SAIC Spring Art Sale!

Will you be in Chicago this weekend? Yes? That's fabulous news! Why, you ask? Well, because this Friday and Saturday, SAIC's MacLean Center Ballroom will host the amazing tenth annual Spring Art Sale! Yip!

The general public (y'all) is invited to purchase art made by SAIC students.

Here are some reasons why you should be there:

-My friend Leslie Ward and I designed all of the branding (I hand lettered and illustrated, she worked her InDesign magic)

-My mom and dad are going to be there and they're two of my favorite people in the Milky Way–you should meet them

-My friend Tiana and I are sharing a table (center booth, second floor) selling one-of-a-kind dolls, busts, doll heads and prints

-It's very likely that you need to expand your art collection

Skip on down and bring your pals:

Friday, April 9

11a-7p

Saturday, April 10

10a-5p

MacLean Center Ballroom

112 S Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL

60603

That's Weird, Grandma

I've always admired comedians who have the ability to make errybody laugh. Like, errybody. That's like, everyone from your Pep-pep and your Mee-maw to your six-year-old cousin to your teenage brother who's going through his asshole phase. These performers and their shows can be difficult to find, but this Sunday, I found one. Yip!

That's Weird, Grandma is one of those fabulous, family-appropriate shows that can easily get all up inside yo' body and tickle all up on yo' funny bone. Every Sunday afternoon at 2 and every Monday night at 8, a gaggle of talented actors presents a show consisting of a handful of plays adapted from works written by students in the Chicago Public School system.

You should go.

Also, if you're interested in kids' writing, check out the wonderful blog for 826 Chicago, A Wig if You Want It!

A True History of the Johnstown Flood

I'd never been to The Goodman Theatre, so when my pal Jeni offered me a free ticket to A True History of the Johnstown Flood (written by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls), I snizzatched it up real quick and spent a whole week looking forward to a rare night on the town with a groovy friend and some high qual-i-tay theatre, bereft of the looming presence of the I'm-a-college-student-I-shouldn't-buy-anything-besides-school-supplies-and-food guilt.

I knew very little about the show or Ms. Gilman's work beforehand, so even though I had no basis upon which to cultivate a judgement, I was amazed at the bizarreness of the first act. The story of three siblings carrying on the name of their family's once great theater troupe, traveling the country with their out-of-date repertoire of plays written by their father was spliced with their performances of the antiquated vignettes and even though the actors were all great, the most apparent characteristic of the overall show for me was the inconsistency in tone. The plays within the play were really dull and filled with racial slurs and stereotypes that I felt sort of uncomfortable laughing about. Even though I could acknowledge that they were to have been written about the 1860s, they were offensive, but not in a way that was original enough to be funny or entertaining. The slapstick, over-the-top approach to the plays was jarring and obnoxious in comparison to the dark, serious tone of the rest of the piece. I think the concept of the show within a show is an interesting one, but Gilman's poor execution was disappointing and awkward. That being said, I did enjoy seeing the characters evolve as the show progressed. Seeing each person change and grow as they were forced to adapt to the sudden onslaught of devastation caused by the bursting of the South Fort Dam was really interesting.

Although I found something to appreciate in each set and costume, the most moving technical demonstration of the show occurred towards the end of the first act when the dam burst. The lights went black as the sound of an entire town being destroyed by millions of gallons of water filled the theater. People called out to their families, train cars were ripped from their tracks, iron infrastructures were bent and trees were unearthed. The absolutely terrifying mix of sounds continued on for what felt like ages. The experience of sitting in the dark with the cacophony of death and destruction overwhelming every possible bit of space in the theater was one of the few moments in my life where I felt completely moved by an audio effect. The award-winning Richard Woodbury designed the sound for the show. 'Twas brilliant, RW.

Comics Symposium of Chicago

Even though SAIC doesn't have a comics department, there is a huge comics community here. As I think the School is the epicenter of the Chicago art community, it makes sense that that nucleus would cover the Chicago comics world to a certain degree as well. This was made especially apparent at the first ever Comics Symposium of Chicago. Two fabulous SAIC students, Sara Drake and Ingrid Olson organized the event which featured comics artists with varying degrees of experience under their belts, talking about making comics in ze Vindy Shitty. Professors and alumni in addition to a few folks who don't fit under said categories made up panels whose discussions were guided by moderators, who were also comics peeps. There were four events, each covering a specific topic. I was lucky to have been in attendance of the first discussion, Getting Out: Distribution and Self Publication, which featured the following funkinators:

Moderator:

Jeremy Tinder

Panelists:

Ian McDuffie

Joey Jacks

Sarah Becan
Anders Nilsen

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the other discussions, but one of my faves, Miss Beth Hetland did a great job of summarizing her involvement with the CCS with her rad diary comics. Check them out at her fabulous website!

Tati=Perfection

   It seems I've identified my newest BFF, a certain Jacques Tati.  My friend Tiana recently told me about him and mentioned that the Gene Siskel Film Center was hosting a series of his films and that we should go see the 1958 gem, Mon Oncle.  So after arming ourselves with chocolates in our pockets, we made our way to the GSFC on Wednesday for the 6:00 showing.

   Unfortunately, I was seated next to a rather large man who was not only spilling over into my seat, but had stolen the arm rest and was coughing and making a stream of snort-y sounds throughout the whole film.  If he'd been a stank-stank stinker, I'd have willed myself to move to a different seat, but even though he was mighty distracting, I wasn't willing to give up my prime center seat in the second level for a poopy cougher.  

   Despite my inability to ignore my neighbor, I was completely enchanted by the film.  It was simply marvelous.  My friend Jeni often wishes aloud that she lived in the giant Richard Scarry's Busy Town book my family owns (it's a three feet tall, chipboard masterpiece), and I think this may have been the closest thing to a movie version of that possibility.  Dozens of bizarre gadgets were invented for the film and the sets and costumes are fabulous.  The illustration of both a traditional fifties French aesthetic paired with a strange modern sensibility is what makes this film completely beautiful.  And the comedy is simply and seemingly effortless.  Like Chaplin's work, it exudes that level of subtle brilliance with which so few are blessed and able to communicate.  I won't give a description of the plot, because I went in knowing nothing, and it made the experience that much better.  Just know that if you decide to watch this film, you are in for a highly nuanced treat filled with countless instances of consideration and love.  That's what his work seems to be about–his love for the imagination and the art of storytelling.

   Get acquainted with Tati, you'll be a happier, more inspired person.

Poetry/Myopic/Sultan's

   This Saturday, I attended my first poetry reading with two poetry-minded, SAIC Writing Program pals, Caitlin and Jeni.  Since Caitlin's thesis is going to focus on the architecture of Berlin, her professor recommended that she go to this particular reading, a kind of release party for the latest issue of The Chicago Review ("55:1"), which contains work by poets from Berlin.  Two of the featured German poets were there and read from the publication in addition to a few other sources.  The reading was hosted by bookstore/cat sanctuary (okay, they only have one kit-cat, I just like the idea of a cat sanctuary), Myopic and it was as stereotypical as can be.  The sound was no good, the chairs were mismatched and uncomfortable, one of the readers' reading style was similar to William Shatner's speaking style and nearly everyone in attendance was wearing an article of black clothing.  That being said, I enjoyed the two German poets' work and the general atmosphere was nice–everyone was supportive and encouraging and the bookstore is very cozy but happenin' sort of place.  

   After the reading, we went to Sultan's Market for falafel sandwiches, one of the best inventions since the Q-Tip.  Although I must admit I prefer Oasis' ware, Sultan's Market makes a mean pocket o' love, and we ate quickly and happily while being lulled into an almost meditative state by the restaurant's music selection (one of our faves took us back to '96: The Fugee's Killing Me Softly).

More Clamshell Project Pictures!

Clamshell Boxes!

   My family has experienced a great deal of death over the past five years and as a result, I think about my loved ones a lot.  Finding ways to acknowledge how much I care for them has become very important to me and as an artist, a really natural way for me to do that is to make art about everything that is important to me about them.  That being said, when it came time to decide what to make for my final projects for my Artist's Books and Drawing Materials and Techniques classes, I chose, without hesitation to make a series of drawings based on family photos.  These drawings would be reproduced in sets of five and distributed among five clamshell boxes.  I'd then give each of my family members their own clamshell and set of drawings.  

   

   I'm really pleased with how the project turned out for a variety of reasons:

1. I feel pretty good about my clamshell-makin' skillz 

2. I've been able to focus on doing some highly-technical drawing and gain confidence in my drafting abilities

3. I've been able to analyze and understand my drawing process and experiment with several new techniques with the help of my drawing professor, Richard Deutsch

4. Each making session doubled as a kind of therapy session. In creating these tangible objects, I feel I've gained a greater understanding of intangible things like the feelings I have about my family and all of the death we've experienced

   

   I'm going to continue making these drawings and sending reproductions to my family and in the process, I'd also like to learn a bit about making quality reproductions- something I currently know nothing about.  Richard said his friend, SAIC legend, and my former professor, Peggy MacNamara employs some really impressive reproduction techniques, so I might be shooting her an e-mail sometime soon.  I'm considering taking a print class at some point while I'm at school in order to learn how to make multiples of my drawings.  Having a great deal of control and being able to use an extremely fine line is really important to me so if you, lovely reader, can think of a printmaking process that you think I'd like, lemme know.

  

   I hope everyone's holiday celebrations are going along swimmingly.

   

Pop-Up Gallery!

 Ain't got no time to find a hip, hop, happenin' gallery?  Just skip on over to Monroe and State, walk halfa block towards Wabash, and you'll find yourself face-to-face with the Pop-Up Gallery.*  Having had my eye on these window displays of mostly sculptural work in ye olde Carson Pirie Scott building over the course of the past week or so, it seems the work has been rotated pretty frequently, but overall, everything that has been shown in the little exhibition is very playful.  With the cavernous room behind the gallery being worked on, the show feels very fleeting, as the name of the gallery suggests.  As the killer, pointy gold ornaments dangle and swing ominously over the unsuspecting doormen across the street at the Palmer House, brightly-colored figurines and fanciful sculptures warm the cold windows of the CPSb, and subsequently, the ice-licked Chicago streets.  

It's nice to see that the space is being used for something nice 'n' cheery.  I extend proper respect to the organizers of this tasty treat.

*I'm not sure if this is a traveling show, a simultaneously-occurring, multi-locational thang or a one time blip on the art world radar.

12-21-09 Update:

So when I walked by the gallery today, I saw the website printed on the window.  Apparently this is a project by the Chicago Loop Alliance and it is multi-locational.  

:(

   I'm incredibly disappointed.

   

   I've been looking forward to seeing the SAIC Advanced Fibers group show, Ano Viejo, all semester, but alas, last night during the the opening reception, I was in the Artist's Books studio, chipping away at the big assed block that is my final project and was unable to attend.  I wanted to go support two of my loveliest friends, Alex "Ziggy" Miller and Alex Zak, as they'd been working all semester to create epic-sounding pieces.  Ziggy made artifacts (and means of which displaying them) from a fictional archeological dig and A. Zak created an installation  consisting of a hand-crafted log cabin and several looped video pieces.  

   

   I'm so proud of both of them and am so annoyed that I couldn't get to the Tom Robinson Gallery to check thangs out.   As my brother Aaron sometimes says audibly, "sigh." 

    

   You're in my thoughts, fellas, for  you've each accomplished a feat of badassery and I'm more than proud of and inspired by you.

Jarry and Jerry

  About two months ago, my friend Brandon Kosters* called me to tell me that a quickly-written show proposal he'd submitted to the Gorilla Tango Theatre had been selected as part of an experimental performance series.  For the past eight weeks, Brandon has been busy writing a script and the music for his puppet rock opera inspired by the work of Alfred Jarry.  His friend, Scott Nadeau and I have both contributed things to the script and a lovely assortment of builders, musicians and performers have worked hard to realize this hour-long production.  

Towards the Sun! will run for two nights only at the Gorilla Tango Theatre:

Monday, December 7th at 9:30 p.m

Monday, December 14th at 9:30 p.m.   

You can buy tickets for $10 here.

I am warning you now: this show isn't for everybody.  When Brandon was writing the script, he told us he was replacing every use of "shit" with "cunt" because "'shit' isn't shocking anymore."  If you decide to come, do not bring baybays, itty, bitty boo-boos, or other chitlins, this ain't appropriate for 'em.

*   I met B to the K, K in Blair Thomas' Puppetry and Performance class last fall.  Over the course of this year, we've talked about working together on various projects, but all this talk 'tain't never amounted to anything, until this past August when Brandon called my ass on the telephone, explaining that he'd written to the producers of the Jerry Springer Show with some cray-cray idea for a show and that they'd bitten and wanted to get in contact with him and the other people involved in his "real life" scenario so they could put 'em on the show.  Brandon then told me what he had in mind.  He would play a student that worked at his college paper by day and become a super hero at night.  I would play his girlfriend, a nice young lady on whom he's cheating with not only my adopted Chinese sister, but also a colorful array of amateur superheroes.  We'd go on the show so that Brandon could come clean with me about his psychosexual issues.  For several weeks, the JSS production staff strung BK along, gathering his cohorts' contact information and talking to the dudes cast as Brandon's various lovers.  Eventually, Brandon got a call from one of these fair fellows who told BK that he thought he might've fucked up.  When a JSS producer called this fellow up, he'd gotten a tad carried away with his story and ended up telling them about his cavorting with masochistic little people.

   

   The producers didn't call Brandon after that.

   Even though we never got to go (and I'm kind of glad we didn't- it would have been cray-cray), I'm not sure that anyone could flatter me more than Brandon did by having so much faith in my acting ability that he thought I could go on the JSS.  Plus, I can tell this story for the rest of m' days, which is pretty much all I need to be happy.

 

GG and B&B

  After the glorious Groening|Barry talk, I went to another Chicago Humanities Festival event: the Guerrilla Girls talk.  As you might imagine, 'twas glorious.  Them ladies is a buncha powahouses.  Here's the response comic I made after the talk.

   In other news:

   Two weeks ago, a gaggle of us went to see my friend Jeni's work in the Self Portraits show at the  barbara&barbara gallery featuring:

• Shawn Roberts
  
• Marie Lafranque 
• Clare Rosean
• Anthony Adcock
• Casilda Sanchez
• Kara Wabbel
• Jeni Crone
• Celia Rose Marks
• Julie Haw
• Vanya Schroeder
• Michelle Mashon
• Ray Arroyo
• Shaina Hoffman
• Sierra Berquist
• Eric Bessel

I couldn't locate websites for everyone, sowwy.

   I really liked most of the work and was really impressed by the good chunk of technically-focused paintings and drawings that made up the show.  I rarely see really proficient oil paintings at hip, happenin' art shows these days, so seeing oils at the show that I confused for photographs was really satisfying.  Aside from the great drawings and paintings, there was a pretty nice array of other media represented including fibers, photography and collage.  Even though the work was so diverse, its physical arrangement was really successful, which made the show flow really well.  I think b&b did a nice job of making the whole presentation really harmonious.  

   Even though I'm more of a audiobook-listenin', movie-watchin' homebody who prefers small dinner 'n' board game parties to loud-assed jamborees, I enjoyed the DJ's set.  I was yelling the whole time I was conversin' with my friend Ziggyface, but a bowl of Warheads distracted us from feeling frustrated in any way.   

   The barbara&barbara gallery is a teeny, tiny little space but it's got a mighty 'tude.  It's cozy, has a backyard and shows good work.  The only negative thing I have to say is that it's not located in the most convenient of all places.  I mean, I'm used to trekking out to the weird-ass edges of the city where there are only warehouses for as far as the eye can see to get to little theatres, so relatively, it's not that hard to find, but getting there in the dark when you don't know the area all that well (I've only been there twice- both times at night) can be sorta tricky.

Birfdee Giffs

   Here are some gifts I've made for my fancy people in the last few months. The top image is a portrait of Kitty Cat Man from Tim and Erik, Awesome Show, Great Job! for my brother Samson "Gerald Garner" Gorman.  The next image is one of two Glowscape tea light covers I made with Sculpey, ink, acrylic and goauche for my cousin Danielle.  The third image is an illustration I did for my friend Tiana with ink and gouache.  The bottom image is a collage-drawing I made for my Mama with casein, goauche, ink, postal tape, silverpoint and graphite.

   If you likes what you sees and want to commission me to make a holiday or birthday present, let me know!

Matt 'n' Lynda=BFFs 4 Lyfe

  "I consider Chicago to be the best American city because there's ample parking and mediocre-looking people are considered foxy."

-Lynda Barry, 11-5-09

 

   Last week, as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, Matt Groening and Lynda Barry gave a talk at UIC.  Luckily, I moved my schedule around and got to go and WOO-HOO, it was great!  The place was crawlin' with all kindsa people: stank-nasty art kids, nice, tidy fellas, and academic-types wearing sweater vests.

   After the Humanities Festival representative gave a sort of sad introduction (he reminded me of an old man version of Brand from The Big Lebowski), Matt and Lynda mentioned a few anecdotes about their time together at Evergreen State University in the 1970s: 

-Before they met, Matt had heard about "the girl who'd written a letter to Joseph Heller" -who turned out to be Lynda- and wanted to know more.  She'd written "Ingrid Bergman" above her return address, and the letter itself consisted of praise for Catch-22 and a marriage proposal.  Heller responded saying he would marry her, but he just didn't want to live in a dorm room.  

-Lynda mentioned that all one had to do to get into Evergreen was make a peace sign out of lentils on construction paper.  

-One day when really, broke, Lynda was having a bit of a freak-out in the cafeteria.  All of the sudden, one of the art teachers hurriedly approached her, asking, "you're a model, right?" Apparently their model hadn't been able to come into class and they needed someone to draw, lickity-split.  Having remembered that the school models got paid a whopping four bucks, Lynda agreed.  When she showed up, they told her it was a nude modeling session, so she took off her clothes and started posing.  Since the only naked lady "art" she'd seen was in Playboy, Lynda started posing like a trashy, modern day pin-up.  The teacher told her to tone it down a little bit.

-Matt was the Editor of the school paper and wrote an ad saying he'd publish anything.  Lynda started giving him comics and the rest is history. 

   One of the best parts of the talk was when they read some Will and Abe strips.  Matt turns his kids' conversations into comics and they're really, really funny, so check 'em out if you get the chance.  Matt also showed some of his favorite clips from The Simpsons and Lynda read the introduction she wrote for a book about comics.

   Lynda tended to dominate the conversation, which was okay for the most part because she's so damn funny, but things got a little awkward when she mentioned that Matt had proposed to her at one point and she'd turned him down on the spot.  I couldn't tell if he was pissed at her for mentioning it or not, but he played it off well by saying that they both couldn't really stand each other.

   The day after the talk I went to the Flaxman and checked out the first three discs of the third season of The Simpsons.  It was funny, but I don't know if I'll ever be a major, hardcore, die-hard fan.  I like it, but it 'tain't m' favorite.  The reason why I wanted to go to the talk in the first place was because of one of Lynda's books, 100 Demons.  It's beautiful, as are all her books.  Go to your library and check them out.

   I'm sorry if this post is shittily written.  I had to whip it out real quick and don't have time to do a thorough proofread.  I'll make corrections later, but for now, try to ignore any mistakes you might find.

Shhhhh

   I'm starting a secret project.  

   It involves: 

• lots and lots of drawing
  
• guache
  
• my beloved Rapidographs
  
• the laser cutter
  
• my family crest
  
• debossing
  
• and five colors of bookcloth
  

   I'll keep you updated.

   In the mean time, if you're an SAIC-er, go to the AIC.  I went this past weekend when my family was in town and I realized how much I take it for granted.  I was particularly excited when seeing A Sunday on La Grande Jatte because last week my drawing class visited the Prints and Drawings Department and Richard had a sketch pulled that Seurat had done for the woman with the umbrella.  It was so cool to see because it was clear that he fucked up a few times before finding the right line.  It's always nice to see that a master stumbled before becoming a master and that even when they were in their prime, they still screwed up.  It makes me feel a little closer to them and gives me hope that I'll continue to improve as I continue to practice.

A Few More

More LPZ Pictures

Lincoln Park PRISON

   I've been to the Lincoln Park Zoo researching for my Animal Behavior class a couple of times over the last few weeks, and even though I dread the packed 151 bus trips*, I really enjoy my time at the Zoo.   Taking walks there has been so calming and wonderful- a nice change from being in the Loop.  It's really quiet, there are babies around every corner, and true to Midwestern form, the leaves on the trees are all bright yellow and orange.  Today I actually stopped and said out loud, "those are some yellow leaves."  I talk to myself a lot at the zoo.  I talk to the animals, too.  Sometimes I'll ask them how or what they're doing, but mostly I say things like, "look at that sweet baby" or, "poor baby." Most of the animals' pens are really spacious and nice-looking, but I feel like some of them don't have quite enough room.  I've seen a lot of animals pacing or swimming in the same patterns over and over again, which makes me feel really awful.  The title of this post is a joke, but I really do feel guilty when going to zoos.  I feel like, in general, the people that work in zoos have good intentions that are rooted in conservation and education, but there's something kind of messed up about watching animals in fake environments, with tags on their arms being yelled at by middle schoolers and other assholes.  Today, I saw this teenage girl banging on the glass between her and a sleeping lion.  I was watching her, shaking my head without realizing it.  Then she and the boy she was with looked over at me.  I walked away, hoping they weren't the kind of people to shank a bitch for giving dirty looks.

   ANYWAY, the point of this post is to bring attention to some of the gorgeous decorative arts and architectural details at the zoo.  Every time I go, I notice a pretty little something.  I've been taking a lot of pictures of flowers to draw later, but mostly I'm really, really interested in all of the little unique bits and bobs that adorn the animal houses.  I really want to go to the Harold Washington and research the evolution of the zoo and how the buildings have changed over the years.  

   Here are some interesting links:

-I would like someone to make me a personalized  piñata for my birthday (or Earth Day) at some point in my life.

-Cool-assed postcards

-?

-Scroll down to see some pictures of Bushman

-Hmmm

 

   *Today there were three teenagers sitting by me who couldn't stop talking (loudly) about the albino man that had gotten on with some friends at the stop after ours.  It was really weird.  Like, they didn't recognize that he had any sort of condition, they just seemed to have a kind of disdain for him.  They thought he'd dyed his hair white because he was arrogant and wanted to make a *statement* or something.  Then, one of the kids started talking about his friend's mother and her "mild case of Tourette's." He said she'd once told a man wearing a white jumpsuit at the grocery store that he looked like a hot dog.  He also mentioned that she had Social Anxiety Disorder, too and that she was "always good for a laugh."  Jeebus!

   I hope my kids don't turn out to be bratty little shits.  

REJECTED Flaxman Button Submission That Should Have Been Posted Awhile Ago

I'm gonna be a shidass and submit a colored version of this next year.  I haven't seen the ones they chose this time 'round.

Books! Drawings!

1.) Coptic bound book

2.) Round back book in progress (!)

3.) Silverpoint on casein/gouache ground (unfortunately I ruined this with the addition of white gouache on the far left) 

4.) Silverpoint on casein/gouache ground with ink and pink gouache (Um, my childhood: a rapun)

5.) Ink and gouache