Father's Day

Towns and Ties #3

Brett Williams makes video, audio, performance, sculpture and installation and sometimes collaborates with me in Nosey Parker. I recently made it to his wonderfully air conditioned studio that he shares with his artist wife Jamie Kraher. Brett and I have a long history in collaboration that runs the gamet of new media. We've used guns and utopian architecture to express a uniquely American solidarity that was founded on the principles of Platonic ideals. Recently Brett has been active in high definition video and methods of displaying his thoughtfully crafted sequences so as to disrupt the preciousness of his art. When an artist uses video, more than likely audio has a significant presence. Brett creates soundscapes that mimic or join the flow of his quirky jump cut video creations. Jump cuts are like guitar riffs in early nineties indie rock found in the likes of Fugazi or Mission of Burma. Later we might hear this in bands such as Square Pusher or Climax Golden Twin. Brett's video's used to take the form of ridiculous self commercials. In these videos the artist might wear a beach towel cape while running through an empty gymnasium in front of seated on-lookers or he might be siting on the toilet nude while eating peanut butter. Later we see only his name paired with seemingly stupid moving graphics and an obnoxious soundtrack of home made instruments and electronic noize. Recently Brett has transitioned into combining video with discreet objects while maintaining the "lowfi" aesthetic in conjunction with very complicated new media processes. He likes to defy the glory of well made video and audio by translating it through shitty 2W speakers and old CRT screens but he's equally as interested in screening in well made video rooms with HiFi sound. It's the possibility of presence that interests this artist and I hope to continue in dialogue and possibly make some more free spirited shit with him.

Black James

There was a band out of Portland, Maine called The Mother Fucking Shit. I picked up their vinyl at Vintage Vinyl sometime in 95'. They were indie, putting work out through holes in their pockets. I'll never forget putting the record on for Mike DeLeon, his expression much the same as mine on first listen. An appreciation for a band that can fulfill the namesake and here's a St. Louis by way of Tennessee version - Black James.

You can check Black James out at the Sci Fi Lounge on March.19th.

Another take on Smokin' in the Cockpit + video snippet

Sometimes there are fortunate outcomes to knowing creative people. Sometimes these people are generous in themselves and sometimes they bring others who also have gifts to share. Virginia Lee Hunter, a friend of Larry Bulawsky, came to my opening with her camera. This was a very nice surprise. Not only did Larry bring his talent as a performer - front man and guitar player, he also brought Virginia, a highly accomplished film maker, photographer, lecturer and there's likely more.

Here's the link to Virginia's take on Smoke in the Cockpit: 1

Here's a link to Virginia's art/business site: 2

Here's a video short of the performance:
Video was shot by Tim Meehan and to see the entire video please visit the Regional Arts Commission gallery

The night Tony Renner attacked my guitar

There's a slew of things that happened the night of 1/15/10...most of which I was oblivious to. I was stuck in my own call and response world, catching glimpses of performance from my collaborators that I just had to shake my head at, in a good way...like a double take, you know the kind where you're a little shocked and you can't quite find the proper response. That's the way I felt anyway. I was stuck in an unrehearsed performance.

All my collaborators are great showmen and they also happen to possess a skill in handling the guitar. I've seen them on many nights, many bars with many drinks and it has been my perception that they have magical abilities.

It was good to see other people with this magical ability in the audience and they affirmed my thoughts that Smoke in the Cockpit worked...the idea was sound (pun intended).


Some of my favorite quotes of the evening:

Paul Ha - “It looks like the Grand Ole Opry”.

Paul was responding to the pre-performance equipment arrangement as in Susan Schultz’s picture of guitars lying against amplifiers. Though I’ve never been to the Opry I think the guitar is fundamental if not iconic to the Opry much like it is in my work.

Sara Tolch - “Sure...I’ll go see Robert’s new band...”.

Sara has been a friend for a number of years once she entered my life through her marraige with Andy Tolch. My wife Susan relayed this little gem of a quote after our performance and it could speak to the look on Sara’s face when she realised that
maybe this band wasn’t what she’s accustomed to. I think the story is that Sara wasn’t planning on going out but Andy mentioned my performance and she rallied to give her support. Sara, I hope you still enjoyed the band.

Tom Buescher - “Robert, you’re going to believe this....I forgot my guitar”.

This quote came by phone moments before taking the stage. Tom was en route retrieving his instrument. The pre-performance jitters or just a head-full of thoughts. Whatever the cause of Tom’s forgetfullness the performance wasn’t comprimised. I just mentioned the incident to the audience before we started...tossing it into the closet of rock n roll stories. I told Tom to take his time, be safe and jump on in when he gets back.

Mike Burgett - “It’s like sex when you’re old”

More or less. Like You’re the man and the guitar is the woman and you’re not going to get much out of this pairing unless you take your time. Mike was ellaborating on the musical score I provided in english. The goal was to make it last as long as possible but to also be aware of the other performers. To react as a group and as a couple trying to have quality time. There was some partner sharing but I guess in an unrehearsed frenzy there’s bound to be some of that.


I enjoyed the performance but I also took in a lot of information regarding guitar equipment, recording tips, the secrets of guitar players and audio engineers. I am also overwhelmed by the support from my collaborators and the art community. I will have a video of the performance installed at RAC soon and must thank Tim Meehan for handling the camera work. Please come by and see the video and leftovers of the performance, my sculpture and the work of the other artists involved in the exhibition.

Let’s do it again!


Susan Schultz took these photos:

SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT - rehearsal

I'm posting these shots because I may never get around to it later. The whole crew will perform Jan. 15, 2010 - 7pm at the Regional Arts Commission. Tonight -Mike Burgett, Tom Buescher, Sherman S. Sherman and myself ran through a sound check for the performance on Friday. The whole crew will be Larry Bulawsky, Tom Buescher, Mike Burgett, Robert Goetz, Jason Hutto, Tony Renner and Sherman S. Sherman. Collectively we're known as Smoke In The Cockpit. More on that later.

it's getting spooooky around here...

No art today, just normal human stuff. It's Norah's first Halloween and we've gotten into the spirit. We wish you a fun, safe and
spooooky Halloween!

collaboration

(painting credited to hieronymous bosch)


SdB Yeah. He got a job at Bell Labs doing helicopter design as a way of pursuing his interest in the so-called Psychopter, which he was much more enthusiastic about than the helicopter.

DH What is the Psychopter?

SdB It’s Young’s idea of a vehicle that would transport the self—the human self—into another dimension. He really believed in this.

DH So this is outside of neuroscience or psychopharmacology. Are you talking about nuts-and-bolts engineering in the service of…altered consciousness?

SdB Exactly. He’s in pursuit of something fantastic, but positioned within the world of utter practicality.

DH Well, as painters, we have permission to take questionable theories seriously.

SdB To what degree do you have to be right, as an artist? There is the notion that you should have some idea of what you’re talking about, but it’s never going to replace how interesting a work is.

DH The work needs to reflect the strength of our convictions. Our motivation thrives if we believe that our efforts matter.

SdB I have this belief that the work will yield awareness or trigger a connection to the images as if they’re encoded in the paintings as bodies of information. It also becomes a way of escaping the issues around painting: nothing interests me less than the questions of abstraction, or the possibilities of whether painting can compete with other mediums. That seems to be really behind us.

DH This gets to the core question: What is painting good for?

*(full bomb magazine article can be found here: http://www.bombsite.com/issues/103/articles/3096)


I find this article interesting for the dialogue these two artists are engaged but I also find it taps into an idea that's been mull'n about my kehnoggin for some time. In April I took part in a project that challenged the notion of collaboration and more specifically artist collaboration and artist/curator roles. Because I'm a professional artist I take my role as artist into consideration, not necessarily seriously but always considerably. With professional collaborations there should be a basic understanding of ownership of intellectual property as well a delineation drawn between the art concept and the curatorial concept. One should also think about a contractual agreement if relationships bear a certain amount of hostility towards these lines. Lets just say that I will always be wary from now on. As an artist I think it abhorrent for a curator to shit all over my idea and work. The bold italic dialogue above points to the main issue in my mind - that is, what is the function of the art as opposed to the curatorial umbrella. I say opposed because sometimes there is a great but silent battle taking place between the two. I do have more to say about this in time. In the end I'll add that when conducting projects that involve people of considerable skill, good intention and quality there must be an effort to give credit where credit is due. When collaborating ask yourself, did I do the whole thing by myself with no help and do I deserve complete credit for all this brilliant work? In the end I ask all you self absorbed users to always check your ego at the door when asking for help' (me included).

On another note: The Bomb Magazine article is worth a read. While hardly touching on my issue the conversation is really inspiring. My thought is that it manages to be mindful of artistic practice and sincere. Arthur M Young is also worth checking into.

Got a new toy

TOY

I've been working on ideas in the studio and I've been procrastinating my blog update for these fabulous ideas.
Hah, suffer through another original acoustic death song.

Future Plans

(image comes from an unknown web source not my family photo album)

Justaposition

Heather Corley's foot squashes my tender dropped amusement.

belief

melt

recording more sketches, sketchy songs...

recent notable recordings

I had the pleasure of singing in a gang vocal session for a new album by Sherman S. Sherman. This is the same Sherman S. Sherman that offered up his property to do an audio/video piece for an upcoming - Friday, August 28th - opening at the Hunt Gallery at Webster University. The show is entitled The Unobserved World. Please come. It'll be fun? There's cold beer I've heard.

Jason Hutto (Phonocaptors and Walkie Talkie USA, also happens to be the guitar tech for Son Volt) is engineering the gang of Dirty Peckers (nickname for musicians who work and play in Sherman S. Sherman's Peck of Dirt project). Some pics of the beautiful and talented people who fill St. louis bars and basements with amazing sound taking part in the gang vocal.

I'm not sure when this album will drop but the song we sung on was one of the best Southside dirges I've ever heard...maybe that's the STAG talkin.

Light In The Darkness I Walk

Song sketch

Until The Wind Blows You Out

Two ol' songs

that were recorded by Roy Kasten and played by Ann Tkach, Dallas Woodson and I. Written by me for Acoustic Death Music.
One night in apt. # 402 at 1629 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103. Winter of 2007

Summer
Waiting for the band

Another collaborative effort sent three wild and crazy guys out to Rancho Sherman S. Sherman. Sherm is kind enough to let me
abuse his property and sometimes his friendship when I've concocted dubious plans in the guise of art. This time Daniel McGrath proposed the audio/video project that set the course for action.

I come at it through the ideas of John Cage, namely related to his "small sounds" lexicon. It's not that the sounds of this project were microscopic but that Cage made it possible for the most "insignificant" of sounds (namely silence) to be placed amongst the most rigid and time tested structures of western audio composition. By making 'all sound' a viable and thus potent carrier of meaning, Cage brings everything we hear and think we hear to the forefront of conceptual materials. So the question that interests me is: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" The question is then about perception and Cage was perhaps the first artist to point out the nature of perception as it is linked to memory.

For this project we set out to make sure that our memory serves us correct...that a tree does indeed make a sound.



Now in the words of Daniel McGrath:

Basically it's about teh philosophical absence of sound if it is not pecieved. It's connected (in this context) to the idea that if there's an opening at a gallery and no one goes to see it, does it exist a a show? What then is an exhibition?

There was a sex pistols concert in Manchester that 30 people saw, most of them went on to form new bands. Was that a tree falling? I think Da Vinci said something like this: "Music annihilates itself as soon as it comes into existence." It's the representation of the invisible.

song sketch

Tonight I was testing out some gear for a project this weekend and I worked out some words and chords. It's been several weeks of not playing much so I was feeling a little rusty. The picture reflects some of the lyrical ideas in the song. The fat cat nor the picture of the cat is mine. I found it while I was looking for pictures of the morbidly obese.

The song combines several personal instances that needed an outlet. I think my time in jury duty slipped some idealistic phrases into the mix where a few curse words would have been used. It's just as simple as you can get. I repeat the entire song in the second verse and chorus but I throw in a G to disrupt the progression at the end. It looks like my gear works..I'm ready for the weekend.

DIN OF THE DEN

laziness of the day, of the week and possibly the year.

One thing I'm reminded of when viewing this video is the laurels some rest on. Note to self: there is always going to be someone more capable and you are not irreplaceable. With this in mind, go forth with well intentions.

what it is what it is what it is what it is what it

Relational strategies in artistic practice/ritual. Warlock Homage. When you place a certain significance on materials. I believe Joseph Beuys coined it "contextual material". You can see it in his felt and fat works. Another fascinating thing about Beuys is taken from the Wikipedia page I've linked:

"Also in 1958, Beuys begins a cycle of drawings related to Joyce’s Ulysses. Completed in ca.1961, the six exercise books of drawings would constitute, Beuys declared, an extension of Joyce’s seminal novel."

Rationing Doom

Held securely in a south city fortress; a muse of death, toppled power, and redemption from the abusers of power slowly unburdens itself from an artist. The work seems to cut a wide arc through ancient and contemporary history all the while and unflinchingly exposing the most earnest of man's endeavor.

In this snippet Coby Ellison see's the mastery of men as a godless enterprise as his characters acquiesce to their fictional and consorting reaper. The characters in power play it a touch under audacious as they know what fantasy can become.

I first met Coby at SnowFlake where we were concurrently showing in two separate displays. His was an installation in the Drive By space depicting a diorama of war between ant armies. Mine was a drawing and audio score of a piece called Hate Project - Car Bomb. At the end of the evening we were sharing our interests in music. It turns out that Coby has also been involved in music with stints in punk rock bands and as a solo artist better known as Debbie.

A welcome sign for seasonal change

Anyone know this little feller? It comes every spring through a crack in the concrete about the time my piennies start to bud, which is early spring. The flowers open and close throughout the day...notice the flower clusters. The honey bees, butterflies and hummingbirds frequent this plant thoroughly which makes for a busy little nectar intersection. I think my fig tree might benefit from the attention this plant gets. Yes, I did say fig tree. Anyone know about the rare Missouri fig tree?

I hate it when good people die

One thing that's been bothering me is the passing of Jay Bennett. Here's a link to a live version of a beautiful album called The Palace at 4am. It would have been a dream of mine to record at Pieholden, Jay's studio. I would have quit all my other fantasies for the duration to do so. 

If there's a heaven I hope Jay is there.

Links to some other work he had done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAx4CPx3J7M&feature=channel_page 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE3ZON0DXY8&feature=related 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_BYgg4oUmE&feature=related 

and Titanic Love Affair
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqB-lvuv12E