I received an email from Tonia Bonnel today - she's up at the Women's Studio Workshop in New York state. I keep plugging her because she's an old friend and i love her work. if you're equally interested, help support a great artist by sharing her site with friends. or hell, buy a piece. printmaking is the "blue collar" of the art-making shirt. prices aren't ridiculous.
here's the workshop site.
click on her name in the "current artists" section on the right.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
print press? + new piece up
today a new exhibit opened up at the figge art museum - a show that features figge faculty members' work. i have a piece up - a couple-year old painting that i still think is very strong. the funny thing is, if you happen to go check it out, be prepared to laugh a bit. here's a pic of the piece:
see the slight "halo" around the dates? yeah, the extra paint that's around that section... it's um... it's shrank over time. i need to "plaster" some more paint in there to get an even coat again. ah well; i got a good chuckle out of it and i really don't mind much.
but anyways, the highlight of the night was talking to a few cohorts about our needs for making some new intaglio/monotype work. they're all equally interested, and we're ready to really start hunting to find out who has these presses. I did get invited down to Western Illinois University to be an informal visiting artist who shares his work with students and then gets to use the studio, but obviously i want to find a good press here in town. we're going to hit up saint ambrose first. someone knows someone there, and my fingers are crossed that this will work out.
i've got a new painting up on the web site.
here's a pic:
I don't feel particularly strong about it. i actually might start all over on it. but it was fun to lay some wet latex paint in on top of some other latex paint in a loose drawing style. it was tremendously hard to photograph, so i'll cue you in – it's a ceiling fan with gnarly antlers coming out of it. the witching hour. maybe the halloween season got the best of me, because while i sometimes feel like i can pull off good stuff in this vein, i normally fall short of those expectations. want to see good stuff like this? google the artist Banks Violette. it's only somewhat similar, but here are some pics of his work:
see the slight "halo" around the dates? yeah, the extra paint that's around that section... it's um... it's shrank over time. i need to "plaster" some more paint in there to get an even coat again. ah well; i got a good chuckle out of it and i really don't mind much.
but anyways, the highlight of the night was talking to a few cohorts about our needs for making some new intaglio/monotype work. they're all equally interested, and we're ready to really start hunting to find out who has these presses. I did get invited down to Western Illinois University to be an informal visiting artist who shares his work with students and then gets to use the studio, but obviously i want to find a good press here in town. we're going to hit up saint ambrose first. someone knows someone there, and my fingers are crossed that this will work out.
i've got a new painting up on the web site.
here's a pic:
I don't feel particularly strong about it. i actually might start all over on it. but it was fun to lay some wet latex paint in on top of some other latex paint in a loose drawing style. it was tremendously hard to photograph, so i'll cue you in – it's a ceiling fan with gnarly antlers coming out of it. the witching hour. maybe the halloween season got the best of me, because while i sometimes feel like i can pull off good stuff in this vein, i normally fall short of those expectations. want to see good stuff like this? google the artist Banks Violette. it's only somewhat similar, but here are some pics of his work:
Friday, November 2, 2007
Bob Jones - Art Show
Bobby Freedom gets reviewed in New City Chicago . Congrats, Bob. Drive down to I-80, face West, and hold a High Life to the air. I'll do the same to the East. Cheers.
Eye Exam
End Times
by Jason Foumberg
Bob Jones makes little nothings. His current exhibition features five objects and one painting. With the exception of the painting, which cannot get away from the fact that it is art because of its traditional right-angled support, the objects verge on being junk. Are the handmade concrete rock and the stick covered in plaster really necessary objects? No, but they are necessarily inadequate objects, made to express a defect—a shortcoming and an escape. They are complex objects not because of their contextual status as art, but because they are so preciously anti-precious. The lack of force in these objects proves that Jones has nothing to gain from feigning ideological concern, cultural or otherwise, yet they are wasteful objects, purposefully unresponsive. Sometimes they are literally composed of the waste of other artworks in process.
All this is to say that the byproduct is more telling or more representative of our varied crises than intentional strides at doing the right thing. Contemporary art is a byproduct of culture—no, is a symptom of the common awfulness that is mass-market hysteria for something meaningful. If we wallow in it, rather than celebrate it, then we’ll really know what it means and how it feels.
Bob Jones shows at 65GRAND, 1378 West Grand, (312)719-4325, through November 10.
Bob's web site
Also, some pictures from the exhibition:
Eye Exam
End Times
by Jason Foumberg
Bob Jones makes little nothings. His current exhibition features five objects and one painting. With the exception of the painting, which cannot get away from the fact that it is art because of its traditional right-angled support, the objects verge on being junk. Are the handmade concrete rock and the stick covered in plaster really necessary objects? No, but they are necessarily inadequate objects, made to express a defect—a shortcoming and an escape. They are complex objects not because of their contextual status as art, but because they are so preciously anti-precious. The lack of force in these objects proves that Jones has nothing to gain from feigning ideological concern, cultural or otherwise, yet they are wasteful objects, purposefully unresponsive. Sometimes they are literally composed of the waste of other artworks in process.
All this is to say that the byproduct is more telling or more representative of our varied crises than intentional strides at doing the right thing. Contemporary art is a byproduct of culture—no, is a symptom of the common awfulness that is mass-market hysteria for something meaningful. If we wallow in it, rather than celebrate it, then we’ll really know what it means and how it feels.
Bob Jones shows at 65GRAND, 1378 West Grand, (312)719-4325, through November 10.
Bob's web site
Also, some pictures from the exhibition:
Hank's ass.
There's a new "Billboard from God" up in davenport. i see it every morning on my way to work. it's the same simple white text on a black background. it reads,
"Life is short. Eternity Isn't. -God"
once again, ladies and gentleman, thumper christianity in all its glory. a supposed all-knowing creator of everything, who made all of us predestined to sin, loves us no matter what, yet upon not asking forgiveness to his son that he sent here over 2000 years ago, you will burn in hell for ever. huzzah? no. something smells like horseshit.
this is olllld, old old old and over-referenced. But still good.
"Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."
Mary: "Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me: "Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would I want to kiss His ass?"
John: "If you kiss Hank's ass, He'll give you a million dollars; and if you don't, He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me: "What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"
John: "Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town. Hank owns this town. He can do whatever He wants, and what He wants is to give you a million dollars, but He can't until you kiss His ass."
Me: "That doesn't make any sense. Why..."
Mary: "Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the ass?"
Me: "Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."
John: "Then come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me: "Do you kiss Hank's ass often?"
Mary: "Oh yes, all the time..."
Me: "And has He given you a million dollars?"
John: "Well no. You don't actually get the money until you leave town."
Me: "So why don't you just leave town now?"
Mary: "You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the money, and He kicks the shit out of you."
Me: "Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's ass, left town, and got the million dollars?"
John: "My mother kissed Hank's ass for years. She left town last year, and I'm sure she got the money."
Me: "Haven't you talked to her since then?"
John: "Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."
Me: "So what makes you think He'll actually give you the money if you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"
Mary: "Well, He gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a twenty-dollar bill on the street."
Me: "What's that got to do with Hank?"
John: "Hank has certain 'connections.'"
Me: "I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."
John: "But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And remember, if you don't kiss Hank's ass He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me: "Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to Him, get the details straight from Him..."
Mary: "No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."
Me: "Then how do you kiss His ass?"
John: "Sometimes we just blow Him a kiss, and think of His ass. Other times we kiss Karl's ass, and he passes it on."
Me: "Who's Karl?"
Mary: "A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing Hank's ass. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."
Me: "And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank, that Hank wanted you to kiss His ass, and that Hank would reward you?"
John: "Oh no! Karl has a letter he got from Hank years ago explaining the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."
From the Desk of Karl
• Kiss Hank's ass and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
• Use alcohol in moderation.
• Kick the shit out of people who aren't like you.
• Eat right.
• Hank dictated this list Himself.
• The moon is made of green cheese.
• Everything Hank says is right.
• Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
• Don't use alcohol.
• Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
• Kiss Hank's ass or He'll kick the shit out of you.
Me: "This appears to be written on Karl's letterhead."
Mary: "Hank didn't have any paper."
Me: "I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."
John: "Of course, Hank dictated it."
Me: "I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"
Mary: "Not now, but years ago He would talk to some people."
Me: "I thought you said He was a philanthropist. What sort of philanthropist kicks the shit out of people just because they're different?"
Mary: "It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."
Me: "How do you figure that?"
Mary: "Item 7 says 'Everything Hank says is right.' That's good enough for me!"
Me: "Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."
John: "No way! Item 5 says 'Hank dictated this list himself.' Besides, item 2 says 'Use alcohol in moderation,' Item 4 says 'Eat right,' and item 8 says 'Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be true, too."
Me: "But 9 says 'Don't use alcohol.' which doesn't quite go with item 2, and 6 says 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain wrong."
John: "There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2. As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for sure."
Me: "Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made of rock..."
Mary: "But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."
Me: "I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the Moon was somehow 'captured' by the Earth has been discounted*. Besides, not knowing where the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."
John: "Ha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we know Hank is always right!"
Me: "We do?"
Mary: "Of course we do, Item 7 says so."
Me: "You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than saying 'Hank's right because He says He's right.'"
John: "Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come around to Hank's way of thinking."
Me: "But...oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"
Mary: She blushes.
John: "Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything else is wrong."
Me: "What if I don't have a bun?"
John: "No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."
Me: "No relish? No Mustard?"
Mary: She looks positively stricken.
John: He's shouting. "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any kind are wrong!"
Me: "So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it would be out of the question?"
Mary: Sticks her fingers in her ears."I am not listening to this. La la la, la la, la la la."
John: "That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that..."
Me: "It's good! I eat it all the time."
Mary: She faints.
John: He catches Mary. "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the shit out of you I'll be there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's ass for you, you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater."
With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off.
"Life is short. Eternity Isn't. -God"
once again, ladies and gentleman, thumper christianity in all its glory. a supposed all-knowing creator of everything, who made all of us predestined to sin, loves us no matter what, yet upon not asking forgiveness to his son that he sent here over 2000 years ago, you will burn in hell for ever. huzzah? no. something smells like horseshit.
this is olllld, old old old and over-referenced. But still good.
"Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."
Mary: "Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me: "Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would I want to kiss His ass?"
John: "If you kiss Hank's ass, He'll give you a million dollars; and if you don't, He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me: "What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"
John: "Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town. Hank owns this town. He can do whatever He wants, and what He wants is to give you a million dollars, but He can't until you kiss His ass."
Me: "That doesn't make any sense. Why..."
Mary: "Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the ass?"
Me: "Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."
John: "Then come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me: "Do you kiss Hank's ass often?"
Mary: "Oh yes, all the time..."
Me: "And has He given you a million dollars?"
John: "Well no. You don't actually get the money until you leave town."
Me: "So why don't you just leave town now?"
Mary: "You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the money, and He kicks the shit out of you."
Me: "Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's ass, left town, and got the million dollars?"
John: "My mother kissed Hank's ass for years. She left town last year, and I'm sure she got the money."
Me: "Haven't you talked to her since then?"
John: "Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."
Me: "So what makes you think He'll actually give you the money if you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"
Mary: "Well, He gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a twenty-dollar bill on the street."
Me: "What's that got to do with Hank?"
John: "Hank has certain 'connections.'"
Me: "I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."
John: "But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And remember, if you don't kiss Hank's ass He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me: "Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to Him, get the details straight from Him..."
Mary: "No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."
Me: "Then how do you kiss His ass?"
John: "Sometimes we just blow Him a kiss, and think of His ass. Other times we kiss Karl's ass, and he passes it on."
Me: "Who's Karl?"
Mary: "A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing Hank's ass. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."
Me: "And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank, that Hank wanted you to kiss His ass, and that Hank would reward you?"
John: "Oh no! Karl has a letter he got from Hank years ago explaining the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."
From the Desk of Karl
• Kiss Hank's ass and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
• Use alcohol in moderation.
• Kick the shit out of people who aren't like you.
• Eat right.
• Hank dictated this list Himself.
• The moon is made of green cheese.
• Everything Hank says is right.
• Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
• Don't use alcohol.
• Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
• Kiss Hank's ass or He'll kick the shit out of you.
Me: "This appears to be written on Karl's letterhead."
Mary: "Hank didn't have any paper."
Me: "I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."
John: "Of course, Hank dictated it."
Me: "I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"
Mary: "Not now, but years ago He would talk to some people."
Me: "I thought you said He was a philanthropist. What sort of philanthropist kicks the shit out of people just because they're different?"
Mary: "It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."
Me: "How do you figure that?"
Mary: "Item 7 says 'Everything Hank says is right.' That's good enough for me!"
Me: "Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."
John: "No way! Item 5 says 'Hank dictated this list himself.' Besides, item 2 says 'Use alcohol in moderation,' Item 4 says 'Eat right,' and item 8 says 'Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be true, too."
Me: "But 9 says 'Don't use alcohol.' which doesn't quite go with item 2, and 6 says 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain wrong."
John: "There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2. As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for sure."
Me: "Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made of rock..."
Mary: "But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."
Me: "I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the Moon was somehow 'captured' by the Earth has been discounted*. Besides, not knowing where the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."
John: "Ha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we know Hank is always right!"
Me: "We do?"
Mary: "Of course we do, Item 7 says so."
Me: "You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than saying 'Hank's right because He says He's right.'"
John: "Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come around to Hank's way of thinking."
Me: "But...oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"
Mary: She blushes.
John: "Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything else is wrong."
Me: "What if I don't have a bun?"
John: "No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."
Me: "No relish? No Mustard?"
Mary: She looks positively stricken.
John: He's shouting. "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any kind are wrong!"
Me: "So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it would be out of the question?"
Mary: Sticks her fingers in her ears."I am not listening to this. La la la, la la, la la la."
John: "That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that..."
Me: "It's good! I eat it all the time."
Mary: She faints.
John: He catches Mary. "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the shit out of you I'll be there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's ass for you, you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater."
With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Freaks Come Out
thanks tons to everyone who came over and partied. it was much more fun than we had even hoped. seriously - thanks. the food, drinks, and laughs were all superb. i can't decide which pic i like more:
it's official, i'm hungover.
*EDIT
a few attendees forwarded more pics. here's a couple other faves...
and also, while talking about the party today, we think we're going to try and get back on bed jump dot com . I was thinking it might be a good idea to bring my Blinky costume to Bloomington-Normal for the 11th Annual Coach and Jeremy Birthday Bash. If I could manage to get some decent air on a bed, it could make a good photo for the site. We'll see if it works. If you want to see the first time we made it on the site, click here.
it's official, i'm hungover.
*EDIT
a few attendees forwarded more pics. here's a couple other faves...
and also, while talking about the party today, we think we're going to try and get back on bed jump dot com . I was thinking it might be a good idea to bring my Blinky costume to Bloomington-Normal for the 11th Annual Coach and Jeremy Birthday Bash. If I could manage to get some decent air on a bed, it could make a good photo for the site. We'll see if it works. If you want to see the first time we made it on the site, click here.
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