One More Bop

A glorious day: I've finally been reunited with the love of my life, my beautiful Nikon F3 (not to mention a fresh roll of Ilford XP2).

Stopped by Coney Island this morning. First time I've ever seen snow on a beach! Riding the subway in the wee hours of the morning this past week, all I could think about was Walter Hill's The Warriors (great movie; thanks for introducing us, pop).


Actually, my first (and thankfully so far only) non-food/transit splurge was Sol Yurick's 1965 novel around which Hill based his flick. Maybe when I'm in a more ambitious mood I'll try tackling Xenophon's Anabasis, the spiritual forebearer to both texts. Some light Christmas reading, I guess.

There's Something About Mary

I found these two paintings (by Mary Henderson) in a gallery a little ways off Chelsea. I think on 9th Ave or something like that. But they absolutely took my breath away.

Sepulveda, 1988, oil on panel, 20"x16"

Tyler Dormitory, 1995, oil on panel, 16"x20"

I dunno, classical artists don't really do too much for me. But there's something about finding contemporary painters and knowing that there are people out there right now making these amazing pieces that makes me want to push myself. So good on you, Mary. One day I'll be hanging up there next to you (especially since each of these babies was retailing for a good $8,000 or so).

Hart in a Cage

Another Chelsea discovery: Sharon Lockhart.

I visited the Gladstone Gallery and walked in on her exhibition Lunch Break. While I really enjoyed her photographic work (mostly three-paneled series of lunchboxes opening up and revealing their contents; below) it was the video piece that took the cake for me.




I turned the corner into this installation room and was just engulfed by this hypnotic slow-motion video. It's a simple premise, really -- the camera moves down a shipyard hallway in a smooth single shot as the blue-collar workers eat their sandwiches and read their papers. But it's the inertia of the whole thing that's so captivating. You really feel every thousand pound footfall and bottom-of-the-sea movement as the industrial soundtrack fades in and out.



The gallery attendant actually kicked us out because I sat there until closing time. Probably a good thing, too, because I could've watched that thing all night.

Going Retro

First post from New York City.

I've kind of been avoiding the big touristy areas. Not just for my own monetary sake, but because I'd like this stay to be a different kind of experience. I suppose I got all that out of my system the first time I was here four years ago.

I spent the other day in the artistic treasure trove that is Chelsea. Slowly but surely, I'm making my way through all 213 of the galleries there. By sheer blind luck, the other night I walked into a retrospective of my new favourite photographer, Bruce Davidson, who wasn't only present but giving a photo-by-photo reflection of the entire exhibition.


I was particularly enamored with his series Brooklyn Gang (below), shot in 1958, when Bruce, then 25, wormed his way into a tribe of 15 year old knuckle-busters for one year. It was fascinating to hear his dozens of stories, from the chieftain who went on to become a successful dealer, then user, then drug counselor, to the banger turned police detective who contacted Bruce years later when he recognised himself on the cover of one of his books left at a precinct after he was mugged.


In the spring of 1959, I met a group of teenagers in Brooklyn who called themselves "The Jokers". I was twenty-five and they were about sixteen. I could have easily been taken for one of them ... I found myself involved with a group of unpredictable youths who were mostly indifferent to me. In time they allowed me to witness their fear, depression and anger. I soon realized that I, too, was feeling some of their pain. In studying close to them, I uncovered my own feelings of failure, frustration and rage.

- Bruce Davidson

If I had any cash left I would've bought all of his books in a heartbeat, but Manhattan's an evil money-sucking vortex. One thing it has taught me though is the fine art of turnstile-hopping, a skill that I am putting to great use.

Elvira

I'm just leaving the small upstate New York town that's been my home for the past four months. Sniff. Next stop: the big city.

One of the nice traditions at this school that's somewhat lacking at mine back home is that students trade their work. It was fun picking up souvenirs like this woodcut of one of the natives, which was rendered in a single all-night marathon. I think it turned out well.


I actually wanted to post five of my own prints but I never got them back from my teachers in time (they had to photograph them for a book they were making of the class' work). Since I've got the plates I guess I'll re-print them once I get back but it's still a bit of a drag.

The Lammer

My last painting for my Junior Painting class. Working in conjunction with the previous one, the two comprise an exploration into the idea that portraiture can be about more than just the depiction of an individual. The people that we choose to paint and draw inadvertently map out who and where we are at specific moments of our lives.

Consider that the subject of these paintings - my housemate for the past four months - is a person from the opposite side of the globe that I happened to meet by chance in this small town in upstate New York. Very soon our paths will diverge once more. But for this short period we existed in such close proximity.

Guitar Hero, 90 x 60 cm
Oil paint on canvas
Painted November 2009

Painting this felt about a million times better than the last piece. It was just nice to loosen up and go for a much more relaxed and casually intimate aesthetic. My source image was a grainy little photo on my phone and I think that gave me the leeway to play with the colour and composition. I do have some issues with the nondescript background (something that I think carried over from the last painting) but overall I'm happy with how it all turned out.

Here are a few more pictures of the painting in various stages of utero:



The area that I'm probably happiest with is the pthalo blue shirt design. I originally thought it would prove to be the stiffest challenge but I think (hope?) it turned out quite well.