Art, it isn't just for douchebags!

(left is a detail of a print in progress)

I was talking to this guy the other day who had seen my profile on some website. He says "So you're an artist eh?" I says "Yup." He then tells me he kinda likes Picasso but not much else.

That's pretty typical, most people these days couldn't tell you the name of a living visual artist to save their lives, but they can go on and on about their favorite bands and TV stars. My guess is the average person doesn't see visual art as holding anything of value for them. It's for the educated and the upper class understand criticize and purchase, and it's for emo trust-fund hipsters, or for reclusive/irresponsible/egotist crazy types to make. Neither is true, but it's a heluva stigma to overcome. There are people out there that are doing amazing work, and much of it is actually quite affordable. The visual arts are an essential part for enriching your life, and right now most of the visual stimuli we get each day are commercials & advertisements. The average American is exposed to about 3000 advertising messages each day. Even if you don't really look at them, everything you see gets absorbed and affects you subconsciously, so that game you just watched that kept showing ads for that candy bar in the background will make it much more likely that you may buy that candy bar when you're at the store, vs if you had not seen that ad in the first place. So my question is, what kind of images do you want to fill your life with? If you have kids, do you just want them to see ads only as art? Because it kind of is, I'm not saying advertising is bad... but it's like with food, or what you wear, or the friends you have. What you allow into your life will affect the quality of your life. If your walls are bare in your home (and I have a few friends that just never hang art in their house), how does that make you feel when you come home? Do you feel differently when you go to someone's home that has a lot of great stuff up on their walls?

Just something to think about.

In order to react against all that, I'm going to start to feature artists that I find that I feel are super-sweet. So stay tuned! KAJTKYBSAH5S

So here's a few things that are kinda interesting. Here is a short film with Milton Glaser talking and sketching.

MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.

This time around for music we have Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches.



Have a good week!

Beautiful

(on the right, just a sketch...)
Yesterday was the Vernal Equinox here in the northern hemisphere. I hope your Ostara/1st Day of Spring was most festive (and if you're in the southern hemisphere that your Mabon/1st Day of Fall was groovy as well). I didn't do too much, just went out to Newark Ohio to meet up with people I don't get to see much, and meet some new folks. Goodtimes.

So anyway, here's something interesting. I found via Nerdcore a link to the film Beautiful Losers
About the film:
BEAUTIFUL LOSERS celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural moments of a generation

In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture.

Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories. It speaks to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth.

I really liked it. The trailer is below, and if you want you can watch the complete film (broken down into several parts via Youtube) you can do that here.



For music... well we have to have something a little seasonal, so here's Green Man by XTC

Print in process, done.

Hey remember that working sample I showed you a last week? Well here's the final:
(click for larger image)When printed this will be 11 x 14 inches, and a limited edition of... well I haven't decided yet (probably 10). These will of course be signed and numbered, and my name won't appear in the upper right hand as it does on this image, that's just for web publishing. By the way, the text and symbols at the bottom are not random, but if you want to know what they are... maybe look them up eh? I'll give you a hint, the language is Gaelic.

Below are the images in process:
so yeah, there you are!

Time for Frank Zappa

nothing important

KAJTKYBSAH5S
you can ignore that, it's just a code for verification

Someone stole my sketchbook out of my car. What the hell!? Also there's some personal stuff going on so I don't have much to report this week.

so, you get this instead:

Link -O- Rama

New Zealand woman sells souls to highest bidder
well... yeah!


from here

waste your time with Browser Pong

and then... here's an animation short

Descendants from Goro Fujita on Vimeo. from here

Environmentals

Well looks like the weather FINALLY BROKE here in Ohio. Weather is heating up (if you can call 40's-50's °F heat... well it's not freezing so whatever!), and the Spring Equinox is coming up in a couple weeks (March 20th this year. Because it's a solar holiday it's subject to change). I'm going to some kind of bacchanalian (2) festivus that day, and maybe I'll tell you about it... and may be I won't (if I don't it's because it was just SO CRAZY I didn't want disclose details in public). Anyway, good day to get stuff ready for planting, and starting new things, and eating chocolate bunnies. I'm starting to practice spinning poi again. I'm ok... not great. I don't perform or anything, but it's something I like to do. Here is a video of me from last year at a Wisteria if you're curious. Ah... keeps me off the streets.

So here are some interesting footnotes.

My friend Eddie showed me this link about this low impact home built in Wales. Built by the people who now live there, with only a chainsaw, hammer, 1 inch chisel, and minimal experience on another project. Most of the timber was found local. The walls are straw bales covered in lime stucco, this is a technique that was developed out in the American West in the 1800 where wood is not easy to come by. Total cost is £3000 (around $4,500 US), and nearly if not completely self sustaining. Check out the guy's website, he also has links to other orgs that build similar structures. Nice that someone is demonstrating that living with a low carbon footprint doesn't have to cost a lot.

Also, if you're into scuba diving, check out this underwater river in Mexico. Great photos!




Anyway, here's something different for you. Song is Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

I'm riding a meme!

So I happened to be online when the Conan O'Brien / Sarah Killen thing blew up. Basically what happened is that Conan decided that Sarah was going to be his only follower.

She went from 12 followers to over 4000 in an hour.

I was amused, and I had some time to kill, so I banged out the illustration you see here.

If you want, printable version here, and yes I sent her a URL to it of course.

Update: Sarah is taking part in Susan G Komen Race for the cure, give her a donation whydon'tcha!

To follow her, go to http://twitter.com/LovelyButton

To follow Conan O'Brien go to http://twitter.com/ConanOBrien

and, if you want to follow me, I'm at http://twitter.com/saraadrian
But really, all I post are blog updates... most of the time.

If you want to continue to follow this, visit the Official Sarah Killen Fan Page (btw, I didn't start it). Oh, and yay she likes the poster!

So there's your randomness for the day. By the way, yes I am with Coco

For music, here are the Momentary Prophets again, trying to get on to Late Night with Conan O'Brien (trying to keep a theme here). I think it's funny...

Print in process...

To the left is a detail of a print I am working on. What you're looking at is a vector image. So far I've completed several drawings that will be combined to create the final print, and scanned them in to the computer. Then I use photoshop to clean up and define the line to my satisfaction. I transfer the image over to illustrator and convert it to vector where I'll make changes. Doing this gives me greater control over the quality of line and allowing me to adjust the image to it's final size. In the sample on the left I am smoothing out the inside of the shape, the outside I am leaving rough. When this process is completed for all the images I've drawn I'll bring them back into photoshop, where I will add color, and in this case I'll be including 'scrapbook' images of scanned textures, (leaves). When the final image is complete, I'll send the file off to be printed using the Giclée process. When the prints come back they are ready to be signed, and I may frame one or two, and then they will be ready for show or for sale. Right now I'm only doing small run limited editions. Once the file is printed that image is not reproduced again except for promotional stuff.

So yeah, that's what I'm working on right now.





While I find that video amusing, it's giving me an internal dialog about ecstatic dance, and how so many cultures have incorporated it into their spiritual tradition. These folks probably believe the Christian Holy Spirit has come upon them, but I see not much difference between this and other forms of divine possession. As an experience it's not something we westerners understand or encourage, but regardless of whether you believe that they are having a true spiritual experience or using it just as a reason to freak out... it has a benefit to the psyche. People feel... something, better maybe, feel like they've touched or been touched by the divine. Just something that's rolling around in my head this morning.

I think people are hungry for authentic experiences.