Used to tell those chicks to shut up, now he's shushing them

Posted by Jona8than | Labels: , , | Posted On Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 3:19 a.m.

Went through the hallways today, this morning, so quiet. Checking the studios for the start of the new residency, already finding it hard to remember who was in these studios just a few days ago. Trying to remember the residency before that is even harder. It's funny when you're in the Banff groove.

New residency came in today, here for just two weeks. The day went smooth. Stay after work at the Centre; took a nap first before working on some work. Chatted with my bro-bot, he hopefully has found a room for September. Going to CONA in Corner Brook. Corner Brook. My old stomping grounds. Would like to visit him when he's there. Not sure if any chance on that at the moment, a big thought tho. Got some of the best friends in that area. Maybe try for a print residency at the school. Come through and show them how I ball.

I have to come back with something to ball with...I left for the wild west, a young inkslinger trying to find a fortune or something. The West isn't that wild, thats the problem, everyone gets a bit of softness here to them. Impressive kunstlers come through but even they aren't as sharp as they want to be. I think I'm trying to remind myself of what I have to do through writing. It's all about playing games isn't it? Make believe.

I measured a wall in the Other Gallery today. The Other Gallery is shaped like an "L". One end is dark, well dark with the lights off, no outside light reaching it. The wall at that end is 10 ft across. I think a print fitting that space across would be a good step in to up-ing my scale. Of course to up it farther I would like to do it with lithography. Lithography and maybe some relief.

I would like to do a 180 small drawings for everyday that the Polaris party was on the ice floe. Almost as if though there was an artist stranded there as well. G.E. Tyson mentions in his journal that he wished there was an artist or poet there to capture the scenes he has witnessed. I don't have the quotation on hand. Might be something there in the quantity of images. Worked for Ed Pien [and we all know I love that mofo's work].

There is a semblance of a plan. I want to watch Yokimbo soon. There is also a bizarre western movie called "El Topo" that I want to watch. Maybe with Christina tis week when she gets here.
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On a Swarm

Posted by Jona8than | Labels: | Posted On Monday, August 17, 2009 at 2:39 a.m.

The problem could be that everything is permitted. That is the postmodern condition. A condition that is closer to me is that everything is accessible. Everything is permitted to me and accessible to me. I can do almost everything, well, cept oil painting due to ventilation problems in my current studio. There is acrylic.

This should not be a problem, but it is the same of that as a blank canvas. That huge white square staring you back in the face.

Here I am complaining about having everything.


Issues that I have to currently address is that of scale, and overt symbolism. One is a of course a more physical and material choice, but it does affect the idea and vice versa. Large scale drawing, prints do command attention. And will change how people view my smaller works.

The overt symbolism, well, that is another kettle of fish all together. I can't even accurately define the problem with it, never mind the solution to it just yet.

Started reading Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian for the second time. The book latches on to it with a ferociousness. I wonder what does that in that book, specifically. The nameless main character that you coexist with the whole way? Going to read some more

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I've been running on a no-tomorrow road at great speed

Posted by Jona8than | Labels: , , , | Posted On Sunday, August 16, 2009 at 1:17 a.m.

Kunst. My kunst. What am I hoping to do with my big dirty kunst? That is a question I keep asking myself. It has been three months of thinking, pondering, daydreaming about where I would push a new project to. Some call it waiting for inspiration, I think I was more in the research mode myself. But who's to say?

I still veer towards the arctic imagery, but been trying to add to it or change it more. I tried bringing the mountains in to the work, as a sense of place is part of my work. They just don't click to me, I can attach no personal connection to them.

I've been interested in the Polaris Expedition, specifically where some of the crew get stranded on an ice floe for six months, drifting in the Arctic. I don't want to illustrate this, like scene for scene, that is too easy and it has already been done. So what do I extrapolate from this narrative story? There is this sense of adventure, desperation, survival, violence, schism, isolation, etc. All these things engage me. There is the idea of history painting, but that always has a basis in the real world - a current issue. I think that falls short for me as well.

I'm drifting like the people on the ice floe here. That feels like the best connection from me to them right there.

O.K. Lets get down to the nitty gritty there, maybe it can lead to better understanding of what I want to do idea wise. Physically I want to do a series of works of prints and drawings - small and large scale, and sculpture work.

This is going nowhere. Garbage
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Joined a collective

Posted by Jona8than | Labels: , | Posted On Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 10:23 p.m.

Joined the artist collective "Pick Me Up Art Collective". Instead of chatting about them, I'll just copy their mission statement and post it here.

"Founded by Craig Joseph, Hillary Winter and Jillian Waite, Pick-Me-Up Artists Collective aims to bring together young/emerging visual artists for the purpose of fueling inspiration and providing creative outlets. Based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Pick-Me-Up aims to develop a network of artists, promoters and venues across the country to act as a web of support for those new to the world of independent art practice. We want to create educational, collaborative and career-enhancing opportunities between artists by centralizing web presence and building a foundation of artists interested in showing outside of the conventional gallery scene. Pick-Me-Up offers members a socially supportive network which will encourage the cultivation of ideas and the continuing development of skills and concepts."

So I am now a member of the collective, well, just paid my membership today, so after 6 - 8 days of processing, I will be an official member. Joining a collective is always an interesting piece of business, so we'll see how it goes. I'm with fine folk, so it should be good.
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Oh, made a little website

Posted by Jona8than | | Posted On at 6:03 a.m.

Just a basic little template site where you upload images, but it works and looks nice. All I need right now. Check it out.

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You better learn to shake hands

Posted by Jona8than | | Posted On at 5:28 a.m.

How does one start after three months absence? Catching up is a chore. You see a person after months and months, ask them what they've been up to, and the reply is “Oh, nothing.”

Maybe that is true, in a sense, I've been up to nothing and everything. The past three moths here in Banff have been a almost never ending tumult of stimulus. New place, new people, new job, new apartment, moving to a better apartment, learning new things. I think the biggest is the new people. I've met so many new people here. In the visual arts program, where I work as a workstudy, we have thematic residencies. Thematic residencies are six weeks in length, based around a thematic premise with a faculty and guest lecturers. The format always changes from theme to theme. Usually involving about 15 – 20 artists. Then there are self directed artists, who commit to different lengths of time and work on their own projects. Then there are the fellow workers, fellow work studies, people in other programs, etc.

So there have been a lot of meetings and good byes. Many great people and interesting art projects; an abundance of seeing how artists create and work. From all types of media and levels, from young emerging artists to mid, established to art stars. It's been a lot to take in at time.

I want to go on about the good byes, just because of today; an end of a residency and a day of saying good byes to people. I can see myself constructing walls in this one, unlike the first one. Not sure if that is the right way to go about it or if just an inherent mechanism that occurs from this place. Hard to say.

The job is good, I receive a stipend as the program is an arts training program, so there is a tuition and so forth, that is paid by donators, funding from different organizations, etc. I work four days a week, and have one paid day that is my studio or study day, where I have to work on my art and other projects. A good gig really. I started out in the printmaking department and am now stationed in ceramics and sculpture. Their goal for me is to expand my knowledge, so learning ceramics and sculpture.

My own art has been slow coming here. I haven't completed anything as of yet. A lot of thinking and digesting everything that is around me; almost chokes you up there is that much. I do have new directions, new ideas for my art. They need refinement however, I need to figure where I want to go with things. I've had some studio visits lately with some artists such as Duncan MacKenzie and Christian Kuras, and Ron Terada. Both visits were quite illuminating, contradictory over some things, but both valid.

Scale in particular has came up. The relation of the viewer to the work, and the possible inadequacy of print to address this. Not saying big prints aren't possible, but the labour goes up quite a bit. Just things to address and figure out.

Then there is contextual issues and other things that I'll save for another post. A problem with the imagery and the symbolism that is used to construct meaning in my work could be considered too easy to use. A new way of addressing these ideas has to be constructed, perhaps through jettisoning some of that imagery. Unsure just yet. Newfoundland does come back in to my work, perhaps in more consideration than before.

Besides that trying to keep my ambition up; Banff has a habit of making everybody a little soft around the edges, physically as well as mentally. I could go to the gym or climbing mountains for the latter. Maybe these are just the thoughts of a young man on a downcast day of saying good byes. I'm going to try and write more regularly here from now on.

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