my heroes died of syphilis

Troy Gua + Morris Graves

Continued at the Mystic Sons of Morris Graves exhibit opening this Thursday in multiple galleries in the Tashiro Kaplan building. I am very much looking forward to seeing all the pieces made for this show!

Xanadu: A Stately Pleasure Dome

Erin Shafkind has curated what may be my favorite show of the year so far. Of course, my judgment is clouded by anticipation and the fact that I'm contributing a piece to the show, but there's no denying the compulsive splendor of cacophonous neon lights and roller-skate-glam that also underscores dialogue about utopia and the artistic process. I've previewed a few of the works in person: Troy Gua's ethereal, prismatic portrait of Olivia Newton-John as Kira is breathtaking; I can't wait to see Klara Glosova's crumpled clay skates or the Alpert/Arkley video.

My piece is a drawing called Glory, Utopia (the head of Samuel Taylor Coleridge on the body of Terpischore). In a world where there's nothing new under the sun, this may be the world's first ever six foot tall scratch 'n sniff drawing of a hermaphrodite. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The Prime Minister of Poland died in a plane crash the week I began working on this piece. I'd intended to approach the subject of Xanadu with something of an ubuesque, dystopian eye, so when news of the smoldering Prime Minister of Poland (that is to say, Nowhere) arrived, I felt I was perhaps not on the wrong track. This Rubenesque hermaphroditic unicorn is at its worst/best an Ecclesiastical vanitas, at its best/worst the incarnation of a nonsense-spewing hydrocephalic baboon, bubbling over with genital excess and blue areola. In far darker times (Foucault suggests in his preface to Herculine Barbin) real hermaphrodites were summarily executed for their duplicitous, shifting identities, grotesque sexualities, and ineffectual reproductive organs. The blue-nippled fantasies of societies and artists alike are less frequently executed, but perhaps as consistently ineffectual at producing mature, virile fruit (having short vaginal cul-de-sacs that lead to Nowhere).

Joey Veltkamp: It Is Happening Again (photo recap)

(top three photos by Brian Cypher - click to enlarge)
Joey Veltkamp recently mentioned that he is "all about motifs right now" and a lot of those motifs are readily apparent to the viewer: nostalgia for 1970's era aesthetics, a predilection for certain animals (which often serve as cultural signifiers), erotic symbols of gay subcultures, hipster fads. That these motifs strongly relate to the artist in a biographical way is obvious if you've ever met him in person (have you ever seen Joey Veltkamp drinking anything but PBR, for starts?). He and I both live on Capitol Hill, the heart and hotbed of local hipsterdom, and the fact that he engages the local culture so directly, with humor and with subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) commentary, is delightful and clever.

Joey's opening at The Living Room last Wednesday was packed to the gills. Thanks to everyone who came out! There are very few pieces left for purchase at the moment, so if you're considering picking one out for your collection, I suggest you get around to it sooner rather than later.

(More reviews and photos by Ryan Molenkamp here and here. Joey also posted a recap of the opening on his blog and a few video stills from the evening can be seen on flickr.)





Erin Frost & Sharon Arnold



Jeffry Mitchell & Yoko Ott

Joey & Ryan Molenkamp

First Thursday July 2010

Platform Gallery, Magicality
(organized by William Powhida & Eric Trosko)













Eric Elliott & Troy Gua at Platform







Trevor Johnson at Zeitgeist

Eroyn Franklin, Detained at Gallery4Culture



SOIL: New Members Show



Cable Griffith (examining one of his pieces at SOIL)



Derrick Jefferies' Anatomy

Hanita Schwartz at SOIL



Jeff McGrath: Bahogkins (in the SOIL Backspace)

Brian Lane at Davidson Galleries

Renee Adams: Poison Pie

Joey Veltkamp & Anna Callahan

a sketch of Sol Hashemi's Object History Awareness


Shaun Kardinal & Erin Frost & Blue Moon

Luke Haynes at the City Arts after party

Joey Veltkamp: It Is Happening Again

As well as looking forward to the opening of this show, I've been giddily anticipating and helping to organize Joey Veltkamp's upcoming show at The Living Room. He's written about it and has offered little glimpses into the development of his concept here and here. But I can't wait for the actual date of the show to arrive (I'm sure he can…as he relentlessly toils in his owl factory to craft the final pieces!) to see the sculptures collected in one space.

When I approached Monika Proffitt, one of the owners of The Living Room, about organizing some installations for the space a few months ago, I had no way of anticipating that such a substantial and intriguing body of work would materialize as a result, but the work (all of it new) that Joey is doing for It Is Happening Again is just that. I wish I could leak some of the photos I've been sent. But I'm trying to be good. (Fair warning: you may want to set aside a few bucks for a purchase.)

Also as part of the project, Joey has collaborated with fellow artists Jeffry Mitchell, Gretchen Bennett, and Matt Offenbacher on a handful of the owls.

The show opens on July 14, with a reception that evening from 6-9 pm. The Living Room (via Josh Verse) also hosts intimate showcases of local electronic musicians on Wednesday nights in the upstairs loft area. Inspired by the motifs in It Is Happening Again, Josh has organized a special thematic night of Show & Tell featuring episodes of Twin Peaks with live accompaniment sets from Citizen Mori, The Googly, and Verse. So stick around after the reception if you can!

ACTION (at Ghost Gallery)

One of the projects I've been working on this month has been a video collaboration (with the talented Izzie Klingels, who has a long history of making pretty amazing videos professionally, including producing visuals for music acts such as Death In Vegas) for the upcoming show at Ghost Gallery, which will open on July 8. I consider myself lucky to be included amongst the group of artists presenting new works there: Joseph Patrick Gray & Keith Tilford, Frank Correa & Nick Bartoletti, Tabor Robak, and DUMB EYES. I daresay this exhibit will be an eyeful for even the insatiable visual glutton.

The Klingels/Manitach video promises a buffet of 1920's porn, Brueghel-esque bon-bons, with a generous side of Fernando Arrabal, among other things....

RULES FOR SELECTING ART COLLEGE PROFESSORS

In light of the recent feature written by Jen Graves, in which Michael Darling reportedly laments the sad state of the art educational system in this region, I would like to extend this sage suggestion, proffered by Otto Muehl in 1968, as a means towards reform:

RULES FOR SELECTING ART COLLEGE PROFESSORS
(elimination of favouritism)
1. selection is to be made before the assembled students.
2. exercises are to be performed in the college assembly hall.
3. short race with a paint-brush dipped in red paint. the first to paint a red spot on the top of the rector's nose is the winner. 5 points.
4. tube-biting. the first to bite open 10 tubes of lead white: 6 points.
5. a plastic swimming pool, 2.5 metres deep, is filled with blue ink. on the bottom of the pool is a paint-brush and a set of water-colours. the person who manages to fish out the brush with yellow paint on it: 10 points.
6. whoever paints all of a 10 x 10 m canvas the fastest, using their tongue as the brush, receives 15 points.
7. whoever manages to milk a goat the fastest: 7 points.
8. penis weighing: the person with the heaviest penis receives 8 points.
9. the first to bore through a canvas with his penis receives 11 points.
10. defecation competition. whoever makes the most beautiful pile, in terms of form, colour, weight, is awarded 19 points.
11. vomiting on a picture surface lying on the ground. the best picture will be awarded 21 points.
12. test of courage: the candidates are invited to cut off their left ear. anyone who succeeds in accomplishing this is immediately disqualified. he is not suited to the vocation of art college professor.
13. the candidates are invited to paint the federal president with red paint. whoever follows this instruction will be taken directly to the court-room; anyone who refuses receives 500 points; however, anyone who prevaricates and then attempts to kill himself will be immediately elected professor, even if he has the smallest prick.
14. students grab the happy victor and roll with him through a lengthy trail of bread-crumbs and hens' eggs.

Better late than never: 2nd Thursday Art Walk photos (or Syphirazzi vs. Molorazzi)

The Molorazzi was less hungover than I that day -- and I dare say he took a better set of photos and had more art-blitzing stamina than I did. But here are a few of my snapshots from the night:


Zoë Williams at Vermillion



Cryptomenagerie: Michael Alm, Jody Joldersma, Zoë Williams




Wynne Greenwood, Yoko Ott, Joey Veltkamp


Bond Huberman & Daniel Carrillo at Grey Gallery


Erin Frost, Shaun Kardinal, & Noah Grussgott


Tracey Campbell (& canine cutie Benny Frank)


Garek Druss & Dave Segal


Daniel Carrillo at Penetration


Izzie Klingels on the Unicorn dance floor

CHS also posted pictures of the night's events here.

NEPO 3: Air, Water, Fire (We Will Leave the Earth Behind)

Klara Glosova's NEPO 3: Air, Water, Fire (We Will Leave the Earth Behind) is the first NEPO I've made it to, and I'm really delighted by the concept and its execution. The house, which is already superficially compelling by itself, is turned into a kind of walk-in advent calendar, with each door, each stairwell, each window serving as a conduit to a new, curiously enchanted space or stage upon which small actions are being performed or objects are being situated for consideration. I left before the second half of the night's activities, but loved everything I did get to see....








Klara Glosova




Emily Pothast and David Golightly perform Drone Chamber

First Thursday June 2010

On the way to the art walk tonight I stopped in at SAM's Kurt exhibit with a friend. It was my second time to see the show and I came away (again) really liking it. I could linger in the Banks Violette room indefinitely.

I have to say, there were a lot of rock-n-roll visitors at the museum this evening...lots of punk hair and glamorous boots. This little girl was studying the Banks Violette drawings so intently. I was completely smitten.

  

Tyler Cufley and Heather Hollenbeck, Dumpster Strawberry at SOIL




Carol Saft, My Brother Todd (in the Backspace at SOIL)


Sol Hashemi's Proposal for an Earthwork 2010 - Object History Awareness