monsters

My Weepies-inspired monster collage.

varying degrees of me

Okay so I fibbed. One of my fusion subjects was found on Facebook, not Google Image. I just had to use this picture of my rez-mate because we fit so perfectly together. Even our glasses match up. Do we have the same nose?

Yoan

25% me

35% me

45% me

55% me

65% me

75% me

85% me

me

I just had to write down this conversation before I forgot

I got a drunken phone call today from Trent Argyle. He told me that he had an intellectual intervention. I'm not sure what that means but it apparently involved my "mind-blowing" blog. Said mind-blowingness inspired him artistically and evoked images of pigeons duct taped to [ARTISTIC IDEAS CENSORED FOR ANTICIPATED COPYRIGHT PURPOSES]. He was so intimidated (his word, not mine) that he had to stay away from my blog lest it haunt his emotions. I personally don't see what's so intimidating about figures made of computer keys but I will show you something I made for a collage class that I find slightly haunting. 

Let's acknowledge first that the instructor had a very broad notion of "collage." Also, he loved this piece, though he hated my others. The piece was this: 9 photoshopped images, overlapping my own face with pictures of people found on Google Image, printed and displayed side by side on the wall as a collection of portraits. Each image contains two different faces: mine and my other. Though both individuals are clearly seen within a single image, there is a new, third entity - the fusion of the parts. The mechanics of this fusion are instantly transparent to the viewer. And finally, all 9 images viewed together can be seen as my integration into a community of faces. I am you, you are me, we are all each other. Trent, are you still conscious? Here are 5 of them.

future shoes

There were crocs, and then there was this. These shoes are a collaboration between a Brazilian plastic shoe designer and a female British-Iraqi architect. I recommend watching their futuristic promo video.

Melissa + Zaha Adid

I might add that the shoes bear striking resemblance to Adid's design for the Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre. The latter makes a little more sense to me: I think I'd rather explore it than wear it.

this is a shoe

These shoes are from fashion hero Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 Collection.

lamp chair

I saw the Cut/Paste exhibit at the ROM on Friday. It featured various objects designed from unexpected materials. My favorite was the lamp chair which looked like this except without the pattern, and there was a pully chain for turning it on and off. I couldn't find an online image of the exact chair but googling "lamp chair" and "light chair" led to some interesting results. I don't even know where to begin, so here's Elephant Chair with Lamp by Alexander Calder from the MoMA collection.

love letter to a tree, fragmented by design

Hello, tree chair, I think I love you. Yes, I do want to be reminded that I am sitting on a tree when I am, and you achieve that so perfectly. Your spindly unkempt legs reminding me of the very essence of your being. Let's live harmoniously together in my kitchen. Won't you be mine?

I am slightly less impressed by the designer's skills of construction after discovering that the bases of these objects were made from found chair and table parts, not made specially for the objects. The parts being "salvaged" are nevertheless in keeping with the simple yet excellent concept, however impractical it may be for a table to have that many legs.
 

Canadian Artist/designer is Ryan Legassicke and I found this on the MADE Design online gallery.

P.S. Toronto International Design Festival is on now (Jan 19-24).

pinata

Didn't expect to see myself in a photography exhibit but...

Me in "Pinata" by Lovisa Ringborg

Sun Contemporary Gallery, Seoul, 2009

sweaty farmer

I really enjoy the chicken-like figure flying headfirst into the clouds, the Mexican style hat, and the flower coming out of the airplane. Also how the 00 in 2008 was merely an afterthought. Kids are so original.

By Alyssa, age 6

Trent Parke

I keep getting Facebook messages about art exhibitions in Daegu. If only I had known before I moved to Busan... Anyways, Daegu now has an exhibition from Magnum Photos, a photographic cooperative. I hadn't heard of them before but they were co-founded by Henri Cartier-Bresson so they must be important. Browsing the website, my favourite of their photographers is Trent Parke, whose best work comes under a category something like surrealist street photography. I won't post the one with the skull looking out from the car window lest it haunt your dreams, but let's try these...

kids' city drawings

Some pretty complex drawings...

By Martin, age 6

By Martin, age 6

By Tory, age 6

from an equally complicated city.

View from Busan Tower

Dongnae-gu, Busan

Oncheonjeondong, Busan

double nature: fishes

The Fishes

double nature

After extensive googling today, I discovered that an art exhibit I saw in Bangkok last summer was actually a father/son show by Dansoueng and Dol Sangvoravechapan. The program being in Thai, I just assumed that the work was done by an adult in an intentionally juvenile style. Apparently, children have their place in galleries too.

Ant Kingdom

Noah's Ark

Double Nature, Jamjuree Gallery

dinosaurs

In Korea, I noticed that 5 year old boys only draw dinosaurs and vehicles, whereas girls tend to draw people and flowers. For the most part, the boys drawings were far more interesting, so I'm finally putting some online. Apparently professional artists are using the same style. Rawr!

By Dino

By Tory

By Lee Hae Eun

(2009 Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival, Seoul)

Maddin... ing!

Several years ago, some high school film geeks with whom I not-so-accidentally fell into acquaintance made a short indie thing they decided to title "Blame Guy Maddin." The story goes that the original name was to be "Misinterpreted Art Film." Funnily enough, that is exactly what it became, as it claims to be a neo-Maddin but as it turns out, no one involved in its making had ever actually seen Maddin's work. Not that it isn't a good watch. It is. I enjoyed it.

Anyways, thinking my filmsnobby friend had been inspired by the arguable genius of the acclaimed alternative Canadian filmmaker, I invited the former to a special live screening of Maddin's My Winnipeg. The "docu-fantasia," was all the more personal hearing Maddin narrate it live on stage. Yaaaay Guy Maddin!! *throws flowers onto the stage* I really enjoyed what Maddin said about filmmaking helping him escape Winnipeg. He said that by making the film, his obsessions of Winnipeg became just a series of shots that he had to produce, it became work, and it became boring. I wonder if this could be at the heart of therapy: work the issue to death until you become sick of it and can't even bare to consider it anymore.

no pants

It seems last Sunday, Improv in Toronto had a "no pants" day on the ttc. I was unaware of this, not that I would have joined in, but I imagine it would have been a great photo op. This has really got me wondering what has gotten in to Toronto, what with the zombie walks, the pirate-themed streetcar parties, and now this.

rock sculpture

Yes, that is a sculpture made of rock actually depicting a rock turning into a stereo system.

Jeju Island Artpark

random

Jeju Island Artpark

I tend to believe that when creating, we should ask "why". Why am I doing it this way and not some other way? But when we're really bored, it may be sufficient to ask "why not". For lack of direction, why not create something rather than nothing. Though we look for intentions and make explanations, I sometimes think nature takes the same strategy.

Jeju Island, Hallim Park

Ten Sundays

I'm not sure if this web series is actually worth watching for those with employment or generally other things to do, but it did provide about an hour of amusement for me. To be honest, the trailer is better than the series itself, probably because it's set to music. However, I do enjoy the pseudo-intellectual ramblings of the character Jesse, an unemployed English grad. Here's the trailer.

tensundays.tv | official website for web series ten sundays

luhvffiti

Me in Jangjeondong