lunule

oblique strategies

2011-10-03T13:22:00.000-04:00

Phantom Traps.

2011-09-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

"All external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

"You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." Steve Jobs via macuser

Steve Jobs has always followed this mantra. It is so simple and so wise and yet so difficult to embrace. I admire his spirit of experimentation and drive.

To those...

2011-09-12T15:20:00.000-04:00

What can you say about September 11, 2001 that doesn't sound trite. I never really liked the slogan "Never Forget" because it is the kind of tragedy that is impossible to forget. It just becomes a part of our collective psyche that we take along wrapped up in everything else we encounter in our cities and in our lives.

I remember so much about that day, and we were very lucky not to have lost anyone in the attacks, but every year I find the hype and re-living moment of the attacks stomach-wrenching.

The terrorist attacks were horrible, and at the time inconceivable, but I am happy to celebrate the city as it is now in all of its wonder in the spirit of Walt Whitman:

"A million people--manners free and superb--open voices--
   hospitality--the most courageous and friendly young 
   men,
City of hurried and sparkling waters! city of spires and masts! 
City nested in bays! my city!"

What do you think?

11 September 2011

2011-09-11T11:08:00.003-04:00

via poets.org

Mannahatta
by Walt Whitman

I was asking for something specific and perfect for my city,
Whereupon lo! upsprang the aboriginal name.

Now I see what there is in a name, a word, liquid, sane,
   unruly, musical, self-sufficient,
I see that the word of my city is that word from of old,
Because I see that word nested in nests of water-bays,
   superb,
Rich, hemm'd thick all around with sailships and
   steamships, an island sixteen miles long, solid-founded,
Numberless crowded streets, high growths of iron, slender,
   strong, light, splendidly uprising toward clear skies,
Tides swift and ample, well-loved by me, toward sundown,
The flowing sea-currents, the little islands, larger adjoining
   islands, the heights, the villas,
The countless masts, the white shore-steamers, the lighters,
   the ferry-boats, the black sea-steamers well-model'd,
The down-town streets, the jobbers' houses of business, the
   houses of business of the ship-merchants and money-
   brokers, the river-streets,
Immigrants arriving, fifteen or twenty thousand in a week,
The carts hauling goods, the manly race of drivers of horses,
   the brown-faced sailors,
The summer air, the bright sun shining, and the sailing
   clouds aloft,
The winter snows, the sleigh-bells, the broken ice in the
   river, passing along up or down with the flood-tide or
   ebb-tide,
The mechanics of the city, the masters, well-form'd,
   beautiful-faced, looking you straight in the eyes,
Trottoirs throng'd, vehicles, Broadway, the women, the
   shops and shows,
A million people—manners free and superb—open voices—
   hospitality—the most courageous and friendly young
   men,
City of hurried and sparkling waters! city of spires and masts!
City nested in bays! my city!

Ooooh Swish!

2011-09-07T13:54:00.001-04:00

This ephemeral film (via ecoterre) from the 1930's is funny but not that far fetched. Clothes that can be adapted for day and night and the disappearance of the skirt seem fairly typical in 2011. And despite the slightly unfortunate wizardly look of the male "spacesuit", we are all carrying our phones, coins, keys, and 'candies for cuties' in multi-functional pieces that go from day to night. Wonder what is up for the 80's and 90's--the 2090's that is?

its been a while...

2011-08-10T11:35:00.009-04:00

...since I have posted. I think it is mainly because I have discovered Pinterest. I have been pinning up a storm.

What have I been working on, seen, done?

I saw a really inspiring lecture on June 29th by an artist/landscape designer named Thilo Folkerts. He is based in Berlin and was speaking at Toronto's Design Exchange about his work in general and about a project at the Jardin de la Connaissance in Metis, Quebec (recreated in the Design Exchange gallery).

Jardin de la Connaissance

Festival International de jardins
Métis (Quebec/CA), 2010
with Rodney Latourelle, Berlin

I clipped the image from Folkerts website where we read that the project is meant to invoke "the mythic relation between knowledge and nature integral to the concept of ‘paradise’" He and Latourelle also cultivate mushrooms on the piece to aid in the decomposition.

The work is really beautiful and poignant. I hope to be able to visit the Jardin de la Connaissance while the project is on view.

He showed slides of influences such as Peter Walker's Minimalist's Gardens Without Walls, Robert Smithson, Jackson Pollack, Roberto Burle Marx, Dieter Kienast, and Tobias Rehberger and images of his own projects which lie somewhere between art and design.

Folkerts' work is surprising, poignant, and joyful. Take a look at his website where you will find more beautiful works as the drawing below.

Correspondences

It's National Poetry Month in the US

2011-03-31T14:07:00.000-04:00

Another awesome poster.

See the poets.org site for deets.

thoughts...from the "bluebird in my heart"...

2011-03-25T13:52:00.001-04:00

This quote is more elegantly displayed by Erin Loechner on her blog Design for Mankind but the words resound...

"This is very important -- to take leisure time. Pace is the essence. Without stopping entirely and doing nothing at all for great periods, you're gonna lose everything...just to do nothing at all, very, very important. And how many people do this in modern society? Very few. That's why they're all totally mad, frustrated, angry and hateful."
— Charles Bukowski

I also have to say that it is also a good practice for creativity. I think that you need periods away from your work to regenerate--to enjoy that time rather than worry it away.

and via Good Reads...

"unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don't do it"
— Charles Bukowski

annual Holi post from the Big Picture

2011-03-23T14:20:00.001-04:00

via the Big Picture

How Indians celebrate the change from winter to spring. The celebration is said to represent the triumph

of good over evil. As the tale goes, a demoness Holika tries to kill the son, Prahlad of the demon god, Hiranyakashyap, for not worshipping his father. Instead Holika, the demoness goes up in flames and here on Hindus celebrate each year. Bonfires and effigies lead off the celebrations with the color wars to follow.

Evidently you can make natural holi color at home...

RIP Elizabeth Taylor via letterheady

2011-03-23T14:03:00.000-04:00

International Women's Day and Education

2011-03-11T10:48:00.002-05:00

via Good and the Delaware online...

Here is an awesome teacher introducing his students to a task that could change their lives and maybe the lives of many people in the future. They are building seven robots called the SeaPerch after the teacher received a grant from the SeaPerch Foundation (an innovative foundation that trains teachers to teach their students how to build ROVs--remotely operated vehicles). The robots are based on the one that helped to cap last year's Gulf oil spill. The models that the students are building will have a camera attached to it to take underwater photos. The project is headed for a competition at Drexel University where the girls will navigate their robots through a maze and grab objects in a swimming pool.

I really like the teacher's comment in the video that the more challenging a project, the more engaged his students are--this is also one of the goals of the SeaPerch Foundation. I think innovative teaching is asking students to do more and enter the shaky ground where they might make a mistake but have to try to fix it and make it work (there is a stipulation of an extra $20.00 per ROV for changes though students must follow the general blueprint)...there is just no reason to think about gender in this project--but instead it is a really interesting problem for students to solve. I also like that the teacher says that he is learning with his students on the project. We need more teachers like Mitchell Greenberg and more schools like Delaware's Reach Academy.

What could be better--a SoulTrain break and Int'l Women's Day

2011-03-08T14:38:00.009-05:00

Equals--is a consortium of charities and arts partners in the UK brought together by Annie Lennox-- united to raise awareness of the rights of women and girls around the world and to celebrate the centenary of International Women's Day (we still need one....).

Equals asks you to celebrate but also raise a civil debate (download their Start a Debate pdf book here or think of your own questions to ask your child, co-worker, sibling, boss, teacher, friend, mom, or partner...)

They are also shaking it down in equal lines at the London Eye tonight. IF you can't be in London for the Soul Train, at least you can check out Soul Train and the mighty Don Cornelius *on the Equals web page or on youtube.

* I have to mention a sad fact that I read about Don Cornelius when I was working on this post. While the Soul Train showcased super talented performers like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson and the line dance symbolizes equality on the dance floor in addition to being wildly fun--Mr. Cornelius did not feel the same in his own life and was arrested in 2008 on several domestic violence charges-- three counts of spousal battery, one count of dissuading his wife from making a police report and one count of assault with a deadly weapon...)

"Think of a creative way to get around your problem..."--Richard Rodriguez

2011-03-07T13:29:00.049-05:00

via Good

Thanks for this post Good...I am not a filmmaker but I really love the freedom of limitations and this little video is a great example. It was made by Richard Rodriguez to explain how he made "El Mariachi" for $7000.00. I really like that he has so much fun making the movie and that he encourages film makers to come up with creative solutions to a filmmaking/prop/etc challenge and not to forget to have fun. I guess there is also efficiency to doing everything yourself. It is in three parts. Enjoy.

This reminds me of Olafur Eliasson

2011-02-01T14:41:00.001-05:00

but it is actually an image of the NASA space shuttle in solar transit via PopSci

Writers doodles

2011-02-01T14:35:00.001-05:00

I don't know why but I think that doodles are really amazing...maybe because they are slightly more unedited than other works...

here are a few from a flavorwire post today...

Amy Auscherman of Kool Things tells us that she is helping to curate an exhibition of the visual work of authors at the Lilly Library at Indiana University. The image above is from Sylvia Plath's notebook where she illustrated a nightmare she had about being chased by a hotdog and a marshmallow.

Another one I really liked was Nabokov's corrections of Kafka's translations:

Actually, agree with him...corrugated is much better than "stiff arched segments"--he says in one word what the translator says in three... From space in text

This is also cool...a self portrait by Borges after he lost his sight...

This is good too...

The inside cover of David Foster Wallace's annotated copy of Cormac McCarthy's Suttree at the Henry Ransom Center at the University of Texas...

2011-01-02T13:46:00.000-05:00

Gene Davis

2010-12-15T09:42:00.000-05:00

via colorlovers...

I am on a color kick and this is the coolest. Gene Davis was part of the Washington Color School, a group of mid-century color field painters. He is best known for his colorful stripe paintings which he began making in 1958. He aim was to create a sense of musical rhythm through the repetition of colors. He made the world's largest painting in a Lewiston, NY parking lot in 1972. The stripes really work for him. Before 1958 his work was typically abstract expressionist, with thick and dripping paint in full color. The stripes seem to hit on something more for Davis. I really like his titles too--Nighhawk, Solar Diary, Mark Twain, Bartleby, Black Panther...The large scale paintings move effortlessly to installations in a Sol Lewittian way.

He also created the world's largest painting, Niagara (43,680 square feet), in a parking lot in Lewiston, NY. His "micro-paintings", at the other extreme, were as small as 3/8 of an inch square.

talk about a 'color field'!

magic circle, 1975

Hey Mr. Paganini...

2010-11-16T15:35:00.001-05:00

I just took at look at Hernan Paganini's site and I love his work! He is featured tonight on Tiny Showcase and I may just have to return to see what he has done for them and buy a print to add my my collection.

I love the combination of color and natural materials.

I love the understated design of his website and I love the drawings on the page "Demonios"--especially the first page--Days Without Numbers. For some reason, I wish the drawings were not made in oil pastels though. I like both the personal work and the client work. I will have to spend more time on the site.

FABRIK Competition--congrats all!

2010-11-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

Fabrik Magazine Juried Competition

INTERNATIONAL JURIED COMPETITION RECIPIENTS

After receiving hundreds of submissions and after many weeks of judging, we are pleased to announce the winners of the Fabrik Magazine Juried Competition.
“The quality as well as the volume of the submissions to this competition proved as difficult to refine down as it was delightful to winnow through,” said juror Peter Frank (Fabrik’s Associate Editor as well as art critic for the Huffington Post and Adjunct Senior Curator at the Riverside Art Museum). He adds… “as can be seen from the relatively extensive list of the honorably mentioned, dozens of eminintly qualified artists honored us with their submissions. The eventual winners, submitting from Athens and Seattle, London and New York, Toronto and California, distinguished themselves in a wide variety of media and styles, but so did the painters and sculptors, installation artists and conceptualists, video artists and digital artists who made, or came close to making, Honorable Mention. Exhausting as the jurying job was, it rekindled our faith in the artistic spirit and an optimism about artistic practice in at least the near future.”

FIRST PRIZE WINNER:

Timothy Siciliano (U.S.)

The First Prize winner will receive the following:

Editorial Profile and Feature in Fabrik Magazine - Print Edition
Inside Back Cover, Full Page Ad in Fabrik Magazine - Premium Ad Position
Exhibition at The Factory Gallery, Downtown Los Angeles
Email Exposure to 30,000 Interior Designers, Art Consultants and Galleries who are seeking art
Online “Artist Spotlight” Feature
Website link

SECOND PRIZE WINNERS:

Susan Rowe Harrison (Canada)
Ioanna Pantazopoulou (Greece)

The 2 Second Prize winners will receive the following:

Full page ad in Fabrik Magazine
Group Exhibition at The Factory Gallery, Downtown Los Angeles
Email Exposure to 30,000 Interior Designers, Art Consultants and Galleries who are seeking art
Online “Artist Spotlight” Feature
Website link

THIRD PRIZE WINNERS:

Terry Hoff (U.S.)
Emma Lloyd (United Kingdom)
Deborah Martin (U.S.)
Luis Sanchez (U.S.)
Sam Still (U.S.)
Leslie Tucker (U.S.)

The 6 Third Prize winners will receive the following:

Online “Artist Spotlight” Feature
Group Exhibition at The Factory Gallery, Downtown Los Angeles
Email Exposure to 30,000 Interior Designers, Art Consultants and Galleries who are seeking art
Website link

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Rebecca Alston (U.S.)

Lea Anderson (U.S.)

Mia Babalis (U.S.)

Robyn Barrington (U.S.)

George Belcher (U.S.)

Francis Berry (U.S.)

Michele Castagnetti (U.S.)

Michael Chearney (U.S.)

Kazuko Eisenbeiss (U.S.)

Sheila Elias (U.S.)

Suzan Etkin (U.S.)

Doro Hofmann (U.S.)

Stanton Hunter (U.S.)

Milan Jilka (U.S.)

Jenny Kemp (U.S.)

Lili Lakich (U.S.)

Ellen Lane (U.S.)

Nic Lyons (U.S.)

Eric Magnuson (U.S.)

Lark Pilinsky (U.S.)

Kazimierz Poznanski (U.S.)

Robert Reynolds (U.S.)

David Scherrer (U.S.)

Kris Schomaker (U.S.)

Joan Schulze (U.S.)

Michael Smoler (U.S.)

James Stern (U.S.)

Francoise Studer (U.S.)

Haikuhie Tataryan (U.S.)

Kathleen Thompson (U.S.)

Annaliese Vobis (U.S.)

Dave Zarick (U.S.)

Works by the winners will appear on this website soon. If you have any questions, please email us atcontest@fabrikmagazine.com

ABOUT FABRIK MAGAZINE

Fabrik Magazine covers Los Angeles art, design, architecture, and fashion in a manner as distinctive as it is thorough. A journal of lively coverage and commentary on the art and design scene(s) in America’s new cultural capital, Fabrik also provides extensive directories that list all – all – the best local outlets for new forms, ideas, and expressions in diverse media and disciplines. More on Fabrik Magazine can be found atfabrikmagazine.com

ABOUT THE FACTORY

The Factory is a place to discover emerging talents working in, and between, visual art forms, including design. More information about the gallery can be found at thefactory.la

The Art Alley Mural Project

2010-10-19T11:10:00.002-04:00

Photo credit: Susan Ashukian

Arts Etobicoke and Amnesty International
Unveil Toronto`s Longest Outdoor Poem

Please join us on October 19, 2010 at 2 pm at the Arts Etobicoke Gallery at 4893A Dundas St. W. as we unveil a 1000 square foot mural in the alley adjacent to our office. The mural features a newly commissioned poem by Dionne Brand, City of Toronto Poet Laureate.

Special guest Mayor David Miller will join Ms. Brand for a "walking reading" of the poem. The event also includes an African drum and dance procession featuring Roshanak Jaberi, an Iranian-Canadian dancer and choreographer who specializes in the folkloric and contemporary dances of West Africa and examines social issues through the art of storytelling. Off the Wall, an interactive and movement-based exhibition that also features artwork inspired by the mural and created by youth participating in our Saturday Storefront Art Classes will be on display in our Gallery.

The Art Alley Mural Project is produced by Arts Etobicoke, participating in Amnesty International's Project: Urban Canvas – A mural series celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. www.aito.ca/urbancanvas. Project: Urban Canvas will produce 30 murals throughout the GTA, each interpreting one of the 30 articles of human rights. The Art Alley Mural is the twelfth mural to be developed in the project.

We chose Article 13 for the theme of its mural - “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state” The article holds special meaning for the large immigrant population in Etobicoke and for youth, who have worked with Arts Etobicoke to create their own interpretation of the poem. The mural was designed by Susan Rowe Harrison and painted by William Lazos with assistance by Etobicoke youth.

Dionne Brand, City of Toronto’s Poet Laureate, was commissioned to write an original poem based on this article. Brand's poem 'Article 13' is reproduced on the websites of Arts Etobicoke atwww.artsetobicoke.com and AITO at www.aito.ca/urbancanvas.

"Creativity is bubbling west of the Humber River," says Louise Garfield, Executive Director of Arts Etobicoke. "We are delighted to partner with Amnesty International Toronto to raise awareness of the intersection of the arts and human rights."

Elena Dumitru, Toronto Regional Development Coordinator for AITO adds “Partnering with Arts Etobicoke in creating a mural to depict Article 13 enable all of us to bring attention to the plight of migrants and refugees through the combined mediums of poetry and visual arts.”

Video and film editor Joel Shecter of AITO's Art in Action team documented the progress of the mural. Click on the link to view the video: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmnestyIntlToronto

Arts Etobicoke gratefully acknowledges the support of City of Toronto's Arts in the Hood/Live with Culture, Pierre Seunik, the buildings’ owner and Chair of the Islington Village BIA and Village Paint in Islington Village. Thanks also to volunteer Karina Dahlin for contributing her time and energy to this project.

	Help support local artists.		Join our team as a volunteer.
	Join the community and promote the arts.		See the map of our member organizations.

Project Urban Canvas...

2010-10-19T11:08:00.001-04:00

thinking about black for a color...


also chartreuse	..

Project Urban Canvas-first thoughts

2010-10-19T11:08:00.000-04:00

Life is the meaning of life-Richard Tuttle

2010-10-14T23:39:00.000-04:00

I love Richard Tuttle. I have only had the opportunity to hear him speak twice. Once at the Whitney Museum of Art and again last night at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto in conversation with Michelle Jacques, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, and Georgiana Uhlyarik, Assistant Curator, Canadian Art. He spoke on Agnes Martin, his long time friend.

I warned my friend that he was kind of an abstract speaker. He is confounding and confusing and often hard to follow but the things he says can take you some place else.

quotes from last night:

Richard Tuttle on Agnes Martin:
"Agnes Martin was a far out abstract artist."
"We are workers in the field of art"

"What is the meaning of life? Life is the meaning of life."

And one with Agnes Martin from 1997 from Chuck Smith:

The Inspiration Pad

2010-09-30T10:36:00.003-04:00

Just flipping through behance this morning and saw a very cool project by Marc Thomasset called the Inspiration Pad. You can purchase it online here.
I am not sure what is more inspiring-that Marc has designed a subversive version of the notebook that we all know and love or thinking of how to fill it up.

As Sol Lewitt said in his sentences on conceptual art " 33. It is difficult to bungle a good idea."

Biographical Blip: Rockaway Taco, A Selby Film

2010-09-27T13:28:00.000-04:00

Rockaway Taco, A Selby Film from the selby on Vimeo.

Really a cool, strangely relaxing video on a place that I did not really know existed. Definitely plan to visit on my next summer trip to NYC.

Citizen Architect

2010-09-23T13:25:00.001-04:00

I just heard on WNYC that director Sam Wainwright will take questions following a screening of his documentary on Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio called the Citizen Architect at the beautiful Cooper-Hewitt.

Blurb about the film from the Leonard Lopate Show Page:

"Hale County, Alabama is home to some of the most impoverished communities in the United States of America. It is also home to Auburn University’s Rural Studio, one of the most prolific and inspirational design-build outreach programs ever established. Citizen Architect is a documentary film chronicling the late Samuel Mockbee, artist, architect, educator and founder of the Rural Studio with never-before-seen interviews with Mockbee himself."

There should be a stream of the interview on the WNYC page.

Around YYZ

2010-09-23T13:13:00.001-04:00

Check out David Court and Josh Thorpe for YYZUnlimited...in a series of 5 audio tours using YYZ as a departure. For the first, Court and Thorpe are joined by artist/architects Scott Sorli and Flavio Trevisan.
to download

And if you haven't already stop by YYZ to see Hadley+Maxwell and Barbara Balfour!

Wow! Thank you Douglas Kelley for todays DKS show listing in my inbox!

2010-09-23T10:25:00.000-04:00

In addition to the riot of color that punched me in the eyes and so delighted my soul this morning, there is a really interesting piece that Douglas Kelley has written both on the artist Deborah Kass and an exerpt from a Simon Critchley lecture which I found really interesting this morning. So thank you!

I will include the DK's "disclaimer" and a link to the rest of the piece. Looking forward to more.

From the DKS site. Read the rest here.
____________________________________________________________________________________
"A General Disclaimer.

Despite these accolades it is still my humble opinion that Deborah Kass, as popular and influential as she is, is nevertheless still one of the most undervalued artists in the world. Obviously I'm a fan.

I am not an art critic or even an art historian, even though I have interests in both. Mostly my interest in art is strictly from the point of view of being an artist, and so when I write about Ideas, Trends and Key Individuals Shows, Galleries and History, I feel I am in a collaboration with all of those things. It's sort of a one-sided collaboration, because I never let people read what I'm going to send out with the list beforehand, because that's an invitation to editing and rewriting the material, and the unhappy fact is that I don't consider writing that easy to want to do it over. In fact I find it damn difficult, (I can't understand how critics and art historians by Jerry and Roberta, who I idolize, crank it out by the pound?) So I feel it's always necessary to begin with a blanket apology for any errors, omissions, mistakes or mischaracterizations of people's words, history, politics, quotations or People's personal or private's subjectivities I write about. All opinions are strictly my own and definitely should not be considered representative of the opinions of any individuals mentioned. I'm extremely confident when I am expressing my own opinions, prejudices and ideas, or when I am drawing freely upon the work of someone like Simon Critchley, who I quote freely, because I feel he expresses my ideas better than I do. (That, in addition, to being my biggest influence currently.) I'm planning to use a lot of quotes of his and take my time bringing everything full circle. because in addition to talking about Ms. Kass, I plan on introducing my new personal philosophy, the global art manifesto, and political agenda to save the world, that I have tentatively titled as being: “Synthetic Speculative Surrealistic Anarchistic Otherism," or SSSAO or "Otherism" for short.

These essays are going to be an ongoing weekly project, and I plan to add more maternal about Deborah Kass in the weeks going forward, because this year I want to write about only a few artists whom I think of as values artists. Individuals whose work I feel will be an interesting commentary on our present times 500 years hence.

For those you who don't know Professor Simon Critchley, he is a New York-based, British born Philosopher, who is the philosophy chair at The New School For Social Research. Who is a fan of art, and a popular speaker at art fairs, who has in the past discussed some of the contemporary contradictions in the relationship of art to theory. I am going to mix some his remarks, with my remarks, and maybe with some remarks by Deborah Kass. Here is some of that, little of his ‘terroristic’ model of theory, (in which he real reassures artists they should stress too much about it) as he explains how perhaps that art and theory have not become divorced. We might even say that in some cases they have merged, or perhaps both become attached to a third term, perhaps art and theory have adopted a form of triolism, a ménage a trois?

Negotiating art and theory through a third term is extremely relevant to Deborah Kass's work. whether it's politics, feminism, the Jewish intellectual tradition, Broadway theater in musicals, our many other things, everything has something to do with her relationship with the intellectual Jewish life of New York City."

Koki Tanaka at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco

2010-09-21T13:40:00.001-04:00

If you are in San Francisco, check out Koki Tanaka's exhibit at the awesome Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. I met Koki in Toronto when he showed his work at YYZ Artists Outlet where I am on the board. I love, love, love the poignancy and purity of Koki's work. I hope you will too. He currently has a video on view at the Japan Foundation if you are in Toronto.

The Citizen Architect

2010-09-21T13:32:00.001-04:00

Just a follow up on The Citizen Architect. You can stream the video on the PBS.org website. My husband and I watched it a few weeks ago and it is amazing. I have so much respect for the work that Samuel Mockbee started. I think that it must be an amazing experience for a young architect to work with the Rural Studio.

BTW, another great series of videos from PBS.org is the Craft in America cycle. It is worth a dip into the series of videos which again you can stream from your computer.

If you feel generous, think about giving a donation to your local PBS station.

Citizen Artist via Alabama Chanin--TONIGHT!

2010-08-23T15:44:00.001-04:00

Thank you to Alabama Chanin for the link! I am so glad that I checked your feed today...

Nathalie Chanin also lists several ways to view the documentary if you cannot tune in this evening or record the program. See her links here

Here is the link:

via instant coffee...

2010-07-19T13:15:00.000-04:00

28. CALL | MASS MoCA / Cabinet | An Exchange with Sol Lewitt | OCT 15
------------------------------

------------------------------------------
A two-part exhibition curated by Regine Basha

The story of Sol LeWitt's exchanges with other artists is by now
widely known. Though most artists engage in this process at one
point or another, LeWitt seemed fully committed to it as an
artistic code of conduct, a way of life. Eva Hesse, Robert
Mangold, Hanna Darboven, and Robert Ryman are just a few of
LeWitt's celebrated contemporaries with whom the artist
exchanged works. Such exchanges were not limited to well-
known artists, however: LeWitt consistently traded works with
admirers whom he did not know but who had nevertheless sent
their work to him, as well as amateur artists with whom he
interacted in his daily life. LeWitt's exchanges—he responded to
every work he received by sending back one of his own—
fostered an ongoing form of artistic communion and, in some
cases, a source of support and patronage. The Sol LeWitt
Private Collection retains all of the works he received, as well as
a record of what he offered in return.

For LeWitt, the act of exchange seemed to be not only a
personal gesture, but also an integral part of his conceptual
practice. In addition to encouraging the circulation of artworks
through a gift economy that challenged the art world's
dominant economic model, LeWitt's exchanges with strangers
have the same qualities of generosity, and risk, that
characterized his work in general. This kind of exchange was
designed to stage an encounter between two minds, outside the
familiar confines of friendship.

If we consider the process of exchange as another of Sol
LeWitt's instructional pieces, then the rational (or irrational)
thing to do is to continue to exchange work and ideas, if only
symbolically, with him.

—This is a call to those who share an affinity with Sol LeWitt's
legacy as a conceptual artist, to those who knew him and those
who did not—to anyone who has ever wondered, "What would
Sol LeWitt like?"

—Guidelines

Your gift to Sol LeWitt can take the form of an image, an
object, a piece of music, or a film. Books, ephemera, and other
non-perishable items (e.g. wine) are also welcome. Other ideas
may be discussed with the curator.

2D contributions should be no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches; 3D
contributions should be no larger than 12 x 12 x 12 inches.

All contributions will be exhibited at either Cabinet or MASS
MoCA. The curator will notify you of the location of your
contribution by 1 December 2010.

Contributions can be dropped off, mailed, emailed, or faxed
between September 15th and October 15th:

An Exchange with Sol LeWitt
c/o Cabinet
300 Nevins Street
Brooklyn NY 11217, USA
Fax: + 1 718 222-3700
Email: exchangelewitt@gmail.com

A publication documenting the contributions will accompany
the shows and will be presented at the conclusion of the project
to all participants.

Please note that we cannot return your contribution. You can,
however, pick it up at the end of the exhibition if prior
arrangements have been made.

For further information, please contact Regine Basha at
exchangelewitt@gmail.com.
http://www.cabinetmagazine.org

Thought Feathers

2010-06-04T16:31:00.000-04:00

’Yes, drawings are thought feathers, they are ideas that I seize in mid flight and put down on paper. All my thoughts are visual. But the subjects of my drawings are often not translated into sculpture until several years later. As a result, there are a lot of things that appear in drawings but are never explored further.'

[Louise Bourgeois]

Bust a move!

2010-06-04T15:30:00.000-04:00

via The Official Autoshare Blog:

Art On The Move moves onto an AutoShare Ford Transit

AutoShare has decided to collaborate with a unique Toronto art program ART ON THE MOVE. The program integrates public art and urban design by engaging professional artists and community members – kids, adults, and seniors – who collaborate to adorn vehicles with original artwork.

The design for AutoShare’s Ford Transit Connect was created by artist Susan Rowe Harrison, and 26 children of the Karen Kain School of the Arts Afternoon Art Club (Grades 4, 5 and 6). The program will officially launch June 15th, at the National Yacht Club and showcasing 5 original art-wrapped vehicles.

Sadness in Louisiana from the Big Picture

2010-06-04T14:51:00.002-04:00

The oil spill does not seem to get any better. In fact things seem a bit hopeless.

Urban Canvas Project

2010-05-20T23:50:00.004-04:00

Oh man....

2010-04-17T21:42:00.000-04:00

some happy inspiration from ILOVEDUST for my auto share vehicle!...via Benign Objects

2010-04-16T10:57:00.000-04:00

Wabi-Sabi from emmas design blog

2010-04-13T10:03:00.003-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

I love the idea of Wabi Sabi. Emma Fexeus of emmasblog put together a great piece on wabi-sabi and a list of resources. Thanks emma!
---------------------------------------------------
from emma's design blog 2008-12-30 @ 23:20:50
Wabi Sabi, a little more background

“Pare down to the essence, but don’t remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don’t sterilize” says Leonard Koren, author of Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. That would be exactly what I think defines good interior design. And that is the reason why I am so drawn to the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, and would like to share some of what I've found out lately.

More...

another one from the same article...

2010-04-13T09:51:00.001-04:00

“I think it’s also interesting to think about silence,” Mr. Gioni added.

something to think about...

2010-04-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

“There was a time when some serious thought that later got reduced to catchphrases nonetheless was serious, and nonetheless did convey something about the art,” Mr. Storr said. “The turning of ideas into pitches, so to speak, was at the cost of ideas. We lost some good ideas because they got turned into spiels.”

2010-04-01T21:02:00.000-04:00

OK, here they are. They are all sort of in the same series but a bit different. Not sure if which one I like if any. If there is anyone out there, what do you think?

wednesday/thursday sketches

2010-04-01T17:16:00.002-04:00

Now I just need to convert the images from yesterday so that I can post them as well. I had a good day today but don't feel that I am "there" yet in the drawings. I still need more time to work on these. I am trying to bring in more of my work to the project. Then to bring back in the student art in a way that works. More later. Ouch my head hurts!

more for autoshare

2010-03-30T17:12:00.000-04:00

another project

2010-03-23T11:46:00.001-04:00

Here are some photos that I took recently to inspire some drawings I am working on for a client...I will update as I finish the work...funny that this is bird poop on the cement wall of an underpass in our neighborhood...anything can be mesmerizing and beautiful...

more inspiration...

2010-03-23T11:37:00.005-04:00

This one is from the Design Museum in London from the Gio Ponti Show in 2002. It was created by design team Kerr Noble who worked together for 10 years before going their separate ways...

I wish I could find a larger image so I could read it but nevertheless totally beautiful...

Here is another from team Kerr-Noble and the Museum Sheffield show On The Map:

The blurb goes as follows...

"kerr|noble

Rivermap, Kerr | Noble, 1999

The Rivermap leaflet illustrates the importance of the process of mapping for designers in visualising information.

In this map Kerr | Noble are representing the thoughts and feelings invoked by the River Thames, in London. They chose to use a poem by John Banck, A Description of London, 1738, to convey the character and history of the Thames. The words of this poem have replaced the geographical contours of the River, creating an alternative map. The font, Caslon by William Caslon, was chosen for its joyfulness and historicism, as it was designed at the same time that the poem was written."

Find out more about Kerr | Noble

Rivermap, Kerr | Noble, 1999

Another new project

2010-03-23T11:26:00.001-04:00

I am working on another project that will involve text and image...looking for inspiration and I came across Stephanie Posavec's work...Her website really gives no indication of what her work is like which I found subversively interesting but grasping for more but her images are a knock out...my head spins with all of the information that she processes and depicts graphically...Pretty amazing...take a look

Stefanie Posavec “On the Map”- 04.02.08

NOTCOT Note: Here is another post continuing on Justine’s (aka RUGenius’) adventures in Sheffield, it took a bit of researching, but she’s come back to me with some MIND BLOWING infographics from Stephanie Posavec, you definitely need to click on the images after the jump to see them in full resolution where you can see what every curve and color represents. I kid you not, you will not see Kerouac’s On The Road the same again…

More from the Notcot article via Information is Beautiful...

I really like these images from Information is Beautiful:

David McCandless of Information is Beautiful describes this work: "The process involved intense mark-up of the original text."

and this one...

anyway, if you like them read on...

what I am working on now

2010-03-17T14:03:00.002-04:00

I am working on some preliminary sketches for my Art on the Move vehicle using student work from our sessions at the Karen Kain School of the Arts in Etobicoke. See more here...

Hit List via Akimbo

2010-03-14T10:35:00.002-04:00

This is a bit old but I printed it out and saved it because I liked it so much...thanks to Elizabeth Zvonar for offering up her thoughts.

via akimbo

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hit List

Elizabeth Zvonar

Artist
Vancouver

Elizabeth Zvonar has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as the Contemporary Art Gallery, Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery, Artspeak Gallery and Western Front Gallery all in Vancouver; Cohan and Leslie, New York; Sign Gaienmae Gallery, Tokyo; and at Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Belgium. In 2008 Zvonar was the inaugural artist at the Malaspina Print Research Residency and an artist in residence at the Banff Centre for Cosmic Ray Research (a thematic residency led by Janice Kerbel). On Time, her exhibition of sculpture and collage, is currently on view at the Contemporary Art Gallery. She will be included in the upcoming Mercer Union group exhibition Days of the Eclipse, opening in late January 2010. Zvonar lives and works in Vancouver.

1. Manners & Memory

As the years pass, I am increasingly aware of how very impressed I am when I have social encounters that I come away from energized simply because those I am interacting with are polite. Not in a mannered or calculating way but from a place of personal confidence and thoughtful sincerity. These are highly attractive and productive ways of being that have more to do with being self aware and cognizant of the symbiotic nature of the world we live in together, than with who you know and where you went to school. The importance of memory makes good manners richer. Too often I am equally stunned by civil encounters that preference social amnesia as a method of navigating the real world, the art world, and the world of simple daily tasks that require routine interactions. I am acutely aware of my surroundings and am aware that as individuals, our lives are complex but like it or not, we are all in this together. Here’s to counteracting the death of civility through conscientiousness, generosity, gratitude and being open.

2. Feminism

Feminism never went away and now it really is on the vanguard of social consciousness. Each decade or so, feminism’s definition becomes more expansive and inclusive making for a stronger foothold on culture. Like any good philosophical, social, and political moment, feminism is constantly evolving and redefining itself, and more people are embracing this as a social movement. Kate Davis and Faith Wilding’s The Long Loch, Where Do We Go From Here (coming up April 2010) is a project that asks the five Ws of feminism, rooting its past to make a path for its future all in conjunction with CCA Glasgow and the Glasgow Women’s Library. For some fresh perspectives on the subject, their project, the Read Out! Read In! Feminist Lines of Flight in Art and Politics reading room will be available online any day now through a yet unreleased blog tentatively titled Lines of Flight in Art and Politics.

3. Intuition/Clarity

I have spent a lot of time watching and learning from others and I have come to realize that the act of observing coupled with an attention to listening are two skills I have honed over the years that are integral to a keen sense of intuition. Intuition never fails but only educated intuition can give a deep sense of clarity. I love it when people say what they mean and mean what they say. There is integrity in clarity of thought and value of meaning and when it comes from a place where a person is confident and happy with who they are, it makes for potential in culture.

4. Hearing

I have a rotating list of favorite stations and podcasts to listen to including the recently added Feminsting and the always educational This American Life. One of my recent favorites for awesome playlists in VanCity has got to be, without a doubt, Radio Zero; listen live on Fridays on UBC’s radio station CiTR. Want to travel far away? Try Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 and if you don’t like her selections, try another DJ from the BBC Radio 1, the choice is extensive.

more...

Oh this is so great!

2010-03-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

via Flavorwire...this is so great! by Hold Your Horses!

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

National Poetry Month

2010-02-25T14:22:00.002-05:00

Another beauty from Marian Bantjes and Poets.org. You can order a free poster or download a full-sized one. via Poets.org
the site of the American Academy of Poets .

Another great thing to have for National Poetry Month is Poem Flow 1.0, the poem reader for your iphone! Another great way to have a poem in your pocket 365 days a year. Inspire yourself anywhere!

This is so beautiful! I love Dennis Lin's work!

2010-02-19T12:44:00.002-05:00

If you are in Toronto before March 5th, see Dennis Lin's work at 47!

From the press release:

n° 1-60
February 5, 2010 (All day) - March 5, 2010 (All day)

*
*

47 PRESENTS

n° 1-60
Dennis Lin Solo Exhibition
OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday February 5th 2010
8 pm – 12 am

Dennis Lin has collected it, bypassing the mill and has prevented it from being turned into something other than. The Maple has been debarked, sectioned into cookies, sanded, oiled, and waxed: preserved. The 60, three-inch wide slabs are sequentially hung on purpose-built hooks. Each has been numbered and tagged with a brass plate; the tree has been documented and cataloged.

“To see the sections of the tree is to wonder how it grew, how it lived and how it died,” said artist Dennis Lin. “I’ve cataloged this tree out of my own curiosity and to make it accessible for others to question how this organism came into being.”

More about the gallery (read on it is actually quite cool!)

2010-02-10T10:53:00.006-05:00

This is an interesting piece via David McCandless's information is beautiful via the guardian newspaper

After Google announced it may stop censoring the internet in China, I became curious about what exactly that meant. What kind of censoring are they doing? How extensive is it? What can and can't you do online in the People's Republic. What does China censor online?

Broadly speaking, most of the big social websites - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube - are all blocked. Many familiar sites, such as Wikipedia, remain but with entire sections or contentious pages disappeared by The Great Firewall. Porn is pretty much outlawed.

Data in this area is difficult to come by. ConceptDoppler.org is a good source but most of the information dates back to 2008. Censored search terms and online materials often vary from region to region. Sites are routinely blocked and then unblocked, sometimes on a weekly basis. You can check it for yourself in this Google Doc. More...

from the inspirational letter

2010-02-09T09:11:00.005-05:00

I have always loved the concept of the Inspirational Letter from Bombay Sapphire--they lean slightly more toward design and design issues but I like the way they really tackle experiences not necessarily breaking up art-design-architecture-words...only wish they still had the English translation so more people could enjoy it! I love this recent entry and how the "letter" mysteriously shows up in my inbox...

Aquilone
Inspirational object #41

Si dice che l’aquilone fu inventato dal filosofo cinese Mo Zi, intorno al 400 A.C. Egli impiegò tre anni di studi per fabbricare quello che chiamò “il falco di legno”, il quale volò alto nel cielo per un giorno intero prima di rompersi. Questa è la leggenda ma l’origine è effettivamente cinese, e l’inventore, che sia stato Mo Zi o meno, senza dubbio doveva essere un filosofo o un poeta o uno di quegli ingegneri che si interrogano sul significato ultimo delle leggi della fisica. L’aquilone è infatti tutto questo, un semplice pezzo di tessuto che può invece rivelarsi tecnologicamente complesso, un gioco per i bimbi ma anche un oggetto evocativo e poetico, carico di molti significati.
Da principio era in legno di bamboo e fogliame, poi, con la diffusione della carta iniziò ad essere sempre più grosso, più leggero e soprattutto decorato. Dalla Cina arrivò presto in Giappone, dove ancora oggi è diffusissimo, utilizzato per la celebrazione di feste e ricorrenze e decorato in mille modi. Negli anni è stato utilizzato per gli scopi più vari, anche bellicosi, come vessillo, come lampada volante, come mezzo aereo per portare cariche esplosive oltre le mura delle città assediate. Oggi le pratiche aquilonistiche sono le più svariate, dalla fabbricazione di complessi aquiloni statici dalle forme più strane, alle gare con leggerissimi e supertecnologici aquiloni acrobatici, a quelli da traino, vere e proprie vele in grado di trascinare il vostro surf sulle onde o la vostra tavola sulla neve, e con un buon vento portare anche voi in alto nel cielo.

txt Daniele Druella

Yam Lau at Musee de Arte Joliette

2010-02-08T09:13:00.007-05:00

Yam Lau
Hutong House, 2009
Image from the video
© Yam Lau
Courtesy of Leo Kamen Gallery
YAM LAU
(Version française)

In Praise of Evanescence: Space, Time and Image of the Everyday

January 31 – May 2, 2010

OPENING : January 31, 2010, 2 pm
Tour of the exhibition with the artist and the curator, 1 pm

Curator : Gaëtane Verna

In Praise of Evanescence: Space, Time and Image of the Everyday brings together three recent works by artist Yam Lau that combine digital video and 3D animation.

In the first two works, Room (2006) and Room: An Extension (2008), the domestic space and everyday acts are presented to us in a setting that overturns conventional representations of space and the passing of time. Using three-dimensional modelling software, Lau constructs a virtual environment in the middle of which stands a framework, a sort of cubical dwelling. Filmed sequences showing the artist in his private life are projected on to the translucent virtual walls of the structure, which slowly rotates. The effect of this movement is to make the planes multiply, pivot and nest, forming a cycle in which places endlessly break up and re-form from a different viewpoint or angle. The illusion of reality is thus blown away, leaving us with a moving world where our gaze cannot find any fixed landmark to focus on, but where, paradoxically, everyday, ordinary acts and familiar objects take on a new dimension.

The third work, Hutong House (2009), takes us into a Beijing siheyuan, a traditional type of house with a square courtyard, now becoming rare. As in the previous works, the architecture unfolds in the form of filmed sequences projected onto the walls of an animated virtual structure. Inside we see Yam Lau and a friend busy with a host of little everyday actions that are interrupted, resumed, repeated and shown on another level as the various parts of the dwelling move back and forth under our eyes. Time seems to have become frozen – and with it this ancient house and its modern occupants – in an endless present, balanced on the edge of the void.

Yam Lau was born in Hong Kong. He now resides in Toronto, where he is represented by the Leo Kamen Gallery. His work has been exhibited on numerous occasions in Canada, the United States and Europe and has been the subject of many publications. He currently teaches in the Department of Visual Arts at York University.

Titles VI at the Musee de Arte Joliette

2010-02-08T09:09:00.003-05:00

invitation

2010-02-03T13:55:00.002-05:00

Final installation

2010-02-03T13:53:00.004-05:00

And this was on Monday after the first day of installation...

2010-02-03T13:46:00.008-05:00

Arounna has some nice process images of the installation on her blog too--you'll have to scroll down a bit to see them...You can also see what inspiring project she is working on...

catching up

2010-02-03T13:21:00.005-05:00

This was last week as I was cutting for the installation...

OMG these are so funny!!!!!!

2010-01-21T13:51:00.003-05:00

via The Douglas Kelley Show List:

Dear Most Beloved and Highly Esteemed DKS List Subscribers,

Welcome to The Douglas Kelley Show List

Welcome to the program. Yes we have openings, we'll get to those in a minute, but we first we begin for your amusement with The Washington Post's winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers were asked to supply alternative meanings for common words. And. The results for The Washington Post's Style Invitational, which asked readers to take any word, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

A. Winning neologisms- Readers supply alternative meanings for common words:

* 1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
* 2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
* 3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
* 4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
* 5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
* 6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
* 7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
* 8. Gargoyle (n), olive-flavored mouthwash.
* 9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
* 10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
* 11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
* 12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
* 13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
* 14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
* 15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
* 16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Washington Post's Style Invitational (Take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.) winners:

* Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
* Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
* Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
* Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
* Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
* Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
* Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
* Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
* Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
* Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
* Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
* Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
* Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
* Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
* (And the pick of the literature) Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

If anyone can think of any art related words and definitions in the style of this contest, please send them to me at dks@think.net. I'm sure they exist, I know because I use them all the time, but as soon as I slaughter the language I forget them.

I think I like this one

2010-01-21T10:58:00.003-05:00

2010-01-20T15:16:00.001-05:00

On persistence...

2010-01-20T14:38:00.003-05:00

Nathalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin is one of the most interesting people. I love to check out her book list and blog and while she doesn't post often, what she does post is always stunning. This post, a video from Ira Glass (another long time favorite from Chicago) is no exception:

red-orange

2010-01-20T11:10:00.002-05:00

Another brown one...

2010-01-20T10:53:00.002-05:00

Another one...

2010-01-19T21:28:00.003-05:00

Or...

2010-01-19T14:26:00.005-05:00

Bookhou thoughts...

2010-01-19T14:11:00.004-05:00

What I am working on...

2010-01-18T12:20:00.026-05:00

This is my contribution for Titles 6 called "How to Fold the Spit"--

I used a journal to look at the Leslieville Spit, a small narrow stretch of land in Toronto's east end composed of non-toxic construction debris and accidental wild life sanctuary. The man-made site is composed of strange shaped bits of wire and concrete as well as natural life: the area is home to 400 plant life species, 300 birds, 50 types of butterflies, reptiles, and mammals. My book is a sketch, an object, a map, and like 'the Spit' is also composed of non-toxic debris.

The project, begun in 2007, includes book-based works made by artists, architects, and designers. Titles is curated by the wayupwaydown collective (Yam Lau, Sunny Kerr, Tania Ursomarzo) to "set into motion the itinerant exhibition structures and maneuvers. It is the mandate of the collective to facilitate tenuous and fluid relations between exhibitions, artworks, and communities. The invitations to participants are extended on the basis of respect, which already entails artistic merits, friendship and trust."

Titles 6 will be on view at the Musee d'art de Joliette, Quebec in January. The show will travel to the Maclaren Art Centre in Barrie in fall 2010.

Closing party of Titles 5 at Art Metropole in Toronto in November 2009...

Kind of cool...

2010-01-14T09:59:00.003-05:00

from Felix Salmon, Economics blogger for Reuters

via ArtFagCity

No, it’s not Wolfgang Tillmans: it’s actually a photo from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of dust devils on the Martian surface.

Kind of funny...

2010-01-14T09:48:00.004-05:00

The Top 20 Most Powerless People in the Art World

by The Editors on October 28, 2009

Another take on the artworld by Hyperallergenic

A few weeks ago Art Review announced the Top 100 power brokers in the art world but we thought they missed the real story. So Hyperallergic has released its own list of the people who have never received their moment in the sun.

We present “The Top 20 Most Powerless People in the Art World!”

We haven't seen him for a while, which begs the question,

1 – Everyone entirely unknown to Hans Ulrich Obrist – If the kingmaker isn’t on your cell phone, well, at least your mother is.

2 – The guy in the bunny outfit who year after year protested in front of Gagosian’s 25th Street gallery — hey buddy, how’s the career?

3 – Independent curators without trust funds – There’s a saying, “No trust, no love.”

4 – Artists who can’t speak English, French, German, or Spanish. While the world is filled with approximately 6,800 languages, artwork must adhere to the linguistic realities of economics.

5 – That man at all the openings who might be homeless. Wine at gallery openings may be the art world’s only form of social service to people outside their realm, but hey, it’s something.

6...more...

Happy New Year Happy New Decade

2010-01-12T11:14:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Haruki Murakami!

"A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect."
— Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore )

When I Quote Others...

2009-12-16T09:38:00.003-05:00

When I Quote Others..., originally uploaded by tara.bursey.

This is from a day when I started to lose my quote in English a bit. I think the weather had a role...cold and rainy. I love the City of Craft stickers hand-made by Amy Borkwood and Tara Bursey.

City of Craft Decals, Step 4

2009-12-16T09:38:00.001-05:00

City of Craft Decals, Step 4, originally uploaded by tara.bursey.

Decal created by Amy Borkwood and fabricated by Tara. Looks so good!

When I Quote Others...

2009-12-16T09:35:00.003-05:00

When I Quote Others..., originally uploaded by tara.bursey.

When I Quote Others...

2009-12-16T09:35:00.001-05:00

When I Quote Others..., originally uploaded by tara.bursey.

I like the next two a alot! Both also from Tara Bursey's Flickr page.

When I quote others...

2009-12-16T09:34:00.001-05:00

When I quote others..., originally uploaded by tara.bursey.

My studio in the car

2009-12-12T22:37:00.004-05:00

City of Craft morning 2

2009-12-12T22:35:00.004-05:00

The hand warmers saved me this morning. Winter installations are tough!

City of Craft

2009-12-12T10:48:00.004-05:00

day 1, -4 below zero. no feeling in my toes and fingers. gangrene a possibility.

Kiyoshi AWAZU (1929-2009)

2009-10-30T11:52:00.012-04:00

These are some pretty amazing drawings from Kiyoshi AWAZU, a Japanese artist/designer. Equally fascinating is his writing about his vision.

On the Thinking Eye he says, "The Meaning of Seeing I think that creating is seeing. Sometimes seeing is harder than creating. The difficulty that we face in creation equals the difficulty we face when we are not able to see things. Seeing, becomingable to see and seeing through things are the mind processes used when we try to create. Criticism relies on seeing as does creation..."

Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be...

2009-10-29T15:44:00.006-04:00

I am picking up the ending but it is worth a visit to BLDGBLOG for the beginning to read an interesting discussion of a Times article...Who would want to be an architect?

I'll end this simply by citing some provocative statements made in the article's comments thread—provocative not because I agree with them but because they're well-positioned to spark debate. I'll quote these here, unedited, and let people discuss this for themselves.

And on we go...

love hurts!

2009-10-22T13:04:00.005-04:00

via free people

artist stephen powers grew up in west philadelphia, where walls and rooftops were a blank canvas for the former graffiti artist. now, with the help of the philadelphia mural arts program, he has put a spin on the traditional notions of graffiti with love letter. the project is literally his love letter to the city where he grew up, that can also be read as a love letter from one person to another or from the residents of west philadelphia to their neighborhood.

more...

A Letter for One with Meaning for All

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and Philadelphia native, New York-based artist Stephen Powers have collaborated to create Love Letter, a public art project consisting of a series of 50 rooftop murals from 45th to 63rd streets along the Market Street corridor. The murals, which are best viewed from the Market-Frankford elevated transit line, collectively express a love letter from a guy to a girl, from an artist to his hometown, and from local residents to their West Philadelphia neighborhood. Love Letter, which will be documented in two books, a film, and a gallery exhibition, speaks to all those who have loved and for those who long for a way to express that love to the world around them.

download the map for your next trip to Philadelphia! Stephen Powers site.

2009-10-22T12:54:00.002-04:00

via BLDGBLOG

[This is so interesting to me! I just hope I make it to NYC before the show closes. The 7 used to be my studio train from Manhattan to LIC and this would be so much fun to take the 7 and listen to a podcast...]

...What strange irony of the California landscape would lead butterflies to follow a major highway on their seasonal migrations—or what triumph of bad planning would result in that highway being built in perfect alignment with a preexisting animal geography?

Of course, the landscape itself might all but guarantee such an overlap, as California's central valley offers both Caltrans and Painted Lady butterflies an effective and easy route to from north to south. But what other examples might there be of human transportation infrastructure coexisting with biological routes of passage?

What paths for animals could we thus build through our cities? Birds following WiFi signals along parallel geographies through the urban canyons our buildings now frame...

Exploring all of these questions, and more, is a cool new exhibition called the Safari 7 Reading Room, which opened last night at New York's Studio-X. Nicola Twilley, of Edible Geography, and I got to take a tour of the exhibition before it opened with Studio-X's Gavin Browning.

more...

Orange Solar Moment at Simone Interiors...

2009-07-01T14:45:00.007-04:00

2009-07-01T14:33:00.002-04:00

“Drawing teaches us to observe and if we were more visually aware in this country, our environment would not be in such a mess. And possibly there might be less crime and violence if we could notice and enjoy what we see."

Letter published in The Guardian, November 1995

I want to engage the physical properties of space and architecture with works that explore form and content (or, form versus content) using a mundane, mass-produced material—sign vinyl. The slow and labor-intensive process of hand-cutting the vinyl and carefully applying it to a wall or window subverts the commercial nature of the material.

For Simone, I created an abstract work that is a reflection—a moment—of the street in the luminosity of the sun. I hope that this unexpected work will interrupt and challenge viewers' visual routines for a second to notice the nooks and crannies of our city.

Day One Installation...

2009-07-01T14:28:00.002-04:00

and a few more...

2009-07-01T10:02:00.002-04:00

A few more small cuts.

2009-06-19T12:04:00.002-04:00

Kalla Design Blog Inspiration

2009-06-18T13:27:00.002-04:00

Japanese designer Hitomi Kimura says in her blog: "Finding a "right" (to me!) colour combination is the true joy for me. I am planning to apply my multi-coloured pattern onto paper in the near future."

Painted Buildings in Russia

2009-06-18T10:52:00.002-04:00

via Free People...

This makes me so happy!

see more at sturman

A few small cuts.

2009-06-18T10:50:00.004-04:00

Calling Ganesh

2009-06-18T10:47:00.002-04:00

measure, measure, measure

2009-06-18T10:42:00.004-04:00

Orange Solar Moment at Simone Interiors

2009-06-15T14:03:00.007-04:00

Which one will I choose?

2009-06-03T14:39:00.003-04:00

Collection of Moments

2009-06-03T14:32:00.004-04:00

Barnstormers!

2009-06-03T11:34:00.003-04:00

Yeah, so cool....The Barnstormers are an Tokyo-NYC artist collective that stormed Cameron, North Carolina and lit up their barns, tractors, shacks, and farm equiptment. WOW!

We need some of these!

2009-05-22T14:54:00.001-04:00

If you've visited Philly, or live here, you may already be familiar with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, which is responsible for helping Philly be the city with the most murals in the USA - we have more than 2,700!
The festive trucks shown above are part of one of the Mural Arts Program's latest projects. Partnering with Philadelphia University's Design Center, together they wrapped 10 of the city's garbage & recycling trucks in these funky all-over prints! They've been doing the rounds with the rest of the trucks since Earth Day, and the other day I saw one on my street! It sounds silly but I was excited! I think next they should wrap all the rest of the trucks...

For a little more...

via...freepeople

lunule

oblique strategies

Phantom Traps.

To those...

11 September 2011

Ooooh Swish!

its been a while...

Jardin de la Connaissance

Festival International de jardinsMétis (Quebec/CA), 2010with Rodney Latourelle, Berlin

It's National Poetry Month in the US

thoughts...from the "bluebird in my heart"...

annual Holi post from the Big Picture

RIP Elizabeth Taylor via letterheady

International Women's Day and Education

What could be better--a SoulTrain break and Int'l Women's Day

Related articles

"Think of a creative way to get around your problem..."--Richard Rodriguez

This reminds me of Olafur Eliasson

Writers doodles

Gene Davis

Hey Mr. Paganini...

FABRIK Competition--congrats all!

Fabrik Magazine Juried Competition

The Art Alley Mural Project

Arts Etobicoke and Amnesty InternationalUnveil Toronto`s Longest Outdoor Poem

Project Urban Canvas...

Project Urban Canvas-first thoughts

Life is the meaning of life-Richard Tuttle

The Inspiration Pad

Biographical Blip: Rockaway Taco, A Selby Film

Citizen Architect

Around YYZ

Wow! Thank you Douglas Kelley for todays DKS show listing in my inbox!

Koki Tanaka at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco

The Citizen Architect

Citizen Artist via Alabama Chanin--TONIGHT!

via instant coffee...

Thought Feathers

Bust a move!

Sadness in Louisiana from the Big Picture

Urban Canvas Project

Oh man....

Wabi-Sabi from emmas design blog

another one from the same article...

something to think about...

wednesday/thursday sketches

more for autoshare

another project

more inspiration...

"kerr|noble

Another new project

Stefanie Posavec “On the Map”- 04.02.08

what I am working on now

Hit List via Akimbo

This is a bit old but I printed it out and saved it because I liked it so much...thanks to Elizabeth Zvonar for offering up her thoughts.

via akimbo

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hit List

Elizabeth Zvonar

1. Manners & Memory

2. Feminism

3. Intuition/Clarity

4. Hearing

Oh this is so great!

National Poetry Month

Related articles by Zemanta

This is so beautiful! I love Dennis Lin's work!

from the inspirational letter

Yam Lau at Musee de Arte Joliette

Titles VI at the Musee de Arte Joliette

invitation

Final installation

And this was on Monday after the first day of installation...

catching up

OMG these are so funny!!!!!!

I think I like this one

On persistence...

red-orange

Another brown one...

Another one...

Festival International de jardins
Métis (Quebec/CA), 2010
with Rodney Latourelle, Berlin

Arts Etobicoke and Amnesty International
Unveil Toronto`s Longest Outdoor Poem