May 20, 2012
Sunday. Things in threes:
Miss Beckett and I took a little trip to the dollar store to procure 20 brooms for my Process Mundane workshop for the Open Engagement Conference. They had exactly 20 brooms at one dollar a piece (sometimes the dollar store charges MORE than a dollar for their goods - es no bueno). I stuffed them all into my cart then weaved through aisles while accidentally knocking into people and things with protruding broom handles.
I processed Process Mundane in front of a few friends and strangers and for the first time ate a chocolate covered banana. It wasn't exactly the turnout I expected, but we had a blast sweeping the room together and I'm motivated to continue building upon the project.
We've had a talented Australian artist, Rebecca Conroy, staying with us throughout the duration of the conference. She and I have had some sparkly banter about Indonesia, social practice, and Anne of Green Gables. After Portland, she's off to Detroit and a few other US cities for a few more art happenings.
May 18, 2012
To build Beckett's brain power using repetition, I've read Goodnight Moon to her every night since she was 3 days old. As you can probably imagine, this nightly task gets a little old. So to make the experience more interesting for the both of us, I've been experimenting with different voices, tones, pitch, and vocal speed while reading to her. It's made Goodnight Moon something to look forward to each night. Here's a little video of part of the process for your viewing pleasure.
May 17, 2012
Open Engagement starts tomorrow. Yeehaw. If you aren't familiar with Open Engagement, here's a blip of what it's all about: Open Engagement is an international conference that sets out to explore various perspectives on art and social practice and expand the dialogue around socially engaged art making. The Open Engagement conference is an initiative of Portland State University’s Art and Social Practice MFA concentration. Directed and founded by Jen Delos Reyes and planned in conjunction with the Art and Social Practice students, this year’s conference features keynote presenters Tania Bruguera, Shannon Jackson, and Paul Ramirez Jonas. The work by these artists and scholars touch on subjects including politics, economies, education, and representation.
On Sunday I will be presenting my workshop/performance - Process Mundane - from 3 to 4:30 PM in the PSU Art Building (room 260). Here's yet another blip about Process Mundane - A performance/workshop designed to help those who face daily drudgery (house cleaning, paying bills, waiting in line, deleting spam from an inbox, etc.) take a look at their drudge more microscopically. Gleaning inspiration from “self help” evangelism, corporate board meetings, Allan Kaprow, and Alan Watts, Process Mundane takes a deeper look into the roots of monotonous tasks, evaluates each task, and offers viewers alternative ways of performing each task. The end goal for Process Mundane is to give a sense of play and creativity to the particularly lackluster moments most people tend to forget about.
If you are in Portland, stop by the workshop for a free chocolate covered banana, number two pencil, broom, and once in a lifetime chance to participate in a collective "sweep off".
May 15, 2012
Found - conversation from a foot fetish forum:
What do you guys think is the best part of a woman's foot?
Personally, I like the soles the most, I dunno why, perhaps because it's the lowest part of the body and if you're beneath the soles of a beautiful girl you can't be lower. You are nothing but dirt It's a great psychological factor that adds to the fetish!
I love the toes specially between them, there
LOVE the soles. For some reason that's where I find most of the stink. Well there's plenty between the toes as well. Also I love it when soles get a little dirty and smelly from wearing sneakers with no socks.
I love the soles!
toes always seem to make the foot for me.
For me, if the toes are ugly, it pretty much makes the whole foot ugly. Definitely the toes are my favorite especially the big toes.
soles without hesitation!
under and between the toes.
soles without a damn doubt.especially when dry and super wrinkled!the stinkiest part is on the arch and where soles meet the toes!
Sole for me. It can have co much more character that say the toes. I personally count heel + instep as part of the sole, but you can dry skin on the ball , more dirt on the surface , when sweaty the sole shines most. So while I like the toes and top, The soles have more personality.
I'm a "sole" man, although I just about go crazy when I see girls walking around in flip-flops and their heel raises up from the shoe. I love a nice, petite heel.
May 14, 2012
My full mammalian potential includes:
Bodily moves - varied, wobbly, and otherwise
Foresty frolics
Soiled-up garden hands
Banging on an instrument
Performance making
Story making
Clothes making
Learning from animals
Moon and sun basking
Swimming with fish
Love swapping
Word piling
Thoughtful conversation
Slivers of aimlessness
Inventing and learning new ways to prepare food
Learning new languages and rethinking my own
Working on projects that somehow improves something or someone out there
Being present
Being playful
Laughter
Traveling to new and old places
Fearlessness
Sharing all the above with the bears
May 13, 2012
Here's to growing and rearing sparkly humans.
I love you mom!!!
May 12, 2012
Tonight's dishes:
I stand at the sink assessing the pile up. Food debris in the drain. Crumbs around the brim. Five fruit flies. Small plates. Large plates. A Tiny wooden spoon used to feed my child. Splattered yams. I look out the window and take in the last remnants of the today's sun. I notice a frown invade my face and try my best to straighten it. I pull my chin up and begin the cleaning process again, as I have done so many times before, at this very sink and others like it. I turn on the left faucet and then the right. I hold my crooked hands under water and pour soap over dishes. I inhale the smell of the soap - a blend of grapefruit and clean socks. I grab a tired blue sponge and begin scrubbing. I think of bacteria festering under my fingernails. I scrub. Front and back. I think about filling up a bowl and using less water - I've been to countries where people have no water at all - but the water continues to run. I am guilty. Washing. Rinsing. Stacking the dishes on a slippery rack. Drying my hands with a towel. Straightening my frown into a line.
May 11, 2012
Sueños de un gigante me sostenía en sus brazos escuálidos. Los sueños de mis dientes se caigan en un vaso de plástico. Una garrapata succiona la sangre de misrodillas. Un halcón con las alas rotas me retaba a volar ...
May 09, 2012
From Art as Experience - by John Dewey
A man does something: he lifts, let us say, a stone. In consequence he undergoes, suffers, something: the weight, strain, texture of the surface of the thing lifted. The stone is too heavy or too angular, not solid enough; or else the properties undergone show it is fit for the use for which it is intended. The process continues until a mutual adaptation of the self and object emerges and that particular experience comes to a close. What is true of this simple instance is true, as to form, of every experience. The creature operating may be a thinker in his study and his environment with which he interacts may consist of ideas instead of stone. But interaction of the two constitutes the total experience that is had, and the close which completes it is the institution of a felt harmony.
May 07, 2012
Some updates on this very site for eager eyes:
Off to shimmy my shangles.
May 03, 2012
Summary of an east coast tour:
North Carolina - Wrong turn. Dead horse, upside down. Assisted living facility. Memento clad walls. Smiles for what used to be. White hair cafeteria pile up. Country Gram's bones poke through white sheets. She moans "I can't. I can't". Her grandson feeds her ground turkey and mashed potatoes. Screams "I love you" in her ear. Barbeque frenzy. Black cowboy hat frightens baby. Tears roll onto stained hotel carpet. Father-in-law wheezes. Brother-in-law blinks. Sister-in-law sighs. Mother-in-law takes an expired Vitamin Water from the fridge. I am obliged to take a sip.
New Jersey - No one walks except the deer. Freddy Fingers plays a lullaby. Waitress removes half-dead cockroach from the floor. One endless round of skiball. Funhouse mirrors. Thrift store dust. Atlantic chill. Grandpa shuffles into the garage for another cigar. Grandma squeezes baby tight while watching Etta James on You Tube. Bad pizza. Mom's strawberry rhubarb pie with whipped cream. A cacophony of televisions. Picture from the 40's posted to facebook. More smiles for what used to be.
New York City - Midtown through the eyes of a baby. Stroller wrestling. Wobbly wheel. Swiss duck. Subway stories. Friends forever. Godmother Carol. Aunt Vanessa. Empire State fog. Knock-off bag. Egg and cheese on a roll. Gallery gaze. French tourists and their mothers. Mud pie made with hairy arms. Too much to do.
May 01, 2012
May day, May day. It's good to see spring rear its flavorful head our way. Just in time for some experimental cleaning to incorporate into my upcoming performance workshop for the Open Engagement Conference - Project Mundane.
A list of experimental cleaning procedures:
do the dishes with rubber bands wrapped around fingers
count every sweep while sweeping the floor
clean bathroom without the use of feet
lick floor clean
Post an ad on Craigslist to invite strangers to swap houses to clean. If no one responds, invite friends to do the same
remove cat hair from couch by covering one leg in masking tape. Roll leg back and forth over couch surface until all hair is gone
To the right is the logo I've designed for Project Mundane. I'm thinking in the near future I may develop a line of cleaning products and tools to make cleaning and other chores more interesting. Stay tuned.
April 26, 2012
To avoid starving your April ears, have a listen to the following links:
Patrick Watson - The Great Escape
April 23, 2012
Pagherei piuttosto più attenzione ai congedi che germogliano che siedono qui battendo a macchina la grandezza supposto sopra il mio computer portatile. E dunque faccio. Andare fuori.