Michael Swaine: "Mending for the People" Tenderloin National Forest, San...

Some time ago, it occurred to me that a good way to teach some of the fundamental skills that are part of a BFA Foundations program might be to use repair as a focus for a project. (This is an idea I have talked about with artist H. John Thompson a little.)



It would require knowledge of materials and assembly logics, as well as careful measurement and fabrication. One can imagine a number of conceptually engaging approaches to repair that students might take.



I've been making note of examples of work like this, but I I thought this was an interesting take on the subject. Perhaps I'll keep track of examples here, and I invite your suggestions...

Rochelle Toner

Interesting video of Rockie Toner talking about her work and career...

SAI 2015 Rochelle Toner from Senior Artists Initiative on Vimeo.

Chomography Talks - Melinda Steffy

Chromography Artist Talks - Gerard Brown

Listening to swine flu

Swine flu virus (according to Wikipedia...could be a grape juice spill I suppose...)

Using the I-am-a-bulletin board function of this blog this week... here is something I came across that I need to keep track of - protein and amino acid music.

I gather this is an example of audiation (a variation on the idea of visualization) in which patterns and correspondences hidden in data might be revealed through translation to music. Here's another spot to look at...

This example (on a blog by Stephen Zielinski) looks at the sequence of amino acids in swine flu and produces ambient music. I'm a little bothered that he had a goal - ambient music - in this. I suppose I should just accept that as a form of translation, this intends to make something in the target language rather than to find something in the source....but I am just more interested in what happens when you haven't got anything in mind and let yourself go where the text leads...

You can listen here...

You can see the whole post here.

Edit: this link - to a simultaneous ambient composition created by edits to Wikipedia - is what got me thinking of audiation earlier this week...

WHYY-TV Friday Arts visits Rowan University Art Gallery to talk Art & Technology

Video: Other Selections @ the Center for Art in Wood

I want to be everyone sees this piece by John Thornton...it's interesting how the Center for Art in Wood is producing these short videos in lieu of conventional exhibit essays. There is a lot to talk about in terms of the relationship between craft and sculpture in this show, but that's for another post...

My college radio debut...

Thanks to Professor Ron Block at Rowan University's WGLS FM 89.7. Professor Block hosts The Writers' Roundtable, a monthly show where he talks about fiction and poetry with authors. He was kind enough to ask me to come over on April 27, 2015, and talk about the work in Chromography: Writing in Color (currently on view at Rowan University Art Gallery). We talked about abstract painting drag, secret messages and the translations of The Hours from literature to music.

Here's a link to the show's podcast, enjoy the show...

Some photos from Chromography