F**K IN THE ROAD: I glanced outside my studio just a moment and witnessed a vague cast of the full moon through a candy colored cloud. Given what I’m doing in the studio, it brought a sense of reckoning to what I’m doing, and a smile. Today is just an odd day. Earlier I was on a mission to take a test for a government-type part-time job but they provided me incorrect information about the time, so a re-appointment was scheduled. I took bus #72 up and down 82nd Street which I noticed seems sadly more littered than usual with bottles, cans, and other misc. You ever feel like you are walking on “skid row”? Well, if it weren’t The Avenue of the Roses I may not mention it, but in an eco-sense things just seemed a bit seedier than ever.

SILVER LINING: Well, the silver lining here included a special trip to pick up a small surprise for Rob’s 40th tomorrow, heading towards Hood River. Before making this longer trek I did stop into NAAU to see Laura Fritz’s spare use of the gallery for her Couture exhibition, Evident. The work is so subtle. Similar to my own work in the same series and venue, Fritz uses light in a way as to prompt the viewer to take time to both adjust their perception and then potentially wait…Well, not like waiting on a train platform, perhaps moreso to witness her very sparse way of orchestrating natural elements, species, creepers. In the past Fritz has worked with imperceptible specimens, light and mirrors and also with video, and again she is staying within the realm of such artistic conventions. Where this work differs is her use of projection of light outwardly rather than having the viewer peer inside of boxes, around corners, above head and into voids. Here, offering a delicate touch of cinematic light cast throughout the room almost like a stage without a performer. Part of the cascading light reminds me of a flashback to what it must have felt once they stopped the mirrorball spinning for the last dance at Studio 54. Is that the same thing as a deer caught in headlights?

FLY ON THE WALL: In any case, in the dappled spotlight one witnesses a bit of incidental movement made by an insect or three. These fleeting glimpses have the “tease-factor” to keep anyone without ADD contained for as long as they can stabilize themselves in a darkened room to ogle intently. The room offers an elegant sense of quietude, with only three physical elements positioned roughly within a triangular format on the floor. A projection box that casts peepholes of light across three walls, a table with a top just ajar to peer into a very dark mirror-lined interior filled with two objects: a snail-like form and something a bit bulbous. Finally a tall closet-like self-standing box, completely unlit with a door again, slightly ajar. This coffin-like box is probably the biggest mystery here and perhaps acts as something of a time capsule/transporter, without dials, motors or flashing lights. What could be an aerial view of a tale once told by Lewis Carroll, is a journey by a fellow minimalist who has finally found a balance of many elements she’s been juggling for years. Aside from some curiously underlit focal points, this work resonates well with Fritz’s past ouevre, and shows a certain maturity, especially in the fashioning of furniture-like objet d’art to help emphasise the twitching anxious call into light.

SMOKE SCREEN: Speaking of the dark. While strolling in my new neighborhood today I stopped and spoke with an inspector for Tri-met and asked about the lack of no smoking signs on the Max platform, and how the public would know they cannot actually smoke there without warning. She asked if I wrote or called Tri-met about it, and I said I had a few times. She suggested to call again, and that once they get enough complaints they will do something. But, the fact that she, as a representative of this system didn’t take action herself, and simply passed the buck, seemed quite slack and irresponsible to me. Tri-met officiated this rule a handful of years ago but hardly ever polices it. In a year when Oregon law requires that bars and restaurants now be smoke-free, I’m not sure who Tri-met is appeasing by simply having a law that they don’t enforce. Their ad campaigns on the actual lightrail mention watching out for trains as you cross streets, they mention paying your fare - but with health and safety concerns such as this never mentioned, who gets the message? Am I complaining upon deaf ears there? Probably.

HE LOVED LIKE DIAMOND: Oh, there he was upon the stage of the Rose Garden last night, “The Diamond Cutter” or as some have been known to call him, “The Jewish Elvis” (check yer local Wiki). The soon to be 68-year old singer-songwriter, Mr. Neil Diamond, took to the stage with a fiery pop act that had most of the 11K folks on their feet. It was a feat in and of itself, given that many of those in the arena were approximately his age. That said, for the very final date of a 37 city tour, the Jazz Singer himself was in excellent voice throughout the two-hour long performance. He did all his classics like Sweet Caroline, Red Red Wine, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers and I’m A Believer but it was the songs from 1980’s The Jazz Singer (Love On The Rocks and America) that had everyone on their feet. He was entertaining as was his band who provided all the rhythm and spice necessary. And he’s got great eyebrows.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Daily Grind, Wired. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.