Project Manager

About a year and a half ago I responded to a "call to artists" ad from Art Space in Hartford. I thought I would be participating in some low maintenance group show. You know, drop off my work, go to the opening, mingle, then pick everything up in a month. Little did I know that they were looking for a group show proposal... for 18 months in the future. That was last winter. I've assembled ten friends with very different styles and attitudes about art. Now we have a show, I think. And I'm the curator, sort of.

Saturday, I will have most of them over my house to figure out how we're going to orchestrate all of this. It's an entirely a DIY affair. The gallery is giving us a big ol' room to hang art and that's it. No promotion, no gallery sitting, no support for the opening. On the flip side, they won't charge us anything for use of the space (provided we don't trash the place). It's my first time taking such a large role in organizing an event of this magnitude. Fortunately, I have a bunch of friends with lots of experience to help me.

Now what to we call this conglomeration of misfits and their creations?

So Long, Borders

As just about everyone knows, Borders Books and Music is closing its doors for good. By the looks of the sparse shelves on my visit yesterday, that day will be coming very, very soon. It was sad to walk through there. There seemed to be the same amount of people as there usually are on a Saturday night, but instead of writing a term papers on a lap top, or reading popular mechanics or playing chess over chai tea, they were picking over the bones of a once fun and popular hang out.

I feel strange lamenting the demise of a corporate big box store that will now contribute nothing to my community but an immense, empty retail space with no discernible alternative purpose (an empty space, I might add, that is one of the most conspicuous forms on the main drag near where I live). It doesn't change the fact that it was a place that I spent many a night wasting time in my youth. More importantly, it was a place that helped foster my artistic impulses as a teen and young adult.

At seventeen, I competed in my first poetry slam. There were about four competitors then. Within months that poetry slam mushroomed into a monthly poetry free for all with slammers descending from all parts of the state (they had to limit the sign up sheet to 30). I met people that challenged my idea of what poetry and art could be and opened my world to writers I never would have known otherwise.

During the past year, my wife and I, along with a couple of friends, played music at another Borders store at least half a dozen times. It was tremendous fun and provided an outlet for another creative pursuit. Hell, we even sold a few homemade CD's. In between I saw numerous musical acts, poets, and a powerful book signing with Wally Lamb. There was even the free Richard Marks performance to raise awareness for music education back in '97 or so.

It seems impossible that I've received my last Borders gift card and made, in all likelihood, my last purchase: Two CD's (I know, how 90's). They were Let England Shake by PJ Harvey and Tigermilk by Belle & Sebastian. And one book, Bhagavad Gita. Barnes & Noble is still around of course, and there's nothing wrong with them. For some reason, I always liked Borders better. They had a certain je ne sais quoi. Like most people my age, I'm probably just romanticizing my teen and college years. Maybe it wasn't as cool as I remember it... or maybe it was.

Commission

I am excited to be doing a painting for a new nursery for a lovely family. They're having a baby boy and requested that I paint a large baseball scoreboard with sort of a weathered, vintage look. We originally thought it was going to be a mural, but after discussing the project, we decided on a large canvas: 3'x5'. I really enjoy doing this type of work. Kids rooms are really fun for me. Images will follow in the next few weeks as the work is completed.

Nice of them to tell me...

Back in November or December I responded to a call to artists for contributions to a show at Mass MoCA and Cabinet Magazine's Gallery in Brooklyn organized by Regine Basha of Cabinet. The show was called An Exchange with Sol LeWitt. I am always glad to participate in such events. My time working at the LeWitt Collection and working with Sol was an amazing time in my life. I made some great friends and my experiences there influenced me a great deal. Anytime I can connect with Sol now that he is has passed on is a great privilege.

The concept of the show was that people could contribute anything they wanted, be it a small work of art or some other meaningful object as a tribute. Basically it could be anything that a person could connect to his or her relationship with Sol. I made a photo copy of one of my small drawings and wrote a little note to Sol on it. After I left the collection Sol and I exchanged some correspondence in the mail. He wasn't much for small talk or phone calls, but he loved to send postcards with little drawings on them. So my contribution was a nod to those interactions I had with him.

My work was selected for the show at Mass MoCA. Awesome, right? Sure. But what would have been more awesome is if they had told me where my work was or when the opening was or anything at all since I submitted the work. To be fair, I had kind of pushed the show to the back of my mind with the holidays going on and starting massage school right after. If I had my head on straight I would have Googled the event or something. That I admit. But I received no communication at all until last week when the organizer emailed everyone to ask who wanted to pick up their work. Mine was more or less a piece of ephemera so never intended on picking it up. That was fine for the show's parameters. But c'mon, man. Could you drop a guy an email? I don't know. Maybe they tried and I missed it. It's possible, but some how I doubt it.

Oh, well. At least I get to put Mass MoCA on the ol' resume. I am still very grateful for the opportunity.

Massage Therapy/Art Connection

I have been extremely lax in my posts and for that I apologize. I have been spending every free moment studying bones and muscles and practicing strokes for my massage therapy course.

My artist friend, Melanie (whose web content you can find linked on my website) has suggested a collaboration. Some of her work consists of furniture-like structures made to cradle, house or otherwise support the human body in various positions. Stay with me here. She expressed an interest in the draping and positioning of the body for various massage therapy techniques. She was also interested in the construction and versatility of the massage table.

I think if we can piggyback on her previous work and incorporate what I'm learning into some kind of interactive draping/human positioning performance piece... or something. All this stuff is still in it's infant stages. But I would love to explore this further and create something collaborative. I haven't done anything like that in a long time. Time to start brain storming.

Triptych

Started a new piece this week. It's going to be a triptych with a somewhat spiritual and allegorical feel. My other recent drawings have somewhat shied away from saying anything in a direct way leaving interpretation to the viewer. This piece is referencing Genesis, nothing esoteric or inaccessible there. It's also making figures the prominent visual focus. Although buildings and houses are still important, I think that human figures are going to be a much larger part of my work in the coming year. Images to follow...

Back to School... for Massage Therapy?

I have a bachelor's degree in Painting, and I am certified to teach art. My teaching certification is presently gathering dust on a shelf, relegated there by this crummy job market and virtually zero funding for education in this country. I'm certain after three years it's also infested with weevils. So what should an artist, working in an unrelated and unfulfilling industry, do as his next career move? MFA program? Nope. I'm headed to massage therapy school.

I have come to a conclusion recently. What I am doing is not as important as being engaged in something that agrees with my worldview. In other words, I don't have to be making money with my art. Make no mistake, I'm still trying to do that. But I need to do something that is going to make me feel at peace again. The corporate grind is eating me up. After visiting the school and talking with my wife, this feels like where I belong.

I need to make art in tranquil environs. Anxiety and upheaval are not good for my art. Many artist have opposing ideas, I'm sure. But after all the yoga and meditating I've done this is what I need. I want my life to be dedicated to healing.

When I see my yoga teacher in her sweats and covered in tattoos I think to myself, clearly you have nothing to do with mainstream society. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. But I know that I need to be with people on that plane. This corporate life is not for me. In my clear thinking times I can be grateful for what my corporate job has allowed me to do and what is has taught me. But I need to move on. I'm excited to start my new endeavor and think it will inform my art in ways I haven't even thought of yet.