When one enters 3rd Streaming in New York City to witness Woolfalk’s current show, Chimera, one is immediately drawn to mannequins wearing felted costumes and floating on brightly-painted, patterned murals. These are Empathics, a new and fictional species in Woolfalk’s work, who contain genetic elements of both plants and humans. Their existence is a sci-fi-inspired commentary that speaks to many things — including the transformation of identities through biological hybridization — but the more important underlying vision is that of increased unity across all forms of existence. To express this singular vision through craft, Woolfalk utilizes an impressive array of mediums; murals and installations are supplemented by huge, full-color lithographs of Empathics in their costumes, as well as paintings created “by them” and displays of objects used in their fictional rituals.

Folkloric and scientific, fable-driven and meticulously chronicled, Woolfalk’s exhibits also show her as both participant and narrator. In her videos, Woolfalk narrates as a scientist, with the resolute calm found in any biology film. But her work deviates from the usual script in that the scientists describe a transformation they themselves undergo. Woolfalk and “other scientists” find evidence of Empathics in the wilderness of Upstate New York, and through exposure to their bones and spores, decide to undergo a series of changes that will lead them towards becoming chimeras themselves. Over the twinkle of atmospheric music, animations break down the ways in which spores enter the human body — but one soon finds that this is not only a biological transformation; it is also mystical. The scientists enter a ritual of guided dream therapy to learn how to embody their new state of plant-human consciousness, and through the introduction of a performance art element, the transformed beings emerge from behind the wall where the video is being projected, donning costumes that are on display.

The merging of a complete physical and digital reality is what Woolfalk says makes her utopian-driven work “real”. “When you come in[to the gallery], I want you to be in a world — but it’s our world,” she explains.

The world within the exhibit also reacts to the world outside the exhibit. Mythology dictates that Empathics create beautiful headdresses to disguise a second head which sprouts as part of their shift to dual consciousness, and such guises helps keep things from getting awkward in public or at their jobs. They also literally sell their skins; magical costumes they shed during the process help bring in extra income for their research. Regarding this very intentional detail, Woolfalk laughs and describes living in Brazil and studying folkloric performance, where “people are engaging in fantastic stories about struggle… and simultaneously selling trinkets because they need them… they actually help pay the bills.”

SAYA WOOLFALK ARTIST INTERVIEW CONTINUES BELOW

Woolfalk’s work is “becoming more of a fable” as it progresses, acting as a fantastical other reality that reflects the artist’s real-life external influences. The creation of Empathics, for example, was first inspired by the works of feminist science fiction author Octavia Butler, who discussed the idea of plant-human utopia.

“Originally, it was about physical action and ritual that would make [a] new place,” explains Woolfalk. But when conceptualizing what this transformation process would look like, Woolfalk began speaking to biologists at Tufts. Through discussions of the natural world, she began to “rethink physical adaptation and metamorphosis”.

“It’s not just that humans can just act on their environment and become whatever they chose to; the places that they are, the things that they encounter cause micro-transformations,” Woolfalk continues.

Such a statement is more than just environmental or a comment on slow changes through intuitive guidance. Woolfalk seeks to “break down categorization — not just human, animal, or interracial, but also intercultural or interbiological.” She welcomes “the possibility of all kinds of mixing”, and notes that her next iteration upon this theme “is the idea of consciousness between humans and technology.”

As Woolfalk continues to develop as an artist, she is not only incorporating the influence of anthropologists and science fiction writers, or folklore and biology. She is also growing to incorporate her audience as part of the exhibits. For her, “Audience has become part of the structure and circuit. I consider how their experiencing what I’m doing in order to feed it back more clearly.”

Woolfalk’s multi-faceted works all shrink down to a very natural process of evolution — one that welcomes the inclusive mixture of many ideas and techniques. Though each of Woolfalk’s works is fully-conceptualized prior to its creation, its final product is ultimately unpredictable, subject to flux as her ideas morph through what she consumes and how her mind processes. Each piece is “changing and emerging as it’s restructured by the logics I’ve been thinking about,” she explains. “[It is natural] to work in two dimensions — then three dimensions, then four dimensions… There’s a porous relationship between the pieces. It’s an organic process between logic and intuition.”

Ω

Related posts:

1. Saya Woolfalk‘s Hallucinatory Chimeras: The Empathics
2. Mandy Greer Artist Interview : Timeless Textile Landscapes
3. Sarah Applebaum Artist Interview : Crafting Ahead Of The Curb

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Saya Woolfalk Artist Interview: The Possibility Of All Kinds Of Mixing

You guys recorded and mixed Wilderness yourselves. Did this DIY process influence the album cover artwork or was it always decided that it would have a hand-crafted element to it?

Both the recording and the packaging come from the same impulse. We are really into things that feel intimate and handmade. There’s a warmth and personality to things you make yourself.

The album cover is highly pattern-based and offers a lot of flexibility in terms of what it looks like. How much experimentation was there, and were you surprised by the number of possible iterations? Where did these pattern ideas come from?

The idea for the album cover came from Friedrich Froebel, who developed an educational system in the 1800s that was based on geometric forms and creative design. His teachings influenced modern art and were a big inspiration for the Bauhaus movement and Frank Lloyd Wright. Classroom activities included building forms with wooden blocks, origami, and weaving patterns with paper strips, which is where we got the idea for the album cover.

We started by looking at patterns that Froebel suggested, but ended up experimenting a lot with our own. We marked out 15×15 square grids on graph paper and penciled in a bunch of possibilities. Then we sat down with a prototype and figured out which ones worked best. We were surprised at how different the patterns came across: some felt flat and some felt three-dimentional, some used the negative space to create the design and some just sat on top of it. The permutations are nearly endless, and we’re still playing around with them.

How, if at all, do you think your being presently inspired by textile designs influences your sound or approach to creating your sound?

We’ve always been home recorders — we started years ago on a Tascam 4-track — and we build our songs layer by layer, adding and taking away until the composition feels right. We play with patterns and repetition, focusing on weaving each part seamlessly into the whole.

There are a lot of parallels between the way we make music and the process of designing textiles. But more than anything, I think we are inspired by the spirit of specific designs — the Bauhaus weavings of Gunta Stolzl, for example — that are playful, and that reinvent the rules.

ALBUM COVER INTERVIEW CONTINUES BELOW

What is your opinion on hand-crafted projects in the digital age, from both a creator and a consumer standpoint? What aspects of them do you find most valuable?

I love something that you can hold in your hand. It’s such a different experience than looking at something on a computer screen. Handmade objects feel special. They’ve got heart and humanity, and they’re more like a gift than a commodity. When you get something hand-crafted you feel a real connection to the person who made it.

You guys also play in Bishop Allen and have a covers project. Can you tell me more about both of those outlets and what we can expect from you guys, in general, as you move forward creatively?

We’re recording and releasing a cover every week this year. We’re 35 songs in. We’ve been posting the songs for free on our Soundcloud, but when they’re all done, we’re planning to release a limited edition vinyl version. We’ve been experimenting a lot doing the covers, and we’re excited to take what we’ve learned and use it to make a whole new batch of The Last Names’ songs.

We’re also about to start writing the new Bishop Allen record, and both bands will be on tour sometime next year. Darbie is also hard at work running Field Guide Design, where she makes jewelry and paper goods, and Justin acted in a movie called Doomsdays, which should come out sometime next year.

Ω

Related posts:

1. Zorch – Demo Album Cover Art (w/ Band Interview)
2. A Weather – Everyday Balloons Album Cover Review & Interview
3. John Vanderslice – Romanian Names Album Review

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

The Last Names – Wilderness Album Cover Review (w/ Band Interview)

Looking Through The Glass

(8 IMAGES TOTAL)

All works are mixed media, created from a combination of acrylic, ink, and gouache on paper — then mounted to wood and resin coated.

Dominance Games

Checkmate

Sacred Geometry

Hidden Places

See Mark Whalen’s 2009 Works

Warped Perspectives

Celebrating Astrology

Handball

(And a bonus reference.)

www.markwhalenart.com

Ω

Related posts:

1. Kill Pixie (Mark Whalen) Kills It — Literally — With Bubblegum Colors.
2. Filippa Barkman Does Hair… Grotesquely.
3. Canadienne Pierre-Paul Pariseau Has Collaged Worlds Of Pixels.

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

The Mad Multi-Dimensional Worlds Of Illustrator Mark Whalen

PLEASE HOVER OVER ANY IMAGE TO VIEW IT HI-RES.

One who was looking at your work could easily think that certain sections were tree trunks or cobwebs or any number of other non-abstract things. Are there narratives or subjects to be found in your work, or are they simply geometric or pattern-based?

Yes, there are tree trunks and cobwebs. And they are also geometric and pattern-based. I love the perceived universe as a place where everything follows mathematical structures.

How much of your work is additive versus subtractive?

The drawings are 98% additive. Erasure dulls the lines and mars the paper, so I use it sparingly only to reduce occasional over-brights.

What kind of setting do you work in? I would imagine that work as contrasting and fine as yours would need a setting that would allow you to see well, spend a large amount of time, etc.

There is no art studio, so I work at home where it’s comfortable, chair or couch. On my lap is a pillow and on top of the pillow is a piece of foam-board supporting the drawing. I wear reading glasses and have a lamp nearby. A devoted time commitment is inevitable for these drawings. There is music on the stereo, always.

What is it about black and white and grayscale that most interests you? Do you ever consider working with colored paper or pencil?

Not sure why, but I flourish under the limitation of monochrome. I hope to offer an alternative to the abundance of sharp contrast and unrelenting bold colors that fill our urban situation. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the oomph of Helvetica signs and neon spandex; I just want to have another choice. There are a handful drawings I’ve made using red, gray, and brown paper with various colored pencils, but black paper is the mainstay.

ARTIST INTERVIEW CONTINUES BELOW

How do you feel about the spreading of your work upon the internet, as it
is obviously of a type which gets somewhat lost in translation?

Sometimes the internet is the only venue available. It’s nice connecting with people who appreciate what I’m up to. Without the internet exposure I wouldn’t have become acquainted with some wonderful Eastern European artists who I feel artistic kinship with.

I would like to talk a bit about Scroll; is that the largest piece you’ve
worked on, and how difficult was it to gain perspective on it?

Scroll was the largest before February, when I began working on Forest, a 30-foot-long drawing that is slowly building. Time makes perspective easier. When I work on a drawing for an extended period I become a lost myopic, so I hide the drawing from view for a day while I’m running errands. When I see it again portions become clear and the drawing tells me what to do next.

ARTIST INTERVIEW CONTINUES BELOW
Bette Burgoyne – Forest (progress photo)

Bette Burgoyne – Scroll

Zhang Zeduan – QingMing ShangHe Tu

What led to the decision of using video to document this particular piece?

I wanted to share Scroll with people, and a video on YouTube and Vimeo seemed a good way to do it. No actual videotaping took place. A large .tiff file was made from the drawing at Art & Soul, and it was edited andtransformed into a panning video by 4th Wall Films. There is a lovely panning video of a Chinese landscape painting by Zhang Zeduan you should see.

You gained permission from Animal Collective, Rough Trade Publishing, and Fat Cat Records to use the track in the video; how difficult or involved was that process?

Animal Collective received my email describing what I had in mind for their beautiful languid song “Visiting Friends”. Included was a link to my site. They emailed back, “Looks cool”, and included email addresses in order to get full clearance of “Visiting Friends” from Fat Cat and Rough Trade. It all took about 2-3 weeks.

The work on your website only spans back to 2009. How has your work evolved through the years?

I created sculpture and installation for several years before a series of deaths and heartbreak altered my life course. The early 2000s was a four year period of creating scherenschnitte from black paper. After the 2008 bout with cancer and chemo, I began to create drawings from a place essential, shedding the layers of cleverness that was part of the earlier work.

As an older artist, how do you feel about the Seattle art scene right now — how it has changed, where it is, and where you think it is going?

It is good see more women artists receiving recognition, maybe we’ll achieve balance someday? My favorite thing in the current Seattle art scene is First Thursday Art Schlock.

Ω

Related posts:

1. Jason Sho Green Artist Interview
2. Sprawling Structures Of Manmade Fantasy, By John Borowicz
3. Eatcho Artist Interview : Buzzing Like A Fly

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Bette Burgoyne Artist Interview: Cobwebs Of Pattern And Form

Shaun Kardinal

Connotation no. 8
“This was one of the earlier pieces made for Connotations. It has a few cut-up postcards and features the shaped-collage-behind-thread I had envisioned when first starting the series. While very satisfying when it worked, the technique proved very tricky, since each piece of imagery was first cut and then spray-mounted into place for embroidering. The outwardly radiating points that touch the white paper were placed there in attempt to make the thing look like it was held together solely with thread. It worked here, but I found it distracting in other pieces and eventually left that element behind…” – Shaun Kardinal

Connotation no. 15
“This was my favorite of the series which incorporated a single, full-frame image. The design of the three orbs came to me while riding the bus one afternoon, and I was fortunate to have my Moleskine and some pens with me at the time. like most of the work in this series, the image came from a LIFE magazine published in the mid-’50s.” – Shaun Kardinal

Intercourse
“When we were invited to have a show at Vignettes (a series of one-night exhibits, hosted in a studio apartment), we decided that in addition to a wall of our individual works, we wanted to collaborate on something that would fill the other wall. Both of us have a history of performance self-portraiture, so it was only natural that photography would mix with our newfound love of string…

One thing we really like about this set (which we call a four-part triptych), is that the whole of it was planned out in one brief conversation, where three clearly defined visuals were discussed and sketched out in about five minutes. In the end, all three were executed exactly as originally conceived. Each was challenging in its own way, but Intercourse, the panoramic photo, was probably the most so. Wearing yarn-sewn rings around the backs of our heads and shooting without assistance from a third party, we had to remain face to face, attached at all times. One of us would hold position while the other carefully sidled over to trigger the shutter timer again. then we had just a few seconds to get back into position — a tricky thing, where we each had to make many quick, small adjustments to the angles between us, in order to keep the string taught, while maintaining eye contact.” – Shaun Kardinal

“Our Intercourse collaboration has been one of the most enjoyable projects. Process, production, and execution were all satisfying. The idea was simple, quick, and well-communicated. The process of making this piece was really what it was about: the tension that bound us, literally tied together in a delicate balance, to work together intuitively. It was interesting to see this joined effort come together, not only joining us, but our photography, performance, and embroidery [as well].” – Erin Frost

Shaun Kardinal

Your new Connotations series is remarkable. Is there an abstract philosophy behind the images or shapes you layer upon certain collages or are they merely aesthetic decisions?

“If it feels good, do it.” – Bart Simpson

With rare exception, it’s all an exercise in aesthetic. I’m very fond of design and can find myself lost in color. Over time, the works have begun to show a more consistent vision — the single graphical element dominating a landscape. Though that happened mostly organically, I was definitely impressed and inspired by the digital collage work of Mark Weaver, who often incorporates bright, bold circles in his work. the use of thread has a very specific limitation: one can only work in straight lines. to create a curve (like a bright, bold circle), one has to trick the mind with an organized series of lines, so these geometric patterns arise.

You mention that mandalas and radial compositions have provided long-time fascinations for you. What is it about them that draws your attention or interest?

It’s hard to say. I’ve got some obsessive-compulsive tendencies which tend to be a little myopic. For instance, the files on my computer are well organized — very well organized, indeed — but the inbox next to it on my desk is essentially an illogical junk drawer. Mandalas provide an organized, ever-centralizing focal point. Stray from the center and an equal/opposite force brings one right back. It’s comforting.

Erin Frost

You have long been involved with erotic photography. With your current embroidery and collage work, are you attracting new audiences? Do you find that having a nude component to your work polarizes opinions about your work?

It has been interesting shifting gears. It’s all so new and I’m sharing it as I go, so it feels raw, and just as intimate as my “erotic” photographs. So far, the response has been positive. And while it will be interesting to see where it goes from here, I honestly do not know what opinion is about my work. I’ve always made it entirely selfishly. It is all a part of the constant transformation.

Did your “Cut And Run” [piece] involve completely destroying original photographs? If so, is there a symbolic restart involved with that?

The “Cut And Run” piece did destroy the original photographs. It is a potent marker in time, and very much a symbolic restart.

Joint Q&A

Can you tell me a bit about artistic trajectories – where your artistic career has began and how it has evolved through the years to reach its current point?

Shaun Kardinal: The earliest exhibition you’ll find on my resume was a show devoted to photographs of buildings. After falling in love with photography in my teens and subsequently losing interest during my depression-riddled early twenties, those photos were definitely part of a re-emergence for me. I got my feet wet exhibiting work a few times and found a real connection to Seattle’s art community. At the time, I was also co-running an alternative space gallery, which was based in a frame shop that handled work from most of the art galleries downtown — so I was really in the thick of it!

After about a year with the buildings, I turned the camera on myself for a series examining mundane daily existence. I really enjoyed that work and people really seemed to like what I was doing. I landed some great exhibition opportunities and met some amazing people. But even as those opportunities grew, I began to feel less inspired and in need of a change. I found myself exhausted with artist statements, applications and the incessant race to get the next show. So, I stopped seeking them out. Even turned a few down.

In 2009, I participated in a few of Vital 5′s Arbitrary Art Grants, which had amazingly off-beat calls for art (such as: photograph a sculpture you make out of grocery store items while in the store or act as a wall, displaying art in an imaginary storefront), and the experience was definitely an impetus to try new things. For a short while, I was very much into making bumperstickers! I also started making small pieces that I sent to friends in the mail, undocumented. One day I received a piece from Dawn Stechschulte — a small, hand-sewn collage with painting, stickers and an old magazine clipping. In response, I cut up a few postcards and sewed them up to create a fictional landscape. I loved it, and made more. Soon I was making them for no one — just keeping my hands occupied. For three years now, I’ve been hooked on paper embroidery, and allowing it to evolve as the ideas come to me.

Erin Frost: I’m not really sure how to approach the subject of “career.” I have been very single-minded in the work I’ve made for many years — changing, transforming, manipulating myself, and the idea of self. I think I’ve been fairly fortunate in that people seem to like what I’ve made. It can be tricky, though, making intimate work and being grouped in the “erotic” category. I haven’t made work necessarily to be singularly erotic, nor do I enjoy most “erotic art.” It can be a heavy and dismissive descriptor. Maybe that’s one of the reasons these Alterations have been so enjoyable, tearing down/making new, another way to claim my work as my own.

INTERVIEW CONTINUED BELOW

Do you guys critique or offer suggestions for one another’s work, or is it generally a fairly isolated endeavor?

Shaun Kardinal: We both work in our apartment, often at the same time just a few feet from each other while we listen to music or re-watch a favorite show. We’re definitely suggestive and critica — but more importantly, perhaps, we’re also each very supportive. Every artist has the occasional fit over a project, reaching moments of doubtful frustration, but having the other near, offering words of encouragement and logic, can be even more fruitful.

Erin Frost: Before we met, I think the process of making art was a fairly isolated experience for both of us. It certainly was for me. I would create personas and construct sets, playing parts for the camera, and spend hours in the darkroom. now, however, our work shares space. it overlaps, and we are both involved with the other’s work and ideas. it’s quite liberating.

Your work definitely has overlapping similarities, particularly when one takes into account the medium and the geometries. Are there qualities which are shared in your work that you would say are also reflections of your shared interests or are indications of shared personal qualities?

Shaun Kardinal: With the Alterations series (the ~60 works we showed mixed together at Vignettes), there was a clear definition that we both wanted to use recycled materials. (For me, that translated to collecting vintage postcards. Since Erin has been printing her own photos for years, she already had ample supply for experimentation.) I’d say we are both pretty interested in renewal and revitalization, in general.

Erin Frost: There are certainly qualities that we share both in our creative work and personal interests. Apart from the mediums of photography and embroidery, I think that we’ve both pursued self-portraits is fairly telling. There are themes of balance, identity, and intimacy in play, both publicly in our art and in our personal experiences. It seems the embroidery can at times be seen quite literally a physical representation of that balance.

Do you ever find yourselves dissecting everyday objects into shapes and patterns, and if so, are there moments you can recall of that happening?

Shaun Kardinal: Not as much as when I played daily Tetris.

Erin Frost: I don’t see patterns in everything, but I’m very good at spotting cat whiskers on the floor. Shaun calls me Eagle Eye.

www.erin-frost.com + www.shaunkardinal.com

Ω

Related posts:

1. Embroidered Works: Shaun Kardinal, Erin Frost, Stacey Page, Jose Romussi, Peter Crawley
2. First Thursday, Pioneer Square, July 2008
3. Artist Xchange & Dave Crosland in San Francisco

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Shaun Kardinal & Erin Frost Joint Artist Interview: Entangled In Embroidery

June 2012 Interview

My Pet Doppelganger is themed around the idea of each of us living with multiple doppelgangers in the digital age, correct? What first led you to this idea?

The word doppelganger means “double walker”. It’s about the contemporary notion of constructed and cultivated self-images. Anyone setting up accounts or profiles online is engaging in a kind of construction of an alternate self. Most of us have developed several of these over the years. I’m interested in what all of the doubles and duplicates look like in aggregate. This photography project is a way for me to abstract and formalize that exploration. A photo is quick kind of body-double, which of course has been around for much longer than so-called social media.

I would expect works like this would spark much conversation and that there would be other interpretations as well. Can you tell me a bit about other interpretations you’ve heard or related conceptual or theoretical conversations you’ve had about the series?

The work is very new so these conversations are just beginning. The thing that people seem to find most surprising are the formal drivers of composition. Many just assume there is some sort of computer algorithm at work but there is not, and this is very important from a conceptual standpoint. People are placed next to each other in compositions based on things like body language, a shared glance or facial expression. They also come together based on real-world social relationships. People that are actual friends will sometimes appear floating together. These are very intuitive things, things an algorithm or generative computer program could never do, and this how the compositions grow. I literally do feel like I “grow” them, like plants. The shapes and textures you see come from millions of unique and personal and sometimes chance relationships. Simples rules are aggregated into large groups and complexity emerges.

You made evident in previous interviews that you’re very much interested in biology. Was that central to this work, as well? If so, what are some of the parallels you saw while working?

It is still front and center in a lot of ways. I’ve always been interested in emergent behaviour in the natural world, and the way I describe growing compositions above is classic emergence. I guess if you were going to get technical about it maybe my interests have shifted slightly from realm of biology into behavioral patterns and sociology. But I’m an artist, not a scientist. I just follow my interests.

Taking a photographic approach is quite a departure from your previous work, at least in medium, though in principle it is similar. Why the change, and will you continue to work with other pieces?

I’ve learned that as an artist it is important to be rigorously breaking your own rules on a regular basis. If you can’t do that, you’ll just stagnate and die. This is much tougher than you might think and sometimes only results in incremental change, but it is how you keep evolving. Hey, there’s biology again.

Did you know much about the subjects that were photographed? Other than the obvious visual relationships found in the pieces, were there any patterns that came to reveal themselves, sociologically or psychologically speaking, with relationship to the subjects and how they were arranged in the image?

My answer would be see question #2! Yes, absolutely! This is another thing that people viewing the work might have no idea about. Everyone in the work is someone I know personally or at least tangentially. Many are people who are in my life every day. I could tell you a story about every image, so it is incredibly socially driven. In some ways you could argue that it is a giant self portrait via everyone that I know. (Although I haven’t gotten everyone yet; I’m still working.) But you know, this project has opened some other possibilities as well. It doesn’t have to be just my world, I’m working on potentially going to other places and doing the same thing with totally different groups of people. How would the work change if I were documenting a small village in Bolivia, or some particular groups of kids in Tokyo or some other city? Would there be entirely different colors? Different patterns? It’s fun to dream about.

You know there is one other thing worth mentioning. Many of the people in the photographs are other artists and writers. So really what you are seeing is this huge pool of creative people, some of whom are incredibly successful if you recognize them. I haven’t really talked much about this aspect of the work, but I think it is an interesting one.

In the actual act of photographing the subjects, what was the process like, and how much freedom of movement was encouraged or allowed?

It is totally freeform. At each photo session I encouraged everyone to just jump in the air and be free. Some were really brilliant about twisting and contorted and reacted in unpredictable ways. Some were nervous and stiff, some were just goofy. The goal was to capture some atom of identity at that moment in time. A lot is revealed about a person when you ask them to jump in the air – we owe a little to Philippe Halsman for that one. All-of-the-above works and makes this crazy swirling current of humanity.

Could you explain what you mean about Philippe Halsman?

Oh sure, Philippe Halsman was a photographer from the ’40s and ’50s (RIGHT). He made this whole series of photos called Jump Photos, the most famous were images of Marilyn Monroe jumping and one of Richard Nixon levitating in the air. He even worked with Salvador Dali making these really amazing photo experiments. He had this notion which he called jumpology, which was that you could instantly tell all these things about a person when you saw them jump off the ground – that their body language in the air gives all this secret information about their personality. I can say that it is definitely true. In some ways maybe I am continuing his project on a mass scale.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Yes — thank you! I’ve worked so hard on this, I really appreciate your interest and questions! Also huge thanks to everyone involved so far. This work is a true collaboration and it wouldn’t exist without everyone who has come and participated. It is not about tele-presence, it is about real presence; actually being there, so thank you to everyone involved.

www.davidobrien.com

February 2010 Interview

What is it about organisms and the natural world that most interests you?

My work is focused on the connections between biological and cultural evolution. The questions I explore manifest in games of unfolding, simulating and diagramming living systems. Some questions I ask myself are: how do multiple individually driven entities conspire to form patterns, which we can then point to as larger singularities? What changes as the field becomes populated and complexity arises? How does the figure emerge from the field? And then, of course, how does this larger structure feed back into the desires, motivations and evolution of individuals?

Do you have a background in science?

Honestly, I don’t. Art is often about doing something intuitive and then trying to understand why you did it and where it can take you. So, I’ve been more or less led into science by what the work is telling me. These days, a fair amount of my time is dedicated to studying scientific literature from people like Claude Levi-Strauss or Edward O. Wilson.

Are there any particular ideas you’re thinking of exploring in the future?

Well, concentration on the genetic process is definitely where my work is going, but I also bounce back and forth between all of the forms I’ve created so far. So, they all continue to evolve together.

How long does it take you to generally complete a piece?

Anywhere from a couple weeks to 6 months.

How much of a perfectionist are you? Do you pay attention to the details or mostly just the big picture?

I try not to plan things too much. All of the work is based on micro growth to develop the macro form, so I focus only on the small scale and let the overall thing take care of itself. In terms of details, sometimes it just has to be perfect. It has to be absolutely razor sharp. But then sometimes I have to force myself to get loose in order to try new things. Other times I experience a sort of cathartic backlash to all the precision and I just go off on something completely fast and messy just to keep myself sane. But I always return to the more meticulous and carefully constructed work. I notice that about myself.

Current Body Of Work

O’Brien’s most recent body of work, which is currently still untitled, is a look at the basic genetic processes which happen in the body.

(ABOVE) Meiosis
“Specifically, meiosis is the process by which sex cells split all of their chromosomes in half in preparation to accept and be joined to foreign DNA after sex. It is what happens in sperm and egg cells in us and in almost every living animal. It’s an endlessly fascinating thing, for obvious reasons… “Within [Meiosis], there are exactly 23 uniquely colored strands (female) matching the 23 ‘trajectories’ (male) entering from the perimeter.”

(ABOVE) Flower Bomb 2

Rapid Organic Growth

By mimicking a child-like creation, O’Brien captures the frenzied growth of nature without reservations.

“Nature is sometimes creeping slowly and sometimes out of control. Too much detail can lead to decadence, and sometimes physical force is required as a sort of mental catharsis. These things happen the fastest and are often the strongest colors I have been able to achieve. But they are also the things that I understand the least. They are viscerally connected to bodily movement and action and stand for a sort of plant-life explosion.”

(ABOVE) Mating Dance

Labryinths

At the very heart of this piece is a maze with only one way in and one way out, yet with many possible routes one can take to reach the end.

“What the maze is really about is the ability to wander within a very rigid, linear structure… With so much non-linear thinking going on these days, it is humbling to be reminded of the fact that there are still many things in life that are incredibly linear. We eat food; it goes through a line and comes out the other end. We are born once and we die once. What happens in-between is totally variable.”

(ABOVE) Ring Formation

Memes

“Meme is a term coined by the biologist Richard Dawkins back in the ’70s. It is supposed to rhyme with (and relate to) the word gene, only instead of dealing with the transmission of biological information, the meme is about the replication and spread of ideas. I began drawing these large swarms of colored people purely out of intuition well before I discovered memes. I only knew that they all followed each other and developed certain behavior and patterns. When I discovered the concept of the meme and learned a more about it, it fit perfectly with what I wanted to communicate with the drawings.”

(ABOVE) Blood And The Magic Number

Explosions

“It’s a re-thinking of the idea of [explosions in] platonic form. Instead of the triangle or the cube, I like the explosion as archetypal form. There is also the cloud and the spiral.”

www.davidobrienartwork.com

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David O’Brien Artist Interview: Manipulating Organism Through Art

(R) “This is one of the creatures that came out of putting black and white acrylic paint on a paper, scanning it in, and mirroring it from one side. You can see some form of underwater intelligent entity.”

“The green in the background was a something weird I made with acrylic paint — nothing special actually. The orange was a picture of a creature from under the microscope; I just cut it up and made it more geometric in a abstract way.”

“This one is actually several layers of faces and teeth put in a order [so that they] almost match. [I] ripped of some pieces to give it a good composition.”

“It’s acrylic on paper. [It's] a piece of blue Photoshopped image and a piece of carved rock that I copied and made some sort of geometric form [with].”

Recently, I thought back to when I was a really young kid, and I would make overlapping squares and circles in MS Paint and then fill each overlapping shape with alternating colors. That was my first memorable connection to geometry, and I was wondering if you can recall back to an early time in your life that stands out as a precursor to the artist you are today?

Well to be honest, I actually can’t recall any geometry-related memories, but I do know I have always been in touch with nature and the animal world, and used to catch bugs all day long when I was little. Now, I’m obsessed with animals and plants; it’s more like a starting point to a unfolding universal knowledge that expands with the years of working, thinking, and experience around that essential area.

Did you ever struggle with your aesthetic being ‘unpopular’ and people not understanding what you were all about?

No, I grew up more like a silent yet popular type of guy.

The internet has made it easier than ever for people to find other artists and musicians who are doing similarly esoteric things. People who would otherwise not know each other whatsoever are finding parallels in their music and art, thanks to the internet, though they might otherwise known each other. What do you make of this? Do you think there is any bigger picture significance to be had in all this?

Definitely. The big picture is actually that we are all evolving in a rapid way on the consciousness level. We have been so disconnected from our primordial source for a long time, and the reason why there is a massive revival of the occult and shamanism is because these are sciences that brings us closer to nature and closer to the nature of our own species; it’s a natural movement of the big picture.

What appeals to you about duality, in your personal life, or in concept? What are some dualities which are particularly interesting to you?

Well, I do love to work with duality because it holds everything in our universe. There is no one without the other, therefore all is equal, and I think the key ingredient is balancing the two. As for a visual point of view, I like to work with it because our brains automatically recognize natural physical aspects of it; for example, with black and white forms, you get a a lot of weird-looking creatures that have a strong human look.

Do your pieces follow a theme from the very beginning or is that something that evolves as you create?

It really evolves; I look at pictures and search by feeling, color, and atmosphere. That’s why some pieces become abstract.

Galactic Geometry is a great name for a website. How did you come up with it?

That’s a good question. When I had to type in my name for the website, I didn’t have anything in mind; it actually just popped up in the place I should’ve been typing. I think I used to type it in there a long time ago when I was planning on making one — but I couldn’t recall when that was. Weird.

Do you have any life philosophies you live by?

Love and light. Everything should be treated with the utmost respect and understanding.

www.galacticgeometry.be

Ω

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Binary Fluidity: A Short Interview With Belgium Artist Arn Gyssels

Shaun Kardinal

This year, Seattle’s Shaun Kardinal has taken a bold leap from minimally embroidered postcards to more involved pieces set upon multi-layered collages. By reconstituting rare pages from 1950s LIFE magazines, Kardinal explains what he calls “a long-time fascination with radial compositions and mandalas” in his Connotations. Expect a joint interview between him and Erin Frost within the month.

Erin Frost

In her latest body of work, Alterations, Seattle-based model and artist Erin Frost has taken a collection of photographic prints and turned them into threaded webs that play on her “interest in triangles, repetition, and abstract pattern.”

Stacey Page

Under the fine sewing hand of Stacey Page, characters in vintage portraits become elaborately headdressed mythological gods. Expect a brief Q&A with her shortly about her elaborate craft.

Jose Romussi

Black-and-white vintage dancers receive colorbursts of treatment from Chilean artist Jose Romussi, to expand upon their already radiant qualities.

Peter Crawley

United Kingdom artist Peter Crawley gets highly conceptual and theoretical with his pieces — so much so, in fact, that choosing one to highlight easily becomes a most challenging task. For this post, his glow-in-the-dark tribute to the Fibonnacci sequence gets the light. Many more fascinations on his website.

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Embroidered Works: Shaun Kardinal, Erin Frost, Stacey Page, Jose Romussi, Peter Crawley

“Chin” Music Video

Sleep Party People are really trying their best to present their music as the kind for the moments between wake and sleep, and journalists lifting straight off the press release are certainly spreading this message along for no particular reason — until now. This sleek and spacey video for “Chin” is certainly the best indicator of Sleep Party People’s intentions yet, reaching true ballerina-meets-outerspace take-off about halfway through, when a succession of (irregular) hexagonal shapes remind you that you should watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. (I’ve taken the liberty of posting a clip of that at the bottom of this post, because… why not?) This video, directed by Obscura and featuring dancer Caroline Baldwin, is just an all-around a delicious view, with its rainbow projections of space.

Download MP3 for Sleep Party People’s “Chin”

“A Dark God Heart” Music Video

Continuing with Scandinavian tendencies towards the human extremes is the epic video for Sleep Party People’s “A Dark God Heart” — one rather fucked up yet starkly beautiful video. Don’t let the classical piano and sunshine fool you; those disembodied vocals and strings ramp up dramatically and somewhat comically, into a crescendo of sound and nudity! Full film credits at the bottom of this post.

We Were Drifting On A Sad Song Album Review

The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Brian Batz, the album makes great use of organic and digital instrumentation to capture life’s glimmering and treacherous moments with equal delicacy. Batz’s vocals are generally unintelligible given their eerie and effected nature, but song titles like “Things Will Disappear Like Tears In The Rain” and “Melancholic Fog” make one understand implicitly the emotions of subdued happiness present. This you might expect from any well-to-do Scandinavian release, but Batz’s leaning towards unconventional decision-making — such as incorporating lethargic vocals into the dancey “Chin,” diving deeply into classical with “Heaven Is Above Us,” or making “We Were Drifting On A Sad Song” an unexpectedly banging track — makes the record a tad more dynamic than most that are exploring these genres.

We Were Drifting On A Sad Song tracklisting and full album stream at the bottom of this post.

Purchase We Were Drifting On A Sad Song

WE WERE DRIFTING ON A SAD SONG TRACKLISTING
01. A Dark God Heart
02. Chin
03. We Were Drifting On A Sad Song
04. Melancholic Fog
05. Heavy Burden
06. Gazing At The Moon
07. Heaven Is Above Us
08. Things Will Disappear Like Tears In The Rain
09. The City Light Died

“A DARK GOD HEART” FILM CREDITS
DIRECTOR Marie Limkilde
PRODUCER Josefine Gervang Heimburger
PRODUCTION MANAGER Andreas Sommer
CINEMATOGRAPHY Sturla Brandt Grøvlen
ASSISTANT CAMERA Brian Curt Petersen
DIT Sille Martens
GAFFER Kim Bech
PRODUCTION DESIGNER Kristine Køster
EDITOR Linda Man
COLORGRADER Joseph Barrett
VFX GHOST VFX
STORYBOARD Carmen Hannibal
GRAPHIC Robi Dwi Antono

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos

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Sleep Party People – We Were Drifting On A Sad Song Album Review (w/ Full Album Stream) + “Chin” / “A Dark God Heart” Music Videos {NSFW}

See all posts related to Gallery Hijinks

Says Colosky about his own art:

In my artistic practice I seek beauty in common or industrial materials and processes by altering their standard functions. Drawing on my own family history in the building trades, I delve into the character of materials and building process and then deconstruct them with ideas they would not typically be associated with. I look to take what is familiar and ubiquitous in our lives and show that another dimension of esthetics and thought can be achieved with these materials. I like to set up a polarity of familiarity and unfamiliarity as a way to engage the viewer and allow for a gateway to question what is considered pedestrian and what is considered high art. Ultimately I strive to create a formal language with my work that references my experiences of personal transformation that happened through having belief in the unfamiliar and openness to strange new possibilities.

Ω

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Randy Colosky Gives A Pulsating Take On Perspective