Our M_US__EUM piece is featured today on this tres cool site, a source for “highly abbreviated entries on design”.

A Greek-based e-gallery curated by social designer Costas Voyatzis called Yatzer features ‘M_US__EUM‘ this week.

While in Miami I spent some time with Miami Art Exchange’s Onajídé Shabaka. Here’s the result of our casual midday conversation at the Aqua Miami Art Fair.

Interview with TJ Norris @ Aqua Miami Art Fair from onajide shabaka on Vimeo.

Check this spot out about Scott Wayne Indiana’s Braille Graffiti project.

PS: THIS JUST IN - Tonight #1 of 3 of our collaborative M_US__EUM edition sold at Aqua and dinner was on me!

The Atlantic has this story (w/an illustrative slideshow). I really need to get out more often, and a trip to the Wolong Nature Reserve in the remote Yangzi Region of Sichuan, China (”Province of Abundance” - and birth place of Szechuan cuisine) might do the trick. Though Sichuan is also one of the major industrial bases of China and as such one of the most polluted. With an estimated total panda population of only 1,600 of these creatures in the wilds of China today, this furry friend is one of our most endangered species. WWF is the first official worldwide environmental group dedicating its resources to help save the animal and its habitat.

• • •

Speaking of other habitats, and getting away from it all, big nods to Arcy Douglass for his extremely well rounded reportage of the latest exhibition at SFMOMA (check out the interactive features) by house favorite Olafur Eliasson. Back in May of ‘06 I saw his show at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (who also shows the work of Uta Barth) and had this to say:

Your Engagement Sequence
by Olafur Eliasson

“This gallery is truly dedicated to work that flares boundaries, and does it with technology, light and space in this forum. The central work, Your negotiable panorama dealt with the ripples of wavy water, its reflections and light in the round - all enabled by the motion of entrants to the space. A slight bouncing platform actually uses your weight to trip the light…fantastic! The uncertain museum was another work dealing in cylindrical space with light and shadow (and motors). Panels of steel and projection foil dangled from a centered tubular freestanding space. Upon entry the space creates large cast silhouttes to the exterior walls, along with large circular ornamental geometries rotatating in space from the ceiling, offering inner/outer projections and multiple experiences within a convex space. Upstairs hung a huge geo-prism of mirrors that dangled like a Seussian chandelier, and a super darkened room that acted as a camera obscura. The best part was your ability to walk right inside the “camera”. Great show where he is again dealing in larger than human scale optical dimensions.”

The Washington Post reports…

Though I am a supporter of the visionary of Dennis Kucinich, you gotta give this man something for having the cahones (or at least a nod for spending the dough where the people eat it up, fried or raw cookie-style).

PS: No relation.

>>> CLICK <<<

Portland must seem like an exotic oasis to them there NY’ers!

My favorite magazine, The Wire has finally gone dually digital this month. The even more exciting thing is that in doing this they are offering a Free Trial Issue to peruse before you buy. You may notice that in this particular issue that Emmy Hennings review of my triMIX project appears on page 80 at top left. After 25 years of amazing journalism they have really put a face to the underground, truly responding to the most edgy and vibrant music on Earth.

Does anyone beside me remember France Joli? I can’t hear you….Well, I do, and have been completely haunted by the memories of ‘79 all day. “Come to me, when your world is empty and cold……” (erp)

On my way to the studio today there in the middle of Water Street lay a strewn set of pink rosary beads. The color was off to me, but I later wondered why. Does color matter when counting prayers? It reminded me of a childhood memory of sitting quietly at an abbey as many veiled ladies murmured on for what seemed to be hours in some strange tongue (Latin). Pink is actually a traditional Italian color for these beads after a moment of research. Seeing these also reminded me of another song, this one from the 90’s called Counting the Rosaries by Book of Love.

Atlanta’s Drain Magazine has just released Cruelty which includes a review I penned earlier this year.

This issue led by Olivier Chow and is dedicated to cruelty and its visualization in art, culture and politics. One of the chief concerns of this issue is the legacy of Abu Ghraib. Abu Ghraib is explored from a variety of angles: through an essay by Adrian Parr which discusses the controversial Abu Ghraib paintings of Gerald Laing. Cruelty and its relation to the state of exception and the work of Giorgio Agamben is discussed by Kim Paice. We are also proud to introduce an analysis of the psychology of cruelty by the French psychoanalyst Dominique Cupa, whose work is here accessible in English for the first time. A review of the work of the Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar discusses his engagement with the traumatic visualization of famine, war and genocide in the Sudan and in Rwanda. The horror vacui themed Drain exhibition Blank is reviewed by TJ Norris. These artists explore a number of themes related to cruelty such as authority, the war in Bosnia, collective violence and video games, the alienation and fragility of the subject in the threatening non-space of hospitals, everyday melancholia mediated by the TV screen.

Shhhh. Just a lil’ secret. The Wire magazine continues to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Only select people were invited to this online event (those who couldn’t make it to London) as Matmos & Laub will be broadcast live direct from London’s Bush Hall. This takes place tonight, streaming approximately at 8:30 (Pacific) (20:30 BST). Simply tune in by checking this page. I can’t keep a secret.

Hey reader. Perhaps you are one of the few, the proud, the regulars who saw me through the transition from Livejournal to OregonLive to right here on unBlogged! Well, no more lines or waiting as I was finally able to piece together all of the archives from O-Live into three handy components (sorry the images did not transfer, and forget about recovering those batches). I felt it was important to keep the good word alive somewhere online, as I had a handful of requests and saved it for a rainy day. So, let it pour!!! Since my good word is copywritten under my own name, I re-claimed it for those out there who wanted to reference those pages again. Though it was a days worth off wrap-tapping at the olde (pre-Intel) keyboard - for you it’s as simple as 1 (2005) & 2 (2006, Pt I) & 3 (2006, Pt II).

You know that Shop Victoriously campaign over at Ebay? Well, I thought it was cheeky, unnnntilllll I was able to score a copy of the ‘92 release of the Onobox!!! This is absolutely essential - and right now I feel mighty real. Well, the long and short of it is I bought a brand-new copy of it (a rare find in ‘03) while in an underground shop in Montreal. My entire luggage was stolen, my camera, clothes, a cache of Terre Thaemlitz Love Bomb(s) and the sacred Onobox. Of course its been on and off Ebay over the years at ridiculous auction prices up to $350 - but I copped mine for $82 (w/shipping included). It’s a treasure that won’t leave my sight (plus I already downloaded the discs “just in case” some fat burglar breaks in for it). Ya see, this was my b-day gift to myself this year. Ahhhhh.

ONE YEAR OLD: Though one year is the paper anniversary to some - here in our collective, paperless blogosphere we have all but spared even the soy ink to bring you a wishing well of endless tedium and other treats. This particular (un)blog, as you can see, now has a two headed mascot (better than one?). Is it because this is the official one year anniversary of this personal blog of culture (and blah-blah-blah)? Well, yeah. And is it because there is something special coming soon to the blog world near you. Yeah, yeah. Is it also because I like to futz with things ’til the cows come home? Make that a triple. More soon on this.

FAQ: Why change the name to ‘unblogged’?

Simon Says: Why not? Though probably just another ‘ism’ it’s a misfit cross between the essence of being “unplugged” and the sensation your pipes get when you fill em up with Drain-O.

In the meantime, I just received a package from Bremen. My friends Glit[s]ch & Baraka[h] (otherwise known as Troum) sent me a kit of new sounds they are stirring. If you are unfamiliar, but love drone as much as I do, please don’t hesitate to bring one of theirs home. You could probably find something by them (or their former selves as Maeror Tri) at your local specialty music shop (though they are few and far these days). A few years ago I shot a varied series of composite images in industrial Portland. And though I have created artwork for a handful of commercially available CD projects, these gents are using one of my diptychs for an upcoming vinyl release as the entire inner sleeve fold-out! Since I’m often much more involved in the community of experimental music than anything else, this feels like a real homecoming achievement to me. More info will be forthcoming.

This was also ‘old home week’ as the moon must be drawing from the past. In less than three days I heard from or saw four old friends who I haven’t connected with for up to 2.5 years! Having a birthday gets you on people’s radar somehow magically. Kent and his partner brought me a pbn’j sandwich one day while I was working, Antonio and I went up to 82nd and ventured for Malaysian food in the new Chinatown - the tamarind fish was delicious. My buddy Todd from Happy Valley called me out of the blue from his farm and wants to get together to catch up. And today I saw my former squeeze Stan who pretty much costumed me for my appearence as MC Miss Ann Thrope at the Halloween Pageant (and Zydefunk Night) at Mississippi Pizza! You heard that right, and if you want to see me make an absolute fool of myself I welcome you to join in the festivities. There will be prizes for the best costume. The theme is “Disney Spin-off Characters We’d Like To See” (I would take that as liberally as you wish). I could use a pair of mouse ears for my costume - though it already has about sixteen parts - so maybe I shouldn’t push it. Anyway - Stan is dear and his garden and yard, which he built by hand is packed with herbs and a huge arbor, a sunken patio in stone and a hot tub. He gets plenty of sun, and much growth. The lemon verbana was out and pungent!

Oh, and this weekend, jeeeshers, I spent most of Saturday working with my studio colleagues John Brodie, MK Guth, Sean Healy, Stephen Hayes, Blair Saxton-Hill, Angelle and Phil as well as Philip Iosca who lent a hand to help us paint (and paint and paint). Yes, it was that time of the year - we painted nearly the entire common area of Today Art Studios! It was work, muscle, sweat and lots of coverage. But for some reason it seemed to go quite smoothly and everyone seemed to really work as a team - this was the first such group activity since we moved in nearly a year ago. Well worth it with a visit from PAM very soon as well as Prints4PICA coming in December…..Right on team.

After that I dashed out to pick up my copy of Scott’s totally fun in-joke project of the season, The Portland Art Coloring Book. And I think it’s just freaking funny and simple and clever and stupid and all sortsa good things. For $10 those who appear in it can nab a copy (and though we are colleagues, I had no idea about this until the night before he released this). It’s about an inch and a half thick too, so though its low-tech and pretty zine-esque I think it’s a nice “first volume” tribute to a shiteload of contributors to the scene right now (and a few from years past, like Mark Rothko!).

Um, the rest of the weekend was pretty damn sleepless and included a party at Rose’s place. Moreso a brisk and misty night by the firepit with heaping portions of bbq meats, mutts, biker memorabilia - all to the repetitious spinning of The Doors on an antique Silvertone. There was also garlic peanut tofu over glass noodles and Ty in his hoodie, seemingly inseparable from his lil’ Nokia. Yes, it was a night of mythic ambiguity. Then came Saturday evening and Dude’s Night Out Carport Party at Jesse Hayward’s place. For an ‘illustrious cast of invited characters’ I must say it was more low key than I would have expected, which was exactly what I needed. Chilled with some mint whiskey punch and some of the best homemade cc cookies I’ve had in years. Nice lengthy chats with a few folks about what they are up to, hanging by the fire. It felt solid, the group dynamic, the camaraderie. Seemed like a cohesive, respectful scene and give Portland so much credit for playing host to many talented folks who can engage in the larger conversation.

I HATE YOU, YEAH YEAH YEAH: The rest of the weekend was spent battling the elders…the Boxelders that is. Our lil’ treehouse is crazy infested by these stinky (when squished) red underbelly striped bugs. I have become the vacuum master in the process (which was just instinct, but it’s actually recommended). They are trying to make my home theirs, but there will be no vacancies at the inn this season.

In celebration of the first anniversary of this site, we now have a new logo and are optimized for the ADD generation as “iPhone Ready” (is that a real term?) and from this day forward is officially dubbed unblogged.

iPhone from ijustine on Vimeo.

Paul’s Fenixworkshop is now right smack dab in the center of everything at 1007 SW Morrison, which is across the street from Smart Park, the India House, a few doors down from Ray’s Ragtime and more importantly at the intersection of the Max and the Portland Streetcar! If your plans have you needing a project done in Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Filemaker - they offer small classes and a common sense approach to technical training. They helped me get this site up and running, and you can’t stop me now…..

Though I am slightly disappointed (but not surprised) by the decisions of my blogging opponents, the people over at Urban Honking will move on without me. They may call it “ultimate” though the kids left in the ‘game’ are all really friends, in cahoots if you will. They’ve unfortunately lost a sense of diversity, of character, age and antics though I’m not too fond of alliances and all that. I move on, and with these perameters it’s for the best as these things fly. I’d suggest un-biased judges next time. I had fun while making a fool of myself at that pace, and continuing to blog after six years!

THE PAYOFF: Taking the much needed time to zip off with Paul to Silver Falls today. There were some amazingly graceful deer spotted through the area. Not to mention the wildlife in our own backyard. Last night a cute young racoon was manouevering on the roof to the house, peering into the skylight right over the bed. It was a funny sight. Anyway, that’s my two cents, now time for some z’s. Maybe this chalkboard we spied in the lobby of the bakery where we dined on lovely deli sandwiches had a hidden message? Matthew Stadler is on to something: This made my brow buckle with glee.

Oooo, so filthy gorgeous, to be plastered on the glossy html pages of Portland’s fashionista haven, Ultra! Always a good read, and an even better look-see! Ch-ch-ch-check it!

Ahoy Mateys…er, I mean, Yo Yo Ho! Can you even want to believe that I have made it to the next challenge round on the Ultimate Blogger? Well, there, I did!

The exciting thing is we are already 1/2 way through the competition now, and there are four of us left! I am up against the great weight of three full-scale teams from Grand Rapids, Los Angeles and Boulder. Mind you, they have all each received one or two immunities during the run of the show, I haven’t yet. But, I hope to nab that this next challenge, which is all about Piracy! In my attempts to battle the blog forces out yonder I plan on working some true ‘jazz hands’ this time. Watch and wait and comment if you care.

What started as an earnest, innocent attempt to pay homage to one of my resonant divas, Miss Sandra Bernhard, turned into a skag drag pseudo Bruce Vilanch look-alike walk down a stripped memory lane runway of sorts. Glints of glitzy glam hither and fro, and all in the name of ye Ultimate Blogger. I’ll be the first to warn you that one of the commenters appears as the infamous Michael Musto of the Village Voice! After personally checking in with him directly he kindly informed me that he did not make that comment. And in the spirit of “piracy” he also did not ask the poseur to strike it either. So, that certainly is one shade of the blogosphere that is somewhat, how shall I say, atonal - yes, that’s it!. It’s down + dirty to the Final 4!!!! Yo, yo, CHECK IT and comment for real!

PS: It would seem that this video may also appear in a forthcoming exhibition in Boston, more details later…..

The Bonus Reel: I decided to run the “Peel Sessions” of our recent shoot as well. It’s always important to consider the subtle details, from an uncut perspective. Over at the Ultimate Blogger things are in full swing, and have been ingeniously hacked by thinktank challengers G-Rad (Challenge 5.5, indeed!), Bodycity is working on their own hackerism, Existential Media made a fun(ny) video of a snakelady and remixed the show’s theme song. Things are getting murky, confusing, challenging, behind-the-scenes-y, and I am even meeting up with one of my opponents from EM in an hour or so. I’m prepared. [In case I don't make it back, you know the culprits!]

POSTSCRIPT: Last night I met up with Jordan Dykstra of the Existential Media (”angstistential needia”) group over at Marriage Records (the guy in the pool led me upstairs), a mere two blocks from the studio. It was alright to see Brad Adkins sitting in the hallway on his laptop. He inferred that his group was spread out down the west coast. EM claims: “But on a serious note, the game is getting good. G-Rad and bodycity, our super secret evil alliances, really brought it this round. We’re starting to get worried. EVERYONE is so good. We still have some tricks up our sleeves.” When I asked him about Bodycity (”BootyCity”), one of the other groups in the competition, he noted that they were closely linked with them, and also mentioned that he had met a member of the other opposing team, G-Rad (”G-Blab”) over this past Summer. I also thought it was interesting (and a lil’ odd) that all competitors as well as the contest orchestrators are using Vimeo (which is quite cool and based in Portland). Is it a case where everyone is in bed with each other? You’ll just have to watch to see how it all unfolds. “TJ Snoreis”, indeed?!

The collapse of the House of Usher may be what saved us from the wrath of ourselves. Pause. Well, that is after my “performance” today. The quotes are firmly in place because it was a small-scale spectacle in my studio. Thanks to my special friends (you know who you are) and filmmaker Cullen Hoback, for your expert work, a day befor you move on down to LA! You’ll just have to stay tuned for the next episode of The Ultimate Blogger to find out. It’s not really a cliffhanger per se. More like a fair warning. LOL.

A special call out to Abi!

The Ultimate Blogger rolls on and on and on. Wanna play?

Come see and comment!

Did anyone save me a copy?

TALK ABOUT THE ULTIMATE REALITY SHOW
by Steve Woodward

Friday, September 21, 2007

There’s still time to find out who’s the best blogger in the universe.

Ultimate Blogger 3, one of the Internet’s first Web-only reality shows, posted Episode One last week, but plenty of blogging, immunity and secret alliances loom. For those who missed the first two seasons, think of Ultimate Blogger as “Survivor”-meets-Boing Boing-meets-YouTube.

Billed as an Internet cage match, UB3 (www.ultimateblogger3.com) pits eight bloggers and blogging teams against one another. Each must conquer a blogging challenge under deadline, with one blogger winning immunity after each challenge and one getting voted off the Internet by the others.

The reality show is the brainchild of three Portland bloggers: Mike Merrill, a software company employee; Steve Schroeder, a record label owner; and Jona Bechtolt, a musician. The trio also is behind a popular collection of blogs called UrbanHonking. The Ultimate Blogger has grown so popular that 117,000 would-be bloggers applied this year for the eight contestant spots.

The first challenge was to create a profile page that went beyond the usual blah-blah-blah of bloggers’ self-descriptions. Immunity went to Existential Media, which calls itself a place for extreme artistry and transcendent folks focused on the creation of new ideals. Kicked off the Internet was Paige the Destroyer, which appears to be — it’s a bit hard to tell — a collaboration of interns at the Institute for Community Understanding Between Art and The Everyday, whatever and wherever that may be.

Other contestants include TJ Norris, a Portland artist; bodycity, a Los Angeles-based dance troupe; Little Elephant, an “alien”; Matthew Stadler, who claims to have majored in blogging at Johns Hopkins; Oh Don Piano, the online cognomen of Liz and Krista of Denver; and G-RAD, a six-member team from a Grand Rapids, Mich., Web site.

This week’s task is to interact in some way with real people, either online or offline or both. The seven remaining bloggers so far have asked people to create a communal blog on paper, suggest movements for a group dance, join in a super-chat online, re-enact a film scene and persuade a theater full of midnight moviegoers to play games. Norris placed an ad on Craigslist, asking bald people to repeat his actions while he did a monologue involving coughing, snoring and laughing.

Ultimate Blogger 3 encourages readers to post comments, letting contestants know what they really think of their blogs.

They can even blog about it.

PS: I am the only local player still in the game! Watch, listen, think, act.

Well, it’s not quite a rap yet as I sit here sipping a most righteous cuppa mocha from the folks at All City Coffee. Aside from the Library, this place has the best overall internet ambience of any cafe in town. Believe me, I’ve been to them all.

The Quicktime file is slowly uploading. As I await the results of this next round of the Ultimate Blogger (UB3 for short) how can I possibly sum up my experiences here easily? It was an a/v weekend with high and low points ranging across the scales, some disappointments, some surprises, you know. What you expect I suppose, a full spectrum. I learned more about walking around the city and got quite good navigating the free buses downtown, the hotels, the people, and my own expectations. All are rightly questionable for one reason or another.

Let’s start with yesterday. Well, mainly I went shopping at Wall of Sound. I purchased $50 worth of music. I still buy music. A lot less than I used to, but, for me, it’s about discovering some older stuff, I call it vintage music. Sure, lots of this is contained to the last 12 or so years, but a lot has happened in electronica (sorry for the term) in this short span. So, I found some old Stewart Walker’s (circa ‘99 and ‘00) that got me quite excited, and Cycling a Portable recording on a German label, which I had never seen. Funky, crackly, mmmm good. I like the guys that run this joint, they have a good sensibility of what’s in their stock, and seem to care about what they stock. Knowledgable and good taste - hard combo to come by.

Anyways, one thing I did on foot, after I checked into the Moore (”less”) Hotel was to head straight back up to “pill hill” to the Frye Art Museum. This was my first-ever visit and I really enjoyed seeing the weird silicone creatures by Austrailian artist Patricia Piccinini (you’re going to want to click to the left here, trust me). Her show, Hug, is forthrightly off-putting, in ways that may take time to fully recognize. She basically creates works that are in many media, photography, sculpture, video - that tell a story in parts. It’s almost like some strange natural history exhibit gone awry. Hairy, toothy, and somewhat ‘wet’ looking, her grotesques really are something else. They reminded me of the very odd collision ‘tween Manson and Jackson handled by the master of weird, John Waters I spied in NY a year ago (actually these were made by the guy who did the dolls for the Chucky films). If you are in Seattle, do not miss this, plus it’s free!

This has been the weekend of near misses, and circumstance. Seattle people are plainly aloof, friendly on the shell, and standoffish at the core. My buddy Robert who was up from LA noted this to me, and I agree. But I think I knew this already, but it was just a feeling, not something that kicked in full tilt boogie until I was here on my own. Trying to make interesting connections just seeps through the cracks. There is a weird layer of superficiality in these parts that is subtle, yet filtered into the mainstream of so-called cosmo towns like this one. Mind you, I like a lot of what is offered here, but always one to live in a satellite city (Boston as opposed to NY, Portland as opposed to Seattle or SF), I start to realize I like it smaller, more compact. I like a place that welcomes people who know its a good thing becuase its not worn out on its sleeve. Does that make sense? OK, it will have to suffice as I only have an hour to catch the train.

Now for the remainder of the festival. Last night was the Raster-Noton showcase. I could simply say, nuff said. But I will imply more about what actually took place at the Broadway Performance Hall last night. First up was the great Dane, Pixel (Jon Egeskov). His work was cool and warm and, well, somewhat pixelated. And that was sans any visuals. It was nice to watch an artist on this label produce sounds that were slightly less structured, yet still somehow reserved to an extent. He had a smooth vibe for sure, though I would have hoped he, like the other two performers to come played straight through without any breaks. Their sound sort of calls for a longplay. Though it was surely way beyond any standard in the field of miniml techno out there.

Olaf Bender was next. Man. He nailed it. N*A*I*L*E*D it! I’m still floating from his sound, which I explained to him later in the evening was nothing short of the only term I could use to describe it, White Hot. I was happy he recognized me after the many years between (4 or 5) since we met in Montreal. He tried to decipher my comment to no avail but to say something about a white photograph, something that sounded intriguing, but I was being pulled into the direction of lite bites at Presse by Jamie Drouin and his lovely and fun fiancee, Yann Novak and Cimarron Corpe’ (who was doing visuals for Italoboys tonight). Anyhow, don’t want to lose my train of thought. Bender’s performance was only milimeters short of sheer perfection. There were elements of The Normal, of Kraftwerk, and even something that I cannot dismiss as being a vague sample from Madonna’s “Vogue”. I know it was in there. And I am not going to point out the few super minor humanizing tech ers. Because they were so fluidly and flawlessly overshadowed by a direct hit to the center of my body. The sound was physical, larger than the room, encircling the hall with a technical bent that was pure math, yet not any formula you studied in school. It was being immersed in the center of something containing, but you learn to relish the quarters you are locked in.

Last up for the showcase was Kangding Ray. He was slightly late, but had quite the set up of gear outta boxes and stands, and started with a short wave transmitter in hand, and vocoded hushed voice manouevers. It was more improv than the other two, alongside some simple changing video of lil organic spotlights that meandered and pulsed as he played. It was tight and full of frayed beats and melodics that were more asymmetrical than his one record, Stabil on the label.

At Neumos the DJs took the night, primarily the tech-funk of bearish Claude VonStroke (Barclay Crenshaw) and the into the last call hours with the Italoboys who had fun with jazz and mafioso thematics. Upstairs the legendary original Kraftwerk drummer, Wolfgang Flur (aka Yamo) was in the house. It was all over the place. First, it was fascinating to see him live for the first time, but his sound was muddied, not sure if that was a tech glitch or just what it was. There were some salient moments though, it wasn’t just like “this 50 or 60 year old guy trying to be hip kinda thing” (well, maybe a lil). He had some wonderful curves to what he was doing, very pre-recorded “package sounding”. I danced, isn’t that what matters? You get into it. I could have done without the sort of walk down memory lane from the 70’s onward in the background videos which basically showed a document of his time with Kraftwerk. He hasn’t moved on. But his sound has, though he wonderfully incorporated some of the samples he created way back into his set. Hey, I even noticed Alain Mongeau, the curator of the Mutek Festival in the house last night. See you next year Decibel!

* THIS JUST IN: I made it! I’m still up for the challenge, The UB3, the ultimate five are still alive!!! That leaves me as the only single contestant left. Gone are Paige Saez, Little Elephant and now Matthew Stadler (who’s up in some mountains somewhere - if you’re reading this here’s a call out!). It’s me against the mob now. But I am not really an alliance guy, I vote as I see it. And I am willing to go to all lengths to stay in with the best of ‘em. And I like my competitors, it’s all good. I have a new secret weapon director for my next challenge. Which is PICTURES!!!! Hmm, isn’t that what I do? It’s an omen that Duranx2’s “Girls On Film” plays in the background of the cafe as I exit! BIG WINK.

I captured my journey to Seattle yesterday over at the Ultimate Blogger, stay tuned as alliances are forming, and things are being stirred + shaken. Now improved with downloadable theme songs. I’m on my second mocha, searching for a cafe open downtown at 7:15AM. That’s right, out and about first thing, early riser and all that bit. Before I go too far in depth into today let me just say that aside from the slight delay in our Amtrak shuttle due to a collision with an automobile, the trip was filled with the visions I captured. Then, upon arrival I darted over to James Harris to see Marcelino Gonçalves’ Free Mustache Rides. I got one thing to say, Clone-a-licious. This work is sooooooo gay Touching on the whole self love, Crisco Disco 80s, all smoke and mirror imaging. The couple images remind me of people as the ornamental, repetitive qualities in wallpaper design. Then a quick jaunt to the other area galleries like Greg Kucera who is showing the fantastic, blatant work of Jack Daws. Clever, conceptual, cunning, no matter how you slice it. I loved the dice, the numchucks and the plastic buckets with Mexican emblems. I am less impressed with the beercan bong, but you can’t have hit after hit after hit (or, maybe that’s the whole metaphor there….pun intended). Up the block at Platform, Scott Fife’s work consists of these large cardboard, painted heads that are so detailed, he’s expertly captured facial expressions with raw materials. Plus it’s probably one of the best installations I’ve seen at this space to date. Each piece truly projects out at you with flair and drama. The Marilyn Monroesque head is complete with hayseed from her mouth, and is that John Wayne looming in the back? I just love the way he creates hair with these thin strips of winding cardboard. They are as engaging as they are eerie and hollow. Heads will roll.

Oh, and I had a nice chat with the always stylishly tie-bearing Sam Davidson who gave me a poster for Steven Miller’s Bound which is still up at Davidson Contemporary through the 29th. Two of the floating rotund figures (Dave, and John) are completely cherubic and stunning. Their 200-300#+ bodies hang in the balance between string that seems floss thin. And they sort of glow, these gorgeously stylized, very contrast imparted ‘dancers’ in air. Other figures are bound by the head, feet and entir torsos. I’m not sure I was as interested in the clothed figures as the nudes, couples and singles, had so much presence and impact. Clothes get in the way, even when the choice of what the folks are wearing are colorful and primary (especially the socks). There was one exception (Bound II - Tom and Garth), and that was the two squat, round men who come off as cartoonish characters. The work recalled some of the latest by Monica Majoli, just seen through a different filter, but with the same fetishistic nuance. and I popped into a few other spaces but there wasn’t much to report. I was too busy trying to find a place to stay, which didn’t turn out too well after missing signals with a couchsurfing dot commer.

But I did make it out to some of the festival, the Decibel Festival. Honestly, I have no idea who the DJ upstairs or down were, but upstairs was so loud I had to buy earplugs (that was a first), and downstairs the sounds were ON, but the heat was too, it was over 90 degrees in the small space, they had the place hopping. I was there to see Mute recording artists Motor, but I don’t think I did, even though I am sure I was in the right place at the right time. Music festivals tend to have built-in surprises. Also, I was charmed to be standing right beside Wolfgang Flur at one point in the evening or another. That was pretty awesome. And he seemed to groove with the super amp’d beats that shook the foundations. More tonight, and hopefully some gallery hopping too (maybe I will finally see the Frye Museum?) since my friend Robert is up from LA (he surprised me from the back last night…don’t get any ideas), and David should be arriving from PDX. I may have found two separate hotels for tonight (The Inn @ Virginia Mason) and tomorrow (The Moore Hotel).

PS: I was excited to see many banners on the streetlights regarding Trans Awareness Week, but I missed the festivities as it was three weeks back.

IN OTHER NEWS: I am once again up in our sister city to the North (fourth time in as many months). This time to report on the Decibel Festival which way outdoes itself this year in presenting: Harold Budd (Collaborator w/Eno), Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), Wolfgang Flür (Kraftwerk), a Raster-Noton showcase, Speedy J, Biosphere, Motor, Frivolous, Mikael Stavostrand and many others. It’s also the weekend when Western Bridge reopens with Insubstantial Pageant Faded, a group show that includes work by Martin Creed. Travelling as a member of Couchsurfing 2.0.

THIS JUST IN: I have made it to the next round. There are now only six contestants left. The next challenge is all about “Passion”. And, well, since I don’t have a video camera this time around and I will be 100+ miles from home turf, I will have to get creative(r). Keep watching The Ultimate Blogger for the next challenge! I was excited to hear from Nayland Blake, Bill Arning and that the yonoism video will potentially be seen by Yoko Ono herself (my inspiration)! And it seems that the potential piece in the Oregonian never made the light of say (that’s what they told me). But I did write 4K words on the trainride up. What a week. I’ll be back Monday…..Ahem, in the meantime, listen to Yoko’s Cough Piece for yourself.

Today marks an important occasion. Over the past year silver has certainly sprouted from our chinnie-chin-chins (none of it which is recyclable). Though not only as precious as the metal that bears its name, we have also earned every last one in the process of growing in ways unexpected! Speaking of reuse, isn’t the mark of 365 days in the life supposed to be the ‘paper’ anniversary? Well, spread the news.

Independent couples are a hard longterm sell indeed. It’s a categorical oddity in my life (but perhaps this, the 3rd time, will be the charm). Part of the news is Paul has just leased a downtown storefront space in the Fine Arts Building. Fenixworkshop is movin on up to the SW side.