Boy Meets Job

Sunshine

2011-02-13T07:40:00.000+11:00

Traces of a recent lomographic expedition.

Up next: the 15 shots of Ilford XP2 that have been sitting in my SLR for the last nine months.

Eskimo

2011-02-08T19:13:00.004+11:00

An ink study of my older brother. Somewhere cold in the early '80s.

Apologies -- this blog has been on life support for a little while now. Hopefully this post will be the first of many more (and consistent) installments.

The Rough Side Of The Mountain

2011-01-08T06:52:00.001+11:00

The following stills are taken from an audiovisual installation called Topologies, crafted by the London-based Quayola. It's well worth checking out his planar shapeshifting videos, which strangely remind me of the indie gaming sensation Minecraft.

I'd love to incorporate some abstract elements into the piece I'm currently working on -- an illustration for an upcoming exhibition based around the theme of the brain -- but it's definitely something that lies outside my comfort zone. We'll see how things turn out.

Vision Quest

2011-01-07T08:57:00.008+11:00

A dreamy behind-the-scenes look at the construction of a Barry McGee exhibition. Is he using Windsor Newton series 7 brushes?

Barry McGee - TRANSFER SP Brasil from Antonio de Paula Ternura on Vimeo.

Last night I dreamt that someone took $70 worth of recently purchased BFK Rives and crumpled it into a crude parcel. A subconcious reminder of both my upcoming exhibition deadlines and artistic unproductivity.

But You Can't Be Both

2010-12-18T14:52:00.002+11:00

The trailer for Terrence Malick's upcoming film, The Tree of Life.

"We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world’s way of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth."

It's interesting to see a different take on the themes and ideas that have recently informed my own work. I'm not necessarily a huge Malick fan (loved The Thin Red Line, yawned my way through The New World) but he is a visually amazing director. That upside down shot of the boys' dancing shadows is hypnotic.

The film also strongly reminds me of Mitch Albom's novel, For One More Day.

Awe

2010-11-28T08:53:00.005+11:00

Just another stunning painting from the masterpiece factory that is James Jean.

As deep of a slump as I feel like I'm in, seeing work like this makes me want to reach for a brush.

The Pebble And The Magnet

2010-11-27T06:56:00.004+11:00

Below is a piece that was (fairly) recently entered into a regional drawing prize. Working both on paper and in black and white was such a refreshing change of pace after all this painting. It reminds me that I originally entered art school with the intent of focusing on graphic illustration.

Beggars In The House Of Justice, 59.4 x 84.1 cm
Ink on Rives BFK
Illustrated October 2010

I recently completed my final semester with mixed feelings about the way the experience ended. In many ways, it was an abrupt regression after a a year and a half of progressive improvement, and I'm sufficiently discouraged by my final product that I don't want to post any images of those paintings.

Having made the immediate leap from art school to a full-time office job, I find myself increasingly distanced from my art-making practice. I am haunted by the words of a visiting artist whose primary advice was not to get bogged down in a "real job".

Imperfect Worlds

2010-10-24T09:31:00.002+11:00

Cranking out some paintings for the end of year exhibition -- barely another week to go till deadline. Apologies for the delayed posting. As a consolation prize, here is an amazing vision of the future courtesy of video artist Keiichi Matsuda.

Interestingly, this video was part of Matsuda's final project for a Master of Architecture degree as part of a broader commentary on the increasing convergence between the built environment and media space and the increasing role of architecture in the consumer environment.

Goodbye ...

2010-10-04T17:20:00.008+11:00

Today's project, as inspired by yesterday's sketch. An ink drawing that went under the knife in Photoshop. Something that I may or may not use in future after I clean it up some.

Edit: a more refined version, below.

Two-Legged Dog

2010-10-03T19:37:00.004+11:00

I'm stacking projects in a busier-than-usual busy time of year but it's kind of nice to be hustling and bustling. This is a two minute pen and marker sketch (and a much needed breather) that lies opposite a busy page of planning and note-taking.

I resisted the urge to draw in a Moleskin for a long time, both in deference to their price and (oft) pretentiousness of their owners. But this one was given to me and the paper is quite nice so goodbye, integrity!

Bridesmaid

2010-09-27T18:59:00.004+10:00

An accompanying piece for the show completed in a single marathon session stretching from 7AM-3AM. I think I would be happier with it if the first one hadn't turned out so well. It's not that I hate this one or anything; I just have a very average reaction to the final results.

Requiem, 60 x 60 cm
Acrylic on particleboard
Painted September 2010

At first I wanted to do something very strongly separate and even got so far as to introduce a vastly different background motif (somewhere between the 3rd and 4th stages seen below). But I just didn't like how it turned out and ended up painting over it.

If I wasn't pressing to meet a deadline, I would have liked to add a bit more tonal variation and subtle colour shifts. But at the end of that 20 hour shift I don't think I had either the motor skills or ocular focus to do so. Probably shouldn't have picked such a one-tone figure to paint either. Ah well. Bear it in mind for next time.

A Potent And Lethal Addiction

2010-09-23T19:36:00.007+10:00

New painting for the show next week. Done in three days. It would've been quicker, too, but at one point the panel fell face first onto my palette. I'm hoping to get another larger piece done over the weekend.

Hurt, 60 x 60 cm
Acrylic on particleboard
Painted September 2010

It's a continuation of the old G.I. Joe series from last semester. Not only because they were so fun to paint, but because I feel like there's a lot more I can do with them. This is an early attempt at producing an image with something a little more interesting than a one-tone background.

My sister says it reminds her of "The Hurt Locker". Huh. Cool thought but I didn't make the connection until she brought it up.

Renovations

2010-09-16T08:04:00.003+10:00

I've been meaning to make some changes to this blog for a while, simply in the name of visual clarity. This is just a placeholder until I have the time/drive to design my own banners and backdrops. Please bear with the minor tweaking that may or may not happen over the next couple of weeks.

In other news, I am partaking in a group show at the end of this month. So if you are in Sydney come on down and bring your richest and most gullible friends.

It's A Boy

2010-09-15T08:05:00.002+10:00

Well, this was a pleasant change from all the wall textures and chain link fence. I'm generally more happy with the figure's upper body than I am with the legs, but overall I'm quite pleased with the results given that it was rendered almost entirely from my imagination (hence the inconsistent lighting effects).

It's a strange thing, but I suspect that all the technical emphases of our first year drawing and painting classes instilled a reliance on photographic references that I haven't been able to shake. Whereas prior to art school I could generally just draw freely from mind. I guess that's why it felt so nice to kind of ad-lib this little section (with more to come).

I still have to render about a dozen or so intertwined trailing characters in translucent glazes so this painting is far from done. Originally, I planned to do three panels, but I'll be fortunate to complete two. Volume of work is my biggest concern right now but I'd rather hand in one excellent painting than two or three half-assed pieces.

Tools Of The Trade

2010-09-09T14:58:00.001+10:00

A snapshot of my painting table, complete with overused/abused paper palette and the two miniature brushes that I have rendered 85% of my painting with. No wonder it's taken so long.

Heavy Lifting

2010-09-07T21:07:00.010+10:00

Behold the labours of the past two months. A bit depressing considering how little way I've come and how far I've yet to go. But it is the most layered and detail-intensive painting that I've ever attempted.

You can follow my overtly pedantic process from the buildings in back to the foreground wall to, most recently, the nightmare that was the chain-link fence. Incidentally, I absolutely hate rendering architecture.

p.s. For those that know it, yes, the imagery was referenced from La Cancha. I tried adding the "Ole" graffiti but it looked pretty terrible.

Wrong Side of the Bars

2010-09-03T10:25:00.004+10:00

Courtroom sketches from a visit to Chelsea District Court in Boston earlier this year. Guess I forgot to post them at the time, but I just found them in an old notebook.

My favourite part was striking up a conversation with the guy next to me after he quipped, "Yo, you got mad skills," and then abruptly ending it when his name was called to be summoned before the judge.

Mission Statement

2010-08-16T17:24:00.009+10:00

So I'm about one third of the way through my final semester at art school and desperately trying to bring my final body of work up to speed (hence, the lack of posts -- sorry!). This project is basically a thematic continuation of last semester's work, dealing with issues of loss and emotional displacement in the context of the transition from youth to adulthood.

Preliminary sketch on wood panel

Basically, I'm painting a series of panoramic narratives, each of which will depict a boy with a soccer ball conquering a legion of his own imagined foes. It's a pretty clear and shallow reflection of my infatuation with the recently ended World Cup, and I am desperately hoping that the final product won't look like a Nike ad, but the subject matter is both personally relevant and visually accommodating to the type of language that I want to use.

My life, circa 1991

The one condition I did impose was to confine all of my compositions to a strictly two-dimensional plane -- not as a conscious decision, by any means, but more in how I instinctively visualised the idea. I suppose it harks back to memories of my boyhood iconography: living in a two-button world where the only driving factor was to get Mario from the left side of the screen to the right. That's something that wouldn't make sense to a lot of my more academic teachers, but I look at these old NES games and see a beauty in that kind of honest visual simplicity, and I look at my recent work and see evidence of this aesthetic lineage.

Photo taken in Boston Commons (01/10)

I also think this framework is a perfect vehicle to explore the dynamics of human movement, which is probably a more longstanding artistic interest of mine. As someone who typically frames only one or two people at a time in an image, I'd like to really explore a more intricate and fluid composition of interacting characters in this series of paintings. Something akin to the complexity of Renaissance painting, which is generally something that I tend to steer clear of.

Nicolas Poussin's "The Battle"

On a more technical level, I'm trying to layer my acrylics in a series of thin coats to produce a well developed transparency effect, what with the juxtaposition of the child's imagined elements against the reality of the physical setting. It's pretty cliche, but one of my bow-down-and-worship-him contemporary influences is the painter/illustrator James Jean. The image below, for example, is a perfect demonstration of the kind of hard-graphic-on-soft-paint look that I want.

As it is, I'm still battling the first of three planned paintings. I've hashed out the basic underpainting and am currently fleshing out the background (something I really, really dislike doing ... rendering architecture). But after uploading them to my computer I realise that all the photos I've taken are pretty terrible. This post is long enough anyways. If you got this far, wow, I'm impressed.

Man On Fire

2010-07-26T06:00:00.006+10:00

Cool visuals (thanks, AG). Might use it in future for something.

Mojothings

Green Grass And Blue Skies

2010-07-23T08:56:00.003+10:00

Some examples of the unconventional sports photography of Hans van der Meer, the primary artistic influence on this semester's major work. His linear composition and emotionally detached narratives are both elements that I would like to emulate in my painting.

As a nice little bonus, looking at this collection of photography has inspired me to shoot for the first time since I returned from the United States at the beginning of the year. I'm currently halfway through yet another roll of good old fashioned Ilford XP2, though I've also got some 200 ISO slide film sitting around waiting to be played with.

Runnin' Man

2010-07-06T07:49:00.000+10:00

I recommend this to anyone who wishes to pursue a career in any sort of creative industry. The Run Up is a documentary series that follows a number of artists from varying fields, disciplines, and lifestyles. In other words, 180 minutes of pure inspiration.

Here's a pair of excerpts from two of my personal favourites (one and two). Big ups to my brother for the awesome birthday present.

Facing The Music Like A Graduate of Juilliard

2010-07-05T10:01:00.012+10:00

Just trying to hammer out the idea behind my upcoming major work before this break ends. In a perfect world I'd be able to hash out my composition, gather all the specific imagery, and prep all my materials so I could hit the ground running and start painting when school starts. But I am still tossing up a number of concepts. Today I'm feeling something along the lines of:

It's tempting to go for another series of linear panels, but I'm feeling pretty high on the challenge of a single, epic, Guillaume Bresson-type oil painting. As much as I loved working with acrylic last month, I really want to get a handle on photorealistic oils -- something I've never been able to achieve. This is going to be my last semester at art school and I want to go out with a bang so I figure I might as well roll the dice.

Out Of This World

2010-07-01T22:24:00.003+10:00

A beautiful example of videogames as art. It's like a charcoal drawing in motion.

Also reminds me of the wonderful Another World which I once upon a time had on the SNES.

Becost

2010-06-20T17:49:00.000+10:00

Translation: I didn't like school ... because ...

Men Become Boys and Boys Become Men

2010-06-16T17:45:00.003+10:00

Here are those last three acrylics. In the end, I was only half a day over my intended five-in-five timetable. Not bad, not bad.

I'm quite pleased with how this project turned out -- in fact, it may have just convinced me to use acrylic for my final semester's major work. Food for thought, I guess.

It's In The Bag

2010-06-14T10:03:00.006+10:00

As time-consuming as this animation would have been to make, it came together so, so well.

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

In other news, my paintings are done (just have to paint the edges and touch up the backgrounds). Assessment date's tomorrow so photos should follow soon.

Three Days of the Condor

2010-06-08T21:12:00.002+10:00

Three down, three to go.

The head on this guy looks a bit potato-ish; I might have to re-touch that face. I'm also not too keen on that hand on the right. The blue vest was giving me nightmares but actually turned out alright. And though you can't really see it in this crappy photo, I must say, the light on that arm on the left -- amazing! Even a blind dog finds a bone once in a while.

The splotch on the background is an annoyance that I will have to deal with later, and one I know will lead to much cursing.

No Known Survivors

2010-06-07T21:15:00.002+10:00

Here's an update on the second project that I'm trying to sandwich into the tail end of the semester. I started these six canvases a few months ago but they've since undergone some serious renovations. To be honest, I'm just having fun getting reacquainted with acrylics and banging out these G.I. Joe portraits. For some reason I find it 1000x easier to do photorealistic renditions with these paints than oils. And it's a nice bonus to not have to worry about chemicals or wait a day between layers.

I'm currently on a painting-a-day schedule since everything's due next week but it's not as bad as it sounds because, despite the time crunch, it's been quite a pleasant experience. I actually think that self-imposed pressure has helped, too, at least insofar as making me a bit more subconsciously decisive. It's kind of like when I drive to school -- since there's only 1 hour parking and I have to go out every so often to move the car, I find that I'm much more productive in terms of what I squeeze into every 60 minutes.

Anyways, that's all I got so far. I'll try to post as I go and take some better photos (those backgrounds are actually completely flat and tonally identical).

Re: Nils Guadagnin

2010-06-01T06:20:00.000+10:00

http://nilsguadagnin.blogspot.com/

Sculpture's not really my thing but this guy has some amazing pieces.

I also really, REALLY like this wall art: Expsition Wallpaper.

Where We're Going We Don't Need Roads

2010-05-31T07:20:00.004+10:00

I have been waiting for this moment my whole life: French artist Nils Gaudagnin has built a working replica of Marty McFly's hoverboard from "Back to the Future II".

Unfortunately, it only works in conjunction with the plinth it sits on, based on an inbuilt electromagnetic system that allows the object to levitate. But still, they've already released the Nike Hyperdunks (sans self-tying laces) so it's only a matter of time till we all have flying DeLoreans.

Burning' and Lootin'

2010-05-30T19:01:00.006+10:00

First work: done.

Not that there isn't more to do on this one -- the tones on those signs should be a little more consistent. That baseball player needs way more black on his upper body and shoes. I could probably work a bit more on the panel transitions. I definitely need to figure out how to hang these panels (D-rings?)

Sadly, it's a numbers game now. I've got two weeks left to finish my other much more neglected major work. If there's time, I'll address these issues as best I can. Compromise is such an ugly thing.

It's probably still too fresh to decide whether I like this piece or not. I can say that I don't love it. But maybe that's because I can't help but think about the concessions I had to make to my original idea of having these portraits be life-sized on door-sized panels of wood. I wish there was a way to make this happen, but I'm not even one of those people that can re-visit a work to touch it up, let alone recycle the same idea.

Triplets

2010-05-20T18:55:00.005+10:00

The photo quality isn't great, but here's a quick look at the three panels that I've done so far.

Batman's been a problem child since day one, and to be honest, there's still something about him that gets under my skin. Unfortunately, I have neither the time/effort to re-attempt that particular panel, and I can't think of anything that I could do different to make it better. Hmmm. I guess I'm getting a bit over this project, as evidenced by the steady decline in quality/enthusiasm since the astronaut.

Anyways, three down with the remaining two primed and ready. Next Friday is my D-Day.

Here Comes A New Challenger

2010-05-17T06:25:00.006+10:00

My new favourite artist -- James Blagden.

Creator of the now legendary "Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No" animation, as well as an upcoming accompaniment to Ice Cube's "30 for 30" documentary on the L.A. Raiders.

Love those acid-trippy colours and bizarro-surreal subject matter.

People Will Mourn The Legend. But Who Will Mourn For Me?

2010-05-15T17:15:00.005+10:00

Legendary fantasy painter Frank Frazetta recently passed away at the ripe old age of 82. I remember seeing his art on the cover of old Conan comics when I was a kid.

I was likewise sad to discover the strained relationship he had with his son, Frank Jr., who recently drove a backhoe into the Frazetta Art Gallery to steal $20 million in paintings (strange ...).

"My son is an alien. There's no telling what he'll do. He's been like that for, I don't know, how many years. We played baseball in the old days. He always chose the opposite side from me."

Haterade

2010-05-15T11:12:00.010+10:00

Two down, with a third about 3/4 done and the last two prepped and on deck.

Some lingering issues:

1) That text really irks me. I'll wait till all five panels are painted and then re-do it all.

2) I didn't notice at first, but my studio neighbour astutely pointed out the abrupt transition between the panels. Again, I'm going to wait till I've got everything done before adding some cross-panel drips to smooth it out a bit more and add a bit of visual continuity. (Thanks, Nick)

On a side note, whilst prepping my remaining panels with a yellow undercoat the baseball player I'd painted earlier turned out as pictured. Dig that soft look. People have been telling me to include it in the sequence but I think homogeneity's an important part of this project. Maybe if I had a mulligan I'd steer the whole thing in that direction, but it's surely way too late now.

Frontiers

2010-05-06T17:25:00.009+10:00

A quick recap:

I had this idea waiting on deck pre-semester so was able to hit the ground running -- concept sketches, materials, laying-out and image prep was all done in the first 2-3 weeks. And then a month and a half of flatline. I had my subject matter down, knew how and where everything had to be, but just couldn't figure out the painterly aesthetic that I wanted.

E.g. three early iterations of the first image I tried painting. I'm actually quite fond of the one on the left but (error of all errors) I plotted a new course after some negative feedback from the one teacher in my class whose opinion I actually value. Hence, the increasingly butchered attempts. In terms of the figure, it turned out okay but I immediately and adamantly knew that I could do better.

Behold the breakthrough (above). The lightbult moment came as I was staring at the texture of the floor in the painting studios during a group crit, and was further reinforced by the chance discovery of this jacket cover for Matt Kindt's "Superspy". This led to the profuse experimentation with dripped solvent and glazed paints. I'm extremely happy with the end result. That background combined with the slashed paint strokes on the astronaut give the piece the whole street art feel that I was so depserately searching for.

Now all I have to do is get the rest of the pieces up to speed. Which isn't too bad considering that the astronaut only took me two days all up and I've got the blueprint for the whole process in my pocket. Most importantly, however, is that this project is now fun again. No more banging my head against a wall.

Only four teacher assisted weeks left in the semester and counting so I'm glad that things are finally coming together. Let's see how it goes from here.

Bumaye

2010-05-01T11:02:00.008+10:00

Three cool animations made by NYC label/agency No Mas in celebration of the 35th anniversary of 'The Rumble in the Jungle'.

"Zaire" by David Rathman

"Round Zero" by Jerome Lagarrigue

"Godfather of Soul vs Greatest of All Time" by James Blagden

I particularly love the look of "Round Zero". One day, if I ever have the time, patience, and talent to paint like that, I'd love to try my hand at a much more ambitious animation project.

[Note: apologies, I can't get the videos to fit full screen and it's driving me nuts. Here's another link to be safe.]

Amsterdamage

2010-04-27T19:30:00.002+10:00

Detail from one of the panels that I'm working on. This particular piece could use a little more yellow/peach in the upper left but other than that I'm keen to start painting the figure.

I've currently got six of these panels for a proposed 2x3 grid. For this semester, realistically, I think I might be able to squeeze in an extra two or three for either a 2x4 or 3x3 grid. But I could totally see this as an ongoing work (at least rolling over into the next semester). I'm thinking 20 to 30 pieces at least, gradually moving on to more progressively damaged and de-limbed figures. We'll see, I guess.

Knowing Is Half The Battle

2010-04-19T08:24:00.007+10:00

Exactly two weeks since my last post and I am determined not to let this blog die. A lame excuse, but I have been having some issues uploading images on my up-and-down internet connection.

Here's some tonal underpaintings for one of my projects (my first foray into acrylics since the unfortunate mess that was foundation painting). I deviated from my initial proposal somewhat and instead decided to focus on the stilted posture and plasticised expressions of these six old G.I. Joe action figures. They're both endearing and alien to me; comforting and lonely. The backgrounds definitely need to be flattened a bit more but so far I am liking where it's headed.

I'll keep you posted -- promise!

Time Capsule

2010-04-07T06:08:00.004+10:00

The last roll of lomography from my trip to the States (plus one leftover shot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge). Got it developed yesterday.

A strange feeling.

Naga

2010-04-05T09:15:00.002+10:00

This has no bearing on my major works but it does tie into a project that I'm working on the side. Outside of this, the finale from "Way of the Dragon" (i.e. the one where Bruce Lee goes to Rome) is widely considered the greatest fight scene of all time. And it stars Chuck Norris!

Personally, I am more partial to Bruce Lee's fight against the Japanese school from "Fist of Fury" (apologies, it's in French). But I do love the dialogue-less interplay between Bruce and Chuck. That look in his eyes when he snaps his neck is heartbreaking!

Gravity

2010-03-31T10:44:00.004+11:00

A much more eloquent version of what I was trying to say in my last post, courtesy of author Steven Pressfield. Science is most definitely not my forte but I like the Newtonian analogy that he employs.

Read this book -- it's "300" with real heart and a brain.

On a side note, I love the 'Writing Wednesdays' section of his blog, although I think that my obsessive reading of it is itself a form of the Resistance that he so often talks about.

Narcotraficantes

2010-03-30T22:09:00.007+11:00

I haven't actually liked anything else that Joe Carnahan's done but I quite love "Narc". It's gritty, intense, and raw, and that's exactly how I want to paint.

I had a clear vision for the backgrounds of my five panel piece (see previous post) as a flat and ambiguous space, but the inability of my brain to think in abstract terms has produced a bit of a muddled mess.

In my previous painting experiences, I have absolutely loathed what I have been making until, at some unexpected and unpredictable interval, the lightbulb clicks and everything ends well. So it's really just a matter of pushing through the self-hatred until this epiphany unfolds. That's what I like about painting -- you can keep on slapping down colours till the thing goes from ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly to magic.

Behind Every Disney Character Is A Chain Smoking Animator

2010-03-27T09:42:00.007+11:00

First of all, apologies for the increasingly delayed posts. Since I typically dive right into my paintings without doing any real prep work (apart from gleaning some photographic source material) and because of how long it takes me to actually paint, I find myself in these long stretches of time where I don't feel like there's anything worth showing.

Final concept board

With that said, I have currently embarked on a new project that, for the first time in a long while, has pushed me outside of my conceptual comfort zone. It's a sad fact but since I've studied at art school I've become utterly dependent on drawing from reference. The emphasis on anatomical precision and formal qualities has killed the fearlessness with which I used to just draw. With this project, however, I've returned to the basics, and as difficult and frustrating as it's been at times, it's been just as fun rediscovering my sea legs.

Unused sketches

Basically, I'm doing a five-panel series of full bodied portraits on 90 x 60 x 1.2 cm particleboard panels featuring character archetypes of the things I dreamed about becoming when I was a kid. Each will hold a sign that, when read in sequence, will spell out the phrase, "Not all dreams come true." I guess it's pretty melancholy but I wanted to make a piece about the sadness that exists in happy memories.

On a side note, I actually wanted to be a mailman because they got to ride a motorbike, but it wasn't as universal (or cool) as the other archetypes in the lineup -- hence, Evel Knievel. I thought about replacing him with a cop but that felt a little too real world for the vibe I was going for.

As a consolation prize for my tardiness, here's a page of sketches for the other project that I've got going this semester: a collection of six square canvases depicting G.I. Joe action figures that I used to own, posed and damaged in rough emulation of war-wounded veterans.

Winter Kept Us Warm

2010-03-17T10:55:00.003+11:00

The name Robert Capa might be unfamiliar to many, but show them a photograph of his and there's a good chance they'll recognise it. Covering no less than five separate conflicts over the course of his lifetime, the man personified the archetype of the globe-trotting photojournalist. And while he was heavily scrutinised for staging maneuvers, it's hard to overlook the fact that he stormed the beaches of Normandy wielding nothing but a camera (only 11/106 frames were salvaged, courtesy of the overeager 15 year-old lab assistant).

Ironically, the name Robert Capa was a contrivance of the artist and his photographic partner (and then fiancee), Gerda Pohorylle, in an effort to bolster his recognisability as a freelance journalist. Born Endre Ernő Friedmann in Budapest, the man who would be Capa chose his namesake as both a nod to the director Frank Capa and a play on the Hungarian word for shark ("cápa").

However, as astute as his nose was for smelling blood in the water, it seems that Capa himself was unable to duck his own personal tragedies. His fiancee, Gerda Pohorylle (or 'Taro', as she later changed her surname to), was killed on assignment in Brunete in 1937 whilst documenting the Spanish Civil War. Over the course of WWII and shortly thereafter, Capa was romantically linked to Elaine Justin and Ingrid Bergman, but both were short-lived affairs and he never married either.

In 1954, despite swearing never to photograph another war, he found himself in the middle of the First Indochina War. Whilst accompanying a French regiment and shooting their advance, Capa stepped on a landmine. He died with his camera in his hand.

Beneath A Steel Sky

2010-03-11T06:13:00.000+11:00

Just as a disclaimer, Toronto really isn't this creepy/ominous/depressing. It is bloody cold though ...

No Ordinary Man

2010-03-08T06:29:00.000+11:00

If you can ignore the fact that this was made for an investment firm and is actually horribly capitalistic, you'll find a beautiful video with a wonderful message.

It's humbling to think that for a few small changes we could be living in a better and brighter world.

East End

2010-03-04T06:48:00.000+11:00

When I was a kid all I wanted to be was Batman but these days I'd happily settle for David Mazzucchelli.

Boy's Life

2010-03-01T10:53:00.001+11:00

Window shopping in New Orleans.

In Utero

2010-02-25T07:32:00.008+11:00

Pencils for the ink drawing that I'm working on. It's a little bit deceptive since the actual image is significantly larger; I just forgot to set the scanner to an A3 paper size.

I planned to finish this piece last weekend but the sudden arrival of a full-time job put a damper on that one. It's currently sitting at home about 1/3 inked.

Can't Argue With A Confident Man

2010-02-23T16:22:00.001+11:00

I remember watching the original "Assault on Precinct 13" and making a mental note of how great the soundtrack was. John Carpenter played a mean synthesizer back in the day. And I love the fact that he scored his own films, too -- there's not nearly enough dual-threat director/composers!

I really don't mind painting in either complete silence or whilst talking to the people around me but music's definitely a prerequisite if we're talking about my optimum studio environment. It keeps me loose and relaxed, gets me into a physical rhythm, and stops me from thinking about how long everything's taking (for the most part). I suppose it helps me build a story behind the image, too.

Typically, I'll thrown on an instrumental playlist -- anything from The Dust Brothers to Miles Davis to RJD2 to Explosions in the Sky, depending on what kind of mood I'm in or tone I want to set. Might just have to add John Carpenter to that list as well.

Little Garcon

2010-02-22T07:04:00.000+11:00

Street musicians on a sunny day in New Orleans.

Silver Lining

2010-02-20T08:39:00.002+11:00

Alex McLeod -- Toronto-based digital artist and all round nice bloke. I met him through a friend of my brother's at The Taxali 300 opening and had a nice chat about making it out the other end of art school and living as a practicing artist.

It was fun to hear that Alex had majored in painting/drawing at school (the same thing as I am studying now) since he basically abandoned all the traditional practices he learned to branch off in his own direction. Not something I see myself doing given my digital ineptitude but it just goes to show you that there's more to life than school -- especially when it comes to art.

It was interesting for me to hear Alex talk about how he was influenced by those old point-and-click adventure games and their pre-rendered backgrounds because I look at these images and see them as photographs of dioramas or set-pieces that have actually been physically constructed. In my mind, at least, it's like we're walking through a Hollywood soundstage or a claymation studio just seconds after everyone left for lunch. I dunno. There's something charming and nostalgic about how self-consciously artificial these setups are and I really like that.

You can check out more of Alex's stuff on Kanye's blog. Or if you just happen to be in Barcelona in February to March, I highly encourage you to go and visit the Rojo Artspace.

Human Detritus

2010-02-19T07:03:00.000+11:00

A little slice of creepy from down in New Orleans. I'm sure that kid's shirt just fell off a parent's stroller or something but it still sent my imagination spinning off into some dark corner.

Undiscovered Country

2010-02-18T07:33:00.000+11:00

Found this last lomo image hiding on my desktop. If I remember correctly, it was shot in a Jewish restaurant in Brookline, Boston, where I had the potato pancakes.

I'm currently working on an ink drawing -- nothing too fancy, just something to get the wheels turning again (school starts in a fortnight, after all). Pencils are all rendered so we'll see if I can knock it out sometime today.

I Always Thought Violence Didn't Solve Anything Until One Day It Did

2010-02-16T07:49:00.002+11:00

I'm not really one for video art or French noir for that matter, but I did think this was a pretty neat flick:

Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

The slow motion's borderline gratuitous but at least it tells a story that has nothing to do with "The Matrix". Also, it kind of makes me want to go out and buy a Phantom camera even though I'd have no idea what to do with the bloody thing.

Plaisir d'Amour

2010-02-14T08:12:00.000+11:00

While I was down in New Orleans, I visited the National WWII Museum. And apart from the wild celebrity-fueled propaganda of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' "Beyond All Boundaries", I thought they did a pretty decent job of portraying all sides of the conflict.

The photography alone in the museum was staggering in its brutality and sadness. As each room represented a chronological development in the war, the photos were arranged much like a timeline. One Life-published image in particular stuck with me: that of a homefront beauty smiling behind her desk, proudly displaying the Japanese skull that her boyfriend had sent back.

Umbral De Pobreza

2010-02-13T09:46:00.004+11:00

Sweet concerts that I've recently missed: Maximo Park, MF Doom & Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, Vampire Weekend, Lupe Fiasco. I'll throw in The Pixies in there, too, because even though they're playing in March tickets sold out in about half a heartbeat and I am far too poor to eBay anything.

There's probably a lot more that I could add to this list but I'm not enough of a sadomasochist to check Ticketek. Ah well.

Ain't Got No Lullabies

2010-02-12T09:02:00.000+11:00

Two lonely souls in New Orleans.

Like A Lead Pillow

2010-02-10T06:33:00.000+11:00

A Softer World is a photographic comic produced by Joey Comeau and Emily Horne (love her photos).

It's sometimes funny ...

... and sometimes sad ...

... but always worthwhile.

Spike

2010-02-09T06:40:00.000+11:00

This is Spike, my friend's housemate down in New Orleans. He's got a penchant for biting fingers, licking the tap, and waiting for the mail. Somewhere in his head the wires got crossed and he thinks he's a dog. But that's a total plus in my book; I was never much of a cat person.

It probably also helps that he's been de-clawed.

The Jericho Mile

2010-02-07T06:31:00.001+11:00

I feel like anatomical studies are the artistic equivalent of going for a run. Both are fundamentally beneficial to goals that I want to achieve but (for me, at least) also oftentimes monotonous. Which explains why I don't do either as often as I should.

I think the trick is to dive right in without thinking too much. Once you do get caught up in the mechanics of it all, there is a therapeutic dimension to that kind of mindless single-mindedness. Shake the rust off and it all becomes clockwork. Sometimes it's nice to just drift.

Over The Mystic

2010-02-05T04:34:00.000+11:00

Riding the 111 over the Tobin Bridge to Chelsea. Heading to court, no less.

First Breath After Coma

2010-02-03T05:44:00.008+11:00

I'm going to interrupt the chronological continuity of my little photographic timeline and post a little something about an opening that I had the pleasure of attending last week in Toronto. The Taxali 300 showcased over 300 illustrations and prints from the collection of artist Gary Taxali (below: getting a hug). A lot of cool stuff that was way out of my price range ($200-700 a pop for a postcard-sized print). But even if I did have that kind of dinero, I'd have been hard pressed to find something that wasn't already sold -- by the time I got there I reckon 70% of the work had been tabbed. Easy six figures for Gary; not bad at all for one night of schmoozing.

Most of the openings I've been to have been strictly small-time or school-related so it was nice to see how the other half lived. At one point someone asked me who I was shooting for, which is exactly one of those times that you wish you could lie faster/better. These things really are great for networking though. I'm sure he has absolutely no recollection of the event but I did get a quick two minutes in with Gary who was kind enough to humour this strange kid with some words of wisdom. That's something I definitely appreciate.

Motherland

2010-02-01T15:09:00.002+11:00

So I just got back into Sydney this morning. You know, I never thought I'd complain about warm weather again but I'm so not used to the sensation of sweating anymore. Hmmm. On the plus side, I did learn some new things today:

Couldn't decide which one of these facts was more awesome. Check out the website for more bizarre items: http://www.learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk/

Edge Of Your Seat Reading

2010-01-30T10:13:00.000+11:00

Translation: At the library, we looked at a good book.

I'm not sure why, but the two people that represent my entire class seem to be synchronously chanting the word "Go".

Last day in town. Bags are (mostly) packed. Fingers crossed that I don't get the screaming baby and/or morbidly obese neighbour. Thanks for the good times, America.

Traffic In The Sky

2010-01-30T04:05:00.010+11:00

In light of my recent photography binge, and in anticipation of a miserable 22 hour flight home, I thought I'd post an old project from my foundation semester -- nothing less than my first in-depth experience with 35mm film.

Our brief, if I remember correctly, was to document an environment in the manner of a character study. I chose the Kingsford-Smith airport and ended up shooting with a roll of drugstore 400ISO Kodak film -- both decisions mandated by the imminence of the deadline rather than actual preference. Fortunately, everything turned out nicely.

A lot of people have a preconception of the airport as a transitory stop rather than a location in and of itself, but I wanted to depict it as a place of permanence. Wandering around the terminals, I became fixated on all the people that didn't have a destination to rush off to -- the throwers and runway operators standing around having a smoke and a chat; the security officers and desk staff; basically anyone who wasn't a passenger. Capturing that hidden population became my goal.

This was really the first time that I shot anything with a sense of purpose or direction. I remember flipping through a big book of Pulitzer Prize-winning photo essays as a kid and becoming enamored with that kind of journalistic storytelling and I think that definitely influenced the way I approached this assignment. At the very least, it explains my aversion to posed subjects and staged photography.

Looking back on this project, it's clear to me that it has had a long lasting impact on my overall approach to photography. Not only in regards to the environmental fixation that's still evident in my recent work, but also in terms of how I tend to read people as descriptive extensions of their surroundings rather than characters in their own right. I'm not sure why, but in a strange antithesis of my painting practice, I tend to shy away from focusing on any recurring individuals within my photos.

(Couple of outtakes)

I suppose the reason that I like using a camera is because it offers such a refreshing change of pace from painting -- not just on a technical level, but also in terms of conceptual approach. For me, photography is much more about telling a story than conveying an abstract idea. Maybe I'll have an idea of what I want to achieve, but conceptual doctrine doesn't play nearly as big a part in the process. And aside from time of day/year and actual physical location, personal context is an irrelevant factor. Because the mechanics of clicking a shutter button are nowhere near as open-ended as the concept of moving a brush, all I have to do is walk around until I find something interesting. It's therapeutic.

The Happiness Factory

2010-01-28T19:37:00.002+11:00

Pretty tacky place but it was still fascinating to wander around the giant warehouse at "Mardi Gras World" where all the parade floats are assembled. Just in terms of how mundane it all is behind the fun; how boring it is to sit in this room full of effigies.

I missed the festivities by a few short weeks but that's okay. One trip down Bourbon St. was plenty and I wouldn't want to be there if the Colts take the Superbowl.

You Can Run But You Can't Glide

2010-01-27T23:51:00.000+11:00

Chasing a gaggle of ducks just outside Boston College, in Brookline.

Reminds me of when I was a kid and we'd go down to the lake to feed our stale bread to the ducks -- the bloody things would always bite my fingers.

Trucker's Lunch

2010-01-26T11:40:00.000+11:00

Stein's Jewish Deli on Magazine Street in New Orleans. At the time I was just trying to burn through the last shots in a roll but I ended up pleasantly surprised with the results.

If I could ever set it up I'd love to do a week-long shoot in a restaurant kitchen. Get all the manic rushes and dead lulls on film. Maybe I've been watching too much "Hell's Kitchen" but I reckon you could fashion a nice little series out of the idea.

Double Vision Quest

2010-01-26T00:35:00.000+11:00

An inadvertent overlap of two down-on-their luck Boston natives. I didn't notice at the time, but I failed to wind the film all the way to the next shot. A fortunate mishap.

Just For The Record

2010-01-25T08:02:00.004+11:00

It's time to choose a side. And really, how can you not back the guy that introduced us all to the Masturbating Bear?

Los Angeles-based artist Mike Mitchell painted this up without a commission or any other sort of solicitation -- an amazing feat in this day and age. It's now become as important to the pro-Conan movement as Shepard Fairey's was to the Obama campaign, and really, I'm sure we can all agree that this is much more important to the freedom of the western world.

Uptown Girl

2010-01-24T23:58:00.003+11:00

A lady walks her dog through the ritzy Beacon Hill area of Boston. Not quite sure what the deal is with the police tape but I'm quite happy with how this turned out.

Flesh Painter

2010-01-24T01:26:00.000+11:00

I feel like a lot of photorealistic artists straddle the line between achieving something in their work that's technically amazing and conceptually interesting -- rarely, however, is it both. Alyssa Monk is an exception to this rule. Her work is so consistently mind-blowing and uniquely ambient that I find myself sifting through her dozens of paintings and loving each and every one of them.

I do kind of wonder about the photo reference for that baby though ...

Watching, Waiting

2010-01-23T00:57:00.000+11:00

Stalking some strangers in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. I can tell you from experience that the echo of a shutter click in an otherwise silent room produces a very awkward fallout.

On a side note, these photos mark a transition from the 400ISO Ilford XP2 film that I was originally using to a Kodak CW400 stock. I definitely prefer the former (it produces a richer black/white contrast) but couldn't seem to find it anywhere in Boston. Oh well.

A Second Shooter

2010-01-22T01:26:00.000+11:00

More proof that having a pocket-sized camera with an inaudible shutter noise is a dangerous combination.

With Onlookers, No Less

2010-01-21T07:58:00.000+11:00

Heading up to Toronto after spending the last five days in New Orleans. It's strange to think but in two weeks I'll be back in Australia, ending my six month run of waiting for airplanes and sleeping on couches. Huh.

As for this gem of a journal entry, I'd like to provide a translation but I have no idea how that sentence is supposed to read. Somewhere in there I'm apparently measuring a table but I also appear to be lusting after a boy named Tim.

The Fascination of Sacrifice

2010-01-20T23:04:00.002+11:00

Another good read: David Shenk's "The Immortal Game". Recommended to me about three years back, but I only sunk my teeth into it a week or two ago. As Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kierseritsky's titular duel unfolds in a brilliant example of tactical duplicity, Shenk overlaps a lyrical exposition of the game's history and the many myths and legends that surrounds its origins.

One such story revolves around two sixth century Indian kings. The first ordered his sage to invent a game that reflected his belief in the power of fate and this produced the rolling of dice. The second, however, ordered his sage to invent one that represented his conviction in the power of knowledge and free will, and this ultimately led to chess.

Parts Greater Than Their Whole

2010-01-19T23:40:00.000+11:00

I'm in New Orleans right now but here are some Boston leftovers. Really liked that town. I stayed there longer than anywhere else on this trip apart from NYC, where I wasn't nearly as photographically active, and as a result, I feel like this is the most well-rounded collection of photos I've shot so far, covering not only the preppy college life in the city but also the more dour and blue collar outskirts.

I've noticed that a lot of my photographs (or at least the ones that I like) tend to have this very front-on linear perspective and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, I love the aesthetic it brings and think it comes across really well in these kind of photo-essays. But I'm also worried about the threat of becoming compositionally complacent. What do you reckon? I'd love to get some feedback on this.

Still Life

2010-01-19T00:46:00.000+11:00

An image that I love in lomographic photography but would absolutely hate to paint.

As much as 100ISO has been hit-or-miss for me, I do love the richness of colour you get when it actually turns out.

Now Comes Days Of Begging, Days Of Theft

2010-01-18T01:58:00.004+11:00

My current read. I know it's in vogue to jump on the McCarthy bandwagon but "Blood Meridian" has been on my to-do list for a long while. I thought "The Road" was depressing but this is probably the bleakest thing that's ever seared itself onto my brain -- in the most fascinating way possible, of course.

McCarthy's always a tough read and he makes the matter infinitely more complicated in this instance with untranslated pasages of Spanish and a complete lack of quotation marks. But I love the sparseness of his writing style and the way all that unspoken description bleeds into your head.

"He works in a sawmill, he works in a diptheria pesthouse. He takes as pay from a farmer an aged mule and aback the animal in the spring of the year eighteen and forty-nine he rides up through the latterday republic of Fredonia into the town of Nacogdoches."

May All Your Dreams Come True But One

2010-01-17T01:29:00.002+11:00

This is Eddie: gun-owning Republican, Vietnam veteran, and born-and-bred Bostonian. I met him whilst sitting on a bench in Copley Square, trying to covertly snap some photos, until he sat down next to me and blocked my view.

One of those great non-stop talkers. I had the pleasure of hearing everything from his childhood memories of the early efforts to integrate Roxbury and Dorchester; to his musings on the inherent racism of the city of Boston; to his philosophical waxings on the stupidity of identifying any ethnic group in the country as anything other than plain old 'American'.

He also told me that a few years back he almost died, prompting him to list the ten places he wanted to visit before his time was up. Already knocked six down, too, although Australia's still left, as is his number one destination, Alaska -- not a bad effort. Right now Eddie's studying at culinary school, having abandoned the job he held for the past thirty-odd years at the U.S. Post and being eligible under the umbrella of his V.A. benefits. What a true Renaissance man.

Technicolor

2010-01-15T16:42:00.008+11:00

The veterans' protest outside the Massachusettes State House, this time in lomographic colour.

I'm not sure which one is more powerful. I really like the black and white. But there's something arresting about the red, white, and blue of those flags.

Doppelganger

2010-01-15T10:07:00.004+11:00

An early experiment in lomography.

There's definitely been more hits than misses but I am excited about the potential of this sequential photography.

War. War Never Changes.

2010-01-14T23:30:00.002+11:00

A protest of veteran affairs on the steps of the Massachusettes State House comprised of three generations of servicemen. Every time a car passed it would beep its horn, eliciting a great roar of approval.

Not pictured: the political huskers weaving their way through the crowds and handing out coffee and donuts on behalf of Senator So-And-So. It wouldn't be so bad if they actually had a tangible affiliation with the cause, but I'm pretty sure they were just trying to capitalise on a demographic opportunity.

There's A New Girl In My Life

2010-01-14T15:59:00.009+11:00

Took the plunge and bought my first lomo camera the other day, a Mini Diana. It shoots in either a 24x24 square or splits a single frame in two 24x17 rectangles, all in good old fashioned 35mm to boot.

Definitely feels a lot different than my Nikon F3. And there has been a bit of a learning curve. But that's all part of the fun, isn't it? This blog needed more colour anyways.

Retrospective For Life

2010-01-14T00:26:00.001+11:00

These are the last two paintings that I did in the semester prior to my exchange in the States, the first of which was an exercise in transparent/flat/broken colour, and the second a collage project. I was happy with them at the time and I'm still quite pleased with them now but it's strange to see how different they are to my last batch of projects.

3 Sachel Youths, 60 x 84 cm
Oil paint on canvas board
Painted May 2009

Baby Irma, 42 x 30 cm
Oil paint and mixed media on canvas
Painted May 2009

I only started painting in about August 2008 -- involuntarily I might add, since at the time I was only interested in the 'drawing' portion of my Drawing & Painting major. That semester was an exercise in brutality, too, as we were forced through the monotony of dozens of still lives and technical exercises, the results of which were predictably abysmal.

But over the summer break I made it my goal to actually learn something about painting and worked on a couple of canvases for fun (it also happened to coincide with my need for an artistic portfolio for my exchange application). Here's an early example:

Lupe the Fiasco, 42 x 30 cm
Oil paint on canvas
Painted January 2009

I look at this now and it seems so rudimentary. But at the time it was a huge breakthrough for me -- I was actually having fun while I was painting. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received from a teacher at art school was, in response to my whining about how I wasn't used to handling a brush, to paint as if I was drawing; to make the medium one that you were familiar with. That's probably why all of the above paintings are characterised by these bold linear outlines. Eventually, I progressed from a paint-by-numbers approach to something with a little more tonal variation and textural qualities. And these days, I feel like I don't need that crutch anymore.

It's surreal for me to see the exponentional difference in my paintings and approach to the medium from this time a year ago. Technically, I feel a lot more confident, and aesthetically, a lot more willing to experiment. It's definitely encouraging. Because as much as I learned and grew in 2009, I'm greedy enough to want even more this year.

City of Wind

2010-01-12T23:31:00.005+11:00

Three days in Chicago = not as many photos as I'd like. But I did love what I saw of the city.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago was my first preference exchange partner. I thought about the "what if" for a second while I was there. But in the end I have absolutely no regrets.

The Man On The Second Floor

2010-01-09T01:36:00.008+11:00

I'm pretty terrible at keeping a sketchbook but here are some 2 minute character studies I did whilst wandering about MoMA a few weeks ago.

On a side note, MoMA: nice museum, beautiful collection, horrible crowds.

Very George McFly

2010-01-09T01:13:00.001+11:00

A pre-canned post because I'm on the way to Boston. Thanks for the good times, Chicago!

Translation: I spied on girls with my friend ... A friend.

A strange look at my pre-pubescent interest in girls. My teacher's curiosity seems to have blinded her to the moral ramifications of this entry. On a side note, I must say that I am impressed with the illusory depth of field.

To See Colour In The World Again

2010-01-08T02:08:00.009+11:00

This man's name is Saravuth In. Every day he sits patiently by the north-east subway entrance in Union Square in front of his chess set, inviting passer-bys to play. I met him whilst waiting for a friend and after he promptly cut me to shreds we got to talking.

He has a fascinating and tragic story. Born in Cambodia, his parents and siblings were killed by the Khmer Rouge. He made it by as a shoe-shine boy till he was taken into a missionary orphanage by a man named Brother Michael, who later pushed for him to be included in President Ford's "Operation Babylift" -- a mission in which 28 Cambodian orphans were airlifted to the United States, put into foster families, and given appropriated citizenship. Unfortunately, he was subsequently abused by his foster parents and became a ward of the state. Despite this, however, he obtained a full scholarship to Rutgers where he studied PhD English Literature.

Saravuth fell in love with a woman in Montreal with whom he had three children. But after a messy divorce, he ended up in a dire situation, living on the streets with all his personal documentation in hand -- documents like his passport and birth certificate and social security card that were lost when he was beaten and robbed. He was deported to the U.S. on the basis of his fingerprints and a scrappy copy of a Washington Post article from 1975 that featured his photo. And now he can neither obtain a job (other than the typical illegal refugee fare, which he refuses to engage in as an educated man) nor gather welfare because, in a catch-22 of American bureaucracy, the government cannot fully identify him other than as a 'displaced citizen' without his full paperwork. Though he plays at a grandmaster level, chess is, like the classical guitar he used to earn on the streets of Canada, simply a means of getting by -- a hobby which was once enjoyed, but now exists at a purely functional level.

I ended up visiting Saravuth pretty much every day while I was in the city. Not only because he taught me the nuances of the Sicilian Dragon and the Yugoslav Attack, but because I genuinely enjoyed hearing him speak of such things as his favourite book, James Joyce's Ulysses, or his days as a concert cellist. This is an educated and eloquent individual who speaks both French and Latin; a natural teacher who loves nothing more than to frequent his knowledge. And yet here he sits as a homeless man, denied of his passion and purpose in life. It amazes and saddens me that something like this can happen. I would like nothing more than to meet Saravuth again some day. Just not sitting on the steps in Union Square, freezing to death in the middle of winter.

[Note: on my last day in New York, I finally beat him. But I half suspect that he let me.]

Leftovers

2010-01-06T10:06:00.004+11:00

Just touched down in Chicago. My first impression is: I love it.

Anyways, just wanted to share a couple of pieces I spotted in Chelsea a while back before I forget about them and they get buried deep within the corners of my hard drive.

Cayce Zavaglia
'Martina' 2009
Embroidery, crewl wool on fabric

Cheryl Kelley
'Untitled'
Oil on aluminium

Two very different yet equally beautiful photorealistic depictions. It's pretty much impossible for me to choose between the textures of Zavaglia's piece and the rock'n'roll lighting of Kelley's painting. Absolutely stunning stuff.

Cuts Like A Knife/It's Ice

2010-01-05T11:33:00.008+11:00

I fly out of NYC tomorrow morning. I've been here long enough that the town feels comfortable, and I'm definitely going to miss all the friends that I've met here, but I am looking forward to moving on. Anyways, here's some 35mm highlights from my trip to frosty Coney Island:

It feels super great snapping analogue again. And more is on the way (much to my wallet's chagrin)!

Caution: Long Rant

2010-01-02T16:33:00.008+11:00

http://blog.art21.org/2009/12/31/top-10-of-2009-entertainers-who-moonlight-as-artists/

Okay, I just read this article and have to get a few things out of my system. I actually love the original Rocky and think that Stallone should've won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for it; I do think he's a decent bloke; and I know that I'm completely judging this on a stereotyped perception of the guy. But I can't help but be irked that his paintings are selling in the $50k range. Almost as much as the fact that Shaq convinced one of my favourite artists, Chuck Close, to sell his soul and partake in his exhibition Size DOES Matter. Sigh.

With that said, I think that RZA's Victory or Death is a technically amazing painting slash overall awesome piece. And the sheer bizarreness of James Franco's essay on his soap opera performance art does make me laugh.

I'm kind of surprised that Kanye West isn't on this list. As much as I hate him with a passion he did go to art school (though he dropped out) and I remember being really impressed by a painting he did of a visualisation of how music appears in his head. I guess it's sort of like Gerard Way and his comic book work: his music and art are not at all up my alley (with Kanye this also extends to his personality and general existence as a person) but I can respect the fact that he studied illustration and actually interned at DC before he made it big.

You Can't Go Home Again

2010-01-02T14:59:00.011+11:00

Great piece by a great painter. I'm embarassed to say I only discovered Elizabeth Peyton this past year but curbing my artistic ignorance is one of my ongoing resolutions.

You know that excitement when you're walking down the street and you see someone who attracts you? Suddenly, just for a second, all possibilities are open.

- Elizabeth Peyton

That's how I feel about 2010. 2009 was a real rollercoaster but I guess that's just the way life is. This one's a big year for me though -- my senior year at art school. Wish me luck!

One More Bop

2009-12-22T11:30:00.002+11:00

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

2009-12-21T01:28:00.000+11:00

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

2009-12-20T04:01:00.001+11:00

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

2009-12-19T07:39:00.004+11:00

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

2009-12-14T01:13:00.007+11:00

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.