reflections

dumplings. dumplings. by m.
this was a weekend to point to and say, 'ha! there is such a thing as true, continuous happiness. so there.' in the midst of work, and getting ready for m's photography show (which is amazing!), i think we were walking around in a stupor. but, the opening on friday was fabulous — friends coming from out of town, enjoying each other's company — and the weekend just flowed from there, with nat and our friend from nashville heading to rockport, missing the ridiculous rain somehow, sailing on sunday, and another jaunt to chinatown with henry and sofy. love.

sun sun market, by m.

final frontier

well, it was a completely productive fourth of july weekend in boston (which i don't say very often. so let's celebrate). not only did we paint our bathroom on sunday (even behind the toilet. seriously), nat came up on friday and in no uncertain terms claimed it was screenprinting time... okay, so she didn't 'claim' anything, but she did arrive with several newly bought plain t-shirts and asked, "so, are we screenprinting guys?"

I have to say, even though the above example is a more funk-a-fied print than what I had planned, there were no bad ones in the bunch. we each made a design and had the chance to see our creative sides turn into wearable art. wearable unique cool art, that is. (I'm feeling italicized today...).

anyway, m. turned out to be the screenprinting maximizer. anyone surprised? no. didn't think so. it wasn't just one print per shirt. ever. it was at least two prints, front and back, in different colors.

needless to say, we haven't put any of it away, because, according to her, we will be doing more screenprinting this week. until i head to the woods of Vermont with my parents and uncle bobby. hence william shatner below. I'll have to tell that one later....

check one off the list

Ranjani Shettar. Sun-sneezers blow light bubbles.
Well, surprise, surprise! It didn't take until August to get my foot in the door of the ICA. The Street Level exhibition definitely pulled me in, especially seeing Robin Rhode's performance art up close and personal. I don't think the Anish Kapoor exhibit would have been quite the same without the crowds provided by the free Thursday nights. Walking up to his sculptures and seeing the reflections/the engaged masses really added to the experience. Loved it!

watercolors

I added some orange circles last night, which looks purty, but haven't taken a pic yet of the next process. welcome to the way i define therapeutic. (and a theme I apparently like to follow)

a night down christopher street. nyc.

Piper Perabo in Reasons to be Pretty. Photo by Joan Marcus

Thursday, May 22. While our friends rounded out their ultra-list of new york [read: statue of liberty, ellis island, ground zero, little italy, AND the empire state building. yes.], m and i made a beeline for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. More than 20 years after the rest of us, M has discovered the delights of children's literature, and she had to know if the Met was as fabulous and free as described in "The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler."

After a cozy little lunch with our friend, Jess, across from Bryant Park it was off to the International Center of Photography to see some... photography... and then to sweet shop Serendipity. oh the dreams i've had since of that apple pie...

Anyway! The adventure continues, since M wanted to walk from our chelsea hotel down to christopher street. we almost walked past the Lucille Lortel Theatre, until Piper Perabo's name jumped out at us (Did I mention that Imagine Me and You is our ultimate feel-good flick? some girls like Fight Club. We're more of a happy ending type family).

Pablo Schreiber threatens Thomas Sadoski, right before Sadoski kicks his ass.

We checked out the box office, and scored front row seats to Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute. Other than the disappointment in a lack of nudity (the poster threw me off), the play was great, offset by performances by Pablo Schreiber (Kent), and Alison Pill (Steph). But wow, Thomas Sadoski (Greg), was amazing. His interactions with girlfriend, then ex-girlfriend, Steph were painfully realistic and full of humor.

Afterwards, we saw the cast on the street (fighting the temptation to say hi.) then grabbed some sweet potato fries at Cowgirl. We were sleepy and happy and heading back when fake snow and lights caught our attention on Bleecker Street. Yes, that's Catherine Zeta-Jones across the street, doing several takes for her movie, The Rebound and while I have nothing else other than the fact that she gave a wave from the makeup chair, and that she's tiny (breaking news!), it was cool to see the filming. (fake snow! christmas wreaths and lights! wonder when this one's coming out....)

from the art

William Cordova, "Wholesellers, Retailers & Bullshitters" (detail), 2005. Ink, graphite, gold leaf on paper.

It's been a while since I last mentioned the ICA, and how much fun I have there, but here's another great time to broach the subject once again: Street Level presents recent work by three promising artists whose works draw directly from street culture: Mark Bradford (Los Angeles), William Cordova (Lima, Miami, New York) and Robin Rhode (Cape Town, Johannesburg, Berlin). And it's up through October 19. Guess what? It's still May. But don't think, well hey, I have time, because I always do that, and then frick, it's November and you've wasted a perfectly good art exhibit. Again.

Robin Rhode, Still from "Untitled, Harvest," 2005. Digital animation.

So, you heard it here first. I've made a solemn vow (ooh, I might regret this!) to go to the ICA. so there. and have a great tuesday.


Mark Bradford, "Spinning Man" (detail), 2007. Mixed media collage on canvas.

only a few more days

to see the BU mfa art exhibit. and it's free. plus there are paintings of naked women, which supposedly is revolutionary. I guess the TV reporters never heard of this work of art. i heard it also caused quite a stir in its day...



The MFA Student Exhibitions 2008 runs through May 4. The MFA Graphic Design Exhibition is at the BU Art Gallery at the Stone Gallery, 855 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA. The MFA Painting and Sculpture Exhibition is at the 808 Gallery, 808 Commonwealth Ave. The MFA/BFA Art Education and Studio Teaching Exhibition is at the Commonwealth Gallery, 855 Commonwealth Ave.

long weekend

a shot from montreal, unrelated to this post of course

here in beantown, we celebrate a little known holiday called patriots day, which equals a day off for some and not for others (as the woman in the dunkin' donuts said, while trying to find out if any banks were open to provide her with ones and fives: "this is one of those half-ass holidays").

unintentionally in celebration of a random holiday, m and i met a friend i hadn't seen in a year in a half on friday. then, we spur-of-the-moment style, boarded a bus the next day to nyc to see a friend's thesis show. the conversation was philosophical, discussing political protests and constantly fighting for the truth through protest/art... my question was, how do you know what the truth is/where to find it? how do you make that decision? gut reaction?

then we took the 3 a.m. train home.

in other news: we won our soccer game sunday, yeah! and spent a day at the beach with the pup monday, yeah! and I got a sunburn, boo...

comics that make you go hmm...

well, for instance, this one makes sense, kinda... but there are others, many others that make me wonder what in the flip is going on... like this one:

but then again, i don't always make sense either. which makes me smile. thanks, natalie dee.

montreal

so last week, we threw our cares behind us and headed to the land of ice and snow, maple syrup and art galleries, otherwise known as old montreal. or, heaven in the bleak of north america.

of course, a bus to new york, then a 10 hour train ride to montreal would seem ludicrous to some (considering it's roughly a six hour car trip from boston to montreal), but why take the easy way, when amtrak's involved? in the words of my lovely travel companion, "this was a one-time only thing. if we were in europe, we would have been through three countries by now." but, I do have to say, the progressively more snow covered landscape was lovely on the train portion... and every train ride seems to have depth and meaning, more so than a car, which is why we wanted to go by train in the first place. it's also like taking the subway here in boston — the close proximity of so many people, not really interacting, but reacting to the space you're given. I found myself organizing my little seat area — blanket, crumbs, waterbottle, books, journal—almost unconsciously.

and it was nice to be deposited right near old montreal, and our cute little hotel.

you can see from this photo the light, white hot in the cold air, montrealeans strolling without hats or gloves in the presence of such brightness. we wandered down st. paul's street, ate little dinners of pasta, a little lunch of polish pierogies. one night we took the metro to see the more modern downtown area and caught a movie — in french of course. mostly I guessed at the plot, but it was interesting to focus on the cinematography and watch the expression in the actors faces/gestures...

see through

::Surrounded by Water at BUAG ::

down down down to the tips of my toes you'll find... paint! frickin' everywhere. it has slithered like some slithy tove under my fingernails, on my elbows and atop me head. marie believes my hair looks quite nice the color of "spa." I can't wait until we turn on venture violet, or jardin. someday, i'll be a paint namer... much the same training as crayola crayon color namer. anyway, we're attacking the spackled past recognition walls (?) and ceilings in our new apartment. we decided this was the best thing to do after a long luscious weekend in providence with friends.

it's decidedly domestic, considering the rest of the time was spent viewing burlesque, persepolis, a play on sally mann, and a sex workers art show. love it.

snow globe

it's back to winter, as the groundhog says (although... i'm not sure how the little bugger would not see his shadow with all those frickin' camera lights around. just sayin'... i'd crawl back in my hole too...). other happenings this week...we voted in the primary (no lines! god bless this state), the lunar new year is upon us, (and has brought one of the worst signs for my poor little doggie sign -- the rat. i'm supposed to hunker down and not spend any money. ha! it probably also means that i'll want to spend more money... like a craving... for a couch... or cute rainboots... of course.)

parentheses aside, we're going to see an awesome play this weekend... angels in america. and before you go saying, whoa, that's long, hold your horses -- they split it into two parts so we not only get to go see a play saturday, we get to go back sunday! downside is, meryl streep and mary louise parker probably won't be there. *sigh*

strrrretch

contrary to the pre-new york jitters, all went well. however, we're having a serious need for sleepytime back here in boston. i was pleasantly surprised to get the chance to see the broadway play, august:osage county, on sunday. talk about getting sucked into the dramatic family dysfunction! even with the need for two intermissions, i was enthralled from the first monologue to the last whimpers. the set. the set was amazing — built like a giant dollhouse, minus the mute refrain from any nora-like character.

stay warm! and stay healthy. it's been frightful lately.

happy holidays

::embroidering has just begun on this side::
and here's another example of my gifting sensibilities this year. by now, I'm sure you're thinking, what's up with all this white? this is going against my color grain... but at the same time fits completely with my first rule of any artistic pursuit — follow that gut instinct. and in this case, that white fabric and I fell in love. and now I'm about to send it across the country on its merry way.

I've really jumped into the making stuff kick this year... hilarious because the amount of space we occupy now is a postage stamp compared to our digs in Nashvegas. And even if I did want to sew with a pattern, there would be no room to lay it out. I have just enough room to haul out my sewing machine between meals and marie's projects in the "kitchen" to sew my small-ish stuff. and yet, I have to say, I love it. (although. a crafting room would be great. just saying).

Angry Chicken has some hilarious gift tags to print out... if you know they're going to the kind of person who has a sense of humor. (and, of course, I do know those kinds of people!)

hand made holiday

from pillows to purses, hopefully I'm getting it all in.
these photos are ridiculous, since there's basically no light here on the east coast after about 3 p.m. but I figured they'd never been seen if i didn't post now, since they're heading under a christmas tree soon. I usually get the pre-gift jitters about now... wondering if the present will be well received, or if it'll end up hidden away and unloved. hopefully, I'll hit the next stage in the gifting process... it doesn't matter as long as I tried my best, made something I'd love to get, and made it to the best of my ability. whew. hope i get to that place soon.

p.s. the lining of this bag, which I didn't photograph, is vintage fabric with cute, wise sayings... the most apropos right now? a stitch in time saves nine (or seven hundred in my case).

*snow daze*

oh the holidays... nothing motivates me like the thought of a snowed-in Sunday, when it's not impossible to get out of the house but pretty undesirable! so, here's the sewn, and still unstuffed pillow I'm probably going to give to a lucky recipient this Christmas... probably one of those people on my list who I never know what to get for them (read: me mum). This same person deserves an all-expense paid trip to Italy for a month, but since I can't quite afford that, a handmaid pillow is the next best thing...

hope you're having a great weekend, and aren't covered in slushyness!

advertising+art

::Trend:: by Matt Siber, from the series “Compare to…,” 2006/2007. Digital C-print, 25 x 20 inches.

because I'm on a roll... the Photographic Resource Center has this awesome paradoxical show up right now, AD/AGENCY, featuring photographers who manipulate advertising images, or use and abuse commercial photography to comment on consumerism. The best part is that the curator, Leslie Brown is showing it now! During the holiday blitz! Art humor.

one more reason...

::Lucy In the Field With Flowers::
Oil on canvas by Unknown
24" x 30"
Acquired from trash in Boston

...to love Boston. MOBA — the Museum of Bad Art. This place is on my wish list of visitations here in the greater beantown area. And the whole idea of the museum reminds me of a documentary we saw a month ago — My Kid Could Paint That — about the debacle surrounding 4-year-old Marla Olmsted. The doc not only addressed whether or not Marla could actually paint the works displayed under her name, but if what she was said to have created was actually ART. love it. love it. Personally, I'm not here to judge Marla (she's got enough to worry about) or art (plenty of awesome books/magazines/critics to do that). But it is interesting to jump into the whole debate and throw some opinions around.

For example, I recently got into a heated debate about when someone can be defined as an 'artist.' We had to actually call up a third party to ask their thoughts. This third party put in her two cents on putting it at, 'when a person creates art, they are an artist.' This same third party just told me two weekends ago that (and I quote), "Painting is dead." Which leads me to believe getting your MFA in New York is potentially hazardous to your health. Proceed with caution.
(*disclaimer: I've also known several others to get their mfa's in new york who've turned out fairly normal... of course it took a moment or two for them to snap out of their pretentious fog... it happens, I guess).

sometimes you just can't help yourself...

...you get sucked into the weird recesses of flickr. this is an example of what happens when the Secret Science Club has a contest. and not just any contest, but the third annual Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest. And there you have it. A squirrel with a sombrero.

p.s. would this be considered art? or humor? or art with humor? or... just too weird and sick for words? I think I may enjoy visiting the 'humor' camp too much.

pillow

it's a little lumpy, but here's a pillow I made for marie this summer. It includes two of her favorite things -- purple and circles. Oh and believe me, the symbolic reasons behind both are deep and long winded. Actually, I loved the colors together, and had fun with fabric paint. This was during the summer when I had more downtime than I needed... now, of course, I wish I had more!

Here's a detail: