Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Hem, Missoula, and the Tolling Bell
I have been re-reading some of the classics in the hopes of catching awe-induced paralysis at the enormous talents of literary giants and therefore giving more power to my procrastination and blocks concerning writing prose. So, "For Whom The Bell Tolls," has been my latest adventure, which I think I read at some point but had forgotten largely.
The first few chapters I was thinking, "man, was Hemingway overrated at times or what?" That surely disappears 30 pages in and he does nothing short of amaze with multiple points of view, internal dialogue, dialogue, image (there are litanies of scents that carry one through a spectrum of sensations) and so on. Truly a great book for its tension between characters, its internal and external tensions. Wonderful.
One thing I had forgotten completely was Robert Jordan, the main character, and his roots in Missoula, Montana. It was fun for me to see Hemingway mentioning the old alma matter and in having the main character hail from there:
"I wonder how they will like Maria in Missoula, Montana? That is if I can get a job back in Missoula."
I suppose this would be a good title for a poem. A good first line. Or, "What they thought of Maria in Missoula." Then again, I already have a bag full of poems mentioning Missoula and the Clark Fork River, not to mention Kalispell and Flathead Lake.
Question: Is Elmore Leonard's "Cuba Libre" some sort of remake of "For Whom the Bell Tolls?" He is a Hemingway fan for certain, and has mentioned reading Hem before writing on a regular basis. Interesting idea. There was something about the haircut, the Guardia Civil, etc, that seemed familiar.
And of course, today they announced the winner of the Hem look-a-like contest in Key West. See image above today from Reuters.
Two other pics are from the Eidsvig archives of Missoula. Enjoy.
The first few chapters I was thinking, "man, was Hemingway overrated at times or what?" That surely disappears 30 pages in and he does nothing short of amaze with multiple points of view, internal dialogue, dialogue, image (there are litanies of scents that carry one through a spectrum of sensations) and so on. Truly a great book for its tension between characters, its internal and external tensions. Wonderful.
One thing I had forgotten completely was Robert Jordan, the main character, and his roots in Missoula, Montana. It was fun for me to see Hemingway mentioning the old alma matter and in having the main character hail from there:
"I wonder how they will like Maria in Missoula, Montana? That is if I can get a job back in Missoula."
I suppose this would be a good title for a poem. A good first line. Or, "What they thought of Maria in Missoula." Then again, I already have a bag full of poems mentioning Missoula and the Clark Fork River, not to mention Kalispell and Flathead Lake.
Question: Is Elmore Leonard's "Cuba Libre" some sort of remake of "For Whom the Bell Tolls?" He is a Hemingway fan for certain, and has mentioned reading Hem before writing on a regular basis. Interesting idea. There was something about the haircut, the Guardia Civil, etc, that seemed familiar.
And of course, today they announced the winner of the Hem look-a-like contest in Key West. See image above today from Reuters.
Two other pics are from the Eidsvig archives of Missoula. Enjoy.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Blog Shout-outs
Two blogs you might want to spend some time clicking on:
1) http://pageorbpedde.blogspot.com Check out Page's great photos and her discussions around the process of inspiration and production. Page and I were classmates at the University of Montana and her work continues to impress.
2) http://roadtripccj.blogspot.com/ Peer over the right-hand shoulder of the Teza family as they trek across America Griswold-style. You may even see some interesting guest stars along the way.
1) http://pageorbpedde.blogspot.com Check out Page's great photos and her discussions around the process of inspiration and production. Page and I were classmates at the University of Montana and her work continues to impress.
2) http://roadtripccj.blogspot.com/ Peer over the right-hand shoulder of the Teza family as they trek across America Griswold-style. You may even see some interesting guest stars along the way.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Kicking it at The Cantab
Went to the Open Mic and Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge tonight and did my first Open in quite some time. Was nice to get up on the mic, try out some new work, and enjoy the crowd. Maria snapped a shot of me up on stage that I included above.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
X's, O's, The Little Man, and Time Machines
On this computer-aided walk down memory lane tonight, I came across some images that Martin (AKA Martin Cockroft, AKA poet extraordinaire) and I used for an installation piece that accompanied our thesis reading at the University of Montana in 2002.
I had remembered a few of these: There were some great shots Martin took of objects, books. A basketball net. An image from Piet Mondrian from a textbook.
But these above: The X's and O's, the Little Man.... well, it had me wondering if my artistic quest is stuck on repeat like All Time Low's new album is in 617Midway now. Or worse, my artistic compulsions are skipping like my worn out Buffalo Tom CD's; my worn-out Frank Sinatra inheritance. Or worse still, I am copying Martin mercilessly. Even years later.
X's and O's; X's and O's.
Nine Years Ago Tomorrow
Doing a massive clean-up here in 617Midway and came across some pictures today that I took on July 22, 2000 when I was back in Boston after my first year in Missoula at graduate school. I remember being a little desperate to get back home after year one of an MFA program and these pictures were my embrace back to Beantown. Funny I should come across them today: Almost nine years to the day.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
In-progress Update and Haring part 1 of 2
Watched "The Universe of Keith Haring" the other night and am wary of his use of color seeping into these paintings. I told my friend Paul once that I had to watch who I was reading when I was working on writing as I began to copy rhythms and music unintentionally (see Raymond Chandler, Vonnegut, Alexie, O'Hara, Koch... etc). The same is true with visual art. Have been thinking a lot of Alex Katz with some of these, not to mention others. Also, anytime I use red and yellow I think of Gina coming in my studio a few years back and saying "what's up with the McDonald's paintings?"
So, I am trying to paint non-Haring-esque, non-Ronald McDonald-esque paintings. What more can anyone aspire to?
But watching the Haring was a knock-out. His use of color and line is so perfect, so on point. At times I thought, "those will look like 80's colors" but even though they are high-contrast and bright there is still a quality to them that surpasses an era. Highly recomend the movie.
And as you can see I am painting along. Also, have been catching up on Mad Men. What is better than Don Draper reading O'Hara's "Meditations in an Emergency"? I will likely post that next.
Don't tell Frank O'Hara but Draper does a bang-up job here.
Good God I love Frank O'Hara.
Also, have some working titles here for these paintings: One is "Elmore's 34th," and another is "Barney N. and Coffee Cups." You will have to guess which is which. Not to mention "Everybody Falls in Love on Airplanes."
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Untitled Five: In-progress Update
AND, see Untitled Five above. There is a chance the working title on this one is "Everybody Falls in Love on Airplanes," but it remains to be seen. The picture is 24" by 30".
Also, no fear, the two-panel (on a single canvas) of the three women survives and would be "Untitled Six." Didn't post an update here as is still in same condition as the last photo a few days back.
Untitled Four: In-progress Update
Above, see the painting with the working title "Untitled Four" in progress. The painting is 18" by 24".
Untitled Three: In-progress Update
Above, see the painting in progress with the working title "Untitled Three." The picture is 18" by 24".
Untitled Two: In-progress Update
Some info on the above painting in progress. This picture is 24" by 36" ( 2 feet by 3 feet) and remains untitled.
Untitled One: In-Progress Update
Some info on the above painting in progress and still untitled. This picture is 36" x 48" (3 feet by 4 feet).
Forgive Me All Time Low and Wordplay
So I of course bought the new All Time Low album right at the gate and gave it a listen this week. What did I do? After my first listen I tell my friend Maria: "I'm not that into it."
What the hell is wrong with me? I come home and listen to it two more times and now the thing is on repeat in 617Midway. It covers all the bases: booze, breakups, tabloids. In a word? Sweet. Basically the 14 thousand paintings I am working on simultaneously are fueled by All Time Low's "Nothing Personal."
Forgive me ATL.
As for the Wordplay. Watched the documentary this weekend on crossword puzzles and word games and there was this great bit by Ken Burns where he talks about New York City being a city of boxes and grids. It was interesting to me as with these new paintings I find myself moving around to shift the contents of window panes (see the post prior to this one). As I fill these comic boxes with moments of a drama, the movie Wordplay discussed the idea of crossword puzzles being part of an instinct to fill things with meaning.
What the hell is wrong with me? I come home and listen to it two more times and now the thing is on repeat in 617Midway. It covers all the bases: booze, breakups, tabloids. In a word? Sweet. Basically the 14 thousand paintings I am working on simultaneously are fueled by All Time Low's "Nothing Personal."
Forgive me ATL.
As for the Wordplay. Watched the documentary this weekend on crossword puzzles and word games and there was this great bit by Ken Burns where he talks about New York City being a city of boxes and grids. It was interesting to me as with these new paintings I find myself moving around to shift the contents of window panes (see the post prior to this one). As I fill these comic boxes with moments of a drama, the movie Wordplay discussed the idea of crossword puzzles being part of an instinct to fill things with meaning.
Pinter & FPTC
So, I mentioned recently that I have been invited to join the Fort Point Theatre Channel, the community-based theatre company that has produced events like the Exclamation Point series I have been a part of and many other great plays and theatre events over the past few years.
It has been exciting, as getting involved in this part of the arts is so new for me. I have been reading plays, discussing what the group might produce, talking about set design, etc., etc. Really inspiring and fun stuff with an extraordinarily talented group of people. It sounds corny, but it is an honor to be a part of it.
This weekend I have been helping with the set-up of the set for the new production, Present Imperfect: A Gallery of Short Works by Harold Pinter.
As an aside, while I was getting ready to help out on the production, I was reading "The Temple Gate Called Beautiful," by David Kirby, and Pinter was mentioned in the poem "Terrible Swift Sword," which I thought was a cool confluence.
Yesterday I helped out with building the space and set design. It looks amazingly cool and was a great experience to work with the set and lighting designers and watch the space take shape toward their vision as we put in the work yesterday.
It was my first time working so closely with set and lighting designers, and watching Ian and Peter Agoos use form and light to transform a space had me mesmerized. Was so interesting for me to conceptualize in terms of painting. As all painting, I think (at least today), boils down to controlling light and shape. Ian and Peter were painstakingly controlling the dark spots, the light spots, the shape of the light, the focus of light, the color. All things I hadn't considered before, but all worked to transform the space perfectly. It was incredibly fun for me to watch these two talents at work and to then come home and look at paintings again and figures and the light and how it impacts color tones, etc.
I was looking up as the lights were hanged and the focus shifted, and thought, "these two guys are just making a living breathing painting out of this space." And doing an incredible job.
All that said: it is shaping up to be a great show. Here is the info on "Present Imperfect":
It has been exciting, as getting involved in this part of the arts is so new for me. I have been reading plays, discussing what the group might produce, talking about set design, etc., etc. Really inspiring and fun stuff with an extraordinarily talented group of people. It sounds corny, but it is an honor to be a part of it.
This weekend I have been helping with the set-up of the set for the new production, Present Imperfect: A Gallery of Short Works by Harold Pinter.
As an aside, while I was getting ready to help out on the production, I was reading "The Temple Gate Called Beautiful," by David Kirby, and Pinter was mentioned in the poem "Terrible Swift Sword," which I thought was a cool confluence.
Yesterday I helped out with building the space and set design. It looks amazingly cool and was a great experience to work with the set and lighting designers and watch the space take shape toward their vision as we put in the work yesterday.
It was my first time working so closely with set and lighting designers, and watching Ian and Peter Agoos use form and light to transform a space had me mesmerized. Was so interesting for me to conceptualize in terms of painting. As all painting, I think (at least today), boils down to controlling light and shape. Ian and Peter were painstakingly controlling the dark spots, the light spots, the shape of the light, the focus of light, the color. All things I hadn't considered before, but all worked to transform the space perfectly. It was incredibly fun for me to watch these two talents at work and to then come home and look at paintings again and figures and the light and how it impacts color tones, etc.
I was looking up as the lights were hanged and the focus shifted, and thought, "these two guys are just making a living breathing painting out of this space." And doing an incredible job.
All that said: it is shaping up to be a great show. Here is the info on "Present Imperfect":
Fort Point Theatre Channel presents PRESENT IMPERFECT in the 20,000-square-foot Midway Studios Theatre in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood. Each play occupies a dedicated section of this former warehouse space, creating an installation—or gallery—of Pinter's work that surrounds the audience. Plus, an original soundscape designed for this setting and this production.
Presented at Midway Studios, 15 Channel Center St., Boston.
We have six performances:
Fridays and Saturdays, July 17, 18, 24, and 25 at 8 p.m.
Sundays, July 19 and 26 at 7 p.m.
To order tickets ($20 each), call 800-838-3006 or go to: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70172
The shows take place at Midway Studios, 15 Channel Center, Fort Point, Boston.
Directed by Caitlin Lowans and Brendan Shea
Starring: Kate Bailey, Lisa Caron Driscoll, Carlos M. Harris, Janelle Day Mills, Adam Sanders, and Brian Sergent
Set and Lighting Designers: Ian Agoos and Peter Agoos
Composer/Sound Designer: Lou Cohen
Costume Designers: Sylvie Agudelo and Silvia Graziano
Props Designer: Cara Pacifico
Stage Manager: Vawnya Nichols
Producer: Marc S. Miller
and Victoria Cyr, Kurt Cole Eidsvig, Nick Thorkelson, Daniel J. van Ackere, and more.
Check out the FPTC Web site for more information, including an interview with the directors.
http://www.fortpointtheatrechannel.org/fortpointtheatrechannel_coming.htm#pinter
ONE NOTE: To get to Midway Studios, check the directions on the Fort Point theatre Channel Web site. You may not want to trust GPS!
http://www.fortpointtheatrechannel.org/fortpointtheatrechannel_direx.htm
Look forward to seeing you all there!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
In Progress Catch-Up
I have made a few posts of paintings in progress the past few days without much explanation and info. Above, see three shots of paintings currently in progress. Also, there is the one that I included an in-progress detail of a while back.
Likely I haven't been doing much talking on these four new ones as I have been doing quite a bit of painting, drawing, searching for imagery, painting, drawing, etc. So much seems to depend on the squares themselves and the way they relate to one another alongside various colors.
Have been doing much more experimenting on the canvas with these and painting over images and repainting forms to get them just right in the picture plane.
So, 1-2-3-4 in progress and a fifth smaller one with the all-important squares already plotted out. I have found that the vertical presentation works much better. Also, I have found that watching the Dark Knight over and over and watching how each scene is a series of comic book pictures tends to lend itself to the drama of these paintings. As I've said, I've been pouring over comic books and finding ideas for layouts all while trying to translate each individual image into a larger picture and drama.
Enjoy.
Likely I haven't been doing much talking on these four new ones as I have been doing quite a bit of painting, drawing, searching for imagery, painting, drawing, etc. So much seems to depend on the squares themselves and the way they relate to one another alongside various colors.
Have been doing much more experimenting on the canvas with these and painting over images and repainting forms to get them just right in the picture plane.
So, 1-2-3-4 in progress and a fifth smaller one with the all-important squares already plotted out. I have found that the vertical presentation works much better. Also, I have found that watching the Dark Knight over and over and watching how each scene is a series of comic book pictures tends to lend itself to the drama of these paintings. As I've said, I've been pouring over comic books and finding ideas for layouts all while trying to translate each individual image into a larger picture and drama.
Enjoy.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Square Experiments
Already mentioned The Dark Knight and seeing how comic frames translate to scene breaks and asides. Also, watched Funny Face with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn and enjoyed the use of squares and magazines in various graphics and the mix of still and moving pictures that these paintings call to.
The movie itself was a let down... But the look of the opening sequence was as cool as movies today... And this was done 50+ years ago. Looked like a better episode of Sex in the City.
Speaking of Sex in the City, SJP's production company is doing a reality show on up and coming artists. Should I send my headshot? What would Rothko do?
And Rothko was on my mind today as I clicked this shot... The squares and the light. Even the composition reminded me a little of one of his from 58.
Other big thing lately is reading Fitgerald's unfinished Last Tycoon I am struck at how much Hopper I can "see" in this. Led me to think about artists rendering colors forms and light in a way they anticipate we will remember it... Whether Hopper or Fitgerald, the Impressionists, Renaissance, etc.
Happy 4th.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
In-progress Detail
More Trouble For The Little Fella
Basically, as is displayed on the back of this Budget truck, moving is quite an ordeal for the little guy. Poor thing.
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Progress
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