research for the movie

Just moved to Cincinnati to teach art, can't believe they pay me for this.

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Location: Cincinnati, OH, United States

I run the Art Foundations program here at DAAP in the University of Cincinnati

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Unions



(The Bearcat painting a wall with red brush is a registered trademark of UC and faclities management of the University of Cincinnati. I have altered the image slightly so as to not get fired.)

The DAAP building is getting a new fresh coat of paint today. Eisenman’s giant exploded baby shower cake of a structure is starting to take on the visage of it’s old self with fresh layers of awful colors and a complete removal of any signs of life. I look at the structure as a memorial to learning, each hallway was carefully designed to make you lost, confused, and sheepishly give up. But no one can see you give up, because if you turn around and walk the other way everyone around you decides that is just how you get to the bathroom on the sixth floor.

But with a fresh coat of baby blue and pinkish-desaturated bubble gum comes a torment of wet paint signs. These posters contain the phantom bearcat with red brush in hand on a rampage through the city, ready to scare small children as he attacks the walls of their bedrooms with snarled mouth.

Personally I love these stupid posters, but they are everywhere, and no one is taking them down five days after the paint is dry. Last quarter at the school I volunteered to repaint a room that had grown gray from flying charcoal. I was informed by the building’s super that no one could paint the walls of any surface in this building because of the painter’s union. I asked how much it costs to paint a single room and no one could tell me. First the Forman would have to come out and inspect the room personally to give me an estimate, and then we could negotiate and then I would be mailed a formal quote, or some such nonsense. I honestly was too shocked that I wasn’t allowed to work to help the school that employed me. With that in mind I would like to suggest that we establish a wet paint sign removal union. After each paint application on campus we would inspect the still taped walls and scattered signage to determine a fair and just quote. Once a number is agreed upon we can bring in the equipment to begin the difficult process of removing tape from walls without peeling off the fresh paint, and pick up the signage while only dry wiping the floor. If we have to mop the floor we will need to renegotiate the deal. If one of the painters happened to tape the image to the floor an emergency override can be authorized and we can Windex the masking tape residue off the floor careful not to over spray onto non-wipe-able areas of the building.


I wrote an amazing post last night, but lost it somewhere in computer land.

Trust me it was good. It had something to do with Art, Cincinnati, and the fact that my students are too cheap to spend money on printing photographs. I saw a group of students this morning try to open a door but get locked out, I bet they give up and walk back home thinking school is canceled.

Today my students build robot babies.
I answer questions.

photo of last quarters color theory class work up on the worst painted walls in the universe.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

First preview article

I just finished my first preview article for CITYBEAT alt weekly mag here in Cincinnati.

Enjoy the preview of the preview
I took the image down because I forgot who took the shot of Winterhalter's paintings, and don't want to come out the gate making anyone upset.

Guy Debord proposed that time is “made of qualitative leaps” existing as choices connected by familiar spectacle. Joseph Winterhalter's "Leaving the 21st Century" acts as a romantic and preparatory look at lived spaces hinting at the uncanny. A subscriber to Derrida and The Situationists, Cincinnati born Winterhalter believes "Anything I ask of a painting is a hell of a lot more than most makers of things should ask."

Through physical and meticulous applications on massive scaled canvases Winterhalter seductively fabricates known spaces with the potentiality of otherness. Representational minimalism and layers of industrial colors scraped back trapped in coats of encaustic wax, paint, enamel, and guttural marks, these abstracted patinas quietly shimmer in melancholic moments. In much the same way that Jasper John's re-enlivened populous imagery by focusing on painting's object-ness, these thirteen intensively worked canvases recall, at times, institutional spaces yet allow the materiality of paint to fall within the seams of perception resting virally in our collective fringes. Residuals of history literally wrap the surface, rewarding viewers through exquisite material dexterity. We may not see the end of the 21st century but these "terminal boundaries" become delightful spaces to investigate. Show runs June 22 - Aug 31 Opening reception June 22 at THE WESTON ART GALLERY. Downtown Cincinnati!

Monday, May 21, 2007

never enough




I'm at school today, trying to get a master plan on how to enroll students in the DAAP Non-Major Art classes. Nothing seems to be working. Getting ready to just call all the colleges and get them on board.

My students finished up their photo performance class. This two week workshops went extremely well. I love teaching photo, if you couldn't get that from the last post.

The school is trying to get rid of the major problem of Bathroom Graffiti. NO one knows how to combat this issue. At UC the walls must be painted by the painter's union. I ran into problems with them when I was repainting the art foundations room in the winter. How silly of me to try to do some free work for the school and get the extremely messy room back in order. What was I thinking? Last year I wrote an article for RVA Mag about bathroom graffiti in the art building. I wish I could find a copy of it in my files, but I think I erased it sometime ago. Sorrys go out to everyone.

Working on about 10 new pieces for the show in Knoxville at The Basement Gallery. (I don't remember the website, but google it.) Finished my first write up for CITYBEAT Magazine. Did a preview of Joseph Winterhalter. I hope it gets people in the space. I hope it gets published, and I hope I get some more assignments.

Trying my best this week to not turn on the TV, but yesterday I caught an amazing insider's guide to "Good Eats." Alton Brown gave his secrets and tricks on how the show gets made. No it is not his actual kitchen, but in season two we are welcome to see life from the kitchen of his producer and director of photography's house. Durring that season a cease all actions was issued and they had to rebuild the entire kitchen in a set, but it turns out that the fake walls behind the appliances made for an easier filming environment. I loved learning that his Microwave was actually a working microwave without the dangerous and food cooking beams of light. Instead it just turns and lights up, but no ions are transmitted.

A while back Julia sent a letter to Good Eats asking if there was a chance for me to do an internship with alton. The people suggested I apply to be "the next foodnetwork star." I'm still on the fence if that is a good idea or not. I mean Alton's show is perfect in everyway, I would never be able to do something that good.

Thinking about pricing my work tonight. I guess everyone has the same issues of determining value to something that rarely ever sells. Most people I know who show one to three times a year say the same thing. "I'm just happy to get a show." The artist I will show with in Knoxville said something extremely interesting to me in our meeting today. "I love to buy my students work, it makes them feel so special. But they are so timid, they never know how much to price it. I always tell them give me a price and I will write you a check or laugh in your face. It's that simple."

I have never sold a piece for over 200 bucks. I would like to do that someday soon. Maybe by December.

I think the new paintings, and drawings are up to snuff and hopefully people will see the value in them, and the value in me. Because quite frankly aren't those two things intertwined. Aren't they also buying a bond of faith in me and my ability to creatively investigate materials?

Worked on my bills and budget in the gallery for Reed's Performance Show. I figured out my long term goals, and realized I spend way too much eating out.


This was my old studio door.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Students are getting smarter



I love teaching photo classes. The work is always surprising. I always try to get them to do at least one Zombie Piece each year. The award for best zombie on the fly photo goes to this group.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007






here are a few more shots of the installation over at the Meyers Gallery on the UC campus.

Maiza at the CAC came to the Gallery Talk. She didn't realize I wasn't doing a performance. Hell I don't even think she knew I made things that weren't performance based.

I sat before the whole crowd of students actually there supporting friends in a group show in the back room. I felt like a turd doing a gallery talk when all these students and parents actually just wanted to eat the food I forked out money for and look at their own work. But they listened and I got some great questions about humor, honesty, and why make personal work, or paintings when there is so much else that is going on in the world. I tried to explain that being funny and goofy is a defense against the forces outside of your control. That painting actually acts the same way. No one paints to cure cancer, they paint to not have to think about cancer and cure some micro problem on a dirty piece of fabric that holds that success in the fibers long after the strugle is forgoten.

But what I actually said when sitting in front of those students was, "I paint wookie mcnuggets and asteroids and spaceships taking medicine to a planet rulled by steve martin because I am so sick of looking at art, talking art to students, and trying to get students to be smarter every single day. I just want to enjoy my studio enough that I won't leave to go to a meeting, or a committtteee, or grade papers. If I keep giving to you kids the same way without ever getting something back just for me, I will find a baseball bat and smash out every single window in that stupid exploded baby shower of a building."

(My first version and my actual statements were not that poetic, there was a lot of Um's and So's, and of course I swore)

Show





I think these are images from my show on campus at UC. Not sure actually if I even saved them on this computer or not. Yes I saved them. I remember that day. It was right after teaching and I had to take the show down. I had paid a graduate student to shoot images of the installation, but he never got back to me to let me know if it went ok or not. I actually haven't seen that grad since I took the show down. I think he is avoiding me, but I'm not pissed. I never get good shots of my work up in galleries. That is most likely why I am not famous yet.

The show was a revamp of the work that I cranked out in my studio for a month back in January. I did 7 new paintings for the show, redid the wall asteroids, time warp, wermer holes, smoke trails, space dust, and a great little magical piece over by the fire detector.

In the new re-revamped version I am doing for Knoxville I am going to include my new collection of Ex Girlfriend Door Stoppers, hand painted and weathered! And a stunning new mix of bad paintings, worse painted objects, and really bad puns.

Mark Harris has some great shots from the opening. But I can't get them from him till after his opening up at the Wexner Center for the Arts. That opening is Friday, which means I will have to miss the reception for Sarah Hollis, who I will be showing with in June at The Basement Gallery in Knoxville. Only two great things from Knoxville, Johnny and Timothy Michael Martin. I mean that guy's name sounds like a country singer, but nope, the best dern newfangled gallery owner in the southland.