Licensed to Practice Art

Thursday, July 24, 2008

SPIN party at HCP

Tomorrow (Friday, July 25) there's a really cool party at HCP. If you're reading this you have to attend. Period.

Here's my little story that will be one of many on the wall (I don't know where the blanks will be, but there will be some, obviously, in order to do a visual madlibs)

Bob was nervous when he walked into HCP for First Tuesday. Around his neck he sported his Leica IIIb, Model G Societe Tiranty Chrome with Rare 5 cm f 2.5 Hektor chrome lens and SCNOO winder. He rubbed the leather case for good luck. He was looking forward to showing the collection of flower portraits, landscapes, and vacation photos he had worked on for so long. But he was scared a little, too, because he heard that the people at HCP’s First Tuesday could be kind of conceptual, whatever that is. His Leica Historical Society cap had buttons proclaiming “Real Photographers Use Film!” and “I Hate Photoshop!”

In HCP’s critique room, Bob watched while a new member, Andreas Gursky, struggled to raise his oversized print to sit on the ledge. Andreas looked a little proud when he said the photo had just been acquired by MOMA. Not sure what a MOMA might be, Bob stared at the print and asked, “So. What kind of camera do you use?” Andreas stared at him, reached into his pocket for a switchblade knife, and promptly slit his own throat.

Another young photographer, Cara Barer, put her large, pretty photos of books and pomegranates on the wall and exclaimed that she was a finalist for the Aperture Prize! “Well, maybe that’s good, but what kind of camera do you use,” queried Bob, pursing his thin lips. “Um, I didn’t use a camera, Bob. I made these with a scanner.” Bob sneered but said nothing. Cara sighed and walked away.

Kristy Peet, the youngest photographer in the room, then put her large color photos on the wall. They were crazy! Pictures of feet and drains and grass and the back of peoples heads! “I don’t really get it,” said Bob. “But what I really want to know is what kind of camera do you use?” Kristy looked a little dumbfounded, but said “I use a large format Toyo with a normal lens. It’s the only real camera for serious photography, right?” Bob looked down at his little Leica and rushed over to Andreas’ corpse and grabbed the switchblade from his cold dead fingers. He ran after Kristy with the knife raised over his head! The last anyone saw of them, Kristy was yelling “HCP’s awesome, right? I know, Right?”

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

ArtStorm

Kristy, Rachel and I are doing a show at ArtStorm, which will open August 16th. Here's the link to the gallery and the show announcement:

http://www.artstormhouston.com/calendar/calendar.php

Here's what they have to say about us.....

The Photography of Rachel Hewlett, Kristy Peet, and David McClain
August 16 - September 13, 2008

This exhibition, curated by original ArtStorm board member Monte Large, represents the quintessential modern photographic perspective. All participating photographers in this group exhibition will present their signature works, which will be arranged for the first time together in the ArtStorm galleries. Rachel Hewlett's work reflects remnants and things we leave behind, subtly and mysteriously investigating elements of mundane life. Through similarly coordinated presentation, Kristy Peet’s work is an eerie and intuitive glimpse into the "character" of objects that seem to have a life of their own, as well as its own compelling and unique brand of composition and portraiture. David McClain’s Hotel series represents a vehicle for the artist to reconcile the demands of professional life with his interest in conceptual photography.

Opening reception on Saturday, August 16, from 7- 10 p.m., featuring live music by Houston-born, Berlin-based DJ Plank, hailed as the latest wunderkind of the European underground club scene, spinning tracks from krautrock and prog rock to Japanese new wave.

www.kristypeet.com
www.davidmcclain.com

This show will be so cool that they scheduled the opening (a) after I've left town; and (b) after my bedtime. I should go to an opening one day where there is actually a dj. Seriously, ArtStorm is a pretty great little alternative space that does seem genuinely excited to show work that doesn't show elsewhere, and since it is actually inside the loop, maybe a ton of folks will show up, especially since there is a Berlin-based DJ. Monte of ArtStorm told us there were about 500 people at the last opening. Impressive.

Encaustic Painting

Last night was the last session of an encaustic painting workshop at the Glassell School. Sasha Dela, a CORE Fellow at the MFAH, was the instructor. The green sun is part of the first encaustic painting I made on the first day of class. The other three were made last night.

The photo incorporated into the following painting is an old picture of the beats. I could identify Ginsberg, Ferlingetti, and Richard Brautigan (though he wasn't technically a beat poet, just a crappy poet as far as I recall).

Saturday, July 12, 2008

slideshow

So I tried to take better photos of the box things I've been making. Then I put some of them together as a slide show.

I'm calling them tree/houses, because of the branches and boxes, but they are more about the associations of the things assembled, probably. There are a few puns built in, like the chicken and the eggs, a boxer with just one arm, the printed "fragile" on one of the panels with a hole and a branch shoved through it, the candy like an offering to the art gods, etc.

The music is Kaki King.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Defending your art

I'm trying to explain the boxes (in the last post) to some people. I can't find anything to point to that looks like these things, except that Richard Tuttle uses some of the same materials. And he's kind of a big deal. So rather than try to defend it, I will forthwith use the following statement: "Shut the f@*& up and enjoy my art."