A Layman's Lame Attempt on Art Appreciation
November 27, 2016
So, the plan was to make this day art appreciation day. Hi-Fructose Magazine has been running a ten-year anniversary show near our home since May 2016 and it will end December 2016. I always wanted to see it. I almost could not believe it was showing nearby. I have been reading Juxtapoz magazine since I first arrived in the States in 2002. And I have been reading Hi-Fructose since it first came out in 2005. What I mean by reading is going to Barnes and Noble after dinner on weekends and picking up the magazines and reading them in the store. Don't hate. I make sure I put them back where I got 'em. And every once in a while, I actually do buy copies. I call it going to the Barnes and Noble Library.
So, I packed the family in the car and out of the blue I decided to have the oil changed before going to the museum because I'm funny like that. So, we did. After the oil change, we jumped on the interstate. Then the car suddenly started spewing out a steady stream of solid white smoke like those Red Bull stunt planes on tv. We circled back to Jiffylube. They looked at it and, apparently, they put too much oil in it. They took some oil off and back to the interstate we went.
We arrived at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Arts hungry because we spent too much time at Jiffylube. The museum will be closing in an hour so we put off eating for later.
Mars Molecule
This butt reminds me of lotus seed pods.
Brian Dettmer - those are old book pages meticulously cut out with an X-Acto knife.
Mark Ryden - the artist who started the pop surrealism movement, Mark Ryden. He did that Red Hot Chili Peppers album cover One Hot Minute, I believe.
"Blood of Christ". Nice.
Kazuki Takamatsu - I love how he uses his computer and paint + Japanese pop art. Check out those bulges of paint. You definitely do not see that from looking at it in a magazine.
Kris Kuksi - I used to collect action figures. I stopped because it's an expensive hobby and some days I couldn't even afford gas for my car. I was blown away by this one. Made with arts and crafts figures. Fucking awesome.
Shepard Fairey- I first knew about Shepard Fairey while watching a Scratch documentary DVD. Shepard was making a mural while a live dj set was going on. He said something about how he started late in street art and that he couldn't draw like the graffiti artists did, so he stenciled, cut and pasted. Like, with wheat paste. Which sounded yummy. What he said was one of my inspirations to start writing music and essays this late in my life. I suck at it.
Barnaby Barford- Check out the ceramic textured fox.
Look at those blank eyes. 'so dark. I love it.
Jeremy Geddes- Jaw-dropping, man. I so dig the floating characters and the realism.
Again, real life details. 'sick.
This is so me, bro. Biting off the wrong limb thinking I'm hooking myself up.
Beth Cavener'damn those long sleek swirls. Awesome.
That's rolled paper.
Laser-cut stainless steel concrete truck. I'm a truck driver. So, I dig.
Marco Mazzoni- Dude. Colored pencils. Dude. On a notebook. Dude.
While browsing, I couldn't help but think how my artsy buddies would've liked seeing this. And how their art could have easily blended in with all this:
See what I did there? I segued from a telling a story that taught you that too much oil in a car causes it to spew plumes of white smoke, from a lame attempt on art appreciation to showcasing my friends' art. Because, there's no way (unless I win the lottery) that I can sponsor an art show for them. So, I'm blogging about them instead. Because it's the thought that counts and that's what friends are for.
Me and my better half.
