Cory Calhoun is the creator of the so-called "Hamlet Anagram," in which he took the following famous three lines-
"To be or not to be, that is the question; Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune..."
and anagrammed their letters into the following:
"In one of the Bard's best-thought-of tragedies, our insistent hero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten."
I love some people's brainis! "Ars Magna," which means "great art" in Latin, is an anagram of the word "anagrams." Enter into the obsessive and fascinating world of anagrams with Cory Calhoun, who took the first three lines of Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy and made them into what's been called the "world's greatest anagram." it's only 8 min long. WATCH IT!
The Ten Commandments, one of Keith Haring’s most powerful series of paintings, will be presented at Deitch Studios, Long Island City, from November 8 – December 21, 2008. The works portray the Ten Commandments from Haring’s point of view, combining a traditional Biblical interpretation with the artist’s liberating spirit and apocalyptic vision. The Ten Commandments were painted for Haring’s first solo museum show, a 1985 exhibition at the CAPC, Bordeaux. This is the first time that The Ten Commandments have been exhibited in the United States. Their twenty-five foot height requires a large cathedral-like exhibition space. Twenty-three years after their creation, The Ten Commandments will finally be able to be shown in New York in the large gallery at Deitch Studios. ROAD TRIP!
One of my favorite events of the year is the Transformer annual art auction. This year my 15th and Corcoran Urban Birds painting was in it. DECOY, HIP and Philippa Hughes. Super fun night.
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, also simply known as Sia, is an Australian pop singer and natural FIZGIG. A lot of people ask, ' what is a FIZGIG?' Example number one, in the 35th second of this recording, Sia begins to Fizgig and/or shows her Fizgig side.
Howard Finster's greatest work was his amazing Paradise Garden. He spent 20 years building this environment. In 1976, he had a vision to paint sacred art. One day I was workin' on a patch job on a bicycle, and I was rubbin' some white paint on that patch with this finger here, and I looked at the round tip o' my finger, and there was a human face on it... then a warm feelin' come over my body, and a voice spoke to me and said, 'Paint sacred art.'
His images range from pop culture icons like Elvis Presley to historical figures like George Washington to religious images like The Devils Vice and "John the Baptist" to his own visions. His paintings are colorful and detailed; they use flat picture plane without perspective and are often covered with words, especially Bible verses. Every painting also has a number; God had asked him to do 5,000 paintings to spread the gospel and he wanted to keep track. He finished the 5,000 a few days before Christmas in 1985, but continued painting and numbering until the day he died. By 1989, he was already numbering in the ten thousands. This piece is like the Finster I owned. Mine was of Hank Williams jr. This one is of Hank Williams. I went to college in Rome, ga. Paradise Gardens was just an hour or so drive away in summerville, ga. A few times a friend and I drove up and visited Howard. He sat in the main room of the gallery and chatted with us and played his banjo. What a great experience it was to meet him.
Howard on Johnny Carson Talking Heads commissioned a Finster painting for Little Creatures in 1985 that was subsequently selected as album cover of the year by Rolling Stone magazine.
Finster gained national fame after his collaborative work with Athens, Georgia-based rock band R.E.M.. The group filmed the video for the group's debut single "Radio Free Europe" in Finster's Paradise Gardens in 1983. The following year, the band's singer Michael Stipe and Finster collaborated on a painting for the cover of their second album Reckoning. After that the band made the song "Maps and Legends" (in its third album Fables of the Reconstruction) as an homage to Finster. Along with R.E.M. Finster (and his art) also appear in the band's video for "Shiny Happy People" as the man riding the bike that propels the moving background of artwork! Last night I was on CPR radio, and one of the questions dealt with art and music and how the two can come together. What a perfect example, and how fun to see Finster in this video, all happy. Howard Finster was responsible for introducing millions to outsider art, but even with his fame, he remained focused on religious outreach. He said of the Talking Heads album, "I think there's twenty-six religious verses on that first cover I done for them. They sold a million records in the first two and a half months after it come out, so that's twenty-six million verses I got out into the world in two and a half months!
Got pictures of the Machetres show last thursday at Chief Ikes. Lilo and band, awesome as always. group photo. All my amigos were there. Super fun night. it rocked.
Cornell's most characteristic art works were boxed assemblages created from found objects. Many of his boxes, such as the famous Medici Slot Machine boxes, are interactive and are meant to be handled.
Joseph Cornell was wary of strangers. This led him to isolate himself and become a self-taught artist. Although he expressed attraction to unattainable women like Lauren Bacall, his shyness made romantic relationships almost impossible. In later life his bashfulness verged on the point of being considered reclusiveness, and he rarely left the state of New York.
His last major exhibition was a show he arranged especially for children, with the boxes displayed at child height and with the opening party serving soft drinks and cake. Rose Hobart is a short, 19-minute experimental film created by the artist Joseph Cornell, who cut and re-edited the Hollywood film East of Borneo into one of America's most famous surrealist short films.
When Cornell screened the film, he projected it through a piece of blue glass and slowed the speed of projection to that of a silent film. The original soundtrack is removed, and the film is accompanied instead by "Forte Allegre" and "Belem Bayonne", two songs from Nestor Amaral's "Holiday in Brazil," a record that Cornell had found at a junk shop.
The film was first shown in 1936 at Julian Levy's New York City gallery in a matinee program featuring short films from Cornell's collection. This took place around the same time as the first surrealism exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Salvador Dalí was in the audience, but halfway through the film, he knocked over the projector in a rage. “My idea for a film is exactly that, and I was going to propose it to someone who would pay to have it made,” he said. "I never wrote it down or told anyone, but it is as if he he stole it from my subconscious, my dreams!"
After the Dalí incident, Cornell did not show the film again until the 1960s, when, at the behest of Jonas Mekas, it was screened again for a public audience. When the first print was made from Cornell's original in 1969, Cornell chose a 'rose' tint instead of the normal blue.
I woke up this morning with a phone call letting me know my brother had won the Spike Lee Student Filmmaker Award last night at the 2008 STARZ DENVER FILM FESTIVAL. Way to go! RFC III FILMS.
This year my friend Peter gave me a Chor Boogie piece for my birthday. One of the cutest gifts i've ever gotten. It is about one inch by one inch. Tiny! But oh so awesome. Peter founded Albus Cavus which is now featured in the Dekka Store that is located on 1338 U St NW 2nd Floor (between N 13th St & N 14th St) Washington, DC. The opening / welcome party was on Friday, November 21, 2008 from 7pm to 9pm. I stopped by early to say hi and see the store. Not only do they have small CHOR pieces just like mine, but also new little bird boxes. Stop by for sure, if you're out shopping!
I have this theory that the energies of creativity pass between the walls I share with my neighbor and artist Bookish Lady. I have studied her projects and mine, finding similarities more often than not. The list goes on, but this is the latest. I have been working on a few drawings of things I remember from childhood/ still like now. This was a sketch i had done a of L.R.R.H. Bellow is a recent print by Bookish Lady. I find this so interesting. We rarely run into each other and never see what the other is making/ thinking.
This is a dream come true for me. A documentary about keith haring. One of my favorite artist of all time. I have been reading his journals for years now. SO SO SO EXCITED!
Last night I went to see one of my favorite DC bands, MACHETRES at Chief Ikes. Machetres first stumbled onto the local scene on Sept. 3, 1997, opening the 10th-anniversary celebration of Fugazi's first show at Wilson Center, a benefit for the Latin American Youth Center. The trio were high school seniors at the time. Lilo Gonzalez Jr. pictured above, guitar & voice. Cristian Gajardo, drums & voice. Paul Gonzalez, bass guitarist. During the years, Machetres has shared the stage with great bands like Café Tacuba, El Vez, Fugazi, Molotov, The MakeUp, and most recently opened “Operation Ceasefire”, a free concert in conjunction with the September 24th, 2005, anti-war demonstrations in Washington, DC.
and don't forget TONIGHT DC51 and Capitol Hemp present the UNJUANTED art show. Adams Morgan, 8-11.
Yesterday HIP came over and we stenciled her bedroom curtains to match her bedroom painting. Then we rode over to DC9 where we met Matt Burger and had The Matt Burger burger $9.75 traditional bacon cheeseburger with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, and horseradish sauce and had a sing a long... ...you're so vain, I bet you think this burger's about you, don't you...
This is one of my favorite things to do in DC, have The Matt Burger burger with Matt Burger. Side note: next time you're at Asylum for vegan brunch, check out the new photos upstairs. One is of The Whips of which Matt Burger was the lead singer. Then we went to 9:30 with only one thing on our minds- ROCK'N!
Eagles of Death Metal (EoDM) is an American band formed by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. Despite the name, Eagles of Death Metal is not a death metal band. Hughes in an interview with a Polish rock magazine Teraz Rock told the story of the band's name. He said that his friend, Lou, was trying to make Josh Homme like death metal. When he played Vader, Homme called them "The Eagles of death metal." Later, Josh Homme inspired him to write music that he thought would be The Eagles crossed with death metal, and their debut album was the result. In a 2003 interview Homme described the sound of the band as a combination of "bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals." Jesse Hughes is known and somewhat loved by fans for his over-enthusiastic and charismatic interaction with audiences at live performances. Super Fun. Came home and did this drawing.
The exhibition features the work of nine photographers (including Chris Chen and Tracy Clayton) who showcase stories from the city in photo series. Philippa Hughes's HIP Veronica Fight Club So popular there was a long long line. Super Fun.
If You Didn't Know What This Was, Would You Know What This Is?
November 1 – December 6, 2008 Transformer Gallery Wed- Sat, 1-7pm during exhibitions. 1404 P Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 202-483-1102
Continuing our commitment to highlight the work of exceptional DC-based emerging artists, Transformer's 6th Annual DC Artist Solo Exhibition presents the work of Nilay Lawson in her first solo exhibition.
Questioning whether or not her artistic endeavors only truly exist in the conceptual form, when a project can actually be considered “finished”, and if the objects she creates are merely remainders of larger artistic production – Nilay’s painting, drawings, and mixed media installations featured in If You Didn't Know What This Was, Would You Know What This Is? document her obsessive consideration of objects and belongings used, consumed, and often discarded. Nilay stages artistic interventions throughout Transformer's project space to explore the seemingly banal issues of daily life and their broader implications on her art-making processes. About this exhibition, Nilay states, "It compiles many endeavors I have approached to date as an artist. I'm releasing the evidence of my art experiences." BmoreART said " For text-lovin' artists, this show is a must-see". Check out the floor! Amazing.
Where we will be selling a limited edition of DECOY/ UNJUANTED ties. They will come both short and long, back and white. Each also comes with an original drawing on the card.
7pm-9pm 2nd & 4th weeks Local Love w/ TimTam: A program dedicated to local music ONLY! From rock to go-go to punk to hip hop... from NW to Mo County to SE to PG to NoVA to BMore and all around DC's musical map. Each show, DJ Timtam brings DC musicians into the studio to play their favorite local tracks and chat it up.
Tuesday Nov. 25th DECOY will bring her local music and talk art with DJ TIM TAM from 8-9pm. TUNE IN. 97.5FM
Local graffiti artists and New Jersey collective consider art a language for a public space An article by Ben Doak, Hatchet Reporter In the GW Hatchet.
shh...LISTEN. thanks to RELAX for calling me and telling me to tune into SIA. Miss ya.
Tonight was the annual art auction for transformer. I went last year by myself, had a blast. This year I got to go with my amiga HIP. SUPER FUN. Lisa Marie is such a doll. The two most fun parts of my night- A. I reunited with a little girl I used to teach art. A precious little angel that I loved meeting with each week. B. I got to meet the owner of the bike that basically led me to create my bike (and friend). A little while ago I started noticing this beautiful bike parked outside of the Whole Foods on P. HIP was really into making her bike pretty. I wasn't so much so. But the last bike i bought, I decided to make pretty. This is my new bike. I can't take all the credit. OWEL and SWAFFEE helped me out a ton. But I did sand the whole thing down myself. And that's a lot of work. I've already messed up the paint job. Anyone trying to get rid of a white aerospoke wheel, let me know. If I had the funds to bid last night, I would have bid on this piece, by ZACH STORM.
Zach Storm Born in Los Angeles, California. Lives and works in Washington, DC.
EDUCATION: 2005 Corcoran College of Art + Design
I like to buy art that reminds me of my life. I learned this from my mother. She always bought pieces of art that resembled our life at that exact moment. For example, while we lived at West Point she purchased these local paintings often of the buildings around the academy. I wasn't a huge fan of them at the time, and found them somewhat 'silly' since we lived there and could see the buildings at any given time. But, life changes...and like photographs, the art you buy throughout your life will become a visual reminder/ representation of you and your history. Zach's piece would have reminded me of the olympics this year and how many times i cried in front of the tv while Michael Phelps won. And how worried I was/ proud of my friend RVLTN while he flew to china with “Team Tibet 08". And who doesn't love a cheeseburger. or the idea or an amazing fat cheeseburger in china. or really cute drawings or nicely painted cheeseburgers. I even know a kid nicked named cheeseburger. At just past 7pm, approximately one hour before the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, two Americans, Jonathan Stribling-Uss, 27, and Kalaya’an Mendoza, 29, and an Argentine-American, Cesar Maxit, 32, staged a symbolic protest near the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing. At Beituching and Beiching Roads, the last major intersection on Beichen Road leading to the Olympic Park, the three men opened Tibetan national flags. The three men, wearing shirts that read “Team Tibet 08″ were tackled by Chinese security forces within seconds and immediately and forcibly detained, and deported from China.
I also got to meet... KNEE + LAY= Nilay Lawson SUPER FUN.
Giving thanks.
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This year I am thankful for all of my friends who have stuck with me over
the last three years. Next year is going to be "my year". When I finally
heed eve...
