Studio Visit: Mauro Zamora 10.30.10

It took a couple of months for Mauro Zamora  and myself to nail down a day to swap studio visits, all due to our schedules not synching up for a few weeks. Things finally came together on a Saturday at the end of October. Both of us are in transitional phases with our work at the moment, (jumping off of cliffs is probably more like it) so the timing made the feedback between us that much more important, in my view. 

The questioning and doubt that come along with living a creative life is heightened with painters because of our usually solitary work habits. Not only that, but one of my hard-core personality traits is a propensity to be alone. I can go a long time without being social. That alone makes it a good practice to get out of my space every now and then and experience someone else's, along with getting some feedback on my own work. 

Being able see other artist's work spaces has always been a thrill for me. It is always good to see how other people deal with things like storage, how they organize their spaces and to see how they inhabit their work space. One of the best things about doing studio visits is being given the privilege to see work(s) that the outside world may or may not experience. 

Mauro is currently preparing work for a solo exhibition at Rebekah Templeton here in Philadelphia in January, 2011

Show dates: January 13-February 26, 2011

Opening Reception: January 13, 2011, 6-9pm

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Studio visit: Brenna K. Murphy 10.02.10

On the same day that I visited Tremain Smith's studio, the last artist I had time to visit was Brenna K. Murphy. Brenna's work consists of integrating hair into photographs and other objects like the envelopes in the photos above. 

According to her artist statement, Murphy says, "I am interested in the relationship between the ideal of Home and the body. In our culture we tend to think of our 'hometown' or the house we grew up in when we think of what Home means. Growing up without the presence of these things, I turned to the more personal and immediate to create my sense of Home: nuclear family, relationships with friends, and my own body. The development of my repetitive 'hair ritual' is indicative of how I have come to view my body as a surrogate Home, a way to connect these ideals with something physical and tangible."  

Because of the delicate nature of her work, it's somewhat diffictult to photograph, hence the few shots here. Brenna K. Murphy's work is best seen in person and there are a couple of chances to do so right now:

"Between the Studio and Facebook"Main Line Art Center (746 Panmure Rd. Haverford, PA)
October 15th - November 13th

"Post (nomad),"  is comprised of hair-embroidered images on post-marked envelopes.

"Vestiges"Center for Emerging Visual Artists (1521 Locust St., Lower Level)
October 20th - November 12th

Found photographs into which she has incorporated her hair using a variety of techniques.

New works on paper

Kinetic Bliss, 2010, acrylic on paper, 22 x 22 inches

Blink, 2010, acrylic on paper, 22 x 22 inches

Supakitch and Koralie wall painting

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE - VÄRLDSKULTUR MUSEET GÖTEBORG from elr°y on Vimeo.

Video of a wall painting by Supakitch and Koralie.

Studio visit: Tremain Smith 10.02.10

Back at the beginning of October, I had the chance to visit a few artists' studios that were a part of the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST). Most years, I don't have the chance because of work, but this year the stars aligned just so and I spent a Saturday afternoon seeing art out in West Philly.

My first stop was the studio of Tremain Smith, out on 59th Street. Tremain is a painter whose primary medium is encaustics. I've known Tremaine for a number of years and this was the first time that I got to see her work space. The great thing about it is that Tremaine's studio occupies an entire two-story house. Every nook and cranny has the touch and residue of a creative life in it.

View more of Tremain's work here: Tremain Smith images

From here to there

How did I spend my Friday, you ask? Why, I moved something, thought for a while, and moved something else until I got tired and had no choice but to go home for the night. The idea was to free up some wall space to do more work. It took a lot of mental, and later, physical, gymnastics to figure out where to move what, but by the time I left, the new configuration was taking shape. 

It took a bit to get past the mental part of changing a long-time studio set-up, but it's something that I should have done a long time ago, at least three years or so. Moving things around also made me realize how much I can probably let go of. A bit of purging is in order. There are  things hanging around the studio that I thought I'd be using "one day" but that day has not come, so it's time to let stuff go again.

 It's amazing how much mental space things take up in your head, even when they are small and seemingly insignificant. The moment I've chosen to let them go, I feel lighter and the space they occupy seems so much larger than it really is. Just like at home, the accumulation of things in the studio can be more paralyzing than we realize sometimes. 

Walk With Me

Live version of Neil Young's "Walt With Me"

I've been listening to Neil Young's new album, "Le Noise" at least once every time I've been in the studio over the past week or so. It's just Neil Young, guitar and some nice producing work by Daniel Lanois. It's a really powerful, revealing, sonic blast.

I've liked some of Young's music in the past-mostly what I heard on the radio-and while I have only been a passive fan, at best, the stripped-down force of Young's voice and guitar on "Le Noise" really resonates with me.

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Work is coming along pretty well in the studio. I'm having some great adventures with new works on paper. I'm in love with the 38" x 50" Stonehenge paper. It seems to be a perfect size for what I'm doing at the moment. There's also some interesting cross-pollination going on between the paper work and the paintings. I'm moving into hunkering-down mode for the winter in the studio. I hope that this productive ferver lasts for the season.

Studio: 10.15.10

Untitled, 2010, acrylic on paper, 50 x 38 inches

There are no others, There is only us

A short film about the power of crowds by Marc Silver

post POST 2010

The open studio event this weekend was a success. Over the two days I had 69 visitors, most of them new to my studio. I even met a couple of people who have been following this blog, as well as a couple of others I've previously known only as Facebook connections. It's always good meeting the people behind the images and words on the screen.  


I have to say, this year was probably the first where I did not have the "post-POST" blues. Most other years, after putting so much energy into working towards thsoe two days and suddenly, all of that energy that the space had from people coming in and looking around would be gone. I've usually experienced some kind of come-down, but not this year. I was glad that POST was done and was ready to get back to work. I actually got the studio pretty much back to working condition Sunday night in under an hour. I was back in there yesterday to take the paintings down from the walls and was back to work today.

POST 2010-day 1

Today was the first day of open studios this year and it went really well. I had about 31 visitors for the 6 hours and a lot of them were new to my studio. There was a lot of good feedback about the new work (everything I have out was completed in the last 8 months, with the exception of a couple of small paintings). The weather was great outside...sunny, warm but with a little breeze, the perfect fall day that anyone taking part in POST will like. The only problem with this time of year is that there are always a ton of other events taking place around the same time, so you can never count on always having a constant number of studio visitors each year.

I arrived at about 11:20am, enough time to get my posters, balloons and other promotional items up on the front door downstairs. No matter how much I"ve gotten done in the space, I never feel comfortable until I have my promotional stuff up and visible for passers-by.

Tomorrow will be great because I won't have to worry about any last-minute things that I might have to take care of. I can sleep in and even take my time getting there.

POST prep

All set up for open studios this weekend. I'm pretty tired and still have a little to do in the morning but at least the big part is done with. I was good this year with getting a lot more done ahead of time than in the past. Being ahead of the curve has made the prep period a lot easier. It was also nice to have time to finish a couple of paintings before the weekend.

There's more that I want to do in terms of new work, but it will have to wait until after the weekend is over.

Once again, if you're in the Old City section of Philly this weekend and want to stop by, my studio is at 16-A North 3rd Street, 4th Floor.

Open Studios this weekend!

If you are in Philadelphia this weekend, Saturday, October 9th and Sunday, October 10th, you are invited to visit my studio as part of the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. I will have some new and recent paintings and works on paper on display.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2010
(East of Broad Street)

Dates: 
Saturday, October 9th
Sunday, October 10th

Time:
12pm-6pm each day

Studio address:
16-A North 3rd Street, 4th Floor (just a few doors north of Market Street on the west side of 3rd)
Philadelphia, PA 19106

While you're in the Old City area, stop by and visit some of the other participating artists and POST partners:

The Clay Studio
137-139 N. 2nd Street

Pete Checchia
122 Arch Street, 2nd Floor

Caroline Furr
110 Church Street

Heavy Bubble
110 Church Street

110 Church (Gallery)
110 Church Street

Mami Kato
16 South 3rd Street

Muse Gallery
52 North 2nd Street

For more information and a map of the Old City POST participants, click here

How ink is made

This is a surprisingly interesting video about how ink is made. The beautiful soundtrack is part of the attraction, but the main thing for me is just watching the colors being mixed. One of my favorite parts about the painting process is mixing colors. I especially enjoy seeing the variations in tones in the phase before the final color is arrived at. I really enjoyed working inks when I took printmaking courses back in school. There's a delicious pleasure derived from taking relatively stiff (depending on the density of the pigment and vehicle) inks from the can and making them become softer and more pliable with a painting knife or scraper.

Laurie Anderson-"Only An Expert/Maybe If I Fall"

Laurie Anderson is one of those people I get an art-boner for (for want of a better phrase). I always look forward to seeing/hearing what she's doing next, whether it's good or "meh". Anderson is but one of my examples, but who does it for you? Whose work might inspire old creative lust for their work? Who makes you want to drop all plans for the next month or year just so you can be in the studio trying to be a better artist? This extends to people and work outside of what your personal primary artistic concerns are, so have at it...who gets your creative fires going?

Harold Hollingsworth video profile

Harold Hollingsworth from P. O'Brien | G. Miller on Vimeo.

Harold Hollingsworth is one of my many internet artist friends whom I haven't met yet, but whose work I admire. This video was made for a Seattle art program called "Artzone" that will air this Friday. More of Harold's paintings can be seen here: Works by Harold Hollingsworth

When Life Gets in the Way of Art - NYTimes.com

When Life Gets in the Way of Art - NYTimes.com

It was revealed recently that Ernest C. Withers, who photographed images of the Little Rock integration battle, the Emmett Till trial, and many more scenes from the civil rights era, was a paid informant for the FBI.

This article brings up issues regarding artistic intent and integrity related to Withers, artist Larry Rivers and joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck.

From what I've read about the Withers revelations, a lot of people are shocked and feel betrayed by what he did. On the other hand, do his actions as a paid informant change the work itself? Do his photographs now lose any artistic revelance because of his personal dealings with the government? I don't think so. A good photograph is still a good photograph, regardless of the circumstances. As documents of a social movement, however, they are now recast in another light altogether-that of evidence of a betrayal of trust.

Here’s an idea. If you want the art you should pay for it. Promptly | The Art Newspaper

Here’s an idea. If you want the art you should pay for it. Promptly | The Art Newspaper

Late payments from collectors have an unfortunate domino effect...

"Here’s an unhappy scenario: a young gallery, with nearly empty coffers, hasn’t collected payment on six of the seven sales the dealer closed at a June satellite art fair in Basel. The dealer—who paid all fair-related expenses months ago—needs to cover his rent and overheads. He can’t pay the artist, who needs money for his own bills plus materials for an autumn show. To make matters worse, the dealer must remain calm and detached, while trying to extract payment. “It’s this old-school gentleman thing,” the dealer told me. “You don’t want to appear desperate.”"

Studio 9.23.10

Studio: 9.23.10

The Radiant Child-go see it

Studio: 9.22.10

I went to see the Tamra Davis documentary about painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, "The Radiant Child" last Friday. I definitely recommend seeing this film, if you have any interest in Basquiat's work or just to get a glimpse of how the New York art scene in the '80's developed. The film itself is formed around an interview Davis did with Basquiat in 1986, when he was a rising star in the art world. Davis shelved the footage she had until fairly recently. "The Radiant Child" consists of the interview Tamra Davis did interspersed with archive footage of Basquiat at work, photos, and interviews with a number of poeple who were close friends, collectors and dealers. It charts Basquiat's meteroric rise to international art star and just as quick fall. There is a lot of footage of Basquiat that has not been seen before, especially of him talking, working, dancing, and being himself in the studio and out. Some of the anger that he felt towards how he was treated comes through, as well. He got recognition, but didn't feel respected enough as a person and artist. 

Through the film, you get a good sense of the pressures Basquiat had to deal with being the African-American male art superstar of the time. He wanted fame and got it, but not without serious consequences for someone who was ill-prepared for dealing with the world he was thrust into and didn't seem to have a significant personal support system in New York. What you don't get with "The Radiant Child" is a hard look at how the people in the art world used him and how he used others to get what he wanted, but that doesn't seem to be Davis' objective here. She's more interested in humanizing the image of Basquiat as celebrity artist while casting a hard eye on the culture of celebrity. So, yes, go see it. 

Tamra Davis on her film, The Radiant Child

Upcoming screenings

Like most docs about artists whose work I like, it was good to hear his own take on what was happening around him and with his work at the time. I'm glad that Tamra Davis chose to share this footage and was able to get this film made. I was only obliquely aware of what was going on in the New York art world duirng the 80's. I was in high school during the first half, just learning about art via European Old Master and Impressionism. I had very little clue about what was going on with contemporary art at the time and didn't really get a lot of it. 

I remember reading about the crazy amounts of money that people were spending on art and a few names stood out like Basquiat, Julian Schnabel, Francesco Clememte, Jeff Koons, and a few other 'big names',  but there was little of what I saw of contemporary art that I liked at the time. That was because of a lack of understanding, on my part, of much art past Post-Impressionism at the time. I remember knowing about some of the social issues surrounding the art world in the 80's because those same issues, like the underrepresentation of blacks and women in top corporate positions, to name one, were a fact of life on the news and in the streets. I remember thinking that it was cool that a black male visual artist had made it in the art world to the point of being an international art star, a rare thing in those days. Not only that, but that Basquiat had been a street artist who 'made it'. It seemed that everyone except white males were considered as being underrepresented in big-name galleries and museums.  With all of that, I didn't really appreciate the depth of Basquiat's work until the mid-90's, once the noise of the 80's began to fade and I was casting a wider net during a time of personal growth as a painter. 

Hard work needs dirty music

What does one listen to on a rainy evening while stretching canvases? Why Sonic Youth's 'Dirty', of course. The best thing that I listened to tonight that made the process seem to go faster.

Sonic Youth-'100%' (live, 1992)

Reflections

I caught sight of David Foss from outside of the LGTripp Gallery this afternoon. He was touching up one of his pieces in preparation for his solo show, Exits and Entrances. There is an opening reception this Saturday, September 11th from 5-7pm. 

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Restlessness seems to be something that figures into my working process quite often. No matter what I'm working on or where I am in the evolution of a series or what-have-you, there's always this point (or several) where a certain restlessness starts pushing forward and working its way outward. This is when I start the questioning and pushing in order to make sure that the work is staying vital and alive to me.

This is going on more more than I probably realize it, but for some reason I had one of those moments today. A moment where I was able to identify something that's ingrained in me and the way I work, one of many somethings that I take for granted because they just are.

Bouquet on the wall

Bouquet, 2010, acrylic and digital reproduction on panel, 24" x 30"

'Bouquet', a recent painting, on the wall of my studio.

More of the best is yet to come

Kevin Finklea has work in a new group show at Pentimenti Gallery in Old City, Philadelphia. 

'More of the best is yet to come' runs from September 7-October 23, 2010

First Friday reception: Friday, September 3, 2010 6-8pm

Artists Reception: Saturday, September 11, 2010, 4-6pm