Video Sculpture

I attended the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's Summer opening a couple nights ago. One exhibit that stood out was "Video Works, 1996- 2008" by the artist Peter Sarkisian, He was setup in the largest of the museum's galleries, necessary as each piece required as many as four or five video projectors. His art straddles both mediums of video and sculpture, as video is projected onto solid objects. To better understand this concept, a couple highlights included a simple tin bucket and another, a rectangular base, that video was projected onto creating the illusion that there was actual liquid in the bucket and a soft, fluffy pillow on the floor. Most impressive was a hung piece that was embossed, meaning the blank-white plastic "canvas" was molded three-dimensionally, with video projected onto it, illuminating a complicated "engine" or gears and various moving parts.

I enjoyed the exhibit, but couldn't help feeling envious and kicking myself for, once again, being a lazy artist and not following through. A few years ago when I was regularly making short films with varied levels of success, I moved into freelance videography, and coincidently, SMoCA was my first and only paying client. I worked on a couple internal promotional projects as well as two projects involving visiting international artists. Both were shown in the museum and one was even reported to have shown at the renowned Venice Bienale. Anyway, that got me thinking, "hey, why don't I make my OWN video art?" I immediately had a couple ideas off the top of my head. One I was reminded of the other night was a concept I had to shoot video of a person...okay to be specific, a woman...and to be more specific, a nude woman, if only to establish a foundation or integrity of a "classical nude figure" within the framework of a contemporary medium. I wanted to shoot the model from all sides and project the video onto a column with four projectors. Depending upon how it looked, I may decide to project onto a blank manikin for added realism. I still would like to do it someday, if only to see what it looked like. Another idea I had was to build a glass box, like a tall aquarium, with a fan at the bottom. I would add a few cups of a fine powder into the box, and the fan would swirl the powder around, or perhaps have a small smoke machine pump artificial "smoke" into the box. Then I would project video with the swirling particle mass acting as a screen, creating the illusion of a rough hologram. It seemed like a throwback to the early days of film, when filmmakers created magical tricks or illusions in real-time. 

The Quarter Million Dollar Art Panel: Redux

Apparently, since I last posted, it rained; an event so rare where I live in the desert, that it often comes as a surprise. When the drops begin to fall consistently enough to be noticed, haste is made to raise car windows and shelter the things we don't want to get wet. Even though the panel appeared protected from the elements by an awning, it obviously was not. When I came upon the aftermath, I initially laughed at the ridiculous mess, but then was perplexed as I thought I had used outdoor stucco patch to secure the pieces. Eventually, I realized I had merely slathered on indoor drywall putty.

My daughter, with good intentions (see pic 2), tried to fix it, but I told her not to bother. I got what I wanted out of it, and it was time to let it go.

So let this be a lesson/reminder to all of you non-lazy artists out there who expose their work to Mother-nature, and take the proper steps to protect it. This reminded me of an incident from a few years back. It seems art isn't 100% safe indoors either:

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/aug/03/entertainment/et-pompidou3

The $250,000 "Found Art" Panel

In 2006, I got "in the game" as they say...the real estate game, that is. I became an unfortunate landlord; my intended investment dream developed into a dark and miserable nightmare. In a short time, I had accumulated an enormous amount of home remodeling detritus, such as outlet covers, doorknobs, keys, etc. Each time a tenent vanished in the night, I had to change locks and repaint. A pack-rat by nature, I saved things to reuse later. I got the idea for a panel of outlet covers, attached by wall spackle, to a board I also found at the residence. I was going to title it "I Need A New Outlet." The concept grew into a series of "found art" pieces named with a play on words. I was hesitant it sounded too corny, but got an okay from a muse at the time. I created a couple pieces, the above the only surviving one.

The piece sat crumbling in my backyard a few years. I left it when I moved, but went back for it at the last minute. I noticed an ad in the NY Times magazine every week for a series of cheesy, sculptures some apparently prominent sculptor created with a "play on words" theme. They were horrible and expensive...the kind of thing a rich elderly tourist might purchase in an airport giftshop. However, it made me more proud of my idea. I've always been interested and amused by "found art," the foundation coming from free materials, pre-made by someone else and cast-off as trash, until an artist comes along and assembles them into an idea. Although, it seems the "found art" movement at some point fell victim to itself, becoming less interesting the more people engaged in it. The unique pop faded, leaving the rest to be mere imitators assembling a simple "joke" or trying to attach themselves to an art bandwagon requiring little work or ambition.

The half a million dollar in the post title refers to the money I lost when I walked away from the properly with only the panel to show for it. If I was Damien Hurst, that would be a bargain for materials, and a good investment. But I am not. I am the Lazy Artist.

Morbid Curiosity

I knew I had these photos somewhere, but didn't realize how hard I would have to comb through ancient hard-drives to find them. It's hard to believe they are nearly 8 years old. There was an accompanying head-shot (I won't include here) that strangely doesn't look much different than I do now. I coincidentally discovered a rough sketch describing a similar idea.

As I have spent an inordinate amount of time in hotel rooms over the last ten years, I occasionally ponder the lives of others who have stayed in the same room as I have. It can be difficult since I typically stay in upper-mid-range hotels catering to business travelers. There is a sense of anonymity as my fellow travelers and I tend not to interact much aside from the occasional hotel bar, or awkward elevator silences. Otherwise, it's the same nondescript room, thankfully cleaned of any traces of the occupant before me. However, there's an unspoken dark-side us travelers don't try to think about: clandestine dalliances, suicides, and other scenes of breakdowns of the moral character.

So, I came upon the idea of a series of staged "hotel suicide" photos. Though I only snapped a couple many years ago and forgot about it, I had imagined a sort of Cindy Sherman-esque look. For those unaware, she's an American photographer known for her conceptually staged pictures which she is often the subject. She did a series where she posed as actresses from real Noir and B-movies. These are quick, raw, conceptual pics and not composed as well as I'd like. I'd probably make them B&W as well, if I was to continue.

Window Sketch

I came across this rough little sketch that I must have done on an airplane as it was scrawled on the corner of an in-flight magazine crossword page. It's probably at least five years old, so it's a wonder I still have it. It was probably inspired by my first trip to Europe, as I purchased a cheap set of drawing pencils and sketch pad from the Tate Modern museum in London. I then made a few sketches from various hotel windows of the rooftops and cityscapes of Paris and Amsterdam. I remember even doing a couple on the way home from memory, the images still fresh and imprinted in my mind. I got the idea much later to do a painting or series of paintings from the perch of a window, but brilliantly, I thought, including the elements of the window as well. I never got beyond the sketching stage, but eventually came across similar ideas in a couple early 20th Century French paintings. In fact, there was one from a famous artist I wished I could recall, that was an almost identical recreation of my sketch. Perhaps it was just to say, "Hey, look at me. I'm in a fancy new tall building, looking down upon the masses." I'm sure it sounded more elegant in French.

After writing this, I suddenly realized I have actually consciously continued to work on this same theme to the present day. As I may have previously mentioned, over the last ten years I have traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada on a weekly basis, often finding myself in high-rise hotels. Also, I may have mentioned my penchant for exploring the alleyways and nooks and crannies of urban life. I have amassed an extraordinary amount of photos and videos showing voyeuristic views from windows above onto the City/town below, and in some cases, from below, with planes and such passing overhead. I have always intended to assemble some kind of photo/video collage of this, but I think after awhile and without a particular goal, it began to seem overwhelming...or perhaps I'm just, once again, lazy.

B & W photography (Part 3)

These two pics I'm especially proud of and had completely forgotten about. They are based on a sketch I made on a cocktail napkin (I'd love to also find) I had intended to turn into a painting. Instead, I realized it would be quicker to take photos. They were taken in the house I had just purchased in Phoenix, so I date them circa 2005. You may note that the strange look of the walls are due to an awkward attempt I made of a "fresco wash," apparently to make my kitchen resemble an old Tuscan one. The title of the photos are "She Loves Me" and "She Loves Me Not."

B & W photography (Part 2)

These next two are again from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco circa 2004. There is an old oval track that people use for jogging or racing bicycles around. There are some incredible wooden bleachers that have withstood time and the elements. I don't think this is the Polo Fields, but it could be. It's the perfect place for a young gentleman to have the wind whip about his handlebar mustache as he races his penny-farthing or French Automoto, in hopes of catching the eye of an ingenue seated aside the track.

B & W photography (Part 1)

No catty rants or philosophical ponderings this time. I was going through a box of pics the other day that I hadn't looked at in a couple years. I've gone through several "film photography" phases throughout my life, the most recent in 2004 and then 2006-2007. I found a few I really like that I wanted to share. It's hard to believe that they were on the same roll, since some were from when I lived in San Francisco, and some shortly after I moved to Phoenix. I think it results from shooting half a roll, and then neglecting that particular camera for a while. Enjoy!

This first photo was taken in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco circa 2004. It's quite idyllic and reminds me a little of Monet's "Water Lillies" paintings. It looks as if it was taken in the early 19th Century and there should be women with long dresses, hats and black umbrellas milling about. I wish I would have taken more of this spot, but this is the only one.