A couple of links

Jo Russ's website has been updated. I do like those pet rocks.

I haven't checked it out in any detail, but this site looks like it might have some good links.

Philip Guston

If you happen to be in London and haven't already seen the Philip Guston show at the Royal Academy of Arts, make sure you see it before it closes on 12 April. Here's a short article on it.

I'm a really big fan of his work, particularly the late paintings. This painting is my desktop wallpaper.

Craziness

Paul sent me a link to what has to be about the craziest stereo system ever. Pity the guy uses it to listen to jazz and classical records though. The Dead C would sound pretty bloody good through those suckers.

Museum of Bad Art

I found the Museum of Bad Art at RandomURL. At last, something to aspire to! I think my favourite is Pauline Resting.

Fun and games

I've been ringing people up in a somewhat soul-destroying attempt to scare up some work. I had a couple of major ongoing jobs that've recently dried up and foolishly didn't jack up anything to replace them. I've been a bit distracted by this show.

I don't think I've mentioned the details before. It's a group show at Thermostat Gallery in Palmerston North - Matt Couper, me, and some sculptor guy I haven't met. It runs from 15 May till 3 June. The opening's on 14 May. It's my first exhibition, so my mind's been focused pretty much on that to the detriment of all else.

There's all sorts of things to worry about - selecting which works to put in, how to hang them so they go together well, what to call them, what price to put on them, what to write for an artist's statement (and whether to have one), etc, etc. Matt and I are doing a catalogue thing to go along with it, and that needs text to go in it as well. We thought we'd put some quotes in - so now I've got to decide which quotes. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

I want to get my website updated in time for it as well, and that has a similar set of decisions to go with it. Do I order the pictures chronologically or thematically? (I'm thinking chronologically.) Do I include text with them? (I'm thinking not.) You get the idea.

But back to the job ringing round. I haven't been having much success getting hold of the people I need to speak to. Most of them seem to be on annual leave. Easter's coming up, so it makes sense to take a few days annual leave to make a decent break of it. Modern technology makes it a whole lot easier though by being able to email off a pdf of my CV.

On another note, I'm thinking of going to Nelson College's 150th Jubilee. I was a boarder at Rutherford House from 1983 to 1987. We didn't get on overly well the school and me, so I'd just be going for laughs.

Website update update

I've got the photos taken, now comes the long and arduous task of cropping and resizing them. I've got to suss out how to use Dreamweaver as well.

Kidnapped Drinker

The kidnapped Banksy sculpture smells like a publicity stunt to me. This is the guy who tried smuggling one of his works into the Tate after all. They, rather amusingly, put it in the lost and found.

Not pointless and absurd enough

It's true (see the comments under this post). I have to admit it. The 'nothing in particular' line in the description is beginning to look like a goddamn lie as well. I haven't been doing nearly enough ranting either.

World Cinema Showcase

Rose and I went to the opening of the World Cinema Showcase last night. It was the premiere of Fracture, which is based on Crime Story by Maurice Gee (hmm, this has just made me realise I've neglected to put the titles of things in italics previously - do I sneakily go back and change them or do I be intellectually honest and leave them be?). Fracture was okay, but nothing amazing. I had the feeling it would work much better as a book than as a film - I felt all the relationships needed more context. The soundtrack pissed me off too.

There's some good things coming up. I'm particularly looking forward to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which has an extra 20 minutes added. There's a doco on Fellini that looks pretty good, and both The Fog of War and Capturing the Friedmans could well be worth a look. I'm also quite keen on a spot of New York noir. Rose and her son Jules are going to The Grudge tonight (Jules does Japanese at school you see, so it's educational).

The next couple of weeks look to be fun film time. Somehow I've got to fit in doing more painting, updating my website, and digging up shitloads of more freelance work in there as well.

Out and about

Rose and I went into town this morning to have coffee with Sarah, who shared the office with Rose, before she heads off to Paris for three months (she's an illustrator and has agents in France and the US).

Rose headed home afterwards, but I stayed in town. I went to Peter McLeavey's to check out the Toss Woollaston show on there - works ranging from 1937 to 1994. It's a bit scary how similar they all were over that period of time. My favourite was an ink and pencil self-portrait from 1937 (I think).

After an unsuccessful trip to the library, I went to Quilter's and ended up buying a Raymond Pettibon catalogue. Like many people (I suppose), the first thing I saw of his was the cover for Sonic Youth's 'Goo'.