Round Two!

In what seems to be an endless cycle of grant applications, I am on to round two. With the LMCC and BAC applications safely tucked away and in the review process, I attended a seminar at NYFA the other evening to learn more about their fiscal sponsorship program. This would be a great resource for me since with it I can tap into foundation grants regarding environment, social change, and community arts.

I got a phone call from LMCC the other day to let me know that I had forgotten to sign the front page of the grant - whoops! They were nice enough to let me sign it and fax it in. There was an awful lot of hullabaloo at the last minute before the deadline, so it seems fair. Although frequently with the size of applicants that these guys get they could easily just dump it for incomplete application.

A little bit of advice here, if you are applying for a program and that program offers an information seminar - I don't care how many you have attended or how much you think you know - go. Absolutely attend, you can get so much insight into the program and what they expect. We have some really amazing programs here in New York and they all offer informational seminars - what an abundant and informative resource.

Currently I am trying to get bids on design and printing for the outreach part of the project, as well as an estimate from the ad space agency which holds the rights to the bus shelters and bus sides. I have met again with the wonderful people at Solar One and they are really excited about putting together training for people within the community who can then go out and teach members of their own neighborhoods. So I have to start getting in touch with schools in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. One really great program that I have learned about is the "City as School" program. They "offer students a multitude of Learning Experiences that encompass the depth and breadth of New York City's businesses or resources." I heard that one project traced garbage in NYC. I would have loved this program - they have pretty high expectations of their students too, offering something that more closely resembles college studies (with term papers, portfolios, etc).

In other art news, I did make it over to Chelsea on friday - seems that painting is really popular this year. Even the one interesting installation - Matthew Ritchie at Andrea Rosen - was entirely based on paintings and was clearly executed by a 2-dimensionally based artist. I stumbled onto the work of Kwan-Young Chun whose work had been featured in Sculpture magazine in September. I had really liked the photos of the work, but it was less impressive in person. I missed the Jesse Bercowetz and Matt Bua show at Derek Eller which is unfortunate because not only did it look good, a friend of mine assisted on it.

I also got myself down to Dumbo for the Art Under the Bridge festivities. Always nice to drink a way too chocolate-y hot chocolate (is that possible?) from Jacques Torres, while looking at art. The most interesting work was probably the work in the rented Ryder trucks parked on water street. That and Mary Temple at Smack Mellon - I really love her trompe l'oiel paintings of light and shadow. They have such a serene sense of whimsy and mystery.

Making it all look SLICK

The grant applications are in, a lot of initial outreach has been done. At this point I am waiting for responses, setting up meetings and putting together a slick looking packet to present to people. That's kind of a fun part. I made a logo. And some letterhead. And I am working on the website. (Damn good thing I am so incredibly multi-talented).

I did promise a long time ago to post a project description. I finally have a broad NYC one (as opposed to the Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan specific ones required for the grants). So here it is:

Sea Change is a public art installation – a series of “markers” designating the high waterline predicted as a consequence of global warming - throughout all five New York City boroughs. This work will act as visual reminder of how our lives and those of our children and grandchildren will be affected by climate change.

New York City has almost 600 miles of coastline. World financial infrastructure, tourist attractions, transportation hubs, residential developments and municipal services are at risk of being drastically altered by climate change. Sea Change will trace the topographic contour line of ten feet above sea-level; areas below this line would be subject to frequent inundation from increased cycles of flooding and storm surge resulting from the elevated sea-levels associated with climate change.

The installation, three-foot high, water-filled illuminated markers will be fabricated with ecologically friendly materials. Etched onto the markers will be information on scenarios (2030, 2050 and 2100) during which significant and measurable change will occur in the environment. The information will include factors such as sea-level rise, increased flooding and storm-surge cycles. For example “year 2030: sea-level will be 3.5 inches to 9.8 inches above current heights; year 2090: annual flood heights could reach 3.9 feet to 10.5 feet.” Each progressive installation will consist of about 100 markers and will migrate along the line in intervals of two weeks. Between the markers, a blue chalk line will trace the future waterline.

A website will provide information regarding the project, tips for changing habits and links to additional resources. There will be a public awareness and outreach campaign produced in partnership with local environmental, park conservancy and community groups. This outreach will engage the community residents and workers in a dialogue about the future of their neighborhoods and will target tourists in NYC to indicate how actions, no matter where one lives, have an affect on the impact of global warming. The outreach and campaign will address the effects of global warming and generate ideas for changing habits to reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. The presence of the artwork and the information in the campaign will empower communities to affect their future and will be a catalyst to efforts for change.

By marking the high waterline, residents, workers and visitors to Lower Manhattan will understand how their habits at home will affect the landscape of New York. It provides the community an understanding of how climate change will directly affect their lives and the lives of future generations. Sea Change provides a sense of hope and gives people the knowledge and understanding to see how change in lifestyle and habits will have a direct impact on the shape of New York City.

Feel free to let me know if things are unclear or if there are grammatical mistakes, I am okay fixing this - if it was on the applications, I do not want to know about it at this point! (I am already worried that I should have allocated the money differently on the LMCC grant - and that will mess the whole application up).

The pieces included in the packet are:
description
timeline
images
budget
partners
map of nyc w/high waterline marked
press release
artist profile

Is there anything else I should include? I can tailor it to each recipient, but I wanted to make sure I had covered all of my bases. Is a business card overkill? The applications had me doing things like census data, community involvement, bios, resumes, statements, etc. etc.

I plan to send off some packets to my local representatives, as well as some green organizations. If anyone can think of someone who should really have this in their hands, let me know. Also if you can think of any other ways to get money (or know someone at Pollack Krasner, Jerome Foundation or MacArthur...)

By the numbers...

I was reading "Plan B 2.0 - Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble" while on the train the other day (it's when I get most of my work and thinking done). I came across the following paragraph:

In 2000, the World Bank published a map showing that a 1-meter rise in sea level would inundate half of Bangladesh's rice land. With a rise in sea level up to 1 meter forecast for this century, tens of millions of Bangladeshis would be forced to migrate. In a country with 142 million people - already one of the most densely populated on earth = this would be a traumatic experience.

I have a really hard time grasping big numbers. I think we all do. Unless you have looked at hundreds of thousands of any one object, its hard to fathom that number. How many of us have ever seen 142 million of anything.

I had read in the book a number of scenarios where millions of people would be forced to migrate for one reason or another. There is also a chart that lists different countries' populations (China: 1,316,000,000, India: 1,103,000,000, USA: 298,000,000) these numbers are equally hard to comprehend.

So I thought it would be interesting to draw maps with little circles representing the populations and/or migrations. (I was picturing this on the huge walls of the current Drawing Center Space). The first thing I wanted to do was draw a lot of circles to begin to grasp the volume. I was able to fill one page of my sketchbook with 2000 circles, which would mean that to represent 2 million people, (2,000,000) I would need 1000 sheets of circles. Then I started thinking, hmm, I can draw about 100 circles per minute. So to draw 2 million circles that would mean 20,000 minutes or 334 hours. That's 14 days of nothing (no sleep, eating or toilet) to draw ONLY 2 million. If I want to represent the almost 300 million of the US, that would take 2084 days, or 6 years! If I was going to do this as a "work project" than to represent just the US, drawing for 8 hours a day would take more than 17 years to draw the circles.

Think about it.

Things continue...

You might imagine that with all the crazy of getting the grant applications completed, studio work might fall off. Well you would be wrong!

I decided that the same weekend I was finishing the apps, that I desperately needed to photograph the four drawings from the Soma series, and a few of the Nucleation series. Along with all of that, I will be updating my website this weekend, I have some images from the maquette for the SuperFun(d) show that my friend Wendy Testu is putting together, the Sea Change images and those I just photo'd this weekend.

I am looking forward to getting back to some more of the Soma and Nucleation series, also hoping to put together a maquette of a tree root project I want to do.

Here's the weird thing, perhaps not surprising though, I have not been to any gallery shows at all in ages. Part due to all this work, and part due to the new work schedule. Which I am going to have to address at the end of October. That of course means I will have missed some great shows, including Andrew Schoultz at Jonathan Levine, Christian Maychack at Jeff Bailey, Annabel Daou at Josee Bienvenue, Rebecca Morales at BravinLee, Nicola Lopez at Caren Golden, Stefano Arienti at Morgan Lehman, Janice Caswell at Schroeder Romero, Michelle Forsyth at Hogar Collection, Augusto Arbizo at Roebling Hall (Chelsea)...
Hmmm, maybe I should find some time to go this weekend.

I have continued making connections and keeping Sea Change alive. I now have been talking to the Sierra Club, who just did a project in SF called futuresea.org which taped the sea level predicted if the greenland ice sheet melts. I also am hoping to work with Time's Up to arrange a bike tour of the route.

Anyone else have some interesting projects in the works out there?

Also, if you are on my email list, expect to get one of my very infrequent updates this weekend.

Technical troubles and techno parties

Or something like that. Don't expect a lot of coherence from me, I am really knackered!

Yesterday I got an email from LMCC saying "[we are] experiencing serious technicaldifficulties with our online application, which we've been working to fix for a few days without positive result."
AUUUUGGGGHHHH! No, I didn't lose any information that I had input. And while I had set up an account (and experienced some technical difficulties myself) I had been crafting everything in a word doc first. What this does mean though is that I now have to be concerned with formating and printing and creating work samples with labels etc. etc. It just blows. The real kicker is that things are still dues on Monday (in office), although they offered an extended deadline to Wednesday if you did create an online account. Kinda think everyone should get an extension no matter what. Well I will be doing a lot of printing this weekend, guess I should get some new printer cartridges... and some decent paper...and new labels... (yeh I do have most of these things on hand, its just hard to change course so late in the process. And yes, I am whining....

I also had a great meeting with Chris from Solar One who was really supportive and excited about the project. He is putting me in touch with a ton of great resources for the fabrication, outreach and possible funding. I have Ben Jervey to thank for that. I also got to meet him at the Good Magazine launch party. Which was in and of itself quite a thing. Loads and loads of people (including Al Gore) in the funky Emergency Arts space.

Okay, enough of all that, off to work on the applications, will update with more information soon (probably this weekend while everything is printing out...)

Wish me luck!!

Careening into the deadline

The deadlines for the grants are coming up early next week. My plan is to get both of them out of my hands (one via mail, one via web) on Friday of this week. That way I can spend the weekend in a sort of stupor. That and I can eagerly get back to doing some studio work. (Something very manual that doesn't require a lot of brain activity).

I spent last Saturday running around with a very suspicious looking tube and a jug of water and l.e.d. flashlight. It got me some strange looks, and some gorgeous photos. I also have completed the first draft of the applications (there are actually three different applications), and hope to get those off for review this afternoon. I also got my images off to the awesome guys at GammaTech, where they turn around slides from digital images in lightning fast speed. Will have the slides in my hands by tonight.

I continued the outreach, emailing notes to Two Trees Developers, Salt Marsh Alliance, Battery Park Conservancy, Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, Neighborhood Open Space Coalition among others. Haven't heard from any of them. On a bit of a whim, I emailed Ben Jervey - the guy who wrote Big Green Apple (my guidebook for living in the city), and he forwarded my information on to Solar One! What a great guy! I have a meeting with them on Thursday and hope to get them on board in any way they might be interested.

I also contacted the Public Art Coordinator at NYC Parks, who was very nice and responded right away with the information that since my installation would be under 2 weeks, I have to apply for a special event permit and that goes through the borough offices. I will have to wait and apply for those when I have a timeline.

Finally, have applied for general liability insurance so that I can get a quote back on that.

Will post the project descriptions next (one for Lower Manhattan and one for Brooklyn).

Links coming soon, gotta go to work!

I think may be losing my mind - or maybe it is just full.
I got the proposal out for a first sound of edits and have gotten back some great feedback and tips. I also contacted a couple of brooklyn organizations (brooklyn center for urban ecology and the marine park salt marsh learning center) and developers (two trees in dumbo and x in williamsburg). I got a quote on the solar powered l.e.d's - too expensive. I have not heard back from fabricators, but did put together a mock piece to photograph for some digital mock ups. Once that is done I can contact the parks department and submit as well as find out about the insurance. I have started writing the parts of the application that deal with location and audience.
Anyone want to help? I could use a lighting expert and someone familiar with fabrication and installation of this kind of thing!
I think this is invading other parts of my life, my head is so full of and busy thinking about the project that i am getting scattered and forgetful. Probably doesn't help that the cat and dog are both sick (maybe allergic to each other?!?) and there are other unexpected things happening to make me feel a bit insane...

A little more background information on the project (or how I got from there to here)

I can't even remember at this point how I came up with the idea, but I remember a while back seeing maps (and even a 3d animation) of the potential flooding of NYC as an affect of global warning. It struck me as pretty powerful information. I also have been interested in bringing my artistic practices and environmentalism together (particularly given the political climate and the actual climate).

The first idea was actually the rooftop greening project, but I knew that was a much bigger undertaking, so when the Sea Change project came to me I decided to pursue that first. The original vision of the idea was for a more complicated semi-permanent iceberg type markers around the city. Then it went to a poster campaign in bus shelters and on walls. Then it morphed, merged and changed into it's current incarnation. I did a good amount (believe me there will be a lot more) of research, and read some papers (Hot Nights in the City, and Sea Level Rise in New York City) to get an idea of just what we were talking about. Then I started researching grant opportunities and resources for information regarding public art...

And I think that pretty much brings us up to speed.

A Community Art Project: From Idea to Reality

No, the post below isn't real (will be one day though!), it's just a tool I use for thinking and writing about my work or a specific project. By writing a "newspaper report " I am forced to do a couple of things which are useful: 1) describe what the work looks like 2) explain the concept of the work in plain English 3) come up with key words and phrases about the project which are catchy. In doing these exercises (which may vary in their level of success) I can develop an objective description of the work.So why did I post that and why am I telling you this?I am deep in the process of making the work "A Sea Change" a reality, and the process can be very involved and time consuming, but also maybe interesting. Given that and the crazy schedule I have, random thoughts on art and going to galleries doesn't really look possible, so instead I thought I would take you along for the magic carpet ride that is community art.Here's what I have done so far:

• first draft of a project proposal (I will post it shortly)
• attended the seminar for Brooklyn Arts Council grants
• met with a BAC representative (we spent an hour and a half reviewing the proposal and budget)
• met with Creative Time representatives through their Open Door program - a question asking opportunity
• identified a few community/environmental groups as potential partners (need more if anyone has any suggestions)
• preliminary quotes on fabrication
• initial research on lighting options
• mapping of Brooklyn topo line
• initial background research

And here's what is coming up this week:

• LMCC seminar
• initial contact letter to orgs, gather census data for neighborhoods
• send proposal to editors (friends good at writing)
• new estimate for fabrication with recycled materials
• initial draft of BAC application
• select images for use in proposal
• build mock up for photographing.

Sounds easy right?

Eve S. Mosher, Greening the City of New York, One Artwork at a Time

Ms Mosher recently completed her first public artwork, a sea change, in which she marked the line of global warming storm surge with a delicate line of light in Brooklyn parks and along streets in such diverse waterfront neighborhoods as Greenpoint, Dumbo, Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island. Her continuing work will have her mapping out the storm surge line along the waterfront of Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx.

Her goal for the project was to bring global warming into the real world for New Yorkers. Mosher says, "New York, with it's extensive coastline is particularly at risk for the affects of global warming - the rise in sea level, coastal erosion, salt marsh depletion, and the increase in the drought-flood cycle." Ms. Mosher was also concerned about being a "harbinger of doom without offering solutions." To offer those solutions, she teamed up with local environmental organizations to develop a public awareness campaign which consisted of a website as well as posters and workshops around Brooklyn. The campaign promoted cheap and easy ways for New Yorkers to have a positive affect on global warming which included simple tips like using compact fluorescent light bulbs, buying local produce and reducing car trips.

Ms. Mosher already has plans for her next project, which she says is an urban take on an infamous earth work in which 10,000 trees were planted in Finland. Ms. Mosher plans to have New York residents greening their rooftops. She says these oases provide not just a wonderful social space (she calls it "the stoop for the 21st century"), but has a measurable affect on the "heat island" affect in New York.

Edgy Art, Sea Change and Adoption

So I finally got through 4 of the large scale drawings (the soma series). I did a bunch of sample layerings (the drawings are 8'x4' sheets of yellow tracing paper with patterns drawn on them, they are then layered three thick), to test different materials for the adhesive. I finally went with a combination of mod podge paper, glossy and matte. I am still putting on more layers of the glossy to build up the outer surface of the drawings, but that should just take a couple of days to complete. I had scheduled to have them and about 6 of the crystalline series photo'd a couple of weekends ago, and I was busting my bum (and my arms) to get them all finished in time for the photo shoot, then my photog threw out his back (poor guy!) so the photo shoot is indefinitely postponed.

In other news I was asked by a gallerist out in California to send out some works for her to use in the Sunset Magazine "Idea House." Its this house that they build every year that includes interesting or innovative design ideas. (The outdoor house is pretty cool). This years house was designed in conjunction with Popular Science Magazine and is a "house of innovation". The gallerist asked me to send out 'fragile' 'a matter of time' and the 'eccentricites' series of drawings. Unfortunately the installations were apparently too 'edgy' (for a house of innovation?), but the drawings are up in the house, and they are pretty tech looking (ink on film, plexi sandwich frames with exposed hardware). 'fragile' though is currently living in the Design Within Reach studio in Palo Alto for now though. So if you are out on the West Coast, or visiting the west coast and feel like an art diversion, go check it out. (The Sunset House opens September 8).
I have also been learning an awful lot about the grant application process. I have previously applied for grants that were pretty individual (even though some were project based they were studio based work). I have started along the process of a public art proposal (the first of two I have in my head right now). Here's the project descriptions (not final descriptions, which will be better):

Project 1: Sea Change
A sculptural installation which demarcates the high water line that will occur in the years 2050 and 2080 due to global warming, also shows levels of storm surges due to a category 2 storm hitting NYC. This project will occur in conjunction with a public awareness campaign regarding practical tips to improve personal habits which affect global warming.

Project 2: 10,000 Trees Redux (working title)
Based on the Agnes Denes 10,000 trees project which was 'dedicated to benefit future generations with a meaningful legacy.' The redux is an effort to green roofs in the NYC area. The greening of roofs provides a
measurable impact on the 'heat island' affect of the dense urban environment. It also creates unique social spaces which increase neighborly communities.
Both of these projects have interesting environmental and social implications which I will delve into further as the projects develop. Right now I am combing through the different reports on the sea level rise in the NYC region and northeast. There are so many implications with the rise in sea level - storm surge, water supply, seasonal changes, impact on wetlands, coastal erosion... My hope though is to not just bring bad news, but to bring awareness and ways for people to make changes (reasonable) in their daily lives that could have a positive impact on the global warming trends. I also want to provide them and their politicians with an understanding of important infrastructure issues that need to be addressed (can you imagine if ALL of the tunnels - subway, train and car - flooded?)

My plan is to find one or more environmental or community groups with whom to partner to bring this project to fruition. (That in conjunction with the grant applications for the public and community arts grants). If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know, its a daunting task!

I feel fortunate to have come upon two programs which may prove invaluable in this process. The first is the grant application process for the re-grants at Brooklyn Arts Council. They provide a super detailed level of information in their application packet and hold appointments for artists to ask questions. There application should help making filling out others a lot easier! The second program which is really really cool for someone just starting out in the public arts sector is the Creative Time Open Door program. They invite artists to come in and meet with key people for 20 minutes to ask any questions at all which you might have regarding the making and showing of public art. Then they tell you feel free to email if you have further questions. My meeting was helpful in understanding about temporary installations. I plan to follow up with questions about working with the park systems, and installing on city streets...
In the midst of all of this I received a boost of sorts. I have been watching the goings on over at the Fine Art Adoption Network, and have applied for a couple of items. The other day I happened upon a couple of great drawings by Nick Holliday. I applied for one of them, and HURRAY! I was chosen as the lucky adopter. Below is an image of the piece, and you can read some of the adoption story here. If you love art, and think you could provide a nuturing environment for some in your home, make sure to check out the Fine Art Adoption Network for yourself.
Those are the updates such as they are. I am looking forward to the gallery season kicking off again, even though I missed some good shows over the summer. Don't expect to see me on opening night, but I will let you know
what I find when the crowds clear out.

Pass the kool-aid!

So I have put in my first 3 weeks (and then some!) at the new job, and have decided to share what I am doing. I made this decision based on a couple of things: 1) I'm not that important there (no decision making power, no influence) 2) it's a fascinating and wonderful program that deserves lots of attention, and 3) their own credo that all of this valuable information should be shared.

So as you can see from #2 I clearly drank some of that delicious kool-aid.
The job I took is that of assistant in the Professional Development Program at Creative Capital. It is a part time low glamour, low wage position. There may be some confusion about why someone with such clear and evident capabilities would take a position like this (the people hiring me were not afraid to ask). Easy, I want a part time job doing something I care about, in an environment that is creative and flexible where I can learn things. One of the first projects I was involved in was preparing for, and then attending the yearly retreatfor the grantees.Here's how the program works: a grant is awarded for a project proposal (all initial funds are the same). After that the artist services kicks in. This includes the retreat, plus additional guidance and opportunities for the artist. The artist can apply for a variety of follow up grants to take advantage of opportunities which ensure the success of the project. The Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times describe it as a 'venture capital model,' and New York Magazine describes it as a 'bohemian boot camp.'

The retreat consists of 2 days of intense professional development, time to meet and network with the other grantees and alumni grantees, and 2 days of panels presented by an array of venues, funders, and others.The professional development program has itself spun off into providing weekend workshops to artists around the country. Now for a little more specifically about the pdp... This program provides informative discussions, practices and one on one consultations which help develop better professional practices-like strategic planning, marketing, time management, fiscal management, pr, writing and talking about your work, budgeting, fundraising. All the things that can help an artist run their 'business' more successfully.

Most of it is not a revelation to anyone with some amount of business acumen, but it does reinforce the need to apply this knowledge to our art practices. Hire assistants, hire fundraisers, one managers, pr help, etc. Sure, it's hard to hire someone when you aren't making any money, but it is the old business adage that you have to invest so grow.The bottom line is that they are breaking down the stereotype of the poor starving artist working alone in a garret. (Which I never bought into anyway- although I would like a garret).
Well I think you get the gist of this whole thing. It's a great program (Creative Capital as a whole, and the Professional Development Program), but I won't go on about it. I will follow with more hints and helpful information that you can apply to your practice, but for now its back to work.

Expect to see new images of the large 'soma' series soon, I have finished 4 of them and a handful of the crystalline drawing series which I am handing over to be photographed. More about art making later...

All photos courtesy of Phototake - a scientific and medical stock photography site. Images are (from top to bottom): Juvenille Nuerons, Marine Diatoms, Nuerons, Colon Cancer and Multipolar Nuerons.

Why I make art

I don't do it to get rich and famous (although that would be nice), I don't do it for egotistical reasons (although that could be argued). I do it because I can't imagine doing anything else with my time. I do it in the hopes of affecting someone (however small that affect might be).

I did art as a kid, and was never much praised for it - at least that's how I remember it, although a few instances stand out as different from that perception. As kids we were required to take art classes in school (I don't think that is the case any longer - shame on the school system). I seem to recall that I didn't get much in the way of praise in those classes. However, I did love doing bread doll Christmas ornaments. I also won a couple of awards, one for a ceramic tile with a horse (that was an award from the art show at the Houston Rodeo - those from Texas know what I mean). The other was actually a science fair award for a book on koala bears, with drawings and a small sculptured koala bear. So maybe, rooted deeply in there is some approval of sculptural endeavors.

I studied architecture in undergrad (the acceptable form of sculpture?) and although I loved the fuzzy design courses, the engineering stuff - especially the structural math classes - were some mind twisters. My fourth year I decided I didn't want to waste away spending years drafting strip malls. So I talked to my advisor and talked him into letting me finish off with 'independent study.' I took early (I mean early) computer graphics courses, and a lot of photography classes.

After school I went on to work with a wonderful couple who had a business doing on screen presentations for a lot of tech-y companies. We installed some pretty mind-blowing stuff (for the time) for some big computer conferences. During this job I got this weird itch to make art - the CG stuff just wasn't 'real' enough for me, it didn't exist in the three dimensional world. So I did some painting, and one day picked up some clay at the art store. I was hooked. The first time I did a little sculpture (I am really not going to tell you what it was) I feel in love with the medium of sculpture.

A few months later I realized (more like being struck by a bolt of lightening) that I wanted to do sculpture. I figured out that I could apply to grad schools with my photo portfolio and then switch to sculpture over time. So that's what I did. And I have never really looked back.

So that's how I got here. Next time we will talk more about where here is.

Warning!

I have taken on a new job, a part time gig, which I start on Wednesday. I want to wait and blog about it after I have notified them that I would be doing so. I might do it as an anonymous thing (like not say what the org is), will have to think about it. I can tell you that it is a wonderful arts organization here in NYC, and I will be working with these two great and strong women who are doing some wonderful things to help artists succeed. (Why are there soooo many women in arts administration positions given the dearth of women artists making money and being shown?)

I have also been making some promises and sticking to them. One of the promises is a certain amount of studio time each week. I am currently dividing the time between the soma series of large scale drawings and the crystalline series (both working titles). The soma series is that large series of layered pieces I have been talking about for a while. Well I got three of them drawn and am on the first layer of the fourth drawing. I have also done a bunch of samples of paste ups (like 10 different mixtures) and finally found that the Plaid Mod Podge for paper works best. I will use the matte for the gluing, and then build up a multi layer external coat with the gloss. I really wanted to use the gel medium, but it eats away the graphite, and I can't stand the idea of having to spray an 8'x4' drawing of 3 layers with fixative in the tiny little studio space. I also sold the first of the crystalline series at the NurtureArt gala. Apparantly the buyer didn't want to share their information with me, which I think is, well, sad. So if you bought it, let me know! I am doing more, more, more of those!

Y'all may or may not be glad to hear that my new promises include blogging more! You are going to get to learn a lot more about what I am doing, and why (yikes!) over the next few weeks. So I won't spoil it by telling you too much just yet. Besides, I need to come up with some pictures to include since otherwise it will get kind of boring.

Okay, consider yourself warned.

Living under a microscope

I went to see the Eva Hesse show at the Drawing Center on Friday. It is a fascinating show which offers a unique (but not so rare) look "behind the scenes" of the artwork (as it were). The show includes a number of sketchbooks and sketches of sculptural works. It even includes some sample sculptural works (experiments that she was doing with different materials and forms). Finally, there were many drawings that were part of larger series or layouts for other drawings.

I mentioned to my friend that how we, as contemporary artists are constantly aware of the potential of really anything we create maybe going on view some day. (Yes there is a lot of maybe and potentially in that statement). Anytime a contemporary artist is sketching, drawing, testing, etc, there is a tinge of someone looking over your shoulder. I wonder how this affects the output? I don't consciously think about it, but having seen so many retrospectives of artists in the not so distant past - Eva Hesse, Diane Arbus - and their sketchbooks, journals, tests on display, are resonating subconsciously. There's no longer a safe place out of site of peering eyes where freedom reigns.

Yummy!

Yummy!
Just popped into the Nurture Art gala sale (shh, don't tell-the preview is tonight, and the open reception follows). There is some GREAT work there, drop everything and in buy art!

Buy My Art!

I've been pretty well holed up in the studio, working on the drawing series since I want to have it finished by the end of June. I was playing with different layer bonding techniques (finally decided on Mod Podge for paper), by making small samples of the triple layers of the pieces. I also decided I wanted to donate a piece to the Nurture Art gala, and wanted to send something new. So I spent countless hours drawing and cutting and layering.

All the artworks at the gala are priced at $150, and that for my work, and many others, is a steal! Plus it benefits a great organization that provides opportunities for artists, curators and educators.

The event is tonight, June 12 at Cue Art Foundation in Chelsea. For more information... Go out and see the art and buy the art. Plus I won't be able to attend since we are getting our new puppy tonight!

I did get out and see a little bit in the art world over the weekend. Artist's Space has an interesting show on location and how our urban environment defines our identity. Really beautiful work by Jihyun Park at Art in General, I just hope they burn the thing (upside down) at the end of the show because that would be really fascinating. Also popped over to Kentler International Drawing Space for a curators talk - which reminded me that artists should be seen and not heard. Dropped in on a few shows in Williamsburg also, wanted to see the KBP show, but didn't get there. Some really engulfing work at Pierogi right now by Reed Anderson.

Sorry the post is soooo short, I have been really busy lately and even have to run now, will be around more over the next couple of days so maybe I will have some things to say while the puppy is napping.

Waay Off Topic (Or, Just South of the Tropic)

G-pup and I just got back from a long overdue vacation to Puerto Rico. It was a last minute decision, and we realized that we lived close enough to the Caribbean to be there in less than 4 hours (unless there are delays at JFK - which there were). So we looked around to see where we might go. We usually don't do "resort" vacations, we are more likely to go to either an urban location for a cultural/foodie vacation, or go rough with an eco/camping kind of thing. So this whole pamper resort thing seemed like a fun change. We decided on Puerto Rico because I had always wanted to see it (thanks to the recommendations of many PR friends) and Gavin was really into visiting Arecibo (you know the HUGE radio telescope in Goldfinger and Contact).

We flew down last week and just got back. It was a brilliant trip. We mostly avoided the tourist scourge of sunburn, but the midgies liked us an awful lot. Puerto Rico is a really fascinating place. I have been lucky enough to travel to other islands and PR is really nothing like the Caribbean (not that many of the islands are much like the other islands down there considering the myriad of European influences on the islands). It is a very urban place that is undergoing rapid development (too much really for the ecological balance). It has a unique feel and look. It also has a unique enough eco system to support a rain forest, dry forest, 3 of the 5 biobays in the world, and PR specific species - including singing Coqui frogs (there are Coqui elsewhere, but they don't sing) the Puerto Rican Parrot (only about 200 left).

I would have loved to have had more time to explore Puerto Rico - including the interior, and other beach cities like Rincon and Ponce. As it is we did pretty well with getting into a car (y'all are crazy drivers!) and getting over to Arecibo, spending an afternoon in Old San Juan and watching the kite flying at El Morro. We also got to hike in the rain (no surprise) in El Yunque (the rainforest gets over 100 billion gallons of rain a year).We took an insane kayak trip through a mangrove channel in the pitch black to get to a bioluminescent bay (Laguna Grande). It was mostly insane because of all the inexperienced kayakers, but it was a fascinating and surreal trip anyway. It looked like someone had applied computer enhanced imaging to make us glow in the water.

We also did the obligatory catamaran sail and snorkel out to Cayo Lobos.

Puerto Rico is an island of many colors and cultures all merging together on an island "associated" by the US. The people we met were wonderful - full of community and openness. They loved sharing their unique island. I had also always heard that PR was really into supporting its artistic community, and it certainly shows. There are many fascinating contemporary and traditional public sculptures. The graf there is also really stunning (sorry no pics - we were speeding by in a car).

If you are the kind of person looking for a "typical" island get away - this may not be the place for you, but if you want something that feels more "real" (that's the only way I can come up with to describe it) Puerto Rico is a great place for a trip away. (Next time we'll get over to Vieques and Culebra too).

The Whi Bi and better things

My friend who loves food and art was in town visiting this past weekend. She planned the trip a while back and so I was waiting to go see the Whitney Biennial when she was in town. (Being from the lover/collector/seller side of the art world I thought she would provide a good sounding board).

We found our way up to the Whitney in the middle of big thunderstorms that were blowing through the city. That should have been a portent... As we were waiting for the elevator I jokingly said, "What are the chances that this is worse than I am expecting?" I was kidding. Really I was! I thought well, it will be not as bad or just as bad, but there is no way - no way - that it can be worse...

Wanna bet?

It is miles beyond worse than I expected. Even the most excoriating reviews couldn't voice all that is wrong with it, even when it is written in three different parts. It just seems hard to put into words all that is wrong with it. I won't do a deluge of repeating what has already been so eloquently said, my take away was 'a jumble of half formed ideas.' (And even then most of those weren't even well crafted!)

Just so you know I didn't just make all this up without having seen the show, there were a couple of artists who - given more room - stand out...

Jennie Smith - delicate and fanciful drawings of creatures (some recognizable, more that are strange amalgams or fantasies) filled with life and energy as they progress across or up the paper.

Florian Maier Achen - large scale chromogenic prints which are manipulated (colorwise). These contemporary landscape photos create a vertiginous sense of scale and depth.

Jordan Wolfson - (many critics didn't like this) the video of the signing of the speech from Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. (Text of the speech). Its a beautiful and emotional speech, which when rendered in sign language by a man whose head is cut off from the viewer, becomes an empty promise (except to the select audience that can read the rapid fire signing). It is a plaintive and silent cry.

Robert Pruitt - his carefully rendered drawings are a powerful commentary on race and social politics.

And that's it. We saw other shows in Chelsea the following day which are far more interesting to comment on, so I will --

I knew I could get some sure fire hits at two of my favorite galleries (Morgan Lehman and Roebling Hall), and while we did visit others along the way, these two did not disappoint!

Morgan Lehman was showing the obsessive (you know I like that!) works of John Salvest, which include a large wall installation of business cards which spells out "Remember Me," a first aid kit filled with stacks of pills laid out to form the American flag, and a specimen box of 70 pieces of chewed gum, sorted into little magnifying boxes. I found the work, intriguing and clever, it has the strange aura of collecting the unwanted (and makes me think of the fabled old woman in an apartment with huge piles of books, newspapers and trinkets which fill the space), and comes across also as a fidgeting distraction. By focusing on the mundane, he allows himself to ignore greater issues or interactions.

We stopped by to see the Joe Fig show at Plus Ultra that I had already seen, and of course popped into Schroeder Romero to see the group show Double Take - where I was allowed to leaf through Wendy Small's fantastic photograms of ethereal and pulsatingly colorful dream worlds created by condoms. (Which, if you missed my birthday - and clearly you did - you could still pick one of these up for me, since they are being offered at an incredibly good price).

The final stop was the incredibly powerful work of Deborah Grant at Roebling Hall. Ms. Grant is showing "paintings" which are essentially a set of massively detailed ink drawings executed on wood that is cut out in the shape of images from Guernica (the title of the show, "A Gin Cure" is an anagram). The work references all of the aspects of ones life - political, social, religious, - and the works come across as personal and accessible. There is humor, irony, anger and beauty contained within the tiny drawings which cover every inch of the wood pieces. (The picture at the top of the post is from the current show). As my friend remarked after looking at the work "Why isn't this in the Biennial?"

Ms. Grants work (and the show itself) encompassed all of the things that were missing from the Whi Bi - obsessively well crafted, finely honed, politically and socially important, art historically referential, but in an accessible way, and presented in a powerful and enigmatic presentation which allowed the work to really come through in all of its strength.

I just want to state again that the Whi Bi has a great opportunity to return to its roots, to forget about the overarching curatorial voice and really survey the work being done by American artists. Undoubtedly with that kind of survey there will be themes and schools which emerge more, well, naturally. This would provide a far more interesting view of the "American" point of view and the evolution of art movements.

Sex sells... even in abstract art

Last night I attended CUE Art Foundation's Meeting Artists' Needs VIII. Becoming an Entrepreneur: Marketing Tips for Artists, presented by John Zinsser, who co-founded of the Journal of Contemporary Art, has had solo exhibitions at Stark Gallery (NYC), Thomas Solomon'’s Garage (L.A.) and Galerie Von Lintel (Munich), amongst others. (blurb from CUE site).


Let me first explain my point of view when attending these types of lectures/workshops. I tend to be pretty well informed about most of the professional practices of the arts (marketing, contracts, residencies, grants,opportunities, etc), so I usually attend these lectures expecting to A) reconfirm what I already know B) maybe pick up a few gems of knowledge that might enhance what I already know. Mostly I have pretty low expectations in gaining any real insights. (But am still thankful that they are organized and presented for artists who don't know a lot of this already).

Last night, upon taking a seat each attendee found two sheets of paper. One was a standard survey asking the attendee for feedback on the event. The second was a list, in large typeface of "25 Marketing Tips for Artists, by John Zinsser." Reading through the list produced lots of eye rolls, groans and feelings of annoyance (you'll see why as you read the list).

Here's the interesting part though, as uncharitable as I was feeling towards Mr. Zinsser and his list, he managed to mostly win me over. His extemporaneous presentation was clever, witty and filled with nice little gems of information. Some of the information is a little dated for an artist starting out now (they seem to have worked in the past, but may not anymore), but most of it is spot on good advice for 2006 and beyond. And despite the woman next to me who snoozed through most of the presentation, I found most of what he had to say engaging and presented in a knowledgeable way - although not without some irony. Without further ado, the list (with paraphrases of what Mr. Zinsser discussed in blue; my comments in red):

1. Be Yourself.
This one is pretty self explanatory. Its why you become an artist.
2. Don't be yourself.
Why not reinvent your public persona. Design your own fictional character to become.
3. Go to openings.
Ugh. Can think of a lot of yucky things I would rather do, but it is a good opportunity to meet other artists and talk to artists' whose work you admire (Mr. Zinsser's point). My own advice, don't be an opening whore, but do find artists and/or galleries you want to support and do go to their openings, and you know, show your support.
4. Print a business card.
Duh, this is such a no brainer and so easy to do. (If you don't know how, get in touch with me and I will help). Zinsser talked about fashioning it after an old style calling card. Just your name imprinted on a card. Then you write the info you want to share on the card (which is good if you move a lot). I like this idea a lot. Currently I have the 'collectors series' which has a different image of my work on each one, but I am liking the name only thing, has some snob appeal which I greatly appreciate.
5. Choose a "uniform."
Zinsser wanted to point out that having a recognizable 'look' is only a benefit.
6. Meet other artists.
He's talking about a peer group here. Maybe its a group with whom you share styles, so that you develop a movement (hello all my synthetic naturalist friends!), or a group with whom you can learn, grow, bitch and moan.
7. Befriend mentors.
Find elder more experience artists/educators from whom you can learn and grow.
8. Work for an artist.
You can learn skills, meet people and if the artist you work for is generous hearted, maybe make some inroads.
9. Work for a gallery.
Zinsser was asserting that this was a good way to understand and get involved in the gallery aesthetic. Unfortunately more and more (as I have heard from people I know) working in a gallery can be little use, and sometimes even work against you. You get pegged as the person who works in the gallery and are never taken seriously as an artist.
10. Review shows for magazines.
Although there may be those who disagree, I have to agree with Zinsser. Not only do you get to see shows, meet gallerists and artists, it improves your ability to speak about art.
12. Organize shows using alternative venues.
How many times have I told y'all to do this??? Oh, once or twice.
13. Make posters for streets.
Yeh its illegal, but I bet you do a lot that's illegal and don't think twice about it (speeding? double parking?) It is an interesting way to put work out there. I reserve it for my street specific work, but there's no reason not to do it for any type of art work. And hey, you could cover up some of the repulsive advertising that is out there on the walls already.
14. Write letters.
Mr. Zinsser points out that A) artists aren't rockstars, they are only famous in our little world. So, why not get in touch with one. And if you want to stand out, then write a letter! It's such a shocking thing to do that you will be noticed. Ex-Seattle Dad wrote a letter to Eric Fischl and sent slides and he got back this mostly prosaic, but also helpful review of his work. I think that is great! Now, who to stalk...
15. E-mail people.
But make it personal, mass emails may be somewhat helpful in promoting your work, but personalized ones will get people to respond.
16. Blog.
Duh. It keeps you thinking about your work and others, and gets feedback (sometimes nice, sometimes nasty, but always entertaining). Bet as soon as he found out I was a blogger he could guess this was coming. He brought up the blog painternyc.blogspot.com.
17. Create a website.
Why would you not.
18. Make compelling work.
Yeh, I wondered why this wasn't number one. And Zinsser argues it quite well and unfortunately, I am afraid he may be true. Compelling work is great and all that, but it doesn't guarantee you success.
19. Say something outlandish.
20. Say something scandalous.
21. Create scandal.
All of these are about being noticed and memorable.
22. Sex sells.
Even in abstract art where Mr. Zinsser claims (yes, tongue in cheek) "the sublimated libido enters the material."
23. Believe the market.
The art that sells is the art that sells, whether you are making that kind of art or not. Mr. Zinsser doesn't think there will be a crash in the market because "for the wafer thin level of the super rich, art is the only thing with which they can define themselves and their money."
24. Don't be bitter.
I so agree with Mr. Zinsser on this (and I know JT does too). Yeh, you may not be young enough, male enough, white enough, urban enough, or whatever. Who cares - you are making art! That is so so cool in and of itself. There are so many people who never ever figure out what they really love. If you are pursuing this, and have given up things for it (money, comfort, food, free time), then you are passionate about something and doing something you love. There is an amazing freedom in that. So really there is no reason at all to be bitter. Ever. Period. (and my rants are not veiled bitterness - really!)
25. Let fate be.
You cannot force things to happen they will happen as and when they do.

There were lots of bon mots in the conversation, which I wish I had noted. One had something to do with being obsessive compulsive (I am, are you?) and how as an artist "you spend a little too much time with yourself and you become compulsive, paranoid..."

There was also an interesting argument posed by a Russian artist in the audience, unfortunately I couldn't understand much of what she was saying, but she seemed to be trying to argue that 'real artists' don't do most of the things on the list. Zinsser roundly disagreed, as I would too.

It was a fun evening, one of the Brooklyn College artists was behind me telling their ongoing tale, I wish I had a chance to talk to her but she left before I did.

I also met Sky's friend Tom, who is having an open studio at PS 122 this weekend. Go see it.

Otherwise, come on out to Clinton Hill to see the big Open Studios event happening out here this weekend.

And a word of warning, I am going to the Biennial tomorrow. Which means you will have to be gentle with me over the next few days as I absorb it all...(aren't y'all impressed I put it off for so long?)

If I had a way to contact Zinsser (I don't) I would ask him for additional comments or clarifications to ensure he and his point of view are well represented.

The images have absolutely nothing to do with the content of this posting. They are my work, and I just thought a visual break in all this text would be nice.