Saturday, May 12, 2007

Woo Hoo!














At long last the billboard is up. Hovering just above the south bound 405 at the La Tijera exit. This shot of it kind of sucks, but it's the best I could do with the light I had at the time. (the sun is directly behind the billboard) I'll be up there in the next couple days in an attempt to get a clearer better pic.

Monday, May 7, 2007

Dallas You Rock!

















































Got back from Dallas last night. J. and I were out there for the opening of my "May the Sea Swallow Us Whole" show at the Pawn Gallery. I can't begin to describe what an amazing time we had.

After cabin pressure troubles aboard one plane that was so old, that portions of the interior had been repainted several times yet some how remained filthy, and overhead lights that flickered on their own accord, after circling around in the air a few times, we landed a second time in Phoenix in two hours got on a slightly newer plane and were on our way. We arrived a couple hours late, but stoked to be alive. Mark and friend Anthony picked us up at the airport and gave us a late night whirl wind tour of the city while looking for an open place for eats. There was a little loft in the back of the gallery that was ours for the weekend with a futon upon which we crashed hard after a long day of travel and for me at least, a hectic week in prep for the show and everything else that has been keeping me far too busy.

The next day we walked around the neighborhood of Deep Elhum Where the gallery is located, an old relic rich in the history of Texas Blues and in danger of being rebuilt and rebranded. we walked to the farmer's market, J. bought apples from Washington State, and plums from Chile. We spent most of the day assembling the instalation piece I had brought with me and then took a nap. That night was the opening of the show which was an absolute blast! I met a ton of fantastic, interesting, supportive, sweet and passionate people.

The next day Mark met us for lunch at the delicious Cafe Brazil, toured us around, and took us to a the Nasher Sculpture Center. we then went back to the gallery for a "Cinco-De-Drink-O" party complete with keg of mystery Mexican beer and fajitas hosted by Kenny and amazing artist who has shown with the Pawn Gallery in the past. Later we went to an art that I was under dressed for, and then on to a comedy show cabaret thing that was funny and entertaining mostly in that Abby Hoffman sort of way.

The next day, after a massive sleeping-in late and long slow breakfast at the All Good Cafe, we headed off to the airport. We were delayed by tornadoes and had to sprint across the Phoenix airport for our connecting flight but made it home none the less.

Thanks to Mark and David and everyone else we met in Dallas!

Call For Entries: 2nd Pictoplasma Animation Festival

Found this in my inbox this morning: These guys put together a good product and if you or someone you know have animation or whatever that fits with what they are looking for I very much recommend submitting something

PICTOPLASMA NEWSLETTER / MAY 2007


Summer has come early in Berlin, and we are slowly awakening from our inevitable post-conference blues. Once again, it was a wonderful yet demanding experience to welcome the global character family in Berlin.

http://pictoplasma.com/events/gallery

After a short break we're again brimming with new plans and buzzing with ideas that will hopefully keep you coming back for more. During the next few months we'll go on tour with special Pictoplasma exhibitions, animation programs and lectures in the Americas and Europe. Beside a "Best of Characters in Motion" screening-tour through Brazil, we'll be presenting our animation compilation at the MUTEK festival in Montreal, Canada and at the PLATFORM International Animation Festival in Portland, USA. If you can't make it to Berlin, we'll just have to come to you. Further dates will be announced soon - so keep an eye on our future tour route:

http://www.pictoplasma.com/home/tour

Additionally, to shorten the wait until the next big Pictoplasma gathering in 2008, we're putting together the 2nd Pictoplasma Animation Festival, lovingly referred to as the little bastard sibling of the biennial Pictoplasma Conference.

Please reserve some time between the 23rd and 25th of November 2007 for a 2.5-day celebration of outstanding character design in animation, motion graphics and music visuals, with screenings, artist presentations, lectures and parties, once again most generously hosted by the Cinema Babylon Mitte in Berlin.

Most importantly, we need your help in our search for fresh and convincing characters out there in the world of moving images! If you have some high-grade character designs in animation, music visuals or motion graphics up your sleeve, please don't hesitate to share them with us. Deadline for submissions is the 1st of August 2007. For all details, requirements and a downloadable entry form see:

http://www.pictoplasma.com/motion

And finally, for all of you who haven't noticed, we'd like to use this occasion to point out our latest character art compilation, the massive, leather-bound volume titled "The Character Encyclopaedia". The brand new 396-page publication is now available worldwide through our distribution partner Actar-D and showcases the latest work by over 200 international artists, designers and newcomers. For the first time we have decided we couldn't care less about technique, tools or style, and we have courageously grouped the work as independent life-forms in an evolutionary system of its own right. By sorting, clustering, cross-referencing and inter-linking the creations of a vast scene of artists, the Encyclopaedia offers a unique cartography of the youngest generations that populate our beloved character universe.

http://www.pictoplasma.com/publishing

That's all for now but more soon,

peter & lars

http://www.pictoplasma.com

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Call For Entries... I-MYGRATE

I get calls for entries all the time, some times two or three a week. I'm however very picky about who I'll work with and where I'll send my work, and I've been getting more so lately. for the most part I refuse to forward any call for entries that I my self would not participate in. I'm very much against any kind of show that involves an entry fee, if the work is on the wall for sale, why do they need my Lincoln, Hamilton, or Jacksons? Where is the incentive to sell work if the rent has already been paid by hoards of young artists trying to get someone to look at their slides? I also usually have problems with shows wherein the artwork doesn't come back as is common with print shows. It's cheaper for them not to send work back, and hey, it's just a print right? you have a lot more of them, right? But the issue is more about control of the work, and respecting the intrinsic value of it. I like to know where and for how long my work will be on a wall, and if it's going to end up in some one's hands, I want them to respect and value the work. If a piece is worth hanging on a wall and showing to people then perhaps it's not worth giving away.(unless of course it's made out o really crappy materials and will not only self destruct in a matter of years but will also damage whatever else it's stored near... jokes on you)

That having been said, here's a call for entries that involves not getting work back, but because I really like these guys, the projects they create and the artists they work with, I'll make an exception.


MYGRATE
is a new project hosted by Anteism.

On August 1st 2007 anteism will be traveling across North America. Along with us will be a variety of characters. These characters will range from pleasant to shady, handsome to monstrous, wise to numbskull. There could be hundreds! All piled into a little rust bucket car. They may have four arms, bad breath or??? The only condition is, they must fit on an 8.5x11 piece of paper…

The Basics:
Anteism is calling out for character artwork submissions. Do you have a character that you draw, scribble, paint or photograph? We would like to bring them on our road trip.

We want to disperse your characters across North America. Each character will be left somewhere along the way (between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean). They will be left all alone to fend for themselves. Relying on the kindness of strangers for a lift to their next destination. They could be left in a gas station bathroom, under the table of a greasy diner or on a road sign up in the Rocky Mountains.

But not to worry, we will do our best to keep our eyes on them. We have agents all over North America who will keep us updated on their where-abouts. We will keep you informed with photos as they come in. If you really loved your character you would let them go. If you’re lucky they may come back.

The project goal:

The goal of the project is to distribute artist’s characters across the continent. A migration from their comfortable studios/sketchbooks, to the great outdoors. We have setup a method for allowing your characters to migrate with the help of the community. We will document where they have been left and make an effort to track them.

After you have sent us your character they will be added to the many other wide-eyed road trippers. As we make our way across the continent characters will be left behind. They’ll be left in a place where a passerby will find them.

Definition: (finder = unknowing stranger who comes into contact with your character.”)

Project instructions will be printed on the back of each character. These instructions will tell the “finder” of the character about the project. The finder will be asked to take the character to a new location, photograph it in it’s new surrounding then send the photo+location to anteism. We hope to chart the course of the characters and document their travels. It will be a tough journey and many characters will be lost along the way. But they just might make it home. The characters will have an expiry date. Once the date is up, the “finder” will be asked to send the character to anteism. We will then send the character home to the artist.

How to take part? / What to submit?
To take part in the project you must submit the following:

  1. -Create a character designed to fit on an 8.5x11 piece of paper.

  2. -After you’ve designed the character, cutout around the outlines of the little guy. (Don’t make any extremities to delicate this will be a long trip.)

  3. -You may send in as many submissions as you wish. Please do not submit multiple versions of the same character. Entries should be received by July 1st 2007. Anything coming after this date risks the chance of being left behind…

Mail the original artwork to:
Ryan Thompson
2758 Foul Bay Rd
Victoria, BC
V8R 5B9
Canada

DEADLINE JULY 1st 2007

- Please send the characters information along with them. Name + any other information you think people should know about the little guy. Life story + reason for going on the trip or???

-I’m asking for original artwork because we will be having an art show after the project is complete. The originals will be on display and archived in the anteism library. (With the possibility of a book being published.)

-Your character will be cloned (colour copied) and genetically modified (laminated) to withstand the harsh North American outdoors.

YOU SHOULD KNOW:

  1. - Original artworks will not be returned. If your traveling character survives the duration of the project we will mail them back to you.

  2. - By submitting artworks the artist gives permission for Anteism to show the artwork in public shows (The artist will always be credited along with any contact info they wish to share).

  3. - The artwork will NEVER be sold.

  4. -The artwork may be printed in a book. If a book is created the artist will be credited and a copy of the book will be mailed to the artist.
  1. -The artwork will appear on the anteism website with credit to the artist and a link to website/email if desired.