What Is Pisgah Crater?

Retaining wall construction 10 14 2011

2011-10-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

Progress at site shows the development of a retaining wall on the west side of the site. Earlier experiment at building met with some structural breakdowns as I attempted to place sheets of compressed mud as retaining wall face. The weight of the fill dirt soon forced the collapse of the wall. I have been experimenting with forms of adobe and wattle and daub techniques. I am drawn to methods that have a deeper historical print.I am especially drawn to construction methods areas of Mesopotamian and ancient Latin American civilzations. There is a greater mystery, an attachment to the root of the past that I find intriguing.

I am in the process of creating ruins. A place that appears to have been abandoned, stumbled upon in a state of degradation.It is not the Yucatan peninsula or the Valley of the Dead, but it has all the properties of being formally inhabited.The evcavations, crumbling walls, decomposing berms, exposed root systems and rusted drainage are evidence of a deliberate attempt to alter the nature. But to what purpose? What is the significance of the walls, the north facing berms, the concrete foundations on earthen pedestals, the deep trenches? I am sure it is the same sensation that coursed through the blood of the explorers that feel upon the ruins of Palenque.One finds themself at the threshold of a riot of play.

variation #1

2011-10-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

Dig Progress 8 23 2011

2011-09-28T21:48:00.001-07:00

july 26-28

2011-08-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

Looking north, the foreground shows the complexity of digging around piers and extended exposure of roots. At this point, traversing the site takes considerable more concentration than previous depictions due to the uneven topography created by digging around and into the tree's root system.

Traveling through the site has become an action of the past, a memory. Entering the site now entails processing the lay of the land and developing a strategy for a series of interactions.

July 19 2011

2011-08-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Facing south(north pier to immediate right), view of root system and exposure of other piers.

b/w animation of elevation at dig as of 7192011

2011-07-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

short animation taken from 5 photos of Paul at the site showing the level of ascension.

Raw footage_Paul_ 7 17 2011

2011-07-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

Paul is a regular to this spot. He and his brother have grown up in the neighborhood. He sees this place in some regards as a birthright. They both played in this area as children and continue to use this shared space that I now inhabit with them. He has very strong opinions about the site and the dig. The dig as communicative tool is evident in that as a shareholder in the public space I must listen to a multiple set of voices. Paul, William, local dog walkers Pat and Lorraine are a few of the human voices that regard this space very differently from my approach, so I am aware to heed their advice...but they are not the only voices I collaborate with.

Raw footage at site 7 14 2011

2011-07-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is unedited raw footage of a conversation with a park/site user. This is one segment of a series of clips taken as I was working on the morning of July 14th. Paul arrived, guitar in hand, and occupied his spot, a place he states which possesses great nostalgic value.

july 11 2011

2011-07-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Dig as of July8 2011

2011-07-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

These shots are taken from atop the northwest parapet. The combined elevation from atop the wall to the floor of the trench (running along the sewer line) is approximately 10 feet. From this vantage point you can see all existing piers. Running parallel to the exposed sewage line and directly behind the foreground foundation pier is the southern most extremity of Phase I. Everything north of that pier will be dug to a depth of six feet.

Photographs show the overall lay of the site and the progress of the excavation as of July 8 2011.

carving to 6 feet

2011-07-07T23:41:00.000-07:00

fig.1

fig.2

fig.3

fig.4

To give a sense of orientation, the concrete piers are sitting at the original ground level. The top image, as well as the bottom two, give an indication of the current depth, which is approximately 4.5 feet. The projected depth is 6feet in the area surrounding this north facing pier adjacent to the north facing berm.

Visible in the second image (fig.2) is an example of an earlier embedded mask. The mask was made from mud taken from the site and mixed with manure. This earlier version of the mask, though relatively delicate in construction, hold up well to the natural and unnatural elements. The intention is to encrust the faces of all the walls.

Depth and elevation (construction of walls and berms) of the site will take place in simultaneous phases. Phase I, is the construction of the north and northwest berms as well as excavating the areas adjacent to and around the north concrete pier (shown in the foreground in fig.1).

The area of the two middle ground piers during Phase II will be dug to a depth of 4 feet and the area directly behind the piers , Phase 3, will be the atrium with stairs, 2 feet in depth to the first level of the site.

In figure 1 you can see the beginnings of a retaining wall that bookends the large pepper tree shading the site. The retaining wall is made of packed dirt and mortared with mud. My plans are to pack and stack the face of the wall with sun dried brick, filling the interior with excavated dirt. Proposed height of the wall is 4 feet as a sufficient height once the excavation is complete.

Within the wall I have planted Morning Glory seed in an attempt to create a colorful and delicate barrier to the west side of the site that will entwine itself along the wall and in the tree. The purple blooms will add a natural and striking contrast to the varied tones of the soil.

The Flames of Purgatory

2011-05-26T21:32:00.001-07:00

On the third Thursday of the month the ritualistic burning of the masks commences. Wood is stacked and the wet masks stinking of manure, clay, dirt, and paper are set to torch over whiskey and ice. A small fire, probably not unlike those our ancestors created is administered to life while the Big Dipper hangs directly overhead. All purpose and thought are clouded in a haze of smoke as a still rests in the air to the music of the crackle of wood. Moist clay hisses at a night painted purple and orange.
this is process also... one individual tucked away in the shadows of his thoughts so that the majority of the tribe might nestle comfortably in the warm assurance of sleep.

wipc slab 1

2011-05-07T22:51:00.000-07:00

2011-04-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

The "dig" and the mural are two projects that are entirely in opposition but with the same end in mind. Each is a kinetic call and response object. One calls to the environment, in particular to a segment of its inhabitants in a very conventional manner using the vernacular perceived by the signs and conditions encountered, while the other is in effect to communicate through entirely non-verbal means. The mural works within an an established set of grammatical rules and social etiquette.I initially intended to "work with" the existing art and writing on the space, but soon discovered that my voice was to big , active and dominant. What ensued was a stretching out and staking my claim which is entirely within the protocol of hip hop/graffiti culture. It is an open cultural critique with persistence and staying power to criticism as a measure of strength. It is this aspect the the project, the burying of the ego which is most intriguing. The operation of bombing an area with a personal sign is one of free expression ensconced self-promotion. The writers ego is only as large as the geographical range, boldness and available supplies. This preoccupation with space is at the heart of this project.I have established my geo-political map and have entered the space with the intent to appropriate, occupy,redistribute and redesign the area to a preconceived vision as to how this specific area should be managed. As a common space, claim to use is open to interpretation.I entered the area as an objective observer. I let the space speak to me as much as any painter would look at a blank canvas. My initial marks were intimate, innocuous, the propping of a fallen branch on a tree trunk. Soon I was taken broken branches and making a series of gates and fences. These pieces were so quietly integrated into the landscape that they slipped detection by most people, though is was interesting that people did seem to naturally conform to these delicate barriers. As soon as I started to enter objects alien to the environment was when a dialogue began to develop between an unknown individual or group of individuals. The first encountered occurred immediately after installing the "beast" (see earlier post). Within a week of its installation it was viciously attacked, turned on its side with a chunk of concrete that it was anchored to slammed into the body. On three subsequent attacks the legs were broken and once the rope that attached to the concrete anchor had been cut with a knife. Each attack I returned the creature to its original position. It was here that I recognized that the pieces were doing something far more than could ever do in the sterile environment of a gallery. They were provoking a real conversation that was far more profound than any academic discourse. There was something raw and dangerous about what was happening. The mystery is intoxicating. It fuels curiosity. The conversation between artist and audience is real and unrestrained. I had confined myself to a very select area, but after these encounters I began to expand my explorations to other pockets of the park, provoked by animosity at the thought that someone was fencing me out. In other words, "they" had provoked a turf war. My inspections and observations made it evident who my audience was and I secured possible sites hat might engaged the highest percentage of contact. The first site chosen was a 25'-30x 100' concrete foundational slab that has been the canvas of areas taggers. The second site was a shielded blind in a clump of brush and under the umbrella of a group of pepper trees. This site is primarily used as a pot smoking beer drinking natural lounge for locals noted by the spray painted tags on discarded concrete piers and trees that act as seats, resembling an native American meeting area.

This project is about an idea. Better said it is about the potential of an idea. In my estimation the shortcoming of traditional artmaking is that the idea is trapped within the work. It is only through externalization that the original idea can be remotely accessed. As Barthes suggests, a photographer can never be truly experienced by the viewer. The viewer is a latercommer to the experience, the primary experience. It is in the maker where the true depth of the photograph has any meaning. The aesthetic experience is a mono-experiential event. The further you are from the center of that sensation the more necessary is it for the viewer to manufacture a diluted and artifical response.

This work, the dig in particular, is an attempt to expose the inner workings of an art piece. The audience is subject to the generation of the work and there is the possibility to witness the act in progress, question the artist in the moment, and participate in what becomes a real dialogue. There is no dialogue in a gallery. A gallery is a mortuary where the body is presented on a cold slab.

2011-04-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

This is the view loking south at the north access slope to the dig site. For years this has clearly been the access point for most people to the area that I am now digging. During and after the rain this slope because of the slippery clay makeup of the soil is virtually impassable. Though only 3 feet from base to crest when moistened it posed a serious barrier. From this view,about middle center is visible presently the highest point of the interior wall I have constructed.From base to crest the wall is approximately 5 feet with about a girth of five feet. As of Tuesday 4 12 2011, I began digging into the access slope cutting into the incline at a vertical and implying a wall at it base by piling the dirt in its path.

2011-04-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Locals emerging from their blind.The site , I am imagining is a focal point for many people in the area who share this space for the same purpose. Smoking and drinking. It is a mutually conceived sanctuary, an "open" space, secluded from all intrusion. This group illusion (test group A) is thin and ludicrous, because they are easily viewed from any direction. The illusion is supported by the voluntary blindness of all other users of the park (test group B). Group A is the smaller of the two groups, but is by far the most destructive. They regularly set open fires, litter and destroy vegetation and have set large section of the park on fire. I see myself as the unknown variable (UV).How will my intrusions affect the interactions and perceptions of this figmental open space. It is obvious that my diggings create the most active and aggressive responses. The reasons may be twofold:1) the digging is a direct alteration of what is wrongly recognized as private property and; 2) it is a baffling reconfiguring without apparent reason.

In other words, UV is absolutely irrational and unreasonable and therefore viewed as a completely indefensible act and must be regarded as hostile! We all know that UV 's are bad for sensitive skin.

2011-04-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

The figure above and below is of a grafed female nude. To see it in its original state you need to go back to earlier posts. It is a very crudely spray can figure in a contorted posture, denuded of personality mutilated arms and legs. It has a large erect phallus penetrating her from below. It is obvious that there are two artists at work. The original figure was drawn in green can and later on the detail ti the spine hip breast and penis were done in black. I perceive the two acts are ritualistic. It is such a lonely figure in all the chaos on the concrete it has this gargantuan quality that figures into its power. Of all the piece this one had been here for quite some time evident by the age and wear of the paint it somehow evaded being painted over. I found this intriguing. Why does this piece seemed to special place on the slab? Call me crazy but I believe that this figure has a definite function. This everywoman serves a purpose to a particular group of individuals. How do I know this? Simple. Observation. I stood in the brushes one afternoon observing a group of men gathered around her. I thought I might be hallucinating but before my very eyes each man, not boys, began to thrust there groins at her. It was the most bizarre scene. Three grown men thrusting and dry-fucking this image of a woman. It was as laughable as it was sad. They laughed amongst themselves and left. There was the function. There was the ritual. The most rudimentary act. On one level art was playing out in its purest form. I can't imagine anyone going to a museum and becoming so overwhelmed by the texture of a Modigliani and whipping it out or dry humping a Renoir, wrestled to the ground in a spasm of aesthetic euphoria.Faintly you can make out the sharpie marker image of La Nuestra De La Senora De Guadalupe. I drew this over the the female figure. I thought it an appropriate response to the image and its function. This dichotomy toward the female figure, once reverend and reviled, mother and whore entwined, the intention was to create tension in the conversation between the image, users and the space. The space's "sacredness" has been violated. I intend to finish up my figure, but leave enough of the original to filter through. Unfortunately, the randomness of this project does not allow me to do protracted observations from any one location, but I do wish I could observe the first encounter after the additions.

"The Three Skaters of the Apocalypse" is a piece I started after discovering that the surface of the slab was used by skaters and bmxers. It was a sort of consolation to the fact that I was an intruder an needed to recognize that. The skaters, two male and one female, was created in a hope of generating a response from this particular users of the park. All the participants/collaborators are of a specific group of the population. They are in general, young, for the most part , other than white and working class, I think it would be safe to say. After all I did grow up in this neighborhood and the area has not changed that much in respects to socio-economics.

The t-shirts and skateboards on the images are taken from tags in the area, so I singled out Soar and zero originally. I added Spark after he/she tagged over one of the pieces . I simple gesture at an attempt of respect. The next day I returned and Spark had tagged alongside the image. In applying Spark's name I kept true as possible to his letter style.I liked that style of lettering. It was very familiar growing up in Logan Heights, it had a clarity and power to it.

These figures have been worked in oil stick, sharpie markers, house paint for base coats and Montana cans. This piece is at its early stage. There is much more layering and detail along with poly protective coats to apply.

Around each image you can make out a faint design inscribed. It is a dashed and dot design that references the demarcation of national boundaries such as seen on geo-poltical maps.The relationship of boundaries on the grand scale are reflected at the site where the common concern and familial ties are mapped out clearly in the graffiti signatures that clutter the area. Each group or individual carves out there piece of the part and a call and response occurs with proximity tags or cross-outs by rivals or intruders. The markings, the dot and dashes are reminiscent of a Mayan motif or numerical markings. This is purely coincidental and probably only in my head but worth mentioning as meaning's design relieves itself in the doing. In actuality what the dashes and dots are is Morse Code that is signaling out the international distress call,SOS. I felt, in light of the current state of international and domestic affairs is was a fitting decorative element.

This guy is an original resident that I lifted as my own. I borrowed as a whole added the hat, transformed the dick in hand, redrew it as a gun, added a sheriff's star, stuck a flag in the barrel with my crew's tag...wipc.

I am treating the slab as a sketchbook. It is less a work with some endgame in conventional aesthetic. This is not a cop-out. It is in keeping with the aesthetic that exist. There is an ongoing communique evolving at the site, and I am a latecomer, however a very vociferous and ever expanding presence. I know this. And in some ways I find it hard to control the desire to sweep over the whole the the entire space, slabs, discarded broken concrete chunks, branches, dirt and possess it as my own. There are so many voices competing for this small piece of turf. The fact that I am being allowed, given permission to pursue my voice is humbling but intoxicating.I have the conqueror's blood coursing through my veins.It is difficult to halt my advance, to even take stock of my inevitable contradiction, but I continue against the better angels of my nature and press deeper into this virgin space.

In memory of Vanessa

2011-04-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

This is for our beloved Vanessa. A beautiful child, daughter, sister,mother and niece. She will be so dearly missed by all. She was a generous human being that greeted you with open arms that was genuine and real. I will very much miss hearing "Uncle Ron!" issue through the room.Auntie Kathy and Uncle Ron have always loved you and always will.

2011-03-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Top facing W,below N toward wall.The Photo below shows the depth of the trench that is adjacent to the wall I am building. From this view you are facing west with the wall to my right shoulder. In the spine of the inverted "L" trench you can faintly see that I have dug to the depth of the old plumbing. This discovery indicated that I am either in or very near another structure. I am at about four feet here. I occasionally hit the root system of the pepper tree. I intend to keep the main roots intact but may expose them as I dig down. I have worked and lived with pepper trees going on twenty years, and these are by far the hardiest tress in creation. Nearly impossible to kill. So I am not too concerned that my digging will adversely affect the tree's survival. What I am working at in these photos is th attain a suitable depth around the piers, six feet as the new floor, with potential raised seating areas, to carve out and design. Each idea is omly a potential idea. I must contend with unknown factors that alter or completely destroy my initial intent. Why the digging? It is a fair enough question that should have a definite origin. The first notion came a spring ago as I prepared by garden for planting. Anyone who has a garden whether as ornamental or a functioning food source knows that the soil needs to be treated , the soil conditioned with compost, maybe the addition of redworms and manure and the dirt finely worked to accepted tender roots. It was then that I became "aware" of a sensual pleasure with my hands in the soil. Digging, working in the soil triggers certain pleasure points in my brain. I wondered if the origin of this pleasure was not genetic. Is the proximity to the soil coupled with the pungent odor of moist manure and the physicality of may hands and arms deep in the soil part of my DNA? It's possible. Both sides of my family are connected historically to the earth. It could be in part what I am.

Art should do more than stand as a signifier.

It should do more than satisfy

art should stop being

an object

artists should stop being

a hole in the ground will communicate that.

2011-03-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

The beast stands but man's intrusions are difficult upon it.

Yucca. My friend.Little does he know but he will be recruited into my battle with my wall critics. I must say that this type of problem-solving is more real and meaningful than any insulated sophistry. There is tangible risk. Each time I approach there is the expectation of some alteration that I have no control over. My ego in checked down. Imagine artists what that might feel like if everytime you walked into your studio, your work was changed, damaged and alter beyond your control.This is working in real time and real space.

On working on the shared space. The type of space is important. My action of intrusion is important and lends itself to the type of conversation that will ensue. My action finds it roots tied closer to that of street/urban art than land art. There is the sense of the street in the action. My actions are not sanctioned by the state or those that formerly occupy/ied the space. I am a violator in the whole sense, a tresspasser. Am I there to integrate, yes, but I am not asking permission or do I apologize. I work in No Man's Land.

Pure time/space and applied time/space overlap completely on this particular project. The applied time/space refers to the functional moments that I am actively engaged with the project, the making. This is impacted by pure time/space, those moments that act upon the environment, myself included. When I approach the space I have an intuitive sense about its becoming. I first examine the physical opportunties available, while imagining the possibilities for alteration. The space may be in the process of its own natural transtions and this will influence and inform some of my interactions and proposals.

The five photos above are a continuation of the mural piece. " The Three Skaters of the Apocalypse" is just south of the Dog poem and Garrett Hardin piece which will eventually occupy the whole of the north side of the foundation. The south side will incorporate the skaters, with tagger names on the boards and shirts of the figures as well as a cartoon road to tie them all together. The woman piece is

pre-existing spray can work that I am redesigning, and filling in.

The is the northside of the berm. To the right of the photo you can see how I have dug down to create elevation. On the right middle, is the pile of dirt from the trench piled creating another berm. If my detractors action continue I have a contingency plan to counter this latest response. Tomorrow I will rebuild and structurally enhanced the wall. If the counter-response is more destruction, Plan Norte will begin...

There is an psychological element to this project I did not anticipate. It is the emotion that wells up when I see my work intentionally destroyed. My immediate response is to lash out in anger. I am perplexed by the act that destroys and bythe seeming lack of humor or imagination. It confuses me. I see it as an assault not on me personally, but on things constructive, creative.

My actions, the making are designed to explore "deep" into the spaces we occupy. The digging is meant to expose that which is hidden. The geo-historical secrets are revealed in the stratification of the soil. A repositioning of the self in relation to the surface beckons me to reexamine thoughts of heirarchy, privacy, seclusion, a deeper contact with the soil, immersion into the abyss, the delicate balance between inhalation and suffocation.

...I restack.

8:30 in the morning I began working at the dig site. I worked for two hours straight, hauling heavy chunks of concrete, stacking, balancing, fitting the piece to build up the wall. After that I continued the digging down on each side of the berm. On the north side, opposite the sitting area and the inscribed surface I dug to a depth of three feet, creating a trench approximately 4 feet long by 3 feet wide. The strategy is to dig down on each side in order to make construction of the wall thicker and more stable and still attaining a desirable height.

I always expect some damage, but this is different. The reaction is the same as to the "beast" sculpture. It was more of an attack as evidenced by the photograph above. The concrete was pulled down and thrown into the northside trench. The message is clear, and my response is crystal. You tear down, I rebuild. You fill, I dig deeper. You approach my work with hatred and intolerance, I will present you with patience and perseverance.

This is my work. One aspect, the digging, has blossomed into active theater. I am communicating over the space, about the space. It has become so contagious, that those now visiting the site are "tagging" into the surface of the site.

In some respect this is a very historical dialogue. One side clings to possessing the space while the other side does not comprehend property rights. Which side I am on, I don't know.

2011-02-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

There is an unsettling conflict between old and new that this project produces, which is more action than the act of. It is always about language, but to use language to identify itself? To document, the act of securing evidence, seem contrary. To talk about the talking, feels uncomfortably redundant, if not, nonsensical. The project runs the risk of becoming chatty.

Disruption. I sway between guilt and jubilation. I have entered this area that has been claimed and remained relatively "untouched" and have made my mark upon it. It is graffiti. To those that stumble across it , it must be inexplicable. It defies convention. It grates the rules of the graffiti writer/artist. The mark is deliberate, but with no apparent end than to mark. This goes against all the rules of engagement. As a tagger/graf writer it is about the mark, but the mark is a self-proclamation, quickly scrawled in secercy. This is a defiant act. It proclaims, "I am here and I am here for the duration!" It is beyond a challenge; it is a declaration.
It is as if nature itself has risen with pickax in hand against an insult and declared war.

2011-02-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

Integrating my work, using humor, into an area that is highly contested and defended. I attempt to signify my respect for their work my singling out works I admire.

2011-02-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

First step in the reconstruction of this slope. I am constructing a tiered sections that will house a series of manure and mud reliefs on the facing side. The steps will extend up the slope and occupy the "V"

open space. The steps will be functional steps enabling park visitors to traverse this slope. Below, the concrete pillar, which must have been a support beam is a densely inscribed piece. In some respects it can be considered a Rosetta Stone. It is densely written upon. The concentration of colors and lines make for an almost incomprehensible web. I entered the fray by generalizing the existing marks and signatures. This was met with immediate reaction as the blocked areas of blue, yellow and white were encrusted overnight with markers. Tomorrow I will add more colors and shape. Perhaps I will obliterate everything and start over fresh with a completely different piece and wait to see how that is received.

A 30'x150' concrete slab dominates as the compass rose of the project. I see this as the hub of everything I imagine. All radiate from here and in effect returns to. This is my Rome. Someone I greatly admire remarked that this was my Walden Pond. I will have to revisit Thoreau. But who knows.There may be an element of the romantic naturalist attempting to inhale only what's is good and clean and saintly, but I wouldn't give that too much weight.
This is what inhabits the surface now. Street art. Pure. Undiluted. Crass. A conglomerate of low end self promotion, adolescent sexual ramblings and nonsensical blurts, that when you're as high as a monkey evrything is as funny as Hot Cheetos for breakfast.

These are examples of a redesign/redistribution of materials in an urban open space. The space is used by area residents and their dogs, the homeless, alcoholics, the discontent, late night drug users, and a "lover's lane" or ficky-ficky spot of sorts, tagging social networks and possibly neighborhood gang members and one obsessive reorganizer, me. This area is a true multi-use area that is segregated by specific use. Dog trails, cyclists urban hikers, hideouts speckle the space.

This is my pulpit, classroom, studio, battlefield, laboratory.

2011-02-16T21:47:00.000-08:00

Deceased 3/5/11

2011-02-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

I have appropriated an abandoned foundation on which to develop a mural fashioned in oil stick on an acrylic paint base. The area is commonly used as a "hang out" and tag space. In essence it is a giant ongoing conferencing session, with various tag crews signifying their presence. I have decided, in addition to my other forms of communications in the area, to join this one as well. It is a very direct form of discourse that comes replete with many risks beyond what traditional artists may take. Again it is a give and take atmosphere, and if I inject myself in this arena and come with unrealistic preconceived notions, personal learned luggage handed down by my education and any ideas I may have about artistic permanance, I am going to be sadly frustrated from the get go. This is about true dialogue at its most ancient and creative level. I am sure prehistoric rock paintings discovered about the world are no more than this. Passing conversations to anonymous others reassuring each other that they are not alone.

2011-02-02T09:15:00.000-08:00

This photo is part of a series of gates and fences that I am constructeing from redistributed branches . My intention is to benignly alter the terrian and the sensibilities of all that encounter them. My considerations does not stop at human interaction, but considers the natural inhabitants as well. Only chance encounters, as with my "beast" object that is now the habitat of several squirrels and field mice, are the means to supply me with any data as to interactions with the objects with and the "other".

2011-01-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

This particular project is the work of 8 months of creation and a "curing"process to attain the aging through time and weathering. This is a piece that was created in the open in which it endure several storms, extreme heat and wind all the time maintaining its structural integrity.

It is constructed from fallen branches, bound through tension with rope. A layer of found burlap acts as a first layer of skin coated with roofing tar. The head of the creature is also constructed of branches and burlap with a mixture of soil and moisten manure and finally coated in tar. Though it was never intended to carry a political statement, it was curious, that as I began the tarring process, the Gulf spill occurred adding a degree of poignancy.

Constructing "in the open" created a sense of place for the creature. It adapted to a life in the wild so to speak. But its true poetry was not realized until it was crated off to its exhibition place, an unfamiliar setting and it was forced to interact with the artificial. As if on cue, we placed it into position, it began to flay about, struggling with the slickness of the floor just like a hoofed animal, thrashing, it toppled over and cracked a limb. We did some quick repair, found a comfortable center of balance for it and anchored it with a leash where it remained peacefully tied throughout the remainder of the exhibition. However, this was never the intended home for the piece. As with all the pieces in the show, they were all destined for "release".

It was in the return to the open space that the true dialogue with this creature/object played out. I found a secluded clearing for it that was off any heavily traveled trails and left it to its own resources, with the intent of periodically checking up on it and documenting its lifespan. The first two weeks it remained relatively unmolested by the elements. A few patches of grass had rooted in the creases and folds. On the third visit, it had been overturn and the leash and concrete anchor had been smashed onto the chest cavity. I had to perform on the spot repairs, and supports. On the next visit, again it was found toppled over and this time violently attacked. The legs had been snapped and it appeared to have been kicked on it side.

Ironically, I had hoped for a dialogue with this thing and the open, but I was surprised at the ferocity of the response. What I now find myself engaged in is a conversation with an anonymous conversant/combatant, and in some respects, I have taken the role of the Other, That which does not respond. Its language is not cluttered in signage and abstraction, or acts of negation. It frustrates that form of discourse with mute persistence.

I will go back tomorrow and see if we have been left a message.

2011-01-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

These images represent work that I have created in the last year. The works above are the result of questions I am having with the validity of the materials used and the repetitiveness of traditional representation and the overall negative impact I am experiencing on an aesthetic, environmental, philosophical and creative level pursuing object-making which seemed burdened with redundancy.

In the first set, From bottom to top indicated a broad flow of the direction of my work. The lower piece I used spray can and stencil with oil sticks to create a anthropomorphized cow, and in the bottom recess is embedded moss and grasses and three re-skinned inked tattooed tambourines.

Above that is a small object made of cured and compressed cow manure housing a water colored image of a dairy cow copied from an embroidered wallet.

A larger rectangular object depicts the encounter between human nature and what I call "raw" nature. The oppositional composition of the subjects suggest a chance meeting and the possibility of a dialogue. The figures are on raised posts, inked on polyurethane tracing paper. The background is painted in ink wash ad the support is made of manure, mud, polyurethane, grass and seed.

The "totem" object represents the first break from painting on a standard flat surface,away from the intent of making a painting. The staff and the dirt that was made to create the plate are from the same area which has personal significance. A human face adores the plate with embedded detritus.It is painted in crushed ash and linseed oil and framed in feathers.
It would be a mistake to interpret this as some reference to shamanism or American-Indianism. What this is, is an attempt to recognize a comingling of realities stumbled upon. To take what is provided, redistribute it into another form and return it to its former reality. In other words, the elements that constitute the object are but the symbols and letters that make up the words which in turn form a discourse( the object), and instead of truncating the flow of discussion by imprisoning (object) it in an artifical space, I return it at an appropriate time and place and bring the conversation full circle.

SPY!

2010-05-17T21:28:00.001-07:00

SPY! (detail)

2010-05-17T21:27:00.001-07:00

SPY! (detail)

2010-05-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

Statement

2010-05-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Statement (detail)

2010-05-17T21:23:00.001-07:00

Statement (detail)

2010-05-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Little girls

2010-04-17T15:48:00.001-07:00

Ted

2010-04-17T15:47:00.001-07:00

two women

2010-04-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

Ricochet

2010-04-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Prone

2010-04-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

Through It

2010-04-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

father and son

2010-04-14T20:00:00.001-07:00

Self Portrait 4/6/2010

2010-04-14T19:57:00.001-07:00

self-portrait 3/28/2010

2010-04-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

the following are a series of works with myself as the subject. Constrained by certain limitations I am using my present situation ( immobilized due to injury) to discover that ethereal something, that by the continious doing of a task i might learn beyond the object and the materials.

self portrait 3/27/2010

2010-04-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

self-portrait 3/27/2010

2010-04-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

self-portrait 3/27/2010

2010-04-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

self-portrait 3/27/2010

2010-04-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

self-portrait 3/27/2010

2010-04-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

reclining cat 3/26/2010

2010-04-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

self -portrait 3/26/2010

2010-04-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

self-portrait 3/24/2010

2010-04-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Sketched out long before as simply a nervous reaction ,but found a place a one of the self-portraits.The area around my eyes becomes a focus and after several obsevational pieces I begin to develop a system, a model representation of what my eye is and what i believe it is becoming.

couple

2010-04-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

This was created before the self-portraits, but the emphasis is on the form in dimmed light that perpetuates a mood..

Self-portrait obscura

2010-04-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Reflectioned image on a matte surface.

self-portrait hand 3/26/2010

2010-04-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

The object of my hand, the working mechanism that all I do is dependent upon. The thought that all I am, all that identifies me might be locked up within a right handed dominance and without it I am nothing. The description of the hand soon became an expressive extension of my father, who passed away recently and the discriminating discovery of what time is revealing on closer inspection.

Self-portrait #2 3/26/2020

2010-04-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

Again a pretty stratight forward approach however it was at that moment I became intrigued by the construction of my own face. The contour curvatures, the thickness of the jaw, the squareness of my face. It was also, for what ever reason, important to document date and time. It felt as if I were charting the deterioration of my mortal self.

Self Portrait #1 3/26/2010

2010-04-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Recently I have started a series of self-portraits. These works were done out of a circumstance of necessity. I have been immobilized due to a foot surgery and this left me with no alternative but to literally look into the mirror. Forced to choose one subject.

What started out as a mere drawing exercise became a lesson in the rediscovery of familiar ground. Without the need to implant some ulterior symbolic, allowed for meaning to emerge, even if all that was revealed was the wrinkles and deformities of my visage, it attempted at the removal of all romanticism and vanity.

This was the first in the series. It was straight forward in almost every aspect, even to the holding of the mirror. At this point I was not thinking series exercise, in fact I was not sure there would be a next drawing, I just needed to draw.

passing cow

2010-02-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

cow in repose

2010-02-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Green fields Blue skies

2010-02-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

Free Range,Free Anger

2010-02-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

a 1000 sword wound

speech v.1a

2010-02-24T14:06:00.001-08:00

"Pleading his case"

speech v.1

2010-02-24T14:00:00.000-08:00

"Pleading his case"

disembowelment

2010-02-06T23:13:00.000-08:00

two cows.

2010-01-31T20:37:00.000-08:00

A series on a continued preoccupation with the bovine and how we fit

into the complexities of their world.

birthing cow

2010-01-31T20:36:00.001-08:00

bellowing cow

2010-01-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

meatlover,bacon and tambourine

2010-01-31T20:32:00.000-08:00

lengua

2010-01-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

lengualith

2010-01-31T20:30:00.000-08:00

vacas without borders

2010-01-31T20:22:00.000-08:00

I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I ?

2010-01-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

A homage to two great American artists, Shepard Fairey and Paul Rubens. I am making a run of this design. If anyone is interested in acquiring a t-shirt please email me @ wipc54 @hotmail and in subject field indicated t-shirt. If I get enough request I will increase the order. I am asking 15 bucks a shirt to cover printing costs only. I am a communist and it is against the law for me to make money off my art.

One Against The Slaughter

2009-12-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

She Has Such Pouty Lips

2009-12-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

The Night Is Still Young

2009-12-17T21:22:00.001-08:00

Joe at College and Elcajon Blvd.

2009-09-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Part of an ongoing project that documents, interviews and catalogues the bustling business of street corner Human Directionals and Sign Spinners. Joe is my initial encounter on this project. The accompanying text will follow and may be embedded into the overall layout of each piece. As it stands at the moment, each "corner" piece is a work in progress. I prefer to use my Holga camera, 120 Black and white or color 400 or 100 film, for its expedience and unobtrusiveness.

2009-09-04T06:50:00.002-07:00

2009-09-04T06:50:00.001-07:00

2009-09-04T06:49:00.001-07:00

2009-09-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

2009-09-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

2009-09-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

2009-09-04T06:45:00.002-07:00

2009-09-04T06:45:00.001-07:00

2009-09-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

2009-09-04T06:43:00.001-07:00

2009-09-04T06:42:00.001-07:00

2009-09-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

2009-09-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

2009-09-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

el pollo topografico botanico

2009-08-18T19:59:00.001-07:00

Suspend

2009-08-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Surveillant

2009-08-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

ruin

2009-08-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

O-ring

2009-08-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Opening

2009-08-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

Flesh

2009-08-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

Cumulus

2009-08-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

Portrait of Kathy

2009-08-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

The Torrents

2009-07-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Golfers

2009-07-20T00:15:00.000-07:00