Friday, July 24, 2015

Andy Ross Mail!

And here are a bunch of collages with Andy Ross’ face on them. I have to admit that this project is one of the most fun activities I did all summer. No real set out goal other than to use his visage to make a postcard. He didn’t know I was doing it either, I made a large stack and then systematically mailed them a day apart to him.
The idea came to me when we were together in Asheville earlier this summer. He said that he “didn’t have anything to go on his walls.” To me this was a challenge, not that he wanted a lot of postcard sized images of his face on his walls, but that’s what he got. Well, two of them are 8 x 10 sized images of his face, and the other is a Steely Dan themed canvas that came out super well. Anytime I can put “dildo” on a collage it’s a good day.
I can only image how he will explain this to people that come to his apartment. What if he has a lady caller over and she walks into an apartment filled with images of himself. To make matters worse there’s an image with “dildo” spelled on the front. If she’s a fan of progressive rock and roll then she may get the joke, if she isn’t it could the end of a date. “So, why does that say ‘dildo’” she may ask? Just think of the maneuvering Andy will have to do and explain the reference and the reason for it handing on his wall. This is why I do it, this is why I create things, to help engender awkward conversation.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Deerhoof Mail

Initially I wanted to create something for the upcoming live record, but that was a no go. I can’t draw and they wanted a manga themed cover. In the back and forth I talked through email with the main man on stage right. He said I should go ahead and send something if I wanted, and to his home address. A few weeks ago I sent the first item and have slowly sent a few other things. The band is on tour so I doubt anyone has actually seen what I created, who knows if they’ll see it either way.
It’s quite nerve-racking to mail things you’ve created to people you admire. I wrote a letter to accompany my first collage that outlined my love of the band. It was hard to present myself both as a fan and someone who isn’t psychotic. In a few paragraphs I mentioned stuff about both mail art and seeing them a half dozen times over the past ten years. Who cares right, does it really matter? Might as well be a fan and show that enjoyment directly to them. I’m sure they’ve gotten hundreds of such items over their twenty year career, but this is the first from me. I’m going to continue and make and send for as long as my interest continues, or until he tells me I need to stop.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Bigger Items

So I like having challenges. I like having due dates for things. The pressure makes me complete things. Randomly I asked a bunch of friends if they wanted to be made into a collage. Quite a few people said they were interested. The collages with peoples’ faces in them are these people. The other ones were just made without any direction. Most of the ones I did of other people were met with general ambivalence. Either way I made a thing. I think I’m going to do this for a little while longer. All of these except for one I gave away or traded.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

The Evolution of a Collage

I’ve found that making my trashy collages on canvas just doesn’t work. There’s no way I can apply the pressure I need to make sure they’re flat. So I’ve moved on to the artists boards. It seems silly but I don’t know what these are called and I’ve even gone to the store to buy them? Every once in a while I’ll buy old paintings and thrift stores and just work over them-that’s what I’ve done here.
This painting was ninety-nine cents at a Salvation Army in Lexington. It was a brown still life done in the 1970’s and titled “Ruby.” It seemed fitting to keep the original name, which I’ve done. This collage is the biggest one I’ve ever completed and it was quite fun. No discernable faces (sort of) in this one, just tape layer after tape layer, and random magazine rips. The three images are the three stages of completion.