Images from Washington DC

a few photos from the last show. images can speak for themselves...

Two New Paintings.

in between the designing front, and a recent show in DC I have had few moments to create new works, these past two months, but I finished the studies for these two paintings which are 30 by 40 inches. Now if I only had a studio that was larger they 30 by 40.....

A home redux

After two months of pain and suffering, I have gotten the basics of the inside of the first floor of my parents home completed. While there is so much more to finish, I am happy with the final. Two new bathrooms, a new kitchen from top to bottom, and a redesign of every other room. from painting, to rewiring, to moving basically every item.

New lighting

As I decided to take September to remodel my parents house, its been a long time coming, I created a ceiling light for the entry doorway based on my previous line of reclaimed lighting. When i finally finish this project, some photos to follow.

Iran Neda and the Image

I have been obsessively following the events in Iran. a few days ago i was forwarded many personal videos of students being beaten and killed. One of course was of a rather dashing girl, Neda, who was shot in the heart, and died on the street. After watching it three times, I found myself tearing a bit. There is something so impersonal about a video, yet at the same time if you allow yourself to follow, it is extremely intimate. To watch a death of anyone is difficult, yet when it is a young girl, just the wales of the people around her was enough. Now she is being labeled as a image or logo of a uprising. The media loves to pick up a story run it through, and then simply move to something else. While I am not exactly suggesting that this should be prolonged I wonder will people actually remember this girl and what she represents. I started on some new works, taking specific moments from footage and painting from it. While painting her in particular, I find myself trying to hold on to a specific moment, and in that I know that this person, who I never met, and have little idea as to what kind of human she was including her interpersonal issues, will have some meaning in my short time on this planet. I do hope that as the twittering, and facebooking move on to more mundane issues, that some people will find room to remember at the very least what living in a more free society, and choice are really about.

The miniature mars series

Another series of the miniature, taken from small models, modified, repainted, to accurately portray two events on the face of mars. One being the Viking landing (which is 1/2 inch tall and 2.4 inches in length) in 1975 and the next, which I was alive for, is the mars rover Sojourner twenty years later in 1997 as it investigated "Buffalo Bill" (1 inch height and 1.5 in length)

NASA's Viking program consisted of a pair of space probes sent to Mars, Viking 1 and Viking 2. Each vehicle was composed of two main parts, an orbiter designed to photograph the surface of Mars from orbit, and a lander designed to study the planet from the surface. The orbiters also served as communication relays for the landers once they touched down.

It was the most expensive and ambitious mission ever sent to Mars. It was highly successful and formed most of the database of information about Mars until the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Viking program grew from NASA's earlier, and more ambitious Voyager Mars program, which was not related to the successful Voyager deep space probes of the late 1970s. Viking 1 was launched on August 20, 1975, and the second craft, Viking 2, was launched on September 9, 1975

The Mars Pathfinder ('MESUR Pathfinder^[1]) was launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II just a month after the Mars Global Surveyor was launched. After a 7-month voyage it landed on Ares Vallis, in a region called Chryse Planitia on Mars, on 4 July 1997. During its voyage the spacecraft had to accomplish four flight adjustments on 10 January, 3 February, 6 May and 25 June. The lander opened, exposing the rover called Sojourner that would go on to execute many experiments on the Martian surface.

My lights

While this show coming up is the first appearance of my new lights, I have been making lit objects for many years. These are based on the idea of taking old lamps, and lamp parts, including bulbs when possible, and reassembling them into something that is quite modern, yet contains its original elements. I have made a few of these, and am considering working on a hanging series. The next is a light made in 07 that is almost organic in its design, yet is made from iron, and plexi. At the same time the plexi encases a rock, specifically hematite which is what iron comes from. The last is also organic in form, resembling a small plant, and I chose a solid plexi cube, to show case the wiring as it descends.

Stonehenge or Stan Hencg

My fascination for the miniature has now led me to spend the week constructing various models of structures and machines. The first being a scale version of Stonehenge. The piece is on a panel 8 inches by 8 inches. and is aprox 1.5 inches at its tallest. While I find the concept of postitioned rocks intgiguging, it is to me a more primitive example of a structure, when compared with other impressive works at or around 3000 to 2000 BC (See Mesepotamia or the Pyramids of Giza for a comparisson) Again i give you a wiki summation.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and sits at the centre of the densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.^[1] Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. However one recent theory has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400-2200 BC,^[2] whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC

I love crabs (decapod crustaceans)

I find crabs fascinating, their variety, and their structure. And now some information per wiki:

Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (Greek: βραχύ/brachy = short, ουρά/οura = tail), or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a single pair of chelae (claws). 6,793 species are known.^[1] Crabs are found in all of the world's oceans. Additionally, there are also many freshwater and terrestrial crabs, particularly in tropical regions. Crabs vary in size from the pea crab, only a few millimetres wide, to the Japanese spider crab, with a leg span of up to 4 m

A Sign of the Times

On a recent visit to the American Museum of Natural History, a significant portion of the exhibit spaces are closed for most of the day. You need look no further to see how things are effected. On another note I was pleased to receive some seismology print outs from Italy from the museum for use in art.

re furniture

My love of science and the natural forced me to come up with a in house concept for a natural history museum. When I was young I loved going to the Smithsonian in Washington and I always wished I could have some of the dioramas with me. This piece has been refurbished, painted, distressed, and I have created a environment within where snails molded in wax now live. More to come.

Jeffersons model Pyramid

took this photo again illegally (why you are not supposed to take a photo, who knows) at Jefferson's home of a small cork model of the pyramid at giza. While I have actually been to the real one, this well made model, is something that I lust after. He loved to entertain people in his home and impress them with is collection, something that was common during the age of enlightenment. I could settle for a pyramid or two...

From my collection: a treasure from Persepolis

Takht-e Jamshid was the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid dynasty. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BC. To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa, which means "The City of Persians". Persepolis is the Greek interpretation of the name Πέρσης πόλις (Persēs polis: "Persian city"). This fragment was most likely from the corner of a column that was maticulously carved with floral designs. This piece is made of the same material found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of works (although not as large), and is a cherished possesion.

End of Bridge NYC 09

New York Bridge Art Fair 2009 Day 1

Tonight was the opening party for Bridge, we set up way into the wee hours, and after having to navigate the insane West side parking restrictions, we set to work. In the morning we raced over to the early preview for Pulse and met up with some friends who are showing there. After countless hours hanging etc the show was ready, and there was a generous crowd tonight. The air was so hot, that it felt like we were showing in the middle east. But enough talk, and here are some photos.

Hamas Tv Porn During Gaza Siege

Iran morning TV

Hamas Childrens Show

I have been following the adventures of Farfour, etc and I am fascinated by not only the production quality, but the story lines or lack of.. I only wish I could view full episodes and where are the studios. Thats what I want to see. anyway enough talk. Here is a clip worth replaying a few times. Wish we had full versions

Miami Basel Dec 2008

After a two day drive through the south, I noticed that aside from a girlie club on 95 it gets real long after southern Virginia till you hit Georgia. After that crucial juncture, you have some things to look at to occupy yourself till Miami. The show was completely different then Berlin, not in a negative way, just simply a composition that differs. After Rebecca cursed the walls at the booth, things went well, and we met alot of interesting people and will be reunited with them in March during the Armory show. Oh and i guess there was alot more art, but I wouldnt know because I was at the booth most of the time.... and the pool...

Artforum in Berlin @ Berliner Liste 08

been a while, and I have been so busy that in effect I've become lazy! Around the time of the American elections we ventured off to Berlin, to take part in the Berliner Liste. Aside from some delightful logistical issues of certain works being detained by customs, things went well, and the content was well received in Germany considering some of the political aspects. Then of course there was of course making the Tag paper for their coverage of all the fairs. So yes that was worth it..

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio:

The task was simple, slowly uncover the tomb floor, and sort through the bones contained within. After lowering myself into the tomb once again, I was able to spend countless hours sitting with the dead, who last had a human touch them when they were first placed in this tomb over 1500 years ago. while certain parts of the body remained in tack, others were fragile, to the point of literally crumbling into dust in my hands. I couldn't help but think about the fact that I was literally surrounded by death, an old death, that was now in my clothes, skin, and inhaled in my lungs. The tomb wasn't so bad, it was so hot outside that even though it was like a sauna inside, the sun wasn't a factor, and it didnt seem so dreary. But it is difficult not to ponder ones mortality when handling the basic elements of it. Although this is based on science, I did feel bad that we had stripped them of their jewelry, and rings. Stealing from the dead, and now I was trying to sort out thier bones, and was instead organizing them all based on size, so that 7 bodies became a mixture of pieces with no ability to differentiate. Taking the time to think about how their families grieved for them as they put them in this family tomb over 15oo years ago, to then have me sift through thier bones, made me feel slightly uneasy, but one has to rationalize, and I know that their is really nothing to be uneasy about, and that the life cycle takes us from the ground, and places us back there. I may be breathing it in in greater quantities, but we all breath it in. I finished placing all of the bones in boxes and bags, and tenderly caressed the bag, as i left it to be picked up by the truck.