It is more about song then genre for me. Anything and everything if it strikes the right chord. But speaking as a visual artist, if I had synesthesia, I think I might hear my paintings as Joanna Newsom songs, particularly her newer stuff.
Movies
RUSHMORE
"These are OR Scrubs"..."O. R. they?"
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
"Build her a cake or something"
THE THIN RED LINE
"Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power but two?"
APOCALYPSE NOW
"We train young men to drop fire on people. But their commanders won't allow them to write "fuck" on their airplanes because it's obscene!"
THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES
"In the past, politicians promised to create a better world... their power and authority came from the optimistic visions they offered to their people. Those dreams failed. And today, people have lost faith in ideologies. Increasingly, politicians are seen simply as managers of public life. But now, they have discovered a new role that restores their power and authority. Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us from nightmares. They say that they will rescue us from dreadful dangers that we cannot see and do not understand... But much of this threat is a fantasy, which has been exaggerated and distorted by politicians. It’s a dark illusion that has spread unquestioned through governments around the world, the security services, and the international media...
Television
The Office, The Daily Show, Colbert, Carnivale, LOST, Simpsons, Seinfeld, Arested Development, Homicide: Life on the Street
Books
Charles Bowden's "Blues for Cannibals"
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" Not for the faint of heart but truly a profound read. Neither long nor difficult, it lends itself to being read in one sitting if you can set aside a day off sometime to experience it.
Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" and "All the Pretty Horses" (I'm sure I'll love his other books too. I just haven't got my hands on them yet.)
Milan Kundera's "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting"
Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Apologies to everyone whose messages I have not yet returned or whose friend requests I have not yet approved. I'm finally back on myspace after a long absence. All is well, I've just been busy creating and ran into an unexpected and rather epic move this spring when our landlord decided to tear our house down on short notice. We've been in our new digs for a month now and things are finally starting to feel about as close to "normal" as they get around here. I'll be working to return all my messages as soon as I can. Sorry for the delay! It's good to be back.
A Few Thoughts on Being an Artist
“It seems to me that superior creativity is really nothing more than a life preserver a drowning person builds and throws to himself. Sometimes this preserver is of such quality and innovation that the person reaches the shore and people look at it and say "Wow, look what you created!" when really it was an act of desperation that had little to do with the item itself.” I didn't write that, but I do think it describes something of the experience of being an artist. Which isn't to say I'm drowning, but these days the world's waves do seem higher, its storms fiercer, and I can't help feeling sometimes that we're all caught up in the same quick current to parts unknown. For me, painting is like shouting through a fog, across a span of rough water, to see if anyone else is there. Imagine my joy and relief to hear so many voices calling back to me. After all, there's safety in numbers!
News
"The End is Near" Prints: The first four ltd. edition prints from "The End is Near" are now available.
Online Interview:
Thoughts on tiki art & beyond. Artist profile by London writer-photographer-blogger Chirs Osburn.
hiya heather ~ i'm glad that you are happy and that things are seemingly turning out really well for you:) ....and i can't wait to get my #4 print!
in looking at the flyers you have here, i saw the class of "pop surrealism" and i thought how perfect that was and how i want to delve deeper into the world. memes on acid!!!!
all right, i hope your summer is turning out nicely:)
so.... according to my bank statement, you received and posted my cheque! no worries about not being able to tell me so, i am aware of how bonkers things must be up there, past the border;) now i have to figure out the best place of that #4 print.... there's a perfect place right above me monitor!
oooo, and congrats on the show in Berlin ~ YAY to you!!!!
so.... i found out the name of the artist that your work reminded me of: Mark Ryden! are you familiar with his work...? hope everything is reaching normalcy all the way up there!:) i can't wait to receive my print!!!!
hello my talented friend to the north! so.... after my forlorn plan to buy a print of your lovely "skunk work," i think i can finally give you my word now! where should i send a cheque and for how much? hope all is good:)
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