Minstrel

Oil on canvas, 24" x 36"

World music in Seattle--
Richard Stoops of
Maestro Sidereus
is releasing a new CD,
"String Theory."
The cover art will feature
the painting "Minstrel."

Maestro Sidereus Website

Alevtina Kakhidze - Revolutionary Obedience

"Art must concern itself with the real, but it throws any notion of the real into question. It always turns the real into a facade, a representation, and a construction. But it also raises questions about the motives of that construction." - Mike Kelley

Here is how it went:
Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze has been working on value and power for a while. In one of her charming projects (The Most Commercial Project), for instance, she drew objects that she liked, most of them she couldn't afford, and gave the drawings the same value that the objects had. So, a drawing of a Louis Vuitton handbag had the same value as the object itself. And when she brought her goods into her marriage, the lawyers confirmed that her estate was worth much more than her entrepreneur husband's.
In one of her projects, back in 2008, Alevtina drew the earth seen from the sky. No, this needs more precision: the earth seen from an airplane which is not her own private airplane.
Once she made the drawing, Alevtina Kakhidze wrote to some of the richest people in Ukraine - Rinat Akhmetov and Viktor Pinchuk (who has his own adventure in the art world now) - and asked them to make a drawing for her of how the earth looks from a private plane. It was a nice portfolio she sent them, very professional and smooth. She tried encouraging them, telling them it wasn't about drawing well. If anyone can draw, so can you!
This (and the obvious silence afterwards) made for a nice work. A clean statement about what we see and the position we see it from.

But two years later, unexpectedly, an answer arrives. Akhmetov decided to make his huge foundation to support artists' projects. And Alevtina's project was thought perfect for a beginning. Unfortunately, Mr. Achmetov is too busy/shy/untalented to make a drawing, but he will be happy to rent a private plane for Ms. Kakhidze, so she can make her project herself.
And make it she did.
The project, called "I'm Late For A Plane That Cannot Be Missed", started with Alevtina going by collective transport from her house in the suburbs to the airport. She hitch-hiked a little, took a suburban mini-bus, a suburban train, and (as expected) arrived late at the small private airport near Kiev. There was already a TV crew traveling with her by then, asking everyone on the way who they were and if they knew Alevtina. At the airport, there were several more crews, and over a dozen news photographers. After all, this was an important day for art and culture in Ukraine: the richest man around decided to support real artists, and started by allowing this innocent-looking girl to realize her dream.

And off she went. Onboard, she took only a few reporters. (There was even a struggle for the seat.)

The anxious journalists were mad when, upon returning, Alevtina declared only one thing: she will tell the whole story and answer all the questions tomorrow during her lecture performance. That made no news story at all! Disappointed and frustrated, they could do nothing but wait.

However, the next day arrived quite quickly. And here they were, the journalists, and tens of artists gathered at the conference in one of the most prestigious places in Ukraine (a part of the Saint Sophia Cathedral complex). Waiting mainly to learn how to get money for their projects. And, also, to hear what Alevtina has to say. And to see the drawings.
Alevtina starts describing how she prepared for the trip, how she got clothes specially designed for the occasion, she talks about the cost of the plane rental (10 000 euros). And then she declares:

I felt so calm on the way to the airport and in the sky but now I have to account for this tranquility. What have we done on the plane? We were there. There is no result. I have nothing to show for what actually happened there.

The journalists were confused. This is surely a scandal? No drawing!
But also - no demolition! No shocking performance! No reaction! Nothing! Alevtina did strictly nothing - she did not change the game, she did not make the plane fly somewhere else, she did not paint it red, she made no drawing. She took the flight.
Did I say she didn't change the game?
Of course she did.
Her non-action was performative. It created a new reality. It brought about a challenge to the system, keeping up the power struggle between the art and the money. Who is the boss here? And why?
Certainly, they want us to do what we want. But if we do what we want our way, we are the ones defining what they want. And for a fraction, it becomes our game. And this fraction, for me, is the work.

In one of her works, Alevtina writes (or quotes, the origin is unsure): “And do you remember, I found 10 roubles, and ran home to show mom. Not the 10 roubles, but how lucky I am.”
It is not the thing we find. It is about how lucky we are.
And how we subvert this luck.


PS. The struggle continues: in the description of the event on the Foundation's site, the actual request for Akhmetov to draw the earth is not mentioned, making it all seem slightly more like making "Dreams come true in art". What dreams, exactly?

Seattle - 5th Avenue

5th Avenue, The Skinner Building, oil on canvas panel, 14" x 18"

5th Avenue Theatre, oil on canvas panel, 18" x 14"

Muffler Mobiles and the Muffler Shops that Made Them

Meineke Muffler Mobile Art Car

I run into this muffler art car on Jalopnik last night and where there is one muffler car there is another.

This "Muffler mobile" was created by Joe, Scott, and Steve Minghelli, family owners of two Meineke muffler shops in Southern New Jersey. They started out by creating art from used mufflers laying around like muffler men, muffler dogs, muffler waffle irons and then one day got serious and made the Muffler mobile. They started out with a Datsun truck and stripped it down to its frame. Then they rebuilt the frame from exhaust tubing welded to the Datsun and then covered it with sixteen gauge steel panels to create the distinctive muffler shape. I guess if a muffler shop is serious enough about their muffler business to build a muffler art car, then they might be a good shop get your muffler replaced.

So here is the complete set of muffler shops around the country you might want to check out next time your car needs a new muffler. I wonder if these cars need to get smogged every hear?

Kelly's Pimp My Muffler Art Car via

Muffler Hut Pink Muffler Mobile via

Steve's Muffler Mobile via

Keith's Muffler Shop Art Car via

Seeburg Muffler Art Car via

Muffler Art Car via

5 Star Mosaic Muffler Art Car via

WHEN AN ARTIST FALLS IN A FOREST AND NO ONE IS AROUND TO HEAR IT...

In 1923, C.B. Dodson of Richmond Virginia entered this painting in a competition for young illustrators:



Alas, he came in second and nobody ever heard of him again. Of course, nobody ever heard of the first place winner either:



C.B. and Florence took their places in that long, long line of anonymous artists who yearned for a whiff of artistic immortality.



It is easy to spot such artists. They're the ones who remain hunched over a drawing board or computer, continuing to work on a picture even after someone was willing to buy it.

For some, this dedication paid off.  Norman Rockwell traded away his personal life for his art, often working twelve hours a day, six days a week on his paintings. Near the end of his life he observed, "The story of my life is, really, the story of my pictures." Rockwell may not have spent much time playing with his kids or lingering in bed with his wife on cold New England mornings, but he could feel warmed by the knowledge that future generations would remember his name and respect his achievement.

Rockwell's fame is the exception, not the rule.  For most artists,  every artistic decision that seemed so important at the time-- every crucial brush stroke or color choice-- will be erased forever.  When artists arrive at that final destination, they understand that all those extra hours they robbed from life to invest in their craft, hoping for some future return on their investment, is equity that will never be repaid.

It's not as if the gods hid the price of glory. Long ago, the gods made it clear to Achilles that if he wanted to be remembered, he would have to sacrifice his life.

From The Iliad by the Provensens

If he fought in the Trojan war, he would be killed but his name would live forever in glory. On the other hand, if he turned and sailed for home he could enjoy a long, happy life surfing internet porn and playing Wii in his bathrobe but no one would remember his name.

You can bet that Achilles loved playing Wii just as much as you or I, so he raged against the unfairness of this choice. The pain in his famous soliloquy remains fresh today, thousands of years later:

The same honor waits for the coward and the brave. They both go down to Death, the fighter who shirks and the one who works to exhaustion.... Two fates bear me on to the day of my death. If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy my journey back home is gone, but my glory never dies. If I voyage back to the home I love, my pride, my glory dies, true, but the life that's left me will be long....

When his hour of decision arrived, Achilles chose to sacrifice his life on the hardscrabble soil of Troy. (If he hadn't, we wouldn't still be talking about him now).

In some ways, Achilles got a better deal than poor C.B. Dodson. At least Achilles received a guarantee from the gods that his sacrifice would be repaid with eternal glory. Artists get no such guarantee. They must gamble their lives away like a poker chip at the Casino d'Art. There are plenty of talented, hard working artists who die anonymous deaths, and plenty of untalented hacks who hit the jackpot and become legends. Who would play a slot machine with such terrible odds?

Unlike the fortunate Achilles, our choice is beset by our human limitations. We are surrounded by our mortality on one side, which requires us to make haste with our commitments, and total uncertainty on the other side about whether those commitments (and their accompanying sacrifices) will have any meaning whatsoever.

As a result, we are forced to work harder to find solace than Achilles did. The glory of our work is different from the glory earned by Achilles. Ours is sadder, more poignant and more fragile. But I am convinced it is no less glorious.

Take a break

Remember Zimoun?

Zimoun : 186 prepared dc-motors, cardboard boxes 60x60x60cm, 2010. from ZIMOUN VIDEO ARCHIVE on Vimeo.

Cowabunga Dude makes The Ninja Turtle Van

Here is a restored 1994 Dodge Caravan and made to look like the The Ninja Turtle Van. The Ninja Turtles had a vw but this guy choose a Caravan because it was easy to find parts easy to work on, comfortable for him to drive.

The Turtles played a huge role in his childhood, growing up with all his cousins, playing Ninja Turtles while his Uncle Harry (Uncle Shredder) chased them around doing an exact voice of The Shredder. He used to drive them around in his Caravan, and now every time he sees one it reminds him of the Turtles Van. Cowabunga Dude!!!.

Clown car used to transport illegal immigrant clowns

According to JestReport.com the latest  immigration threat to the border of Arizona this Pontiac Bonneville clown art car was pulled over transporting illegal immigrants dressed as clowns. They reported that as many as 100 illegals were seeing exiting this car when pulled over by border patrol in Arizona. Its a serious situation and steps were taken to combat this influx of illegal clowns by outfitting border patrol vehicles with pies, squirt flowers, foam clubs and nerf shot guns. Border patrol were also given all terrain clown shoes and canisters of silly string.

ONE LOVELY DRAWING, part 33

At some point-- I'm not sure when-- traditional drawing skills seem to have become unfashionable.

• Perhaps it's because artists today see no percentage in competing with 1,000 years of talented draftsmen.
• Perhaps it's because photography and other technical crutches have made the parlor tricks of drawing less inspirational.
  
• Perhaps it's because illustrators have seized the license of fine artists who cast off traditional skills.

Whatever the reason, other ingredients of art (such as concept or design) have become so dominant that today many artists don't even pretend to be able to draw. (Consider the talented cartoonist Garry Trudeau who has drawn like crap for 40 years. You'd have to try mighty hard to avoid picking up at least some skill in all that time.) Some contemporary artists seem to go out of their way to draw in a crude or naive style, perhaps to avoid any comparison with traditional artists.

That's one reason I take pleasure in the work of Peter de Seve, an excellent, decisive draftsman who draws with great character and imagination.



Note de Seve's eye for the details of personality, for body language, for animated facial expressions and revealing gestures. His drawing ability enables him to give form to these insights in a way that many other contemporary illustrators cannot. He integrates these ingredients seamlessly using a loose, energetic line.

In an era when the greatest demand for images seems to be CGI in movies, computer games and similar venues, I find it interesting that de Seve's timeless powers of personal observation and old fashioned pencil drawing have become an essential building block for major animated movies such as the Ice Age trilogy or a Bug's Life. He contributes the flavor to character designs which (so far) no computer has been able to emulate.

Ballard - Rays

Oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

Ballard - Train, Tracks

Oil on canvas panel, 16" x 20"

24oz Sunkist Impala

This was just sent in by Roland a 03 Chevy Impala, candy red sunkist, lambo front doors with suicide back doors, 5th wheel, 7 screens.., Beast Mode car club, Dallas Texas

Reverse

At the BWA City Gallery in Bydgoszcz (which has the most poignant introduction of any art gallery I've seen so far: "WHAT"), the Polygonum exhibition which opens on October 14th to showcase the Polish region's visual talents has some tasty discoveries.

"Movemental" by Tomasz Dobiszewski does look a little like a furniture catalogue. And yet there is something wrong with this catalogue. It does not clarify, it does not simplify, but multiplies, undoes the tight order of things. It lets the picture breathe, opens it up, as if it was obvious: the reverse is necessary, the negative, the outline - everything our gaze seems to take for granted. Dobiszewski adds nothing, he just cuts out and moves,allowing the rhythms to become juicier through the absurd joy of things fitting like in a reverse puzzle. Do things become undone, this way, or are they put more clearly into their necessity? After all, this is the space for the space this is.


Another tasty moment requires distance.
Evidently, it's not about the painting. But the painting seems an important introduction (and the floor, and the floor). This creature, to the right (unfortunately I didn't write down the name or author), stands as its own double. It should not be approached (really, definitely, in cases like this I understand why beauty needs distance). As any mirage, it is only what it seems, a reflection, a game of angles, a line and a line and a line. It rings a bell, and another, and I wonder, is there a way of keeping it there, of not getting closer, of remaining within the illusion that there is something beyond, just a little more plenty.

Ballard - Corner

Oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

Figure Study: Janet, Martha, & Gail

Oil on canvas panel, 11" x 14", 11" x 14", 12" x 12"

Bellevue - Park Rd & NE 8th St.

Oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

Art Showing - Smart Eats

Eight of my paintings are on display until January at Smart Eats in Mill Creek, WA.

Smart Eats
15224 Main Street #100
Mill Creek, WA 98012-7316
(425) 338-1300
Open Mon-Sat 10am-8pm;
Sun 11am-5pm
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