617 Midway

Post Script

2009-11-03T23:45:00.002-05:00

What more is there left to say?

KurtColeEidsvig.com

Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

2009-11-03T23:35:00.004-05:00

So, November 2nd was Dia De Los Muertos, and on the 1st I headed over to the Cambridge Multicultural Center to take in some of the festivities, as pictured above.

And what better way to say thank you, and to celebrate the end of an era at 617 Midway than in celebration?

Since moving to Fort Point and 617 Midway there are many things to be grateful for: My first three person show (Image for Sale at FPAC Gallery), my first review (Boston Globe), my first solo show (Reference Point at Moakley Courthouse). The X-O paintings, the Mirror/Image series. The catalog paintings. Watercolors, drawings. Poems. Collaborations. Collages. Being invited to join the Fort Point Theatre Channel, participating in Exclamation Points, having a poem produced into a play, being invited to serve of the board of Round Table. Major painting sales. The show Stop Traffic with Jonathan Stark. Group Shows, Open Studios. The list goes on and on.

So, on Dia De Los Muertos I was celebrating the passing of 617 Midway. The end of the era.

Thank you to all of you who made it such a special place of comfort and friendship and art and ideas. For all your inspiration and support.

Thank you 617 Midway. Adios my old friend.

XO
Eids

Midway Gifts and Boston Graffiti

2009-11-03T23:28:00.003-05:00

So, I decided to start a new tradition to those departing Midway Studios: Leave a gift for the building. Or, leave a gift for anyone who wants to go grab it.

Above, see a few shots of one of my series of Graffiti Meditations: Girl on the Elevator; Girl on the Train. It is posted up outside 617 Midway. If anyone wants to go grab it, it's fair game. But for now, it is my parting gift to Midway Studios, and my thank you to number 617.

Also above, was on Boylston the other nite and grabbed some shots of graffiti under the bridge. Certainly there are drawings everywhere inside of us.

This Can't Be Home Anymore

2009-11-03T23:26:00.001-05:00

What better farewell to Midway than, "this can't be home anymore?"...

One Last Elevator Ride from 6

2009-11-03T23:23:00.003-05:00

No Change

2009-10-28T23:46:00.003-04:00

How is it that a person can pack and load and haul. Pack and load and haul. And the studio looks the same as it did like a week ago? Bananas.

Things are coming along in 617Midway. Is bittersweet saying goodbye to the old girl.

But seriously: Who brought all this stuff in this place?

Sketchbooks

2009-10-28T23:42:00.002-04:00

Question:

How many sketchbooks does a lover of the line need?

Draw, draw, draw, draw, draw, draw, draw.

Abandoned Project: The Mondrian Riff that Fell Flat

2009-10-28T23:39:00.002-04:00

Remember "Piet and the Egg?" Something from the Gorky bio I read, or Elaine and Bill.... but a riff about Mondrian buying eggs in Manhattan. All was well with this oil until I got so involved and brought in more black.

Trash

2009-10-28T23:36:00.003-04:00

How much trash can one studio produce? I am pretty sure I have taken down 18,000 carts worth at this point. And no, to you purists, I am not throwing out "Coast to Coast" and "Early Spring Training." They are in the keep pile, not the trash cart!

Another Studio Find: Shape Poem

2009-10-28T23:33:00.002-04:00

Here is one that I found in one of the many, many sketchbooks I found today. It is huge. I am not sure of shape poems are ever 100% successful, but I was probably engaged with some Kenneth Koch or some O'Hara and trying my hand. I did notice the riff off of Martha Collins' "What Words Can Do." I actually folded this one up and saved it, although some was a lot better than the rest.

But it would break / everything inside you / to know / what words can do.

Abandoned Projects: Dollar Hearts

2009-10-28T23:25:00.003-04:00

One of the more interesting and fun things about the great studio cleanup and move out of 2009 is coming across these projects that I started and either lost steam or I ran out of time with for one reason or another.

Above, see some shots from a collage project I was working on that was combining catalog imagery, transparencies, and layering. What did this project in was open studios coming along, and also, my missing actually applying paint to canvas. I had been working on a lot of collage stuff, which is great from the product, but the process is less fulfilling to me than drawing or painting is at times.

Anyhow, interesting. Only one of many finds in 617 Midway this week.

Major Midway Progress

2009-10-25T21:37:00.003-04:00

Fort Point Channel Yesterday

2009-10-23T14:27:00.001-04:00

Hard to Believe it was Snowing here a Few Days Ago

2009-10-21T11:19:00.002-04:00

The Ballad of Moving

2009-10-18T14:37:00.002-04:00

What better song to use for a sliver of hope at a time like this than this diddy by Yellowcard?

Someday, someday, this may even be an empty apartment. Especially if I stop blogging and keep packing.

Open Studios Elevator

2009-10-18T14:33:00.002-04:00

Kind of no fun to not be able to participate in Open Studios this year, as my life is in shambles due to all this packing.

The whole neighborhood is electric with energy, even in the rain. No, that doesn't mean that everyone is getting electrocuted.

Above, a shot of one side of the Midway elevator. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

What Have I Been Up To?

2009-10-16T13:22:00.002-04:00

I’ve been reading “William Carlos Williams: Poet from Jeresy.” by Reed Whittemore. I have been hearing from people who say “I saw you at South Station,” and then wondering when I was at South Station. And then remembering that my face is all enlarged and grinning as part of Brian Bresnahan’s “Head’s Up” project. I have been doing some Examiner articles, including a review of Karen Snyder’s show and a piece on Lisa Greenfield’s Coil/Recoil. I have been writing.

I have been packing. Strike that. I have been thinking about packing. My departure from Midway is everything but a done deal. I have been fielding questions like “What will happen to 617Midway?” I have been throwing things away.

I’ve been drinking coffee. I’ve been preparing a review of Michael Davis’s Gravity. I’ve been talking in the phone.

I’ve been
surprised at how the weather
can be as undependable
as the weather. The cold being
colder than any October
since last year, the rain
aspiring to snow and not
making it. I’ve been
dreaming red
wheelbarrow dreams
and looking down Boylston Street
for the back of you
and wondering what
would be
if you were there.

Did I mention WCW?

It is worth noting his poem, “This is Just to Say,” as I clean out my refrigerator:

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

I am cleaning out my refrigerator. Wondering which plates in the cupboard might make the cut. Listening to House of Pain’s “Top of the Morning to You” as I blog, and I’m tripping the light fantastic in Syracuse memories.

Speaking of the light and the fantastic: What more proof do you need of time travel than this:

“How fast it went when I was laughing, and how very slow
when the world had convinced me, martyr. When I had convinced me
martyr. Shouldn’t each person, in these prisons,
be given the gift of joy?
And the regret, then, of time passing so swiftly?”

Anyhow, speaking of plums and refrigerators and WCW: It is also worth noting Kenneth Koch, as it always is, and his “Variations on a theme by William Carlos Williams.”

1
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
and its wooden beams were so inviting.

2
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.

3
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the
next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.

4
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy and
I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!

+ + +

Speaking of plums. Or, almost speaking of plums: Pic above is from wikipedia.

While I am open studios-less this weekend, “Blue Cowboys” is posted up on the 5th Floor of 300 Summer if you miss it and want to take a look.

I have been walking into Tantric and looking at “Target/Target” and “Steel Heart” looking back at me. All these layers and collage and all these eyes over plates and eating.

I have been ending blog posts suddenly, and then wondering at adverbs. Like this:

Adverbs?

Heads Up

2009-10-11T22:44:00.002-04:00

Went over to South Station last night to check out part of the installation of Brian Bresnahan's public piece "Heads Up," and caught a glimpse of me looking right back at me.

The public art project is funded by a grant from FPAC and coincides with this year's Open Studios. Brian has posted shots of locals from South Station down and around Fort Point.

You can check out more of Brian's work at Breznatron.com.

After all That: O'Hara himself Drops the Poetry Bomb

2009-09-27T15:11:00.001-04:00

"Partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better, happier, Saint Sebastion"

Oh, Frank O'Hara.

2 Pics from Yesterday

2009-09-26T15:17:00.001-04:00

Out back of 617 Midway and the Public Garden.

Moby Dick Like New Again

2009-09-26T15:06:00.003-04:00

I have been sitting on this one for a while. Saw this diorama and did a panorama of the high-end drama that Melville built a career on.

Pics are from inside the Back Eddy in Westport.

Beach Pans

2009-09-26T15:04:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple beach pans I have been sitting on.

Frank O'Hara: Selected Poems

2009-09-24T19:58:00.005-04:00

I’m thinking of moving. This should be no surprise to anyone who knows me. I’m always thinking of moving. Key West; Missoula, Montana; Bozeman; Salt Lake; Cape Cod. Maybe it was all my time between places, between places on airplanes, before I became a teenager even, but I think of moving.

This time’s more serious though. There are real estate people involved. There are questions in the hallway. There are interest rates and points. There may be closing costs. There is a nagging suspicion that I need some boxes.

Question: When aren't there closing costs? What lacks the cost of closing?

Anyhow, I have even been ripping CD’s into my hard drive so I don’t have to move the scratched surfaces,:all rainbow reflected silver, or plastic boxes with crumpled liner notes. I am thinking seriously. Serious in thinking.

"EPMD’s Greatest Hits?” I’d forgotten half my life. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Too many Counting Crows albums to admit. Black Sheep, Jimmy Buffett, Jimmy Buffett, Jimmy Buffett, They Might Be Giants, Eddie Money, Kenneth Koch reading poems, David Sedaris reading, Method Man, Sugarcult, Blink 182. Fine Malt Lyrics from House of Pain. I am listening seriously.

I am talking out loud as Microsoft Windows records my history: "Sebadoh? Lucero? The Rat Pack?"

So, I am compacting. This shirt doesn’t fit, I wish that one didn’t fit. Why didn’t I save more of those suit coats now that Draper has reinvented fashion? Did I really buy these shoes? Did I ever like this album? Who made me this mix CD?

Am I really 35?

And of course, when moving, the dread of any literary type is books. What could be worse to move than books? Why do I love books so much? What the fuck is wrong with a library card?

I remember a guy who was thinking of moving to Midway. He was unsure the floor could support his five thousand books. Five thousand books.

Me? I’m getting rid of books. I have sworn off Amazon for the time being. No, I can’t buy Cuban Linx 2 yet. Haven’t reserved the new Lethem. No, no, no. No. There is too much lifting in my possible future. Too many backaches and magic marker (kitchen) (studio) (a scrawl I cannot read) and too many trips up and down the stairs.

And then what happened? I walked into Border’s on Boylston and Frank O’Hara was staring at me.

Selected Poems.

I have every single Frank O’Hara poem ever written. Collected, Retrieved, written beside art. I have a postcard of O’Hara that stares from my refrigerator. My memory doesn’t work / in such a away that I have / every word he ever wrote / memorized, but I see things / in the sand, the tracing of his fingertips as he addresses / the sun, or the breathing at a typewriter, the sound of ice / clinking in the next room.

This data is stored inside my GPS. It tells me how to move and why. These are maps, pictures, a catalog for a show I haven't even submitted to a gallery yet, haven't painted the paintings. I am looking out my window. O'Hara tells me where to watch the buses arrive and then depart. The red lights blink.

In short, there is nothing in the Selected I haven’t read yet. There is nothing here I haven’t re-read yet. Read again, considered.

From Travel: “Sometimes I know I love you better / than all the others I kiss it’s funny”

From The Unfinished: “As happiness takes off the tie it borrowed from me”

From Ode to Willem de Kooning: “Beyond the sunrise / where the black begins / an enormous city / is sending up its shutters”

Is there any doubt that I know these poems? That they are imprinted on my canvases? That they press back from my keyboard? That they call me up at 3am and say “I miss you,” “I love you,” “I hate you,” "where are you?” They say nothing. They breathe. I know these poems. Even when they hit star-whatever and block caller ID.

From one of his titled Poem: “there’s too much lime in the world and not enough gin, / they gasp. The gentle are curious, but the curious / are not gentle. So the breaths come home and sleep.”

What the hell was I doing in Border’s anyway? I was walking and praying. I was being mindful and breathing. I was likely thinking things like “blame it on tequila,” or “I can’t believe she did that.” “She,” standing in for the moon, the sun, the group of bookstore girls, the pictures on the internet, my girlfriend, my ex-girlfriend, my my my. "She" was a stand-in for a poem. I can’t believe she did that. I am turning the page. I turn. I turn the page. I can’t believe. I just can’t.

And there he was on my bookstore walk, the cement squares outside, the squares of CD cases collecting in shopping bags at home (discard), the squares of parking spots that filled on Newbury (one side) and Boylston (the other). The squares of pictures you remember, the squares of pictures you forget. The squares you tap against your leg that become boxes waiting to be filled. You tape and there is that sound, that screeching sound.

The squares of cardboard, discarded after everything is empty and gone.

“Can I help you?”

Is a morning bookstore like 7:50 am outside a joint on the outskirts of Dorchester, the line not exactly collecting? No more calls to make. Who are these people? These serious, quiet, people, on the verge of shaking? Is everyone so thirsty they can’t bear to talk?

“Can I help you,” and I wondered if the book was talking to me. Frank O’Hara, young on the cover of a book of poems I had lived through and gone back to. Again.

Semi-famous words from a drunk I know: "I'm not worried about the yet's / I am terrified of the / again's."

Again.

And even with my life in boxes, mortgaged and promised, prepped for sending somewhere else. I did this on a Saturday morning. I did the worst thing anyone who is thinking of lifting things can do, who is packing boxes and boxes full of books books books:

I paid twenty bucks for a photograph of Frank O’Hara.

I didn't judge a book by, I bought a book for, its cover. OK, I judged.

I mean, it was a picture I’d never seen before. It just so happened to be on the cover of a beautiful book of poems. Larger format, the white space everywhere, the pages reminding my fingers what we came here for.

He is so young. It is like starting over, over and over again. Frank O’Hara, Selected Poems.

What we came here for.

Don't Forget, We've Got Unfinished Business

2009-09-24T18:53:00.000-04:00

Closing Out STOP TRAFFIC at Tantric

2009-09-19T19:11:00.002-04:00

Took down the show STOP TRAFFIC at Tantric this Thursday. Have to say it was a great success. Target/Target, Steel Heart and Food Processing, (pictured above) all from the Mirror/Image series I worked on in 2008 were sold to private collectors. In fact, it looks like Target/Target and Steel Heart my have set up permanent residence in Tantric, so stop by 123 Stuart Street in Boston to say hello to them.

It also looks like "Summer School" is almost out the door, also from the Mirror/Image series.

Thank you to Jonathan Stark for a great show together, and to Tantric and MataHari for collaborating to create such a great event.

Making Love to the Sky

2009-09-14T20:19:00.002-04:00

Some pics I took of the sky in the last few days. No, I am not sure what the title of this post is all about, but it sounds right.

The Southeast Review

2009-09-14T16:57:00.003-04:00

The Southeast Review has included my review of Dobby Gibson's Skirmish in their newest issue. You can check out their website here:

http://southeastreview.org/index.html

Bridge Panorama-arama

2009-09-11T12:26:00.003-04:00

I think I mentioned recently that I have found the panorama setting on my cam and have become slightly obsessed. There is just so much bananas stuff to experiment with. Bananorama?

Anyhow, above, see some pics of the obsession with bridges and the obsession with panorama setting colliding on the 617Midway blog.

All the while taking these shots I had Cockroft's first line: "Hart Crane stepping from the prow of a boat" ringing in my head. Not because craned leaped from a bridge (he plummeted from a boat- read the poem) but because of Crane's fascination with the bridge as metaphor. This is central to Cockroft's poem.

I was going to say Berryman leaped from a bridge, but I think he jumped from a hotel next to a bridge. Or an apartment building. All of these poets and leaping!

Yes, I did run home and re-write: Hart Crane leaping from the lip of a bridge. But this should not be surprising to those who know I appropriate Cockroft's first rate lines to make third-rate poems as a rule.

In the "12 days of Xmas" it should be "however many poets leaping." Countless poets leaping (and then the background singers break-in and hum "infinity" in a case of musical one-up-man-ship).

I ran home, after the bridge, and recently reading some new Alexie (Face, which is worthwhile and wonderful in parts, and inspiring, and funny and Alexie who is humbling and amazing... check out "Villify" and "Inappropriate."), and thinking of Cockroft's line and I wrote. OK, I didn't run, but I wrote.

And I sorely needed to post on blog, so I posted. I posted these pics. I made a panorama of blogging from posting bananas bridge-oramas.

Happy Friday.

Boston Today

2009-09-06T23:20:00.001-04:00

More ICA

2009-09-05T14:15:00.001-04:00

Inside the ICA

2009-09-05T14:12:00.001-04:00

Behind the ICA

2009-09-05T13:21:00.000-04:00

Ful Moon in Fort Point

2009-08-31T19:10:00.000-04:00

Back Bay Sunset

2009-08-27T19:15:00.001-04:00

Progress Tonite

2009-08-25T21:48:00.001-04:00

I've Been Painting

2009-08-25T11:18:00.000-04:00

Fort Point Reflecting

2009-08-24T19:04:00.001-04:00

South Station Tonite

2009-08-24T18:57:00.000-04:00

Boston Warf Sign Tonite in Fort Point

2009-08-21T23:17:00.001-04:00

Lobby Ceiling in Midway

2009-08-18T17:07:00.001-04:00

Sunflowers at Copley Market Today

2009-08-18T13:25:00.000-04:00

In the Lab

2009-08-16T16:40:00.001-04:00

Boylston St. Tonite

2009-08-15T18:39:00.001-04:00

Progress

2009-08-15T15:02:00.001-04:00

An Alex Katz at the MFA Today

2009-08-13T17:13:00.001-04:00

Cathedral of the Holy Cross Tonite

2009-08-12T21:47:00.000-04:00

A Good One By Rothko

2009-08-11T22:54:00.002-04:00

Picked up "The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art," which is collected writings on art by Mark Rothko, the other day at the Boston Public Library and have been flipping through it.

I actually saw his son, Christopher Rothko, at the MFA years ago during the book tour for this volume (the son, Christopher edited the book and also provides an intro), but this is the first time I have spent any real time with it. I have read pieces that have appeared elsewhere, and am pretty familiar, but it is still a fun one.

How about this, right from the get go:

"What is the popular conception of the artist? Gather a thousand descriptions, and the resulting composite is the portrait of a moron: he is held to be childish, irresponsible, and ignorant or stupid in everyday affairs."

Pic above is from ovationtv.com

And...

2009-08-11T17:19:00.000-04:00

My haul today from Commonwealth Books.

Photo of O'Hara at Commonwealth Books

2009-08-11T16:29:00.000-04:00

I keep thinking of how great Mad Men would be if O'Hara had played the role of Don Draper, rather than Donnie D. Just reading the head of the New York School.

Back By Popular Demand...

2009-08-10T23:32:00.005-04:00

OK. so we never really left.

Tantric has asked Jonathan Stark and me to extend the exhibition STOP TRAFFIC for at least another month, and you can now stop by and see the show at least through August.

There have been a few good write-ups out there on the 'net, including one on ArtSake and one on Big, Red and Shiny.

If you have yet to catch STOP TRAFFIC, head over to Tantric and take it in. Response has been great.

Great Picasso Quote

2009-08-08T21:57:00.002-04:00

Here is a great Picasso quote I came across yesterday:

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."

Pic above is from rankopedia.org

View of the Pru

2009-08-08T21:05:00.000-04:00

With these new paintings it seems like my eye is continually imagining images in smaller squares. You can see why this shot of the Pru caught my eye tonite.

FPTC Makes it Official

2009-08-06T21:57:00.003-04:00

Looks like the Fort Point Theatre Channel has yet to come to their senses, and they have made me a full-fledged member of the theatre company. They posted my mugshot on the site today, so it must be official. You can check out Nick Thorkelson's great design work, and the start of my modeling portfolio here:

http://www.fortpointtheatrechannel.org/fortpointtheatrechannel_who.htm

In other news, I have just stumbled upon The Starting Line's version of the Best of Me a la acoustic on YouTube. Sweet.

Don't Blow Up

2009-08-06T20:32:00.001-04:00

I guess it is a good thing P-Diddy didn't heed this sign prior to signing Christopher Wallace to Bad Boy.

Ouch

2009-08-06T20:28:00.001-04:00

A Painting of Van Gogh in Fajitas & Ritas

2009-08-06T19:03:00.001-04:00

What would Van Gizzle think if he knew he was holding it down in Fajitas and Ritas in Downtown Crossing? Or is that Cezanne?

A Note To Myself On Writing

2009-08-05T18:08:00.000-04:00

That's what happens when you have too many Sharpies and use the New Yorker as scrap paper.

Mojitos in an Emergency

2009-08-04T21:15:00.001-04:00

Above, see a picture of this painting in progress. This painting almost done? This painting done? I don’t know. I am not sure of the name, or the state of affairs, but I am sure that it is a painting. Cuba Libre? I am letting it simmer.

I made a painting mistake last night that I haven’t recovered from. Was working on one of the other pieces and didn’t have some brushes wet enough and the acrylic black was clumping… and, well, there will definitely be some recovery happening.

Much of my time lately has been in looking. In using so much color and playing with tones, the shape of shadows and the range of the color spectrum has my eyes all over it lately. Caught myself looking at a coffee cup from Au Bon Pain and seeing the bright yellow give was to a dull orange-yellow where the lid created shadow. The curve of the cup and the text. I haven’t spent so much time with colors and shadow, and playing this against the stark contrast—high black shadows and lines—of comic books spawned from fashion magazines is an interesting game. As is the heavy line against subtle color tone as in the brand of mojito I am mixing on canvas pictured above.

Question: How much of painting is looking?

Oh, and if no one has told you lately: Xo, xxx, xo x x ooox oxoo x!

And blame the reflective, swooping, disjointed and intellectual writing style on John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee. I have been reading “Darker Than Amber.”

Self-Portrait Studies

2009-08-04T21:09:00.002-04:00

Have been experimenting with some ideas of a self-portrait along the same lines of the style I have been working with: the intersection of glam and comic books, soap opera drama and clothing catalogs.

Here is a question: What does it say if in our advertising of clothes and image, people are almost always shown alone? Alone in a neat square.

Anyhow, above see some sketches playing with composition and layout. I like the postures and the idea of these two playing against one another; the text and the focus. A shot, and then a shot of reflection, action. An image of something closer, a realization. An evaluation and an action.

We will see. I have some oil paint aspirations cooking for this one. And no, I realize these aren't so flattering.

Midway Moon Tonite

2009-08-04T21:08:00.002-04:00

Hancock Today

2009-08-04T14:26:00.000-04:00

Painting Tonite

2009-08-03T23:34:00.001-04:00

The House of Flying Daggers

2009-08-03T15:26:00.005-04:00

I feel obligated to post this new advance single from the ever-present impending OBFCL2 album that has been brewing in Raekwon the Chef's kitchen since 96. This may be one of the most anticipated rap albums of all time, and if this track is any sense, the Wu may be poised to in fact resurrect hip hop for the second time. They should call their next album Lazarus, the Sequel.

Thanks to Brendan for the find.

70 Bucks of Brushes

2009-08-02T20:23:00.001-04:00

Boylston & E. Berkeley Yesterday

2009-08-02T13:34:00.001-04:00

More Progress 3

2009-07-31T22:23:00.000-04:00

More Progress 2

2009-07-31T22:21:00.000-04:00

More Progress 1

2009-07-31T22:20:00.001-04:00

Fort Point Shepard Fairey: Corner of A & Melcher

2009-07-31T17:05:00.001-04:00

The Stencil Outside My Door

2009-07-31T17:01:00.001-04:00

Progress

2009-07-30T20:11:00.001-04:00

Back of a Cab Today

2009-07-30T11:51:00.000-04:00

The Maine & Did You Really Think I Forgot About FOB?

2009-07-29T23:40:00.002-04:00

Bathroom Ceiling At 617 Midway

2009-07-29T21:22:00.001-04:00

Paintings Waiting For Paint

2009-07-29T17:55:00.000-04:00

Boylston Street Today

2009-07-28T11:31:00.001-04:00

Hem, Missoula, and the Tolling Bell

2009-07-26T19:57:00.003-04:00

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.

Newbury Today

2009-07-25T16:13:00.002-04:00

Blog Shout-outs

2009-07-25T14:30:00.003-04:00

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.

Boylston Street Tonite

2009-07-24T17:10:00.001-04:00

Kicking it at The Cantab

2009-07-22T23:39:00.003-04:00

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.

X's, O's, The Little Man, and Time Machines

2009-07-21T23:05:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-21T22:41:00.004-04:00

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.

Don Draper does Frank O'Hara

2009-07-15T22:42:00.001-04:00

In-progress Update and Haring part 2 of 2

2009-07-15T22:40:00.002-04:00

In-progress Update and Haring part 1 of 2

2009-07-15T22:35:00.002-04:00

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."

View from 617Midway this Evening

2009-07-13T20:53:00.002-04:00

Untitled Five: In-progress Update

2009-07-12T21:28:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-12T21:25:00.002-04:00

Above, see the painting with the working title "Untitled Four" in progress. The painting is 18" by 24".

Untitled Three: In-progress Update

2009-07-12T21:24:00.002-04:00

Above, see the painting in progress with the working title "Untitled Three." The picture is 18" by 24".

Untitled Two: In-progress Update

2009-07-12T21:22:00.001-04:00

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

2009-07-12T21:20:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-12T20:58:00.002-04:00

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.

View from 617 Midway Today

2009-07-12T20:55:00.001-04:00

Pinter & FPTC

2009-07-12T13:04:00.004-04:00

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":

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!

In Progress Catch-Up

2009-07-07T20:31:00.002-04:00

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.

And Another

2009-07-07T11:48:00.001-04:00

Another in Progress

2009-07-07T11:46:00.001-04:00

Square Experiments

2009-07-04T15:19:00.001-04:00

One of the interesting facets of these new X-O comic dramas is the amount of time I spend on squares. Have been looking at old comics, new comics, magazines, movie stills and old letter box movies to see whst layouts carry the eye, carry drama or story, catch the eye and stop it, etc.

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.
#

In-progress Detail

2009-07-01T21:37:00.001-04:00

Saw that the last shot made it hard to see what was going on in the colors of this new piece... So here is a detail shot of one of the panels.