"Spanish Silver Fox"

such a taser factory project!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spanish Silver Fox

By: Guan Rong

www.rebelhandspress.com

Set in fashion magazine format, Spanish Silver Fox offers an extensive view into Los Angeles based artist Guan Rong's vision of her ideal husband.

In this production, an in-depth interview conducted by artist Brian Getnick acts as a guide through glossy pages of glamorously stylized work by photographers Patricia Castaneda and Morgan Yu.

Reality and fantasy merge herein to create what can easily be read as a physical dating site profile of the artist, an appropriate conceptual platform for her views on love, life, and desire.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

terrifyingly happy to see it in print, and proud as a clam to have had a hand in helping bring this into being.

just one of the cast, along with:

brian getnick, patricia castaneda, morgan yu, miya wang, mary jane boltz, and of course, the artist herself.

...sometimes it takes a crew large enough to fill an odd communal household to raise a full-color, conceptual, husband-hunting, fashion magazine.

the launch party was the icing, thanks to women's center for creative work.

full deal here: http://www.rebelhandspress.com/spanishsilverfox

zapping the southwest

I must drop my taser for a moment, as this guy has one pointed directly at my brain.

Brooklyn based artist, sound-maker Brad Kahlhamer has been/is be combining almost everything I ever hoped to see in the push and pull where Native American influence meets expressionistic impulse in action.

All of it, the drawings, paintings, and especially sculptural work, strum my strings.

No more words from me. There are plenty out there online already. However, I suggest just going direct to the source: http://www.bradkahlhamer.net/

blue cut dynamite - one in a hundred

oakland based artist j. shelley harrison is one in a million, and blue cut dynamite is but one in her efforts to create one hundred thematic tumblr blogs.

while her growing list consists largely of personal and inter-personal conversations built on title driven concepts that flow free from birth, blue cut dynamite stands apart as it documents a continuing collection of tasered-up tangible artwork.

way well noted as one of my favorite print-makers (and collaborators), this ongoing collage work totes kills. she puts the e's in eye, and the t's in talent for titling...titling, which is stated as her goal in this series of one hundred.

fullness here: blue cut dynamite

coast-to-coast(er)

A few nights ago, a friend and I did a test drink of these new printed coasters from the Goatmother himself --- Mr. Mark Rice.

They performed brilliantly, and include some of my all time favorite terms to shout out when things are taser! 
Translation available upon request.

where's my bloody luncheon?!

yes, i am blogging about a blog.

 a rad collab between j. shelley harrison and i. 
she of all people knows best about my strange lunch (or lack of) habits. photos and dialogue ensue on a nearly daily basis, in realtime, at lunchtime.

still images | still life | still lunch...
http://takealunchbreak.tumblr.com/

break a leg(s)

a taser video project by artist sarah mackenzie smith. brief, but a lot to read into. plus, looks like it was fun to make.

 since i can't embed the video, i just made the text real big...there are also some nice referential lines i can draw, but won't.

giuseppe licari - 2 pieces

giuseppe licari makes a lot of very taser factory work, but on the subject of trees, this sicilian artist has it covered from top to bottom. 

from HUMUS:

from The Sky In A Room:

i can say a lot about how these two installations make the different sections of trees seem worlds apart from one another, and how striking they crash on the rigid environment of the gallery spaces...but his site says it all, and better, and more:
http://www.giuseppelicari.com

experimental bed-making

the experimental bed-making book... an oldie but goodie! this beauty was brought to life several years ago by the collaborative efforts of goatmother industries, j. shelley (smallkit) harrison, and william winchester claytor, but saw a second run a few months back here in LA. 

i had the honor of helping out with the binding of the 2nd book, which i believe is now in the loving claws of some angelino. 

you can find the first one in indiana university's library thing, and scope out the pages online here:

http://shatteredcape.com/experimentalbedmaking/

shinro ohtake

needed some cheering up yesterday, so i took a long overdue tour of one of my favorite artists, shinro ohtake.

the way he seems to remix practically everything around him really impacted the way i think about all the cool trash i collect around me.

being a fan of his more fucking weird stuff, i forget how far his hand has stretched into the more recognizable realms.

he also makes sounds. juke (19) was rad.

http://www.last.fm/music/JUKE%2F19

giant fail statue

adel abdessemed's new giant "headbutt" statue is pretty taser factory for sure...
it captures one of french soccer star zidane's most memorable, but not necessarily shining moments. the scene chosen by abdessemed is from the 2006 world cup final between france and italy, where zidane, in the last outing of his career, headbutted an italian player.
he was red carded, which subsequently led to a win for the italian team.

love it, but after reading abdessemed's comments on the piece, it left me wishing for a different direction. initially, i thought it was celebration of failure. a reversal of statues celebrating great moments and good things and success.

i really like that idea and can imagine all the great fails in sports history that could be immortalized in similar manner...but that's not what the artist had in mind. 

fuck it. it's still totally taser.
so is a bunch his other stuff:
http://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/adel-abdessemed/

shangrila, joshua tree, ca 2012

rad excuse for a desert weekend with my friend diane. this little compound out in joshua tree hosted a fine show and party. saw some good work and met some good folks. 

the trip out there from la is ass, unless you love low-rise, throw-up hot, bleak towns.

stayed in pioneertown. very well worth it. especially after witnessing a lesbian fronted country/folk/klezmer band ripppp up a high velocity cover of purple rain, crossing over to hava nagila as a breakdown, aimed directly at the ladies attending a bachelorette party.

the desert seems like a great place to do things. 2013? would love to.

oh my gawd!

mailbag from goatmother industrial. life is such a beautiful thing, play hard.

aurora dorey alice...

aurora dorey alice. aurora, colorado. the first one makes makes me really happy, the other doesn't. 
i prefer to be happy, and stay that way. 

dorey is rad, and her approach to sound-making is very quite taser.
she performed at an art event i was a part of in bloomington, indiana. it was terrific to see this action again. 

we also share a birthday every year.

my two cents.

a recent art transaction was sweetened by these. 

i think it's rad.

billy f....otis...

billy f. otis...

billy fuckin' otis...

we just say- billy fotis...

this exhibition by franklin evans...

seems absolutely taser factory, and tops my recent list of action that i'd love to experience in person. 
however, seeing as how i will not be in new york anytime during the run of eyesontheedge, that won't be happenin'. 

oh well. but. this is exactly what i go crazy for in a gallery setting. overwhelming mixed media installations that present a full environment that combines process, past, present, and future with material in raw and refined forms...so much.


aside from the mass of work here, i really appreciate the organization with it's blocks, frames, and screens.

i have to plan carefully to take in such exhibitions. if something is off with me, the experience will make my head hurt really bad.


i would really like to go to this.


http://www.suescottgallery.com/exhibitions/view/Franklin-Evans_7

office to the walls...

decided to [add to] and [swap out] a little visual action in my office to help pass the sometimes numbing hours spent here....

untitled piece by chuuu. gifted by j. shelley harrison to me from berlin.

for me! from rob hessler. a parting gift.

mexico city...the postcard. from amy karr.

the original "vision board" by me.

a happy fu-ku card from leah yeppi.

some jiang-shi action from chloe ching. frightening. (r.i.p. aotd)†

an original man can fan from mark rice.

the "happy honda days" seasonal card from justin clifford rhody. hands down the best holiday card ever. 

The 2011 Dow Flipbook

The 2011 DOW Flipbook.

This book was created as both a fun and interactive way to relive the rollercoaster ride that was the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the year of 2011, and as an object that reflects the increasing prominence that economics is gaining in the daily commentary of people throughout the world at this point in history. The 2011 DOW Flipbook allows the user to flip their way through the 252 daily closing prices of everybody’s favorite market index.

WHY: Many reasons... the combination of the taser factory coverage and insight provided by Marketplace (APM) + Freakonomics that sparked a hobbyistic obsession with economics and kicking my own ass for NOT attending Kelley School of Business in retrospect... an constant internal want to just quantify my personal time vs. $$$, a thrill for coming in under budget on a project, etc.


I realize I'm not alone. At this point in time, economic matters seem to be threaded deeper into the everyday dialogue of folks from all walks and age. It's a response to all that.

Big thanks to Jennifer from Phiffer Books for beautifully constructing the book. 
I sent a copy to America Public Media's Marketplace. Kai Ryssdal is the coolest.
More info: http://www.rebelhandspress.com/

new year, new project - rebel hands press.

today, instead of reflecting on 2011, which would undoubtedly be marred by negativity and dwight yoakam videos from youtube, i've opted for taking an initial glance at what 2012 has in store. 
the perfect fix for a new year is a new project. enter rebel hands press...


during the summer months of last year, jeff moerchen, david smith, and i put together a shiny little project revolving around the film Point Break, which culminated in a book titled "the Point Break is..."

the success and excitement from that project poured over into the founding of rebel hands press:
Rebel Hands Press is an independent publisher of books, and possibly other items, with a leaning towards art, photography, and great ideas. Established via phone, Rebel Hands exists in the roaming mind and pockets of Jeff Moerchen (Right Hand) and the cramped Los Angeles studio of Jeremy Kennedy (Right Hand). When the idea is right, we do something.


so this year we'll be moving comfortably forward with this venture. in the time leading up to now, we've been able to reinforce our catalog with 2 new books, along with the "the Point Break is..." project. a totally taser way to start things off. 


meet the new books:
Zephyr
photographs: Jeff Moerchen      Tyrone Toral :layout
Zephyr is an attempt at continuous photographic seeing, a document of memories. It is not cohesive, a timeline, or thematic but a document of what I see as a photographer. Similar to the blur of flipping through channels of a television these images are nonsequiturs that if strategically organized gain significance. Simply put these are pictures about taking pictures. 

thirty two page newspaper,  215 black and white images.
materials: newsprint, black ink
measure: ~17x22

cheerleaderisms
by: jeremy kennedy
a collection of selected comments from a former collegiate cheerleader concerning her personal views and recollections from high school and coming of age in the sports culture. set with xeroxed images.

sixteen pages, black and white.

materials: xerox on plastic core book-block.

measure: ~4x6

check out the site: rebelhandspress.com

and/or follow us on facebook or tumblr, as there will be updates for sure.

assemble / disassemble

putting things together and taking things apart. i'm a big fan of both. these two themes keep popping up lately. 


todd mcclellan:
i've taken many things apart, for many different purposes. it's fun to see all the parts, and it's fun to have a reason to use break out those tools that never really get much use, like those tiny screwdrivers that are usually required when disassembling machines.

however, i've never achieved the level of beauty seen in this series of work by todd mcclellan. for fans of design and tiny parts, this is it.

check out the full set:
http://toddmclellan.com/


thomas thwaites: 
"the toaster project" addresses many larger questions and things about the modern world, but the part i really like is the actual attempt to build a toaster from scratch. 

here's some words someone else wrote about it, and a ted talk video below.




website:
http://www.thomasthwaites.com/the-toaster-project/