august2006

Moonwater

From Chris Ashley, August 31 2006

Earlier this month (the 11th) I wrote about the site and the work of Chris Ashley, who lives in the bay area and makes a masterful digital art. Something digital is almost a dime a dozen these days, but what Chris is doing is truly unique, thoughtful and beautiful.

He also writes about other artists and all kinds – certainly not just of the digital ilk. He’s coming out of painting and understands it. It was really nice yesterday to see that he had written about my own work in his site Look, See.

I can’t help but notice, now that the show is about to close, how so much of best writing was done by artists. They had all kinds of meaningful input, and even taught me things.

Decompression, August 30 2006

After (and maybe during) an exhibition there is a bit of a decompression mode setting in. And let’s hope indeed it is decompression and not downright depression setting in! - So much to look forward to, now up, then down and gone with the wind.

One thing Jim Demetre of artdish mentioned in his interview (August 28^th) was that he liked writing about dance because the moment was over and so he was just left with memories, sensations and thoughts - and this was a liberating thing to write about. Dance is a performance and the remnants might be in photographs or video, but mostly dwell in the mind. And so the reviews he could give were a kind of liberating experience as regards judgments and writing – for who can really challenge memory and experience? It is your own. The thing is not on a wall.

But visual artists do have something on the wall and the images, while seemingly stagnant, can change over time in an exhibition: in how they are responded to and in where they lead the viewer. While merely ‘art objects,’ they also make their own sort of performance.

Jim Demetre, August 26 2006

On Monday I interview Jim Demetre of artdish for Artstar. Artdish is a complex site that I am still exploring as I write up the interview.

One thing artdish has going is a place where you can start your own threads, most of which are information about exhibitions. This is indeed a service, because plenty of journals, online or paper, ignore plenty of exhibitions. Of course some of the threads become arenas in which you can either cheerlead or bitch to your hearts content, sometimes to one-up the last noteleaver.

I’ve met Jim Demetre twice and it was not only his intellectual expanse, but also his kindness and awareness as a man which really struck me. I hope I can capture some of that on the radio.

skies and dreams and ambition enough

Stieglitz, August 23 2006

The interview with Steven Vroom helped me get a grasp on the main difficulty I face now: how many hats do you wear? I speak of this because more than once the press has implied that I did not spend enough time in the studio. As my own art means the most to me, I wonder – must I ditch most of those hats?

Mind, male artists decades younger with decades less time in the studio seem to be doing enough - and it’s never held against them that they run cafés or manage bands or are in one. They can still be seen as a Serious Artist.

Steven was very clear that he wasn’t an artist, so maybe that eased his position. He was also very clear about not selling art and heck, that is also a line I cross. I make it but I also sell it (in a gallery - when I can!). Is this a conflict of interest?

Then he mentioned the magic word, the word to open doors and skies and dreams and ambition enough for anyone: Stieglitz. WHAT didn’t this man do and do extremely well?? He made art, he sold art, he showed art, he nurtured artists and he did it all better than anyone else.

Backyard, August 22 2006

Steven Vroom was over at my house last night after our interview on the radio. He liked the backyard and said he’s like to see some photos, so here are a couple.

When we moved here 3 years ago, none of this existed: not the wall, not the trees, not the flowers. My mate has planted all of it.

Vroom, August 19 2006

The first person to make me feel really welcome in Seattle was Carolyn Zick.

The second person was Steven Vroom. He’s the man behind Vroom Journal and also Art Radio Seattle.

So yes, Seattle does have art news via radio, but not exactly from the airwaves. It’s all Internet-broadcasted and I still don’t completely understand how he does it. But we’ll find out this coming Monday, as he is my next guest on Artstar.

The D. Kaven interview, August 18 2006

Daniel Kaven, who showed at the now-closed Gallery 500 and at the Affair at the Jupiter Hotel, has an interesting website. He’s actually got an mp3 of his interview on Artstar located right here.

The cult of the personality, August 16 2006

Lately I’ve been doing some reevaluating of Artstar and the current thread at artdish puts it all in yet another context.

I’m a little wary of the ‘cult of the personality’, to be frank, even though I trade in it. This is because then it becomes about me as an object or the subject and not so much about all my work. I research. I read. I see shows and then do a lot of writing. That is what made Artstar happen.

I found the comment about the probability of a collage artist and a painter having little in common pretty funny, considering I am both. But yeah, I think every single person and potential guest may have quite a few things not in common with each other - whether they be artists or ditch diggers.

But I know what they do have in common. They are all human beings, first and foremost – before they were ever painters or ditch diggers. They have a story. They have intent of some sort. And if you’ve ever listened to Artstar Radio, you’d know that the human factor is central to it and in fact impossible without it.

After all, it’s radio. The art object only goes so far, though I have done a few interviews that almost dwelled on it exclusively. However, as much as I love the art object, those interviews tend to be not the best. And that is because as fascinating as art is, the people who make it can be equally fascinating, sometimes even more so. Given the chance.

All of this reminds me of that quote of Royal Nebeker that I pulled out once before: “-There’s no doubt that the value and power of the work resides within the person who made it and not so much in an artifact of a process.”

Which leads me back to the cult of the personality: I remember the first time I saw in print that I was a ‘radio personality.’ Who, me? The year before I was merely a middle aged woman artist who was not perceived to be on the edge of anything. I did not have gallery representation. Heck, I barely had studio space.

It was not even initially my idea. An artist friend of mine was in jail. When I visited him, what did we talk about? Art of course. Later on in a letter he told me that looking at me through the window-box of a jail visitation made him think that I should do a TV show on art. TV never did happen, but when I got on the PSU campus and found out about KPSU, I retraced my plans and changed them. OK, radio. From the start I looked for the story and I still do, so even though I've been through probably two hundred personalities by now.

Artdish, August 16 2006

Interesting conversation regarding radio, the cult of the personality and art.

Alright Seattle! August 14 2006

The Stranger has slogged my Seattle Slew.

New orchid in bloom, August 14 2006

My mate has such a great way with plants that he can buy a 2 dollar flowerless orchid and bring it back to life. He had this one about a year, knowing just the right time to bring it in and take it out, when to give it shade or dappled sun. We had no idea what kind of flower it would bring us.

The mid career (f) artist, August 13 2006

Sika Stanton and I were discussing the thread up at PORT on the gender bias issue - of who gets what in the art world. The current issue was the Tacoma Biennial and the ratio of male to female artists. Sika then asked me: I wonder how many women even applied (or minorities)? And of course we are not necessarily talking young women here but women advanced enough in their career to have a competitive edge.

This question made me remember the ongoing thread at Anonymous Female Artists AKA Militant Art Bitch. Ya wanna know why I am 50 and my career is just starting?

All along I have sort of kept track of all of my pals, my artist pals, and saw where they went, what happened to them. Active art pals from my San Francisco and NYC days have been googled: often to Zip. Nada. Where did they go?

I’ve discussed before here - that the walk between 30 and 40 can be kind of treacherous for an artist. Do you want health insurance? Can you make art with ailing health and a bad back? How about getting a car that’s not a hazard? A house? A vacation? How about a family? Many artists tend to drop out of the arena by the end of those ten years because of those very questions and the choices they had to make.

But the last one especially is the one which applies to women. No one is asking the male on a near-daily basis ‘when are you going to have a baby?’ (I got this for decades.) And no one is expecting him to drop everything (but the baby) when he does. No one is telling him that he is a lousy father if he also works or has other ambitions. No one is considering the need for daycare as the woman and the baby grow.

But then why would a woman artist need that? Can’t she watch the child while she makes art? How tough could that be - right?

So, I’ve got no stats on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you did see this decline in the quote-unquote serious woman artist. And then there she is again, at 50, aiming for an art career. Her drop-out is of course held against her, as an indication that she was not 'serious' enough about it.

m, August 12 2006

Artstar Radio will recommence with a month of guests from Seattle. I’ve been going up there quite a bit in the past year and thought it was time to have some of my new friends on the air.

Three of them are journalists, something I don’t focus on a lot here in Portland. My feeling was that the journalist already has their say, and so I wished to hear from the artist. But I felt that perhaps journalists from Seattle could give a good overview of what’s going on and also, an interesting comparison between the two cities. Plus I am just interested in why someone would do all of that writing about someone else for free.

m is the editor/ publisher of visual codec, which has not even reached its first birthday yet, but has been a welcome addition to the mix. Visual codec covers Vancouver, Seattle and Portland and I think making that connection, that circle, is a good one.

Visual codec is the online mag responsible for an upcoming (paper!) book called one shot. There is still time to send in an image and perhaps be a part of this book. We’ll talk all about it in the upcoming interview this Monday.

More dahlias from the garden, August 12 2006

The Tree, August 11 2006

About two years ago the artist Maria T.D. Inocencio produced an exhibition at the Autzen gallery at PSU called The Tree.

Long story short: a large and old maple tree was in her backyard. The whole family loved it but that family was growing and the decision to get rid of it was made.

But Maria felt she had an opportunity to keep the legacy of that tree alive and ongoing via an exhibition. All the pieces, small and large, snags and slim limbs – and most importantly seedlings – were hauled into the gallery. On the walls were wonderfully detailed photomontages the artist made of the tree. At the time, the collages were my favorite part of the exhibition, but the tree bits were up for grabs at the close of the show.

I took home a small seedling and now look at it. My mate fertilized it, planted it with other nursery maples (he’s got quite a collection) and the tree has taken off like a bandit. He rules the roost in fact. Such large leaves for so small a tree! We have already planned a big area to transfer it to, so that it can someday be the maple the parent was.

Chris Ashley, August 11 2006

A lot of digital art comes across my desk. Digital – meaning that the computer has coincided with the images somehow, if not created them from the start.

I have my ups and downs with it. Some people are now so hooked on to the scan and the digital that they have thrown away some of the tasty bits of materiality. One artist presented me with wonderful paintings in a digital format. When I got to the studio, I looked for those paintings, but the digital print was all he had around at the time. “They are sort of beat up,” he said. Maybe he was used to the slickness, but the ‘beat up’ bit I understand as the hand of the artist.

More than one curator became interested in my work because they thought it was digital. Nothing digital about it: just paint. But just because I choose to paint does not mean I don’t warm up to digital art.

And now I’ve come across a great master manipulator of the HTML, Chris Ashley. His work is endless, precise and the sky is no limit. Check out the installations he created with the works he makes. The above is an installation view of one of his shows at the 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia.

Granddad’s hands, August 10 2006

While digging around for another photograph, I came across one. He was a hard working man and a man who could fix anything. He was the main stable factor in my life and while I miss him, I know I am lucky to have him as long as I did. He is probably one subconscious reason (amongst many) why my art is going where it is going.

The gold watch was given to him by the Kellys (of Kelly Blue Book fame), as he worked on cars for them. I wear that watch today.

Blanket

Channeling, August 9 2006

Richard Speer has penned some thoughtful summations on Take Off in the Willamette Week.

Smooth Operators, August 7 2006

It is already time to return to the radio. I want to ease back into it with just 2 hours of music, starting at 4 pm today. I say ‘ease’ but dance may be the more appropriate verb, because every single song is one I have danced to this summer, while down in my basement painting. And it’s all men, soul men, smooth operators. I have a rough idea of the playlist, though no particular order yet of the tunes. I'll recommence Artstar Radio next week.

Emmy etc, August 5 2006

From the start of my career as a makeup artist, I was into color. This was during a time when you could get away with it too - women actually paying me for putting chartreuse and plum all over their eyelids (what I called ‘eggplant eyes’) in the 80s. Looking back, I think makeup taught me as much about color as anything could, because I worked so hard: sometimes a different face every half hour at facial sweatshops like Georgette Klinger on Madison. After all, you spend all day splitting the details and virtues of a blue-red over an orange-red.

Just about every kind of job, outside of special effects, I have done in the business – brides, beauty queens, rock stars. My favorites were just regular people, professional women - doctors, lawyers and real estate agents, pros going to a pro.

I worked very little in TV and film because I hated the hours and I’m not wild about painting people with huge expectations and a need to perform even when they are having their makeup done (like Betty Buckley - enough already - that woman would not shut). Ditto for models - unless I did them early in their career, such as I did for Carolyn Murphy and Carrie Otis (both really nice, at least back then). I just wasn’t that interested in airbrush perfection, and you need big ambition to compete in that arena.

The most I ever worked in television did net me an Emmy for Best Daytime Television in 1992. I worked on Mathnet, a program made by the Children’s Television Workshop for PBS. At least I got that out of it, because otherwise it was a horrendous gig with 16 hour days and limited creativity, due to the key makeup artist.

She was of a younger generation who thought the natural look was best for everyone, thanks to Bobbi Brown – and guess what? Often it isn’t. After all, a character is a character, especially in New York, and plenty of them wear a load of paint. Finally I was able to create a couple of interesting characters for the show and it was this reel that was submitted to the Emmy committee.

About the most fun I ever had was doing body painting, sort of an art-to-wear. LeAnne Hitchcock and I collaborated on quite few projects back then, like the photograph above circa 1984. It is a difficult career to have for a lifetime. It drains you and you are as much a shrink and psychic as a painter, but it was a living.

August 4 2006

Ideally, I would wear the mask of the Blue Jay. But what I find are ravens - a corvid, at least, and considered by many to be ‘the geniuses of the bird world.’

Big Sun

Earthquake, August 3 2006

Last night we had a small earthquake in this area. It measured a 3.8 on the Richter Scale.

For years I have been interested in the scale itself, used as a measurement of the life force. To have this earthquake come at the dawn of my exhibition is almost like a sign of some sort, for me a private message.

It has to do with large issues, like where one is in the universe, but also something very specific: where I am right here and right now. I never really saw myself as an artist of the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps I chaffed the most at any reference when I first returned here from New York.

But the more I paint in the way I am painting, I see the infinite, but I also see the finite - the near, the specific place where I am. I grew up in this part of the world. I took it with me everywhere that I went. It never left me, which was this internal blessing as I navigated New York City. I always had the place, the land, the sky, the water. And the paint.

This is why it is hard to make distinctions as to whether a piece of art is ‘abstract’ or not. It feels like what I am painting right now is actually very real.

Thank you Ultrapdx.

Artists who write, August 2 2006

There has been discussion - and some of it negative as of late – on the function of an artist blog. Some say they are tired of reading them (in which case, please stop!). And some say that if an artist responds to a review via their own blog, this comes off as rather pathetic - for all discourse, including the negative, is part of the game.

So if indeed all discourse is part of the game, why cannot an artist participate? No one is saying you must agree. No one is asking you to even be there.

I’ve heard it said more than once that writers should do the writing, not artists - and that artists do not serve themselves well when they write about work (their own or another’s). I think a lot of this goes back to: who owns the art object anyway? Inevitably we all do.

I have never agreed with the bit that artists can’t write about art. Neither did my Prof, Charles Colbert, at PSU. He had us read the writings of many of the artists we studied and told us all how much more interesting they were compared to art historians – and he’s one! Give me any of the Dada writers over the people who have since written about Dada (Robert Motherwell may be the exception – but he’s an artist!).

A blog empowers the artist, even if the writing is lousy. They get to have their say, instead of the critic, curator or dealer. It’s possible that the rise of the blog is a reaction to the whole vampiric system which encircles the art object/ idea. The artist makes the pie and people need their piece: to organize parties around, to wax on, to love or to hate. Maybe the pie gets smaller as the artist takes on the subject and maybe that is what bothers some people.

Of course we could argue that the critic is better suited to write about the art, but I am not so sure about that - and it most certainly has not panned out that way in history.

- Not that I don’t want to hear what the critic has to say! I’m waiting to exhale! - But in the meantime, I’ll write.

Does the artist always do themselves a service when they write? Maybe not. But I can get tired of being ‘of service,’ the go-to girl, even if it’s for me.

More recent entries: July 2006