pin down (March 23rd, maybe), so Curley convinced the powers that be that March 17th should be the day… thus insuring Beantown get the day off to this day.

Seriously. Beat that.

Gave me a chance today to don my kelly green Sox jacket.

Plus, have been working on some more X’s and O’s pieces. Shots above are from this graffiti drawing inspired version in progress. May be the study for a larger painting.

You can check the video of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones doing “Rascal King,” in honor of Mr. Curley.

Past Color

I mentioned recently that champion-poet Martin Cockroft and I have been working on something like a collaboration of prose poems. Well, my last 80's-ish post had me inspired to share a draft of the work in progress “Past Color” by the two of us. Enjoy.

The Starting Line, “Best of Me,” and 80’s Appropriation

617 Midway readers will likely remember my rant on the Wu-tang Clan shirt being featured in Wet Seal and the misappropriation of my youth. Well, my insistence on having musical tastes like those of a 'tween have only exacerbated this issue. Lately I notice 80’s music, 80’s movies—remakes everywhere. Whether from The Starting Line doing “Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now,” Fall Out Boy remaking “Beat It,” or New Found Glory redoing endless 80’s hits like “Crazy For You,” “The King of Wishful Thinking,” or Peter Cetera’s “The Glory of Love,” it is borderline ridiculous. And yes, I love it. Add to that the nod to Say Anything in The Starting Line’s video above and suddenly the 80’s are everywhere. Except I weigh more than 120 pounds now—and I’m not wearing a skinny tie.

As an aside, in regards to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”: I'm still convinced when someone pitched the movie Mannequin it was for some cutting-edge independent movie about love and materialism that got turned into a 80’s feel-good comedy by the movie execs. That, and Weekend at Bernie’s was likely much different in its first draft.

Seriously, how good is that Eddie Van Halen guitar riff and solo in Beat It? He keeps showing up in my poems lately. And my friend Johnny Mac and I had a John Mayer sighting at Don Rickles in Foxwoods in Jan. He is no king Edward though, that's for sure.

Matt and Ben Writing GWH

Since everyone knows my love of Ben and Matt (I have even threatened to go see "He's Just Not That Into You" in the theatres due to my love of Affleck's Clooney-esque self-satisfaction) I just had to post the above video. Plus, today was parade day in Southie so why not commemorate with the fellas that brought Hollywood knocking on the door of "God's Country."

Serves to remind me of the time my friend and confidant, one Johnny Blockbuster, told some movie doofus to stuff it when he was asked to move out of a shot during the filming of GWH. It was only later that Mr. Blockbuster realized that said "doofus" was Gus Van Sant.

So, enjoy the time capsule into tinsel town a la Family Guy. And fret not, testosterone police: I will be waiting for Netflix to catch Affleck at his finest in "Not Into You."

Thanks to Emily for the find.

More Blue Cowboys

Blue Cowboys continues to plod along. Above, see some images of this large painting in progress. All of a sudden, Fort Point Spring Art Walk is right around the corner. I need to get a few assistants to finish up all these pieces in progress I have planned for the event. I'm taking applications.

Collaboration with Azita

My friend, and the extraordinary writer, Azita Osanloo and I worked on some poetry collaborations last week. She has been in the process of taking a workshop with David Kirby, and I have been trying to figure out how to write a poem for 14 decades. OK, that is a slight exaggeration. Anyhow, above see Azita in the process of setting fire to the page in 617 Midway, and also some of the fruits of our labor. I think Azita said that my handwriting was that of a child with poor circulation.

60 Degrees, The God of Animals, Dobby Gibson, Guest Photos, FPTC, and 99 Cents

It was 60 degrees in Boston yesterday. Daylight Savings Time begins and Mother Nature drops a big gift-wrapped present on the Hub. Now I realize it was probably 60 degrees in a lot of places yesterday. In fact, it may even have been warmer than that in California, Florida, South America, etc. But, hey—it’s pretty hot in Hell too. I’m talking about Beantown baby. It was amazing.

As an aside, the pic above features Boston’s old Federal Building where one Al Eidsvig worked when he lived in the area. Legend has it that word spread that some cowboy from Montana was going to be starting there and the people had no idea what they’d be in for. I had no idea what I’d be in for either: I was just a glint on his spurs back then.

As another aside, the other pic above is from today: Beantown back to normal. It snowed light, fluffy flakes; but was a far cry from yesterday.

Aryn Kyle: If you haven’t bought and read and gave as gifts “The God of Animals” yet, you are selling yourself short. It is truly amazing. A wonderful book from a Montana alum. I just finished it and was awed. Check it out.

Dobby Gibson: I’ve been reading Dobby Gibson’s second book of poetry: Skirmish. There is some blend of Koch / O’Hara / Ashbery in his approach and craft that I love. Plus, a great mix of image, sound, humor and the tragic. I am working on a review for one of the lit mags—so more on that later, but a nice read by a contemporary poet.

Guest Photographer: I recently worked with Jess Barnett to update her portfolio and took some photos of her recent work. You can see these new photos here.

Fort Point Theatre Channel: The Fort Point Theatre Channel has just come out with a new posting for their theatre company. If you are in the Boston area, pick one up: there's a small shot of me at one of their reading events included in the marketing material.

99 Cents: Above, see the newest shot of "99 Cents" in progress.

One of Us: Prince live in '96

Prince - One Of Us - Live Paisley Park 96 -

Question: What the heck is His Purple Majesty doing on the 617Midway blog? Well, as you can probably tell, this video originally appeared on VH1 in '96 as part of Prince's then-annual Paisley Park party for fans. Ever since I have been scouring untold of sources for a copy of this version. Yes, it appears on the album Emancipation, but there is something about this live version between the Prince guitar riffs and his belting out the song that is so much bettter. I have long thought that this might be one of the best remakes of all time (along with one of Hendrix's renditions of "Like A Rolling Stone," and Jay Mascis/Dinosaur Jr. doing "Just Like Heaven"). It's even more bizarre since Prince is known for writing a lot of songs for other artists (including "Nothing Compares to You" and "Mani Monday") but by all accounts this is just The Purple One doing a cover.

Anyhow, I've been searching for this version for years. In truth, I am not the hugest Prince fan ever... but this is just great. So, I'm posting it here.

And for all you Chappelle fans: Game, blouses.

The Economy, Kara Walker, Blue Cowboys Get Maroon, Nasty Girls for 99 Cents, and The Bird is Back Again

Kara Walker: So, everyone is talking about the economy. People who don’t even know what they are talking about are talking about the economy. It’s everywhere: “what about that economy?”

Thought it was interesting this week though to come across the above photo from yahoo that reminded me so much of a Kara Walker. Art imitating life. Although, anyone familiar with Kara Walker and the images of her silhouettes knows that this is all too close to home. People skewered and raped. Seemed pretty graphic and pretty interesting. Art and life in imitation of one another.

Kara Walker image above is from Whitney.org and the yahoo photo is from
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/jobless-claims/photo//090305/480/5dd1fb3da1fb4df29d160712fad6acd1//s:/ap/20090306/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy
Blue Cowboys: Have been playing with the integrity of the pink-maroon line in Blue Cowboys and enjoying the results. This one plods along but seems to gain momentum.

99 Cents: Also, see this work in progress above. In other news, check out the GZA’s diss of 5o Cent on Youtube. Why would anyone pick a fight with the lyrical maestros of the Wu? It is just silly.

The Bird: The bird made a repeat appearance a few days back. He or she is a little bit of amazing.

Old-School Spenser

Maybe it was my post a few days back where I referenced Hawk and Spenser for Hire, but I picked up one of my old Robert B. Parker paperbacks the other day and was amazed, again, at how great his prose is, and of the connections and themes that are tied together in his treatment of the basic detective novel.

Now Parker has written a metric ton of books, and they've spawned numerous TV shows, made for TV movies, and most recently, Appaloosa, starring Ed Harris, which wasn't half-bad. In the past bit of time his work has aimed a little lower, I think, than the days of A Catskill Eagle, or A Savage Place, where there was a whole subtext going on beyond the main action. The reference to Melville and Moby Dick for example in A Catskill Eagle is present throughout. As is, in Valediction, the nod toward the Donne poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" and the conceit of the poem. These devices make the early Parker exceptional on a number of levels.

As an aside, I always think it is interesting how Elmore Leonard started with Westerns and has gone toward crime fiction, whereas Robert B. Parker started with detective and has written a handful of Westerns in the past years.

And I have been reading a lot, a lot, of Leonard lately as I work on some fiction and try and get my ear right for plot twists, dialogue, and character development from the limited third-person point of view.... but re-reading these old Parker paperbacks has me in awe of his craft again and has me remembering what drew me to him in the first place.

Plus, some of these old paperbacks I have owned for twenty years... and I have read twice as many times as that. They are like talking to an old uncle or something for me. Starting to read Robert B. Parker at 11 (after chewing through Fitzgerald, Hem, Salinger and others) had as much impact on me in some ways as my family and friends did in my development as a teenager and a young adult.

If you want a treat, try out these Robert B. Parker titles: Promised Land, Early Autumn, A Savage Place, and Valediction. There are parts of these stories that are embedded in me and explain some of the clockwork of my mind (you can blame de Kooning, Nancy Cole, and Al Eidsvig among others for some of it too). They are also true testament to Parker's inheritance of Raymond Chandler's prose and in furthering popular fiction by using the device of a mystery novel as a launching pad into social exploration a la Ross Macdonald (only better).

These books are part of what made me want to be a writer.

Above, see the starting credits of the old tv show. You guessed it, it was nowhere near as good as the books. But I love that horn.

Finally getting to Shepard

So, I've been working (or procrastinating) on a review for the Shepard Fairey exhibition at the ICA for a bit, and finally had a fire lit beneath me. No, not literally, as that would be horrifying... but when I got last week's issue of the New Yorker I saw that Peter Schjeldahl had done his review, and then I got this month's Art in America...

I love reading Schjeldahl. He is one of the bigger reasons I get the New Yorker, and I knew it would throw me off if I delved in before tackling mine. But I couldn't wait to read his piece.

Basically, I wasn't allowed to read any reviews until I finished mine. Just the motivation I needed.

So, part one of three is posted on Examiner.com. Click to check it out. Now I am off to read the big guns.

Other Stuff Cookin'

I mentioned a few posts back that I was working on a new piece involving hearts and dollar signs and transparencies. Above, see some shots of the piece in progress. So far, so good.

Also, have started using some adult ads from various Boston papers for the start of a series that will be called something along the lines of "Figure Drawing," playing on the idea of the human figure and numbers. The combination of prices, models, phone numbers, and mass media seems perfect for this. Is an idea I have had brewing since the poem "White Numbers" and the consideration of Jasper Johns using the number "7" versus Cezanne painting seven apples.

The red piece is one of these in progress. Art Walk is only a few months away!

Stop, Collaborate, and Listen

All of a sudden it seems like I'm involved in a number of collaborations. From working on paintings with Jess Barnett to poems with Martin Cockroft, with film and writing and photo work in-between, there has been lots of close working with artists lately.

The pics above are from last weekend (or two weekends ago depending on how you measure it) and are of Jess Barnett and I working together on a painting. Now, I am not sure it qualifies as anywhere near as cool as the collaboration Pollock and Tony Smith worked on—as described in the intro to the book “Pollock: And American Saga,”—that eventually turned into the painting Blue Poles, but it was pretty great. You can also check out Jess’ blog to see how some of our experimentation has leaked its way into her work:

http://myfavoritecliche.blogspot.com/

But all this collaborating combined with random High School images finding their way onto Facebook had me replaying the Vanilla Ice opus “Ice Ice Baby,” in my head. Was it really “Stop, collaborate and listen” as an intro? What the hell does that even mean? Freeze, get together and pay attention? And when will shaving lines into your eyebrows become cool again?

In other news: On rotation in 617 Midway are Mayday Parade’s “Jamie all Over,” and “Remembering Britt” by a Day At The Fair.

I wonder if Frank O’Hara said to Jasper Johns during the making of “Target with Plaster Casts,” something like “all right now— stop, collaborate and listen.”