Tue - April 17, 2007

In Need of Some Levity

Thought I was too busy to blog for a while... But realized that with everything that went down at Virginia Tech yesterday, life is too short to put things off.

Funny how your priorities get rearranged so quickly in situations like these... Anyway, I wrote a little bit about VT on our MySpace blog, so here I just wanted to add a little joviality to the week.

On a recent episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen closed by saying, "I’ll smile and you at home pose next to your televisions." So here's a picture of me and my friend, Stephen Colbert:

Posted at 10:57 PM     |

Mon - January 15, 2007

Art-o-matic for the People

Another entry to file under the "wish I'd thought of that" category--the Art-o-mat.

I heard about cigarette machines being converted to art-vendors when I lived in Rochester, but thought it was a one-off entertainment (there's also a not-so-artfully converted machine selling candy in a cool bar called Lux). But to the contrary, the inventor who launched the Art-o-mat in Winston-Salem in 1997 supplies more than 80 custom machines around the US and internationally, selling the work of around 400 artists.

The growth of the phenomenon makes sense to me--in the age of Found magazine and Post Secret--it feels more personal to buy it this way--like a grab-bag, but also like the art was meant for you. And I'm all for getting art into the hands of the everyday joe. Plus purchasing from a "forbidden" cigarette machine is a novelty akin to having your penny pressed as a souvenir or getting your fortune told by an old arcade game.

And now there's an Art-o-mat book as well.

Posted at 08:41 PM     |

Sun - January 14, 2007

You're Getting Very Sleepy

I've always been a sucker for color, but these commercials are beyond cool...

Remember the SONY Bravia commercial with the slow-mo bouncing balls? If you don't then you gotta check it out. Possibly the most mesmerizing commercial I've ever seen, done with no CGI--and a kickin' soundtrack by Jose Gonzalez, a singer I nominate for the Allowed to Succeed Nick Drake award.

If you do remember it, well those genius folks have created yet another visual feast--in the form of flying paint.



I mean, who doesn't love the idea of a crazy mess this big? I don't think it's better than the first, though--if only because the music is way inferior. Still, kudos to the ad agency for their creative thinking. Tell them to keep it up!

Posted at 10:49 PM     |

Sat - January 13, 2007

As Dr. Evil says, "Ex-zip-it A"

As a DIY-kind of girl, I enjoy recycling "worthless" things into creative and useful objects...

So when I saw pictures of Susan Colquitt's sculptures, I felt she was a kindred spirit. I saw this photo last year in a review of the Extreme Materials exhibit at Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY, and loved it, but had no idea what it was made of:



It's called Colors in Water: Superior and it's made entirely of tightly wound zippers! How cool is that? Unfortunately I can't seem to find much about the artist online, aside from her having been referenced in Fiber Arts magazine, being in a few exhibits, and hailing from Marquette, Michigan.



This piece is called Permanence and is also made of nylon zippers--and a few perm rods. If any artist could represent Craftygal chic, it's Ms. Colquitt.

Posted at 10:20 PM     |

Fri - January 12, 2007

Toon Duo Hall of Fame

There's a new cartoon duo in town...

But first, a brief history. In the beginning, there was Tom & Jerry, enemies extraordinaire (so happy to find this link to the Mice Follies episode which was my favorite as a kid); you also had Pepe Le Pew & his sometimes reluctant girlfriend, Penelope Pussycat; then best of friends, Pooh & Piglet, and comic companions, Calvin & Hobbes.

In high school I was big into Animaniacs' characters, Pinky & the Brain, who then got their own show. Then came the advent of frontveggies, Bob the Tomato & Larry the Cucumber (can't wait to get the Bob & Larry Sing the 70's CD!) and the sarcastic and loveable Brak & Spaceghost. Of course we can't forget Mike Kazowski & James P. "Sully" Sullivan from Monsters, Inc., and the Internet-based odd couple, Strindberg & Helium.


Now, from the unlikely origins of a greeting card company, come Hoops & Yoyo--a green bunny and a pink kitty who started out silently and grew a cult-following. My friend Heidi sent me a couple of ecard, and now I'm addicted. The gallery page alone makes me want to buy the plush versions. The big question is will they rise to hall of fame level? As of right now, chances are looking good.

PS
Tell me your favorite cartoon duos!

Posted at 11:18 PM     |

Fri - August 11, 2006

For Art's Sake

"Other people change faces incredibly fast, put on one after another, and wear them out. At first, they think they have an unlimited supply; but when they are barely forty years old they come to their last one."
~Rainer Maria Rilke, from The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

Perhaps because I'm starting to make money at writing and thinking more about "marketability" I've been pondering the lengths to which creative people must go to draw attention to their work. Although I consider myself difficult to truly shock, there have been three people in particular, in vastly different fields, whose works have succeeded on some level to trouble me (but in a good way):

The most recent was Jill Greenberg, a photographer whose exhibition, "End Times," is simply comprised of children crying. The controversy is twofold, though--her message and her methods. Some people are objecting to her use of children to put forth her leftist politics about the state of the earth and the US government (which I agree is somewhat forced but the art world is all about clever interpretations). Others are outraged to learn that she gets her subjects to cry by taking away their lollipops, calling it abuse and exploitation. Before we get too philosophical about whatever psychological harm this might be causing, it's only fair to add that they get a handful of lollipops afterward, that their parents were standing by, and that 80% of them are "professional child models"--the latter a disturbing can of worms in itself.

The second person is Gunther von Hagens, a German scientist whose invention of "plastination" allows actual human cadavers to be preserved and displayed in exhibitions called Body Worlds. The exhibitions have been traveling for a while now, but the controversy over how he obtains the bodies is still swirling because tonight I heard a spot on NPR about it. The guy is himself a walking controversy, from the sounds of it--having performed a (very illegal) public autopsy several years ago.

Lastly, we have Diablo Cody. Admittedly she is just one of MANY writers who put themselves through bizarre projects for the sake of a good story--but for some reason her deciding to become a stripper for a year just to write about it seems more sensational (and less noble) than say Ted Conover, who among other insane risks, recently took a job as a security guard at Sing Sing for his book NewJack. I heard him speak last week at Goucher and while I think both types of experiments are slightly masochastic, I still respect him more. Maybe it's because he wrote his books knowing the topics he chose were actually more difficult to sell, rather than easier.

I'm obviously destined to be poor the rest of my life--for one, because I'm not up for these kinds of adventures, and secondly because I've heard that if you have bad mental associations with rich people or believe money will corrupt your art, you'll actually deflect it. Starvation, here I come.

Posted at 10:00 PM     |

Tue - April 4, 2006

The Many Forms of Autobiography

"She's always buzzing just like
Neon, neon
Neon, neon
Who knows how long, how long, how long
She can go before she burns away"
~John Mayer, "Neon"

When Slashtipher Coleman is asked what he does for a living, he says "Well I could tell you, but if you blink or sneeze it may cause it to change." I don't know how he can handle the uncertainty, but the man isn't kidding... and it's surprisingly inspirational.

Yesterday I saw him perform the one-man play "The Neon Man and Me," a quirky and musical interpretation of his friendship with Mark Jamison, a neon artist who died tragically while hanging a neon sign. Both were Radford alums, which is why they brought it to the school--but there really should've been more fanfare. This guy may not be the most accomplished musician, but he was pouring his heart out there in that side corner of the library...

As he talked about their zany adventures and the way he kept searching to find his place in the world, calling Mark to check in from wherever he ended up, I thought *this* is what autobiography is. I may not be brave enough to act mine out solo from small stages everywhere, but the process of selecting poignant stories and translating years of relationship and experience for an audience... the impulse is the same. And we all have such great stories to tell.

But even he doesn't fully understand why he has to do it. When he's up on stage he thinks, "This is so silly that I have the need to get up in front of all these strangers and say and do this. Why can’t I just get a normal job and go to Starbucks on the weekend?" We're just fortunate he doesn't listen to that voice. Good luck, Slash!

Posted at 07:03 AM     |

Wed - January 4, 2006

Plausible

"What if I were Romeo in black jeans
What if I was Heathcliff, it's no myth
Maybe she's just looking for
Someone to dance with..."
~Michael Penn, "No Myth"

Okay so, I know, my promises in 2005 were pretty worthless--I haven't blogged since before the Great Pumpkin visited. But I hope my friends and readers will find it in their hearts to forgive me... I predict the tales I've lived to tell will be worth the wait: for example the one about my new job where I distribute memos about cutting the heads off rats, or my Thanksgiving adventures in the state of Alabama, or the tale of how Tim & I recently became a crime-solving duo!

But I'll save those for later. In the meantime, I have a confession to make. I'm completely addicted to MythBusters on the Discovery Channel. I lazily watched the bulk of the New Year's Day marathon and still can't get enough of Adam and Jamie (although I could do without Kari). I mean, who can resist two bespectacled red-heads who wear berets and say things like "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Plus, it's so educational. Did you know that you'd be better off eating food dropped on the toilet seat than off the floor, that driving a pick-up with the tailgate up is more fuel efficient than driving with it down, and that vodka can be used for mouthwash and foot deodorizer? There's so much to learn--it's like Bill Nye for adults... and without the stupid sound effects. I may even join the Church of Buster. The new season starts a week from today, so tune in!

Posted at 07:09 AM     |

Sun - October 9, 2005

The Art of Play

"Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen"
~Harry Chapin, "Flowers are Red"

Drawing by Anna Grace Jackson, age 5
Coloring assistance by Taryn, age 30

There's nothing like spending the weekend with a five-year-old to help you retain a sense of wonder. I mean, people say I'm kind of child-like anyway--because I tend not to hide my emotions and still get excited about colorful, shiny objects--but to a kid even the seemingly mundane possesses magical power. You can do a dance with a plastic bag in the wind, turn a pom-pom shaker into a pony tail, or sit for hours drawing a butterfly with Sharpie pens...

It's almost rhetorical to ask what happens to us as we grow older, why we lose our ability to play... The weight of daily responsibilities bear down until, unless we do art for a living, we totally forget what it's like to lose ourselves in sheer visual delight. We have "more important things to do" than to sit around making pictures. Of course, creativity guru, SARK disagrees. Her whimsical style may not please everyone's aesthetic taste, but she certainly has a lot to teach in terms of tapping into a youthful spirit. (Speaking of youthful spirit, here's a self-portrait my friend Daisy made for me the day I moved to Virginia. Ain't she sweet?!)

The thing that really gets me about SARK, though, is that she gets paid for what she does. She's created a thriving book and poster business from doodles, records inspirational phone messages and gives a few motivational speeches. I have to remind myself that Julia Cameron, my other favorite creativity guru, says jealousy is a sign that you're not doing what you should be and to pay attention... Is there room for one more in that industry?

Anyway, all I'm saying is that the world would be a better place if we returned to the 30 minute daily art sessions of Kindergarten--and maybe reinstated naptime, as well. Lord knows, I needed it after this weekend!

Posted at 10:14 PM     |