A Mason temple with a gallery downstairs. 
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Phantasmal collages
Howdy!
Long time no update. What happened is that I got a new job that starts in August. I had to do some running around to complete paperwork, etc. I'll go into more detail later.
I just found these collages that I did over Memorial Day weekend. My friend Gioia was running a collage workshop that weekend at Kubla Con, a gaming convention in Burlingame. It was my 3rd gaming convention, and I had the most fun this time. (A word about Gioia and me: unwittingly we both fell in love with men who are HUGE gamers. It was not planned. Growing up, I had friends who were into D&D and tried to get me involved, but it didn't really hold my interest.) So Eric and Gioia have been going to game cons for a few years and they convinced us to give it a try. My main motivation is really, getting to hang out with Gioia for a weekend.
Alex and I also take Aldrin along, so everybody has a buddy ;) But the first time we went, Gioia and Eric ended up not being able to go, so Alex signed me up for a bunch of RPG's. I have a hard time getting really into these, because I am very shy. I don't like to speak up and I lack the sincerity to really *get* into the characters. And we did an all nighter which was run by an extremely insensitive GM who went 4-5 hours over schedule. When the games are already 10 hours long, this is a hardship. I almost vowed never to do it again.
The next year was much better though. The only drawback was not getting a room in the hotel that the con was in and having to run back and forth to our hotel. That was Dundracon in February in San Ramon. It was freezing.
This last one (Kubla) was the best yet. The hotel in Burlingame was much better, it was more spread out and there was more to see and do. And we had a room so it was easier to rest. I did sign up and play in two RPG's, which is about my limit. But Gioia got me addicted to Settlers of Catan, so I enjoyed playing that in groups in pick-up games. I haven't won yet.
I really like the way these collages came out. My studio work has been really stale, so it was nice to see the "magic" happen off site, as it were. I've started a new series in clay, but it's not doing it for me yet. I'm doing clay replicas of old staplers. I haven't found my footing.
It's funny, while writing about the gaming, I was thinking about how seriously people get into it. Lots of emotions and imagination go into it. I often feel bemused. When I lose a game, I usually feel "no biggee". However, the failure to capture how I feel about staplers is getting me down. Funny old world.
Long time no update. What happened is that I got a new job that starts in August. I had to do some running around to complete paperwork, etc. I'll go into more detail later.
I just found these collages that I did over Memorial Day weekend. My friend Gioia was running a collage workshop that weekend at Kubla Con, a gaming convention in Burlingame. It was my 3rd gaming convention, and I had the most fun this time. (A word about Gioia and me: unwittingly we both fell in love with men who are HUGE gamers. It was not planned. Growing up, I had friends who were into D&D and tried to get me involved, but it didn't really hold my interest.) So Eric and Gioia have been going to game cons for a few years and they convinced us to give it a try. My main motivation is really, getting to hang out with Gioia for a weekend.
Alex and I also take Aldrin along, so everybody has a buddy ;) But the first time we went, Gioia and Eric ended up not being able to go, so Alex signed me up for a bunch of RPG's. I have a hard time getting really into these, because I am very shy. I don't like to speak up and I lack the sincerity to really *get* into the characters. And we did an all nighter which was run by an extremely insensitive GM who went 4-5 hours over schedule. When the games are already 10 hours long, this is a hardship. I almost vowed never to do it again.
The next year was much better though. The only drawback was not getting a room in the hotel that the con was in and having to run back and forth to our hotel. That was Dundracon in February in San Ramon. It was freezing.
This last one (Kubla) was the best yet. The hotel in Burlingame was much better, it was more spread out and there was more to see and do. And we had a room so it was easier to rest. I did sign up and play in two RPG's, which is about my limit. But Gioia got me addicted to Settlers of Catan, so I enjoyed playing that in groups in pick-up games. I haven't won yet.
I really like the way these collages came out. My studio work has been really stale, so it was nice to see the "magic" happen off site, as it were. I've started a new series in clay, but it's not doing it for me yet. I'm doing clay replicas of old staplers. I haven't found my footing.
It's funny, while writing about the gaming, I was thinking about how seriously people get into it. Lots of emotions and imagination go into it. I often feel bemused. When I lose a game, I usually feel "no biggee". However, the failure to capture how I feel about staplers is getting me down. Funny old world.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Art School Confidential
I finally saw this. Do see it if you haven't.
I've been thinking about the film for a couple of days now. I liked it a lot, as it gave me what I was hoping for: a clever swat at the hothouse world of art school. I didn't really go in expecting to be dazzled by the plot...the original comic the film is based on is free of plot. The plot of the film is kind of silly, but it ends with a twist I appreciated and seemed more rooted in the sensibility of Clowes. The final shot of the film looks very much like one of his drawn panels. Obviously he and Terry Zwigoff enjoy working with each other, since they partnered before on Ghost World. I appreciate the attempts to bring Clowes unique material to the screen. I'm not sure the atmosphere produced by his artwork is quite captured in the films.
I'm not a comic or film critic by any stretch of the imagination. Just a casual consumer. I'm just an artist (and a failed comic book artist). On a whim I picked up a copy of Bruce Campbell's If Chins Could Kill last year at Dark Carnival Books. I liked the title and it was on sale. Sold. I've read it at least twice all the way through now and dip into it repeatedly. My viewing of films has been entirely altered. I thought the book would be a fun memoir, and it is. But huge chunks of it are very readable descriptions of the creative and technical processes that go into making films and TV series. I would recommend the book to any young artist who is interested in film. I am not, but now I have greater respect for the medium (and Campbell) and I'm staggered by the amount of sheer spadework that goes into making one.
Which doens't make me an expert of course. But now I tend to think more carefully before I say "That reeked." when I see I film that I don't like, etc. I don't have to labor the point, I hope. Art School Confidential and Ghost World do not reek, of course. But neither really have the mood of Eightball. It's there in spots. I wonder if it's because the films tend to make the story about the characters and water down the mysteriousness. When I read Eightball, I feel like I do when looking at Dada artwork or film. I feel for the characters, but I feel distant from them too. We seem meant to observe them like animals in Skinner boxes designed by Marcel Duchamp.
I realize that the films are separate creations, and that books almost never translate entirely to the big screen. But I wonder if a different director might have come closer. I really like Zwigoff. I wouldn't watch Bad Santa until I saw that he directed it. Then I watched over and over on cable, and I laugh my ass off every time. It's very dark. The trailer makes it look slapstick and heartwarming, so I won't bother to link to it. It occured to me that it is a story more like something Robert Crumb would write and draw. It might be a stretch, but Thorton's character reminds me of Fritz the Cat, middle age and dead-ended.
I like that the artist works so closely with the Zwigoff, and he must obviously trust him with his material. I just read an interview where Zwigoff states that he and Clowes are collaborating again. I just hope it's not Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron. Just sayin'.
I've been thinking about the film for a couple of days now. I liked it a lot, as it gave me what I was hoping for: a clever swat at the hothouse world of art school. I didn't really go in expecting to be dazzled by the plot...the original comic the film is based on is free of plot. The plot of the film is kind of silly, but it ends with a twist I appreciated and seemed more rooted in the sensibility of Clowes. The final shot of the film looks very much like one of his drawn panels. Obviously he and Terry Zwigoff enjoy working with each other, since they partnered before on Ghost World. I appreciate the attempts to bring Clowes unique material to the screen. I'm not sure the atmosphere produced by his artwork is quite captured in the films.
I'm not a comic or film critic by any stretch of the imagination. Just a casual consumer. I'm just an artist (and a failed comic book artist). On a whim I picked up a copy of Bruce Campbell's If Chins Could Kill last year at Dark Carnival Books. I liked the title and it was on sale. Sold. I've read it at least twice all the way through now and dip into it repeatedly. My viewing of films has been entirely altered. I thought the book would be a fun memoir, and it is. But huge chunks of it are very readable descriptions of the creative and technical processes that go into making films and TV series. I would recommend the book to any young artist who is interested in film. I am not, but now I have greater respect for the medium (and Campbell) and I'm staggered by the amount of sheer spadework that goes into making one.
Which doens't make me an expert of course. But now I tend to think more carefully before I say "That reeked." when I see I film that I don't like, etc. I don't have to labor the point, I hope. Art School Confidential and Ghost World do not reek, of course. But neither really have the mood of Eightball. It's there in spots. I wonder if it's because the films tend to make the story about the characters and water down the mysteriousness. When I read Eightball, I feel like I do when looking at Dada artwork or film. I feel for the characters, but I feel distant from them too. We seem meant to observe them like animals in Skinner boxes designed by Marcel Duchamp.
I realize that the films are separate creations, and that books almost never translate entirely to the big screen. But I wonder if a different director might have come closer. I really like Zwigoff. I wouldn't watch Bad Santa until I saw that he directed it. Then I watched over and over on cable, and I laugh my ass off every time. It's very dark. The trailer makes it look slapstick and heartwarming, so I won't bother to link to it. It occured to me that it is a story more like something Robert Crumb would write and draw. It might be a stretch, but Thorton's character reminds me of Fritz the Cat, middle age and dead-ended.
I like that the artist works so closely with the Zwigoff, and he must obviously trust him with his material. I just read an interview where Zwigoff states that he and Clowes are collaborating again. I just hope it's not Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron. Just sayin'.
Monday, May 01, 2006
From my bro.
For some reason this really makes my day everytime I look at it. I promised my brother I would post this to the blog, and I'm now getting around to it. This is the solar powered porta potty furnished for Liza Minelli's sole use at the theatre where she was performing and my brother was working. Really, really think about it for a moment. Let it sit it your mind and sink in deeply.Yeah, I haven't come to any conclusions either. Love ya bro.
MPK
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