SADKIDS NUMBER 4

Geoffrey Ellis has just released Sadkids Number 4, an amazing collection of images taken in Memphis, Tennessee between 1996 and 2006. I am a proud owner of Sadkids Number 3 but sadly I missed out on Sadkids Number 1 (Number 2 is not out yet - OK, Mr. Barney).

Geoffrey is awesome: He's an amazing photographer, a great designer (the Zine Layouts are fantastic) and he has also been very supportive of me and my upcoming Boonville project.

Email Goeffrey to get your copy of Sadkids Number 4 - they won't last.

See Geoffrey's website here
See Sadkids Number 4 here
See his blog here

Is digging a hole an idea?

Photographing The Dig Cunt, Coney Island, May 7 -13, 2007 - Photo: Creative Time

"Is digging a hole an idea? It is. It may be the greatest idea we've ever had" Ali Janka, member of Gelitin - The Dig Cunt interview, Bloomberg TV

I just saw this weeks edition of "The Muse": a weekly arts program on Bloomberg TV. They have a short interview with Florian and Ali from Gelitin; The interview took place during last weeks performance in Coney Island, titled, The Dig Cunt. I can't find the episode online. If anyone finds it, please let me know.


Rabbit drawing, copyright gelitin

Gelitin’s greatest idea, in my mind anyway, was Rabbit, 2005-2025.

" Rabbit - The things one finds wandering in a landscape: familiar things and utterly unknown, like a flower one has never seen before, or, as Columbus discovered, an inexplicable continent; and then, behind a hill, as if knitted by giant grandmothers, lies this vast rabbit, to make you feel as small as a daisy. The toilet-paper-pink creature lies on its back: a rabbit-mountain like Gulliver in Lilliput. Happy you feel as you climb up along its ears, almost falling into its cavernous mouth, to the belly-summit and look out over the pink woolen landscape of the rabbitís body, a country dropped from the sky; ears and limbs sneaking into the distance; from its side flowing heart, liver and intestines. Happily in love you step down the decaying corpse, through the wound, now small like a maggot, over woolen kidney and bowel. Happy you leave like the larva that gets its wings from an innocent carcass at the roadside.Such is the happiness which made this rabbit. i love the rabbit the rabbit loves me." Taken from "Rabbit" Press Releaes (English version).

Rabbit seen from the sky (one person sleeping on its belly), copyright gelitin

"Rabbit" will stay at its current location until the year 2025.

See more photos of the Rabbit here.
See an aerial view of the Rabbit on Google Maps here.

The Dig Cunt, Coney Island, May 7-13, 2007

Me and Florian Reither, The Dig Cunt, 2007, Photo by Jason Covert

About two weeks ago I received an email blast from CreativeTime. I'm a fan of CreativeTime, sometimes I don't understand their choice of projects but I respect their mission (they just celebrated 33 years). This specific email got my attention unlike any other. "Gelitin in Coney Island, The Dig Cunt." The Dig Cunt? What!?!

"Called by the quest to hole, gelitin will set out to dig on coney island beach. mornings we will take the train to coney island equipped with hands, shovels and a mind settled like grains of sand. we will dig for seven hours and in the evening close the hole and return back to manhattan. the next day we will take the train again to coney island and dig a hole and then close it again. the next day we will take the train again to coney island and dig a hole and then close it again." and so on...

Wolfgang Gantner, The Dig Cunt, 2007

THIS IS WHAT GOT MY FULL ATTENTION:
"Repeated over seven days, Gelitin describe the proposed durational work as a celebration of the millennium of the female and the anti-phallus, in effect the artistic reversal of the erect public monument. Part Dada, part Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi (1896), the absurdly poetic act of ritualized displacement, absence and renewal."

VS Jason Lazarus

Jason Lazarus never fails to amaze me. See my entry for his NIRVANA project below.


'mike' my step-dad Mike pretty much introduced me to all music. I remember finding Nevermind in his private CD collection.


Do you remember who introduced you to Nirvana? See more NIRVANA at JasonLazarus.com

Artist of the week - Enrique Metinides

Copyright Enrique Metinides

Stunning! The Mexican photographer, now in his 70's and retired, has been photographing grotesque circumstances since the 1940's (he was only twelve when he first photographed a corpse). Enrique tends to focus more on the mood, the distant scene and the subtle details in a not so subtle moment. He is often referred to as Mexico's Weegee, who is amazing in his own right but has nothing on Enrique's poetic insight.


Copyright Enrique Metinides

Copyright Enrique Metinides

His work is now on display at Anton Kern through January 13th. His book is available here.

Read Thursday's New York Times article here.

Boonville and Kevin Sisemore

Copyright Kevin Sisemore

Last week I received an email from Kevin Sisemore about my Boonville project. Turns out Kevin used to hang out in Boonville, MO as a child. This is the second random Boonville, MO connection I have made in the last month. Also, a few months back I received an email from a German reporter living near Boonville, CA (you can write from anywhere these days).


Kevin Sisemore is a photographer living in NY. The above image is from his Zoo project. From reading his blog he seems to be quite an ambitious photographer.

- A few years ago I started a project entitled “Parks and Recreation.” The idea came to me after reading an article about New York Cities 1700 parks. Every week I set out for a new park. -

Copyright Kevin Sisemore, Randall's Island

See his great hunting series here and be sure to check out the rest of his blog: Site Under Construction.

Artist of the week - Jason Covert

Jason Covert drawing Laura, Catskills, Nov. 2006

Jason and I both moved to NY in the year 2000 and met shortly after in early 2001. We bonded over hating a certain photographer we both worked for - J was a studio manager and I was a freelance assistant. Jason and I have been close ever since. He has been a very important influence on my own art work - he was the original character featured in the "Boonville Project."

About 4 years ago J and I started an annual photo excursion. Last year we rented a cottage in Woodstock and Jason shot his Fairy Tale Series, one of my favorites.

The above image is a portrait I took of Jason just this past weekend while in the catskills.

The drawing Jason is finishing up in the above portrait is part of an exercise he has been working on. The rules are that he cannot look down at the paper nor can he lift his pen or stop his hand movement until the drawing is finished. For almost two weeks now Jason and I have been sending Postcards with drawings on them to each other. I am sending really crude drawings and old 4x5 polaroids with sketches and text on the back. Jason is sending old postcards with drawings created in the way I just explained. I am really into these drawings and I hope he keeps it up - see some of them below.


Postcard, Woman, 2006

Postcard, May I Ask A Question, 2006

Postcard, Frank, 2006

View more of Jason's work on his site and be sure to check out his blog Clogvert. . And here is a picture of Jason in their kitchen just before he made us a killer burger

Edward draws me a picture...

On Wednesday I posted about Edward Jinn, a homeless artist living on Manhattans upper east side. I met with him again last Friday. Because I was running late for a meeting we only spoke for a few minutes but before I left I gave Edward the PBJ I had promised him along with a mini snickers bar. He then drew me this picture.

Artist of the week - David Opdyke

A few years ago I added myself to almost every mailing list in NY. This morning I received my first email from Bravin Lee Programs. This new gallery is located in Chelsea on 26th street. Their upcoming show will feature the work of David Opdyke.

All of David's work is extremely political, but their is an initial beauty found in his drawings and sculptures that allows you see the art before you suddenly see his frustration. He blends them both very well. See his drawing 'An Outing' below and then look close to find his frustrations in the detail image. Below that is 'Achievements'.

'An outing'

Detail


'Achievments'

Detail

Artist of the week - Christopher Reiger

Christoper Reiger is now showing at AG Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.