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July 29, 2004
Talking to Denise . . .
was really good - some things bugged me but generally I agree with the holes she was pointing out.
She said didn't really get my use of the term hybrid - She said that my ideas about shifting between ideologies just sounded "schizophrenic" . . . which in hindsight I quite like - I might look into that idea more - schizophrenia. She mentioned that perhaps I was more talking about 'mutation' and this is certainly true to some extent, although there is a difference between a mutant and a hybrid [I don't think a mutant is always necessarily a hybrid], and I think it's still the hybrid nature of things that interests me [I know that's vague though, sorry!]. Obviously I need to work on clearing this 'hybrid' thing up a little more . . . it bugged me when Denise said it didn't make much sense, and I've had the same response from other people. I guess I had been thinking that I had started to define my use of, and interest in, the term via the work I'd been making and the entries into this blog . . . but I'll try and post something more in relation to this in the weekend.
In regard to 'mutation' Denise suggested Donna Harraway [I have her Cyborg Manifesto somewhere and will re-read this] . . . the fact the mutant 'doesn't fit in' . . . and the political nature of that idea [in Harraway].
She said I should try to "push forms harder" - I really liked this, it seems so obvious now she's said it!
She said I should "indulge in incorrectness" which I really liked too . . . don't be afraid to be ugly! This is actually kind of what I had been trying to do with my most recent Elvis pieces - to me those are pretty ugly! How to do this . . . ?
In relation to incorrectness Denise suggested I look at Elliot Earls' work [I've seen some of his stuff for Emigre but will look into him again via his site the 'Apollo Programme']. Art Chantry came up which was interesting because I hadn't mentioned him. We talked briefly about Dan Friedman and Denise suggested I look at April Greiman too - which I kind of already had, I was really only referring to Friedman for his ideas in his book Radical Modernism.
The last thing was that I was kind of mildly irreverent, and she thought I should push this further - be more irreverent. She didn't like my trying to link Duchamp and Elvis because "it's too easy to link Duchamp with anything" . . . that made me feel dumb!
It was good because before I talked with her I was quite confident that I had my shit together . . . and then she made me feel dumb.
Kinda' made me realise too that I'm really not an Academic - which I guess I already knew, and it's not like I ever saw myself like that anyway, but certainly made me question why the hell I'm doing what I'm doing? And by that I mean more my current job than this Masters thing!
Denise, if by any chance you end up reading this, thanks for the discussion - it's got to be a little weird to have some complete stranger ring you up and expect to discuss their work? Cheers.
Posted by Luke Wood at 09:38 PM
July 28, 2004
Denise Gonzales Crisp
I went to Denise's blog [http://superstove.blogs.com/decorational/] because I'm supposed to be talking to her tomorrow night and I've never met her and I just thought it'd be good to know where she's coming from . . . not because [I think?] Lisa has asked her to read my blog . . . anyhow a couple of things from her blog interested me ñ her induction of 'Decorationalists' especially ñ and I thought I'd stash a quick reference to them here > > > >
1.
I really enjoyed the way she sets up 'the Decorationalist' ñ very amusing and constructive. I especially like the way she sets out to 'induct' people into her cause [but then also to clarify those who don't quite fit in . . . but who you thought might have]. I guess I was thinking I could use [appropriate] this as a strategy to develop my notion of the Hybrid Practitioner . . . and then I thought that maybe that's what Elvis was already kind of beginning to do for me ñ inducting people?
From Denise's blog . . .
"* * * D E C O R A T I O N A L I S T S * * *
Decorationalist: Dave Eggars
Mostly Because Of: McSweeney's journal
Inductor's Notes:
McSweeney's makes sense unto itself. Its logic is self contained, but its delivery plays a game of beguiling . . .
Decorationalist: Chris Ware
Mostly Because Of: All his comics
Inductor's Notes:
Much of his work functions at many levels . . .
etc ñ then . . .
* * * NOT DECORATIONALISTS WHO YOU MIGHT THINK ARE AND WHY * * *
Not Decorationalist: Jennifer Sterling
Mostly Because: the work is more akin to automatic writing.
Abductor's Notes:
While it is obsessively sincere, the complex delivery only appears complex . . ."
etc ñ you get the picture . . .
2.
This bit . . .
"Pushing pennies to make sense
When artists and designers want to mess with the tools and the materials of their craft, or invent completely new ones, the initital investigations are abstract and devoid of meaning. Explorations tend not to take the form of samplers for instance, projects used to build skill and understanding. No, experience and mastery of what is already possible is presumed. Content of the experiments, then, can be somewhat arbitrary, a bit of nonsense, iterations of form stories that may point to and spawn significant ideas, but later.
The first impulse to push tools and materials into new territory seems to create the insignificant artifact, things superfluous and maybe even freewheeling. (John Maeda's early computational studies might be an example of this: see the timeline of work done through Maeda Studio and his MIT Media Lab courses which begins with little forays of questionable consequence and culminate into a body of work that has inspired a shift in how we think of the computer (represented in a soon-to-be-released book entitled Creative Code .) I think it must be so in order to free up the experiment.
This is no doubt the difference between form/material experimentation and the scientific method."
. . . interested me because, well maybe because it felt like it somehow validated my own work that at the moment could seem a bit "arbitrary . . . nonsense . . . of questionable consequence" . . . but also because I've been trying for this whole term now [3 weeks] to get my 3rd and 4th year students to start making work!
This passage reminded me of something I think John Cage said? Something about if you don't know where to start, start anywhere" . . . I think this might have been from that big 'ol Bruce Mau book? Also made me think about Wiengart whose early experiments with lead type were perhaps of little consequence, but which lead him into rich ground.
Posted by Luke Wood at 09:06 PM
July 27, 2004
Jesus Presley X
Wanted to try out other approaches to the Elvis Illustrated Caps . . . rather than trying to ape the formal qualities of the original ones [see earlier post on this blog], I thought it might be interesting to render them as contemporary kitsch. I was thinking about the satin cushions you can get with Elvis on them . . . White trash ñ Elvis ñ Christianity. The one on the left is also a reference to Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus". Not sure how I feel about these at this stage but thought I'd put 'em on here?
Posted by Luke Wood at 03:35 PM
July 26, 2004
Hybrid Country/Horror event
This is a poster I did for my bands next gig. Being that it was on Friday the 13th we thought we'd make it Country/Horror thing . . .
. . . this hybrid show obviously presents me with a good opportunity to investigate a possible hybrid visual language ñ so I've been working on trying to blend the B-grade horror poster with a country & western aesthetic. I also thought it'd be appropriate to use Elvis again ñ good or evil etc. It's supposed to look as though Elvis is either saving the girl, but also perhaps those are his 'monster' hands holding her? And is she in danger, or is she simply overcome by Elvis' presence?
I'm not sure how successful this is in terms of it's being a 'hybrid statement'? I guess I'm fairly happy with the content [text and image], but the visual language at work appears to be more horror than country . . . I think? Be good to ask someone to look at this actually? Keen on some feedback . . .
Perhaps the colours I've used here [they're not all the same colour] aren't helping the 'country' reading either? I'd used this colour to try and reference the horror film aspect ñ kinda' the 60's psychadelic ones. Here's a black and white one for comparison . . .
What I am finding really interesting about this work is that it's actually really hard to create something that sounds quite easy ñ a hybrid statement ñ by appropriating and blending two [or more?] existing visual languages to create a new hybrid one that moves beyond being purely referential, and is in some sense 'new'.
I like the idea that the appropriated sources are placed in conversation with one another. Reading Greil Marcus' "Dead Elvis" and "Lipstick Traces", I've been really enjoying the way he pulls together [and makes sense of] things that had previously seemed disparate and unrelated. [This is, I guess, what prompted me to put Johnny Rotten and Elvis together in the same room?]
I think part of the difficulty I've had with this poster is that both the references are actually quite close/similar ñ in that they're both from 50s/60s pop culture . . . I don't know? Perhaps I'm just making excuses? It also kinda' bugs me in the respect that I feel like I've seen this before, in Art Chantry's work for 'The Cramps' for example . . . but I don't believe in pure originality, and it's not what I'm after . . . what am I after again? [I need to sit down and think about that again]
I actually quite like the poster though ñ I think it looks like we sound.
Posted by Luke Wood at 02:34 PM
July 19, 2004
Johnny Rotten visited by Elvis' Ghost
And on the eve of the Sex Pistols final show in the USA [1978] the ghost of the young Elvis Presley visits Johnny Rotten to ask him if he feels like he's ever been cheated.
This is based on an idea I had that I could create this big complex myth/cult based around Elvis as "The Hybrid Practitioner" [I might rename that though ñ The Hybrid King?], who has 'found the way' and whose ghost visits people to dicuss the hybrid path/way . . . I really like the idea that he visits Johnny Rotten ñ maybe even earlier than this? Perhaps when the King was still alive? And visited John in about late 75?
Below is an earlier image I'd done but not stuck on here because I didn't like it! That's partly just a formal thing, but also I wasn't sure what I was saying with it . . . it's from the Steve Allen show in 1956 when Elvis [in order to make him tone down his act] was forced to wear a tux and sing 'Hound Dog' to a a Basset Hound. I was referring to this as a 'hybrid moment' in his career ñ where the allure of fame was to perhaps become more a part of his mandate than music?
I have no reason for choosing the letter 'L' ñ I was still seeing this as an exercise in form, so hadn't considered this aspect. This bugged me, as did the choice of scene.
What I think is really important about Elvis is what he [along with Sam, Scotty, and Bill] did at Sun Records ñ blending various sources to create a new hybrid form of music [rockabilly]. That was THE Hybrid Moment I'm interested in!
Johnny Rotten brought aspects to his performance that made it 'hybrid' too. His reference to 'King Richard' [check this?] on TV theatre performance . . .
The letter 'X' I'm pretty happy with ñ cross-over, cancelling out, mistake [this scene couldn't have happened], etc. Finding other letterforms that are suitably 'loaded' is difficult however!
. . . I also really like that this looks a little like a Raymond Pettibone cartoon/image. I was a big fan of his Black Flag record covers.
Posted by Luke Wood at 05:50 PM