This Drawing is being held by Rick Parker

rick_parker_02 a photo by dumboartscenter on Flickr.

He also drew it and we sold it as part of the Monster Drawing Rally fundraiser!

Harry & Pete by Todd Bourret & Brian O'Connell Opening tonight!

The cyanotype and the light that started it all...




Brian and Jimmy the Intern race to get the job done!




Mid-process...




Brian and Todd, about to get real with the cement mixing.

Janos Stone Interview

Larisa has some questions for Janos Stone about his exhibition Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable From Magic at DAC.




DAC: You titled your work with Arthur C. Clarke’s third law, “Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable From Magic”. Do you remember your first thoughts on this law?

Janos: I read all three laws and found this one to be the most accurate and possibly profound. Nearly a year ago, I was looking for a title for this piece and not only did Clarke’s law fit, but I believe brought more depth of concept to the art (something which titles rarely actually do). When I think about, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, I remember (ironically) seeing pictures of an indigenous tribe of peoples being shown a TV. This is an old memory so it may be a bit distorted but I believe they had two responses. The first and not surprising was puzzlement in who the tiny people were in the box and how they got in there. And the second, which I think of often and have personally experienced, was an inability to actually see the images. The experience of looking at the TV was so far from their normal reality that their brains could not process the information into understandable visual information! The picture became an optical illusion of sorts.

DAC: What do you think Arthur C. Clarke means by “sufficiently”?

Janos: Probably, he meant technologies that I think of as being “Near Future”. That is, ones that may exist but only in small and usually nerdy circles and are years away from mainstream.

I use one of these Near Future technologies in my work. 3D rapid prototyping is a technology that topographically “prints” physical materials into actual objects. Currently I am designing an elaborate project, which takes advantage of RP. When I tell people that soon they will be able to go online and for example, chose a pair of sunglasses, personally change the size, texture, color and ornamentation, purchase them and watch as a RP machine on their desk manufactures the glasses, they look at me in disbelief. But this is going to happen and much of the technology already is out there and will come together in the Near Future.

DAC: You wrote: “we connect with each other in the virtual world” and that “this connectivity creates avatars, extensions of our actual world persona who act as our ambassadors inside the virtual world”. Tell us why you choose a skeleton.

Janos: I needed a body. This piece had to have a figure who could be a stand in for all humanity - but whose image can do this? Anytime a figure is involved in art, it brings with it a map with all sorts of possible conceptual routes. If it’s my body, it might be a self-portrait or about my personal experience/existence. A famous person or a historical figure would only have dug me deeper, locking the piece into a very specific meaning.

I chose a skeleton as a way of making that universal connection between us all, yet staying unspecific as to leave open many routes of travel. Needless to say, I understand that a skeleton brings with it it’s own routes but they seemed to me to be diverse and broad enough for multiple interpretation and experience.

We, who use the Internet to communicate, all have and are connected to avatars. When we connect with each other as avatars across the Actual/Virtual border, the intensities and effects of having avatars fascinates me.

In my research and experience, I have found three main types of connections. The first of which, we have when using on-line dating sites or ChatRoulette, and Skype. Interacting with these sites is like being in your home and speaking to your friend through an open window. You each exist in different spaces but can see and hear each other clearly. The Virtual World is only a thin medium to interact through.

In the second, we become a bit more blurred by the thickening digital space and the more our avatars act for us. Here the analogy is more like writing with pen on the glass of the now closed window. We can still “see” each other but must rely on written words, which are a slightly disconnected description of our actual selves. I see this happen in PayPal, email, eBay, texting etc.

The third and final, is the most digitally concealed. Here we become tethered to our avatars from a distance as they interact in the dense soup of digital space. With Facebook, Secondlife, on-line gaming, etc, we now wear masks and our window is fogged by our breath as we write on the glass.

Tara Romeo Squirrels

tara_romeo_01 a photo by dumboartscenter on Flickr.

Tara's collages were a hit of the Rally!

Drawings! Drawings! Drawings! and even a few more drawings!

Check out all of the drawings from DAC's first Monster Drawing Rally!


Pickle by Jen Liu

Thanks to all of the artists, volunteers and supporters that came out to make it a glorious Sunday event!

Advance Peek at all of the photos from the Monster Drawing Rally

Brian O'Connell and Todd Bourret* hard at work making art at the Monster Drawing Rally. Also, Jen Liu's elbow!


Many more photos to come.
*Todd and Brian have a show opening Saturday: Harry & Pete!

FULL DRAWING SCHEDULE

Here's the full schedule for tomorrow's Monster Drawing Rally. Make sure not to miss your favorite artists!

Remember to set your clocks ahead - daylight savings time begins Sunday.

2PM

Todd Bourret
Jude Broughan
Brad Darcy
Gabe Farrar
Ellis Gallagher
Malia Jensen
Jeffrey Lewis
Jen Liu
Marci MacGuffie
Brian O'Connell
Rick Parker
Liliana Perez
Michael Rex
Tara Romeo
Walter Patrick Smith

3PM

Leesa Abahuni
Nicole Abahuni
Pilar Conde
Jenelle Covino
Caroline England
Rachel Foullon
James Gulliver Hancock
Gary Leib
Brian Leo
James Leonard
Matt Magee
Rachel Mason
Tom Motley
Annie Shaw
Hedi Sorger
Molly Stevens
Tania Torres-Sanchez

4PM

Amina Ahmed
Lauren Barnett
Susan Bee
Anthony Bianco
Rodney Dickson
Tim Dowse
Mimi Gross
Cathrin Hoskinson
Chris Leib
Lia Lowenthal
Rebekah Maysles
Adriano Moraes
Bill Roundy
Cynthia Ruse
Satyakam Saha
Sam Seawright
Sam Thurman
Gabriela Vainsencher
Jack Walsh
Michael Wilson

5PM

Katelyn Altgilbers
Sarah Bostwick
Scott Calhoun
Barb Choit
Amanda Friedman
Emily Friend Roberts
Jean-Francois Hebert
Tina Hejtmanek
Patrick Keesey
L. Brandon Krall
Jillian Maslow
Meridith Pingree
Karin Schaefer
Jen Schwarting
R Sikoryak
Matt Stolle
Boris Torres
Phil Vanderhyden
Kai Vierstra
JP Villegas
Karla Wozniak

More details about the Monster Drawing Rally!

A live drawing event to benefit DAC!

All drawings $50.
All proceeds from this event go to support DAC's programming and operations.

Sunday, March 13, 2011, 2-7PM
Kids' drawing station from 2-5PM

$10 / person
$20/ family (up to 2 adults and 2 children)

Fulfilling DAC’s mission “to catalyze interaction between visual artists, the local community and the wider public,” the Monster Drawing Rally is a unique event that invites members of the public to witness what is usually a private creative process.

Audience members will watch as 20-30 artists at a time create work in-person and on the spot. Using materials supplied by DAC, each group of artists will work for one hour, in shifts starting at 2, 3, 4, and 5. A wide range of drawing styles and working methods will be on display.

The event fosters a sense of community and camaraderie among the participating artists as they get an inside look at the creative methods of their fellows. For the seasoned art patron, the Drawing Rally provides a fresh look at favorite artists and a chance to discover new talents. While the entire mystery of art making and inspiration will never be fully understood, this event reveals the work, inspirations and magic that go into art. For the audience as a whole, the Monster Drawing Rally will be both an exciting spectacle and a rare opportunity to bring home original artworks at an affordable price.

All drawings created in the Rally will be hung as finished and may be purchased as soon as they are completed. All work will be for sale at the same low price of $50, in the spirit of accessibility and equality that is integral to DAC.

Kids can get involved from 2-5PM at our children’s drawing station. Drawing Rally artists will be on hand to offer guidance and all materials will be provided by DAC.

The event concept, Monster Drawing Rally, was originally developed by Southern Exposure in San Francisco. Support for this event provided by Talas, The L Magazine, IZZE Sparkling Juice, and Sixpoint brewery.

Monster Drawing Rally! Artists!

Wow, look at all these great artists helping out DAC and sharing their process with the public at our Monster Drawing Rally*:

Leesa Abahuni, Nicole Abahuni, Katelyn Altgilbers, Lauren Barnett, Susan Bee, Gianluca Bianchino, Anthony Bianco, Sarah Bostwick, Todd Bourret, Jude Broughan, Scott Calhoun, Barb Choit, Pilar Conde, Jenelle Covino, Brad Darcy, Rodney Dickson, Caroline England, Gabe Farrar, Rachel Foullon, Amanda Friedman, Emily Friend Roberts, Ellis Gallagher, Abby Goodman, Mimi Gross, James Gulliver Hancock, Tina Hejtmanek, Cathrin Hoskinson, Malia Jensen, Patrick Keesey, L. Brandon Krall, Gary Leib, Brian Leo, James Leonard, Jeffrey Lewis, Jen Liu, Lia Lowenthal, Marci MacGuffie, Matt Magee, Jillian Maslow, Rachel Mason, Rebekah Maysles, Adriano Moraes, Tom Motley, Brian O'Connell, Liliana Perez, Meridith Pingree, Michael Rex, Tara Romeo, Bill Roundy, Cynthia Ruse, Satyakam Saha, Karin Schaefer, Jen Schwarting, Sam Seawright, Annie Shaw, R. Sikoryak, Walter Patrick Smith, Hedi Sorger, John Paul Spencer, Molly Stevens, Matt Stolle, Sam Thurman, Boris Torres, Tania Torres-Sanchez, Gabriela Vainsencher, Phil Vanderhyden, Kai Vierstra, JP Villegas, Jack Walsh, Michael Wilson, Karla Wozniak, and more!

*Thanks Southern Exposure in San Francisco for developing and sharing the Monster Drawing Rally concept!

Gary Cannone Interview about taking clothes off of superheroes!

Larisa asks Gary Cannone about disrobing superheroes. Gary answers.



DAC: Why did you choose "undressing" as the action?

Gary Cannone: A superhero's costume is a simple way of separating a superhero from a non-superhero in a public space (a supervillain's functions the same way). As such the costume seems to help the superhero hold a certain amount of power without the need to demo his or her skills.Maybe this is so obvious that it need not be mentioned but the costumes themselves are fetishistic. Though I have never been a big consumer of superhero-related culture I have noticed that there seems to be a lot of narratives about unmasking heroes and finding out their true/secret identity. I have always found these narratives to have a subtext that is sexual and sometimes rooted in pleasure of humiliation (denuding). My piece uses a general list of characters from the fictional superhero universe that includes not only superheros but super villains (e.g. The Joker), secret identities (e.g. Bruce Wayne), and hangers on (e.g. Lois Lane). Each of these categories has a hierarchical relationship to the group as a whole and some of the participants are not costume wearers (secret identities, hangers on). Every permutation of x undressing y is listed formulaically in a grid. So you have examples like Batman undressing the Joker, Lois Lane undressing Wonder Woman, Bruce Wayne undressing Spider Man, etc... which combine to create a matrix of various imagined hierarchical-sexual scenarios/relationships. So to get back to your original question, "undressing" was used because it put a lot of these things into action, while the gridding weirdly ritualizes or detaches it somewhat for me.