Three Way, an exhibtion by MFA Thesis candidates Dwayne Butcher, Jason Cole and Melinda Eckley is on view November 20 through December 8, 2008. An opening reception is Friday, November 28 from 6 to 9 pm, with a performance by Dwayne Butcher at 8 pm.
Located just north of Jackson, TN, Three Way is a city where the three artists share a unique kinship, linking the artists and their work. Dwayne Butcher examines the evolution of text in his work through time-based text paintings, poems which serve as the audio element of videos, and live performances. Jason Cole works in a series of video self-portraits exploring “self” in an ongoing personal exchange of experience. Melinda Eckley creates sculptural installations using surface design techniques and heirloom objects, investigating the language of object and space within a dialogue of feminist and philosophical traditions of thought.
The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
on the street is located at 338 South Main, immediately west of the venerable Raiford's Lounge.
Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 4 to 9 pm, and Saturday, noon to 5 pm.
All events are free and open to the public.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
He could've just said "gangelwagen."
I scribble madly during lectures so you don't have to:
West also talked about something called the "go-cart of judgement" described in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, which is a hilarious image worthy of it's own set of illustrations. When I googled that phrase I learned an awesome new word: gangelwagen. The explanations I found described the go-cart as "part of the machinery in a culture of fear."
I was reminded of Nancy's paintings
and a little of Calvin and Hobbes.
Like West said, "All of us have forms of ignorance and limits to our exposure."
Ten ideas West delivered:
"
10. "Deep education is about learning how to die." Montaigne
9. Your worldview rests on pudding.
8. Truth is to allow suffering to speak.
7. Whenever we as a nation face catastrophe, we look to the "Blues People" to lead us out of the darkness.
6. Americans love intelligence, but they hate intellect. They love knowledge as a manipulative facility and hate to question its foundations.
5. People have different lanes, different noble vocations . . . stay in your lane and drive along with other great minds.
4. Hope is good, optimism is not. Optimism is cheap. Hope involves motion, movement, and momentum.
3. Have a vision, not just a stare.
2. The flag is promiscuous: it'll lay down for anyone, from the Klan to Michelle Obama.
1. We're experts at cutting up our love.
Mature love? We can't even hardly find it in our music.
West also talked about something called the "go-cart of judgement" described in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, which is a hilarious image worthy of it's own set of illustrations. When I googled that phrase I learned an awesome new word: gangelwagen. The explanations I found described the go-cart as "part of the machinery in a culture of fear."
I was reminded of Nancy's paintings
and a little of Calvin and Hobbes.
Like West said, "All of us have forms of ignorance and limits to our exposure."
simulacra
An anonymous commenter pointed out that it's not really Jenny Holzer on twitter.
Wait, does that mean that I'm not being followed by the real Fyodor Dostoyevsky?
Internet, you are such a heartbreaker.
Wait, does that mean that I'm not being followed by the real Fyodor Dostoyevsky?
Internet, you are such a heartbreaker.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
At UM: Educator and Philosopher Dr. Cornel West Will Speak Nov. 20
In the wake of one of the most historic presidential elections in U.S. history, educator, author, and philosopher Dr. Cornel West will bring a discussion of racial matters to the University of Memphis. West’s free public talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 20, in the Michael D. Rose Theatre. He also will sign copies of his latest book, Hope on a Tightrope.
West is the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University, where he teaches African-American studies and religion. Regarded as one of America’s most gifted, provocative, and important intellectuals, West is the author of Race Matters, which changed the course of America’s dialogue on race and justice, and the New York Times bestseller Democracy Matters. He is the recipient of the American Book Award and more than 20 honorary degrees.
West is known for his combination of political and moral insight and criticism and his contribution to the post-1960s civil rights movement.
The event is sponsored by the U of M Black Student Association. For more information, contact Carlissia Graham (cngraham@memphis.edu) or Tristan Wilkerson (txwlkrsn@memphis.edu).
West is the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University, where he teaches African-American studies and religion. Regarded as one of America’s most gifted, provocative, and important intellectuals, West is the author of Race Matters, which changed the course of America’s dialogue on race and justice, and the New York Times bestseller Democracy Matters. He is the recipient of the American Book Award and more than 20 honorary degrees.
West is known for his combination of political and moral insight and criticism and his contribution to the post-1960s civil rights movement.
The event is sponsored by the U of M Black Student Association. For more information, contact Carlissia Graham (cngraham@memphis.edu) or Tristan Wilkerson (txwlkrsn@memphis.edu).
Sunday, November 16, 2008
text in context
Thinking about Jenny Holzer made we wonder about the way these two YouTube videos are related
or this
What if the text messages we sent looked more like this? Does the stylization of the text help make the product or idea being sold seem "universal?" How would Holzer or Kruger deconstruct these? What about Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries?
YHC-HI said in an interview, "It's hard to see how literature can be any more endangered than it already has been by book burning, book banning, censorship, blacklists, and so on, all of which happened before the digital age. Not to mention dwindling readership. Philip Roth said somewhere that there are 20,000 serious readers in the U.S. In the same vein, there are very few readers of poetry of any ilk, let alone digital. How digital poetry fares is probably of no consequence to anyone but its writers and their mothers."
What's the difference between concrete poetry and a flash-based text-heavy commercial like one of the two above?
Memphis is a city filled with Concrete Poetry.
and even at
or this
What if the text messages we sent looked more like this? Does the stylization of the text help make the product or idea being sold seem "universal?" How would Holzer or Kruger deconstruct these? What about Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries?
YHC-HI said in an interview, "It's hard to see how literature can be any more endangered than it already has been by book burning, book banning, censorship, blacklists, and so on, all of which happened before the digital age. Not to mention dwindling readership. Philip Roth said somewhere that there are 20,000 serious readers in the U.S. In the same vein, there are very few readers of poetry of any ilk, let alone digital. How digital poetry fares is probably of no consequence to anyone but its writers and their mothers."
What's the difference between concrete poetry and a flash-based text-heavy commercial like one of the two above?
Memphis is a city filled with Concrete Poetry.
We confront it in the sky:
an asterisk at Joe's,
and at Gibsons Donuts
and even at
Happy Day Cleaner
Here's your truism:
of course
Of COURSE Jenny Holzer has a twitter account.
I've been looking at a lot of her work lately on youtube.
I'd like to know more about what she's been up to lately.
I've been looking at a lot of her work lately on youtube.
I'd like to know more about what she's been up to lately.
Friday, November 07, 2008
exclamation point!
So my thesis is defended.
Now I'm in my studio painting and I have this weird feeling that now I can paint. Whatever I want! And the things that I really want to paint! And it's really fun! WHOA NELLY!!!
Thanks to all of you for your support:)
Now I'm in my studio painting and I have this weird feeling that now I can paint. Whatever I want! And the things that I really want to paint! And it's really fun! WHOA NELLY!!!
Thanks to all of you for your support:)
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Five pieces of advice about making art I never thought I'd understand
1. Go Faster (from a periodic review form)
2. Go Slower (from that same form)
3. Go Big or Go Home (from an undergraduate classmate who ended up going home)
4. Paint whatever makes you HAPPY (from Jed--I thought he was being sarcastic at the time, but then realized that I didn't even know what made me happy. I'm starting to figure it out.)
5. Be Professional (and proud of the product)
Tomorrow morning I have to load and loop my DVDs, put the pedestal covers over my electronic equipment, tape down my extension cords, and hope for the best. I'm going go take a bubble bath and crawl into bed now.
2. Go Slower (from that same form)
3. Go Big or Go Home (from an undergraduate classmate who ended up going home)
4. Paint whatever makes you HAPPY (from Jed--I thought he was being sarcastic at the time, but then realized that I didn't even know what made me happy. I'm starting to figure it out.)
5. Be Professional (and proud of the product)
Tomorrow morning I have to load and loop my DVDs, put the pedestal covers over my electronic equipment, tape down my extension cords, and hope for the best. I'm going go take a bubble bath and crawl into bed now.
The Mail
Sometimes even digital natives get real mail, especially when they have something to celebrate and people who care about them who want to share that celebration. Today I received three packages.
The first package shipped from Dick Blick.
When I opened it I found a note from my parents that said
"Congratulations Chandler Marie! We lov
e you and are so
proud of you...Wish we could be there,
Love, Mom and Dad"
Along with the note were five wonderful new paintbrushes.
Two liners, two rounds, and a flat. All Kolinsky sables.
The nicest brushes I've ever had. I can't wait to use them!
The second package is from one of the most wonderful people in the world, a longtime friend and my favorite librarian, Danny Hanbery. I've known Danny since freshman year in the Blount dorm at UA. I've tried repeatedly to get him to move to Memphis so he can be my librarian, but I've had to settle for great mail from him postmarked from Atlanta. Today he sent me a card from YeeHaw Industries and a tiny amazing knit cactus, which may be my favorite thing that I've ever gotten in the mail ever. Danny already has a couple of paintings I made, but I think I may have to paint him a postcard of this cactus so he can have one of his own.
The third package was from Amazon and included two books that I ordered for myself that have been sitting on my wishlist for a while. The first is Hans Bacher's book Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation and the second is called "Every Day Life" by Danica Phelps. The project documented in this book is an exchange: Danica traded her drawings for writing by 28 different people. One of those people is on my committee. See his name over in the sidebar on the left? It's the first one: (alphabetical order by first name) Cedar Lorca Nordbye.
So I flipped to Cedar's writing on page 126, which was a slower process than usual because the page numbers are nestled deep in the valley of the spine, so the page looked like 126127 instead of
126___________________________________________________ 127.
The essay is ostensibly about a conversation Cedar had with students about Romanticism. But really it's about the process of writing. He writes about "the challenge of writing, the difficultly of fulfilling an assignment and having it feel like it was true to me." He writes about being worried that his writing will come across as "staged, and kind of fake feeling." How often do we get the chance to read honest words like this from our mentors? How often are those worries paired with phrases like "I have faith that the small things will make a difference" or packaged alongside descriptions of fading light and quotes from Milan Kundera?
I miss the summer. When I was home this summer with my daughter we waited outside for the mailman to come after her nap. Today the sky was grey but the leaves in the tree in front of my house were brilliant yellow. There was no sunset, just bright yellow leaves falling in the rain. I will rake them on Saturday and wait for the mailman. I have thank-you notes to send and sometimes e-mail isn't enough.
The first package shipped from Dick Blick.
When I opened it I found a note from my parents that said
"Congratulations Chandler Marie! We lov
e you and are so
proud of you...Wish we could be there,
Love, Mom and Dad"
Along with the note were five wonderful new paintbrushes.
Two liners, two rounds, and a flat. All Kolinsky sables.
The nicest brushes I've ever had. I can't wait to use them!
The second package is from one of the most wonderful people in the world, a longtime friend and my favorite librarian, Danny Hanbery. I've known Danny since freshman year in the Blount dorm at UA. I've tried repeatedly to get him to move to Memphis so he can be my librarian, but I've had to settle for great mail from him postmarked from Atlanta. Today he sent me a card from YeeHaw Industries and a tiny amazing knit cactus, which may be my favorite thing that I've ever gotten in the mail ever. Danny already has a couple of paintings I made, but I think I may have to paint him a postcard of this cactus so he can have one of his own.
The third package was from Amazon and included two books that I ordered for myself that have been sitting on my wishlist for a while. The first is Hans Bacher's book Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation and the second is called "Every Day Life" by Danica Phelps. The project documented in this book is an exchange: Danica traded her drawings for writing by 28 different people. One of those people is on my committee. See his name over in the sidebar on the left? It's the first one: (alphabetical order by first name) Cedar Lorca Nordbye.
So I flipped to Cedar's writing on page 126, which was a slower process than usual because the page numbers are nestled deep in the valley of the spine, so the page looked like 126127 instead of
126___________________________________________________ 127.
The essay is ostensibly about a conversation Cedar had with students about Romanticism. But really it's about the process of writing. He writes about "the challenge of writing, the difficultly of fulfilling an assignment and having it feel like it was true to me." He writes about being worried that his writing will come across as "staged, and kind of fake feeling." How often do we get the chance to read honest words like this from our mentors? How often are those worries paired with phrases like "I have faith that the small things will make a difference" or packaged alongside descriptions of fading light and quotes from Milan Kundera?
I miss the summer. When I was home this summer with my daughter we waited outside for the mailman to come after her nap. Today the sky was grey but the leaves in the tree in front of my house were brilliant yellow. There was no sunset, just bright yellow leaves falling in the rain. I will rake them on Saturday and wait for the mailman. I have thank-you notes to send and sometimes e-mail isn't enough.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Hot and Cold Media
The installation in ArtLab, with its combination of digital images and material objects, is a kind of test of Marshall MacLuhan's ideas from his 1964 book Understanding Media, in which he discusses the differences among hot and cold media. For MacLuhan, "Any hot medium allows of less participation than a cool one, as a lecture makes for less participation than a seminar, and a book for less than a dialogue." For MacLuhan, cool media are detached, requiring an appreciation for overall patterns and simultaneous comprehension of all parts.
I consider the video (on YouTube and in AMUM's Media Room) to be the hot part of this thesis. The videos are clear and relatively easy to interpret, with textual explanations that aid the images and a fast-pitched pacing that leaves little time for deep comprehension. In contrast, the postcard installation is practically ice cold. Patterns and narratives emerge in ways that are mysterious even as I'm arranging the work, using intuition like a jazz musician to create abstract and evocative patterns. Even examined as individual objects the postcards are cool, demanding the viewers' active participation in the construction of narrative.
I consider the video (on YouTube and in AMUM's Media Room) to be the hot part of this thesis. The videos are clear and relatively easy to interpret, with textual explanations that aid the images and a fast-pitched pacing that leaves little time for deep comprehension. In contrast, the postcard installation is practically ice cold. Patterns and narratives emerge in ways that are mysterious even as I'm arranging the work, using intuition like a jazz musician to create abstract and evocative patterns. Even examined as individual objects the postcards are cool, demanding the viewers' active participation in the construction of narrative.
Thesis Exhibit: Part I (installation of watercolor postcards)
"Deltiological Lexicology: Hand-painted and Electric Ephemera"
This installation of hand-painted postcards, sensitively rendered in watercolor, includes a wide variety of images. Each image tells a story in and of itself; together they tell the story of material memory. Many of these paintings include simple intuitive images like cartoon clouds and jet contrails. They become more complicated as I choose to paint images that refer to my mediated experiences, such as those that I know only through photojournalism.
The digital images that interrupt the grid of painted postcards are examples of how the word "ephemeral" has evolved. As a digital native, most of the postcards I've received in my life have come through e-mail. The nature of electronic communication is exciting: we can send a postcard as quick as a wink or nudge a friend with a click of a mouse. What trace does modern communication leave on our material culture?
In simple language, deltiological means "postcard collecting" and lexicology means "the study of relationships between words, groups of words, and the whole lexicon." With this installation I am trying to sound out the relationships among the different postcards in the same way that a lexicographer tries to organize language into a dictionary or thesaurus.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
river arts fest
I really enjoyed the River Arts Festival this morning, and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to use a micro-blogging tool like twitter. My cell phone doesn't support twittering right now though, so I gathered business cards from the booths that I really enjoyed and I'll be visiting those sites this afternoon.
mrhooperart.com
clayconnorphoto.com
chrisdahlquist.com
schirmerwoodcuts.com
ronroczphoto.com
If you get a chance to go downtown, take the time to talk to these people. I had my hungry daughter out past her naptime, so our conversations were regrettably brief. Thank goodness the artists took the initiative to have website addresses listed on their business cards.
mrhooperart.com
clayconnorphoto.com
chrisdahlquist.com
schirmerwoodcuts.com
ronroczphoto.com
If you get a chance to go downtown, take the time to talk to these people. I had my hungry daughter out past her naptime, so our conversations were regrettably brief. Thank goodness the artists took the initiative to have website addresses listed on their business cards.
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