oh man...

(cuz sometimes i geek out on this shit)

(PS)

(i was complemented for having "the old version")

HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT ANTARTICA??!?!?!

got these images in an email this past week
because my friend Erika Blumenfeld has finally made it to
ANTARTICA
(a secret dream of mine)
to pursue a rather ambitious multimedia work called
the polar project
that she received a Guggenheim fellowship to pursue

after all
she needed to get there before it melted
:/

(In the meantime, Erika is blogging the project here)

check it out, dudes

a question of:

what is the flatness of a photograph?
what is the field?
what is the medium
and
what is the meaning of
the general lack of an
overt surface?

can one subsist on
the subtleties of matteness
in an era defined by
the unchecked rampancy
of photographic imagery and
(un)media(ated) saturation?

have the qualities of sharpness
and of a photographic nature
become
hopelessly bland
in a world inundated with
High Definition?

my
oh
my
how things have changed
in a mere
thirty
years
for our good, dear friend
the color photograph.

it is no longer enough
to be this or that
and perhaps
it is time
to return to the basics of
what is and what ain't.

or perhaps i am not articulating myself
correctly...

what i mean is...

what i mean is...

what i mean is...


surface
flat
texture
matte
glossy
finish
contact
plate
air
press
look
look
look
at the wall

---------------------------------------------------



Frederick Sommer, Untitled (1943)


Frederick Sommer, Glass (1943)


Frederick Sommer, Untitled (1973)


Thomas Struth, Paradise 36 (New Smyrna Beach), Florida (2007)


Thomas Ruff, Substrat 10 II (2003)


Morris Louis, Floral V (1959-60)


Jules Olitski, Draky (1966)


Jules Olitski, Exact Origins, (1966)

---------------------------------------------------

color
color
color
in
flat patches
touched by
texture
but
rendered
flat
through
technology
we are
grasping
for
something more
a
moment
which
was
and
can't
be
touched.


i am not afraid of making the taboo connection
between
photography
and
painting.
they
are
flat
and
things
have
become
boring
.

new acquisitions, january 2009

when i was young(er)
i held very few hard and fast ideas about the world
(y'know, the sort of belief that tends to hold true)
(throughout the course of one's lifetime)
with one palatable exception being that
i think it is absolutely necessary
(if one is to be taken as a knowledgeable or)
(remotely intelligent and interesting person)
to have a stellar library
that communicates one's identity, interests,
and areas of knowledge and expertise with

one
swift
glance

this is a photograph of the 29 volumes
acquired by myself in the month of january 2009.

four antiquated methods of proving one's masculinity

four antiquated methods of proving one's masculinity
(in chronological order in accordance to historical tradition)
(as opposed to date of visual production)

google photography

let's be honest here.
i don't really know shit about photography.
and even though i am slowly learning,
i somehow doubt that i'll ever be
one of those people who is incredibly successful as a commentator on
PHOTOOOOGRAPHY.

despite all of this,
i would like to publicly put forth questions that have been plaguing me lately
regarding the increasing conflux of photography
and net-based imaging
(both in terms of tools)
(and found imagery)

for now
i would like to focus on
google maps

as of late
i myself have been doing a great deal of experimentation

with google maps and streetview
and i know that a lot has probably been said about the subject
but i have been intentionally keeping myself away from the
mindless chatter
of the internet.

but
the truth is that this stuff is fascinating and
(moreover)
directly related to art history.

because the guy who originated streetview cites ed ruscha as a direct influence
(more on this in the next month or so)
and because i
(for one)
can't look at satellite view without considering
the photographic efforts of some minimalists
not to mention (sometimes) even
emmet gowin's
majestic aerials when i am confronted by a particularly
beautiful terrascape.

regardless...

we all know that the design of the thing is art within itself
as well as its customizable elements
(moma agrees)
(P.S. it's in there somewhere.)
(for a show that is dedicated to design it sure is a shitty website)
and that some serious net art shit has come about from it and
it has successfully been used as a tool for performance art
(see also)

BUT!

can this tool
which is so dependent on photography
operate as photography?

straight photography?
(street photography)
(aerial abstractions)

is screen capture a form of photography?

AND

is screen capturing more akin to incorporating found elements
or should it be considered along the lines of
appropriation art

AND
more specifically

the 

rephotography
of
richard prince
and
sherrie levine?

is this a new form of conceptual practice?

or is it

just

same

ol'

... ... ... ...
after all,
the only realm in which one can really get away with reworking anything these days is
netart
(which is not to say that its not already over-done)

----------------------------------------------------------

my latest project involves a voyeuristic archiving
a catalog of

everywhere i woke up (2006-2008) (2009)
(selections from)
(and very very very much in progress)






perhaps the best part of the google maps technology
is the fact that you can create this sort of conceptual document
completely in hindsight

the cult of judd returns

Barton Sloane
bombMARFA


stella wuz here / prada marfa



drawings at castelli in symmetry / 15 untitled works in concrete



fuck dia / 15 untitled works in concrete



bochner measurement / ballroom marfa



smithson lives / 15 untitled works in concrete



manifest destiny / clarence judd architecture offices



---

i have been thinking about marfa lately.

planning a project there for the summer.
here's to hoping things proceed without a hitch.
because when i think about new york summers
and long subway rides in the heat and
astronomical rents with no space and little
to no pay i feel ready for the 12 hour drive and
lots of afternoon straight whiskeys playing hank williams and
having a hell of a texas time while still getting my
pseudo-intellectual fix.

success

GODDAMMIT!

the web domain name
www.badconceptualart.com
is taken.

and by someone who makes even worse conceptual art than i do!

my plans have been ruined.

--------

3:24 AM...
UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!

MOTIVATIONS

motivational stickers for children.
just one of the many things from my childhood
that i have been ruminating over the past two weeks.
(...my work is going in strange directions...)

boredom merits videomaking

.

I originally made this for this thing
just trying to be funny, as usual
(i am loving the new photobooth's shitty in-camera greenscreening capabilities)

but the message applies for everyone in my life
(and thusly anyone who might be reading this as well).

happy new year ya'll!

because life extends beyond absurdity

I discovered this letter by John Berger earlier today
apparently it is being circulated
I would encourage you to continue these efforts, freely copy and pasting at will.

To me, it is a concise and powerful statement:
Its second paragraph states so succinctly and plainly those
lamentable facts that we have struggled to articulate through blinding tears and anger
to those who refuse to listen,
reducing it to its most tangible terms,
because although this issue should hardly be reduced to simple body count ratio
in unceasingly is
and this has become our greatest evidence.



-----



In Face of the Israeli Attacks on Gaza

We are now spectators of the latest -- and perhaps penultimate -- chapter of the 60 year old conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people. About the complexities of this tragic conflict billions of words have been pronounced, defending one side or the other.

Today, in face of the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the essential calculation, which was always covertly there, behind this conflict, has been blatantly revealed. The death of one Israeli victim justifies the killing of a hundred Palestinians. One Israeli life is worth a hundred Palestinian lives.

This is what the Israeli State and the world media more or less -- with marginal questioning -- mindlessly repeat. And this claim, which has accompanied and justified the longest Occupation of foreign territories in 20th C. European history, is viscerally racist. That the Jewish people should accept this, that the world should concur, that the Palestinians should submit to it -- is one of history's ironic jokes. There's no laughter anywhere. We can, however, refute it, more and more vocally.

Let's do so.

John Berger

27 December 2008

the greatest google predicament in contemporary art history.

dear amazon.com,

please stop recommending anthologies of
hal foster's prince valiant comic strips.

surely by now, you must realize that
i am interested solely in a completely different
hal foster

sincerely,
me.

i know some people be all crazy an shit about ladies' armpitz bein' all hairy an shit but let me tell you that shit is whack

my dad and i had a strange heart to heart to night
(which already, ten minutes afterward, i barely remember)
over a lot, a lot, a lot of margaritas
talking about how he needs to change his life and
his body and i suggested cycling
(which changed mine, most certainly)
and he was one a guy who biked from austin to victoria
(121 miles)
just because he wanted to save gas money
(in college)
so i said i would ride with him

and somehow he gets the gall to ask me that if he changed his life
would i change mine... in the form of shaving my armpits
and all i have to say is
"what the fuck, seriously?"
because i'm drunk
and as far as i'm concerned this has been a change in my life for the better
akin to being a guy with high blood pressure and all sorts of health problems
who seeks to improve his condition

i was once a girl
forced into convention with no outlook who saw beyond that and sought to
rebel with naturalism and honesty
and its never, ever been a problem in my life until now,
sunbathing on the beach in mexico with my family,
who is embarrassed by two strategically placed tufts which mean nothing
but a little extra body odor and
a lot more liberation.

to a certain extent
but certainly more comfortability on my part
and nothing that i intend to change
in the near future
(unless, of course)
(it might shave a few years off of)
(my father's most certainly imminent)
(heart attack)
(((((((((((((oh what to do, what to do?!?!?!))))))))))))

a note, for those who may not know; and a reminder, for myself

anne truitt.

extremely underrated,
underrepresented,
undercited,
undermentioned,
etc.
etc.
etc.




Gloucester, 1963





Hardcastle, 1962





Out, 1964


(to those who insist)
(that there were)
(no)
(female)
(minimalists.)

EPICK BATTLEZ

BOOP BOOP BOOP
METAPHOR ALERT
METAPHOR ALERT
METAPHOR ALERT
METAPHOR ALERT
METAPHOR ALERT
METAPHOR ALERT
METAPHOR ALERT
METAPHOR ALERT
BOOP BOOP BOOP

where is my mind?!

ok, so i seriously almost quoted part of this song in verbatim today in conversation
(signs of a culturally-deprived, artistically-deficient, geographically-disabled childhood)

WHAT THE FUCK!



I know. It doesn't work. Jimmy Buffett sucks. If you really need to see it you can just click
here.



okay, but seriously:

WHAT THE FUCK?!

why is it that i am able to have jimmy buffett committed to memory, but not barthes?
what do i have to do to make that shift in literacy or cognition or whatever happen?
maybe i should just listen to more of this?

Dave Hickey Speaks the Truth

radical redistribution(s) of wealth created the illusion of “high art prices.” In fact, art prices have fallen as a percentage of the buyer’s disposable income, so art is statistically less important to the people who buy it. The question of how good the art is and how long it will last is of much less consequence.




on a side note, a smaller version of the piece I assisted on this spring, "hello methlab in the sun" is in Miami at "The Station." The show was curated by Shamim Momin and Nate Lowman. and getting good reviews! (here, here, and here, among others)

femi-lady-isms

annie sprinkle is my personal jesus

on a more serious note...

Laura Aguilar



"Center # 73", 2001, Gelatin silver print, 16" x 20"




"Nature Self Portrait #7", 1996, Gelatin silver print, 16" x 20"