Guerilla Art Project - "The Unleashing"

I unleashed a fair amount of "guerilla art" today at numerous locations. I was suprised to find placing nearly 30 pieces of art goes very quickly. Before I knew it I was down to my last 7 pieces.

Guerilla Art Project

The photos above depict the 30 or so drawings and paintings I created during the course of an afternoon. Some were painted with a brush and acrylic paint. Others were created using a black marker. The intent is to place these original works of art in public places throughout parts of south west Michigan.

Why? The premise is simple, art should be accessible and finding art in unexpected places is a unique experience. My hope is people will find these original works of art and send comments and/or photos (via email) of what they did with their found art. Some of the results will be posted here. (The "Finders" will know how to contact me by way of a note placed on the back of each piece).

Should the project be successful I'll be posting selected highlights of the experience here.

Cornstock 2005 - Tshirt Designs

Here are a few Cornstock T-shirt designs I'll be submitting. As I mentioned previously, the Elvis version was done just for fun at the personal request of the promoter.

Mad Max Mendon Style

Um????? (long pause).....NO.

My creative side that embraces unique and different just couldn't appreciate the effort. Maybe it's the contradiction of cow skull and Ram truck logo.

A ram skull would be cool... but a cow skull is just gross.

(I took this photo in Mendon, which is a lot like Mad Max's post apocolyptic wasteland depicted in the movie).

Duck...

Most people will view this photo and think "Oh, what a cute duck with misplaced feathers". Not me. This is the truth. When I saw this duck the very first thing that came to my mind was the Abraham Zapruder film footage of JFK getting assassinated. My mom, who saw the duck as well, said aloud "that duck sure could use a barette." Shortly after, we had a long talk about the circumstances surrounding my adoption.

River Reading Experiment Explained

I recently came into ownership of 8 old books nobody wanted. Instead of throwing them away or donating them to the library I decided to come up with something unique to do with them. So I decided to place the 8 books under 8 different bridges on various rivers around Vicksburg, MI. I tried to make the retrieval of these books only accesible by canoe/kayak. I should note I didn't read any of the books.

Inside each book is taped a note encouraging the finder to place the book at another river location of their choosing. But first they're encouraged to email me where they found it and attach a photo of where they placed it next. Then I'll post the results here. The hope is these 8 books will make their way to some unique river locations (hopefully outside the Vicksburg area).

Truthfully, I don't have high expectations for this experiment. I know I'm asking a lot from people to take a photo then send it to me. Plus it's not always easy to find bridges under which to place books. Time will tell. It certainly was more fun than dropping them off at the library.

For those who are curious:
The photos above were taken near Z Avenue. One at the Z Ave. bridge and another further down river at an old railroad trestle. I'll be posting photos of more locations soon.

Penitentiary Swing Crew

Most of my peeps know I'm a hard core competitive swinger (of the school yard swing set variety.) So recently I joined the Prison League Swing Set Association (PLSSA) to up my game.

My swing crew is comprised of mostly 3 time offenders. I'm the only one with a clean record. (As PLSSA bylaws state I can compete as long as armed guards are present during competition). I might add I'm also the only member with a clean canvas (ie. no tatoos). However, if we win this year's tourney I may reconsider. I figure, since my seat of choice (shown above) is custom made for me by Schnieder Swing Accessories I'll probably get their logo tatooed on my maximus. Ironically, after a long game of swing their embossed seat logo is ususally indented in my maximus anyway.

I'm feeling pretty confident this year about the tourney. My swing crew has nothing but time to train. Some of their synchronized swinging routines are pretty tight. However, I did recently find out one of our swing crew members, accidentally or not so accidentally, vaulted over the prison security fences when he over pumped during training. He got shot dead, by the guard, just as his feet hit the security fence mulch. My swing crew said it was a near perfect dismount... except for the dying part. I think we're going to retire his number (485625489) at the next swing match.

Yet Another Painting

It was a fairly productive week of painting.

Video Blog - X-Files Lake

While I was shooting this footage (Still shots and video) it was so quiet and a bit creepy. Even the temperature was kind of strange. I also remember my watch stopped working. Still not sure why I arrived at work four hours late wearing a silver jumpsuit. Since that day I've always refered to the lake as the X-file's lake.

Cornstock 2005 - Inked Corn Characters

Refined and inked corn characters playing musical instruments. Coming soon... colorized characters and probably the final design.

HEALTH NUTrition

These are photos I took of my co-worker's desk and chair. My co-worker fancies himself as a bit of a "health nut". He has remedies and cures for nearly everything. (Don't ask to see how moles are removed... it's worse than being asked to smell someone's cast). Suprisingly many of his cures work (for him).

My problem has always been accepting his health advice. It's difficult for me to take advice from someone who EVERYDAY eats ONLY cake, high-calorie donuts, 5lb containers of Sam's Club Animal Crackers or heaping bowls of ice cream for lunch (in addition to his desk-top pharmeceuticals).

In the nearly three years I've worked with him I've never seen him eat anything nutritious. Yet when anyone in the office orders a cheeseburger from McDonald's LOOK OUT!!!! He'll verbally assualt you with the many manifestations of diseases taking host in your body at that moment. His tirade will continue throughout our entire lunch but only between bites of his donuts and cookies.

Recent Painting

Here's a recent 30"x40" painting on canvas. It actually turned out better than I'd hoped. Ironically enough, I find when I least feel like painting is usually the best time to paint. When I concentrate too much on a painting it tends to get overworked. When I approach a painting in a "half hearted" manner I tend to work more loosely and my ideas flow more freely.

Imaginary Smoker

I’m going to have to come clean and admit that I’m addicted to imaginary smoking.

It all began innocently enough when a co-worker approached my desk with a question. I paused a moment, grabbed my imaginary lighter and lit up an imaginary cigarette. Then in my best Thurston Howell III voice I proceeded to answer my co-worker's question. We both laughed at the absurdity.

The next time I was visited by that same co-worker he decided to light up his imaginary pipe. He proceeded to puff away as we spoke. Not wanting him to feel self-conscious I decided to light up my imaginary cigarette again.

Over the course of many encounters with the aforementioned co-worker we both puffed away on our imaginary smoking paraphernalia with great delight. Then one day I noticed my co-worker stopped bringing his imaginary pipe. I, on the other hand, continued lighting and smoking my imaginary cigarettes. At one point I realized I had long since stopped using my Thurston Howell III impression in favor of concentrating solely on my smoking. It was then I realized I had a problem. Imaginary smoking dependency.

I’m currently seeking treatment for my imaginary dependence. So far I’ve tried going cold turkey, even imaginary smoking gum. So far nothing has worked. I’m hoping the imaginary skin patches will work. So far they're causing an imaginary skin rash that's driving me crazy.

Cornstock 2005 - Elvis Corn

One of my preliminary sketches for Cornstock 2005 had an Elvis Corn character in the margin of my sketch book. The Cornstock promoter thought it was funny and asked if I would create a really quick version for him personally. This is the result... sketched then inked. I'll probably add some color after I complete the other corn characters shown yesterday. Color should help "sell" the idea of Elvis as corn... a yellow face with green hair might do the trick.

Cornstock 2005 - Rough Sketches

I was recently asked to contribute some art work for an upcoming music/art festival to be held at Scott's Mill Park. The festival entitled "Cornstock" (playing off the Woodstock concept) is shaping up to be a unique gathering of artists and musicians (open to the public).

These are very, very rough concept sketches of some corn characters playing instruments. I plan on posting the progress of this project up to final completion.

Video Blog - South Haven, MI

Another segment from my video archives. I believe it was shot in May of 2003.

Tonka Thursday (On Monday)

I was recently invited to join a friend's "nearly weekly drawing get together". This particular thursday was dubbed "Tonka Thursday" for obvious reasons.

Previous weeks subjects included boots, rocks and twisted rope.

Video Blog - Spring Lambs

I was searching my archives of video footage when I remembered I shot these clips of lambs running around. The clips had a decidedly spring time feel so, it felt fitting to post.

Colon Excersizes

In the event you can't see the sign, it reads "COLON CURVES". Yep, Curves for Women has a fitness center in the town of Colon, Michigan. I'm at a loss for words... make up your own.

Video Blog - Right Place at the Right Time

Every once and awhile I'm in the right place at the right time with my video camera. This was one of those moments. I shot these clips in Three Rivers, MI last week.

When Yards Go Bad

This Photo Scored a Decent 415pts

One of my hobbies (social experiments) is photographing really trashy yards. I’ve been doing this for a number of years. I’ve recently learned there are other photographers shooting the same subject matter. Many live in Mississippi. Anyway, for some strange reason the worst looking yards tend to be in trailer parks. (Keep in mind I have nothing against trailer parks, mobile homes or their inhabitants. This is strictly about the yards). I Look at it this way, if you want to see lions go to Africa. If you want to see bad yards go to trailer parks.

During my excursions to trailer parks searching for yards gone bad I’ve encountered numerous commonalities. These commonalities include mobile homes where toilet tanks are being used as decorative driveway markers, outdoor furniture comprised of car seats on cinder blocks, strange two-tone color schemes, indoor appliances being used outdoors to name a few. Having seen so many common elements I compiled a list and assigned a point system to allow me to score my photos.
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Strange color schemes (at least two-tone) - 50pts
Screen door(s) unhinged in at least one place - 50pts

1 broken vehicle - 80pts
2 broken vehicles (same model… one probably used for parts) - 200pts
2 broken vehicles (unrelated models) - 160pts

Small Satellite Dish (18“ or less) - 10pts
Large satellite dish (measured in feet)- 100pts

Signs:
No Trespassing sign - 10pts
Keep out Sign - 10pts
Beware of Dog sign - 10pts
No Hunting - 10pts

Confederate flag - 50pts
Confederate flag as curtain- 110pts

NASCAR Flags or banners - 10pts

50 gallon drums (sometimes used as burn barrels or trash)- 10pts

Empty bottles and or cans - 25pts

Obvious fire starters (gas cans, oily rags etc) - 25pts (not per item)

Toilets & Bathtubs:
* Toilet in the yard (non decorative) - 25pts
* Toilet in yard (decorative… ie. drive way markers) - 110pts
* Bathtub (decorative… ie. flower planter) - 110pts
* Bathtub (Non-decorative) - 25pts

Something Hanging From a Tree:
* Transmission/engine - 110pts
* Deer carcass - 80pts
* Tire Swings - 0pts

Dogs:
* Coon dogs - 50pts/dog
* Rotwieler or Pit Bull - 80pts/dog
* Mutts - 0pts
******sidenote - Usually dogs are used to keep people away from the property. It's ok to add the appropriate dog score to a photo even if they don't appear in the photo. I beleive you should get points since it's hard to shoot a photo with a dog barking which could in turn alert the home owner who may then try to shoot you.****

Mattress - 140pts

Appliances:
* Refrigerator (working) - 150pts
* Refrigerator (non working) - 80pts
* Washer - 80pts
* Dryer - 80pts
* Washer and Dryer - 180pts

Tires - 20 pts
Tire rims - 20pts
Tractor Tires (decorative.. Ie driveway markers) - 60pts

Bowling balls (decorative… ie. Driveway markers) - 20 pts

Van or car seats placed on cinder blocks being used as outdoor furniture - 50pts

Recliner in yard - 90pts
Recliner in yard with person sleeping in it - 200pts
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NOTES FROM THE FIELD
A few weeks ago I struck "gold". Almost. I spotted a nasty yard complete with a person sleeping in their recliner. The recliner was placed smack dab in the middle of the yard. Nowhere near the porch. I live for photographic moments like that. Unfortunately my sister doesn't. She happened to be driving and refused to slow down enough for me to snap a photo. Instead she sped up and gave me a lengthy speech on privacy laws. Since I'm still mad about it I'll just say my sister works at a day care. So if I want advice on the bowel movements of children or diapers I'll ask her. If I want advice on privacy laws I'll ask a lawyer.

Explosive New Paintings!

Over the weekend I was invited to a party/bonfire. Since the food and beverages were being provided by the hosts I wasn’t sure what to bring. After giving it some thought I decided to bring something to get the fire going. Gasoline cans and oxygen tanks quickly came to mind. Then I remembered there’d be kids at the party. Totally unsafe. So giving the idea more thought I decided to draw and paint various highly flammable objects on a sheet of cardboard. From there I would cut out the cardboard objects and mount them to some wood stakes. Which of course would be stuck into the ground of the fire pit.

As you’ll notice from the photo above I painted the gasoline can, an oxygen tank, a book (I liked the idea of having a book burning), a bundle of dynamite, a drivers license photo and a piece of cheese. (Admittedly, I don’t know why I chose a piece of cheese, it just seemed to round out my theme). Anyway I cut out the objects/mounted them to stakes and took them to the party.

Fortunately or unfortunately my highly flammable objects never made their way to the fire pit (or I would have shown pictures.) Instead they were either admired by people who have an appreciation for ironic humor or they were looked upon by others who wished I’d brought an extra bag of Doritos instead.