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Documentation of my work in the "Fresh NY" show at Threshold Art Space, Perth, Scotland. Eleven of the 22 screens are shown. Photos by exhibition curator Anne Barlow. The OptiDisc GIF below is reduced; clicking on image shows the actual size (of the GIF--the screens are much larger).
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Some halfway sensible talk from a foreign policy grown-up, Lt. Gen. William E. Odom (retired); here is publisher YaleGlobal's synopsis:
The US Congress and the White House have been at odds over the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq for months [not nearly enough at odds --tm], but brief historical reflection suggests that the only option left for Washington is to link forces with Iran. Starting in the mid-1950s, the US maintained stability in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf by establishing bilateral relationships with Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia, and preventing any one country from overwhelming another. Even after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, presidents recognized that restoring ties with Tehran could minimize US military costs. George W. Bush, however, disrupted the delicate balance with the invasion of Iraq [and inclusion of Iran in the so-called Axis of Evil, Odom also notes --tm]. Unless the US can convince Iran to play a cooperative role, the chaos in Iraq will spread to neighboring countries. In this article, William Odom, a former director of the US National Security Agency, contends that a rapprochement with Iran is the key to restoring regional stability as the US withdraws from Iraq. However, the US must follow up on Monday’s meeting with Iran in Baghdad and abandon its current “all sticks” policy for stopping Tehran’s nuclear-weapons program. Iran cannot help but realize that its influence in Iraq faces limits when US troops leave, and Washington must take advantage of many mutual goals to establish a sustainable relationship with Iran and restore stability throughout the Middle East. – YaleGlobalHalfway sensible because it seems nostalgic for the era of the odious Shah and convinced of the wisdom of continuing US stewardship of the Middle East.
Currently making the Internet rounds: Hieronymous Bosch action figures. Never warmed to the blow-up Munch scream for museum gift shops, but these are f*ckin funny. How many childhood hours did certain of us kids spend looking at those paintings? Their re-reification as toys was inevitable but not before this moment, somehow.
Update: These are not really action figures. They are art gift figurines from a company called Talaria. The cheeky, inaccurate description comes from irresponsible bloggers and is being passed around by other online ne'er-do-wells desperate for an eyegrabbing tag line.
Will be traveling hither and yon for a few days so my BLOG performance posts will be erratic. Some items are "queued up" waiting for me to hit the post button from wherever I am, and I may be doing some live blogging, but the post times may not always conform to gallery hours. Fascinating, I know. Right up there with drawing other artists' work in MSPaint.
Highly recommended if you can scarf it up:
Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Disco 3000
Saturn CMIJ 78
Saturn Gemini CMIJ 78
Side A:
Disco 3000 (incl. Space is the Place) (Ra)
Side B:
Third Planet (Ra)
Friendly Galaxy (Ra)
Dance of the Cosmo-Aliens (Ra)
Ra--p, org, Crumar Mainman drum box, etc; Michael Ray--tp, voc; John Gilmore--ts, voc; Luqman Ali--d, voc. Italy, 1/78. Side B live. [Stahl and rlc]
A review found online by Paul C.:
Recorded in Italy in 1978 DISCO 3000 stands apart by being a quartet record as well as being from a brief period when Sun Ra was noodling [please, this is not noodling] with the Crumar Mainman keyboard. Playing organ and Moog along with the Mainman's rickey-tickey pre-programmed beats [please, this is not rickey-tickey], DISCO 3000 has a sound unique in the Sun Ra catalog (not counting the equally rare contemporaneous releases MEDIA DREAM & SOUND MIRROR). With the Arkestra stripped down to just Ra, John Gilmore on sax, Michael Ray on electronically manipulated trumpet and drummer Luqman Ali DISCO 3000 gives the listener an excellent chance to hear some of these important sidemen step to the forefront and shine. This impossibly rare release from the Saturn catalog has just recently been resurrected in a small deluxe vinyl pressing from the Italian label Art Yard.
"Dance of the Cosmo-Aliens" is very Can-like--stunning.
mspaint-ified steve mumford
"Sacred Elephants" [2.2 MB .mp3]
This song has several variations: "Piano Three Hands" was the first. This is a Reaktor-ified version with fairly active percussion.
New cat bus videos by Anthony Leslie: #5 and #6
These are getting more elaborate (but still artfully clumsy)--watch the first four again and you'll notice. I like the way standard Hollywood editing moves are mimicked and moronified, as in "the chase scene" in #6. (The gimpy perspective on that pistol closeup haunts. Also, note surf music rendition of "Greensleeves" during chase.)
I passed a guy yesterday with a jambox on his bike playing the Cat Bus theme (or close enough).
[hat tip Nasty Nets]
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