Friday, January 30, 2009

Dragging Pictures





I was at the swap meet the other day and found a box full of pictures. I asked the lady how much she wanted for them and she said I could have them for free. I hadn’t even looked through the pictures and I was excited. “Can I ask you what you want them for?” she asked. I told her I did art pieces with them and then she told me about her son who’s a photographer and who tends to see pictures where she doesn’t.

While at home I looked through the pictures and found a few common themes. Some of the pictures were of empty bars and restaurants. Just pictures of furniture and floors, etc. Most of the pictures were of costume parties, possibly at these same locations. The overall atmosphere was jovial and the costume theme seemed pretty common at their parties. Once taken out of context, however, the people turn into characters.

A friend of mine who's a DJ in Rome asked me if I could work on some art for his next show. The theme of the event was going to be drag. I immediately remembered the box of pictures and agreed to send him something. I was off from work for a couple of days and thought of these captions. For the most part, I thought of the captions first and then paired them with the pictures.



Thursday, January 29, 2009

growing together





It’s been a while since I write something here. The new year has found me with a new job which keeps me very busy.

I was playing around with some pictures the other night and came up with these captions. I sat at my desk and stared at the pictures while at my typewriter. I would type the captions as they came to my head.



Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The art on the wall







I took a stroll while in Mexicali and brought my camera along. I walked along the old neighborhood where I grew up for part of my life. While other parts of the city are getting new malls and Walmarts, this part has seen little business growth. The neighborhood looks just like it did 20 years ago, but abandoned establishments and graffiti are more common now.

Even under the economic strain, the area is very vibrant and small businesses sprout everywhere. More importantly, art is everywhere. You see it in the local taco stand or the laundromat. I’m a big fan of the signs for all these businesses.

When I was driving back from Mexicali I stopped at a McDonald’s next to the outlet mall and was put off by the familiarity of it all. Nowhere near where signs of personality in the area.





Monday, January 5, 2009

First Work Day



Ah, the first work day of the year. There’s so much about the first day of the year that makes you feel like you’re moving forward in time. You think of resolutions, you start talking of the previous year in past tense, etc. The first day of work, however, simply can feel like just another work day. Unless you’re herding sheep, that is. Then maybe things would be different.

I must have hit the snooze button five times this morning. I was dreaming that I was at the Ida Maria show, so naturally I did not want that dream to end. I actually have tickets for her show in LA, which is something I’m totally excited about (hence the dream). It’ll be the first great show of the year. This was the first song of hers that I heard. I’ve had this song in my ipod for almost a year now, and I still play it all the time.