Sunday, April 25, 2010

joseph cornell


joseph cornell is an artist that i discovered later in my life. his work was not exactly respected as an art while he was producing it. the ability to collect & assemble were traits that went less noticed by mainstream art. he played a major role in the birth of assemblage & brought art into the found object. constructivism & surrealism can be found in his boxed assemblages.
cornell's boxes had the sense of architecture & the experimentation of fantasy. another amazing attribute to his work is the capability of it to interact with its viewer. many of his boxes are meant to be handle. the notion of touching someone else's art is more than alluring. for me it's desired.
he pushed on creatively & moved into experimental film. the result, rose hobart, became perhaps the most famous surrealist short film. it was a 19 minute short using snippets from the motion picture 'east of borneo' & shots of an actual ecclipse. debuting in 1936, it was projected through blue glass & slowed to silent film speed. the original soundtrack was removed & replaced with two songs by nestor amaral. salvador dali was in attendance & later kicked over the projector while labeling cornell a thief. alas, joseph was not a thief, but rather a more humble creator who inadvertently manifested what salvador had only dreamt!
~eightychoices

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

rauschenberg

Bed (1955)
one of my favorite artist, if not, is robert rauschenberg. this amazing artist worked in a myriad of mediums and chose not to fall victim to the idiot reviews & harsh criticism that was levied against him early in his career. the result is both amazing and priceless. his merging of painting with sculpture, laid way for his combines, which are stark reminders of his immense talent & courage. rauschenberg was quoted as saying he wanted to work, "in the gap between art & life." whether he was monochromatic painting, erasing de Kooning drawings, working as a window artist under the pseudonym, matson jones (with jasper johns), creating award winning album art for the talking heads (speaking in tongues), or interacting with the likes of cy twombly, jasper johns, merce cunningham, john cage & others; he seemed to cherish the idea, or value the thought of art, rather than just focusing on the completed piece. his ability to arouse such an array of thoughts & emotions through his work is a testament to how he created this art. i will never tire of his remarkable creations. in some weird way his art feels like a best friend, it inspires & continues to always give you more. i want to interact with his art, have lunch with them, or just sit with them in silence. thanks for inspiring me and my mind.

Monogram (1955-59)
eightychoices.



Sunday, April 18, 2010

dock ellis' no no & no mas


this is a great tale of baseball & counter culture, told through the lens of creative animation. it is a true story & one that i learned of through a great friend. check out other creations from no mas if you have the chance. what can be better than spring time, baseball & recreational...? RIP dock. enjoy the short film.
~eightychoices

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

atoms for peace

there are some amazing shows going down all over the greater bay area this week. at the wonderful fox theatre in oakland, atoms for peace is playing two nights starting tonight. this band is thom yorke's side project, filled with some great musical personalities. the venue alone is spectacular, than you toss in thom's ability as a performer (he's amazing), making it a gem of a show to catch. the rest of the week is filled with an array of solid artists at this revived cathedral to music.
the very intimate and northern californian mystic theatre, in petaluma, hosted a dark star orchestra show last night & will put up with them again tonight. check this grateful dead tribute band out if you're available, they're great musicians. considering the show they played last night, i'm hoping for a, me and my uncle, or a big river, at their show tonight. enjoy live music.
~eightychoices

Thursday, April 8, 2010

14th annual legendary boonville beer festival

on may 8th, catch one of the best times each year with the legendary boonville beer festival. not only do you get to knock back premium micro brews from the west, you camp on location, thereby prolonging the all day/night debauchery. my friends & i have made this a yearly ritual of sorts. it's good old fashioned fun fueled by exceptional beer. often times this marks the beginning of the camping season. bring your gear & an appetite for beer, it doesn't get much better. arrive early to get an ideal camping site & prepare yourself for the drinking experience you so desire. the gates open at a quarter to noon, saturday, may 8th. taps will be flowing from 1 until 5. be mindful however, many of the the smaller brewers were tapped out early last year. find your favorites & try the exotics.
~eightychoices

Friday, April 2, 2010

take me out to the ballgame...

opening day in the big leagues is april 4th. that game features two "huge market" teams with a historic rivalry. the season gets under way for most on april 5th. i prefer small market teams and/or those who have grown a team from within the organization for the most part. take the twins for instance, a lot of their top talent came from the draft or were groomed in their farm system. one of whom is catcher, joe mauer, arguably the best baseball player on earth. sure the twins just signed him to an 8 year contract for a huge amount of loot. and yes there are trades made by every team that compete for the playoffs year in & year out. but those are the right decisions to make so that a small market team can compete for a world series, especially signing mauer. the minnesota twins are my favorite pro sports team, Go TWINS. if you can, get out and soak in a game. baseball is such an amazingly thoughtful sport, with spectacular athletes, who possess amazing skills. just think of the games within the game. there are 162 contests, hopefully we can all make it to some. did i mention... Go TWINS?!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

april fools?

1320 records & ArtNowSF present, a 1320 records showcase @ temple, on howard street in san francisco tonight! live music is an art medium & great artists are performing. for roughly twelve bones you could catch some killers tunes (i couldn't resist). david phipps, of sound tribe sector 9, is apparently going to play a piano set. if you're in san francisco tonight & looking for something to do, check this out.
~eightychoices