25.07.2008

this is the second time i've been near a computer apart from dire and absolute need in what, two months? weird.

so, apologies all around if you've been getting annoyed with the goober that's not returning your calls. i've gone through a strange transformation: the phone is now the best and preferred way to get ahold of me.

a while back i picked up a copy of yinsh. seemed like a good thing to do at the time. every so often i'm in the mood for a good abstract strategy game. people get weird about chess and go is a stupid fad at cafes around town. yinsh is something i haven't seen around and is the kind of thing that, despite its no doubt being huge in other parts, i can say "i was into it before it was cool." it's what living in victoria is all about: the mingling of weird fads and cafes.

so, the birth of a new project is underway. i suppose there's an analogy to made about peeing on a test strip to see if i'm in luck. that's the state it's in. i know i want to do a project and i've been collecting old window sashes, antique glass and mirrors, antique hardware, strange tools, and other oddities of age and wear. i already have a few old frames and a violin case in the works.

some notes, though. i recently read ecclesiastes and it makes more sense to me now. in effect, i have to admit that i have nothing to say. everything is indeed onanistic and vain and pointing this out is no different. but, now that i have nothing to say and nothing i want to say, saying anything at all is so much easier.

concept for a show: renovate an heritage home. all the old material of architectural significance (windows, doors, moldings, flooring, hardware, etc) that is no good for restoration is saved as-is when removed. this residual of the restoration is hung from ceiling supports in no particular order in a gallery with white walls. everything will be hung with between five and six feet clearance from the floor and will fill the room so people have to walk around everything without hitting their head. shostakovitch will be cranked out of a cheap, old ghettoblaster placed on the floor in the middle of the room. give it a dumb kitschy title like "so you think you can dance."

29.06.2008

i've been off-line for over a month now. a lot has happened since, but i won't get into any of that. i won't get into much of anything, i suppose. i find i don't exactly miss the internet when i don't use it and a month's unread emails reveal little of any substance. the events of the period between the last and this current post have left me with the impression that much of life is onanistic. we run around with our beliefs and our opinions and our causes and much if not most of it is of little bennefit to any other but ourselves or the very like-minded we find in our circles. conforming to which trend-based cause best defines me as an individual and gains me cool friends?

04.05.2008

just realized, i never did follow up on my last post. i did get the job, you'll be happy to hear. i'm working at vintage woodworks, a company which specializes in heritage millwork. right now, i'm doing my time as the general labour force. i've been sanding my fingers raw, off-loading truckloads of raw stock by hand, driving a beastly shop truck on errand runs, and making coffee. next week i learn how to boil hardware. i assume that means cleaning and restoring vintage hardware, based on what i saw my forebearer work on.

all in all, like this job. but we'll leave it at that for now. talk shop another time....

22.04.2008

alas, i have broken the cardinal law of starving artistry: i applied for a real job.

we'll see how it comes together. maybe i hear back, maybe not. it's a traditional woodworking shop looking for everything from labourers through journeymen and it does hold my interest. more details to follow, should i hear back.

there's not much other news to speak of around here. later this week i'll check out the venue for the next poasis show and see what i'm up against. then it's on with the artist cap and the construction of a killer illuminated monument to lost friendships. and, of course, all while struggling through the tremendous burden of 'shadows of the past' and hypersensitivity to my failings.

i have to clean my place, too. wee.

17.04.2008

it's been a busy week over here. a lot has happened, for better or worse. among the highlights are a soft eviction notice (our cousin is getting married and the couple-to-be need privacy over tenants), renewed career prospects/potential, stunning clarity-through-confusion, and a paid weekend gig cleaning my in-laws front garden. but, to top it all is the chance my mom will not only be visiting in town during the next poasis show, but will be exhibiting alongside me. we're both excited about the prospects.

all said and done, it's been a good weekend. (huh, i almost misspelled that 'weakened.' but it's been a bad couple of days for typing....) there's struggle to life, but struggle keeps me interested.

lately i've realized just how important imagination is to me. it's not my attention that needs grabbing (that can be accomplished with a shiney foil wrapper); rather, it's my imagination that needs to be engaged with anything if ever i'm to be present. when my imagination is active, i'm active. otherwise, i sit around waiting for something to intrigue me.

i'm a natural explorer and this instinct for seeing things keeps me moving. it thrives on questions that lead to more questions and is thwarted by answers (possible exception to the open-ended variety). i suppose this works well with my claustrophobia. i can't stand the strangle-hold of the known environs and the predictablility of pattern. i need to be able to move and i need to be able to move someplace new and unexplored.

i've always considered this a bad thing about me. it's limited my resume to short spurts of employment in a wide number of fields and experiences. thus, when employers browse it, all they see is a kid who can't keep a job or commit to a career path. consider: almost all of my jobs have come by way of personal introductions and references (ie - my dad knows somebody who's looking for help) or desperation (the warm-body syndrome). i continue to be at odds with this exploratory weirdness of mine. as much as i desire and crave deep-grown roots, i need to be on the way to new territory.

however, having said that, i am coming to accept this about myself. it's a natural attitude for an artist of any integrity, i think. who are we but explorers, always asking why? and where next? and who with?

lately, though, i've seen the pattern of stagnancy. i'm in a lull, waiting for some shiney question to glimmer in the bushes as i walk past, snare my feet, and pull them onto some strange pathway through the forest. i need to let go of a lot of preconcieved notions of pattern and tendency before i'll be able to see anything but a discarded foil wrapper, though. but i gain faith with each passing step, and some day....

04a.04.2008

another interesting link, stumbled across as i tromped through the world wide web: www.transformingculture.org. it's a high-level conference on the art/faith conversation that took place just this week. features the likes of eugene peterson and jeremy begbie, to give you an idea of scale. it looks interesting: i'll have to browse around to see if anything has been posted regarding the outcome of the discussions.

also, speaking of web searches: if ever you're feeling particularily masochistic, do a search for the term "church art." oye! the sad reality is that to many if not most, this kind of image is the very definition and embodiment of church and christian art. compare the bulk of what you find on this search to the images presented on civa's website under the 'exhibitions' and 'gallery' sections.

to be fair, i'm convinced that if you were to segment the population-at-large into various categories of art savviness and do the same to a church audience, you'd have the same basic ratios represented. most would have no understanding of art outside commercially available or popular-media driven images, a siazable-but-small portion would consider themselves appreciators of art, but all-in-all the portion of those who consider themselves within the gravitaional pull of the art world is scant in relation to the whole.

it would be unfair to expect all of the church to suddenly become familiar and appreciative of art. but, another subject for another post. the dinner bell rings....

04.04.2008

in my studies this morning i stumbled across www.civa.org, the christians in the visual arts group. on a whim and after some deliberate browsing, i bought a membership. on first glance, it seemed a nice blend of the scholarly and the professional, with the focus quite properly on the 'art' portion of 'christian art.' so, we'll see how this shapes up. i've a few of their publications on the way and all the snazzy newsletters etc. hopefully this will extend my range of influences (inward as well as outward) and tip me off to a lot of great conversation.

the last few days have been rather intriguing to me. preperation for my book project has brought up a number of points to consider. i don't have time to address them today, but i will say that i've had a major overhaul of many of my assumptions. putting my thoughts, theories, and observations to paper has proven an interesting process in that i've had to make deliberate evaluations on all my views and vantage points. also, i've been exposed to a number of other viewpoints on the topics i've been exploring.

there's not a lot of interesting material on the art/faith topic, but the sheer volume of the material that is there is interesting. example: there are countless recollections of artists making (what i consider) very appropriate and even 'comfortable' art for a church event, only to be censored by the church leadership for fear the art is too provocative, controversial, or simply not suitable for a "G-rated space". i get the impression that a number of churches eager for a new visual arts program do little to no research on the subject and thus have no clear vision of what shape the program will take. in the end you see a lot of what i call a 'decorative program' filled with bland material and disgruntled artists.

i suspect the church art debate has largely stagnated at a point that allows artists to practice but does not allow educated viewership. thus, the artists are producing viable work, but the congregation is not at the point to appreciate that. i believe the next step along the way is in bringing up a class of patrons, viewers, collectors, and supporters of faith-based art and artists. i think this will better serve artists in church congregations by allowing them a proper conversation that all art thrives on, rather than the gift-shop variety monologue they've been forced into.

i have to cut this intro short here and pick up my wife from work. i'll continue this later, to be sure. (and pardon the generalizations.)

30a.03.2008

it's late and i'm tired but my intestinal issues will keep me up a while yet. yeah, everything you've ever wanted to know about me....

i've been considering putting some of my thoughts/theories to better use than online diatribe. i've been playing around with the idea of writing a collection of essays and compiling them into a booklet or similar. however, events of the past week and various conversations since have brought me to the conclusion that there's an audience for this sort of thing, whether they realize it or not.

consider how often people are surprised to find out that their favorite artists have some connection to church. they read about them in art history texts and see them in poster shops and then are in strange disbelief when they discover the spiritual connection. the linking of 'art' and 'faith' is a stagnant debate that remains as such because too many people are new to the topic. once they reach the connection, there's nothing beyond. there's no linking the terms 'good art' and 'faith' let alone 'great art.' i wonder if the next step is getting artists to be artists or churches to be viewers? quality art loses its church connection unless it keeps to the cliche and church art seldom finds its way to quality.

generalities, of course, but whatever.

so tomorrow my plan is to research the topics. likely if not certainly my first batch of writings will be geared toward the church-going crowd. i want to have a booklet ready and printed for the next poasis conference with essays on curation, educating the self-proclaimed "i don't know much about that art stuff" crowd perhaps, maybe even a few notes on pushing the edges of the comfortable church art we're all used to. we'll see where this project takes me. all i know is that i want something that will help get the conversations to the next level, past the 'is art good?' question.

so wish me luck. and buy a copy when all is finished. you'll like it. really.

30.03.2008

it's cold in victoria. every day, arizona looks just that much better.

i'm trying to avoid a rant here. i'm a little annoyed at the treatments of and around the art/faith conversation. you know: are we "christian" artists (because the christian bit is always in quotes like it's a dirty word or something,) or ar we believing artists? artists of faith, perhaps? this is usually where the debate ends. there's arguments surrounding either term, some reference to the artisans who built the tabernacle, a few words on the secular vs. sacred worlds, etc. the issue with me is the stagnancy of the debate. it's like the whole church community is so hung up on semantics that they forget that art, simply put, is art. call it what you will, it is still art.

the debates should, in my opinion, be focused more around audience and intention, or audience and message to be more specific. whether i'm a christian artist or a believing artist, i still have to be aware of my audience and the message i want to convey; the adjective doesn't change any of that. however we define ourselves, we still create work with a purpose and meaning in mind and present this work to a particular audience. i think there's more value in understanding an audience and its responses to image (in subject, style, and form), and understanding how we, as artists, can best convey our messages to these audiences.

i would argue that we would be much better off freeing our artists to experiment than blugeoning them with scripture passages citing the "art is good" philosophy. we need to get out of the ideal that christian = happy and let our artists express the christian life in all its complexities.

but, i'll continue this topic later. the computer is needed.

19.03.2008

last night played out like a reality tv show. curation: impossible or something like that. several churches on the peninsula get together every year and put on a good friday service. this year, they decided to add a visual component, and they wanted to bring in poasis in a consultory role. it didn't shape out as such.

basically: the day before yesterday was the first real briefing i had on the event, details limited to "about 8 works." i came into the site at 7pm yesterday evening and, quite fortuantely, all the artwork was there. but, i had only two hours to put it all together.

i think the end result is a good show. i'll wait until it's all down to post my comments, just for fun and (mostly) because i have to leave now.

but quickly: it's the first time my work has been behind glass. it's strange, a glass pane and a locked display dividing me and my own work.

18.03.2008

last night i made an effort to get some form of printable portfolio ready for presentation. nothing fancy, just some shots better than those i post online. sadly, a cheap camera and bad to nil lighting in my studio etc. the good news: i did get a web-worthy shot of my revelation decoder ring. wee.

next time i try this, it'll be with my proper equipment. get some proper slides made and take prints and digital scans off those. once i have time, money, and motivation all together, i'll get out the equipment.

16.03.2008

forgot to mention: last post was lucky number 100. there should have been lots of fanfare and celebration with cake. but, i kind of missed the ball on that one, i guess.

in a few days i head to calagary for a visit. i should check out what the glenbow has on display. maybe swing by some of the other downtown galleries on a sort of research trip. sadly, most of the galleries i run across this side of the straight are filled with tourist art and various forms of kitsch. i'd like to get out of the entrapment of robert bateman prints and emily carr knock-offs and see what else is happening in the larger markets.

i sometimes wonder how much my work suffers/benefits by associations on/to the island. i don't have access to much in terms of the recent theories. everything comes by way of print magazines, art history texts, and the internet. i'm out of the loop when it comes to current exchanges. counter-point: i'm not exposed to a lot of the pretense the larger centres tend to hold. i'm sure there's a freshness that must be evident when seen with outside eyes.

i can use the boost of new ideas, to say the least. i find everything once again stagnating somewhere between disillusion and a real job. victoria's a small market; i have no connections or credentials to carry me elsewhere and i'm not sure my style is bound to get attention here. mind you, i keep pulling back and have yet to put out something i think is particularily worthy of excitement. i think i'm waiting for an encounter with an artwork that gets me excited again, like my first walk through the wynn collection in las vegas.

but... these days have bee na little rough on me lately. maybe i just need a change of scenery and a chance to plug into the art circle once again. i tend to feel a little lost and disconnected here of late.