The guys

I got this pic from Max and my brother at a football game in Berkeley last night. It makes the Bay Area look like Iceland.

Perhaps only at an art school?

While hanging out with my friends at the school cafe this week, Michael walked in, and we all asked him about his coffee cup. Not in that oh my god. look at your coffee cup sort of way, and not in the hey, what's with the mondo sculpture possibly blocking your options of drinking the coffee way. It was simply, "what's on your cup?"

I firmly believe that art school has the ability to ingrain in our minds what Joseph Beuys (a personal hero of mine) tried so hard to instill in the minds of others, the idea of Social Sculpture:

Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking and structures that shape and condition our lives.

Burn down the mission

A car on fire. I saw this on Mission Street today, when I was going down into the subway.

Apple Butter

Today we ventured to Oakland in the afternoon, for some delicious apple butter. Temescal Amity Works held an event which included some free apple butter, persimmons and a drawing show (Which included one of my drawings).

This project is the creation of my thesis advisor Ted Purves, and his lovely wife Susanne Cockrell.

The Temescal Amity Works is a community art project that facilitates and documents the exchange of backyard produce, conversation, and collective biography within the Temescal Neighborhood. It s created by Susanne Cockrell and Ted Purves in collaboration with the Temescal Merchants Association.

Over the next year, we are maintaining a storefront just off Telegraph Avenue and a community crop sharing program called The Big Backyard. We are also planning the production of neighborhood talks, gatherings and an ongoing series of printed materials-including profiles of neighbors, free postcards, and a community map. These publications will be available in local businesses throughout the year, as well as at our storefront.

It was a beautiful day out today. The sun was shining and the rain seems to have left us for a while. The air was crisp and clear, and I had that fuzzy feeling I get when Fall is on it's way. We were given a jar of apple butter to take home, which I'm sure will not last the week in this house. I also caught these great snaps of kids playing under the hammock in the drawings room.

Wrist Corsage

From Max. He got this from a 7 year old who makes them and sells them on the subway.

Big Ears

We recently had our friend Andrew visiting from London. While he was here, Max bought these plastic vulcan ears. They are far too small for adult ears, but this did not stop the guys...

Professor Raffaella

I had not seen my friend Raffaella in over a year when we met up this weekend. I am always amazed that there are certain people in my life, like her, who I can pick up with immediately - as if no time has passed. It was so nice. We chatted the way we always used to. And we laughed a lot. It was just wonderful.

It's also nice to see that she is in such a good place. Her home is beautiful, her office is gorgeous (she decorated this with the help of her parents painting walls), her coworkers/friends are very nice and she is dating a really cool man.

Her work ethic has changed dramatically, and she really seems to be enjoying life. Everytime I looked over at her, she had a smile on her face. These are precious moments.

I heart California

Last week it was so warm I was practically sleeping naked, and today it was so cold and rainy I considered missing class to stay in bed. Visiting LA this weekend was somewhat hectic but adventurous. It was a large group of people to coordinate and we ventured into so many galleries and museums, I was almost sick of art by the end! I didn't think this was possible. By far the best show was the California Biennial, but more on this in another post.

Michael


Matt


Tour Bus


Crazy man singing at the hostel

Today I should have stayed away from all things technological. I got caught in the rainstorm walking from the subway in Oakland to my class, and my cell phone got drenched in the pocket of my raincoat, which I now know ISNT RAINPROOF. It didn't work for most of the day, but after having it in front of a fan all day in separate parts it seems to be dialing out. Max thinks it will work just fine in a few days when its 100% dry.

The laptop heated up on my desk to the point that I actually singed my fingers on the bottom.

And then I just plain forgot the iPod at home. (I am putting this in the defunct technology category by default because I would never admit I was just absent minded when I left the house)

One might say I'm a little on the grumpy side. I'm feeling the stress of grad school much more this semester, and there are endless appointments and projects to be conducted. I want to do an excellent job at everything, but there are only so many hours in the day. Luckily for me I was welcomed home tonight by a bowl of chicken noodle soup and dumplings. Mmmmm.... dumplings.

Greetings from LA!

I have been in Los Angeles with 74 other CCA affiliates the last few days. I have seen more art than my brain can probably handle, and I definitely forgot about the huge divide that exists within SoCal and NoCal culture. I am definitely not hip.

Places visited include the MOCA, the Gehry building, REDCAT, the Geffen, Ace Gallery (both locations), Foxx Gallery, the Gotham club, the Hammer Museum, Blum & Poe, The Project Room, Lizabeth Olivera, the Museum of Jurassic Technology and the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Shlepping on a bus for 2 days straight can certainly drain the life right out of you.

I split off from the group last night to see my friend Raffaella, who is now teaching at UCLA. She lives in a gorgeous little place in Santa Monica, and we had a wonderful time catching up -- sitting cuddled up on the couch drinking tea and chatting.

Today we are driving to newport Beach to see the California Biennial at the 'OC' Museum of Art. My friend Libby has work in the show, and I'm very excited about seeing the paper Gucci golf clubs.

So, greetings from the city of angels, and more on this trip later. I leave you with a work by Tara Donovan -- the new 'it girl' of sculpture (in my opinion).

It Can Change

Just got word from John that Keeping On is now available online. Check out this awesome project!

Keeping On
What are you making where you are for where you are?
We are interested in tracking a network of people, ideas, and projects addressing what it means to live creatively at this moment. What is local invention and creation? How do notions of community and localism enter into your practice? Where does artful thinking lead us in everyday encounters? What does the surplus of this lifestyle become, and how does that surplus travel in the world?

Keeping On was organized by Ted Purves, Shane Aslan-Selzer, and It Can Change in conjunction with the SuperAmerica symposium held at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, CA on June 20, 2004. At that time a call for entries which contained the preceding questions was circulated via the Internet. The submissions we received are collected in a PDF document, available for free download and distribution.

Jammin' Jeffrey

I seem to know all these gorgeous children right now in my life!!

Here's the latest picture of my friend Julie's son Jeffrey. They just bought him his first guitar. As the mama says, "At his 18 month Dr.s appt. we were told that he is well proportioned, but his weight isn't even on the growth charts (his height is, however). We need to fatten him up. So we are adding butter to his rice and mixing half and half with his soy milk. He's teething again (his canines this time), so he hasn't been eating much these last few days. But he has been drinking that rich milk.

--> Lucky Jeffrey

He turns on the radio and dances in the morning.

Gorgeous little girl

One of my professors just had a gorgeous baby girl. She is just 3 days old, but she looks completely alert and alive. When I saw these pics, I almost felt my breath taken away. Her photos make me feel happy.

Art Car

On my journey to the DMV a few weeks ago, I came across this car. The photos don't do it justice - it really was unreal!

Travellin'

Day trip to Napa with our friend Andrew.
Good wine tasting.
Good chocolate.
Good weather.
Designated driver.
My Roy Orbison look.

Busy Bee

School is very busy. Much busier than I remember last year. And blogging something of substance this week was almost impossible. AA Bronson lectured, and did a studio visit with me for Glen Helfand's Cross-Disciplinary seminar. And just when I feel like the week is slowing down, I suddenly remember that there is German class every Saturday morning until 1.15pm.

Our old friend Andrew arrives today from London for a 1 week visit. And this is very exciting. We are taking him to Napa for the day and will hopefully drink lots of wine and eat some cheese.

Max also got a new cell phone with a camera, and this is one of the first pics he took.