Things I Learn as an artist volume 6

#12.  A Piece is never REEEAAAAAAAALLY done till someone buys it and it's out of the studio.

#13. Because of #12, most of my work will probably never be really "done"

A Long Time Coming

Another piece I "finished" about five years ago in the dorms, exhibited a few times, has spent the last three years in the garage back in MN, and finally has gotten the finishing touches it deserved, or at least the start of the finishing touches...

I can't say exactly what i was thinkng the first time through, but it's pretty interesting how taking a piece away for so long helps you to see what's wrong with it more clearly. How you can immediately say  "there's work still to do" when, at one point, you were completely happy with how it turned out. I suppose in comparing the two, I would say that the first version simply looks...unfinished. It looks like an underpainting, a generalization....something I was too eager to finish.

Anyways, it's well on it's way finally,  and it's pretty uplifting to know that some of my older work carries the same energy, color and composition that, five years later, I am still working with...It's a definite plus to pull a piece from the pile like this and not have to completely paint over it, but to simply see it as a good starting point...way to go 18 year old me.

Dreamin' The Heat of the Fields

This piece has been four different paintings and finally, I think i have one that sits well with me. There's still some work to do on it...but here's the progression from first painting to where it's at now...

Stack

The Grid

Blessed Be The Rain

Dreaming the Heat of the Fields

So as you can see...I had no clue what was really going to happen with this piece. Throughout the process, I ran into stages that seemed set, but each time I ended up coming back to the piece a few months later and completely changing it. And as different as each step has seemed to go, I'm not sure I'd ever get to the next step without the one preceding it. So much of the color in the final piece has to do with the lines and shapes made by "Blessed Be The Rain"....It just goes to show that process, planned or not, is essential to coming up with a successful piece. And who knows, in another month or so I may continue the process...that's just how some paintings work.

Enter The Void

Haven't seen the movie, but the opening title sequence is AWESOME with a bit of insanity and nausea mixed in. PLUS, I found this breakdown of the still images...cuz while watching it wiz by at the speed of light is cool, there is actually some really cool type treatment throughout the thing...Skip halfway through the video if you don't wanna start it out with a seizure

There are soo many stills you might have to drag this to your ddesktop to zoom in appropriately...how'd you like to be the guy that got to design all these?!?!

Visual Film Fingerprints.

Take a look at this really cool idea of how to create a visual fingerprint of any movie. You can contrast and compare movies, a whole set of director's films, remakes v. originals, and pretty much anything in between. It's not super perfect and doesn't tell you the story of the movie completely, but it's really cool as a movie and design lover.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665088/cinemetrics-creates-animated-visual-fingerprints-of-famous-films

Quiet Company

Sorry if you were looking for the newest manufacturer of silence, but this "quiet company" is a band. If you like bands like Band of Horses, Pheonix, Guster, Death Cab and The Head and The Heart, you may very well like these guys as well. Their new CD sampler is on grooveshark, as I'm sure most of there other stuff is as well, but you should definitely check them out. I've been listening for about 50 minutes and haven't skipped a song once...pretty good for me, especially if I've never heard the band before....Anyways, good stuff so far..check it out.

http://grooveshark.com/#/artist/Quiet+Company/332795

Anti-Cheese billboard.

So try to remove yourself from Wisconsin first, then react. I understand the point of the ad and yes, it's true...cheese isn't exactly the best food for you. At the same time, there are far worse things you could be eating and while they point out cheese is the number one source of bad fat in most Americans diets, it's also a good source for other things that are GOOD for you...

I guess my problem with ads like this is that they aren't saying "lessen your intake" which we should probably do, they are more showing a message that says "stop eating cheese," which I don't think is the best advice. It's important to inform people about the food they eat, but you have to do it on a realistic level. Would you want a billboard saying how many carbs are in bread? Should we take out a billboard that says "Bread causes heart disease"?

Most people would say probably not. I'm not even gonna touch the cheeshead part, I'm not a lawyer, but the overall message needs to be rethinked. In a world where we can drive to McDonalds and order King Size Sodas, 2,000 calorie burgers, and grease covered fries I don't think the message "don't eat cheese" is helping us get by our real weight problems....

I guess i just want to say...Im not against telling people what's bad or good for you. I just think that we need to be careful with what and how we say it. Telling people that they shouldn't eat cheese is not a good thing to do, and doing so will result in some people cutting it out of their diets when they probably shouldn't completely. People believe what they read and if something has bad and good things about it, we can't just tell them the bad things...Learning how to eat right is much more valuable than being told what to do, and I think we should try to start moving that direction.

http://www.wisn.com/news/29315727/detail.html

Taking a Turn

Well this piece is slowly but drastically changing from any reseblance to what i had originally thought, but I think it's coming together. 

I need to get more representation into my work and really focus in on the idea...focus in on how I can communicate better with the viewer...I want my work to be an interesting and unique experience to each person. I want to stand before the piece and see my personal piece, and then let someone else see the same piece, but through their own understanding of the objects and symbolism, come up with a completely separate but still entirely personal message...perhaps different than my intention, but more powerful than that could have ever been had the piece been "explained" to them...I don't know. Maybe it's impossible and maybe people won't be able to, or won't be willing to, "read" the piece before them, but I suppose I'd rather have a viewer lost in personal thought, investigating the imagery in the piece, and using their own experience to attempt to interpret it than have a blank stare as I explain my own personal experience to them. Get involved viewers, make a piece your own!

The Domy thing

I have NO IDEA what to call this piece yet, but luckily it's not done either....so that's not really important yet. This is the second that was done with dripping and pouring, though I do think I am going to add some pastel on top of this one. I really like the effect created by the small drips onto white paper...the "glow" of the yellow...I plan on adding some very small but vibrant dashes of pastel but overall really like how it dried....

pardon my lack of color-correcting

Things I learn as an artist volume 5

#10. Solo cups: Awesome for beer pong, not awesome for holding turpentine

#11. Melted solo cup + turpentine smells stronger and worse than just turpentine

Purses

I've been meaning to do something like this for a while and finally had a birthday that forced me to make some presents. So finally, after never actually doing it, we have some accessories with my "abstract symbolism pattern" on them. I am happy with how they turned out but definitely learned some things.

1. Leather is not as easy to paint-pen on as canvas
2. The folds in purses are annoying!
3. These things take FOREVER.

So, they turned out cool and i would love to do some more (given the right price) but they definitely are a bit more work than I ever planned on. Hurray though, I think they're cool.

Chris Kluwe AKA "Jokey-face Mcgee"

Chris Kluwe, our favorite outspoken punter, proves once again that whiteboards are the BEST place to express sarcasm toward the NFL and it's governing body.

What a Dumb

I've never understood how some gallery and art people can think they can consistently fool people that are giving them thousands and thousands of dollars for items....just really? I can understand doing it once or a few times to different people, but you can't expect people to be THAT stupid with THAT much money...or maybe some rich people are just that dumb not to check.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44543047/ns/today-entertainment/#.Tnydw2AkLKE

You might not have done it simply "because you were drunk"

A new study poses the question "Is 'I was drunk' a fair excuse?"

The study basically, through a series of tests, says that drunk people's inhibitions are not lessened, they just simply don't care as much about the consequences. It's not the process of understanding that is affected, it's the decision making. What's the difference? Well it's actually pretty big if you think of it on a sober scale. It's not a simple, "I didn't know it was bad," It's an "I don't care if it's bad." and while that may keep the excuse legit, as you would probably care more about the consequences sober, it leaves you much more responsible than if you simply didn't realize what you were doing.

Think about it this way...Drunk driving is bad, I think we can agree to that. However, would you feel different for the guy that said "I never realized what I was doing. I was blacked out and have no recollection and would never decide to do that normally" than a person who said "Ya I knew it was wrong but I did it anyway." Most people, while the first guy is by no means innocent, would find the second response much more deplorable....

So anyways...your brain still processes information when you are drunk, you just apparently don't care as much about whatever could happen.

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/21/7885500-blame-it-on-the-alcohol-maybe-not-study-suggests

Science & The Best Part About it

The best part I find about science is that, while it may be shocking when it comes about, change is accepted. Things long thought to be absolute truths can be disproven and new theories can arise, accounting for new findings, new technology, and new understanding. My problem with many "beliefs" and faiths is that, for the most part in my experience, they depend on fundamental truths...and when you start finding that those things may not be entirely accurate, many of the resulting beliefs are challenged. This isn't in anyway a condemnation of any religion, it's just my point of view, and most of the reason I have a hard time completely identifying with any organized faith. Things change, lives change, humans change, and from that, understanding and knowledge change.

Now...one of our most fundamental theories of science is being challenged and you know what? It could shake up a lot of things. But that's why they are theories. That's why it's an idea...it's allowed to change. And that's why science is so fascinating to me. It manages to explain what we know, and adapt as we continue to learn...It's no substitute for faith, religion, spirituality or whatever you want to call it, but all that stuff is no substitute for science either.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44629271/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.TnuQEmAkLKE

Sun on The Ridge

I thought yall might want to see the sketch with the final piece for the last "everest" inspired painting that I did. I have to admit that I almost never do preliminary sketches, and usually when it happens, it wasn't really intended that way. The same is true here. I started the sketch, ended up liking it, and then came up with the poured ink idea instead of a more flat black. So while it can be seen as a sketch for the final piece, in all honesty it was more of an inspiration than a planned process. If the sketch had turned out bad, I probably would not have thought to make the final...good thing it was decent!

 

Art From Last Night

So I have been fairly distracted lately and somewhat unproductive (at least compared to what I usually do) so I haven't really been working super consistently. HOWEVER, while I haven't been able to really sit down and work on a piece for a number of hours, I have been picking away at a few over a couple days, really changing the way you look at things. When you work on a piece for fur hours straight, sometimes you get a bit caught up in it. You can develop likes for certain aspects and become attached to others...even though they may not really help the piece. There are a lot of marks, textures, and stroke that I make that are gorgeous, but need to be covered up as they just don't work with the piece in some way. I have found that splitting the work sessions up really takes that away. Now, I make a mark and leave it be. I don't work around it, trying to prolong its existence. Instead, I make it, move on to something else and maybe not notice it till I come back the next day. It separates you a bit from the piece and allows for more "unemotional" decision making. Anyways, here's are two I worked on last night and for the few days prior.

Small as a Wish in a Well

In Bloom

It's weird, both of these were once completely different pieces, hung in galleries, and in my house, and done at completely different times, but now, after about a year of existence, they are repainted and at least right now, finally seem to be working...

Startled Hippo Marketing

step 1: obtain hippos 

step 2: startle them

step 3: market

Startled Hippo Marketing TM needs millionaire investors ready for the opportunity of a lifetime...1 million dollar initial investment needed for 1st Hippo.

Really Despicable

I don't want to pass judgement before knowing the accusations are true, but, if so this type of thing is truly despicable. I wrote about taking advantage of people's faith to make money a few months back, but at least there they are making their own decision based on real beliefs...In this story, the business allegedly is taking advantage of a guy who had no idea and no control over it. A business has charged an elderly man with dementia a reported $32K over the last few years to rent a mailbox, taking advantage of the man's short-term memory loss, charging him  498$ over 72 times throughout that period. The business owner claims that the two "had an agreement."

This type of thing is why you need to pay attention to what is happening with you and your money and why you really need to protect yourself. You can't rely on people to be honest because, unfortunately, someone will find a way to exploit that...

http://www.ktvu.com/news/29250825/detail.html

BEST TD CELEBRATION EVER

This should become a required, every-game celebration...simply awesome.

Terrel Owens: so you gonna dance, or grab pom-poms or eat popcorn after you score?
Boley: Naw...I think I'm just gonna hit some dude in the face with the ball.

Video Games fry your brains...and help cure AIDS

We've all been told that video games are no good. They (supposedly) promote violence, aggression, laziness, and don't normally help with the ladies...but no one ever told us they could help the search to cure viruses such as AIDS. Ya...that virus that scientists have been struggling with for decades has just seen video gamers break a code that some top minds have been frustrated with for years. The video gamers, according to the story, used a video game developed a few years ago that involves players in teams breaking down amino acids in races with other teams. It's a bit over my head so here's the quote of what the game involves...

Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, it is a fun-for-purpose video game in which gamers, divided into competing groups, compete to unfold chains of amino acids -- the building blocks of proteins -- using a set of online tools.

Ok...that wasn't that hard to understand, but what helps the scientists is that these gamers managed to "unfold" an enzyme which is a "cutting agent" in retroviruses including HIV, something microscopes could only see in 2D, thus restricting what scientist knew about the enzyme or how they could potentially block it.

So...it's not like some guy played Call of Duty and after his 100,000th headshot a secret cure was revealed...but it's still awesome that "average" people and things can contribute to the betterment of society in ways we never expected.

Anyways...awesome story...check it out.
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/online-gamers-crack-aids-enzyme-puzzle-161920724.html

Milwaukee Film Fest

Hey all, everyone should take a look at going to the Milwaukee Film Fest coming up September 22nd to October 2nd, featuring a great documentary by your friendly neighborhood Kurt Raether of Shepherd Express and Fatty Acids fame, the show is guaranteed to be a great watch. Check out the facebook page of Kurt's doc titled "Documenting Westphal", a short film about an independent candidate for the 2010 WI Governor's race and a film students' attempt to document his story.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=276587792370315

and be sure to check out the milwaukee film fest main page here...
http://www.milwaukee-film.org/

That whole depressing "let them die" thing...

Hey guys, interesting article on that whole "Let them die" thinger that was pretty depressing. I thought it did a good job of displaying both sides of thinking without taking it to the " let them die" extreme, and landed on the opposite side of the 'shouters'....anyways, its good to know both sides on a less emotional level than was displayed during that session, though I still don't agree with simply "letting someone die" at all...

The big drama of this week’s Republican debate was over whether front-runner Rick Perry would stumble. But the most interesting moment turned out to involve a man nobody thinks can win the presidency: Ron Paul.

CNN host Wolf Blitzer asked Paul whether he was prepared to let an uninsured 30-year-old with cancer die, just because that 30-year-old could not afford the treatments. Paul gave a long, convoluted answer about responsibility. But a handful of audience members were less ambivalent. They blurted out “yes”—as in, yes, they would let the 30-year-old die.

The self-selected audience that attends Republican debates isn't exactly representative of the country as a whole. But this also isn’t the first time I’ve heard people attack universal health insurance, in principle, because it supposedly absolves people of individual responsibility—whether it’s the responsibility to stay healthy, the responsibility to seek timely medical care, or the responsibility to make the right choices about health insurance.

Of course, the proper boundaries of responsibility are a frequent subject of debate in American politics. In the 1990s, the argument over welfare reform was all about responsibility—and whether people had an obligation to work if they wanted financial assistance from the government. The consensus was that, yes, those who wanted assistance needed to be more responsible about their own lives.

But attitudes about medical care have always been a little different. As a practical matter, few of us are prepared to allow a somebody die when life-saving treatment is available, just because that person isn't prepared to pay the bills. As Ezra Klein put it the other day, “we do not want to look in people’s pockets for an insurance card when they fall to the floor with chest pains.” 

We've actually written this expectation into law: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) prohibits hospitals that accept Medicare (i.e., virtually all hospitals) from withholding such treatment. But the idea that providers of medical care have this sort of obligation goes back much farther than that, as Howard Markel, a leading historian of medicine from the University of Michigan, explains: “It is part of the standard “social contract” doctors have long had with their patients and society at large… most famously it emerges from the teachings of Hippocrates—and in particular the Oath.”

I happen to agree with this attitude: We shouldn't let people die, just because they can't pay a medical bill. Partly that's because I recognize the role chance and misfortune play in our lives. A child born into a family without health insurance couldn't have done something different to get covered. Yet, as Paul Krugman pointed out on Friday, if that child gets sick, that child is going to suffer. An adult with an inherited conditions, even a relatively mild one, didn't choose to be born that way. But inherited conditions are pre-existing conditions—and can make it impossible for people to get affordable insurance.

To be clear, the people without the means to pay for medical care aren't always, or entirely, victims of circumstance. Years ago, when I started interviewing people about their experiences with the health care system, I always hoped to find that perfect story of somebody who, through no fault of their own, was wronged by the system. But those stories were less common that I'd expected. Frequently the people I met had made at least one mistake. Some didn’t spend enough time looking for charity or public insurance options. Some checked the wrong box on a form. Some stopped paying for insurance when they could have stopped paying for something else. Some ignored medical warning signs.

But you know what? We all make those kinds of mistakes in life. The problem for these people was that they happened to make a particular kind of mistake—a mistake about their health or how to pay for their medical care—that led to unusually severe consequences—like losing their life savings or, in the worst cases, losing their lives. Maybe the people in the audience on Tuesday would shrug and say those consequences are appropriate. I wouldn't. My definition of a decent society is one that protects people not only from bad luck, but also, in some circumstances, from their own bad judgment. 

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/95071/ron-paul-libertarian-health-insurance-charity-care 

Mount Everest...

Is Awesome...I have had a weird fascination with the thing ever since I saw a doc about the deadliest disaster on the mountain; a really good film called "Storm Over Everest" (it's on instant netflix). There have been a few pieces based off of the film and the mountain over the last few months. The most recent, probably my favorite, and most simple is the piece "Sun on the Western Ridge" which was made on Saturday.

It's made completely from pouring and squirting ink or paint, no masking or stenciling and completely freehand. The mistakes, the edges, the drips, and the pooling were all lovely little surprises along the way (except the giant glob that landed between my toes, that was just annoying).

Anyways, love the energy and emotion and am really happy with how it turned out...not to mention, the transparency that occurs when using ink and watered down paint realllllly makes me interested in the things to come...

Cam Newton beats the defending Champs

Wait that's not what happened? Didn't Cam Newton have this crazy amazing game and carve up the GB defense with 432 yards? Oh three picks and a ton of missed redzone attempts? No, ESPN hasn't said a thing about those...Aaron Rodgers played? and won? Nope...haven't heard a thing about it.

The only thing more annoying than people still claiming that Cam can't play is how much love he's getting after this game. I understand how many yards he had against GB, I watched the entire game from start to finish, but everyone seems to forget that he was completely ineffective for almost the entire middle 45 min of the game. Don't get me wrong, he had an OK game and 400 yards is impressive, but for about 45 min he looked like he couldn't have thrown out of a paper bag.

There is a TON to love about this guy right now. But let's not act like he just put on a show, carving apart GB time and time again. That's not how the game seemed. Don't think I'm just blaming people in "fanland" either. Listenign to the announcers you'd think the Panthers were up by 10 the whole game with Cam throwing 4 TDs. The missed wide-open receiver was a "tough throw?" He could have lobbed it 10 yards he was that open.

I'm going to sound like the hater here by saying that he doesn't deserve all this praise he's getting but I want to point out that he DOES deserve praise and there is  TON to look forward to. That said, for any other QB, including most rookies, people would be talking about how the 3 picks, missed open receivers and failed goal line attempts kept the team from winning when their defense is the reason they were still in it. He played well and made plays but for all the things he did right, it was the things he did wrong that cost the team the game...he realizes it (i think based on comments he made) now the rest of us need to see that maybe passing for a mile isn't what this guy needs.

Watching the game, I honestly felt like Newton had 6 TDs and GB lost by the way the announcers, "experts" and fans were talking aobut the game...If anything, the Panthers D kept that team in it with redzone D and Newton played a big part in losing it by his play in the 2nd and 3rd Q. He deserves credit for the things he did well and has shown up pretty much everyone that said he had no chance at succeeding, that said, I think even he would admit that his game yesterday was nothing to write home about.

Bad Doctor or just not completely honest?

http://news.yahoo.com/dr-oz-accused-fear-mongering-apple-juice-212559761.html
If you read the story, there are two ways to view what happened. Either you think Oz is simply pointing out that there are bad things in apple juice, or he unnecessarily left out certain facts to make the bad things seem worse, causing a much bigger deal that is actually warranted...and paired together, those things are irresponsible and can be dangerous. Think of it this way.

If I tell you that there is rat hair, bug parts, and animal poo in your food and canned foods that could make you sick, as a general rule I'd be telling the truth. The FDA has regulations on these exact things and the levels in food are accepted up to a point. The problem with that first statement is that it's not entirely true, and it is fairly misleading. If you read that statement above, you'd be grossed out, thinking that there's all this disease-ridden crap in your peanut butter. HOWEVER, if I gave you the whole truth, the picture is a little different. Yes there are those things are in your food, but they are at such a small level that we would never notice and they won't hurt us as long as they are kept below those levels. If you simply say the first part, you are somewhat implying that it's a bad thing...that it could harm you. Leaving out the part where you actually explain the statement changes the meaning of what you said completely.

And in relation to Oz's claims, not specifying which type of arsenic, not telling people that some arsenic isn't bad, and not using the correct method of detecting said arsenic in juice instead of water leaves out valuable information that completely changes the evidence. If he is simply trying to point out that it's there and that he thinks levels should be lower, he has a flawed process and is simply being irresponsible in his delivery of the information . If he is leaving these things out because it hurts his case, then he is irresponsibly and knowingly withholding information that would discredit his stance and his findings. Either way, what he is doing is spreading incomplete information that could affect the actions of hundreds of thousands of people and affect many businesses. If it's an ignorant accident, then he's just dumb. If it's on purpose, he is il-legitamizing a lot of what he has said or will ever say on his show, while unnecessarily spreading fear and negatively affecting a part the economy as well as people's faith in our food.

Fact is, he needs to be more professional and, as someone people look up to and believe in, he needs to be completely thorough in what he displays as "fact." It's ridiculous that he makes these claims in a fashion that leads you to believe that it's a negative thing that could lead to sickness, has no regrets about saying it that way and then admits he will let his kids drink the juice anyways...apparently it will only lead to sickness in the kids of the viewers, not good old Dr. Oz's.

AS for the people commenting at the bottom that they would take his word over the "FDA Shmoes", realize that while the FDA does have relations with food companies and that sort of thing, this doctor has a TV program that depends on ratings, money, and advertisements...not exactly a breeding ground non-biased reporting.

Where Nothing Ever Happens

 So this painting has gone through just a few stages...first it was a cow, then I ripped a big hole in it, then it was a 9/11 ish thing, then it was abstract and now its got skulls on it...so from cow to skulls in four short steps....and still not done! but finally I think I have a concept to run with. I was listening to the song "Heaven" by the Talking Heads and I liked the idea of how they seem to be saying how hard it is to imagine nothing happening being so wonderful. Basically summed up in this line, "It's hard to imagine that nothing at all could be so exciting, could be so much fun. Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens."

And there's a few ways to look at what they are trying to say, but we'll delve into that as the painting gets closer to being completed.

Last night I ended when the upper-floor renters decided it was a good time to stop wrestling bears, rolling downstairs and jumping rope (basically when it was quiet enough to actually fall asleep), and while it doesn't quite have the same concept as the new one, it's definitely do-able. Right now It was based on this idea of "The Gallery" or a subject being at the center of attention in a rather "awkward" way for the subject. Almost like deposition, or someone facing a court of their peers, but I like the large number of objects and look to expand that an make it more about a lack of action, a lack of something going on that ends up being the focus. Anyways...here's the piece as it stands now, more work to be done!

to quote trainspotting "Of Course I'll have another shot, after all, I had work to do."

Best Packer Fan EVER!

This guy is an italian immagrant who is a huge Packers fan and somehow managed to get on the field after the SB, touch the Lombardi trophy, say hi to Aaron Rodgers and sit on the bench. pretty much the coolest guy ever. Watch IT!

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-presents/09000d5d82244600/A-Super-Bowl-story-unlike-any-other

Global Warming

It's probably worth considering this guys POV....

 http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/14/nobel-prize-winning-physicist-resigns-from-top-physics-group-over-global/?test=latestnews

Nazca Lines

Im sure we won't have to wait long for the next Ancient Aliens to talk about how these are proof of alien intervention, but before we are all convinced by that tantalizing arguement, here's an actual article about some new lines found in the middle east. I dunno bout you, but I have a lot of interest in the "language" used by ancient cultures, their symbols and their beliefs and it actually comes through alot in my work. Yet another cool find to investigate....Never doubt human's ability to create...

http://news.yahoo.com/visible-only-above-mystifying-nazca-lines-discovered-mideast-114306688.html

we're all against censorship...

..But really art society...facebook? Is it that hard to understand a "no nudity" policy? and especially one that is for the largest social media site in the world? I mean, I get it. It's art. It's not porn, and it's not meant to be. It's not meant to be looked at that way and the reasons for creating art that includes nudity are endless, almost none of which include arousing the viewer in that way. I get that. What I don't get is why people make such a gigantic stink about it.

Apparently it's a big deal that facebook doesn't allow nudity, including that which is actually art. They have been removing posts and pictures of nudity including many famous, as well as amateur works of art and the art people don't like it.

I get why they don't like it, but I honestly, as an artist, think it's a frivolous thing to get upset about. First of all, it's a general overall policy that is very easy to understand. Once they put in an exception for artists, then where does it end? How explicit can it get? How realistic can it get? Are photos or illustrations included in the exception, if not why? Can I paint a porn scene and put it up? The rule is there so they don't have to deal with the million questions and regulations that get brought up. I promise it's not a personal attack against art.

Secondly, why can't some artists understand that just because it's art doesn't mean that you have the right to put in anywhere you want, and it doesn't mean if someone takes it down that they are censoring you. You wouldn't go into a Preschool and put up the Courbet mentioned, just as you wouldn't walk into a law firm demanding the same thing, just as you wouldn't walk into a gallery and tell them what to include in their show. You have a right to free speech, but anyone owning a business or organization has the right to deny that if they think it will negatively affect said business. A gallery has every right to take down a piece they feel negatively affects the show be it a problem with subject, presentation, size, concept, or meaning. Just because you had the right to make it, doesn't mean you have the right to put it wherever you want.

Thirdly, ITS FUCKING FACEBOOK. I understand it's a great place to share art, I do it all the time, but I really hope that people understand they are not in a private gallery. It's a public space with strict regulations  based on keeping the business running smoothly. If you are that concerned, find a site that is specifically for showing art.

And keep in mind, even after saying all that, I have no problem with nudity in  art and wouldn't care if it was on facebook (i've probly got some paintings that should be removed also)...what I do have a problem with is when people just assume that a rule is specifically against them, oppressing their beliefs and rights when it's completely not the case. It's like the guy that's screaming on the street corner, throwing bibles at people, shaking them and swearing in their face and then complaining about free speech when cops remove him for being disorderly.

I guess it just annoys me that people take things so personally. It's a policy, It's not that big of a deal, and you're posting art on facebook, not MOMA...get over it. If you're really so oppressed take it up with the supreme court or start your own social networking site that allows nudity...have fun explaining what constitutes artistic nudity and what doesn't...I'm sure you'll get just as many people arguing those rules as there are this one.

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Too-rude-to-show?/24494

The Pieces

Here are the main two things I worked on last night. I think they are both definitely off to a good start. The rectangular piece seems to finally have something that I can actually say for certain that I like after painting over it three or four times now, though the next step is still a bit blurry. I like the stark difference between the background and the plain white, however I also hesitate to keep the white so simple. I want the small "holes" in the white to be much more detailed and wild, but I almost feel like there is too much blank space if all of the white remains empty. It's gonna take some thought But I think it should work out...

Their White Blank Page (And the swelling rage)...their needs to be some texture or  linework within the white I think.

As for the other piece, it is somewhat an extension of "To Swing The Spiral." Once again based on scientific imagery, the piece is titled (for now) "Dawn Breaks Like a Bull Through The Hall" and it refers to the moment something happens. That split second where no one can quite say what happened, but reactions have already begun. Like being startled, for just a second there is nothing but a rush of emotion and adrenaline, and for that moment, there's nothing really in your mind but an explosion of sudden realization of an event...the event yet unknown, yet to be understood, but already changing you in one way or another...

How It Looks to Lose Your Mind

that might be taking it a bit too far but I had a pretty good painting session last night and really wasn't paying too much attention to anything outside of that...so, when I came out of my "zone" of painting, It was pretty ridiculous in my apt.

The pictures dont do the "atmosphere" justice, but to give you a taste of what the room was actually like;
There were at least three canvases being worked on, two fans on high, three spotlights on, my computer playing Trainspotting, the Brewers game on mute, Sigur Ros playing over the speakers and my phone alarm kept going off for some unknown reason...and I was doing laundry. So anyways, it was pretty funny once I realized how stupid and weird this would have seemed to anyone else...good session nonetheless...

Pop Artist Richard Hamilton 1922-2011

Often called "The Father of Pop" Richard Hamilton died today at the age of 89. A frontrunner of the pop art movement, Hamilton is most remembered for his piece "Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?" and was working on a retrospective of his work up until his death.

Rest in Peace.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/richard-hamilton-89-dies-british-pop-art-pioneer/2011/09/13/gIQAy8LHQK_story.html 

The Big Bang

That's what "To Swing the Spiral" is based off of. The piece is a representation based off recent experiments being carried out at CERN, trying to recreate the big bang. The title is a reference to the spiral galaxy our solar system is part of and the arm of stars which we occupy while rotating around the center. I suppose then, that the piece is a "birth" scene of sorts. The beginning of what led to our existence. The first step in a process. 

John Singleton Copely

I haven't seen it yet, but a Copely is a Copely and worth the respect of any art viewer and historian alike. One of the greatest painters in American History, Copely did a great job of creating illusion of the material with his oil portraits of the late 1700's...Schumacher does a much better job of talking about the piece, the artist and interviewing the curator so I'll pass you off to her but it's very uplifting to see the museum nab an artist that rarely is for sale, and such a rarity in the history of art and our country.

Check out the whole story at Mary Louise Schumacher's blog...
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/129672823.html

ANOTHER NEW PIECE

Decided it was time to paint over one of the cows...Not sure quite yet...don't automatically like it, but I don't have the thought, yet, that it needs to get painted over again...

I'm a big fan of how large the "strokes" are. Most of the paint was poured over the afternoon, but I'm just not sold on the color or composition quite yet. We'll have to see how it goes tonight...something is needed to make it stand out....

Whew! big fan of this guy. "The Temple, The Brothel", the title, is taken from a song and I have no idea what it meant in that context (by the deerhunter) but i liked the juxtaposition of the two, making me think of them as the same place from two different views. In one view, the subject is a temple maybe not spiritually, but symbolically. A place that is great, an achievement or a place that is seen to mean more than the physical structure. On the other hand, someone with different ideas could see that same place as a brothel...A place people go to immerse themselves in whatever the place symbolizes, seen in a negative view from this other perspective.

To take it to a basic level, think of Lambeau Field. A temple to Packer fans, a symbol of greatness to all those who love GB. But to a bears fan (BOO!), they may see it as the brothel. The place the enemy goes to cheer on their disgusting excuse for a team...

And i guess the point is that no matter how you view it, both sides will stand their ground with emotion and intensity, never truly seeing the other as a legitimate view, only believing whole-heartedly that their way is the correct way. It's this distance and lack of understanding that gets all our different groups of people, religion, politics, beliefs, and ideas into endless debate, unnecessary strife, and constant struggle...The Temple, The Brothel...it's all the same depending on where you stand.

Commissions

While commissions can be both awesome and extremely frustrating, the process that the artist goes through is rarely seen by the commissioner. I am in the process of doing a piece and thought it would be cool to post pics throughout the whole thing...The piece will eventually be of the same style as the lower two pieces, but the same overall process was used throughout...I basically start with alrge blocks of color, working from an abstract compostion from the colors intended to form the majority of the finished piece. Through this, I not only can kick off a piece pretty quickly, but you can get a pretty good idea of the general look of the finished piece...and every once in a while the abstracted start actually is cool enough to keep for an entirely separate piece and start the commission over on a new canvas!

stage 1 (color blocks, outline, backing color)

and then eventually a piece goes from stage 1 to finished and the piece will looking something like this.....

DEFENSE IS DEAD

No it's not...but it got your attention huh...It was a pretty spectacular offensive game last night with over 700 yards passing, 6 TDs and no INTs but before you starting losing your mind over the D or lack there of...consider my thought on the matter...


I think we are actually going to have a lot of subpar defenses for the first few weeks. Think aobut it...if both the offense and defense are a tiny bit out of step or not quite at 100%, which side is more obviously  affected? With the offense, the worst case is a pick six, but most likely a screwed up play results in an incomplete or no gain. Not a huge deal. With the defense, if you have a miscommunication or screw up, it ends in yards and usually big yards. Possibly huge plays. That is way more noticeable than a missed 3rd down conversion for the offense. It's not that the defense is far worse than the offense, it's that their screw up results are more obvious.

That said I think the offenses were spectacular yesterday and defense struggled, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight increase in scoring across the NFL for a couple weeks. 


Both teams should be fine as they won't be playing future possible HOFers every week at QB, but I wouldnt be so quick to call the defenses bad.

Lesson of the Day

way to help a guy out

When jumping out of your chair to cheer a Randall Cobb kickoff return, time it so that your chin does not come down directly onto the rising fist of the person next to you, resulting in an impact that would scare Mike Tyson, cause me to bite through my tongue, and causing an overall face-ache the likes of which have never been seen....but F it. Go Pack

President's Speech tonight

I don't really want to make a huge commentary on this. I haven't been paying a ton of attention to it and admit that I have no interest in watching...that said, I am interested in what is proposed and what the reaction is, so I'll wait till tomorrow for that whole deal.

This article below is a brief overview of what could be included in the plan, but what caught my eye is a quote from the pres. that is a bit alarming to me. (note: no idea what context this quote is from, just reading the article)

he says, regarding reaction to his proposal:
"We're going to see if we've got some straight shooters in Congress. We're going to see if Congressional Republicans will put country before party"

Now lefty's will say its completely valid, righty's will cry that they have put their own plan forward which the left won't accept...I'm just gonna say WHAT THE FUCK POLITICIANS. Is it really that ridiculous in Washington that you honestly think that there is one way to do things and if people disagree, they are incorrect, corrupt, or bad people?

Again, I don't know the original context of the quote but jeez, apparently disagreeing with the president now means you are in some way working against the American people. That idea is not good, and it's not what we should be projecting onto a country in which each state is suffering large divisions between left and right.

I dunno, maybe it's the general mood of the day, but hearing the President basically say "if you don't vote for my plan, you aren't trying to help America" is pretty disheartening. Where did cooperation, moderation and agreement go? It's not one parties' fault we are where we are, and it's not one party that is going to get us out of this hole. That "my way or the highway" mentality seems to be the new slogan for everyone in government, and now that includes the pres....just not what I want to hear from anyone that is supposed to be trying to bring the country together.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/07/eveningnews/main20103022.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

No, You've Got To Go

Just listen to the song below and look at the piece...seems to be describing the general idea much better (and more melodically) than I can or care too at the moment...It's amazing how the tiniest thing can change my mood so drastically.

No White Skies or Red Sunlight to Find

I'm not really gonna go in depth on this one too much... One of my favorite recent ones done last night. simple. bold. vibrant. Very rarely does piece go from start to finish and keep the same idea, but this was one of those that just seemed to work out and felt right. I'm a really big fan of this one right now, despite being in a less-than-awesome mood.

Nice Dream (finished)

I finished the piece! only took a few extra days but I think it looks a lot better. It's still very deep, fresh and airy, but it has a bit more of a space than it did before. That's pretty confusing to try to figure out but I guess its kind of like this. I thought, with just the poured paint that it looked too accidental, too unfocused. Sometimes that's good, and sometimes that just looks un-cared for, like a mistake or an afterthought. I thought, without some of the added pastel, that the poured colors looked simply like that: poured color. What I wanted it to be was an abstract form, made from poured color that created a dynamic, interesting and expressive composition.

If I draw ten random dots on a piece of paper and leave it at that, the ten dots, most likely will look unconnected and stationary. However, if I add even a few lines connecting a few of them to a certain point, all the dots, whether actually connected or not, will look to be expanding. It creates depth, a space, a composition. That creates energy. That is what was missing.

Check that texture out! Oh nature...you are pretty cool

I Think The Kids Are In Trouble.

"I Think The Kids Are In Trouble" is going up in ArtMilwaukee's headquarters starting tomorrow! The piece was made a few weeks ago, live at the Jazz fest on Broadway in the Third Ward. Built up over five hours, the piece consists of hundreds of marks, shapes, symbols, and colors, all stemming from investigations in to the first art and writing of humans. The piece is meant to have an overall connection to people through its primal qualities, while creating a narrative personal to each viewer through subject, title, an interpretation through past experience. Altogether, a combination of generalizations from the artist and the uniqueness of the individual viewing, creating a overall "universal recognition" mixed with a specific meaning for each viewer. A piece for everyone and every person. human in its widespread generalities, and human in its unimaginable uniqueness...