A Weekend in the Country

Amazing how some time in the country can refresh one. No cars, no TV, no internet and we didn't even notice the phone was out for a couple of days. Some of our companions—now appearing...

Walking the dog

Correct; that is not a dog. We must assume, however, that it is a pet. It has been suggested that people resemble their dogs but I'm beginning to think that it is less a matter of the comfort of the familiar than an exploration through self portraiture.




Here I'm exploring the thought that pets can be more than companion or accessory but rather an unconscious art form of self expression. A sort of "I don't know art but I know what I like".




and here's a late link we just discovered, Top 10 Celebrity Pets on Nerve. When you click through to Martha's dog, scroll all the way down--a doggie body bag tied with a ribbon bow.

All a buzz

I saw this line recently on the internet, "At the forefront of everyone's mind this week is the health of bees."

Honeybees are used throughout this country to pollinate hundreds of crops, from apples and almonds to soybeans and strawberries. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about $15 billion in crops are pollinated by honeybees.

I don't actually think about it all that much unless there's another scary article in the newspaper but it must be entering my consciousness. I'm working on a painting that has bees, their cells and a host of firing neurons.

Then I walked out my front door today. Here's the artfitti I saw. Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Dreamland

We've been in so many hospital rooms this month that things are getting strange. The patients are recovering but us, the caring duo, are stumbling around, sleep deprived and wobbly.

When I saw this it seemed perfectly o.k. to me, dreams and wake having blurred into a state familiar to those who lived through the sixties. New York in spring is blooming. Far out, man.

Marketing Man

In the light of the recent Iron Man, Stone Man, Pacman and more we give you my hero, Marketing Man, captured by Kurt right outside our window.

So much nothing to do...

Sorry for the shortage of posts but I find myself stale and boring. I 've been so irksomely dreary that I've had to stay home and watch TV just to have something to talk about.

Then I find the cable is screwed up. It hangs in the wind as they do construction next door and service is intermittent. I discovered that it brings back memories in its psychedelic pixelated effects.

Meanwhile a "silent rave" orchestrated by Facebook is happening outside my window. Hundreds of people each dancing to their own music--together! And while i'm on the psychedelic, does anyone remember "Happenings?" See for yourself. Parallel gratification. Instant verification.

NYC Union Square Silent Rave 6:17PM!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F29ZWzMLf50

Silent Rave NYC - Union Square
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8leK1mfNivc

Silent Rave New York City 4/18/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0pgSIVKgSo

Silent Rave Union Square NYC 4/18/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWBRkInUDYU

SILENT RAVE NEW YORK (APRIL 18, 2008) UNION SQUARE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uXJcEAxR2c

OMG, It's a hamburger!

Yes, It's a hamburger and it's what I imagine Roy Lichtenstein would say if he saw this iteration in Burger King. Grant Wood is also skewered, faded, dirty and OMG, still art. And who's this for?

Comfort food

I'm having one of those days, weeks or whatever you want to call it. When I'm in that space I crave comfort food and the places that deliver that experience. Those places tend to remind me of childhood and it always makes me think of Robert Frank's "The Americans."

This image is of one of my all time favorite spots, John's Seafood in Lafayette, Louisiana. It's the one I think about when I'm down. Sadly it recently closed due to a fire and may not re-open. Sad day, bad week, place on fire—think there's a blues rag in this?

But is it art?

I saw this man last week on 23 st. At first I was struck by the tones and colors, the creams and pale yellows in an area understructure full of shades and tones of grey. Then I responded to his nose and lips peaking out from the plastic hood. I saw the way the darks dropped down, lips, hands, feet, shadow of step. It moved me to take a photograph.

But it niggled at me, was the subject inappropriate to these thoughts? Does human misery (perhaps I project) enter the "picture"? See the man or do we? And, of course, is "it" art?

Pacman

I laughed when I saw this on the side of a building in Chelsea. Pacman lives! And lest you think it is not connected to art, I first learned how to play pacman back in the late 70s in the space that used to be Max's Kansas City.

Max's Kansas City was the bar/salon of the psychedelic era. Up front were the heavies,including Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Carl Andre, and Larry Rivers. In the Back, Warhol presided while superstars, speed freaks, and transvestites vied for his attention, drenched in the blistering red of Dan Flavin's fluorescent light sculpture. You might see David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and more.

It was great to just stand on that floor drinking beer, playing pacman and my own personal favorite, crazy climber. Oh nooooooooooooo.

Artwalk 11103

O.K. compulsive image gathering must have a name. Pixomania? Snaprography? Photogaphobia? Well...here are a few from a recent walk in Chelsea.

Finding Norman

New York, Norman Rockwell and dogs. Who could ask for anything more?

Tired and sorry

Been too tired to post but here are two from a recent walk.

But is it art?

In galleries and on the street...

Happy Day!

Been working in the studio this week both painting and moving the last of the stuff into the space. It doesn't look so pretty anymore but it's my own.

I've been going to painting class too. Usually I get the assignments wrong but turn out good paintings anyway. This time I think I got the assignment right. It was to incorporate the organic with the mechanical. There was some talk of doomsday machines. I think it might be viral myself. I started by looking at microscope images of blood cells and settled on an acrylic pour. I added machine parts, a landscape viewer and a metalized persona creating a self-portait for the modern age.

Last news today...I am a finalist for the 2008 FEGS Haym Saloman Awards Competition. They describe their mission as recognizing the importance of arts in our work and to celebrate the unique talents of individuals. I looked up Haym Saloman. He was a Jewish immigrant from Poland in the 18th century. He was also a patriot in the Sons of Liberty and helped to finance the American revolution. I am honored to be a finalist this competition. Keep your fingers crossed, they give out five final awards with stipends attached...

Summertime, when the living is hard

While Susan was boiling along with the crawfish in Louisiana, I was shivering up North bemoaning the March that came in like a lion and decided to leave in the same manner. As it is becoming clear that the season “Spring” is nearly extinct I was left to think about summer; activities and nature that reflect warmth. As in our articles on Red Hook, we return to Brooklyn as the scene of memories, this time of summer and trips to Coney Island and the Botanical Gardens.

Crawfish

I just got back from Louisiana and a really great Crawfish Boil. Can you believe that 33 years ago when I first went south, I thought they were talking about a "Crawfish Ball" with prom dresses and all. Many are passionate about crawfish, there's even a club. At this recent boil, a teenager had crawfish colored nails. It made me think of the painter, Marilyn Minter.

Here's one of my favorite songs--Crawfish!

Well I went to the bayou just last night
There was no moon but the stars were bright
Put a big long hook on a big long pole
And I pulled mr. crawfish out of his hole
Crawfish

See I got him, see the size
Stripped and cleaned before your eyes
Sweet meat look, fresh and ready to cook
Crawfish

Now take mr. crawfish in your hand
Hes gonna look good in your frying pan
If you fry him crisp or you boil him right
Hell be sweeter than sugar when you take a bite
Crawfish

Sung by Elvis Presley, Buckwheat-Zydeco and Zach Richard among others.