Closing day for shows at the Armory.

Took myself to see the closing day of 2 shows at the Armory in Pasadena.  I went with the intent on seeing NewTown: Convergences--a look at new media and installation. I was curious to see what people are making was was blown away. Saw a work inspired by Helen Hill.  I have a few friends that knew her and she must have been a remarkable woman to have so many talk of her and work to keep her memory alive. Nancy Buchanan and Ismael De Anda had a sweet little piece playing with the idea of pinatas. Heidi Kumao worked with projected image and different planes/surfaces for projected image. Robert Ladislas Derr played with a box and explored confinement . This reminded me of the arts walk in St. Paul where there was an installation of a man in a box.  At the end of the night, I went back to see the man in the box-most kids loved it, thought it was funny.  As I returned to the St. Paul installation I saw parents with a child saying LOOK LOOK!  What I got to look at was a kid freaking out!  She started climbing up her dad onto his shoulder saying I DON'T LIKE THIS!
Robert Ladislas Derr's work was video of his wife and himself moving in a box.  The observer then looked through a box to see the video.  It was a very intimate work.

Lastly, my favorites, (can't find my notes to credit them) were works that played with technology in the great outdoors with a fire projected on a bunch of logs, a shadow play of a man online in a tent, a cell phone tower looking like a tree that gives one four bars and projected images of our parks and encroaching technology.  The other was titled Looking Glass that had a new twist on voyeurism in spying on a diorama of a man watching tv across the armory.

A sweet surprise was the closing reception of Steve Roden: In Between, a 20 Year Survey. It was nice to be in the space with lots of people looking at the work and lively conversation filling the space.  I found it amazing that I had never heard of this artist and then this morning, there he was, posted on the LACMA blog, talking of the Blinky Palermo site that closes this Sunday.  I enjoyed looking at his comments since I know I breezed through this work and was much more intent and into the work of William Eggleston.  Eggleston's work brought tears to my eyes and put me on this newer drive to create.
Back to Steve Roden's work, it was very heady.  One can tell that each work comes from a place of deep introspection.  The sound/audio work was what of course I remembered.  Although not playing sound at the time of my crossing, Roden had a piece/sonic box that was naked speakers/horns inside different size bottles which really got me thinking about possibilities in my work.  He also did a mixed media/projected work about the moon that was in a vault gallery --the old vault of the building-  this work had a plaster cast record that took the projection but then the shadow beyond--the silhouette was a beautiful "moon rise" so to speak.  Roden also explored the dimensions of his body and proportion and made work related to that exploration.  He had a "bed of sound" that had a handmade quilt created by his mother as well as speakers and "tinker toys"/building blocks with it.  The color alone of the sculpture was amazing.
Roden's work made me think of how to play with words, concepts and an aural tradition.  It also makes me think that the vérité recordings I like to make and use could be enhanced by broader, more abstract or conceptual sculpture-or nothing at all--being confident of the sound itself. _______________________ _________________________________

The Visual Language of Herbert Matter

Yesterday, LACMA hosted the SoCal premiere of The Visual Language of Herbert Matter with director Reto Caduff, answering questions after the screening.

Most of those in attendance seemed to be graphic designers and rightly so--Matter is a huge influence on American graphic design, teaching at Yale in the early years of its design program as well as working with noted designers Charles and Ray Eames, companies such as Conde Nast, and creating a look and identity for Knoll Associates and New Haven Railroad. He also was close friends with Jackson Pollack, Alexander Calder and created a book showcasing the work of Alberto Giacometti.

His work is intimidating, beautiful, and inspiring. Matter worked and was influential in graphic design, photography, and montage as well as moving image (only one completed film-Calder's mobiles with John Cage's score).

The Visual Language of Herbert Matter had no recorded audio of the artist--possibly one interview on tape exists and there was very little writing or response from the artist.  Herbert Matter worked a good 12 hours a day, 7 days a week in his studio and let his work and language of image speak for itself.  Matter's work, commercial and artistic stand on their own as works of art.  The archives mostly residing at Stanford and tempts this gal to take a trip up there some time soon.

As a film- the filmmaker had to resolve the issue of stills and images, which he did with beautiful animation and motion graphics. The score for this film was unbelievable as well, complementing the image and narration.  Unusual and breaking the rules, Caduff narrated the film himself, putting a very personal spin on the information presented to the audience.

  

Check out the website of the film for more screening info

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Trip to Milwaukee Art Museum

 

So the first outing of my newish born niece was a day at the Milwaukee Art Museum this week.  The family is starting her early on her field trips and culture excursions!  My brother and sister-in-law are already reading to her even though she is just a month old! The Milwaukee Art Museum is one of my favorites.  My friend, the Englishman, (carpenter by day, painter by night) was surprised that of all the places to see American painters would be Milwaukee!  He stated this because his visit to LACMA-Los Angeles was met with the contemporary wing closed and a visit to Art Institute of Chicago was met with too much impressionist work in its permanent collection! Lots of people that think they know Wisconsin still seem to belittle Milwaukee and its arts and culture.  One friend recently poo-poo'd it saying that it's Madison that's the cultural seat of Wisconsin, the Berkley of the Midwest so to speak.  Hate to say it, but that idea is as old as the last century.  Welcome to the 21st century Wisconsin...Milwaukee has a lot going for it!

Back to the field trip--I saw all that I wanted to see!

Took a look at the main exhibition, European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century and immediately got in trouble for taking photographs sans flash but the guard still stopped me-- I guess they have a catalog to sell in the gift shop.  The categories and curation was a lot of fun but the sound in the gallery was hushed white noise of a dinner party- a complete contrast to last year when the same gallery hosted the last decade of Andy Warhol's work, it was packed and sounded like a party!  I always think that museums shouldn't be seen as places of the holy and should be a very welcome public space!  My brother noticed the plaque of one chair -Knotted Chair by Marcel Wanders from 1996--its commentary striking a chord with the statement "now one of the most important chairs in the past two decades"--pretty powerful statement--powerful to bring on the giggles!

Also overheard in that gallery was "look at that lamp"--it was a bird wing lamp--woman responded "I couldn't have that, I have cats!"

Since I have been wanting to make work/sculpture out of blown out tires on the side of the interstate, I was extremely interested in the work of Chakaia Booker.  Her work welcomed you from the underground heated parking lot, so much so that my sister-in-law walked over the line on the floor to keep a boundary around the art---and she wanted to touch it.  Viscerally you could still smell the rubber/petrol smell of the media and it was fun to see when chose to use black or silver screws... Striking installation in the white halls of the Santiago Calatrava designed edition of the museum.  

We also hit the permanent collection and took a look at the Walk-In Infinity Chamber by Stanley Landsman.  Like the Extreme Angles and work at the Hammer, this work plays on your senses because it does give the illusion of infinity.  Very interactive in that you have to put on boots/cloth covers on your shoes to even walk in it--it's a dimmed room that feels like through the looking glass or the wardrobe into  Narnia or the movie 2001!

Lastly, this entrance is my favorite of any museum I regularly visit!  The view is of Lake Michigan and in the summer, visitors see the sailboats glide by on the horizon line and in the winter one sees the frozen tundra and harsh nature, framed by the same white starkness of the grand hall again designed by Santiago Calatrava.  This visit, there was an installation-Under the Table (1994) by LA artist Robert Therrien.  Inspired by images he took under a table, he later created this ten foot high table and chairs.  My brother said we'd get an idea of what the niece was seeing but he also knocked on the table--and was reprimanded by the guard--who we chatted with and was very nice--talking about how he must me in guard hell in an installation that one can walk through and begs to be touched.  We related to him my cousin's experience at the Dallas Museum of Art where there was a work with many mobile type sculptures dropped down from the ceiling--she was there when a 3 yr old ran through the middle and the guard was trying to fish the unruly toddler out!  Our Milwaukee Museum guard told me I gave him nightmares with that story!So glad the baby loved it and the new parents were able to get out and about and I was able see the art and share it with my family!

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Sweet Home Chicago Radio!

WXRT is my very top thing I look forward to upon returning to the Chicago area.

When I was a young co-ed at Illinois State, I used to know what mile marker on North I-55, XRT could be picked up by the car stereo.  Although now swallowed up by corporate radio, the station gives the hometown feel and has many of the DJs that have been on since I started listening in the 90s.  It was a station that was one of the last hold outs to internet stream---something I still forget to this day!

I was driving the parents car today and made the station flip automatically and pleased to hear many familiar voices and just about the best variety of songs from multiple decades.  Although possibly less alternative songs in the rotation now versus the past--in a era of less programing and more formula radio, it's a breath of fresh air and a treat for my ears when they make their way home to Chicago. _______________________ _________________________________

Extreme Angles in the New Year

Graham Norton's New Year's Eve Party Set

11 Minutes into this video, the party gets started!

I've been thinking about my day at the Hammer Museum a lot lately.  Two weeks ago, I took advantage of the free admission anniversary promotion and headed down on a rainy day Sunday to see the museum.  I was excited as it was my first visit ever.  It was a great trip and I spent over two hours looking at the permanent collection and exhibits.

Seems as if durning the holiday season, there is a trend in museum curation of truly interactive work that forces the audience to stop treating a museum like a church or sacred space and have fun and play in the museum.  Up until January 23, the Hammer has this something in Julian Hoeber's work, titled Demon Hill.  It's a work that deals with a room on extreme angles and extreme lighting.  There  was a sign posted in front of the work that upon entering, some people may experience disorientation and I was a naysayer and shook my head, thinking it funny there should be a warning sign stating that one could experience the list of maladies, but once in the work, I did feel light headed and tried to force myself into the work and act like all was well.  That  feeling was a bit exciting as it forced other senses into the experience of the sculpture/mixed media work.

The memory of the work has stayed with me for the last 2 weeks and when watching Graham Norton's New Year's Eve program, I saw how this experience can be applied to entertainment.  When sharing a description of this work, my mom reminded me of the house at Six Flags Over Texas- a tilt house-Casa Magnetica that was in the park from 1962 to 1997 and then a resurrection in 2004-07.  The pictures and spiel for the simple attraction are at this link, along with an explanation of the phenomenon here.

All this makes me want to make work that gets people recalling it weeks after.  This also makes me want to see how living extremes this year could influence the work I do make.  Should be an interesting kick start to all my work- be it installation or photography. _______________________ _________________________________

Behold, a thing of beauty!

Stone Creek Coffee Roasters out of Milwaukee has a cinnamon blend that only comes around this time of year.  It is one of  my sister-in-law's favorites! Since is has a hint of sugar, cloves, and of course, cinnamon-you can only buy it ground.  When opening the bag, you can see the chunks of cinnamon just waiting to give yummy flavor.
 My parents and I offered to go out and buy more since my sister-in-law is home taking care of the newborn niece and has limited herself to one quality cup of coffee a day.  We were looking for one pound bags, but this stuff is so hot, all that was left at the store near her and my brother was the 5lb bag!  It's so good, I don't think it'll be much of a problem consuming this and saving some in the freezer for special occasions.  Can't wait for the get together tonight and share it. _______________________ _________________________________

Ladybug FunkyFonic Headphone! Santa please!

People Magazine's Cool Kid Gifts for Every age is plugging for your 5 year old female audiofile, a pair of Ladybug FunkyFonic Headphones, $28 from modernlola.com.  They may want to think of making adult size pairs...I want some!

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