Friday, September 29th, 2006

New painting "Coffee Mug" in the traditional section. I'm proud of it because I haven't done a painting quite like that. I focused a lot more on detailed shadows, etc. It might be something I want to do a lot more of.

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

Man I'm looking forward to October! I really need some good cool, fall weather. Also, I've got the October show up and running at my new site http://www.contumacies.org. I am going to have a new show there every month, showing artists from deviantart.com.

Things are also heating up on the teaching front. This Stuckism thing has been a nice escape from the realities I've been having to deal with. I'm still shy about getting up in front of people, and teaching does not come to me naturally.

Still, my involvement with this Remodernist group and all these new thoughts have given me a confidence I didn't have before. Hopefully it will see me through this and next semester....

Monday, September 18th, 2006

I like this manifesto found in this month's Artforum. It's in an ad for this exhibition
[link]

(I think the emerging presence of these artist's manifestos and declarations is a sign of positive change. Artists are finally starting to stand up to the establishment and go their own ways. Some always have).


MANIFESTO
For Abstractionists and friends of the non-objective

BE A FORCE

Don't shoot blanks

Black and Brown: that sh*t is the future

Triangles are your friend

Don't pretend you don't work hard

When in doubt, spray paint it gold

Perverse formalism is your god

You are greased lightening

Bring your camera everywhere

Never stop looking at macrame`, ceramics, supergraphics and suprematism

Make work that is so secret, so fantastic, so dramatically old school/new school that it looks like it was found in a shed, locked up since the 1940's

Wake up early, fear death

Whip out the masterpieces

Be out for blood

You are the master of your own universe

Abstraction never left, motherf*ers

If you can't stop, don't stop

Strive for deeper structure

Fight monomania

Campaign against the literal

ABSTRACTION FOREVER!

Friday, September 8th, 2006

It's completely pointless to have that blog when I'm basically "blogging" on the front page of this site. I'm shuttin' it down. I'm still not entirely happy with what Googlepages can do, but it's turning out to be enough, especially since I'm also posting more than ever over at Deviantart.com.

Lately I'm so excited because the Remodernists group over there has really taken off. It's wonderful to see how the effort it takes to start something up can really pay off. More than ever, I think that art is becoming vastly more democratic. People are forming their own little groups and eventually there will be so many different kinds of galleries for different kinds of art. Everyone will have a place in the artworlds (plural) of the future.

As far as what is important or significant... I think it's utter folly to confidently say in one's own time what will stand out as significant in the future. The high art world is totally collapsing. What remains after that collapse will be a democratic art, where different groups of people with different aims can establish their own goals and priorities. I realize this situation already exists to a degree, but there is still the lingering, dying notion that the art in the high galleries is the important, significant art. This notion will die completely soon.

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006

(added new painting "Plisteen" in the traditional section...)

Worthy vs. Unworthy pursuits:

Unworthy:

• Trying to be cool
• Trying to be relevant
• Trying to be original

Worthy:

• Making art that expresses your own real journey through life.
• Trying to get better
• Putting your honest self out there