1/29/08

teaching art-seeing art-talking art

it has been a wild few days. lots going on and i got myself sick. so i am lying in bed without the energy to make any substantial posts. here is a very brief update: monday, i started teaching photography at Ulster County Community College. It seems like a great group of students and i am very excited. it is an interesting class- it is technically Photo 1 but they have gotten rid of their darkroom so it is now conducted as a digital class. i really want to find a balance between offering photoshop lessons and teaching them about photo history-composition-camera techniques. anyone who has taught this kind of class- please let me know. would love to hear about other experiences.
on tuesday i went to nyc to attend my first CPW Advisory Board meeting. lots of photo heavy weights there. it was pretty impressive to be in a room with some of new york's art world's finest. overall, good meeting. lots of effective advice.
i cheked out some art while i was down there. Dawoud Bey's show Class Pictures at Aperture Gallery was very impressive.
He is coming to CPW this summer as a workshop instructor. I could not be more excited. The show is beautiful- I suggest checking it out. You will be able to sign up for his workshop in April. I will keep you posted.
I have to get some rest and of course, watch the Lost premiere tonight. I will check back in when I am healthier.

1/28/08

The Little Yellowbird

my wonderful friend Joetta Maue shared this embroidery piece she made on her blog the other day. She is working tirelessly on her MFA thesis project at UMass Amherst (my alum!) I have to say- I was blown away by this piece. All the work I saw Joetta produce in the 2 years we shared a studio was amazing- and this is no less. Her work expresses a unique and contemporary perspective of the limitations of domesticity coupled with its desirable and beautiful attributes. This image for example- she is caught in a moment- in her head- almost frozen- but...look how inviting the location is (soft bed, gorgous robe...) beautiful & complex:


Joetta gives the unexpected moments in her life center stage. Her life is the art that she produces. It comes from her home, her partner, her friends and everything and one else that surrounds her. It is her diary. Her thesis show is in April/May- I will post the info here at some point.

1/27/08

My Sunday Local Artist Ramble


another sunday...and in the shadow of woodstock's imfamous Levon Helms...another local artist ramble from the hills...

today I will be highlighting the work of Patti Gibbons who lives and works in Kingston, NY and grew up in Woodstock. She is wildly creative and most definitely one of the busiest women I know. She is an active studio artist, full time teacher and serious blog contributor (i think she has 3). Check out her blog Catskill Paper and her Etsy shop where you can buy lots of great art. She does a stellar job with it all.
Patti uses lots of interesting vintage material in her collages. I am in love with the details and amazing graphics in each piece. She has taken elements of her fine art work and made it more available by constructing wonderful cards and ornaments. I am inspired and seek a similar balance in my work. Cheers to another great local artist!

1/25/08

Saying goodbye to an old friend


ode to car.
how red you are, my great big car. no need to fear, your end is near. its been a great ride, on the drivers side. we made it out west, cause your the best. we traveled east, hit the road like a beast. you have been my bed, helped me rest my head. we have raged all night, cause we're so tight. then you broke down, overheated like a clown. left me on the side of the road, whining like a toad. the end is here, i am putting you in 5th gear. to the car lot you go, it has surely been a wonderful show.
R.I.P 01/25/2008
the best damn red honda civic that will ever ride this planet.

thanks to larry lewis for taking the last snapshot of me and big red.


1/23/08

George Trakas

I just realized that George Trakas has an ongoing project over at Dia Beacon. I want to see it asap. I had the chance to work with George a little bit during the summer of 2006 when I was employed at the University Gallery on the UMass Amherst campus. He was there working on a piece he did on the pond in front of the gallery called Isle of View. He was such a wonderful person and artist and I deeply enjoyed watching him work. Isle of View is an important aspect to the campus. It is a refuge and a place for contemplation. Many people enjoy having lunch or gazing at the pond from this location. The pond's snapping turtles liked it also. My friend Megan and I would often encounter them when we were having our daily lunches there. They loved scraps of just about anything. To be honest, they begged like dogs for our food.
Here are a few pictures I took from that summer.


1/22/08

Secretly Creepy

I know that all of us possess some level of addiction to ebay. It is ok...we are all in it together. You have to check out Secretly Creepy - which has taken this to a whole new level. she has put together an album of the weirdest photos she has found on ebay over the last 5 years. it is so appropriate. enjoy the precious moments.

1/21/08

Drawings from the family album


I am very lucky to know this artist Sara Pedigo from graduate school. She is amazing! The HVCC Teaching Gallery will be showing her work from Jan. 24 - Feb. 23, 2008.
Reception: 4 - 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 in Teaching Gallery
Artist talk with Sara Pedigo:
1 - 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 in Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium.
The work is breathtaking in person. I highly suggest checking it out.

1/20/08

My Sunday Local Artist Ramble


welcome to my sunday local artist ramble. This is a great platform to share who I think are some of the great artists from the upstate New York region. This region lives and breathes the arts- with new talent emerging from it and existing talent moving into it.

Charise Isis is an artist living and working in Kingston, NY. Her first photographic project American Stripper was inspired by her experience as an exotic dancer. The photographs highlight the performative nature of the industry- and the beauty, grace and occasional absurdity that surrounds it. The image featured is from her latest project Hudson Valley of the Dolls which uses the same technical expression and intellectual approach to document the drag queen community. In my opinion, Isis calls to the Robert Frank gods in her work- by using movement, grain, uncommon angles- she forces us to really think about what we are looking at, which prevents us from making any immediate judgments. When approaching her projects, I had my opinions about the subject matter- ones that may have existed without proper cause- but I have stepped away from that now. The images do not lie- they have all the deadly sins sitting side by side with all the beauty. Complexity is what life is made of-- and it makes it a damn interesting one.
Isis also does boudoir & pin-up sessions. look for more info about that on her site. She has a show of this work in Woodstock at Galerie BMG it is up until Feb. 18.

1/18/08

Samson projects screening tonight...


My video Newspeak is in a screening tonight at SamsonProjects in Boston. It starts at 7pm and is curated by Kim Hennessy. Other artists I know in this are Susan Jahoda and Justin Kemp.

Woodstock art happening you should not miss


botanical shadow phenomena.
I may work at the
Center for Photography at Woodstock, but i would go to this exhibit even if I didn't. Opening Saturday (reception 5-7pm with artist talk) is a solo show called Shadows by Jared Handlesman. His work is mysterious and ethereal. He goes out at night with large sheets of coated photographic paper and awaits for a car to pass so its headlights can shine on the paper and expose it. After the car has past, it leaves behind a photogram of the surrounding elements (grass, trees etc.) They are fascinating objects- recordings of a space often perceived from the inside of a car and not from the side of the road in the bushes. A beautiful video accompanies this work.

In the other gallery at CPW is Made in Woodstock IV. This is an exhibition of selected work from the artist in residents from 2005 & 2006. This residency is open to artists of diverse cultures working in the medium of photography and video. It is a wonderful opportunity.

make sure to say hi if you come to see this.

1/16/08

another day...


what a funny day it has been. i do not think i could find another word today. but i will leave with this image because it is kind of how i feel right now....




1/15/08

Artist I wish I knew



  • "Tulipifera"
  • 2000
  • Encaustic, ink, on plywood
  • 40 x 60 x 2 1/2
StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter
this is the work of Richard Purdy. I saw an exhibit of his at R & F Paints in Kingston, NY. I have not stopped thinking about it.

1/14/08

formaldehyde anyone?


A friend of mine recently visited the College of Physicians of Philadelphia Mutter Museum which is filled with medical anomalies. I just checked out the website and it seems wild.
http://www.collphyphil.org/mutter.asp

lovin' the snow

a great morning to walk to work....





1/13/08

why am i here?


i never thought i would think about blogging. it never seemed relevant. but here i am and i am happy to be part of this cyber conversation. i want to post images and stories of my crazy and wild encounters in woodstock, new york (where i live and work). this unique part of the world lives and breathes the arts. it is all around me- everyday. i think that blogging will help me to understand it all a little better. i will talk more about my life here later.
i usually start off all my web endeavors with this image. these words, in my opinion, are as complex as they are straight forward. i have realized lately that much of life is that way. seemingly simple- yet full of layers and challenges.