An Artist in Beacon, NY

Sol LeWitt to Eva Hesse

2011-04-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

"Learn to say 'Fuck You' to the world once in a while. You have every right to. Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for an easy way out, struggling, gasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, rumbling, rambling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-picking, piss-trickling, nose-sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding grinding grinding away at yourself. Stop it and just DO.

"Don't worry about cool. Make your own uncool. Make your own, your own world."

Agnes Martin: Beauty, Not Ideas

2010-11-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Full 20 minute version here.

This sentence is my novel.

2010-11-01T10:55:00.001-07:00

Indices

2010-10-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

From one of 100 or so index cards I typed in 2003, when I stopped painting for a few months (includes original typos):

"This is my protest. Perhaps it serves no one but me, butthat,s not unusualin art. I want to give the people what they want, but I,m not a Social Realist. Is that what they want? Different people want different things, even in these shared disaster times. How important is art wwhen you8re hungry? How important is art when your legs have been blown off; when you8re imprisoned; deported; bombed; on Death Row; bereaved; afraid; dying; deperate; trapped; powerless; angry; sick; outnumbered; scorned; forgotten; ignored; dispossessed; suicidal; damaged beyond repair; slipping further and further down; lost; tricked; poisoned;used; undone. How important is art to youhthen? Do you need beauty, do you crave serenity?"

Good Advice is Warm in Winter, Harsh Words Are Cold in June

2010-07-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

良言一句三冬暖，惡語傷人六月寒

In a Sentence Liang 3 Warm in Winter, the Evil Language Wounding June Cold

2010-07-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

良言一句三冬暖，惡語傷人六月寒

Liang Made a Three-Winter, Verbal Abuse Wounding Jun Han

2010-07-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

良言一句三冬暖，惡語傷人六月寒

A Good Advice Winter is Warm, Speak Daggers Are in June Cold

2010-07-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

良言一句三冬暖，惡語傷人六月寒

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

2010-05-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

你的選擇就是做或不做,不做就永遠不會有機會

Your Choice is to or Not to Do, Will Not Do it Never Have the Opportunity

2010-05-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

你的選擇就是做或不做,不做就永遠不會有機會

Your Choice is Do or Do Not, Do Not Do Will Never Have the Opportunity To

2010-05-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

你的選擇就是做或不做,不做就永遠不會有機會

Your Selection Does or Does Not Do, Will Not Do Never Will Have the Opportunity

2010-05-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

你的選擇就是做或不做,不做就永遠不會有機會

與其爭取不可能得到的東西，不如善自珍惜運用自己所擁有的

2010-04-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

與其爭取不可能得到的東西，不如善自珍惜運用自己所擁有的

2010-04-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

"With its for it is impossible to things, it would be better use good since cherish their."

與其爭取不可能得到的東西，不如善自珍惜運用自己所擁有的

2010-04-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

"Strives for the thing which with it is impossible to obtain, was inferior from treasures friendly utilizes itself to have."

與其爭取不可能得到的東西，不如善自珍惜運用自己所擁有的

2010-04-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

"Its impossible to fight for something better from the value of good use what they have."

與其爭取不可能得到的東西，不如善自珍惜運用自己所擁有的

2010-04-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

"Strives not to be impossible with it to obtain the thing, was inferior that friendly treasures utilizes itself to have."

處順境須謹慎，處逆境要忍耐

2010-04-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Robo-translates as:

"Place the favorable circumstances must be discrete, place adverse circumstance must endure patiently."

"Things were going to be cautious, be patient in adversity. "

"The good must carefully, adversity to be patient."

"S 謹 price policy of caution, adversity price to be patient."

And I think might mean:

"Be discrete in good times and patient in adversity."

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2010-03-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

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Comment Translation VI

2010-03-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

Time's sharp teeth devour everything but the truth.

Comment Translation V

2010-03-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

The sharp teeth of time eat everything. Even the truth is helpless.

Comment Translation IV

2010-03-26T15:12:00.001-07:00

The time sharp teeth to eat everything, but the truth powerless.

Comment Translation III

2010-03-26T15:09:00.001-07:00

The time sharp tooth can be fed up all, is only helpless to the truth.

Comment Translation II

2010-03-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Time, sharp teeth can be endured everything, except the truth could do nothing.

Comment Translation

2010-03-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

Time sharp tooth can be fed up cuts, is only helpless to the truth.

Peter Schjeldahl Notes Part IV

2009-12-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

Selected notes from Peter's teachings on critical writing, continued (click here for Part I, here for Part II and here for Part III):

A gallery front room is a perk for the artist.

The audience for a catalogue introduction is only one person – the artist. It is not a sales brochure.

The definitive weakness of an immature writer is lots of adverbs.

The absolute futility of a generation of art critics that assumed Warhol's work was ironic. He was innocent and greedy (A statement that is insulting to the middle class.)

The difference between humor and satire: Satire is always reformist.

Never use the word "problematic." It's the archetypal academic dodge. Its semantic sense is unsound. There's something unhealthy here. As a writer, everything should be spelled out.

[When looking at a] Cindy Sherman [photograph (or any work of art), we have a] three-step response:

Shock and/or delight.
[The work] falls apart and becomes nothing.
The original illusion returns, integrated with the artifice, and you're aware of it as a made thing, and it becomes beautiful. Everything works to the common good, nothing gets in anything's way. [The work] reconstitutes itself at a higher level.

To be continued.

Cindy Sherman photograph via El izabeth Avedon.

$10 off "Blue Boy and Pinkie, Together Again" at Blurb Books

2009-12-11T09:46:00.000-08:00

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Brian Bress: Instamatic

2009-11-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

John Mendelsohn/Mendelssohn/Mendels(s)ohn: "Sorry We're Open"

2009-11-19T09:13:00.000-08:00

John Mendels(s)ohn, is the only person I know with parentheses in his name. He's a special kind of chap, who inspires a certain tone of critical review. Rolling Stone once said he sounded like Todd Rundgren with severely inadequate equipment.

That was "back in the day," when Mendels(s)ohn's band, Christopher Milk, recorded for Warner Brothers; back in the day when he wrote for Rolling Stone and Cream and interviewed the likes of (early) David Bowie (in a dress) and, later, Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs, "[who he] was nearly able to see... through the smoke of the 360 cigarettes [Butler] smoked during [their] 20 minutes together;" and back (a bit later) in the day, once more behind the microphone to record with Rhino Records in 1995. Such is the swirling life of a proto-rock star turned music critic, turned proto-rock star, again.

Today – a few decades, continents and gentle debaucheries after his 1971 Halfnelson debut – John Mendels(s)ohn's latest, self-produced album defies comparison, perhaps even description. On "Sorry We're Open," you might call Mendels(s)ohn a whimsical ranter; an ironic straight-shooter; or a deeply twisted love-sponge. But it's hard to label him any one thing and make it stick. Besides, why would you – he's the man with parentheses in his name, for god's sake! The marvel of this boyishly gifted artist – on the new album, in particular – is the way his voice, his ideas, his very essence swirl and twist and turn, like a dancing hippie-punk-hybrid genie, ever fresh out of its lamp and looking to change the world.

"Sorry We're Open" sees Mendels(s)ohn continue to preserve his inalienable right, as a parenthetical icon of his generation, to slip whatever vaporous, boxing with velvet gloves weirdness/sincerity he wants into those ever-beckoning punctuation marks of his. For one thing, his lilting voice – so angelic, it's menacing – adds a hint of threat to the most benign lyric. Not that his lyrics are always benign, with songs like "Xenophobia," "Soil Me" and "Swastikas in Drag."

This could all add up to a hipster lounge act waiting to burst onto the Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Reno, Albuquerque or Camel Rock scene. Whether it does or not, John Mendels(s)ohn keeps us eternally on the edge of our Naugahyde seats.

Peter Schjeldahl Notes Part III

2009-11-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

Selected notes from Peter's teachings on critical writing, continued (click here for Part I and here for Part II):

A work of art is not a commodity. A commodity differs only in price. A work of art has a unique character/identity and no inherent value. Artworks behave more like money than like commodities.

Never explain how one thing is harder to describe than another. Don't comment on what you're doing. [This is like] Apologizing to our own ideal.

Words fail.

Painting is incarnate – has a skin and a body, like we do. That's why it's important.

The spirit of description: The way something is matters. Our life depends on it. [For example:] "Fat and green and full of sin." Raymond Chandler describing a fly.

Can I look at this in a way the artist has not intended? If so, out with it. Does the artist know what I'm seeing?

Boredom is the unwilling consciousness of passing time – You're dying/closer to the grave. Film is a pure escape from the sense of time.

[As a critical writer, you need to be] Inside enough to know what you're talking about and outside enough to tell the truth.

To be continued.

Image via Hawaii Life Hack.

Peter Schjeldahl Notes Part II

2009-11-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

Selected notes from Peter's teachings on critical writing, continued (click here for Part I):

Lead with a quality judgement.

Jokes are so important.

ISV, a fictional character: The Incredibly Stupid Viewer, who must be respected.

Avoid French words [Oops, you mean like "Chateau?"].

If it sounds wrong, being right won't save it.

[Recommended books:] For tone, Persuasion by Jane Austen and The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler.

Logic is very bad for you. Pain always produces logic ["Pain always produces logic, which is very bad for you."]. Frank O'Hara

Power is defined by use. [For example] If you have a light source and never plug it in....

You have to be able to make an enemy every week and not run out of friends.

Sophistication is always specific to a use.

To be Continued.

Book cover images via Jane Austin in Vermont and Cover Browser.

Peter Schjeldahl Notes

2009-11-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I attended a weeklong professional writers workshop given by New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl at the Santa Fe Art Institute. I was the only artist and non-writer in the group. Here are selected notes I took of Peter's words:

[Talking about not seeing the art in person:] Reproduction is like paper money. Slides are lies that you believe.

Finding the right "wrong" words.

Art is organized in service of our attention, the world is not.

"Beauty is the coincidence of the eternal and the fleeting." – Baudelair [I believe Peter was paraphrasing, as I can't find this quote anywhere.]

Smile, say thank you, keep moving.

Subject and predicate in the first sentence. "We" is dicey and important – the reader should be completely with you – it should pass without notice. [Peter is an] "I" critic. Presume that an experience can be of use to other people. "You" is a great switcher. Pauline Kael was a "you" critic. "We" is where you seal the deal – cash in. [I remember he said if you must use "we," don't use it until the very end of a review.] "Who, what, where, when, why" are very important to work in at the beginning – the lead.

Nothing happens in the middle; the middle is the residue of the extremes. [He may have still been talking about writing structure at this point – I don't remember; but I take away a broader meaning, and one that pertains, in particular, to art-making. It reminds me of something William Burroughs said: "Beware the middle way."]

In a way, the artist's intention is secondary to what we perceive.

To be continued.

Peter Schjeldahl portrait via The New Yorker.

Description of a Painting

2009-11-16T07:37:00.000-08:00

"One of the heroes of the Battle of Lepanto, Requesens is here seen with his right hand resting upon a helmet with dark red plumes and his left, upon his sword hilt. He has blue-gray eyes, and his brown hair is turning gray. Across his suit of damascened armour is a red scarf. At his neck and wrists are narrow white ruffs. His sword is suspended at his side from a narrow black belt. The background is brown. A green curtain edged with gold fringe is draped at the left. On the wall at the right is hung a picture in a black frame representing a dark-eyed lady in a black gown adorned with buttons of pearls set in gold. A narrow ruff finishes her high collar. Her hair, of varying shades of brown, is covered by a transparent white coif, ornamented with rubies and pearls; the ends of the coif fall over her shoulders and meet at her breast."

Elizabeth du Gué Trapier describing a "supposed" portrait of Don Luis de Requesens y Zuñiga, attributed to Antonio Moro, in the Hispanic Society of America's Catalogue of Paintings (16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries), 1929.

Dealing with the Press: Lou Reed, 1974

2009-11-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

Note: The audio drops out a couple of times. Hang in there, it's worth it.

Irreparable Damage X

2009-11-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage IX

2009-11-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage VIII

2009-11-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage VII

2009-11-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage VI

2009-11-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage V

2009-11-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage IV

2009-11-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage III

2009-11-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage II

2009-11-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

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Irreparable Damage

2009-11-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

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Tragnite

2009-11-11T14:56:00.001-08:00

Jusle

2009-11-11T14:53:00.002-08:00

Paticha

2009-11-11T14:53:00.001-08:00

Paters

2009-11-11T14:52:00.003-08:00

Subpro

2009-11-11T14:52:00.001-08:00

Bralstxr

2009-11-11T14:51:00.004-08:00

Forei

2009-11-11T14:51:00.003-08:00

Ravulac

2009-11-11T14:51:00.001-08:00

Cepus

2009-11-11T14:50:00.004-08:00

Fross

2009-11-11T14:50:00.003-08:00

Toxizedi

2009-11-11T14:50:00.001-08:00

Northe

2009-11-11T14:48:00.001-08:00

Safevi

2009-11-11T14:47:00.004-08:00

Wismar

2009-11-11T14:47:00.003-08:00

Gratio

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Nansurb

2009-11-11T14:46:00.006-08:00

Haphy

2009-11-11T14:46:00.005-08:00

Dossess

2009-11-11T14:46:00.003-08:00

Stlki

2009-11-11T14:46:00.001-08:00

Cralavan

2009-11-11T14:45:00.004-08:00

Folerbis

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Mizza

2009-11-11T14:45:00.001-08:00

Suplibr

2009-11-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

Wingo

2009-11-11T14:43:00.005-08:00

Dignere

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Hiesst

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Eques

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Oranesse

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Shropu

2009-11-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

Luciodo

2009-11-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hable

2009-11-11T14:40:00.005-08:00

Ingsms

2009-11-11T14:40:00.003-08:00

Priatopp

2009-11-11T14:40:00.001-08:00

Wingl

2009-11-11T14:39:00.005-08:00

Insho

2009-11-11T14:39:00.003-08:00

Coterumm

2009-11-11T14:39:00.001-08:00

Conist

2009-11-11T14:38:00.004-08:00

Honnesse

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Mencein

2009-11-11T14:38:00.001-08:00

Yopunic

2009-11-11T14:37:00.002-08:00

Temixer

2009-11-11T14:37:00.001-08:00

Readion

2009-11-11T14:36:00.002-08:00

Glyti

2009-11-11T14:36:00.001-08:00

Tedera

2009-11-11T14:35:00.004-08:00

Resse

2009-11-11T14:35:00.003-08:00

Distate

2009-11-11T14:35:00.001-08:00

Reafenes

2009-11-11T14:34:00.002-08:00

Psurreri

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Spoth

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Regruse

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No Content/Not Content

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No Content/Not Content

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No Content/Not Content

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No Content/Not Content

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No Content/Not Content

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No Content/Not Content

2009-11-11T14:29:00.007-08:00