First evening in the studio

I went into work in Minneapolis today, so I didn't have a chance to work on anything in the studio until after dinner. I started by doing a quick free-writing exercise to think about collage and its relationship to painting.

Getting ready to create an abstract collage piece. I'm thinking about the motions that I am going to make to build the layers. It's all about separating elements from themselves and combining them with others. Cutting and tearing and looking and shifting and thinking. Working with objects instead of just colors. Everything is already a thing before I touch it. I'm not bringing anything new into existence, but rather just changing its context. When I'm painting the paint kind of doesn't exist until I spread it on the canvas, and even then it may not exist in a meaningful way yet. The imagery of familiar places attaches meaning to the paint, even as the paint is attached to the canvas. By the end there is some meaning in the paint itself that is independent from the meaning that the imagery lends it. Sometimes this meaning arrives first or in the middle. For this collage I'm thinking specifically about cutting glass into smaller and smaller pieces, using clear gesso to separate layers. looking at the bottom of my bin for a page to use, and pouring orange paint.
 

Half-finished collage piece

Tomorrow I start my residency at the Anderson Center in Red Wing. I'm feeling a mix of nerves and excitement. I'm just hoping I can clear my head and be productive.

Y'outta Praise Him - Robert Glasper

I've loved In My Element by Robert Glasper ever since the first time I heard it. These two tracks are probably my favorites on the album. They remind me of my grandmother because she likes these hymns they are based on. I think the contemplative mood moving into the praising, almost raucous joy is really uplifting.

To Light a Candle

Cedar Commons, Minneapolis

Cedar Commons, Minneapolis

After work today I stayed in Minneapolis to watch a film screened at an interfaith space on the Augsberg College campus. To Light a Candle directed by Maziar Bahari chronicles the oppression that members of the Baha'i faith, the larges religious minority in Iran, have endured at the hands of the Iranian Government. 

The movie focuses on the governments attempts to criminalize every aspect off Baha'i life, and especially education. The Baha'i community in Iran has been resilient, and despite the threat of imprisonment and death for all Baha'is, they have such a love for there country, that many who leave to get an education return afterward to join the effort for freedom.

I would recommend seeing it if you have the chance.

Visit to Chatfield

I made another fact-finding trip to Chatfield on Saturday. This time I went with my new collaborator for this show. Miranda Moen studied architecture at the University of Minnesota, and is now an architectural designer in Minneapolis. Wee had a great conversation about rural architecture and what makes an important space. She was looking for a project so I invited her to collaborate on this one. As somebody who mostly likes how buildings look, its exciting to work with somebody who knows how they are constructed and how they work, and other real facts.

Miranda Moen

Miranda Moen

MoRuf! - Loosies

Found a free EP by an artist I hadn't heard of before. It's full of some great summer jams. I'm really happy with the amount of free hiphop around. Enjoy!

Why stick to one book?

Currently reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. It draws the link between slavery, Jim Crow, and the current criminal justice system marked by ballooning population consisting disproportionately of black and brown men. It seeks to prove that this system is nothing less than a new, racially motivated caste system.

I've just started the first chapter, and this quote jumped out to me as perfectly summing up the hypocrisy that went into the creation of this country. This is the reason I and so many others are skeptical of the notion we need to "make America great again", and the reason we must continue to say "Black Lives Matter".

“By the mid-1770s, the system of bond labor had been thoroughly transformed into a racial caste system predicated on slavery. The degraded status of Africans was justified on the ground that Negros, like the Indians, were an uncivilized lesser race, perhaps even more lacking in intelligence and laudable human qualities than the red-skinned natives. The notion of white supremacy rationalized the enslavement of Africans, even as whites endeavored to form a new nation based on the ideals of equality, liberty and justice for all. Before democracy, chattel slavery in America was born.”
— Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow

Flying Lotus - Never Catch Me ft. Kendrick Lamar

This one starts out kind of dark, but I love the transformation from sadness to joy, and little kids who can dance are always a plus. This song and video always reminds me of the awesome things that these musicians are putting out. I remember anticipating this Album in 2014 with all it's powerhouse guest artists, and then Kendrick coming out with To Pimp a Butterfly soon after with Thundercat and Kamasi Washington doing great work on both, and Kamasi coming out with his huge album The Epic around the same time. It's just a really exciting time to be seeing all these musicians working together. Its similar to how 'Top 40' pop musicians work with a nebulous group of producers and songwriters and arrangers and end op producing an ever-replenishing catalogue of pithy songs that all generally sound the same, except it's the complete opposite end of the spectrum. These people are sharing ideas and producing monster albums that borrow sounds and talents, but are unique, complex, and extremely relevant. Oh what a time to be alive!

Langston and the gang

I've started reading a collection of poetry by black writers. I'm just thumbing through and picking poems at random. I mark every poem I read, so eventually I'll make it through all the poems in the book. It's cool to be reading poetry by a black people who aren't Langston Hughes. Nothing against Langston (he had it goin' on), but it's so easy to be content with tokenism and to think that he will teach you all you need to know in the realm of poetry by people of color. 

I'll share some of my favorites with you.

30mph Zone

The photos from 30mph Zone are finally available to view on my sight. Annie Galloway did an excellent job documenting the exhibition. You can view her portfolio here. 

Trip to Chatfield

Yesterday I made a trip to Chatfield to start doing research for the show this fall. My guide was Tom Hilgren, a Chatfield High School history teacher, and board member at the arts center. He lined up a few interesting places for me to see, and we got to talk to a few people about their favorite places in town. It was great to just roam around with no agenda other than getting a feel for the town. This week I'm getting my notes in order from the short stories I was told, and I'll post a few once I'm organized. 

I'm about halfway through  The Poisonwood Bible, written by Barbara Kingsolver. I've really enjoyed getting back into reading for pleasure. and I'm excited to devote even more time reading and learning once I've finished with my next new projects. 

Even thought I don't have a lot of free time to devote to reading right now, I think it is good for me to find the time for it. Even if I don't have the time or energy to accomplish something on my to-do list that may take a big chunk of the day, at least I can accomplish one thing in the shorter period of time I have. It's great to spend a few minutes, or a full day, and just learn something.