Mechanical Advantage: Party Time.

Up above, you can see the flyer for the season opener tomorrow night. Hope those of you in town can make it.

Here are some pics of the finished pieces made by the artists involved in the collaborative creative effort i've spoke of earlier on this site. click on any of the images for a larger view:


matt pulford:











































































Matt Pulford
The Dutch
Wood, Found Objects, Canvas, Latex House Paint, Fan
2008

Roughly half of the work you see in this show is a collaborative
effort between either three or four artists, depending on which piece you are viewing. Although each of us did our own physical labor required to build the piece(s) that bear our singular names on their title cards, the actual brainstorming and concept development behind the works of kinetic art was a group effort that spanned a time of only about one month. So… what are you seeing in my jalopy-of-an-art-machine, “The Dutch”? You're seeing something completely outside of my normal mode of making art — something foreign to me in terms of my aesthetic and usual artistic media, but… also an art object that is the end result of a process that was ridiculously fun to be a part of. The Dutch… part windmill, part noise- (music?) maker, part painting-dipper.







bill campbell:




































Bill Campbell
Clavitube
Musical Instrument
PVC, wood, rubber, felt
2008

As a musician and composer I take advantage of simple machines almost every day in the pistons, valves, triggers, springs, bridges, and keys in so many instruments. The mechanism of the piano is a complex trigger that allows me to strike so many strings and set them in motion as a play. It is a beautiful thing, and a wonder to behold. But the mechanisms are not the end: it is how I use them and apply their benefits that makes them useful.






terry rathje:
















Terry Rathje
Six Shi Shi Odoshi
Copper pipe assemblage, water, water pump
2008

Half my time is spent taking things apart and learning about the world; the other half is spent putting things together and learning about myself. My work is roughly equal parts of looking outwardly at the world for ideas and inspiration, and then inwardly to see how I work. Ancient or obsolete ideas couple with new perspectives and make for interesting new directions, especially when the leverage of technology is involved. Something that functions has a more difficult purpose and birthing process than something that merely exists in space, because it has to take into account the range of human behavior, personal differences, idiosyncrasies, propensities, emotion, and the fact that it has to serve people (which is no small undertaking).








steve banks:








































































Steve Banks
The Machine-Scape Tapestry
Assemblages involving wood, garage door opener, rope, rock, plastic, drawing utensils, fans, etcetera
2008

It is a nearly inescapable fact that we are surrounded by a tapestry of machine-produced sights and sounds. From chugging motors, to the insistent braying of ‘personalized’ cell phone rings, to soulless pre-fabricated mini-mart architecture carved into the verdant landscape, the ubiquity of machines goes nearly without scrutiny. Machines have made our lives longer, fuller and undeniably easier, but often times at the expense of whimsy, play and enthusiastic impracticality. These machines are our humble attempt to temporarily re-weave the machine-scape tapestry.