Monday, December 21, 2009
Two shows to go see in Asheville
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Melissa Terrezza at PUMP Gallery
Native American motifs are juxtaposed with industrial images on Melissa Terrezza's ceramic tiles currently on display at PUMP Gallery in the Phil Mechanic Building. Terrezza hand builds her ceramic wall pieces and ornaments them with image transfers as well as her own designs in hand.
An interactive sculpture involving fortune cookies the artist has made out of clay sits in the middle of the gallery. Viewers are invited to smash them open with a large hammer.
According to Terrezza, "Ideas are exchanged within each piece referencing the need for a shift in perspective relating to nature in an industrialized, governed society."
The show will hang through the first week of January.
PUMP is located at 109 Roberts Street.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Somewhere Along the Line
In this video by Rod Murphy of 6;14 Films, Asheville artist Paul Olszewski recounts the long and checkered history of a large mural he painted in the mid 1990's and has since carted all over the United States. Weighing between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds, the painting was finally exhibited for the first time in the River Arts District this past November via crane (!!!)
For all you non-Ashevillians who write to me wondering what is like to be an artist in Asheville -- this is a video for you to watch.
I recommend visiting this YouTube link to see a bigger and better version of the video.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Kreh Mellick's sublime simplicity
Local artist Kreh Mellick currently has her drawings on display at Tod's Tasties on Montford Avenue near downtown Asheville. Her haunted folklore is rendered in sinewy forms interacting with pattern and confident details -- such as in the beard of "The Sea Captain" and the hair of "The Sea Captain's wife."
What fascinates me about Mellick's work is all of the the empty space surrounding each form --while it contributes to the visual lightness of the work, it also provides an emotional weight. In a sense the empty space becomes it's own character -- every bit as important as the ones she has rendered.
Visit Melick's blog to see more work: krehstorrs.blogspot.com
Monday, December 14, 2009
More storefronts for artists please!
In Asheville, unfortunately, I haven't seen any of this though I have seen some empty store fronts and I have seen some creative window displays for retail shops. One of the most notable is the holiday window display at The Honey Pot by Tara Jensen who regularly creates mixed media installations. Check it out next time you're on Lexington Avenue in downtown Asheville.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Art and Life by Adam Smith
Adam Smith's frenzied paintings of sad and funny faces with oversized features caught my eye last year when I saw them hanging at Downtown Books and News on Lexington Avenue. Doing some internet research I came across Smith's website and cheeky blog Art and Life.
How to prepare a painting for hanging (because the artist forgot to) is a particularly entertaining (and helpful) read.
I ran into Smith by chance a few weeks ago and he informed me that he's been working on a new series of paintings of houses. He also let me know that he would soon be leaving Asheville for California. I suspect that he has already left town, but it was fun to have his work around for the brief time he spent here.
www.smithmada.com for more info and images.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Art for the mass-querades
There I was checking out the Riverview Station and I came across Paul Hersey, creator of Organic Armor. He made me wear one of his headpieces while we talked and I fell in love with it. Hersey creates one of a kind costume pieces from latex. They are very wonderful. Check out more at www.organicarmor.com
You can visit Hersey this weekend if you are in Asheville for the River Arts District Studio Stroll
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tara Jensen and Lucky Fruit!
Asheville artist Tara Jensen will be traveling to Tokyo and Osaka, Japan next month to install her latest collection of multi media work entitled Lucky Fruit! Paper cuts, stuffed fruit dolls, paper mache and drawings are just some of the many elements comprising this visually exuberant installation.
Using bright colors and tribal-influenced designs she defines her work as "folkpop." Says Jensen, "I love the vibrant work of Paper Rad and can also get lost in the installation work of Louise Bourgeois. Much of my art depicts colorful fantasy worlds where I find the strength and positivity to work towards a real world that is just, lively and free from suffering."
This Friday, October 23rd Jensen will be having a going away party for all the artwork that she will be shipping to Tokyo and Osaka. Come and see her creations, learn how they were made, and celebrate the completion of Lucky Fruit!
The viewing party is located in Jensen's studio at Handcranked on Tingle Alley, and runs from 6-9PM. She will have art for sale priced at five and ten dollars.
Visit Tara Jensen's blog: www.frenemieglan.blogspot.com for more pics, and to read more about her process and creative insights.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The imagined realms of Jason Sabbides
The paintings and drawings of Asheville artist Jason Sabbides appear to be a free association of ideas and imagery that emerge as the artist develops each piece. Using a classical approach to painting, the "realism" Sabbides achieves is remarkable, while his subject matter is allegorical and fantasy based -- reminiscent of the Renaissance Netherlander painters Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Sabbides begins each painting with a monochromatic under painting, which he overlays repeatedly with glazes - developing highlights and shadows as he progresses. The forms are given the luminosity and timeless three-dimensionality of Renaissance works while evoking a magical and surreal experience.
Currently Sabbides has work on display at PUMP Gallery in The Phil Mechanic Building.
To see more visit www.sabbides.com
Saturday, October 10, 2009
New paintings by Daniel Nevins
Step into the downstairs gallery at Blue Spiral 1 this month and experience the unbearable lightness of being via 5 brand new oil paintings by Asheville artist Daniel Nevins. I hesitate to call the paintings abstract -- they feel more like representational work - visual descriptions of a multi-dimensional emotional landscape that vibrates with melancholia, sensuality, celebration, anger, hope, confusion, fear and relief all at once.
People familiar with Nevins' paintings may be surprised by the creative and conceptual shift taken in this new body of work. Noticeably absent are the people, faces, and sentimental gestures of earlier paintings. The new paintings are much bigger and display a subtler palette; the central black forms of each are most intriguing. Layers of painterly washes appear beneath meticulously rendered ribbons and tubes, all suspended weightlessly - a far cry from the artist's earlier tightly composed narrative paintings. Flowers appear venerable, seeming wiser and less eager-to-please than the bountiful and colorful bouquets of Nevins' previous works.
See the evolution of Daniel Nevins' art for yourself: www.danielnevins.com
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Karen Havens at FLOOD
Below is the full review I wrote for the Mountain Xpress -- only a portion of it was printed in the paper:
In spite of the lack of titles present at this month’s FLOOD Gallery exhibit; the intention of the work is obvious. Karen Havens' solo exhibit of sculptural installations and 2D works, entitled USED, beautifully suggests the complicated relationship between the emotional being and the physical body.
The work is decidedly female. This is not to be confused with feminine. While there are some applications of pink here and there, the way Haven interprets the female body goes far beyond traditional depictions of the soft and submissive form we’ve become accustomed to in classical Western Art.
The art contains aggressive applications of paint, layers of evocative imagery, and distressed found objects. It’s as if the body and psyche of this artist has turned itself inside out for the world to inspect at close range. While the work is candid, it is not didactic or moralistic. There are no grandiose political statements to be found here. Nevertheless, the drama and assault of Haven’s work will probably turn some people off; others will identify with the artist’s sincere and unapologetic attitude.
Much of the work evokes a female psyche that struggles to make sense of pornographic imagery, memories and the objectification of the female sex. “I didn’t know you had a sister” is scrawled out on one photocopied piece. In others, photocopied erotic imagery is repeated and layered upon itself just enough that that it becomes an abstraction without obscuring the original image.
In one piece (title unavailable) cardboard boxes have been impressed with repeating circular forms of light blue and white, which at first glance appear as topographical map, satellite mages or even sonograms of embryos. Closer examination reveals that the shapes in all probability were produced with paint-slathered breasts, so one wonders if the act of the painting or it’s final product should be considered more.
All the pieces evoke a haunting and disturbed sensation like the sculpture comprised of a torn mattress cover spotted with bloodstains and cigarette burns. A multitude of plastic flowers lie in upheaval before it as if someone has placed flowers at a tombstone or alter. Bright orange circus peanuts are strewn amongst the flowers. What has happened on the mattress is left to the imagination -- the end result suggests a saddened state of a culture’s objectification around the spectacle of violence.
Another sculpture utilizes mesh pantyhose stuffed with marshmallows draped over roof tiles hammered through and through with tiny nails whose sharp ends jut out on the other side. A garland of cigarette butts along with a plastic bag filled with ashes and cig butts ornament the piece. Remarkably, the shadow cast by the sculpture reveals 3 veiled female forms marching in ceremonial procession.
Monday, October 5, 2009
This World and Nearer Ones
I wasn't able to see all 18 installations, but the ones I did have an opportunity to experience moved me deeply. The underlying theme primarily seemed to be that history is written by the winners, and here the artists are appropriating history in alliance with the losers, the marginalized, the unspoken for, and the condemned.
I started off going directly to The St. Cornelius Chapel that housed the video installation of Anthony McCall. Here McCall used a simple projector and vapor to create architectural cones of light. Projectors installed on the ceiling cast slow rotating beams of light which seemed to create walls when reflecting against the mist. There was a hushed reverence amongst the crowd of spectators who moved slowly through the cascading light beams. This exhibit garnered the loudest "oohs and ahhs" for its kinetic and visual excitement, though I found that the subtler installations on the island spoke louder to me.
"Insular Act" was performed by the Mexican artist collective Tercerunquinto. A few weeks before the exhibit opened they threw a rock through one of the islands historic buildings. The simple act was planned out through elaborate storyboards, and then filmed and photographed to prove it had actually happened. Soon after they threw the rock, a fresh pane of glass replaced the shattered one - and if the collective hadn't documented the act there would be no physical trace that it had ever happened.
Another installation/performance that occurred prior to the opening of This World and Nearer Ones was "Invocation of the Queer Spirits" by AA Bronson and Peter Hobbs. Here the artists performed a sacred ritual to contact the queer spirits that had once lived and died on Governors Island. The material remains of the seance were on view through peepholes carved out in locked doors - a metaphor of the marginalization of queer communities. Through the peepholes (drilled out at suggestive heights) one sees the burned down candles, empty booze bottles, tapestries, offerings, food, and ashtrays -- the ghosts of the happening that had occurred there. "Queer communities have often overlapped with the histories of psychics, spiritualists, witches, and shamans, as well as the histories of all-male communities such as explorers, traders, loggers, cowboys, and the military." (All of which Governor's Island had plenty.) The exhibit invites us to "Think again about what is valued and what is excised from our collective history."
I was particularly moved by the video "The Land of the Free" by Judi Werthein. Here she collaborated with a group of Colombian musicians on a remix of the US national anthem. She gave the musicians a Spanish translation of The Star Spangled Banner and asked them to reinterpret the words to craft an original song. She films the front of the group and the back of the group which are shown simultaneously on a two-sided screen that hangs in the middle of the room. From the front we see the musicians in their colorful attire performing the song, and from the back we see subtitles of the newly interpreted anthem "You say you can see/Does the flag still wave over the land of the free?" The work suggests that cultural history is always subject to new translations; they may be appropriated, rewritten, and made to tell a completely different story.
You can watch a brief video of the original video here
Click Here to read about all of the works and artists of This World and Nearer Ones.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Going Dutch
The Pioneers of Change exhibit highlighted various aspects of Dutch design while an invitational exhibition called This World Nearer Ours was installed through the public arts advocacy group Creative Time Both shows utilized empty buildings on Governor's Island in varying and interesting ways, and both were so grand that I will have to write about This World Nearer Ours in a separate post.
Highlights from the Dutch festival included Repair Manifesto which was set up by the art group Platform 21. This exhibit demonstrated ways to creatively repair broken things as metaphor for fixing a damaged economic system. Included was special wallpaper designed to cover chips in walls, and a group was sewing wool felt into the worn out parts of carpets...an old Persian rug hung on the wall with veins of neon blue felt running through it.
I encourage you to read Platform 21's Repair Manifesto It makes a lot of sense.
Also noteworthy was the house that artists were "accessorizing" with handmade lace and beautiful fiber decorations. Paralleling the building with the human body, doorknobs, banisters, holes in walls and radiators were decorated with simple pieces constructed by Dutch and American designers.
Videos of the real time clocks of Maarten Baas were installed throughout one building. With his clocks Baas makes us aware of time by showing it passing in ‘real time’. He makes clocks by projecting footage of people in action, and their recorded movements become the clock hands, moving minute by minute. www.maartenbaas.com
Then there was the huge woolen carpet that Christien Meindertsma was knitting with her six-foot-long needles using wool from three different species of Dutch sheep.
Meindertsma is interested in the origin of things, raw materials and the history of techniques. She also made a book called, PIG 05049, in which she shows all kinds of products that have been made out of a single pig, unraveling the lack of transparency in the world of products. Simply fascinating. www.christienmeindertsma.com
The Slow Cafe also peeked my interest though I didn't have time to enjoy it (not surprisingly.) In wake of the Slow foods movement all the food was prepared by elderly chefs, teabags were constructed on site, menus embroidered by hand, and food portions were dependent on the distance they had to travel -- a salad made with local greens, for example, was abundant compared to a banana pudding which might have been the size of a dime.
To learn more about all of the projects and art groups involved with the Pioneers of Change go to www.pioneers of change.com
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A Haunted Paradise: Part One
While drunkenly scarfing down a late night (early morning) plate of spaetzle at Prime Meats in Brooklyn my friend suggested I visit Governor's Island to see the current art shows there. "What's Governor's Island?" I asked, and she proceeded to describe the fascinating history of this place that has served as a US military base since the 1930's. In 2002 the federal Government sold the island back to NYC for one dollar and since then the city has been trying to figure out its future design.
This was the first I had ever heard of Governor’s Island, and I couldn’t shake the dystopic images that kept coming to mind of abandoned military barracks and deteriorating colonial style buildings filled with artistic sculptural installations. It sounded like my dream come true and I couldn’t wait to get there.
To my understanding the island had not been very accessible to the public before this summer. I've been hearing differing reports of tours offered in recent years on rare occasions or that its interior was closed off and that people could only walk or bike around it's perimeter. But this year Governor's Island has been free (free!) and open to the public Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays all summer and will continue to be open on weekends until October 11th. You can catch a ferry out of Brooklyn at the Fulton Ferry Landing or from Manhattan out of the Battery Maritime Building for free. (FREE!)
So the next day I’m waiting in line for the ferry looking around at all the gorgeous people waiting with me, at the wedding group that’s getting their photos taken on the pier while the Brooklyn Bridge looms gloriously in the background. Contrary to popular belief, people are really really nice in NYC. The sun is shining and everyone has their sunglasses on, talking excitedly about the art shows on Governor’s island, or waiting with their bikes to explore the island fully. So many people were waiting to get out to the island that my friends and I were unable to board the first ferry that arrived. When the second came we hopped aboard and merrily rode the waves over.
I wish I could impress on you the haunted paradise that is Governors Island. From the boat I could see throngs of happy people looking to escape the daily grind of city living roaming the lawns and crumbling sidewalks, luscious trees and quaint colonial houses dotting the grounds. My first impression was that I was back in Iceland where things seem simple and parochial, even innocent, but the military buildings were grave reminders of institutional and nightmarish things.
So much history, so much ghostly gorgeousness, and then there was the art… I’ll write about what I saw in future posts but lets just say that there was no need to visit any galleries or museums after what I saw that day on Governor’s Island.
Governors Island Blog
Monday, September 14, 2009
Hannah Dansie
Friday, September 11, 2009
For the Love of Marshall
The Madison County Arts Council frequently exhibits interesting art shows and acts as a music venue most Friday nights. Currently Laura Marsico is displaying her site specific installation, 33. (pictured above.) Says Marsico: "'33' is a reflection of the dichotomy between resources and resourcefulness, roots and growth, space and imagination, pattern and organization...and, ultimately, the plasticity of nature. Within a forest of collected and altered throwaways, all of the aforementioned relationships bring to light the question of settling, hiding and wandering in this existence."
The show will be on display until October 2nd.
Across the river from downtown sits Marshall High Studios - an old high school that has been renovated into 25 artists studios. It is a must-see for visitors. Rumors have it that the school was slated for demolition but through heavy donations and investments a group in town was able to save it. The history and integrity of the original school have not been lost in the remodeling - it is an amazing accomplishment that such an institutional building has been put to good use by artists.
Read more about the Marshall High Studios and Laura Marsico's installation:
Marshall: The South of France of the South MtnXpress 08/26/09
Monday, September 7, 2009
Beatriz Mendoza
Read more about Mendoza, her art, and her experience as a scientific illustrator, in this Mountain Xpress article I wrote about her.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Rose Candela
One easily gets lost following the maze of obsessively rendered patterns found within each drawing by Asheville artist, Rose Candela. The eye happily settles on a little creature from time to time or teeny messages/codes written by the artist, obscured so that only the most committed viewer will be able to decipher them.
miss/salvage/internalize (pictured above) reveals an aerial view of a place upon which the artist has rendered a gossamer landscape. Appealing to my metaphysical sensibilities, the sentiment here seems to be: There is the material world, and then everything else which is reality.
Rose Candela is exhibiting her celestial drawings at the PUMP Gallery thru September 30 in her solo show "He Used to Profess."
Read more about her art and the use of text in this article written by Carol Motsinger for the Asheville Citizen Times
www.rosecandelastudio.com to see more of Candela's work.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Advice from the Art
I've been curious about how artists actually make a living in Asheville, NC. Most artists I know collect their income via a hodgepodge of activities and freelance work. I decided to interview Gabriel Shaffer for the Mountain Xpress because I see his paintings everywhere, and he's an outspoken person with a lot of things to say about a lot of things.
In the end I found his outlook quite refreshing. I know not every artist feels the same way he does, but we all approach what we do with different intentions. For Shaffer, making a living via his artwork is his goal, and it seems to me that his work has never been compromised in order to do so.
And anyway, I'm starting to think there's no such thing as a sell out artist anyway. Who am I or anyone to be a judge of such things? We all have to make compromises and shmooze it a little here and there no matter if we're homeless or billionaires.
Read the full interview here.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
RIP Cali: a site specific installation
After my beloved cat Cali heaved her last dignified breaths in the privacy of my apartment, I had to figure out where to bury her. Unsure about the laws regarding such matters, I enlisted my friend Courtney to help me dig a hole somewhere remote.
Our first attempt at this failed as the ground was too rooted and rocky to get deeper than one inch. Desperate, we decided to hit a public patch of land where we knew the soil would be softer and easier to get a shovel in.
As we were digging the hole I spotted one of those do gooder neighborhood-watch type ladies circling the property with her dog. They both had their eyes on us.
"I swear to god if she comes over here tell her we're doing an art project or something," I whispered to Courtney.
I put the shovel down and started walking to the car to retrieve my little corpse announcing loudly over my shoulder "I'm just gonna go grab the camera okay??"
From the backseat of the car I watched the woman approach Courtney. They exchanged some words and then the woman walked away.
According to Courtney the conversation went something like this:
Neighborhood Watch Lady: I see you're digging a hole.
Courtney: yup.
NWL: Whatcha gonna put in it?
Courtney: It's an art project for school
NWL: Oh! Like Andy Goldsworthy!
Courtney: yes. exactly.
The lesson of the story is: If you're in a sticky situation and don't know how to get out of it, just tell them it's art.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Soundclash: It's electric
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE ORANGEPEEL!!!!! $10
I'm not sure how many people in Asheville are aware that there is actually a thriving scene of musicians (nerds?) who compose really amazing music on their laptops and loop machines. This Saturday night several of the finest electronic musicians our humble town has to offer will be appearing at the Orangepeel. Some of these musicians (Auracene, J.R.R. Fool Killer, Kimathir) have composed soundtracks for movies or have appeared on national bestselling cds (Auracene.) Others have toured internationally (DoomRibbons) or received worldwide notoriety for their musical accomplishments (sys-hex, pomme de terre, IO)
Purists out there often scoff at the idea of making music on computers, but like any instrument, it takes time and inspiration to produce complex soundscapes via digital software. I've heard arguments that electronic musicians are simply allowing the software to make the music, but thats like saying that filmmakers allow the camera to dictate their cinematography or editing. The computer or electronic device is simply another instrument and how the musician handles it is where the artistry lies.
Not only does this show promise to be a diverse sonic experience, but visuals will be provided by infamous VJ The Moon Foetus Proceeds from the show will go towards the brand-spanking new local radio station Asheville FM.
Here's some links to quell your anticipation:
Auracene
Music to Chaos in Berlin trailer by pomme de terre
Sys-Hex
DoomRibbons
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Do it Yourself Art Show
Asheville, NC is a relatively small city with a large percentage of the population living and working as visual artists, performers, and musicians. The number of decent contemporary galleries to talented artists is really low so artists look for other creative ways to exhibit and celebrate their art locally.
Date: | Thursday, August 13, 2009 |
Time: | 7:00pm - 11:30pm |
Location: | Corner of Chestnut St. and Merrimon Ave. |
Street: | 116 E Chestnut Apt. 25, Jefferson Building |
City/Town: | Asheville, NC I heartily support these forms of alternative exhibition in Asheville. Now I just wish we could get our hands on some of those empty storefronts... |
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Phil Mechanic Building this friday night!
Friday August 7th FLOOD Gallery presents Oh Kaos a group show involving an array of interpretations on the theme of chaos. There will be live performance art, video, interactive sound sculptures and a variety of other visual art forms produced by local and national artists. Be sure to come to the opening to see the performance art but the show will run until September 5th.
Visit floodgallery.org for more information about the artists involved.
PUMP Gallery is also exhibiting the fantastical paintings of Merlin Strivelli.
The work is super inspired and sure to engage viewers with its off beat and charged imagery.
The openings are happening simultaneously from 7-10pm in the Phil Mechanic Building located at 109 Roberts St. in the River Arts District.
Performances start around 9:00.
Click here to see a video by one of the performers, Vitiatra
Monday, August 3, 2009
Is it cheating to use photographs?
I have seen portraits/still lifes/landscapes etc painted from live subject matter that are derivative and staid, and I've seen paintings that were obviously traced from projections that are vital and imaginative. And vice versa. Ultimately, it doesn't matter to me what technique the artist uses, as long as the final painting is successful.
Furthermore, devices like Photoshop, projectors, photographs, and The Internet are reflections of the times we are living in. To expect that these methods not enter contemporary artwork is completely regressive.
To read an in depth critique on this subject visit this ARTnews link
Monday, July 27, 2009
A little chat with Jaye Bartell
If you miss this performance do not fret because Pilgrim will also be playing at Bobo's Saturday night.
Jaye Bartell is Pilgrim. With his haunting lyrics and simple melodies he is one of my favorite singer/songwriters -- Watching Pilgrim play live is always a captivating experience - Not just for his stance and delivery, but for the revolving musicians that accompany him and evolve the music.
Below is an interview I recently conducted with Bartell via chat on the internet.
Check out his music at myspace.com/pilgrimusic
You can download his entire album "Feeling Better Pilgrim" here
-------------------
me: Okay I got them.
I'm thinking I should...interview you!
for the blog, man.
Jaye: yeah!
11:56 AM
let's
me: For reelz!
Jaye: yeah, let's do it
give it a try
me: Right noW??
Jaye: I don't think I can
ask me a question though
me: okay.
hold on.
11:57 AM
Jaye: or type questions, I'll print it, and answer on my break
me: which comes first, the lyric or the melody?
11:58 AM
How has your experience as a poet effected the music?
11:59 AM
(help me out here.)
just talk about stuff...
Jaye: hold on
me: whatever you think you want to have expressed
12:06 PM
me: hee hee
tell me more!
12:07 PM
Tell me more about your instrumentation choices with Pilgrim
12:11 PM
Jaye: In poetry, I went for the musicality in language, with a major interest in rhythm. The old "machine made of words," making it move, that the writing would comprise, would be, not portray, an act of speech. Since music is necessarily active, and so temporal (at least in the way I'm currently doing it), I find that I'm focusing less on formal elements, although movement and vitality will always be important. With respect to both activities, and any other that may come along, all I require is that the process engages, that the materials respond to efforts, to ideas, impulses, and "the need to get said what must be said."
12:14 PM
me: Can you please tell me about your musical training/education..formal or otherwise.
12:15 PM
please include aesthetic/artistic inspirations etc
12:16 PM
Jaye: I can't say that I have been able to make any choices with instruments at this point. I want to play with an orchestra. The Asheville Symphony, I don't care. I'm doing as much as possible with what comes readily to hand. There are over 80 instruments in an orchestra, yet they all work subtly together, with swells and rises from time to time. I resist the muddle because my mind is so muddled to begin with. All that said, I'll just as happily play alone and pursue that kind of fullness with presence alone, of voice and whatever else.
12:19 PM
me: What kind of things do you like to surround yourself with?
What do you avoid and why?
12:20 PM
Jaye: Influences vary greatly, and I'm afraid that I can't admit them without lying to make myself seem more interesting. You should flip through my records and make a small list (But don’t mention Lou Reed or Leonard Cohen because that’s too obvious.)
12:21 PM
writers are always of interest, even with writing music.
12:22 PM
Creeley, Camus, Olson.
etc.
me:okay.
hold on..
12:23 PM
me: I need to do some stuff.. I will be back
12:25 PM
Jaye: R. Bresson wrote in "Notes on the cinematographer" to "avoid paroxysm of emotion, because tantrums of any sort are all the same." I like that.
me: whats a paroxysm?
12:26 PM
What's wrong with having tantrums be the same?
12:27 PM
Jaye: They have no dimension
Why scream in horror if it's the same as screaming in pain?
Why yell when it's the same as laughing?
12:28 PM
me: How is it the same?
I know I'm being too literal, but the perspective could be that the subtleties are just as important.
Jaye: Anybody can do them
12:29 PM
me: because everybody feels them
Jaye: at any time
so why communicate what is so common as to be granted?
12:30 PM
me: because it's a matter of empathy?
12:31 PM
Jaye: but what's the value in that?
me: I need to read the thing, but I think that the nuances of each tantrum is important
Jaye: In many ways, there is no nuance
me: because its how we relate to each other.
Jaye: I'm talking about in art here
12:32 PM
not an argument, or at the kitchen table
in film, music, poetry
me: what is the alternative?
Jaye: Not seeming to be something
Not indicating or dramatizing
12:33 PM
me: but everyone's definitions of those words are different
12:34 PM
Jaye: sure
12:35 PM
I give up
me: I mean, imagine if Martha Stewart threw a tantrum? an artistic tantrum? how awesome would that be, but then again, who's to say she's not doing that right now with her self referential magazine and cooking show.
maybe it's all a tantrum
like everyone's art, all the time is a tantrum of sorts
Jaye: The intensity to your response is the same intensity of response given by everybody else when they respond intensely
12:36 PM
As such, I can dismiss it as "intense"
Or folk music.
me: like whatever, take a chill pill man.
12:39 PM
Jaye: You're right about celebrity tantrums, blow-ups and outs. I think daily of Bill O'Reilly screaming "fucking thing sucks" at the camera back when he had an anchorman job and haircut. It was much better than French film.
12:40 PM