Wandering Fence

Just finished this fence for a walkway that winds through a forested path.  It needed to be minimal and mirror the curves of the pathway while avoiding the trees and their future growth patterns.

Crossroads

I just completed a study of Robert Johnson for an Equality Utah fundraiser.  I call it a study because I used it to experiment with both the subject and the medium.  I adapted part of a painting done by Nicola Verlato that really struck me, and made the image by selectively rusting a sheet of steel with various oxidizers and patinas.  In other words, there's no paint used -- the gradations in color are due to chemically changing the steel.  I've played around with this technique before on the 'Others':

http://blueboathome.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-other.html

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

The dreary weather gave me a chance to see a film I've wanted to catch for a long time: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist who has been pretty outspoken about the human rights abuses in China, one notable example being his work to uncover the shoddy school construction that led to many deaths from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.  He also worked on the famous Bird's Nest stadium for the Olympics (which he later boycotted) and installed an exhibit at the Tate using one hundred million hand-painted sunflower seeds (yes, thats One Hundred.  Million.)

Not surprisingly, he was detained by the Chinese government for three months on charges of 'tax evasion'.  I've depicted him in a couple of my works: both 'The Others' in the E Pluibus Unum show and as part of an installation highlighting imprisoned artists.

The trailer from YouTube:

It you're on the east coast, you can see his work in person at the Hirshorn.

Radio West recently interviewed the filmmmaker as well.

http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/home/#collection=ai-weiwei-according-to-what

http://radiowest.kuer.org/post/ai-weiweis-art-dissent

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/oct/11/tate-modern-sunflower-seeds-review
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_schools_corruption_scandal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dtfeh6a01c
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1845773/

How to Steal Ideas and be OK With It: Art Magazines

One of the aspects I enjoy most about being an artist is trying to steal ideas from others.  To quote T.S. Eliot:

"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different."

Here are some of the places, specifically periodicals, I've found really fruitful for ideas:

Juxtapoz
Available in both digital and meatspace forms, Juxtapoz presents a snapshot of contemporary (urban?) culture through art, most of it unsettlingly awesome.  The Nov '12 issue was dedicated to politics and included interviews with Shepard Fairey ('Obey' and 'Hope' motifs), an ad for "Bad Dads: an art show tribute to the films of Wes Anderson', and a Barbie doll in a blender.
http://www.juxtapoz.com/

High Fructose
HF is a quarterly mag that doesn't yet have a digital version, although many of the articles can be found on their website.  It is the slightly more cerebral but still edgy-contemporary big brother of Juxtapoz.  Looks sweet casually thrown on your stainless steel ottoman before that hipster wine and cheese party.
http://hifructose.com/

Sculpture
If you really want to buckle down and get your head into some art, Sculpture provides great interviews with mostly established (read: famous) artists.  I don't find the visuals as stunning as the two above but it makes up for it with a simple clean layout and world-wide coverage.
http://www.sculpture.org/documents/sm-arch.shtml

Iron & Air
This isn't an Art magazine but a publication with art: specifically, custom, garage-built motorcycles.  It's about dudes (and dudettes) who find a 1972 something-or-other behind grandpa's hay barn and turn it into a fire-breathing 140mph+ bit of steel and spinning rubber.  This is about craft, not plunking down a credit card at the Harley dealership.  If you don't have (or even like) motorcycles the photography is fantastic anyway.
http://ironandair.com/magazine/

MAKE
MAKE is what happens when all those kids who got beat up for winning the science fair in 5th grade get to publish their own magazine.  If you like Mythbusters, MacGyver, or have a holster on your belt for your multi-tool, MAKE is for you.  There's a lot of cross-pollination with Instructables as well.
http://makezine.com/
http://www.instructables.com/

EAMES: The Architect and The Painter

Just saw EAMES: The Architect and Painter as part of this year's SLC Design Week.  It was a fantastic overview of the careers of the husband/wife design team Charles and Ray Eames.  (not familiar with them?  Pronounce it like 'Teams' and think bent plywood mid-century modern chairs).

They were incredibly prolific, not only with furniture design but architecture, medical splints, movies, photography, and exhibits on topics ranging from Thomas Jefferson to mathematics.

One of my favorite quotes:

“I’m a little taken aback by anyone calling himself an artist because of my feeling that that’s the kind of designation that other people should give. You can be an artist in any field, but getting a degree to call yourself an artist would be like getting a diploma to call yourself a genius."  -- Charles Eames

Contra Code Installation

Chad Crane and I recently collaborated on an installation for the 'E Pluribus Unum' show.  Chad (a proud geek) re-introduced me to the 'Contra Code', a series of actions in various old-school video games that allows the player to re-animate their character and essentially become digitally immortal.

The theme of the show was about what unites us as a country, especially during a divisive and often counterproductive political election cycle.  What better way to show our common experience of death than to demonstrate the possibility of endless life, even if it is just in a video game?

Each of the commands for the Contra Code was etched onto welded steel planters arranged in a circle.  Each planter contains a single plant that slowly deteriorates for the duration of the show.

Pedestals in progress

Planters in progress before etching

Planter stands in progress

Planters in progress

The Other

As part of the E Pluribus Unum show I'll be doing two works, one on my own and one as a collaboration with Chad Crane.  My solo work is titled 'Others: Thoreau, Weiwei, DeChristopher, Solzhenitsyn'.  It is made of a sheet of steel with a welded frame; the images are made by oxidizing the metal at different rates with different chemicals.

The basic idea of the show was to investigate what unites us as a country.  I think part of the answer lies in having an 'other' to unite against.  The catch is that we have a history of demonizing people and movements that hold up a mirror which would have inspired us to our better selves, if we didn't throw these folks in jail.

Specifically, the four individuals in my work were all put in prison for their efforts: Thoreau refused to pay taxes that funded slavery and Solzhenitsyn criticized Stalin.  The last two are our contemporaries; Ai Weiwei is critical of the human rights abuses of the Chinese government and DeChristopher disrupted illegal land auctions to oil and gas companies.  The thought process I've described here, along with the theme of the show.


https://www.facebook.com/epuartshow

http://chadcrane.blogspot.com/2011/01/familiar-territory-art-access-september.html

http://blueboathome.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-unites-us.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn

http://aiweiweineversorry.com/

http://www.bidder70.org/