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WAR IS PEACE Happy Independence Day Tags:
The performances by all bands were amazing. high energy, fantastic rock and roll. Why was the sound so muddy? Specifically the vocals. I was sitting about 3 rows back from the pit and the sound was terrible. Reports I got from folks who were right up near the stage were that the sound was better, but that’s because they could hear the monitors on the stage. Who’s fault is the terrible sound quality? Knitting Factory Entertainment? The Wilma? I know hope you guys can do better than that. Anyone else have a similar experience? Tags: 59801, missoula, montana, music, nashville pussy, reverend horton heat, sound, supersuckers, thewilma Joe Nickel wrote a great article today in The Missoulian about the state of the arts in Missoula. Joe points out that a recent survey of data released by the Natioanl Endowment for the Arts reported that Missoula ranks 44th in the nation in terms of the percentage of local workers who make their living through the arts”. “Artists in the Workforce 1990-2005″ is a 150-page survey of data compiled from census records. A portion of the article was reproduced over at Talk Missoula, and it ended with a question: What are the advantages and challenges of being an artist in Missoula? Name one project, resource or service that could be developed to promote and support Missoula’s professional artists, musicians and writers. The problem with the question is the word “professional”. There are many artists here in Missoula who cannot make a living at what they do here, not because they are not talented artists or they don’t produce a good body of work, but because their contemporary art is too edgy or risky for Missoula and the people who visit here. Missoula is on the cusp of coming into its own as a cultural destination for travelers across the world. One thing many of those travelers want when they think of visual arts is western themed or “outdoor” art. Because of that, much of the visual art produced by professional artists in Missoula is reflective of that need. Thinking of Missoula *only* in terms of this type of art is doing a disservice to the many very talented contemporary artists who live and work in this city, producing a huge body of work that might sell for thousands of dollars in a more urban city like Chicago, New York or Los Angeles, but here, if they sell at all, it’s for a pittance. And that is if the work is even seen. A resource I would like to see is a dedicated space *downtown* that includes a gallery and affordable studios for working artists. Missoula is lucky to have the Ceretana, and more recently, the Zootown Arts Community Center on the North side. Both of these facilities are beautiful and offer many opportunities for both artists and the Missoula community. I would like to see something similar downtown. A place for artists to show that is not a coffehouse, a restaurant, a computer store, a boutique. Somewhere that is for art and art alone, and a place for lesser known 8local* artists to display. I am not taking away from the Missoula Art Museum and what they have to offer our community. I’m suggesting something more, something different. Something that could help artists who *don’t* make a living as an artist work towards that goal by giving them the same treatment a professional artist might get. To view the full results of the NEA survey, “Artists in the Workforce 1990-2005,” visit www.NEA.gov and click on “News.” When I arrived in their little office in downtown Missoula, I was greeted with warm smiles. S. was pretty excited to have me deliver the piece, and I was pretty excited to be able to sign it in her presence, help her decide where it should hang, and finally, hang it on her office wall. The women there provided me with a small metal hammer which was painted in “feminine” colors and had flowers on it. They got a kick out of it when I drove the nail using the provided hammer. The piece looks great in her office, and I meant to photograph it, but was caught up in the contagious excitement of the women as they admired the piece. We talked about it for a while, before easing into friendly talk comparing office humor and other daily life conversations. After it had been hung, E. commented that the wall looked a little lonely, that maybe S. needs more of my pieces to compliment the existing one. S. had already mentioned the possibility of wanting another piece, and I was glad to encourage her, picking up a dry erase marker and drawing on the whiteboard how the wall might look with the addition of two complimentary pieces. As I left the office, I was remembering the first time I had completed a similar project. I remember how personally involved in it I was. This time was different. It was less about the emotion, and more about presenting the work in such a way that the emotion came through in a humorous way. I re-learned some of the things I learned the first time around, namely that vellum applied with spray adhesive is much better than self-adhering vellum. This version of the project was much more coherent, all of the pieces being almost of uniform size, all being a uniform shape. I enjoyed using two different models for the photographs as well. And the distance and time between me and the models involved made creating the project more enjoyable. Yeah, I was stressed about finishing it on time, but I enjoyed the entire process more and was more deliberate in the way that I went about it. Finishing the show felt good, and it generated a lot of brainstorming on my part for subsequent shows I’ll be doing. Brainstorming around concepts of content, but also around concepts of logistics about how I want to pull off the ideas themselves. Right now work has got me pretty busy. Working three jobs currently. I’m tying to do something creative every day, and am constantly thinking about the next project, when i can start it. In the meantime, I’m learning how to use a new camera. I’ll be posting some of those photographs here as time allows. I’m not finished writing about REBOOT_, but I am also looking towards my next two projects. One just jumped ahead of the other, which I’ve been pondering and working on since December. I still don’t know the shape it will take, but I found the means to make it happen. An old dentist’s office right around the corner from me was recently reinvented as a (what is for Missoula) high rise condo. It has rusty tin on the outside of the building as a nod to the terrain vague style of architecture, which I really enjoy. I definitely have some critiques about the building, but that is not my point here. I have seen, as I ride my bike past the site, the discarded tin rusting on the ground. Recently, that tin had been collected and placed into a trailer along with a variety of aluminum and steel to be hauled to the recycle. Tin is fetching $0.04/lb right now, so I wasn’t concerned when I began collecting it last night. Apparently someone else was, and began yelling at me, asking if I had permission to take it etc. Said he was going to call the police. Whatever. I put it back. This morning, on my way into work, I stopped by the business of the person who owns the trailer and its contents. He said my timing was perfect, and that he was planning to haul everything away tomorrow. Gave me permission to pick through the tin and haul off what I wanted. My bike trailer was destroyed yesterday when I was hit by a car (I’m fine), so I was trying to figure out how I was going to efficiently transport this very heavy rusted tin to my garage. I found an old wheeled suitcase and trucked it over to the site. To my great joy, there was an old shopping cart in the trailer as well. It was missing both front wheels, but it would be much more efficient in hauling the tin back to my place. The rest of the story is that I got a full shopping cart full of beautiful rusted tin for a project that has been brewing for years, though I didn’t know it. The show was a smashing success. About 80 people came through. We had a great spread of food from Worden’s. Folks dug it. Especially software developers. Everyone was laughing at the error messages and actually READING them, which was awesome. The big coup is that people walking by on the street can see the show, and I hope I’m pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in Missoula. Nowhere else in town can beautiful nude art be seen. Oh, and I did sell a piece. A group of three women rolled through, two of which own a software startup in town. Two of the women bought a piece for their friend who was there for her birthday. She plans to hang it in her office. The show will be up for the rest of the month. Anyone in the Missoula area who didn’t make it to the opening — stop by and check it out. Thanks to all who made this possible: Bridgemaxx, Computer Central, Lucas, for the use of his truck, Patty, over at The Art Hang Up for the glass, Home Resource for the cabinet doors upon which the photos were mounted, and everyone who supported me as I worked like crazy to get this show together. You know who you are. I am eternally grateful to all of you. Thanks! Tags: 59801, art, art in missoula, arts and culture in missoula, collage, community, computer, controversy, creativity, culture, erotic photography, fun, love, lust, medium format, missoula, montana, photography, process, public art exhibitions, reboot, recycle, sculpture, sex Tonight at Computer Central, I’ll be premiering 15 new sculpture collages featuring tastefully displayed nude photographs with reclaimed computer parts. If you live in Missoula, please plan to stop by. There will be light refreshments and great art. 136 East Broadway • Computer Central, next to Dauphine’s Hope to see you there. All computer software is released with bugs. Similarly, all relationships are fraught with things that could break the relationship. REBOOT_ explores the parallels between relationships and computer software. The pieces consist of computer parts spray-painted and attached to a board, also spray painted. I then printed the model’s image on photo paper, and printed a different server error for each image, on vellum paper, and placed the vellum over top of the photographic image. Each server error is customized. For example, “ERROR: There was a fatal error in the /Love application. This may have been caused by a failure of the trust_bin_love.dll.” The computer parts come, for the most part, from various failed laptops I’ve owned over the years. The show opens tomorrow at Computer Central, 136 East Broadway, Missoula, MT from 5PM-8PM and runs through the month of June. If you are in the Missoula, MT area, please drop in and view the works. |
