Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Body Reflected


The mirror is one of the many surfaces we encounter daily. The mirror is the looking glass in which we see our own body reflected. It is the individual encounters we have with other people, in which our social selves are reflected. It is culture at large, in which our ideas and thoughts are mirrored in the expressions of others. Mirrors are the measure by which we double-check our reality.

The mirror, being that to which we look in order to understand ourselves or the world around us, is not indifferent to our gaze. It’s reflections shift and bend, and sometimes, when it knows we are looking, it denies us insight altogether and shows us lies.


Carrie Mae Weems- Mirror, Mirror






















LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR, THE BLACK WOMAN ASKED, "MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO'S THE FINEST OF THEM ALL?" THE MIRROR SAYS, "SNOW WHITE, YOU BLACK BITCH, AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!!!"




Jan Švankmajer - Alice 




The mirror, both object and encounter, is the bridge that stretches between the inside and the outside of the head/body.

"My head, for example, my head: what a strange cavern that opens onto the external world with two windows. Tow openings– I am sure of it, because I see them in the mirror...
This back, which I can feel leaning against the pressure of the couch when I am lying down and which I might catch but only by the ruse of the mirror. And what is this shoulder, whose movements and positions I know with precision, but that I will never be able to see without dreadfully contorting myself?...
There's no need for a soul, nor a death, for me to be both transparent and opaque, visible and invisible, life and thing. For me to be a utopia, it is enough that I have a body."

-Michel Foucault "Utopian Body", from "Sensorium" by Caroline Jones


Michael Jackson- Man in the Mirror

Monday, January 26, 2009

Studio #91

Just in case you were wondering... that's where you can find me. Top O' the Stairs, Main Building of the Graduate Complex, California College of the Arts. Knock Loudly, I'm probably in the midst of a dance party with my iphone.


Here is my desk after a day of exploration through the creative wilderness.





















































p.s. I'm not killing that plant. I actually rescued it from the dumpster and am rehabilitating it. Sheesh!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Cupcakes and Spiders

What would happen if a processed, packaged Sprinkle-Head dared to head out into the unknown and discover what life was really about...?

Find out! In this adorable (and somewhat: oolala!) animation by Kirsten Lepore

"Sweet Dreams"



Also, a little folksy number to get you ready for bed:

"Story From North America"



Kirsten Lepore also has a great website, and blog of her very own, with more informations and animations:

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Joseph Beuys - What Would Buddha Say?


























"Buddha would say... Art would like to release something... It is social sculpture that is no longer related only to the art business... But related to all people and the social problems in which we live... "
-Joseph Beuys, quoted from Documenta 6 Satellite Telecast

****Call 415.294.3609 then enter 407# to hear SF MOMA's audio regarding Joseph Beuys and the three works that represent him in the 'Participation' show, now on view at the museum.


Thursday, January 22, 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Jungle @ PlaySpace Gallery

Curated by Stephanie Mansolf and Natalia Nakazawa

Artworks pictured below by:

Nwamaka Amaka Nnenne Chika Ikejimba (floor painting/sculpture)
Natalia Nakazawa (hanging beaded sculpture)
Jen Prather (detail from larger installation: tangle of colorful pillowish things, yarn, jewels)






























































There are lots of other great artists and interesting works in this show, which is worth making a special trip to see. The pieces are meditative and thought provoking, as well as playful and sensuous. And the Raccoon in your heart will be pleased with all the glittery baubles. 







Sunday, January 11, 2009

New Digs

Moving moving moving

I have a new studio... for real now! Time to dig in the heels and stir up the waters. 

What am I? I think I'm a social practice artist, who also draws, paints, and makes stuff. The important thing for me was always the context. That the dialogue about the work would revolve around social relevance, content, meaning. Yes, I paint, but I am bored by conversations about form and color. (Even though, I'm a sucker for pools of color my eyes can swim in)

Friday, January 2, 2009

All The Things

Late August - November 12, 2008

These are my 'notes to self' from my sketchbook. Artists, books, films to remember and check out. Ideas to explore, thoughts to think more about. Loose threads of fabrics not yet woven.





I'm trying out something new. This drawing of all the things I want to revisit and think about and explore. I have sketchbooks galore filled with ideas and references but they don't really help me in book form. My brain has been overflowing lately with all these ideas I'm trying to keep track of. At first I was sort of diagraming the information. Eventually the words began to feel like marks and a composition began to form. - Seeing it all at once makes so much sense to me. It's in my brain all at once.
I really like the process of discovering how things are connected.