A look back to a work traded a year ago.

Traded!
Originally uploaded by 730N

In Pittsburgh at a street fair, I traded this piece for a graffiti inspired work from another artist. I liked the old look of the paper here, which was artificially induced. The cropping and pose of the drawing is pretty interesting as well.

I didn't sign the work on the front, perhaps I did on the back. I have a hard time signing works on the front out of fear of a "blemish" but it probably is necessary in the larger vision of working as an artist.

The painting that I got in the trade is hanging up here in Philly. It is nice, but I don't remember the guys name and I am sure he doesn't remember mine.

It is really interesting to deal in a visual language when our society is so drenched in images. How do you compete for attention? Do you replicate the tactics that advertisers and image builders use? Or do you go against the grain?

I have been reading Baudrillard again.. specifically "Simulations." He used to be the darling of the art crowd, but recently seems to be replaced by Deluze. I am intrigued about this idea of the "copy replacing the original" in how it relates to my plan and future thinking about my art practice.

I make images. And yet, it can be said that more people have seen these images though this web page than in "real life." And I have plans to create digital prints of works so I can sell them at a more affordable price.

I would argue that the actual work, and the reproductions of the work are one larger "meta-artwork" with each being dependent upon each other. In that sense, it does not matter that I traded this work. I have an image of it and I can present it here.

That is, until my hard drive fails.

I found canvas put out for the trash.

Reminds me of art school! I found them down the street from us in South Philly. There was something sad about the fact that they were given up... objects at one point that were embedded with care. I took home about 12 of them. They are in surprisingly good condition.

The first painting I am working on to come out of this is entitled "The Anatomy of a Street Tree (the maple at my front door)"

40" x 40"

I have to admit that I have not been painting as much as I would like recently. I've hit a busy patch! Freelance gigs and 40 hour a week job eat away at that time! I'm the first to say there are no excuses though.


A side note: Someone recently had some critiques on my webpage... feel free to list them in the comments to this blog. I would like to continue to evolve the site. What are some things that are blatantly missing?

Swissvale Mural Wall

Swissvale Mural Wall
Originally uploaded by 730N.

Putting a proposal together with eco-artist Ann Rosenthal about this site in Swissvale PA.

Fingers Crossed!

Deleuzian Difference vs. how I've been thinking of "contrast" lately.

Space as the result of process. I have been thinking about contrast in several different forms since someone asked me if I paint light to dark, or dark to light. The answer is neither. After setting up the painting, I have a process of pulling the lights and pushing the darks. I end up defining the representation of a space through the difference, or contrast, of the pigments.

Deleuze is still very slippery for me... I see Warhol being on the opposite side of the spectrum. Identity as result of imposed categorical thinking.

I have been thinking that I need to employ contrast across images and paintings. Contrast in subject matter, using it to illustrate a larger space.

Deleuze mentioned Monet's water lilies as being repeats of each other, but not the same.

Could that same notion be extended across the changes a landscape undergoes?

How about changes to a mental landscape?

All of these are good questions I think. I'm excited about reading dense texts and trying to relate them to painting.

Stay tuned...

A bit more progress on the FDR painting

A bit more progress on the FDR painting
Originally uploaded by 730N.

This one is proving difficult! I am still getting tripped up by the colors and nuances. Completion seems far off.

Colors are varying wildly across the painting. As long it doesn't fracture value wise, I think it could be to a good effect.

I still need to make the water look frozen and make the clouds more atmospheric. But the general paint style I have been cultivating is there. Even though that style seems to rely upon contrast.

I think I have adequately set up the larger contrasts in this painting—between the sky, ground and water. But the nuances within those areas are mind boggling to say the least. A lot of work to do there still.

Feel free to comment!

Grad School?

I want to go. I am researching schools and programs for the next few months. If you have any suggestions that you think I should know about, please leave me a comment!

Superficially, I am interested in applying to Tyler School of Art, Yale, and Upenn.

I'd like to find a program that is receptive to painting w/ an ecological focus. I am not interested in going somewhere that will say "You need to take painting out of the square man! The wall hegemony is fascism!" Already experienced a pedagogy that advocates tearing down conventions, and I found it to attack the very core question of meaning itself. I would be a post-modern self referencing ironic artist if it didn't make me so apathetic!

I want to be in an environment that nurtures and challenges my painting without being close-minded to the more radical ideas I learned at 3 Rivers 2nd Nature.

It wouldn't hurt if they paid me to go too. (Takes Yale out of the running for sure)