| Two damning quotes |
[Dec. 1st, 2009|11:59 am] |
I recently purchased a very cool looking book called, "Painting Today," which is a thick book on contemporary paintings from the 70s to today. I bought it because my knowledge of painters gets fuzzy around the 70s and I don't want to be left out of what's going on. There's some really amazing work in there that I likely would not have seen otherwise. Reading the introduction, though, I came upon two really harsh quotes that I'm sure the author is going to refute though he hasn't done so yet.
Contemporary painting is no longer in a position to do what ninteenth century painting did, namely, to make statements about the world. All the self-reflexive and self-destructive avante garde movements have resulted in painting being obsessed with its own "thingness," materiality and structures, to the extent it can no longer depict the world.
-Art critic Boris Groys
I'd given up painting in 1965 for the rather crude reason that it was outmoded technology... There were enough paintings and sculptures silting up the basements of museums all over the world- why produce more? It was ecologically unsound: a form of pollution. We didn't need more pigment on canvas, or bronze or welded steel tubing, that no one knew what to do with except keep in some store-room.
Conceptual artist Victor Burgin
So really... GAH. I haven't come to the other side of the argument yet but these two statements encapsulate things I've thought myself before. What I can offer in return is that I don't know that other media, video, performance art and the like have managed to single handedly take the place of painting or the place that painting once held. People still look at paintings, make pilgrimages to see works and collections and, of course, some of the most famous paintings are as ubiquitous as other media. It almost seems to me the the new media are often found to be locked into their own ephemeral nature. Once shown, they're gone and can only be referenced. Performance art is the main example in this though installations are also grouped along with. Video lasts but when I see video pieces in museums, it seems to me that unless there is some kind of narrative or if they're somehow funny, people don't stand and watch them for very long and really, since we're inundated with video eveywhere, even when pumping gas, I can't see it as a medium that stands out from everyday life so much or enough to seem special.
So far, the author only points to current works being auctioned off for record prices at the big houses to argue the point against contemporary painting having gravitas. The more I look into the art world, the more it seems to me that money is a poor example of the import of any particular work. I honestly believe there is a set number of people that trade work back and forth, raising the price each time because it helps perpetuate the idea that the works they buy are reasonable and profitable investments. There is some love there also for the paintings but also some love knowing that they own a unique work, that they have it and no one else does. Status is as much a motivation as anything else, or so it seems.
This is also an age which is seeing both a renaissance of cartooning or at least a broadening of the role and place of comics and also a record number of newspaper closings and huge drops in the comic book marketplace.
Which way to turn? |
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| Portrait series #8 |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|08:55 pm] |
Finished Weezil.
The likeness isn't 100% but I like the painting as it is. |
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| #8, The Weezil |
[Nov. 18th, 2009|12:28 pm] |
Eigth in the portrait series, a co-worker nicknamed Weezil. These are the inks and paints, though not yet married as the paint's still wet. I worked the face a little more than the Hals painting. I have to say, there's something really exciting about working everything together at the same time, sculpting the paint and all that. These two images look somewhat offset which is fine. There's a bad distortion in the lens and I also don't want the two images matching perfectly. It's meant to be two interpretations of the same subject at the same time.
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| Portrait series #7 |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|01:50 pm] |
This is my interpretation of a Frans Hals painting called "The Mulatto." It's #7in the series. First image shows the paint before the ink lines were applied, second is the final painting. 16x20, acrylic, ink.
( Lots of boring stuff beneath the link. ) |
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| Portraits continue |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|01:59 pm] |
Still doing these. 2/3 done with the series. Already at work on the next two.
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| A little press |
[Oct. 26th, 2009|12:25 am] |
I am still working on Tamino. I actually got eight pages done this week. I just finished the 100th page and figure I have twenty or so more to go. Maybe thirty. I will finish the project and won't start another big one until it's done.
I was recently asked out of the blue if I would mind being featured with some other web comics in a Russian gaming magazine. I have no idea how they found me, but of course I said yes. Here is the result. I can't read it but it sure looks pretty:
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| Recent work |
[Oct. 8th, 2009|07:52 pm] |
There's been no Tamino partially as I've been working on a series of portraits for a possible small show locally. I wanted to do something in series instead of just showing a bunch of random stuff that's piled against the wall. That and who wants to see a bunch of self portraits?
From left to right, all acrylic on 16x20 board: actor Vincent schiavelli, Ikufube Akira (composer of Godzilla music among other things), and artist Giacometti. Below that are two different pads, the left having a cartoon of the Tuff Bunny using an old animation drawing of Donald Duck for reference. The other is an abstract underwear model. Just playing around.
So that's what I've been doing. |
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| Where, who, how |
[Sep. 10th, 2009|12:59 pm] |
I don't post here any more, I just use LJ to keep up with people I know. I thought I'd make a post just to inform anyone I missed telling about what's been going on. Right now I'm in Boston and have been for a couple of weeks... I think. Time is kind of a blur. I only expected to be here a couple of days but my mom developed medical problems that necessitated my staying. I haven't seen a lot of people mostly as time is worked around her needs. Since I can't give people any advance notice, and because it's annoying to have someone call up out of the blue and say, "what are you doing tonight," I haven't poked at people much. My mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer and was given a procedure that should have taken care of it. The full pathology isn't back yet. Since being discharged from the hospital, she's developed some kind of intestinal bacterial infection which has caused her to be re-admitted. My mom, who is a trooper, is mostly annoyed by this as she otherwise feels fine. She hadn't even been taking her pain meds as her incision wasn't bothering her. She hadn't been able to hold anything down for a week, though, so it's good she's getting fluids and potassium replaced.
My friend Max has been a saint puting me up, especially as I keep having to extend my stay.I only hope I can do him some similar favor in the future.
There has been no drawing at all, no art, really of any kind. I feel generally rathere detached and in limbo, even though I love my cramped and crowded home town.
That's about it, really. |
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| Progress |
[Jun. 2nd, 2009|06:17 pm] |
I don't tend to post a lot of stuff here either in general or of an artistic nature. I don't know how much people would be interested, quite frankly. But as I like seeing other people's stuff there might be reason to post some of my own.
I've been working on and off on the Hals reproduction in acrylic on brown paper. This is where it's at at this point. It's big. For size comparison, note that the closeup printout taped to the painting is 8.5x11.
And there's Tamino. I'm still working on it but more slowly than I wish. I want to finish the comic but there's a lessening of momentum here. I wish I knew why. When I posted those four pages recently, there was a decent amount of traffic on the comic. I think a number of people -read- Tamino, I just don't know if they -like- it.
And there's thoughts about what is to come after Tamino. I've done a lot of work on "Ghiroy," and part of me wants to hunker down and DO that comic, that project next. And part of me wonders if it's worth doing. No way to answer that, I guess.
Other than that, stuff is good with Tyler, the house, the cat. But it's often so damned lonely here, artistically speaking. Chris is good enough to call often which is nice. Other than him, I have really no connections to other arts people. Working without peers really sucks. Some of those I've reached out to over the internets show little to no interest which isn't exactly heartening although they have their own real lives to live. And so it goes. |
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| For the Boston folk; No notice! |
[Jun. 1st, 2009|10:22 am] |
I just found out about this and wish I were there to go. Tomorrow night at the Brattle Theatre, Seth and Adrian Tomine ("Palookaville" and "Optic Nerve" respectively) will be speaking together at 6:00. I highly recommend anyone interested in today's adult (not porno) comics to go if they can. Both of these guys started out quite small and both have done really well with Seth being the main designer behind the Peanuts collections as well as having magazine illustrations galore, and Adrian having done much the same with his work being in and on the New Yorker a number of times. Go!
Here's the link for tickets. |
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| How bizarre |
[May. 26th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
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Ok. So I'm on Amazon. I'm guessing that Lulu worked out some kind of blanket deal with Amazon to get their books listed there. However it worked out, I got a note from Lulu tonight that Amazon had selected my stuff to be put up on Amazon's site. They of course tack on their own extra charge, so it's still cheaper to buy through Lulu. And I don't expect that this will lead to any extra sales or exposure. Still, it's interesting and weird. |
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| Terminated |
[May. 25th, 2009|07:42 pm] |
The doc and I went to see Terminator Salvation this afternoon, just like good little holidayers are supposed to. I'd give it an overall... meh. Not as bad as Wolverine but certainly not what it could be. The film LOOKS good; lots of blowy-uppy bits, colors are all washed out, most of the machines look right on (though some bear far more resemblance to Matrix bots than is comfortable). The big problem is that the story is just too damned complex though really, that part comes in the last 20 minutes. The beauty of the first two Terminator movies is that they are generally straightforward, simple. This one SHOULD have been, but the need for a 'twist,' and a need for something 'bigger, badder and shinier' just got in the way of what could have been a simple, satisfying kaboomfest.
Tried too hard. And... if we see ONE more vehicle of ANY kind outrun a nuclear explosion, someone's going to be severely slapped. |
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| Star Trek |
[May. 15th, 2009|10:16 pm] |
I was a huge fan of the original Star Trek show. Kirk was my hero and I went to my first convention in 1976. Everyone was there but Kirk and Spock, as was usually the case. The costume designer (Bill Theiss) was there and did a fashion show, there were panels where you could speak to the actors, it was all enough to make me fall over with glee. I really enjoyed the new movie and the way that things were both updated and that the old show was placed in amber while 'never having happened.'
I recently bought all three seasons of the old show on DVD in the 'remastered' format which means that all the space shots and some of the other special effects shots have been utterly redone. Generally I don't care for this kind of thing (George Lucas) but in this case, the new shots make the show more exciting and overall, they look wonderful.
What I've most noticed though is that that while the third seasons suffers a lot (and we suffer thought it) it wasn't the budget that was the killer, it was the writing. Some of the sets were just as 'good' as they were in earlier seasons but the scripts were, in some cases, just terrible. This is the season that gave us "Spock's Brain" (apparently written by Rodenberry under a pseudonym) and "The Way to Eden" (space hippies!) as well as the final episode, which I just couldn't bring myself to watch, "Turnabout Intruder." In some cases, only minor tweaks would have made the episodes much better ("All Our Yesterdays"). In some cases, there was little to save "(That Which Survives"). Still, it seems to me that there was likely pressure from the network to 'liven' things up which didn't help. But if the money being spent on sets and locations had been spent on the writers from earlier seasons, the product, while still perhaps not mass appealing at the time, would have been a hell of a lot better.
"The Cage," the original pilot, which was cut up and used for the first season two-parter, "The Menagerie," was an episode I didn't care for as a kid. Looking at it now (and this set has a full, uncut version that's over an hour long) stands up pretty well. Theres a sense of wonder, a sense that we (and the Federation) don't know everything, that Space is indeed still a frontier. There is also a good sense of character from the actors. Also, considering how many new concepts were being introduced in that one pilot, things were not only pretty smooth, but devoid of both technobabble and idiot-speak. The transporter, communicators and phasers aren't explained. They're just there and accepted. Star Fleet, Vulcans and star ships are no more highlighted than would be saddles, six guns and lassos in a western show. "The Cage" is far from perfect, but I find myself wishing there had been more episiodes like that and fewer like "The Cloud Minders," or "The Savage Curtain."
Also, from day one ("The Man Trap," first ep aired, though not the first one shot) you know exactly who Kirk, Spock and McCoy are and they, together, form a sort of Greek Chorus or are, in a way, the same aspects of a single person. The chemistry starts right there. That's a lot to expect from any show at any point, not just from the beginning.
Part of all this adulation comes from having grown up with this show and having seen it through younger eyes. But 40 years along, I still like it (well, about half of it) and can still see some quality in it. And not least of all, I can see how this failed show has shaped our culture and our technology.
Someone told me they're showing the remastered episodes either online, on TV or both. I highly recommend giving them a new look, especially if you haven't seen them in a long while. Try to avoid the third season as it's really the downfall. The show is never perfect, and yet, especially for the 60s, it did some amazing stuff. |
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| I'm on threadless! |
[May. 11th, 2009|10:57 pm] |
So, the entry I made for threadless was accepted. I've never entered one of these contests before and generally don't enter them at all. But if anyone would like to help me out and vote more my entry, I'd be very grateful. Thanks very much in advance!
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| Threadless |
[May. 9th, 2009|12:24 pm] |
A high school friend of mine prodded me to do a design for the current Threadless contest. I, being the coward that I am said, "you first." So she did. Well, couldn't not go to bat once I'd laid down that glove, so I took the minotaur design I'd been working on awhile back, simplified it, gave it some Grecian Urn coloring and submitted it. We'll see if they even accept it. I'm pretty happy with it myself. It doesn't push the symbolism I originally had in mind for this as a painting, but it works ok as a t-shirt.
I'll post a link for voting once it's been reviewed. I've never done one of these things before. |
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| Star Trek |
[May. 7th, 2009|10:29 pm] |
So our local theatre decided to ignore the fact that "Star Trek" isn't supposed to open until tomorrow. There were four shows tonight starting at 7. Weird. So we went.
I'm a long time fan of the old show. Kirk was my hero when I was little and that show is canon for me. I admit, I was expecting this not to be "Star Trek," and expecting not to like it. It's hard when people mess about with something that's so important to us when we've held onto it dearly all our lives.
So... I liked it. It was fun. It was exciting. It was different. There were a few goofy points, a couple of design issues but all in all, I laughed, I smiled, I cringed (at the right points) and generally had a good time. I don't envy Abrams for having to redo something of this kind. Fans are likely going to pick it apart. But you know, I think they did a really good job all around and did what they could to keep the fans happy while explaining away (reasonably) why the old show basically didn't happen, and yet why the characters could be used again. There were some twists on the old show, one major one which I found very interesting but which I won't report here. There'll be more, I think. I will be interested to see how it does. I was a hard audience to win over, and I had a good time.
Oh, and we saw "Wolverine," too.
Meh. |
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| I'd like to say thank you... |
[May. 4th, 2009|10:11 pm] |
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Today I received a copy of Tekkonkinkreet in the mail. I have no idea who sent it. I do love this movie, one of the few anime I really like. It's also about the best done 3D/2D mix in animation I think I've ever seen. So, if the person who was nice enough to send this will let me know who this is, I'd really like to offer a big thanks at least. There was no note in the package. |
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| Frans Hals |
[Apr. 30th, 2009|11:06 pm] |
I've been reading a lot about art lately, partially going through Hockney's "Secret Knowledge" (HIGHLY recommended) and reading two books about the Gardner Heist. It gets me in a more fine art mood. I decided that I might want to take on an age old method of learning painting and that is to copy a master's work. Frans Hals is a painter of whom I know very little other than the fact that I like a lot of his work. The middle of his career seems to be the most interesting as the people he painted were gypsies, ne'er do wells and the like. Malle Babbe is a favorite, though I don't like the owl so much. Looking through his images on Google search, I decided on one called 'Mulatto,' which can be seen here. He seems like a nice chap, jolly, and I like his suit.
I'd like to do this in acrylics in large size in primary colors, merely because I like them and also they're a real counterpoint to the old Dutch masters' palettes. So I made a tracing in photoshop and started painting over it. I don't want to get too far or I won't follow through. I know me. But I think this is my next painting project.
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| One time only |
[Apr. 28th, 2009|02:05 pm] |
A coworker really liked Harlon. So much so, he offered to share some of his own high school stories hoping I'd draw some of them and continue the comic. I don't really want to make this a going thing, but I promised to do him at least the one as I thought his story really touching. So this is it.
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| Nissan |
[Apr. 22nd, 2009|09:37 pm] |
So, somehow, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) otterdoc got us an invite to a VIP Nissan junket at their local design center here in Michigan tonight. I admit, I didn't really want to go but did so as a 'dutiful spouse.' All I knew about it was that it was some dinner sponsored by Nissan and, quite frankly, that it couldn't be -that- VIP if WE were invited as who the hell are we? But what the heck. It's free food, even if it is of the 'long cafeteria table' variety. Oooh, was I wrong. This was one of those expensive, open bar, concept car, live band, free wine sort of things where middle aged men brought their 20 something dates in cocktail dresses kind of things. Hoo, boy. And I swear, one of those 20 something women was giving -me- of all people the eye more than once. Weird.
This was the sort of little portion foods of fusion cuisine kinds of things. Things that all tasted good but where you could get a variety of tastes, as much as you wanted for as long as you wanted kinds of things. And oh, yes, there were 370 Zs being raffled off (well, one anyway) and GTRs sitting there waiting to be sat in (we did) and concept cars just WAITING for drunk 20 somethings to sit in them and break the visors off and leave them sitting on the dashboard for the poor model makers to fix the next morning. Yes, one of THOSE kinds of things. Actually, though I felt we were there by mistake, it was fun to go to. Hell, the porto potties were nicer than our bathroom, complete with little plants, tiled floors and nice smelling air. Nissan poured money into this thing and it was a really nice evening.
So, thank you, Nissan, for the drunken-shrimp/pasta/white sauce cocktails, for the raspberry mousse shots, the mignon beef sliders and the italian spicy sausage pizza wedges, the Chardonney and the chocolate creme desserts. I had a great time. |
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