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A Political and Personal Take on Rembrandt's Lucretia

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 09:18:00 -0600

Under the auspices of Hyperallergic Blogazine, I went down to the North Carolina Museum of Art near the end of 2011 to have a look at Rembrandt in America. This post is the excess from what I wrote for Hyperallergic back in January. Click here to read the Hyperallergic article.

Rembrandt in America will be exhibited at the Cleveland Museum of Art (11150 East Boulevard Cleveland, Ohio) from February 19 – May 26, 2012 and at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota) from June 24 – September 16, 2012.

This time, in an unusual shift from my obsession with Rembrandt's self-portraits, I focused most of my viewing time on the history paintings. Maybe it's the prevalence of the Occupy Wall Street movements right now or perhaps it's my literary training, but I have been thinking more politically than usual. The history paintings seemed to contain ideologies that we're still embodying today, and this post focuses on one painting as an example of how we might find some relevance in Rembrandt's work to our lives today.

[Fig. 1. Rembrandt van Rijn, Lucretia, 1666, oil on canvas, 43 3/8 x 36 5/16 in., Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The
William Hood Dunwoody Fund, 34.19] courtesy of the NCMA.

The Construction of Pseudo-Poetic Beatbox Fantasies

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:16:00 -0700

A bunch of people have been asking me what this series of cut-up text pieces, the Blast Series, is all about. The common questions are "How do you come up with these arrangements?" and "Why is there text on them?", both of which are great questions. Some knowledge of the process ought to make them more interesting beyond the initial formal level.

From the Archives: Life Drawings

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:42:00 -0700

I was digging through my archives a couple of weeks ago and came across some life drawings I did during grad school. Though unrelated to my overall agenda, I still quite like some of them. Enjoy!

On Rights and Occupy Wall Street

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:00:00 -0700

There has been a lot of talk about rights lately, and rightly so. The main right we're seeing in action is the right of the public to congregate and peacefully voice their dissent.

Check out Andrew Napolitano's Daily Show Interview here.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Peter Oakley at Flanders Gallery, Raleigh, NC

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:04:00 -0700

Peter Oakley works at The Collective on Depot in the studio space next to mine, and he and I tend to be the ones who are there most often, lately. Here are some images from his show at Flanders Gallery in Raleigh, NC

The Best of Occupy Wall Street (#OWS) Thus Far

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:23:00 -0700

I've been following the developments of OWS whenever something comes up on the twitter feed, and there have been some fascinating developments. There are a bunch of articles and videos after the jump.

Santa Popping Out of a Christmas Tree

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:57:00 -0700

It was Freud who said that, at least within dreams, it's precisely that which is non-sexual that is the most sexual.

I leave you with a video of an inflatable Santa, popping out of a tree. Happy Holidays!

The True Tragedy of Avatar

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:23:00 -0700

I've written about Avatar before, but it's only recently that I've been able to articulate the exact reason I despise the film. The real tragedy of Avatar is not the destruction of the natural way of life on Pandora, though this is the surface level interpretation. The real tragedy within the plot is that salvation comes from the antagonists.

Remember back in 2001, you know, when 9/11 happened? Remember how very soon after the event, in October-November 2001, Hollywood and the US government (the Pentagon) got together to plan out how Hollywood could help with propaganda? Well, there are some obvious connections, but Avatar is one that, while seemingly against imperialism and environmental takeover, actually perpetuates America's exact style of imperialism, throwing it in a positive light, ultimately.

Let's review the overarching plotlines of our last couple of imperialist endeavors. First, in Iraq, we invaded to depose Hussein and to remove any WMDs, while freeing the country, saving the people, installing democracy, and rebuilding everything we destroyed. We assumed that the people of Iraq would be happy about this. Quite simply, they were, and still are, pissed at us and want us to leave. We were both the antagonists and the saviors, at least from our perspective. We destroy with one hand while rebuilding with the other. Second, we did the exact same thing in Afghanistan. We invaded to go kill Bin Laden, free the country, promote democracy, and rebuild everything we blew to bits. The Afghanis are not happy with us.

Let's take a look at Avatar's plotline. The earth's military (read: America. The general even has the accent.) has invaded Pandora to mine out its natural resource of "unobtanium" (read: "oil"). Jake is sent, via his avatar, to get the natives to move out of the way or to force them out, if necessary. He attempts to integrate into the native society, and in the process, angers them. Eventually they become accepting of him, and he ends up leading the natives against the foreign invasion. Without Jake, the natives are doomed. The natives transport Jake's soul fully into his avatar, and the natives wind up ejecting the military presence from Pandora.

Is this not the exact way we (our government officials) see our invasions of other countries? It is our new myth and method--the hero is the man who is the benevolent antagonist. The man who can work for the invading powers while saving the natives. It suggests that the natives can't take care of themselves--that they require the foreign presence for their salvation. The antagonist eventually becomes accepted as a hero by both the natives and the antagonists. It is our contemporary ideology par excellance, and it is unquestionably misguided. It's so fundamental to our existence that we don't even notice it when it hits us in the face within cultural products such as Avatar.

Geographical Organization of Data

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:19:00 -0600

My continual frustration with search engines and navigation of data to find relevant, specific information has me wondering if heirarchized searches are the way to go. Everyone is familiar with the concept of the democratic forest, even you are unfamiliar with the term itself. The idea of the democratic forest is that, now that millions of people have internet access and there are hundreds of ways to put information on the internet, it creates a dense thicket of information that is totally disorganized and difficult to navigate. We have access to as much information as we want, but we have no way to find the exact information we require. Take, for example, an uncurated online artist registry. The face-value function of a registry is to help interested parties find new and undiscovered artists, but with every artist tagging his/her work under every category (to appear in more searches), it becomes impossible to navigate. An even more popular example would be facebook. Try to find something one of your friends posted 3 months ago, and you'll find that there is no good way to go about it.

Overanalyzing Jersey Shore. Part 1: The Pinnacle of Reality TV

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:19:00 -0600

This post begins a series that will become an overanalysis of MTV's Jersey Shore. Bet you didn't expect this to be the subject of a post, let alone a few of them. Hah!

Reality TV has always had a structured approach--contests, games, tasks, etc.--that is intended to produce an emotional range in the characters and viewers. Think of shows like the Bachelor, Survivor, or Road Rules. The casts of these shows change each season, and viewers follow the show because of its variety within the format. Jersey Shore is something altogether different.

To Approximate The Intangible

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 09:49:00 -0600

I want to discuss the deeper levels of my work tonight. These thoughts all began in a studio visit with Josef Schultz, which was a little over a year ago, and are just now within my power to vocalize.

In one way, my work revolves around an almost religious debate. The surface and its revealed understructure mirror the myths of creation and the creations of myth. I make works that are representative of intangibles--objects and moments that we know are present but can't be directly observed. The Black Holes are three-dimensional objects that break down into voids with the willful suspension of disbelief and return to their existence as physical, man-made constructions when the viewing angle shifts.

Three Mind-Blowing Documentaries

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:02:00 -0600

I picked out these documentaries A) because I watched them recently and B) because they all have an unexpected common thread. The element that connects these films is the exploration of human psychology centered around a sense of entitlement. We see people from all parts of the economic spectrum who believe that they can possess amounts of money and time and that they can invest very little for gain.

New Prints: A Teaser

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:54:00 -0600

I've been working with text for several months now, and I've come up with a series of prints stemming from small paintings and drawings on paper. Each painting was done on a 12" x 12" piece of paper, sliced, recombined, scanned, printed, and signed. The prints are in editions of 10 and will be available in the store very, very soon at a price of $20 each.

Here's the latest print I've executed. It's called Hypnotic Occurrences of Light and Shade. 8.5 x 11". Inkjet print on 42 lb. matte paper.

This Is Modern Art

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 09:43:00 -0600

Just for kicks, I watched the old documentary This Is Modern Art, which is written, hosted and narrated by Matthew Collings. I always get a bit sick of hearing about Picasso and Pollock in modern art round-up documentaries, and this one is no exception. He does a pretty good job of explaining the dilemmas of postmodern art in a nonlinear way, which makes it more interesting to watch than a chronological account of current artists. It focuses a bit too much on the YBA's, but that's to be expected, given the production date (1999) and the fact that it's produced in the UK.

Is it worth watching? Yes. It's humorous, informative, and boasts an amazing soundtrack with cuts from The Modern Lovers, Squarepusher, and Boards of Canada. There are 6 episodes in all, and here's a link to the first part of the first episode on YouTube:

Banks Violette at Gladstone Gallery

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:38:00 -0600

Me. Reflected in one of Violette's Blackouts/Blackholes.

So it's over a year ago that I was last in NYC, and I just rediscovered the photos I took during that trip. The most pleasant experience overall was a visit to Banks Violette at Gladstone Gallery, which ran from February 12 - April 17, 2010.

Walking into the show was a breath of fresh air. There was never a large crowd, and the pieces themselves seemed to demand silence. It was almost like walking into a Zen garden with structures still, dark, bright, and calming.

Another Simple Fascination: Lindy Hop

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:22:00 -0600

I've been Lindy Hoppin' since 2006, I think. It comes from a long time impulse to want to do partner dancing but not having the love for the music. I've enjoyed jazz for a while, but I didn't know about the Lindy Hop subculture at all, let alone how extensive it is. Most Lindy Hoppers hypothesize that there is at least one Lindy Hopper in every town (and it's probably true).

For me, the link between art and Lindy Hop is a rhythm thing. I think of the best dancers as kinetic sculptures that come alive with the right song, e.g. Mike Faltesek and Nina Gilkenson dancing to "Ochi Chornya" by Wingy Manone.

Flatline: Kim Salinas Added to the Lineup

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:11:00 -0600

Kim Salinas is now on the roster for Flatline. Check out her work at her main site and on her blog.

On every level, her work tends to develop like a snake eating its own tail. She is constantly devouring new motifs, obscuring them within a painting, pulling them out again. My favorite pieces of hers are acts of self-destruction made static, and Meat and Knitting is right up there. With Salinas's work, you can always expect rapid change and surprising imagery.

Video Interview Clip on the Collision Series

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 21:54:00 -0600

Here's a small clip from a longer interview taken at my last solo exhibition. Jason Hoelscher is the interviewer here.

Flatline: The Initial Lineup

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:14:00 -0600

Only a few weeks away from its initial inception and Jason and I have got about a third of our lineup confirmed. We're expecting to have 10-20 artists participating in the show. Here are the first five, excluding me.

Jason Hoelscher is co-curator of Flatline. His work is a mash-up of logo design, dry wit, geometry and psychedelica. You can check out his website here.

Charles Clary's complex biomorphic abstractions made of carefully cut and layered paper become a world of off-kilter color relationships and musical play. Have a look at his blog.

Vitor Mejuto's paintings encompass a variety of compositional styles from complex curvilinear designs to more simple geometric constructions and everything in between. His website has an extensive archive of his work.

Connie Goldman's works look like drop-shadow designs done in photoshop, but the canvases and panels are actually multi-layered. Her site displays a range of constructions and compositions.

A Simple Fascination with Juggling and Albrecht Durer

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:09:00 -0600

I've been juggling on-and-off since around 1997. It's a simple fascination with pattern, repetiton, and rhythm. I can't be sure, but I think this has to do with the elements that drive my art. At my level, juggling is a technical activity and will remain so. I will never be good enough at juggling to bring the technique up to the level of art, but there are people who do this (side note--watch on mute, the music is lame):

The way that Falco Scheffler, the juggler in this video, juggles reminds me of the way that Durer's technique pushed the limits of what can be represented in an engraving. Having been nose-to-paper with a print of "Adam and Eve", I'd have to say that there is not a single misplaced mark in the print. Watching someone like Scheffler, I get more of an aesthetic pleasure than I normally would while watching jugglers.

Interpretations. Marina Abramovic 3 of 2.

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:41:00 -0600

Abramovic's new piece has strict rules: no photography, no stepping within the taped-off square, no talking while sitting, must keep eye contact, no hands or objects on the table, stay as long as you'd like, must sign a release form allowing you to be photographed.

From an aesthetic standpoint, it's an extremely formal piece. Two chairs are equidistant on either side of a square table within a square area marked off by tape with a photo light high in each corner. It is a setup of perfect symmetry, and it reminds me of Kubrik.

Given the rules and the display, the piece is heavily structured, so it's important to figure out what lacks structure. The length of time one may sit is left open, within museum hours, and the person who is sitting is mostly random, with alleged exceptions. Maybe the interaction is less structured, but we'll see if that's the case.

Marina Abramovic 2 of 2. A Roundup of Current Culture, Part Three

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:58:00 -0600

Before getting to interpretations and levels of meaning, I wanted to link up some internet highlights (in no particular order) surrounding The Artist Is Present.

First up is the Twitter feed from Marina Abramovic's Chair. There are some classics here. The chair goes from describing raw experience, to expressing the details of its relationship with Marina, to chasing around NYC after her, to their final reconciliation.

Marina Abramovic 1 of 2. A Roundup of Current Culture, Part Three

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:37:00 -0600

This post has been a long time in coming. I've been meaning to give my account of my experience since the day after I sat. I suppose I was one of the lucky ones. One woman who stopped by the line at The Artist is Present purchased a MoMA membership to be able to come back again and again to try to sit, but every time she came, someone ahead of her would close out the night.

I think I had to wait about three hours, and I didn't even get there early. I got to MoMA a bit after it opened, took a twice-through stroll through the Tim Burton exhibit, then went to wait in line for Abramovic. Normally, I wouldn't spend more than a few minutes with any piece of art--especially performance art, but I felt compelled. Waiting in line gives you time to think, to get bored, to talk to everyone around you and to think some more and get bored again. You notice the viewers who aren't waiting to sit--some sketch amateurish portraits of Abramovic, some sit and chat and take photos, and some come up to you to ask what this is all about. But the most interesting people were the ones around me in line.

There was this girl:

I call her the Mirrorer. She was wearing a deep blue velvet dress in a similar cut as the one Abramovic wore. She said she made it herself.

On James Cameron's "Avatar". A Roundup of Current Culture, Part Two of Three.

Tue, 18 May 2010 17:11:00 -0600

All of my friends look at me with indignation when I tell them my opinion of Avatar. It's not the horrible, hang-your-head-in-shame-and-embarrassment type of dialogue, nor is it the fact that the plot is a simple rehash of Disney movies (see image below) and classic stories. For me, it is the political implications of Avatar that put it near the bottom of my "Worst Movies Ever" list. It's not just that it's a bad movie (I knew that it wouldn't be great given that James Cameron's filmography is full of films ranging from bad to merely decent), it's more that the film produces the exact opposite meaning from what it intends.

Touted by many as an "environmentalist" movie, Avatar simply pulls us out of our environment. It's simple escapism. An extreme example is that some fans have developed suicidal tendencies after watching the movie. But let's not get distracted by things surrounding the film; let's back up and talk about the film itself. Here's a quick sketch I've drawn from the full plot:

On ICP's "Miracles". A Roundup of Current Culture, Part One of Three

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:09:00 -0600

A few months ago, the so-called "horrorcore" rap group Insane Clown Posse (ICP) released what might become the worst and most sub-culturally interesting music video ever, "Miracles".

First Run of Black Hole Shirts

Tue, 11 May 2010 09:09:00 -0600

Here it is. The first run of 18 shirts in both Men's and Women's sizes. They all have a layer of black light reactive white over a layer of opaque white, and a layer of black in the middle of the white outline. I'll be taking pre-orders for the second run through the official website. This run will be available at the opening reception this weekend.

New Black Holes on Paper

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:12:00 -0600

Black Hole Shirt

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:15:00 -0600

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but this is the first chance I've had. Here it is: The Very First Black Hole Tee Shirt! (Sorry about the blur on the second shot. You get the idea.)

The Studio Today

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:17:00 -0600

I cleaned the place up a bit to make room for the next Black Hole. This one's proving to be complicated in its details.

Aural Interrupt...on the wall...

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:19:00 -0600

Black Hole #6...Revisited and 99% Complete

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:20:00 -0600

Just finished up the wiring and such tonight. Wall-mounted shots coming soon.

Random Studio Shots

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:22:00 -0600

While I'm going a bit crazy working on 7 things at once, I thought I'd put up some little views of my studio. Enjoy!

Collision #4 (untitled) is Done and Hanging

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:26:00 -0600

The Studio This Morning...

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:27:00 -0600

I accomplished a lot of surface things yesterday. I'll have two color studies finished today, and the new Collision should be done tomorrow or Friday, depending on drying time.

Black Hole Frame Complete

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:28:00 -0600

I finished up the wiring today. High quality shots will be on the website soon.

Studio as of Today

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:29:00 -0600

Here's a shot of the finished color study as well as my studio as it is right now.

Color Study in Progress

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:31:00 -0600

New type of paint. Yes, it's glossy!

Black Hole Paper Tests

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:32:00 -0600

Inapropos of the Readymade

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:00:00 -0700

It’s easy to spot superficial categories when you go to a series of art fairs. The ones in Miami, Pulse in particular, got me thinking about the category that I call “Collections of Acquired Stuff.” This is the category of art that results from the condition of a society having lots of stuff to throw away. Unfortunately, that’s all I see in art of this category—a weak political message about overabundance and overproduction. There ought to be more to it, but this is really just a sub-category of readymades.

For some reason, I began to ask myself about the relevance of Duchamp these days. Does anyone still think about him? I’m not so sure. My peers act as if he has been completely absorbed and that all he thought is finished. It seems to me that his intentions, especially with the readymades, have been mutated beyond recognition by various artists and theorized into boredom by the historians. I keep remembering that Duchamp got to all the genres first—video art, conceptual art, installation, performance, appropriation, and even minimalism of the “minimal means” and “minimal amount of stuff to look at” types.

Black Hole Drawings

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:34:00 -0700

A couple of drawings today. Ink on paper. 25" x 25". The next step up on the heirarchy before this series gets highly developed in January/February.

What to expect in the coming months...

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:35:00 -0700

I have an absolutely massive to-do list for the next few months. If I can pull it off, there will be 40-50 new pieces. Among them will be:

-10 new crash test color studies
-a 10-part collision painting with colors that progressively shift on each side
-2 to 3 2-part collisions (including a large one that will be dark gray on darker gray)
-a flat-ish black hole with LEDs that light up in sequence
-lots of black hole drawings in various mediums and sizes (with black light frames and without frames)
-black hole tee shirts
-more large-scale black holes (one on the floor, and one in a corner)
-interesting titles for everything

Some other things that are brewing on the backburner--formless, intuitive:
-a few text-based pieces
-the beginning of a series of Blasts

Miami Art Fairs Part 2: Impressions, Disappointments & Cool Stuff

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:56:00 -0700

The Miami art fairs are a jumble in my head. Together, they make up a good overall picture of the art world--nothing really stands out. Each fair has a slightly different feel to it. Basel seemed high-quality, commercial, safe, and engaged with a century's worth of critical theory. It was a collection of medium bullets from the big guns. Pulse was full of shiny object, electronics, bright colors, nifty techniques, and theory-less experimentation. Scope was hit-or-miss booth by booth--it had lots of art that was trying and failing to engage with large ideas. Aqua was Juxtapoz magazine spread out over a few thousand square feet. Nada was full of unrealized potential, as it should be.

Even though the fairs are a blur of images, some things at Basel were disappointing. Marilyn Minter's surfaces are significantly less sexy than the subjects, and Kehinde Wiley can't handle an edge to save his life. Oddly enough, Damien Hirst's butterfly paintings were awesome--great surfaces with impossible-seeming colors on the wings. Team brought work by Ryan McGinley and Stanley Whitney. McGinley's photos were actually interesting (compared to all the boring images around the fair), but Whitney's work was disappointing--it only looks impressive in photos. Perhaps I just need some time and to see a solo show to get to know and enjoy Whitney's work.

Miami Art Fairs Part 1: Logistics for the Poor

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:55:00 -0700

So it wound up costing us each about 300-400 to do this whole art fair thing. Totally worth it, of course, but we figured out a few new ways to cut costs.

We stayed at the River Park Hotel & Suites and would recommend it. It's got a neat view of the river and is about $60 a night. Don't park there. The valet service is double the rate of the parking on every corner on the block. Be sure to get to a parking lot where you don't have to pay re-entry fees. The River Park is a once-cool hotel, but has been taken over by mean employees. The verdict is that the night shift staff is angry and the day shift staff is disagreeable. Also the housekeeping staff decreased our number of towels by one each day, so be sure to ask for a lot on the first morning (not night, they'll say no). Also there are plenty of bad pizza places to order from (there will be two new flyers under your door every day), so be wary. The good news is that there is a Starbucks three blocks away (one block straight, two blocks right), and, in the same area, there is a sushi place that has cheap combo boxes and is open til around 11PM.

Black Hole #9: prototype version.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:36:00 -0700

The experimental low-relief Black Hole #9. On panel with ink, black light varnish, etc. Full-scale. 37.5" x 56"

Nick Cave at Define Arts 11/14/2009

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:11:00 -0700

Finally...some good installation shots.

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:39:00 -0700

Here are installation shots of Collisions 3, 1, and 2 and Black Holes 6, 7, and 8.

As promised, Black Hole #8 streamlined and complete.

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:38:00 -0700

Acrylic on canvas with black light varnish on panel.

Crash 2.0 in process...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:43:00 -0600

Here are some shots of Crash 2.0 in progress.

Crash 2.0 finished...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:42:00 -0600

And here it is.

Black Hole #8 in progress.

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:41:00 -0600

Background will eventually be trimmed down to a slight rim around the edge of the canvas.

Crash 1.0-Done

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:44:00 -0600

Here is the very first crashed painting.