Museum Muse

I Have a New Blog!

2012-02-08T20:43:00.001-08:00

It's all about money and can be found here.

Image by Mauricio Alejo

Jenine Shereos

2012-02-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Jenine Shereos is a sculptor who specializes in textile design. In this series she creates leaves out of hair, yes hair, like the Victorians used to create morning sculptures and jewelry. Yes, kind of gross, but also very impressive.

In this series, the intricacies of a leaf’s veining are recreated by wrapping, stitching, and knotting together strands of human hair. Inspired by the delicate and detailed venation of a leaf, I began stitching individual strands of hair by hand into a water- soluble backing material. At each point where one strand of hair intersected another, I stitched a tiny knot, so that when the backing was dissolved, the entire piece was able to hold its form. Creating this work was a very meditative process for me, as I found myself lost in the detail of the small, organic microcosms that began taking shape.
The complex network of lines present in this work mimics the organic patterns found in nature and speaks to the natural systems of transformation, growth and decay. Allusions to the vascular tissue of plants, as well as the vascular system of the human body, exist simultaneously; the delicate trace of a hair falling silently, imperceptibly, from one’s head becoming the veins of a leaf as it falls from a tree leaving its indelible imprint on the ground below.

Andrea Dorfman

2012-01-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

Originally I was introduced to Andrea Dorfman's work by my friend Katie, through a Facebook post of her video "Art." I was going to post it as a "Songs About Art" post, but then I started looking through her website; I was entranced. Her videos are beautiful, not sophisticated, but genuine and worth an exploration. Here is "Art," written by Tanya Davis and filmed by Andrea Dorfman:

This next video is also filmed and illustrated by Andrea and features a poem by Tanya Davis.

Check out her stuff though, it made me smile.

Songs About Art

2012-01-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

"So Long Frank Lloyd Wright" by Simon and Garfunkel

"So Long Frank Lloyd Wright"
by Simon and Garfunkel

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright.
I can't believe your song is gone so soon.
I barely learned the tune
So soon
So soon.

I'll remember Frank Lloyd Wright.
All of the nights we'd harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.

CHORUS
Architects may come and
Architects may go and
Never change your point of view.
When I run dry
I stop awhile and think of you

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright
All of the nights we'd harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.

2012-01-18T11:37:00.001-08:00

Blacking out a website is great, but doing something is more helpful.

2012-01-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

If you want to support the anti SOPA and anti PIPA campaign, please go to Stop the Wall.

Riusuke Fukahori

2012-01-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

These are not fish; I mean that in the way that Magritte meant "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." Yes, these are images of fish, but if we are discussing medium they are paint and resin and they leave me in awe. Riusuke Fukahori layers resin and paint until a 3D image appears to be an actual fish in a wooden container. The best explanation can be seen in this video:

If you are proficient in Japanese, Riusuke Fukahori's website can be found here.

Museum of Broken Relationships

2012-01-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

I swear, it was not my new years resolution to avoid blogging; in fact, I don't really make resolutions, but the point is that I've mostly just been busy. So here it is folks, proof that a museum can be devoted to pretty much any subject, Croatia's Museum of Broken Relationships. I've seen the website before, but I was reminded by the All That is Interesting post here. The title is self explanatory, but here is the museum's own explanation:

The Museum of Broken Relationships grew from a traveling exhibition revolving around the concept of failed relationships and their ruins. Unlike ‘destructive’ self-help instructions for recovery from failed loves, the Museum offers a chance to overcome an emotional collapse through creation: by contributing to the Museum's collection.

Whatever the motivation for donating personal belongings – be it sheer exhibitionism, therapeutic relief, or simple curiosity – people embraced the idea of exhibiting their love legacy as a sort of a ritual, a solemn ceremony. Our societies oblige us with our marriages, funerals, and even graduation farewells, but deny us any formal recognition of the demise of a relationship, despite its strong emotional effect. In the words of Roland Barthes in A Lover's Discourse: "Every passion, ultimately, has its spectator... (there is) no amorous oblation without a final theater."

Conceptualized in Croatia by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić, the Museum has since toured internationally, amassing an amazing collection. Although often colored by personal experience, local culture and history, the exhibits presented here form universal patterns offering us to discover them and feel the comfort they can bring. Hopefully they can also inspire our personal search for deeper insights and strengthen our belief in something more meaningful than random suffering.

Guy Laramee

2011-12-23T20:36:00.001-08:00

Intricately carved landscapes weave through the pages of Guy Laramee's pages, but not in the way that landscapes are typically created in literature. Laramee literally creates landscapes in these tomes to create his sculptures; emulating the way time and erosion carve caves, streams, and valleys into the geography of the earth. Through sculpture and painting Laramee explores the erosion of culture.

"So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes. Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Piles of obsolete encyclopedias return to that which does not need to say anything, that which simply IS. Fogs and clouds erase everything we know, everything we think we are."

His work is absolutely beautiful, in the awe inspiring way that a Chinese landscape painting is; his sculptures draw you in to a space of exploration, where you are invited to travel a path and discover the way the landscape gradually changes. I would love to see some of his work in person, but until then here is his website to explore and some photos of my favorites.

Alter Ego

2011-12-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

The world of online gaming confuses me. I know that, for my age (I was born in 1984), I'm a little unusual in respect to the fact that I never really played any kind of video games growing up. Our family was more of a computer game/Scrabble type of family; we had one of the original Apple computers and my sister and I played a series of winter games, Tetris, chess, and solitaire and such. I remember Oregon Trail and Number Munchers on floppy disk at school, but none of the action type of games most people my age and older grew up playing. I find it fascinating how attached to these things people are; that the Super Mario Brothers theme is so integrated into the cultural mindset of my generation astounds me. None of it is part of who I grew up to be, so the fact that Elton loves those types of games is a constant source of wonder as well. How is it that he is so enthralled and I simply don't care? What is it about this random digital world? Well, Robbie Cooper is a photographer, I recently discovered, who explores the relationship between real life people and the avatars they create to represent themselves in their online lives. I love the series of photographs, found here, he created to show the contrast between flesh and blood and pixels; he also has a published book, found here. Enjoy the "GIRLS" aka Guys In Real Life.

Follow Up

2011-12-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

The Crystal Cathedral WILL NOT be added to the Chapman University property lists! According to this article, the Catholic diocese of Orange will purchase the Crystal Cathedral for $57.5 Million dollars. This deal did not go down without a fight from President Doti, but I'm glad he lost his battle.

A Return to the Crystal Cathedral

2011-11-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

It seems like ages ago, but back while I was still at Chapman University and just starting this blog, I did a post (found here) about a trip my art class took to the Crystal Cathedral. At the time, I looked around in disgust at the gaudy overpriced amusement park for Christianity. Why didn't all that money go to Christian charity rather than a grandiose worship space? What good do expensive religious sculptures and paintings do when there are actual people suffering who could benefit from the money spent on status symbols? As it turns out, four years after that visit and blog post, the Crystal Cathedral has filed for bankruptcy and is up for sale. Here's the article on the bankruptcy. However, the article that has me a little upset is here, written by Nicole Santa Cruz of the LA Times; the piece outlines a plan for Chapman University to purchase the Crystal Cathedral for $50 Million dollars. REALLY?!?! MY university is going to attempt to purchase this abomination? Administration dug their heels in when requests were made to expand or improve a deteriorating arts building, but they're going to pour money into a church that practices few of the values that the university itself holds? Here, let me show you the actual Chapman University Values:

Chapman University is a learning community dedicated to the following core values that define the university's character and help guide the actions of its members:

*Value the dignity of every person by treating people with civility and respect;
*Act with integrity and accept personal responsibility for our actions;
*Live a life of services to others;
*Undertake the search for truth and meaning through critical thinking and the never-ending pursuit of knowledge and creative expression;
*Engage in and promote an atmosphere of open and honest communication with others;
*Seek a just and caring community that embraces a diversity of ideas and experiences.

I really hope that President Doti looses this battle, because I can't stand the thought of my Alma mater being associated with that abomination.

Experiencing Art

2011-11-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have been in one Carston Holler installation, his "Upside Down Mushroom Room" at the LA MOCA's Ecstasy exhibit a few years ago. I say I was in the exhibit because that is what his installations are about, being inside the experience. Many artists produce something that you are expected to observe, but never touch. Holler creates an interactive experience that allows the viewer to partake in an artistic experiment. His work is like something from a sociology class; Holler presents a situation that alters the norm and simply asks the museum goer to contemplate what "normal" really is. Not to say that there is no controversy in this, in fact, this article discusses how his current installation has become somewhat of a logistical nightmare. I would still love to check it out though. Anyone want to fly me to New York?

World's Largest Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

This amazing behemoth of a pumkin, 1818.5 lbs, was carved by Ray Villafane. Villafane added pieces from a slightly smaller pumpkin, 1693 lbs, to create the emerging zombies. You can find his work on his website here. Or just watch this video about the process; I'm impressed. Oh, and Happy Halloween!

Ray Villafane's Pumpkin Creation from Rustin Dwyer on Vimeo.

The Face Behind Your Money

2011-10-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

The 99% Behind the Money is a website devoted to showing the face of those who really drive the global economy. Honestly, I'm not making a statement here about the occupy movement, I just think it's a fun visual trick. Here are some of my favorites photos from the website.

BBC, A History of the World

2011-10-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm a blog slacker, I know and I apologize. Enough of that though, check out this cool website! The British Museum and BBC have put together one of the most interactive and interesting websites I've found in a long time; the purpose of which is to explore over 2 Million years of art history. Here's the link to explore it yourself. This youtube video shows how the site works.

Guy le Tatooer

2011-10-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

I recently found an exhibit that's just morbid enough to be appropriate for October; Guy Le Tatooer's Arm Exhibition. The exhibit is a room full of silicone reproductions of Guy's own arm, tattooed in his signature style. I like his style, and I kind of like the idea of having a real three dimensional exhibit of the way tattoos look on the actual human form. Despite the fact that a room full of life like severed arms is kind of disturbing. Here's a link to Guy's website.

Problems with Contemporary Conservation

2011-09-19T07:12:00.001-07:00

One of the roles of a museum is to preserve important works and emphasize the cultural significance of art for future generations; however art preservation and restoration can be tricky, both politically and in actual execution. One unique area of preservation that I find specifically intriguing is the conservation of Contemporary art. Some of the concepts alone make preservation unique, because many contemporary artists intend for their works to decay. While reading the September/October issue of MentalFloss magazine I read an article that reminded me of this very controversial art topic.

While contemporary art can be defined as art being created currently, I'm going to go with the general academic consensus that Contemporary art is anything produced after World War II. This period of art poses a number of problems, due to the fact that it often challenges ideas about permanence and deliberately utilizes materials that were never intended by the original manufacturers to be used to create works of art. Not that the deterioration of art is unique to contemporary works; Leonardo DaVinci's 'Last Supper' began to deteriorate within years of him painting it due to his technique, which was not true fresco painting at all. (More on that here if you want more info.) Some of the conservation concerns are just so interesting when you delve into the realm of taxidermy, chocolate, rice, and latex; the list truly goes on and on, the choices are endless. If you follow this link you can read 'The Challenges of Conserving Contemporary Art' by Glenn Wharton, he covers the spectrum of concerns of conservation. Here are some of my favorite contemporary problems:

"Lick and Lather" by Janine Antoni

'Lick and Lather' is a series of fourteen busts made of chocolate and soap in the artist's visage. In an effort to mimic the effects of aging Antoni licked the chocolate busts and bathed with the soap ones. The material alone makes it a difficult work to conserve; hand made soap lasts only about three years, and chocolate doesn't last much longer. On top of that, noses have been bitten off the chocolate busts at three separate showings. That presents the question, do you fix the nose? Or do you leave it? The decision was made to leave the noses off.

'Palimpsest' by Ann Hamilton

'Palimpsest' is a work about the way memory fades. The installation room is papered with thousands of tiny, fading notes from the artist's friends; some buried in beeswax. At the m iddle of the space is a tank filled with snails feeding on heads of cabbage. The idea is that we are all headed to senility. The biggest problem with the installation are the snails, which are classified as pests by the US government. The last time the piece was shown, in 2005, the snails were gathered from the museum garden and fed on a rotating schedule until the end of the exhibit when they were killed. Speaking of killed:

'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" by Damien Hirst

This one is pretty spectacular, and much like DaVinci's issues with a lasting work of art, the problem with this piece is due to a lack of understanding of materials. Hirst's famous work is a dead tiger shark in an acrylic glass tank with 224 gallons of water. The shark began to decompose almost immediately because Hirst failed to properly preserve it. The gallery where it was located, tried to take care of the smell by pumping bleach into the water, which further aided the decomposition. Despite these issues, an American hedge-fund manager spent $8 Million dollars to buy the sculpture.

Once purchased, Hirst began trying to solve the problem of the rotting shark. First he skinned it, tanned the hide, and had it mounted on a fiberglass skeleton. It ended up looking like a bad movie prop shark. Finally Hirst purchased another shark, preserved it in formaldehyde, and called it done.

In case all of the above wasn't enough, here's an interesting video on the topic:

Possibly Vincent, 'The Misunderstood'

2011-09-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

A painting that is believed to be the only full-length portrait of Vincent Van Gogh has been discovered in the UK. Though nothing has been confirmed, and research is still being conducted, it's looking to be more likely that this is the real thing. BBC News covered the story here last month.

Hobo Nickels

2011-09-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

There's always something new to discover about art, and recently I found out about a folk art movement involving money and the alteration of it. You had me at defacing money. Hobo nickel carving is a movement that largely took place during the Great Depression; the movement focused on the Buffalo Nickel, which was created in 1913, but became popular as a canvas during the Great Depression. Not only was the Buffalo nickel the most circulated coin during the 1930s, but the design made the coin thicker, providing a more substantial surface to carve upon. Traveling men, looking for work, would carve a work of art into the surface of a nickel and trade it for room and board; it was art in exchange for survival. This was not the first time coins had been carved, and coins continue to be used for this purpose, but it is an interesting part of Americana that I had never heard of before. More information can be found on the movement at the Original Hobo Nickel Society website as well as the Appalachian History website.

Jeff Martin

2011-08-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

Please allow me to introduce you to the work of Jeff Martin; Australian artist and creator of a very interesting series of paintings called "Back of the House," which features the kitchens of fifteen of Melbourne's best restaurants. I found a little blurb about him in the September 2011 issue of Food & Wine magazine, which lead me to his website where I found that I really love his style.

His paintings are interestingly cropped:

They often have captivating perspectives:

Interesting elements of motion:

and a sense of voyeurism.

If I had an opportunity to visit his exhibits in Australia I would absolutely make the trip. There is plenty of 'Back of the House' to be seen on his website though. Along with some other very interesting paintings, sculptures, and drawings. Here are a couple of the paintings I really enjoyed; they're both from his series 'From Favignana,' Martin's first solo exhibit, inspired by the fishermen of the island of Favignana, Sicily.

Songs About Art

2011-08-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

It has been WAY too long since I posted one of these.

Mona Lisa by Grant Lee Phillips

You're the last of your kind, Mona Lisa
With a wink of your eye,
Ya make it all right
Oh there's more left to life, Mona Lisa
Let me take you along for the ride

Aint nothin’ that stays the same
Won't ask it a’ you
Just that burgundy smile you wore yesterday
Say ya won’t ever lose

I been down, I been worse
Mona Lisa
Came in last, came in first
But it all gathers dirt, Mona Lisa
‘Fore ya bathe in the light

Aint nothin’ that stays the same
Won't ask it a’ you
Just that burgundy smile you wore yesterday
Say ya won't ever lose

Oh ya taught me this much, Mona Lisa
I done set it aside
For when you need the same magic touch
For for when you need remindin’

Aint nothin’ that stays the same
Won't ask it a’ you
Just that burgundy smile you wore yesterday
Say ya won't ever lose
Just that burgundy smile you wore yesterday
Say ya won't ever lose

Make Your Franklin

2011-08-14T11:03:00.001-07:00

The longer I work with money, the more I find it amusing when people alter it. I recently discovered a site that operates in this vein called Make Your Franklin that encourages people to come up with new interpretations of the $100 note. Here are some of my favorites:

Judith G. Klausner "From Scratch"

2011-07-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Cameos carved from Oreo cookies. My immediate draw to Judith Klausner's work is because I find this to be an incredibly creative use of snack food. The dimensions of an Oreo are perfect for creating cameos. Upon visiting her website I found her other creations. Many of them are a WHOLE lot less appetizing. She uses baby teeth and nail clippings as a medium as well as floss, insect wings, wax, and remnants from deceased praying mantis'. I encourage you to check them out, but before you do, here are some images that might prompt you to get a glass of milk and enjoy.

Klausner also made wallpaper from condiments.
And embroidered toast.
What is her motivation behind her "From Scratch" series? I'll let here statement do the explaining:

My work is about choice. As a woman in the twenty-first century, I can choose to spend my day baking a loaf of bread, or to grab a package off a grocery store shelf after a long day at work. I can choose to spend my evenings embroidering. I can choose to combine these things and call it art.

2011-07-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

For most of my life I've known about Bob Ross; watching him create "happy trees" and "happy little paths" is almost as mesmerizing as watching Magnus Magnason and his competitors in the strongest man competitions as they pull fire trucks, toss kegs, and tractor tires. In other words, my sister and I know public access TV. This is why I was so surprised when, last week, Elton made reference to ANOTHER PBS painter that I had never heard of; Elton kept referencing "Mighty Brush" and "Magic White." After a call to Elton's mom to get the painter's name, I was introduced to William Alexander. We watched youtube videos of William for at least an hour after that; I can't believe that this is the first I've heard of this man.

Sarah Joncas

2011-07-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

I recently found an artist with some amazing work, Sarah Joncas. She's a Canadian born artist whose work instantly called up images of other artists I love. Here's a selection of her work:

"The All Seeing"

"Lucifer's Bride"

"Another Fish"

"Part of Me"

Now here are some of the artists that Sarah's work reminded me of. Most immediately I thought of the Austrian, symbolist painter, Gustav Klimt.

"Gold Fish" by Klimt

"Study for the Beethoven Freeze" by Klimt

Next I thought of the movie 'Corpse Bride' by Tim Burton. Specifically because of the elongated necks and large exaggerated eyes of the women she depicts, but also because of the darker imagery in some of Sarah's final creations.
Along those same lines, I also thought about Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (aka Parmigianino) ; Italtian Mannerist painter from the 16th century. He was known for his elongated style of figure painting. Below is a segment from his painting "Madonna with the Long Neck."
I also noticed that many of the women in Sarah's paintings look pretty similar, which usually indicates that the artist likes a specific model. In this case, I kind of suspect that the model is Sarah herself; she has strikingly similar characteristics to the women in her paintings. I really love her work though and, as always, encourage you to check out her work for yourself.

Another Pint Please...

2011-06-19T13:38:00.001-07:00

As I browsed through grill recipes online today, I stumbled across a blog that I have to share; Another Pint Please... It's a blog full of delicious grilling ideas like Feta & Herb Portabellos, Cedar Wrapped Asian Salmon, and "The Fatty" (a cheese stuffed sausage, wrapped in bacon, and grilled). There are also home brews and tips for growing hops. Needless to say, it's a cool blog, you should check it out.

James Charles

2011-06-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

I handle so much money, now that I'm a bank teller, that after awhile it all becomes the same. We're taught to count bills by the faces because they're harder to fake if you make a forged bill. So when I found James Charles I was highly intrigued. I would LOVE to find something as creative as this while counting down a deposit. I see altered bills, and we're not allowed to hand them out to the public, but most of them just say something like "Happy Birthday!" or a one dollar bill made to look like it says a dirty word. More people need to see these things.

A Return to Creative Spaces

2011-05-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

I have been a slacker...again...when it comes to this blog. From time to time this happens; the tides of creativity and spare time rush back to where they came from and my blog is stuck on a dry shore post with an image that even I grow tired of seeing when I visit this page. However, inspiration struck yesterday while looking through the most recent Rolling Stone magazine, which features a tribute to Bob Dylan, who is turning 70 this year. While reading the article about him I noticed how many amazing photos there are of Bob Dylan; strongly contrasted black and white images, made more dramatic by the distinctive characteristics of Dylan's face and figure. However, when I went online tonight to find photos for discussion I found this one instead and decided to take the bunny trail:

It brought me back to my post on creative spaces. The description from the Rolling Stone website says that he's writing in a workspace above a cafe in Woodstock in 1964. The five packs of cigarettes, bottle of wine, and coffee mug in the foreground form and interesting contrast to the neatly organized tools and drafting board in the background. I have to say that this is one of the more interesting creative space photos I've seen so far. So thank you Robert Zimmerman, for bringing about some inspiration, and have a very happy 70th birthday sir.

Crazy About Art

2011-04-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little behind on this event, as it happened on April 1st, but it's just one of those events in the art world that is too juicy to pass up talking about. This painting, Two Tahitian Women by Gauguin, was attacked by a visitor to the National Gallery who screamed "This is evil!" while trying to pull the painting from the wall while banging on the protective plastic. According to ABC News suspect Susan Burns claimed:

"I feel that Gauguin is evil. He has nudity and is bad for the children. He has two women in the painting and it's very homosexual."

My favorite of her statements though?

"I am from the American CIA and I have a radio in my head. I am going to kill you."

I guess that says it all. At least the painting and all the people in the gallery are safe, the incident could have turned out a lot worse than it did.

You know you've been to art school when...

2011-03-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

you see this:

and think, "Well that's just lazy, they didn't even arrange it. I bet it's called 'Untitled' too." You also know you've been to art school when you take a moment to decide if YOU have the time to arrange it in a clever way.

Hawkins Zoomorphic Collection

2011-03-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

I would never be as comfortable at this exhibit as the curator is. I have always found animal carcasses disturbing. I am the girl that discovered my grandmother's fox stole in a trunk and freaked out because I touched it. I am also the girl that uses those long grabby things, that are meant for grabbing objects on tall shelves, for removing dead rodents that the cat brings home...when I don't have someone else do it for me. I almost stepped on a dead pelican on the beach once and the adrenaline that went pumping through me could have sent me running for MILES. So no, I would never be the one to curate this exhibit, but I have to admit that I find it fascinating. I'm sure many of these objects are Victorian in origin, and I am well aware that the Victorians had a distinctly different relationship with death than most of us in the United States do now. Still, I don't know how long I could comfortably examine this exhibit.

Cool Hunting Capsule Video: Zoomorphic Collection from Cool Hunting on Vimeo.

Have You Seen This Part?

2011-03-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's an illusive part, not because the proper Exhaust Manifold to fit my 1999 Honda Civic LX is really that hard to find; it's illusive because California emission standards require that the exhaust manifold for my car has to have a place for an O2 sensor. The O2 sensor fits in that hole on the top of the manifold. Actually, the manifold that fits in my car could come from any of the following Honda Civics:

1996 HONDA CIVIC DEL SOL: S L4 - 1.6L
1996 HONDA CIVIC: CX L4 - 1.6L
1996 HONDA CIVIC: DX L4 - 1.6L
1996 HONDA CIVIC: HX L4 - 1.6L
1996 HONDA CIVIC: LX L4 - 1.6L
1997 HONDA CIVIC DEL SOL: S L4 - 1.6L
1997 HONDA CIVIC: CX L4 - 1.6L
1997 HONDA CIVIC: DX L4 - 1.6L
1997 HONDA CIVIC: HX L4 - 1.6L
1997 HONDA CIVIC: LX L4 - 1.6L
1998 HONDA CIVIC: CX L4 - 1.6L
1998 HONDA CIVIC: DX L4 - 1.6L
1998 HONDA CIVIC: HX L4 - 1.6L
1998 HONDA CIVIC: LX L4 - 1.6L
1999 HONDA CIVIC: CX L4 - 1.6L
1999 HONDA CIVIC: DX L4 - 1.6L
1999 HONDA CIVIC: LX L4 - 1.6L
2000 HONDA CIVIC: CX L4 - 1.6L
2000 HONDA CIVIC: DX L4 - 1.6L
2000 HONDA CIVIC: LX L4 - 1.6L

Yes, this is a desperate cry for anyone who has this part to contact me because I am sick of dealing with Craigslist flakes and I need my car to pass smog. I have a friend who is willing to attempt welding my cracked manifold, and in all likelihood he will pull it off amazingly, but the problem will probably come back and a simple replacement would be the easiest option...you would think. At any rate, if you or anyone you know has seen this part PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know how I can acquire it for under a couple hundred dollars. That is the other option and I REALLY don't want to drop a few Benjamins on a stupid part, just so I can pass smog.

Improv Everywhere Doppelganger

2011-03-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

2011-02-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

Let me begin by stating that I am grateful to have a job. However, this new uniform makes me feel kind of like...

I will suck it up because, like I said, I'm grateful for my job. I just had to get that out in the air.

Creative Space

2011-02-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I stole this idea, and most of these pictures from flavorwire. I love the idea though. How do people organize a space to facilitate the creative process? Does the space indicate the mind? Indeed, I believe our inward state seeps into the spaces we inhabit.

Lets start with the space of one well known author, whose Autobiography was just published in November; Mark Twain.

Next is one of my favorite authors Roald Dahl.

There is, of course, the work space of Albert Einstein.

Equally as interesting is the work space of the good people at Pixar, in Emeryville CA.

More Pixar.

Tina Fey

Susan Sontag

Steve Jobs

Then there's Woody Allen; I'm not a huge Woody Allen fan, but the giant bee hive caught my attention. In fact, the whole decor made me wonder when the quilting party was going to begin.

Finally, Jane Austin; simple, quill, ink, paper...probably staged for a historically themed installation. What writer only has one sheet of paper and a VERY clean quill?

Preservation

2011-02-16T22:01:00.001-08:00

Pink Crow Studio

2011-02-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

There is a store on Etsy that I am in love with. I don't have the money to drop on one of these beautiful peaces of jewelry, but I do love them. Carrie Boucher, of Pink Crow Studio, creates pendants by combining old stock certificates, old money, glass negatives, and other materials with metal settings that beautifully compliment the items she chooses. I highly recommend you check out her store, or you can just enjoy some of my favorite items here.

Faith47

2011-02-13T12:13:00.001-08:00

Faith47 from The Ginkgo Agency on Vimeo.

Greek Sky

2011-01-30T10:57:00.000-08:00

I recently found a website called Greek Sky that documents astronomical and atmospheric effects in the sky above Greece. It is a consistent documentation by photographer Chris Kotsiopoulos. I really enjoy his compositions and his passion for the area; he's created some really beautiful work. I also like that his website has a section of failures as well. It's not always easy to capture the perfect image, clouds roll in, the plane doesn't fly in from of the moon at the right time, etc. It's a fun site to explore, I encourage you to check it out.

ESO's Hidden Treasures

2011-01-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

Recently astronomical photography enthusiasts were given the chance to sort through the database of the European Southern Observatory to find hidden treasures to convert into professional images. According to the website prizes were as follows:

The first prize [was] a trip to ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile, with guided tours and the opportunity to participate in a night’s observations. Runner-up prizes included an iPod, books and DVDs. Furthermore, the highest ranked images will be released for the world to see on www.eso.org as Photo Releases or Pictures of the Week, co-crediting the winners.

Almost one hundred photos were submitted, which is impressive because the process is quite painstaking. Photo editors start with gray scale images that have to be adjusted for contrast, have color added, images layered, light pollution filtered, and adjustments are made for atmospheric effects. The entries can be seen here on flickr. Bellow are some of my favorites.

Copy and Paste

2011-01-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

My lap top is dysfunctional; actually, just the keyboard is dysfunctional. Many of the keys still work, but some important ones no longer do, like the letters e, r, t, u, and p. Like many things in life, I had no idea how much I used these letters until they were taken from me. Three of them were actually in the password I use to turn the computer on, so it was almost a month before I could even log in. The trick to initially logging in was Elton's wireless keyboard. I then changed my password to something simple and have basically learned to copy and paste A LOT. I can access pretty much any website I need with my mouse alone, and almost everything else can be cut from web pages and pasted where I need it. Honestly, it's almost more fun to use my laptop now because I'm basically playing boggle. Am I writing this post from the broken computer? Ummm...no...I'm not THAT patient. All of this copy and past has made me think of some of the artists who do the same thing though. Bring on the collages!

Uncredited collage for Walt Disney Magazine 1959

Hannah Hoch "Modernization of Women" 1920s

Liesel Pfeffer "The Mountains Wait" 2009

Ray Johnson "Ray Johnson Collages, One Million Dollars" 1993

Chuck Close "Self Portrait" 2001

Lucas Simoes

Joseba Elorza

Banksy

2011-01-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

Banksy's movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is now on Hulu. I have to say, I was impressed by how it turned out to be less about Banksy and more about the man who decided to film him; I highly recommend you check it out.

Body

2011-01-16T11:22:00.001-08:00

In general, Karen Ryan's work would have been perfect for my Vacant Chair thesis; she does a lot of sculptural work using chairs, though most of it seems more in the spirit of Duchamp's readymades. Karen says it best in her statement about her sculpture "In the Woods" :

My choice of creating designs which use discarded or unwanted objects and materials is not recent and has never been born out of fashion. The decision was a ethical one and a personal one, a reaction to the ever increasing consumer mountain of design and design waste as well as my own necessity created by a lack of money and resources. The struggle that I have with my conscience at the irrelevance of creating yet another one-off design object against a global backdrop of poverty, violence and greed remains a permanent dilemma in my creative process. The working philosophy I practice is simple, I use what others want no more, generally collected locally from within the city I live in Portsmouth.

Her latest installation "Body" fits specifically in with the idea that a chair has anthropomorphic qualities. Karen pieced together sections of discarded chair frames with zip ties to create a human like skeleton. It was then placed in alleyways and fields to resemble a crime victim.

2010-12-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

I know, I'm a neglectful blogger, and whatever apologies are in order I extend them to you all. I can't believe that it's already the eighteenth of December and I haven't posted anything since Thanksgiving. My only excuse for not posting is that I've felt utterly uninspired; this is not exclusive to my blog either. At work I have become the teller in charge of creating the white board display that tells customers about current offers and rates. I really do enjoy drawing on the white board, but ours has been sitting blank behind my counter for a little more than a week now. I know it's there, I can see it in my peripheral vision while I work on other things. Granted, I get paid to do these other things that are arguably more important than telling people that they could qualify for an auto loan with an APR as low as 5.25%! Which you can, if you have an amazing credit rating and are looking at cars that coast $15,000 or more. Another example of my creative slump includes the fact that it took almost two weeks to get around to decorating the lobby of the bank; another task "the creative teller" has been assigned to help with for the various holidays. I also have a couple eyelash orders that I've been procrastinating on making and a Christmas project that I have about five days to finish. I know all these projects are floating out there waiting for completion, I just can't get into them, my creative juices aren't flowing. Maybe tomorrow...or Monday. I do still enjoy other people's creativity though. For instance, check out this cool Christmas tree made out of green books at Juniper Books in Colorado. I think I might make a Visel tree like this one next year.

Hand Turkey History

2010-11-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

When people say "Thanksgiving", most people think of food, family, and a long nap. In addition to that, I think 'Hand Turkey.' You know, the craft we all made as children and brought home for our parents. It's the simplest way to represent the holiday in tempera and colored paper. While I am all about high art and museum quality works of creation, I still recall fondly where my appreciation of art came from; the hand turkey is part of that. For a tongue in cheek take on the history of the hand turkey, follow this link, and find an illustrated history by Accumulated Errata. In addition to that, here are some creative takes on the hand turkey I found on Flickr.

Etsy Shadyness

2010-11-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

While browsing Etsy awhile ago I found this post with the title A VERY OLD JUG, MUSEUMS CANNOT ID, VALUE A GREAT PIECE. Whoever this is, is asking $3,000 for it and in the description states "I don't know if it is worth a fortune or a few dollars." Actually, here, let me show you the whole description because it needs to be seen.

This is truly a mistery jug. I left it at the Schiele Museum in Gastonia NC for 3 months while Dr. Alan Mayes examined it and had other people look at it. All they could tell me is that is was very, very old and not made in the USA. You will notice the bottom is not flat, it is rounded. I don't know if it is worth a fortune or a few dollars. I am not interested in keeping it, need the money so am going to sell it for what I think is a reasonable amount, considering it might be worth much,much more and again, it might not be. The jug is 40" across and has a 6" mouth. I am including a lot of pictures so you will have a good idea what it is.

Nothing in this post makes me eager to trade $3,000 for a VERY OLD gamble vase. The title makes it sound like many museums have examined this vase and come up with no answers, when the reality is that one man in one natural history research department looked at it. I looked up the museum to be sure that the museum actually exists and so does Dr. Alan Mayes, who is actually Dr. Alan May. Besides, where did this vase come from? What is the provenance of the object? Did he/she find it in a thrift store and think, 'Hmmmm...I bet I could get someone to buy this for about $3,000.' Is it a family heirloom? Did he/she find it on the black market? I'm also confused because the other items he/she's selling are overpriced plastic buttons and tacky costume jewelry. I can only sum this listing up in one word, shady.

For Love & Art

2010-11-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

For Love & Art is a Texas based foundation that I recently discovered; the aim of the foundation is to bring digital photo books, filled with images of art from museums, to people in hospice care who no longer have the mobility to visit museums. I love this project and hope it expands beyond Texas. You can contribute to the project by adopting a hospice or by recommending a hospice facility to the organization.

Mysteries at the Museum

2010-11-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

The Travel Channel is the host of Mysteries at the Museum, my new favorite show. It reminds me of something I had seen previously called Mysteries of the Smithsonian; it was a good show, but they only air one episode and after awhile the same stories over and over no longer seem as mysterious. The Smithsonian is a truly spectacular museum, so I find it disappointing that the series stopped so early. I hope that this new show will last long enough to discuss more museum artifacts from various eras and from a variety of institutions. According the the Travel Channel website the series will be exploring fossils, wooden dummies from Roswell, Lizzie Borden's axe, World War II weapons, George Washington's dentures, and much more. I'm excited to see what the series will reveal.

Episodes are set to air Tuesdays at 9pm E/P.

Recovered "Degenerate" Art

2010-11-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

It is always exciting when art that was thought to be gone forever is found, but this story seems like a small miracle. While digging to lay a new subway line in Berlin, eleven bronze and terracotta sculptures were discovered in an abandoned basement. They are all works of art deemed "deviant" by Hitler, and had been assumed to be destroyed decades ago. The sculptures will be viewed by the public for the first time since 1937 in a special exhibit at Berlin's Neues Museum, set to open tomorrow.

To learn more about Degenerate art this website has some excellent information on the topic. To read the whole article from The Associated Press, you can follow this link.

His Face All Red

2010-11-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

'His Face All Red' by Emily Carroll might have been a more appropriate story for a Halloween post, but I still think it needs to be seen; it's an interesting story.

Creative Costumes

2010-10-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've said this before, but I am a firm believer that Halloween is for being creative. It drives me crazy when girls throw on some lingerie, a pair of ears, and a tail and call it a costume. I have to show you an awesome creation by my friend Bonnie, her creativity in costumes has always made me happy. I present to you her Ren and Stimpy creation.

Seriously, you can still be feminine, just put some thought into it. Here are some pictures of costumes I found on Etsy that prove how much more fun it is to be creative, rather than slutty.
3D Glasses Dress by nicoleinder

Sushi Dress by SewOeno

Pink Monster Dress by devaniweaver

Nintendo Top by SewOeno

Gun Dress by nicolelindner

Finally, I present "the rules" via the movie Mean Girls...it's amazing.

This Cake is Amazing

2010-10-16T14:28:00.001-07:00

Do the elements of this cake by Huascar Aquino look familiar? If you know Grant Wood's "American Gothic" they should. I love it.

Ghost Images

2010-10-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

Fall is the perfect season for this subject, spirit photography. From the very beginning of the invention of Photography, it has been the perfect medium for gathering "evidence" of ghostly activity among the living. It's an intriguing idea that departed loved ones continue to watch over us in life, for the living anyway; for the dead it seems terribly sad though, to deny them of heaven AND earth. To say that they must continue to watch the goings on of humanity but can no longer participate, nor can they go to be with the creator. Instead, the reality is that the majority of photographs that seem to prove that humanity has ghostly company are really just the result of photographic phenomenon, and entrepreneurial photographers who are willing to capitalize on people's losses and hopes. The most popular method for creating the illusion of a ghost is by using a double exposure; the photographer takes one image and then exposes another image directly on top of the first one. One of the most famous images of this process is the following of Mary Todd Lincoln with the apparent ghost of Abraham Lincoln by William Mumler. This was probably achieved by exposing a photograph of Abraham Lincoln, from popular media, to the plate before taking the actual photograph of Mary Lincoln. Though he was never found guilty of fraud, Mumler did go to trial for it, and the whole ordeal ended his career as a spiritual medium.
Mumler wasn't alone in being charged for fraud after making spirit photography his career. Edouard Isidore Buguet also worked as a spirit photographer in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Though, in my opinion, his photographs are distinctively more awkward. Case in point, the photograph bellow where Buguet used a cutout of his friend Edouard Poiret in his double exposure:
Buguet spent a year in prison for fraud; the evidence against him was significant. Investigators raided his studio finding two dummies (a small one used to represent children), and 299 photographs mounted on cardboard. Here are some other ghostly images that were likely created with double exposures.

Long exposure is another method in making a "ghost". These were especially common in the early days of photography when the average exposure took about half an hour. By having a person briefly stop in the frame, only a hint of their figure will be exposed in the final image.

Now, with modern technology there is the beauty of graphic distortion combined with a long exposure; this creates the perfect lighting along with a sweeping figure who probably walked slowly across a long exposure.

Another unrealistic double exposure.
Then there is Ben Cauchi, a contemporary artist using Victorian era equipment to create images like this:
This is, of course, a personal favorite because it fits into my vacant chair thesis as well as being a tongue in cheek nod to paranormal photography. Cauchi has a whole series of photos that seem like they are taken with the help of a mischievous poltergeist. Finally, here is a fun way to play with ghostly effects...flour. That's it; a fast exposure, flour, and some high contrast lighting. Have fun with it folks.

Image by Blainintheexsjados'

Image by BryonyRachel

Image by jer in the box

Pop Chart Lab

2010-09-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Pop Chart Lab is a collaboration between a book editor and a graphic designer; their creations make me very happy.

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry

2010-09-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

While looking through my friend and former roommate, Zoe's, blog I found a link to a game called Simple Mechanics on the website for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. It is incredibly well designed, educational, cute, and fun. If you have some time to waste and are interested in playing around with some physics, check it out. Also, if you'd like to read Zoe's blog at length I've added it to my blog roll. Another new addition to the list is my friend Elena who has a beautiful food blog. Oh the creativity of my friends *sigh*.

Chris Maluszynski, Vegas Carpets

2010-09-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

Recently I discovered the work of photographer Chris Maluszynski, and was immediately drawn to his series of Las Vegas carpets. It's a kaleidoscopic view of the floors that draw gamblers into a world like no other; Vegas is a land of the strange, and the floors are no different. I love that even the floors are designed to make Vegas feel like an adult playground. In his discussion with the New Yorker Maluszynski summed up the way the carpets affect the Vegas psychological experience by quoting Hunter S. Thompson; “You’re in a prison of sensory impressions. I was trying to rest my eyes, and I looked at the carpet and thought, Shit, I can’t do it there, either...”

Happy Labor Day

2010-09-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

In honor of the last big grilling holiday of the season, I bring you this tiny grill made from an Altoids Sour tin, some computer fan guards, and some nuts and bolts. If you'd like to make your own you can find the details of creation at Instructables.

Interesting

2010-08-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

As a bank teller I am required to be prepared for a bank robbery; even in our little mountain town branch we have to attend regular classes and know how to be prepared. Yesterday I attended a class to refresh branch policies. One thing we were reminded of was to remain objective, do not discuss details about the robber with other people until we have recorded our own; conflicting interpretations could cloud the true series of events. I support this policy, but find this little image provided for us in direct conflict with it.

Be objective, but here, take this flier to help you fill in the details.What did "he" look like? Well apparently he's going to be an average size, white male, in his 20s to 30s. Probably fresh from the Navy...since he has an anchor tattoo sticking out of his right sleeve. I understand that the majority of bank robbers are male, and young, but not all of them are, and the idea that we're supposed to avoid any outside influence but are given a clear cut image from which to draw upon is ridiculous. I'm tempted to turn this dude into a paper doll and provide various disguises, piercings, and tattoos to add to him; perhaps a doo rag, converse, beer slogan t-shirt, snow parka, wig selection, fake facial hair. The only thing stopping me is that I don't want to be accused of taking robbery lightly; I don't, but I do think there could be a better form provided in our robbery packets. As for this one? If I'm ever robbed by a Navy man from the 1950s, I guess I'm all set.

Songs About Art

2010-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

Art School by The Jam

Anything that you wanna do, anyplace that you wanna go
Don't need permission for everything that you want
Any taste that you feel is right
Wear any clothes just as long as they're bright
Say what you want, 'cos this is a new art school
Do what you want if it takes your mind
Better do it now, 'cos you won't have time
And never worry if people laugh at you
The fools only laugh 'cos they envy you
Time is motion and the hands are fast
Young words are mumbled, they don't always last
It's up to us to be sure they understand
Who makes the rules that make people select
Who is to judge that your ways are correct
The media as watchdog is absolute shit
The TV telling you what to think
Anything that you wanna do, anyplace that you wanna go
Don't need permission for everything that you want
Any taste that you feel is right
Wear any clothes just as long as they're bright
Say what you want, 'cos this is a new art school
Do what you want, 'cos this is the new art school

It's Time We Met

2010-07-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

One of my earliest museum memories was a traumatic one; we were at a dinosaur exhibit somewhere and they had a room with an animatronic T-Rex. I was perched upon my father's shoulders as we entered the room, which put me a good six feet something closer to eye level with this monstrous dinosaur that was growling and moving. I was convinced it would kill us all. For the sake of saving my father's face from my clawing frantic little fingers, we left the room and he pried me from his head. That is probably why this photo amuses me so much; I found it in the photo stream for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's advertising contest It's Time We Met. It's good to know I'm not the only kid traumatized by an exhibit.

Finger Puppets!

2010-07-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blogs is Regretsy; it's a blog that finds all the strangest postings on the DIY website Etsy and brings them to light. It's hours of entertainment, but for all the times I've seen something ridiculous on Etsy there are countless other creations that make me smile and inspire me. Today I found an artist with a great sense of humor. My discovery began with this little Bob Ross finger puppet. When I continued into Abbey Hambright's store, abbeychristine, I found some other amazingly cleaver little puppets.

Like this Ira Glass puppet.

Martha Stewart

Johnny Cash

David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust

Willie Nelson

I love them all, and I love that creativity like this is just a few clicks away from me at all times.

Art Without Sight

2010-07-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

Museums are notoriously touch free zones; docents ensure that visitors remain at a safe distance from art objects, signs are on every wall banning touching works, some museums use laser assisted alarms that chime if you step too close to any object. I understand the purpose for this policy, it's to protect the works of art, as museums are places to both learn about and to preserve history and the objects that have survived to this point in time; what preservation could be ensured if the general public were allowed to touch whatever they wanted? However, the limitations created by this policy create curiosities that almost every museum visitor would LOVE to explore. What if I could put my finger in that same spot that Monet touched? Would my understanding of that sculpture increase if I could feel the chisel marks? That is why this video from Art Babble is so interesting; it's about removing the sensation we usually experience art with, and allowing the "viewer" to use the sense we are seldom allowed to use while exploring art. I'm fascinated.

Happy Birthday to my big sister!

2010-06-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

While looking for a blast from the past type of photo to post for this occasion I found this portrait of my sister, done by our aunt who used to do portraits at Disneyland. I love it because this is a VERY Disney portrait, and it was back in the 80s when Alexae was blond, and apparently wore pink.

2010-06-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

Jongoh Lee

2010-06-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Artist Jongoh Lee's Invisible Streetlights make me happy.

Art Theft On My Mind

2010-05-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

After reading about the recent theft in France, I immediately thought of one of the most famous art thefts in history; the robbery at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, in March of 1990. There are many reasons that this was a fascinating robbery, as well as a fascinating collection. Mostly though, I'm interested in the woman who created the museum, her name adorns the building and her curatorial skills laid out the location of every work of art there. The emptied frames still hang where she originally placed them, waiting for the return of the stolen works. Her first major purchase was also one of the paintings taken during the robbery of her museum, Vermeer's The Concert purchased for $6000; it is now estimated to be worth $200,000,000. Not only an art collector, Isabella Gardner also loved the Red Sox, boxing, football, hockey, and horse races. I like to imagine her kicking back with a beer in hand, but that's just my imagination.

This was a woman who once told a friend, "You know, or rather, you don't know, that I adore Giotto,and really don't adore Rembrandt. I only like him." She was a collector of art she enjoyed, though she did own some Rembrants that have since been stolen. She is credited with bringing a new kind of collecting to the states; her Venetian style mansion was one of the first places American artists could see European master works without traveling abroad.

As for the theft in 1990, I have one thing to say about it that I don't find tragic...fake mustaches. Here's the description of one of the thieves from the FBI web site:

Race:	White
Sex:	Male
Age:	Late 20's to mid 30's
Height:	5'7" to 5'10"
Weight:	Unknown
Build:	Medium
Eyes:	Dark
Hair:	Black, short cropped
Complexion:	Fair to medium
Facial Structure:	Narrow
Facial Hair:	Wearing a dark, shiny mustache, appearing to be false
Glasses:	Wearing square-shaped, gold framed glasses
Clothing:	Fully ornamented dark blue police uniform and hat, and dark shoes, with patch on left shoulder, possibly with wording "Boston Police."
Equipment:	Carrying a square black radio (with 5" to 6" antenna) on belt
Accent:	Possibly Boston

AMAZING.

Stolen Art

2010-05-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

The following five paintings were stolen from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, on May 20th. According to About.com

The single thief, who gained access by breaking a window, went undetected as he or she cut Matisse, Braque, Picasso, Modigliani and Léger canvases from their frames and left with them. Reports of the total value of the paintings have been exaggerated in some accounts (the Modigliani and Léger works were not major), though collectively they are easily worth over $200 million (US).

I am continually baffled by people who perpetrate art theft. What do these people expect to do with these artworks? Especially when they've been cut from their frames? If you know of the whereabouts of these five paintings, or of any other stolen works for that matter, please contact INTERPOL.

Henri Matisse Pastoral 1905

Pablo Picasso The Pigeon with Peas 1911-12

Henri Matisse Pastoral 1905

Georges Braque Olive Tree near Estaque 1906

Amedeo Modigliani Woman with a Fan (Lunia Czechowska) 1919

Happy Barbecue Season Everyone!

2010-05-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the grill dad!

Giant Andy

2010-04-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Food artist Jennifer Rubell designed this Andy Warhol pinata for the Brooklyn Museum's annual gala. Apparently the plan is to break the pinata with bats and reveal the hidden contents; reportedly the crazed tissue covered head is filled with “the vernacular of American treats, which will remain nameless for the moment.” According to the New York Times, there will also be other food themed interpretations of contemporary art works. About.com reports that Rubell has designed food related events such as "drinking paintings, suspended melting cheese heads, and a larger-than-life dessert surprise." I have to commend the Brooklyn Museum on their choice of theme; having attended my fair share of gallery openings, I can say that there is nothing that brings people in faster than free food. Add to that the excitement of smashing Warhol's face and you're sure to draw a crowd.

Make Your Own Picasso

2010-04-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

Mr. Picassohead is hours of mindless entertainment; then again, I find a cardboard box equally entertaining, but I welcome you to check out this website. It's pretty fun.

Welcome to Homeland

2010-03-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

Hhhmmmm

2010-03-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is a print by Jason Levesque, and also the cover for his book Pretty Gross.

This is me after doing my makeup for my Melanie Daniels costume last summer.

Hhhmmmm...weird.

Dan McCarthy

2010-03-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled across a website dedicated to random art things, but mostly posters and prints. I saw a beautiful poster done by an artist named Dan McCarthy, and quickly found myself browsing his site. I love so much about his work; the bands he makes posters for, the subjects he chooses, the composition, the strong contrasts, and the little jokes inside his work. Some of his stuff also reminds me of other artists I like. This owl one makes me think of Edward Gorey.
He has lots of posters with stars and strong silhouettes as well.

This one cracks me up.
Detail:
The composition and thick black lines in this poster reminded me of Nikki McClure's illustrations.

When I can once again afford to spend money on frivolous things I'd like to buy some of his work.

70 MIllion by Hold Your Horses!

2010-02-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

This band wins points with me for this video alone. I love the interpretation of these works of art!

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

Guardians

2010-02-26T12:29:00.000-08:00

The latest exhibit by Andy Freeberg, Guardians, features the women who spend their time guarding works of art in various Russian art museums. I love the juxtaposition of the docents with the art work; the way the sitting, matronly, women become part of the work like an installation, or the way they contrast the work. It's a truly interesting series.

Ear on a Stick

2010-02-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Van Gogh's ear on a stick; now available on Etsy. I do love this idea, especially the quote, but I also think that it's important that people know the real story as well. I read about the incident in Van Gogh's letters while doing research for my thesis, but ABC News does a good job explaining the ear incident.

The Vacant Chair...for life.

2010-02-25T21:55:00.001-08:00

Don't worry mom and dad, this is not in the cards for my next tattoo. I say this as if my first (and only, thus far) tattoo was a big deal; I have a tiny lady bug on the inside of my right ankle, so small the artist only charged me the inking fee. I was curious about tattoos, and at eighteen it seemed like a safe bet. I have thought long and hard about what I would get if I ever get another one. Chair, however, has never been an option. I say this after spending a solid year and a half obsessing about vacant chair symbolism for my thesis, understanding the qualities of a vacant chair, how the style represents a personality, how a chair can be a memorial. However, as a permanent tattoo? Ummmm...not likely. This dude though? He has FIVE chair tattoos...FIVE. You can see his ink on designboom.com. All of his work is done by Nick Baxter. I guess I know who to call if I ever change my mind about getting a chair tattoo.

Into the Woods

2010-02-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

I am currently in limbo in terms of my job situation right now; I have been offered the position, agreed to the salary and hours, but I'm still waiting on my background check to clear. This is now day three past when I was supposed to start training and I am more than ready. So, stir crazy, I decided to go for a walk today; I took a long walk from my house, down towards the school, up the creek bed behind Fairway and the Harvest Market. I found myself underneath a specific stretch of the road where the creek runs through a tunnel. I hadn't been in this tunnel in maybe a decade, but it was kind of fun to stand in a position I hadn't been in for awhile. The view was pretty.
The graffiti is...very...ummm...Idyllwild. Example: a pot smoking, footless, bird.
Now this one surprised me; a Stussy symbol. While standing in a location I haven't been in since the 1990s I was surprised to see an emblem that I haven't seen in about as long. Do the taggers come here to play with pogs, talk about the Clinton scandal, and then go home when their pagers go off too?
After my tunnel exploration I continued my walk up towards Fern Valley and marveled at the forest in the mist. It made me think of all the artists over time who draw inspiration from trees and the natural world.
George Seurat
Ansel Adams
Caspar David Freidrich
Gauguin
I don't know who did this one, but it's a lovely Japanese print.
John Frederick Kensett
Gustav Klimt
Georgia O'keefe
Van Gogh
Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny
Such a beautiful day.

Artistic Choices

2010-02-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

While reading an article in Yahoo News about genetics, I am left wondering. Why did the artist choose to give this man a mullet? The sketch is only loosely based on the skull found at the sight, artists fill in the details from the base skull on. I'm just saying, of all the hair possibilities, the artist chose mullet. Interesting.

I like it.

2010-02-09T12:20:00.001-08:00

Fernando Forero

2010-02-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

Fernando Forero is an artist from Poland who works in illustration, collage, graphic design, and typography. His work reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth, with the dark shadows and strange mythological creatures. Most of these sketches are from his sketchbook, but you can see his full portfolio here.

Songs About Art

2010-02-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

Modern Art by Art Brut

Modern art
Makes me
Want to rock out
(x4)
So I'm in the Tate
And I'm looking at Hockney
And oh sweet Jesus
There's something about that blue
It touches me deep inside
Amazes me when I step outside
I'm sweating
I'm sweating
I'm beginning to palpitate
I can't help myself
I just can't help myself

Modern art
Makes me
Want to rock out
(x4)

So I'm in the Pompidou
In Paris
And they're more laid back about their art galleries
There's little children running around
I see a piece on Matisse
Take three steps back
Take a long run up
And I jump at it!

Modern art
Makes me
Want to rock out

Bon Appetempt

2010-02-03T16:46:00.000-08:00

I'm adding a new blog to my places to waste time, Bon Appetempt, because I too sometimes attempt beautiful recipes that turn out less than savory...or turn out amazing. Either way, I like to see other people try at these things too.

Vans and the Places they Were

2010-02-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

I recently found an interesting project online, Vans and the Places they Were, that documents old custom vans. Filmmaker and photographer Joe Stevens took on the project in 1996, and has captured hundreds of vans on 120mm film. The concept of the hunt is interesting, though the way that Stevens plans to culminate it might be a little too hard to accomplish. According to his artist statement, the project can be summed up as follows.

Notably, at the same time these vans have been disappearing from our roads – film photography as a visual medium has also begun it’s slow death. Consequently the goal of the project is to one day shoot the last remaining van on the final frame of photographic film in existence. Then the project will be finished.

However, as a child of the 80s, I don't feel the connection to these vans. They don't remind me of anything more than what I've seen in movies or print media. My connection is amusement that these vans were once considered rock and roll (check out this article for further proof). So take them for what you will, as an amusing collection of artifacts from a rock and roll era, or as a reminder of a truly great time. Either way, it's a worthwhile project that I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

The Gates by Taylor Mali

2010-01-26T23:19:00.000-08:00

For installation details go to: The Gates by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Kate MacDowell

2010-01-26T21:18:00.000-08:00

From personal experience I can verify that porcelain is an extremely tricky type of clay to work with; it's hard to manipulate due to low elasticity, and it's fragile when firing. So when an artist can master it as a medium I am impressed. The fine quality of the finished product emphasizes the refinement of the material, and the results achieved often convey fragility as well as beauty. This is the exact effect desired by artist Kate MacDowell in her ceramic series that melds man kind with nature, showing the inseparability of the two and the frailty of both. Her artist statement explains it best:

We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words--to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. – C.S. Lewis.

In my work this romantic ideal of union with the natural world conflicts with our contemporary impact on the environment. These pieces are in part responses to environmental stressors including climate change, toxic pollution, and gm crops. They also borrow from myth, art history, figures of speech and other cultural touchstones. In some pieces aspects of the human figure stand-in for ourselves and act out sometimes harrowing, sometimes humorous transformations which illustrate our current relationship with the natural world. In others, animals take on anthropomorphic qualities when they are given safety equipment to attempt to protect them from man-made environmental threats. In each case the union between man and nature is shown to be one of friction and discomfort with the disturbing implication that we too are vulnerable to being victimized by our destructive practices.

Photos courtesy of Kate MacDowell

Tara Dougans

2010-01-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

What interests me so much about Tara Dougans work? I found myself asking this as I scrolled through her website. I think I admire her work in the way I like Diane Arbus; her sketches bring out the strange from the normal. The obscure in every day life. Her illustrations are full of detail and many of her portraits manipulate hair in a way that remind me of Victorian hair wreaths like I have seen in some historical societies. I also really enjoy the portraits of dogs in costume. Here are some of my favorite illustrations but you can also find some on her flickr account.

Snowflakes by Emily Dickenson

2010-01-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

Snow flakes.

I counted till they danced so
Their slippers leaped the town,
And then I took a pencil
To note the rebels down.
And then they grew so jolly
I did resign the prig,
And ten of my once stately toes
Are marshalled for a jig!

The Thesis Continues to Haunt

2009-12-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

It has been THREE years since I wrote my senior thesis for my BA on the art of The Vacant Chair. These images perpetually pop up! Images that reinforce points in my essay seamlessly. Maybe I'm not through with this topic after all.

Image courtesy of FFFFound! and Blog Da Jaeh!

Riverside Municipal Museum

2009-12-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of days before Christmas my family met in downtown Riverside at the Mission Inn for dinner. We arrived a little early so we stopped in at the Riverside Municipal Museum to explore. Like many American Museums, it's fairly obvious that the museum is underfunded and run mostly by volunteers. The exhibits are very well done though and the collection has some interesting history of the area. A large section of the museum is devoted to natural history; featuring a wide variety of taxidermy and samples in formaldehyde.
There is also a mock cabin built into the facility, complete with landscape scene from the window and notes taken by naturalists.

The history of citrus industry in Riverside also has a large exhibit.

The rotating exhibit space currently has a display called "Reading the Walls" about a Japanese American family living in Riverside during World War II, the Herada family. This is an excerpt from the exhibit brochure about the family:

Under the stewardship of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, the National Historic Landmark Harada House is among the most significant and powerful civil rights landmarks in California. This site and the story of the Harada family embody local, state, national, and international issues of civil and individual rights, democracy, immigration, assimilation, and citizenship.
Reading the Walls: The Struggle of the Haradas, a Japanese American Family tells the nearly 100 year history of one immigrant Japanese family and their quest for the American Dream. That dream was partly fulfilled when their ownership of the home, bought by family patriarch Jukichi Harada in the names of his American-born children, was contested in court in the landmark State of California vs. Jukichi Harada, et al. The Riverside County Superior Court upheld the children’s ownership under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, essentially proclaiming that as natural-born citizens of America they had every right to own property.
Until 1941, the Haradas prospered, operating a series of restaurants and boarding houses in Riverside. Jukichi Harada and his wife Ken watched proudly as their seven children grew and worked and went to school and began families of their own. The realization of their dream was shattered in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and the advent of World War II. With the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Roosevelt, 120,000 Japanese Americans were dispossessed of property and stripped of their civil rights.
Their story is a California story and a truly American story. It is a saga of hardship and struggle to achieve the American promise of freedom, citizenship, and a better life.

Hey, I can't quite see that pinecone.

2009-12-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Maybe you should mount it on the wall under a giant magnifying lens.

Thanks, that's better.

Improv Everywhere is Amazing

2009-12-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

Photos courtesy of Improv Everywhere

The Invisible Man

2009-12-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

Chinese artist Lui Bolin is an artist I recently found on louddreams.com. His best known work is a series of photographs where he paints himself to blend in with the surrounding. As described by Gerry Mak

Chinese artist Liu Bolin’s Hiding in the City series consists of photographs of himself painted to blend into archetypal street scenes in China. As in his other work, Liu is preoccupied with the meaning of individual identity in modern China after a century of upheaval and constantly shifting national narratives.

Check out the one with the bulldozer, he's pretty hard to find in that one.

The Pancake Project

2009-12-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

I just found an interesting blog, The Pancake Project. Perhaps it will inspire you as it has me.

Seriously People

2009-12-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

REAL deer hooves? As coat hangers? So gross.

Snow Art

2009-12-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

Idyllwild is covered in a cold, blank canvas. It seems like something that an art aficionado would appreciate; a world full of fresh, new possibilities. I wish I was more excited about the snow actually, but I know what it means to LIVE in a town with this stuff. I'll spare you my humbug opinion on snow though, instead I thought I would share some work by artist Andy Goldsworthy.

Snow Snow Snow

2009-12-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

Wait ...wait, INSIDE the lamp?

2009-12-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

What's next people? Perhaps a new take on the goldfish platform shoe? How about the pine cone platform shoe? Am I the only one who thinks this pine cone mania is out of control?

The Artist Loft

2009-12-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

I have decided that I should balance the decorating discussion a little; after all of the ridiculous pine cone and dead thing decor I bring you one of my favorite houses, "The Artist Loft." This is the house that I could see myself living in with some very minor adjustments. It's a cute house with a loft, skylights, a nice kitchen, and a cool little bathroom. The decor throws off many of the other house keepers who look at the drawing dummy with the broken leg and ask me "is this an art thing?" Yup, that it is. You will see in the following picture an Eames Chair that I am often tempted to sit in and read some of the books on that side table.
There is a little dinning area, and lots of area rugs to contrast the wood floor.
The kitchen is fairly standard but has lots of Frida Kahlo decor, home made ceramic mugs, pine needle baskets, and a HUGE variety of spices.
The bathroom is mostly green, but with accents of hand painted peacock ceramics.
The sink is probably the best part of this room.
Finally, here are some of the ceramics from the kitchen (slightly out of order).

I'm not sure exactly what it is about the Artist Loft that appeals to me so much; perhaps it's that it all feels so familiar, or that it looks like how I imagine an artist to live. There are some things I would change, like putting the bed in the loft instead of the living room and removing some of the African art; simply because there are other styles I prefer. However, as it stands, this house is in my top five for sure.