The End is Near

Sometimes you just have to end it.  Time to move on.  I've been working on paintings in my Place series since 2006, and I've now completed 94 paintings in the series, including the 2 most recent ones pictures below. More than any other work I've done, creating the paintings in the Place series taught me what I wanted to do with my work...what I mean is they lead me down the current path that resulted in the San Juan series, and the more recent Flood series I am embarking upon.  These works have allowed me to explore directions in style I might otherwise have not approached. They have helped me understand my own interest in landscape, in structure, in, well, place and how I could use painterly techniques and drawing techniques to find interesting ways to illustrate my ideas.  And color, or what an exploration in color this series has been!  (with a few B/W exceptions).  But all good things must come to an end, and once I reach the 100th painting, the Place series will be over.

93 Place, 22 x 28, oil on canvas, 2010  On display at The Hideout starting this week.

94 Place, 28 x 34, oil on canvas, 2010. Showing at my studio during  Art Walk July 1st, 619 Western - 3rd floor, South side. 

It is a little daunting, and perhaps misguided, to publicly declare the end to a series.  In all reality, though, they are not ending.  I'm still making work, work that is a bit more illustrative, work that may surprise long-time supporters with more direct representation.  Work that will keep focus on structure and certainly maintain some of the link work present in the Place series; but I am shifting.  Trying to.  It can be scary.  I've always gotten pleasure and even some attention for these colorful paintings, and leaving them behind, well, is a bit unnerving.  But it must be done.  Granted, I'll make colorful paintings again, I'm sure.  But I hope, that after the 100th place is complete, that I can put this body to rest and push forward.

Pity, fool

Have I ever told you about the time I met Mr. T in Hawaii when I was 8?  It involved getting roped into a private party for Hollywood big wigs and other "important" people...the party had a lady in a mermaid costume, there were various soap opera stars, but I didn't care about all that, because Mr. T was there.  BA Baracus himself!  The only person I would have been more excited and frightened to meet at that point in my young life would have been Darth Vader.  My friend Derek and I were way too scared though, out mothers basically had to drag us over there to meet him.

Check out my  City Arts Blog review of the new A-Team movie to read more about it! 

Molorazzi at BLITZ - June 2010

Last night was the one-year anniversary of BLITZ! the official Capitol Hill Art Walk.  Cap Hill has been giving Pioneer Square a run for it's money with fun, innovative galleries showcasing some of Seattle's best and brightest artists, with the galleries Vermillion and Grey Gallery leading the way.  Last night was no exception, both the Cyptomenagerie show at Vermillion and the Greg Boudreau/Robert Hardgrave + highlights from other Grey Gallery artists (Emily Pothast, etc) on the mezzanine level kicked ass!  While it was a bit of a sad note as Erik Guttridge is having to give up his current location for Grey Gallery, it was still a hell of a send off and he will fine a new spot on the hill very soon.  And a great place to have the the City Arts Art Walk Awards event!  And to top that all off, we headed over to Unicorn for stunning psychedelic visuals for the PENETRATION show.

Gallery 40, parked in front of Vermillion.  I really like the battery-powered lights

Michael Alm in front of one of his sculptures

Vermillion was a packed house, once again!

Artists Shaun Kardinal and ERIN Frost in red.

work by Jody Joldersma

Tiger's Lament

 Trevor Johnson and I have been hard at work on a mini-golf hole for the Kirkland Arts Center Links Invitational

Read all about it on City Arts Blog

Here is the artist statement about the show:

Tiger Woods is widely recognized as the most famous athlete in the world.  He has done more to promote the game of golf and to break down racial boundaries in a very exclusive  game than any athlete before.  His stardom and success has made millions, billions for the companies he endorses and the game of golf in general.  Tiger was better than everyone, and he knew it.  Nothing could touch him.  Except, well, for the women.  Tiger's Lament explores how far one can fall when one thinks, as Tiger himself put it, that he thought he "could get away with whatever [he] wanted to" and that he  "...deserved to enjoy all the temptations...".  Tiger thinks "it's not what you achieve in life that matters, it is what you overcome."  Tiger's Lament challenges you to overcome some of the same obstacles that he has been facing over the last several months, with putter and ball in hand.

Teen Angst vs TEEN ANGST Molo at the movies - Kick ass and All That I Love

Last week I saw two teen angsty films with completely different takes on the ever-popular subject.  And I mean COMPLETELY different takes.  The first, the serious, dramatic, life is hard and full of Soviet repression film comes from Poland and is called All That I Love or A.T.I.L, which is also the name of the punk band that the main character fronts in high school.  Poland, Punk Rock, 1981, rebellious youth, first loves, this will be an energetic, fun, dramatic but inspiring film, right?  WRONG.  It's a bore.  The Polish landscape is made ever the more drab by washed out colors (how original - when will someone make a film set in Poland that actually makes it look like a nice place to go?) and the film was boggled down with heavy handed cinematography and slow pacing.  The best parts were the few scenes that the director actually let us hear the music and see the band play.  Could have used a lot more of that.  2 Molos I caught the film at SIFF, likely it wont get much distribution so you probably wont ever come across it...instead may I suggest:

KICK-ASS

Okay, by now you've probably seen this if you were interested, but if not, then by all means, check it out!  Kick Ass was a fun romp, and yes full of teen angst!  More so than I expected, actually, and darker, but in this case, that  made to bring a certain reality to the film, which was unexpected.  The entire story is just almost plausible, other than the 11-year-old girl just destroying bad guys with those infamous vulgar one-liners and some other shenanigans towards the end.  But otherwise it's just a movie about a geeky kid trying to win the love a girl and also daring to dream.  Sweet, romantic, and totally a bloody absurd action movie!  3.5 Molos

"Meet Greet Rinse Repeat" new book is out!

Check out the excellent new blurb book designed by Troy Gua and Shaun Kardinal for the Meet Greet Rinse Repeat show.   

Here's the link to the blurb book:  Meet Greet Rinse Repeat.

I got a Burrito in the mail!

Local artist Julia Freeman sent me a copy of the debut issue of a new hand-bound quarterly publication called The Burrito and it is completely delightful!  This issues is centered around the theme of Coping, and features writing, art, and an interactive "activity booklet" by contributers Laurie Kazanjian, Celeste Cooning, Cristien Storm, and Larry Sommers. 

I haven't had a chance to read all the writing yet, but I'm very excited by the object itself, as well as the ideas behind it - here's what the creators have to say about The Buritto:

The Burrito is a quarterly publication that wraps up 4 thinkers, doers, and dea makers that have the same sensibility about a central topic, while providing support and connections in the Seattle community.  The topic is handed to each person as a launching point in hopes the dive deeper into their areas or branch off into a new spectrum.  The idea is to build connections between a local Seattle population by dissolving specialization and encouraging collaboration.

The Burrito provides a space for people to take chances on 5 pieces of paper.  The publications are bound by all participants at a dinner party.  While binding each publication, the members of each quarterly decide how it will be distributed, how much it will be sold for/cost, and how many will be published.  The group also purposes the new topic for the next issue and recommends two of the four people to participate in the next issue.

And here are some images of the publication:

MOLORAZZI - May 2nd Thursday Art Walk

Okay, I only ended up hitting SAM Gallery for the Urban s
how featuring Kate Protage, Leroy Davis at Ghost Gallery and Backdrop at Vermillion (Jed Dunkerley, Jason Puccinelli, Curtis Taylor).  I didn't make it to what looks like great shows at Platform and Lawirmore but honorary Molorazzi and esteemed artist Amanda Manitach did, check out her blog here. 

One of Kate Protage's new works.

Artist Kate Protage left and a bit surprised by the Molorazzi, entertaining some nice folks I know

The crowd at SAM Gallery.  Famous art patron June can be seen just behind that patron on the left.

 The Molorazzi often receives strange looks when capturing these events.  Here we have 3 great examples.

Ghost Gallery has installed their beautiful door!

Kurt vs Andy - my review on the CAB

I went to my first official press preview at a museum that I don't work for on Tuesday and it was a great show!  Read about it here on the City Arts Blog.  And special thanks to JOEY VELTKAMP for providing image and for catching an embarrassing error on my part on the blog!   Meanwhile, here's a few images from the press kit:

 Kurt Cobain, 2006,  Archival cardboard, glue, and screws,  Scott Fife, American, born 1949
22 x 18 x 20 in,  Collection of Theodore M. Wight,  Courtesy of the artist. © Scott Fife

Nirvana, Rajis, Los Angeles 2/15/90, 1990,  Inkjet Print,  Charles Peterson, American, born 1964
66 x 44 in.  © Charles Peterson.

Untitled (Forensic Scene), 2006,  Oil on Canvas,  Jordan Kantor, American, born 1972
32 x 48 in.  Photo courtesy of Ratio 3, San Francisco

Robert Rauschenberg, 1981,  Polaroid Polacolor [reprint],  Andy Warhol, American, 1928 – 1987
4.25 x 3.375 in.,  The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts,  © 2009 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts /ARS, New York

Self-Portrait [with Skull], 1977,  Polaroid Polacolor [reprint],  Andy Warhol, American, 1928 - 1987
4.25 x 3.375 in.,  The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh;Founding Collection,  Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual,  Arts. © 2009 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual
Arts / ARS, New York

Another "full" shot of the Heather/Ivan Morrison Piece

[I compiled this shot from a few different shots, clearly, so it is very distorted and makes it look like the work bends in 2 spots, when, in fact it only bends in one spot.  Apologies to the artists.  I thought that it would be nice to include though, for a better sense of how the work fills the very large space]

Frost King, installation by Heather and Ivan Morrison at Open Satellite thru June 19th