PAPER TRAIL Opening @ HAPPY on Sept. 3rd

Change of Address

So I’ve continued this blog on a different site, since I’ll be able to do it from my phone. Please check it out at: http://copyright1972.wordpress.com

2nd Floor

How crazy is this sweet little find on the second floor of my studio
building.

Studio shots

Here are two images of my studio, photostiched from a bunch of images.

Baby Cakes

Too funny! Go SuperDeluxe.com

Just stick to the cards

Please say that in the form of a question

Remember waiting for this

I'm on a

Hop Moonman Hop!!!!

Bloggers

Got to lover the bloggers. Got a Google alert yesterday. Had 2 different mentions on 2 different blogs. The first was extremely random and the fact that it is on a political blog is even funnier. Was kind of assaulted in the parking lot of the Hollywood Trader Joe’s on Saturday after a grocery shop. Yes, this blogger writes for the Huffington Post. Got to love how people want to tie in the spots to something. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/reny-monk/can-a-leopard-change-her_b_105972.html Second post was of a review of the 2008 Culver City Art walk. I have 2 pieces in d.e.n. Contemporary’s group show, RIPE, which they covered. Very happy about this one, since it is actually coverage of my sculptures and not just some crazy link between politics and my hairstyle, although any press is fine by me. Happy that the RIPE show got some coverage as well. LA has been showing me some love, so I am glad to be calling myself an LA ARTIST. http://www.buzzine.com/2008/06/exploding-art-scene/

LA Times

Today’s LA Times Calendar section (5/27/08) featured and article on DREAM(land), the group show I am part of at the JAIL Gallery in Chinatown.

From the Los Angeles Times

'DREAM(land)' at Chinatown's Jail Gallery Common themes of escape and fantasy unite 14 artists. By Jessica Portner Special to The Times

May 27, 2008

A MASSIVE earthquake. A tropical cyclone. America at war as gasoline prices spike. In the contemporary world, misfortune on a colossal scale can sometimes seem unavoidable.

But for the next several weeks, at the aptly named Jail Gallery in Chinatown, a group of far-flung artists is offering an antidote to such calamities: escape.

For an exhibition titled "DREAM(land)," these artists -- from cultural capitals as diverse as Miami and Reykjavik, Iceland -- have created videos, sculptures and paintings that evoke otherworldly realms.

"Americans are looking outside the known world for solace," says Annie Wharton, the curator of the show, which runs through June 14.

An abstract painter and teacher, Wharton relocated from Miami to Los Angeles two years ago with her paint supplies and a cellphone loaded with art world contacts. When the Jail Gallery asked her to guest curate an exhibition 10 months ago, she says, she quickly compiled a list of 14 artists whom she admired, including one -- Icelandic video artist Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir -- whose work she had discovered on YouTube after seeing a video by Birgisdóttir of one of Wharton's favorite bands, múm. But only after selecting the bulk of the pieces for the show did Wharton realize what they had in common.

"This exhibit is about finding an ethereal thread in a war-riddled world," she says. "We have fantasies that carry us far away."

Recurring themes

Escapism and dreams are hardly new themes for artists. The director and chief curator of the galleries at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Lorie Mertes, notes that they have reverberated throughout the art world for centuries. The 18th century English Romantic poet and painter William Blake created mystical verses and images of altered states that have inspired artists up to and including Bob Dylan and U2.

In the 1920s, René Magritte, Man Ray and their fellow Surrealists plumbed their dreams to fashion works with absurd juxtapositions that defy the rational. In the mid-20th century, American artist Joseph Cornell put dreams in a box, creating luminous assemblages filled with nostalgic objects such as soap bubble sets, tiny ballerinas and caged birds.

"Dreams are a visual manifestation of the psyche," says Mertes. "It's our way of dealing with the nightmare boogeyman and unfulfilled desires."

In "DREAM(land)," however, most of the works have a tension that resides somewhere between the discomfiting and the sublime. Birgisdóttir, for example, creates a reverie with a poignant undercurrent. The young artist's video collage, "Seven Sisters," is painstakingly constructed from hundreds of drawings on faded paper, old book pages, newspapers and postcards. In the three-minute piece, one sister has a volcano erupting from her skull, another's head sprouts bouquets of paper roses, and a third becomes encased in a stone castle.

Birgisdóttir says she was inspired by the story of the seven daughters of Atlas, the mythical giant who held up the world. Her video shows the weight we give to our delicately constructed unconscious worlds, however fleeting they may be.

"When you're dreaming," she says, "you go from one scenario to the next and to the next in a moment, without it seeming a bit peculiar."

Jiae Hwang and Nicholas C. Raftig III also construct a bridge to the unconscious in their video "Aperture." But their portal evokes a space age future, not a nostalgic past.

In the three-minute loop accompanied by electronica is a silhouette of a woman standing at the edge of the ocean with her arms behind her head. Above her, a triangular obelisk ominously hangs over the waves like a UFO.

"When I look at the ocean, there's a sense of hope and loss, longing and waiting," says the Miami-based Hwang. "Everybody finds a time when they need to escape and look at the possibilities on the horizon."

In performance artist Jim Roche's "Flue Mask" video, by contrast, the Tallahassee, Fla.-based artist comments on how escapism has become a commodity. Wearing reflective sunglasses and an aluminum foil mask, he markets this crude contraption as a "foolproof flu-prevention kit" in a spoof of infomercials. (All four of the show's video artists were recently included in the "Video Revolutionaries" online exhibition co-organized by the Getty Research Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum.)

Like Roche and Birgisdóttir, other "DREAM(land)" artists turn heads into metaphors for escaping reality, whether the craniums are faceless or morphing into plants.

Neal Rock's two featureless busts look as if they might ooze out of the gallery before the exhibition is over. Sculpted from liquid silicon rubber, one oversized blue-and-yellow head features black tendrils and ribbons made with cake-decorating nozzles. The heads could be outtakes from "Pan's Labyrinth," the 2006 movie that combined an exquisite fairy tale with horror. Like Magritte's many paintings of faceless men with bowler hats or lovers shrouded in fabric, Rock's heads are cloaked from the world.

"In dreams, meanings are all jumbled up," says Rock, who recently moved his studio to Los Angeles from southern Wales.

Where Rock's pieces sound a retreat from the world, Leigh Salgado's work makes a ladylike exit. Her small paper cutouts resemble expensive lingerie. But the figure that emerges from the serene haze of red and white lace is a girl in a halter top and frilly skirt with no head. The piece "She Lost Her Head" has an "Alice in Wonderland" fantasy quality.

"My work is about loss," says the Los Angeles-based Salgado, who used to work as an art therapist for children with behavioral disorders. Aping a mental health professional, she asks, "How did she lose her head? Did it explode? Did someone cut it off? Did she get obsessed with something and throw it overboard?"

Echoing Hollywood

The exhibition's theme of displacement melds well with the ethos of Hollywood, where creating opportunities to get out of one's head -- at a spa or a movie or Disneyland -- is a thriving industry. Wharton points to the current box-office behemoths "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "Iron Man" as evidence of the staying power of California dreaming.

But at Jail, some images remain stubbornly disturbing.

In his "Catastrophe Collection," Greg Kucera has created a world in which nasty weather is identified, cataloged and put in a box. Using U.S. naval satellite data, Kucera employs white Corian material to represent five Category-5 hurricanes: Francis, Katrina, Isabella, Henrietta and Rita. The stone-like swirls, each about the size of a soap dish, look at first glance like serene galaxies. But on closer inspection, they turn into miniature representations of these catastrophic natural disasters, which killed hundreds of Americans.

"I had some family in New Orleans during Katrina and was out of touch with people for six weeks," Kucera says. "But when you look at the satellite view of a catastrophe, they are exquisite and fascinating."

As for Joshua Levine's sculpture "Trophy Stand (SadlySitting2Ocular4AuditoryChimera)," it represents a fantasy animal that could exist only in dreams. A mix between a deer, a dog, a raccoon and a cow, the life-size epoxy-and-foam beast sits on a white rug in a cage in the center of the gallery. Its plaintive glass eyes seem to long for escape. You can almost hear it yelping for a way out.

I'm beginning to see the light

You’ve got to love the afternoon light in my new studio.  Just finished setting it up today and am looking forward to working in it tomorrow.

And so begins the age of man playing God

The First Genetically Modified Human Embryo: Advance or Abomination?
By Brandon Keim     May 12, 2008 | 10:58:22 AM   Categories: Bioethics, Biotechnology, Reproduction  


Scientists have created the first genetically modified human embryo.

What does this mean to you?

Led by Nikica Zaninovic, researchers at Cornell University added a green fluorescent protein to an embryo left over from assisted reproduction. They destroyed the embryo five days later. It is believed to be the first documented genetic modification of a human embryo.

British newspaper The Times reports that Zaninovic's feat was announced at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in 2007, but was only publicized recently when the United Kingdom's reproductive technology regulators reviewed the research. The House of Commons is about to consider legislation permitting this and other controversial reproductive technologies, such as the creation of chimeras -- human-animal hybrid embryos.

The research raises a number of thorny ethical questions. Though adding a fluorescent protein was not aimed at enhancement, but rather to illuminate developing embryos, scientists say that modified embryos could be used to research human diseases. They say embryos wouldn't be allowed to develop for more than a few weeks, much less implanted in a woman and brought to term.

If the embryos were allowed to develop, genetic modifications -- which would be permanent and passed to future generations -- might prevent disease. Modifications might also be used for other reasons -- physical appearance, intellectual prowess, personality -- though the necessary science remains hypothetical at this point. Developing such techniques would necessarily entail trial-and-error and risk-taking with human life.

David King, director of Human Genetics Alert, a bioethics watchdog group, told The Times that

    "This is the first step on the road that will lead to the nightmare of designer babies and a new eugenics. The HFEA is right to say that the creation and legalisation of GM embryos raises ‘large ethical and public interest issues’ but neglects to mention that these have not been debated at all."

So let's have that debate. What do you think, Wired Science readers? Should genetically modified embryos be used in research, but not reproduction? Both? Neither?

Blog coverage of ©HIMERAware

Wanted to post the first blog coverage of ©HIMERAware Online. Big thanks to mystudio302.

Sad Sap

Here is a picture of a sculpture that I am working on for a show, DREAM(land), which opens May 10th at Jail Gallery in LA.  The show is curated by Annie Wharton and more info about it can be found at DREAM(land)

2nd Litter

The second Litter of Sour Diesels are just about done.  All they need is their clear coat and final varnish.

Batcave

So folks, our favorite superhero is in need of a new Batcave quickly.  With a rent increase on my already pricy Cave, I need to find some new digs.  Unfortunately, I’m no Bruce Wayne and having gone a year in the Batcave now, I’ve gone past my initial 6 month lease and timeframe.  Any help or recommendations for LA space will be much appreciated.  Will keep you readers posted on the outcome and maybe even divulge the secret location of the new Cave, once it’s inhabited.

Second Litter

Process shot of the second litter of Sour Diesels. There are 4 animals in this second litter.

LA Dogs

So these photos are reference shots of the types of small dogs that my Sour Diesel animals are based on.

Hurray!!!!!

I can't believe how happy I am over the sound of a toliet flushing.

Bathroom

So my studio bathroom is lacking one essential element. It's under a bit of rehab and I am not really sure when it will be done.

Chilly

I am happy to report that today has been a nice sunny day. The only problem is that it is 4 p.m. and the temperature in my studio is a brisk 58 degrees. Makes painting a little difficult, but not as bad as when it's also raining. I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt, 2 thermals, my work coveralls and a hat. With all that on, my feet are still freezing. I'm practically sitting on a heater to stay warm when I'm not painting. It could be worse though, it could be snowing. I have to admit, I can live with this as a "winter season".

Weather

The rain let up enough on Sunday for a little while. Just enough to snap this picture while I was walking Adobe.

Finished sculpture

Here is an image of the new Trophy Stand piece Standing-Horntailed4Ocular2AuditoryMultiHorn

First Litter

The first litter of S.D.'s are almost done being painted. The rainy cold
weather is a HUGE pain in my a$$. Making the paint take forever to dry!

Stooges

Was going through images on my phone and came across this one. It's from the Stooges concert on Miami Beach during ABMB 2007.

Studio

Here's a shot of a new head that I am working on. It's another gilded one.

Staples Center

Shot of the Staples Center. First time there.

Kings

Rachel and I went to our first LA Kings game Thursday. Great game, great seats and a Kings win 5-2! Thanks Richard!

New Doo

The first spots for 2008.

Spot on

Getting my new spots for 2008!!! Rachel's a PRO!!!!!

Closure

Got to say good-bye to my good friend Alex. I miss you Captain.

Lizard

Got to spend some time with our friend Liz. So good to see her again. We miss her.

Ella

Look how happy Ella is to see her Uncle Josh

Ari

Look at Ari chowing down on some pizza.

The Spread

Pre-stuffing of the Pie Hole.

ARTE

Here is an article from the Italian Contemporary Art Magazine, ARTE, which they did about me and my work.  It is in there October issue.  I will have the translation up as soon as I get it translated.  I don’t know exactly what it says, but I’m told it is good and positive.  I am just happy to have been mentioned, let alone the fact that it’s a 4 page spread with 7 images.  Boy do I love Italy, now I just need to learn to read and speak Italian.

The Process

Black Xmas

Rachel's working away on some displays.

Yum! -maybe you should make yours edible and sell them in Bangkok.!..mmm, good

Sukree Sukplang, Reuters
A villager cleans aged steamed rats north of Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 1 before selling them to roadside food stands. Even the ripe innards are consumed with relish. Struggling to make ends meet in their pest-infested villages, some Thai farmers are getting a cash boost from "rat money." Some farmers have even been attaching the vermin to trees in an effort to copy the artist Josh Levine of the USA. Says Josh: "Well, They're on the rat path to fame rat about now, I wish them rats of luck"

Where am I?

So if you guessed Paris, France, then you're WRONG! If you said Las Vegas
@ the Paris Hotel, then you are correct!

Creep

Happy Halloween

Rachel and Penny dressed to impress!