January 23, 1992 - December 29, 2009

Liza...



She outlived them all. I didn't expect it, but Belmont died at such a young age and Pascale died in 2008. Liza was inscrutable. She never liked to have her back touched. She'd hiss at you if you went too far below her neck. She didn't seem to like the other cats at all. She was a loner and stayed clear of any and all affection. But, that was while the other cats were alive.

As soon as she was the last one left, she completely changed. She loved to be petted. Loved to have her back scratched. Loved to have her chin rubbed. She began liking ice in her water. She liked jumping into the tub after a shower to lick the tub. She would sleep on your chest. She would crawl into your lap to be petted. In the last month, she was allowed to go outside on the deck, which she loved. She became a different cat when she had us all to herself.

We are once again cat-free. For at least the last 20 years, we have not been without a cat. We had as many as four (plus three foster kittens for a weekend). It seems very lonely now. We have no plans to find a new pet, and may remain pet-free for quite a while. It feels strange.

Perpetual Inventory by Rosalind Krauss

Robert Rauschenberg, Renascence, 1962.
Oil and silkscreen on canvas, 36 by 36 inches (91.4 x 91.4 cm).
"Random Order." Location 1, no. 1 (Spring 1963), p. 30.

What I culled from:

Perpetual Inventory by Rosalind Krauss
October 88, Spring 1999, pp. 87-116.

An interesting read regarding Robert Rauschenberg, the psychologizing of the artist's means, his work after the early Combines and the Random Order project and the introduction of photography into his oeuvre.

As for trying to eliminate the psychological from the work, his example of the "sad cup of coffee" resonated:

Speaking of the talk at the Cedar Bar of the Club, he complained, "They even assigned seriousness to certain colors," and then, turning to the way the New York artists had infected Beat poetry: "I used to think of that line in Allen Ginsberg's Howl, about 'the sad cup of coffee.' I've had cold coffee and hot coffee, good coffee and lousy coffee, but I've never had a sad cup of coffee."

To refrain from describing something in such a Freudian way is compelling, but alas, he is misunderstood when his Black Paintings are read as somber and, for that matter, sad.

Random Order is seen by Krauss as a shift by Rauschenberg to a new relationship to the 'integrity of the picture plane':

Rauschenberg seems to have wanted the continuity of the mirrorlike photographic surface to stamp its character on his newly revised sense of his medium, thereby replacing the collage condition of his Combines with the seamlessness of the photographic print.

It is here that the illusionary picture plane of Renaissance painting and the "mirrorlike" photo-based image combine. A point is made by Krauss about the conflation of the indexical and the iconical in the work. Rauschenberg says, "A dirty or foggy window makes what is outside appear to be projected on to the window plane." It is interesting for me to think of his earlier works - the black monochromes that attempted unsuccessfully to be devoid of psychological effect to his white works that function as a screen upon which the trace of a referent leaves its temporary 'mark' - and to see how they relate to the photo-based work that followed.

Krauss speaks about Rauschenberg's "connections between shadow and photography, on the one hand, and index and silence on the other" and, through this, his relationship to Barthes and semiotic analysis. Rauschenberg's success at the 1964 Venice Biennale comes at the same time as the discussion of the concurrent work being done by Warhol. Both (or all three, if you count Barthes) are deeply interested in the use of the photomechanical method to produce work. Krauss says, "the media saturation of daily life had made the ubiquity of the photographic a subject of some urgency, whether for theory or for making art." Then much more is said about Rauschenberg and his relationship to language; that of the Surrealists, specifically, Breton and the work of Dante, which he illustrated. I found this section of Krauss's essay to be of least interest to me, but it definitely informs Krauss's post-medium thoughts and her thoughts about the use of language in art in her future work.

The relationship of Rauschenberg and Robert Frank is brought up - the use of the veil and/or screen in both of their photography is pointed out. Rauschenberg builds an archive from the images he takes and the images he "scours" from media sources. Some of these images are interspersed through Random Order. And then, the Atlas, begun in 1962, by Gerhard Richter is introduced to the essay. The Atlas was for me quite influential and to learn of Ritcher's first opportunity to see Rauscheberg's work in the 1959 exhibition Documenta II: Kunst nach 1945 was particularly interesting. The parallels of the careers of Richter and Rauscenberg, two of my earlier influences, is of note. It was in 1962 that Rauschenberg embarked on a similar series in his use of the photograph, its serialization, the use of the grid, etc. I had never specifically pondered these parallels but taking them into consideration will continue to inform my thoughts about the use of the archive in contemporary art.

Matt Lipps, Untitled (bar), 2008.
C-print on aluminum, edition of 5 + 2 AP, 48 x 35 inches.

I was thinking of Matt Lipps's work at some point while reading this essay. Something Krauss said was, "Rauschenberg's handling of photography would give us the sense of our connection to a place that is only possible through the intensity of our experience of separation from it, the sense that to see it directly is so painful that the image must somehow be mediated by the presence of a veil". In his newer work, Home Series, the artist uses images from his mother's home. They are photographed, printed, cut out, collaged and re-photographed. There are screens of color, as well as shadows (created by the collaged images of Ansel Adams's landscapes inserted into the space of the 'rooms'). The physical location of both the artist's mother's home and the landscape are conflated, but the artist is clearly operating within the psychological space of the home. Does the freedom of the 'natural' landscape offer release from the confines of the home? Does it function as a veil of that which happens in the home? I am going to finish with these questions, but it is something that I will continue to think about as I include Matt's work in the A3x10 project.

More to come in 2010.

Supper

You are invited to participate in an ongoing series of suppers conducted by Clay Russell and Calvin Phelps.

The suppers take place on the last Sunday of each month.

Guest include a mix of artists, architects, curators, gallerists, philosophers, writers, musicians and other cultural producers.

The suppers are limited to a small, diverse group of up to 14 people per supper.

From Wikipedia:

Supper is the name for the evening meal in some dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day, usually the meal that comes after dinner. Supper is always an evening meal, but must be noted that supper is not a common meal in many cultures. In Britain, "supper" is used to describe a less formal, simpler family meal (perhaps at 7:00 or 7:30 p.m.). Alternatively "supper" was used to describe a late night snack. In some areas in the United Kingdom, supper is a term for a snack eaten after the evening meal and before bed. In Australian English, supper may refer to a late light dessert or snack had some time after dinner. In New Zealand it is similar – generally cake and tea/coffee served later in the evening, particularly when people have visitors. In most of the United States and Canada, "supper" and "dinner" are considered synonyms, both served between six and eight o'clock. Supper is usually considered lighter fare and a more casual setting, and may be served before a usual dinner time so that evening activities may be unaffected. In the Republic of Ireland, a chicken supper is a meal of chips, gravy, onions, peas and chicken breast. In Portugal, Spain, Latin America, Asia and the Arab World, supper may be taken as late as 10 or 11 p.m.

Happy Holidays!

To my four followers. GAWD, I am such a bad blogger. New Year's resolution: Blog at least once a week. I know I have interesting things in me to let out. We'll see.

Love to all,

Calvin

Visceral Realists at Federal Art Project

I just saw a show called The Search for the Visceral Realists , Curated by York Chang, in collaboration with Federal Art Project and Pink Cloud Event at Federal Art Project this Saturday.

The show was tightly curated with enough information for someone who may be new to the work of the Visceral Realist to quickly grasp the huge prescient influence they had on the art world. To disrupt a system while being within that same system is one of the most subversive acts that I can imagine.

I was very impressed by the presentation of the original material. Nicely done.

The Search for the Visceral Realists: Exhibition Trailer from Alfonso Delgado on Vimeo.

LEGALLY! An evening in cuffs

I'm sorry I missed this...

LEGALLY! An evening in cuffs
Organized by Christopher Michlig

Friday, November 16, 2007 from 9 pm- 2 am
Hyperion Tavern, 1941 Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles CA, 90027

Located in a space that was once the gay leather bar “Cuffs”, the Hyperion Tavern now houses a complete law library dimly lit by large crystal chandeliers. This transition from a space where the norm was willfully suspended, providing occasion for exceptional activities, to a bar where the law is now literally within arms reach is a unique occasion for an on-site event addressing the flexuous proximity and impact of the law upon the individual.

LEGALLY! An evening in cuffs features contributions by artists, musicians, writers and legal professionals whose works address their relationship to the law.

Tirdad Zolghadr presents Hila Peleg’s A Crime Against Art, a film in six chapters based on a trial staged at ARCO, Madrid in February 2007 in which Zolghadr and Anton Vidokle play the accused. The trial, inspired by the mock trials organized by Andre Breton in the 1920's and 30's, playfully raised a number of polemical issues in the world of contemporary art: collusion with the 'new bourgeoisie', instrumentalization of art and its institutions, the future possibility of artistic agency and other pertinent topics.

Jeff Ostergren writes of his video Borderline, “The multiple literal connotations of the word borderline – political and legal boundaries, a strain of personality disorder, a generic liminal space, the pop song by Madonna – all can settle comfortably into the space of this video. Multiple personalities of the police, the prisoner, and the medical authority weave a fractured narrative of the problematics of the borderline and its relationship to the body.”

About her video Push, Vienna-based artist Anna Witt says, “’Get down there!’ I asked passers by in Venice Beach to push me down on a car. It’s a classical image of an arrestment and an act of power and control. In return I did the same action to them. In the change of roles each can experience the position of power and inferiority.”

William E. Jones contributes Mansfield 1962. In the summer of 1962, the Mansfield, Ohio Police Department filmed men having sex in a public restroom under the main square of the city, resulting in the conviction of over 30 men on charges of sodomy. William E. Jones found the film in a degraded version on the internet, then reedited the footage to make Mansfield 1962, a haunting, silent condensation of the original.

Pianist Jeremy Gilien will perform an improvisational piece based on the theme song to L.A. Law, the dramatic television sitcom that brought the courtroom to the living room from 1986-2004 on 20th Century Fox.

Jeff Cain presents Police Station, an audio installation that receives and decodes live LAPD radio transmissions and rebroadcasts them near LAPD’s original 1931 frequency on AM 1710. Police Station is part of an ongoing investigation of the history, culture, and technology of the Los Angeles Police Department communication systems.
Tao Urban will provide a set of music focusing on songs addressing the law as we know it, as well as other songs under his jurisdiction.

Artist and attorney York Chang will offer elastic legal advice as “’THE ASTOUNDINGLY REASONABLE MAN’- Witness the amazing elasticity of the law! Hear death-defying equivocations! See awe-inspiring feats of justification! Relativism Gone Wild! Rhetorical contortions that will shock you! Watch the bright line between right and wrong VANISH into thin air!”

Artist Lucas Michael teams up with former Cuffs fixture Principal Bob for a collaborative and audience-inclusive performance addressing the punitive aspect of the Law, while referencing the venue's history as the former leather bar Cuffs. Cuffs was to Principal Bob his schoolyard; and as the Principal it was his duty to discipline the unruly patrons, well deserved of a spanking.

In a strategic essentialist spirit, Linda Pollack provides buttons that simply state “PATRIOT”. These buttons elicit a micro-political re-calibration of the individual’s relationship to one’s country and its laws. In Edward Abbey’s words, “A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government”. Pollack’s contribution is part of her ongoing project Patriot Acts, a series of events hosted in The Habeas Lounge at the 18th Street Art Center in Santa Monica.

Theorist and writer Jason Smith will call from Berlin to contribute his voice and words in the tradition of rap vocals recorded from inside rehabilitation facilities. Smith will speak about a range of topics including the suspension of the constitution, his experiences as a consultant for Pervez Musharraf, and his meeting next year in Jerusalem with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Karthik Pandian presents a YouTube-based excavation of the Guantanamo that lies in the hearts, minds and basements of America's finest performers. Additionally, Pandian will mark the end of the evening with a performance entitled Finale Furioso, a one-man eruption, lovingly prepared and brazenly executed.

Please join us on Friday, November 16, 2007 from 9 pm- 2 am at the
Hyperion Tavern, 1941 Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles CA, 90027

For more information about Legally! An evening in cuffs, contact Christopher Michlig at cmichlig@yahoo.com

Groundmagazine #3

Work by Hanna Mattes

Open publication - Free publishing - More photography

Vampire Weekend - Exit Music (For a Film)

From Stereogum OKX: A TRIBUTE TO OK COMPUTER

Vampire Weekend's Exit Music (For a Film)

Thomas Eggerer, Red E, 2006, oil on linen, 38.98 x 34.25 inches

Via Richard Telles Fine Art

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Stars - Your Ex-Lover is Dead (Final Fantasy Mix)

One on my current favorite songs...

Stars - Your Ex-Lover is Dead (Final Fantasy Mix)

Excerpt from Words of the Earth by Cedric Wright

Our loves are only symbols of an unknown immortality.
Where communion is deep, there exists no separation at all,
for what needs telling those we love is understood already,
and what is supposed to be gone and past
is often more real than ever.
Through the sculpture of experience,
that part of ourselves which survives,
like cloud, resolves continuously.
This is the spirit of my hope and my religion.

Poem 03.14.09 #1

The eroticism of language, with its mouth filled, tongue touching the
back of teeth, is full of potential.
When Jacques was on a date with his lover, did he feel like ripping
his heart out?
The names one gives credence to are the names that are permanent.
On the inner right arm, in a place where I couldn't write your name,
I have your name.
The tattoos that I chose for myself were the first name of philosophers:
Barthes, Derrida, Foucault, Marx or Benjamin, and the sort.
I had the black ink readied, the needle clean and on my skin.
The words would pour out, little silver mercurial drops, biting the
inside cheek, metallic and cold.
The numb fingertips, tracing the shapes of letters spelling your real
name.
Your given name.
The one you gave yourself.
If I could speak your name, I would.

Fwd: Blogger DMCA takedown notification

They took down my Thomas Dolby post.

Begin forwarded message:

Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.

The notice that we received from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the record companies it represents, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.

The IFPI is a trade association that represents over 1,400 major and independent record companies in the US and internationally who create, manufacture and distribute sound recordings (the "IFPI Represented Companies").

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.

Please note that repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. If you have any other questions about this notification, please let us know.

Sincerely,

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Affected URLs:

http://sea-fell.blogspot.com/2006/02/thomas-dolby-golden-age-of-wireless.html

Something I heard the other day

Don't let yourself be define by your setbacks

I really need to take this quote to heart. I have had a couple of recent events happen in my life that have gotten me to be more contemplative, to say the least. I keep asking myself the same questions, over and over: What exactly did I do wrong in this situation? What can I learn from this experience? How can I keep myself from repeating this sort of thing? I am working through these questions, and even though I don't seem to be finding the answers, it reminds me of my favorite quote by Rainer Maria Rilke:

I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

HRC Speech by Julian Bond

Vacationesque Edition

My brother and three nephews have come to Los Angeles to visit. Yesterday, we drove up to Big Bear for skiing; which, I must be honest, I have only skied once in my life. Today makes the second time ever. And for some strange reason, I let them talk me into going up to the top of the run and coming down a Blue trail. That was not the best idea. It may have been the worst idea they could have come up with. I am proud of myself that I actually attempted to come down the hill (mountain!) via ski. I criss-crossed back and forth for half way dow, but I fell quite a bit, as well. In the end, I twisted my ankle a little and decided to not risk it anymore. A snow patrol came by and I hitched a ride down the rest of the way. I am not embarrassed or ashamed. It was the smartest thing I could do. And the ride down the mountain at 20 MPH was very exciting!

Poem 03.08.09 #1

Syriana

2009

It's not that trust is contingent upon honesty

For I trust liars every day.

It's not that my love for you is based on anything.

When I walk away from the explosion 

That is our life, I at least want to be carrying something.

I don't want my history to perish with the lies.

I want my briefcase to be filled with evidence

Of the politics of our love.

Provided there is a solution to the pain

Or a solution to the doubt

Or, at least, a solution to my desire.

It's not that honesty is contingent on love.

It's not that I am lying to you.

 

Poem 03.07.09 #1

To the Right of the Jetty

2009

There is a shifty and tingly sand made step

That I try to walk on as the waves come in.

My toes feel the rush of the ground moving away.

There is no fear and no worry, but more of a security

In the dance of ideas in my head,

Like when I was listening to Roxy Music in the summer

In the night on the beach alone.

But, when the water moved out again and I took that next step,

The solid packed sand felt sure, and to me the thought of you was clear.

I remember the firmness of that compressed substance,

And how hard I thought of it when I was nearing the pier.

Hoping that the rocks wouldn't cut the sole of my foot

On my way up the path to where I parked as I prepare to leave.

Broken (or Cracked) Rib

I did a stupid thing. I was reaching over the fence at the house trying to unplug a string of lights when I heard (and felt) a loud POP in my lower chest. I've had this happen before. A cracked rib and there's nothing you can do but wait for it to heal. That, and try to keep from re-injuring yourself -- which is what I've done this time. This morning, I woke up in a lot of pain. I must have slept on my chest. Deep breathes hurt. Twisting hurts. I just have to take it easy and remember to sleep on my back. And maybe get a bone density test and find out why my bones are cracking.

I am a bad blogger

The month of November passed with no blog entries. December came and went. No entries. New Years Day...nothing. But, alas, I am finally round to posting again. And trust me, I feel more sure that there will be activity that I will need to share. I have been active in Facebook as of late, and I have my own art projects I am working on, so stay tuned for that. I face new found vitality and will need an outlet. Please subscribe or check back often.

Cheers.