Brand New Gallery

Ok, so I'm in this show which is the grand opening of the new ISM gallery. I have no idea how the whole thing is going to go down or what it's going to be like. It is after all, a new gallery. They do have a lot of artists lined up, some of which you may even recognize, others you have never heard of, and a great majority of which will eventually drop out of the art scene when they get knocked up or get jobs as designers and teachers, and become hobbyists and such. Get 'em while they're hot!

"Hello My Name is ISM"

Jan, 26th 7-10pm
Ism Gallery
540 E. Broadway
Long Beach, CA 90802
ismcommunity.org

The Billboards Are Back In Town

Ok, Metro Pop is out and on newsstands now. Check it out and keep your eyes peeled for yours truly. They picked a fantastic image and a great writer, I will leave the rest a surprise. Also, the Billboard has been resurrected and is on the corner of Sunset Blvd and Las Palmas which, from what I hear is across the street from the LA Weekly so perhaps there will be a bit more press for the thing... I can dream can't I? I will head up there in a couple days and take some pics and post them here to save you the trip though I have to say, you really need to see the thing in person to fully appreciate the scale. the map above is designed to guide you to the location, pirate style!

In association with the billboards making their return to prime viewing locations throughout the city, there is an opening at the Eco-Logical Art Gallery on Pico which in addition to a four by four foot piece of mine there will be a ton of awesome artwork all painted on recycled billboard vinyl for your viewing and pondering pleasure. I'll be there, stop by and get a free high-five!

"ReVisions”
Saturday, January 12, 2008, 6 pm-11 pmEco-LogicalART
4829 West Pico Blvd
LA, CA, 90019
310.525.0676
http://eco-logicalart.org/
press release

Without A Hitch (almost)

After a few days of crawling around on the ground under the installation piece which really sucked by the way, and putting tons of effort and time in to finishing the thing, here's what we ended up with. I think it was absolutely amazing and as far as the piece was conceived, worked perfectly. It was, as designed: an interactive shooting-gallery installation piece. The big "however" is that we weren’t able to make as many of the ducks respond to the infrared gun as we had hoped, and in the end it was a simple power issue as I understand it. I can't sing enough praises for the assistance, dedication and good cheer of one Mr. N. Cohen who’s technical and electrical savvy is really what made this thing come to life. Without him, (pictured above in the second image with matted wet hair owing to the crazy storm which decided to hit the night of the opening) this just would have been another collection of painted and sculptural elements stuck in a corner and called an installation. There is something to be said about outsourcing elements of an art piece to someone in who can do a much better job making the concept a reality than I could. Next step, assemble a crack team of underpaid, over skilled and over educated artists, technicians and engineers to assist in realizing the next big project.

I just wanted to mention here that I ran a Half Marathon (the OC Marathon) yesterday which was pretty awesome. My ego wishes it was the full marathon which I would totally brag about, but I only started training a couple months ago and that would have been totally unrealistic. I will be running a full marathon in San Diego this June so the training goes on. I also want to thank anyone who showed up to cheer and support a runner, it’s hard to explain but there is a huge emotional boost from someone on the sidelines throwing out positive energy. Perhaps it's like that in the rest of life as well where we could all help each other out by being encouraging, but we're just not as aware of our internal dialogue as when pushing our limits.

Other Updates/Shameless Promotion

Other things going on lately... I am supposed to be getting some ink in the next month or so, there is a little blurb and some pics in the new issue of Metropop. (I don't think it's out yet) My billboard which will rise again and go back up on some yet to be named location in LA around the 12th of January is featured in a spread about Peter Schulberg (the brains behind the operation) and Eco-Logical Art Gallery in BPM magazine. (see above) I also have a spread in the new issue of Faesthetic (sneak peek on their website) so keep your looking balls on the newsstands!

the other two pics are of an "installation" I did for the December show at the Hive. Ok, so while I'm happy with the way it turned out and how easy it was to throw together, it's not really an installation, more like some paintings on a wall with some related paint on said wall. I will be the first to come out and say that merely painting on a wall does not make an installation, used to be that such a thing was simply called painting. Nor for that matter does hanging, paintings in a particular manner against a wall or installing art into a space necessarily indicate an installation piece. There are a lot of cool things being made these days and while they may break the grid of the canvas or incorporate sculpture or mural like elements. I think it's little more than euphemism in calling these works "Installation pieces". I think we should revise the vocabulary to include terms for describing varying degrees of painting/installation/sculpture/paradigm shifting, or just drop the descriptors and euphemisms and just let it be art, and subsequently worry about whatever that may be.

Where Has The Time Gone?

Let's face it, I must be one of the worst bloggers out there. I'm not ashamed of it, that's just the way it is. I'd like to imagine that I required some time to recoup after a busy summer full of painting and who can remember what else. Though I have been doing little painting or making of things for that matter, I have been thoroughly busy so don't get on my case just yet.

I've been teaching graphic design and animation at the Orange County High School of the Arts, which is absolutely awesome! However what they don't tell you about teaching is there is a lot of time invested in lesson plans, curriculum, planning and general strategy. I also inherited a couple classes which despite having been taught at OCHSA for the last 20 years by various instructors, no preexisting projects, or lesson plans had apparently been handed down so I’ve had to invent the program from the ground up and am constantly making corrections and improvements if I can. Perhaps I'll post some student work up here at some point. As I've been feeling a bit more comfortable, I've had a bit of time to think about making my own stuff.

So here's what's been on my plate lately. I was invited to build an installation piece at Thinkspace for their National Bird Day show several months ago and after thinking about a few different options for a while, I decided upon creating an interactive installation, and so, for the last couple months now I've been building a shooting gallery. I've had to enlist the Help of one of my friends N. Cohen, with the electronic and mechanical aspect of the thing which I very likely don't have the skills patience, focus or whatever else is required to make things respond properly when a button is pushed. Mr. Cohen the genius he is arrived at a system of infrared sensors and light focused by parts of a dissected flashlight to trigger the motors. Tonight we convene at the space to finalize installation and to make it work. The show opens on Friday (tomorrow) and if everything goes well should be totally awesome! Here’s some info should you like to attend and shoot at ducks. (Prizes will be awarded) Oh yeah, the pics are progress pics of the installation and the crappy little mockup I built beforehand.

FIGHT FOR FLIGHT
Group Show with Installation by P. Williams January 4th 7-11pm

Thinkspace Art Gallery
4210 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 913-3375
http://www.sourharvest.com/thinkspace/