Summer Vacancy, Fall Returns

I've been out for summer hours, away from the blog, but now the leaves are changing (already) and I'll be posting more regularly.

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The next downtown Bellingham artwalk is Friday, Oct. 2nd.

Jinx has a new vending machine, CANDYSHOP, showcasing small-scale art in short, varied editions from Jinx Studio artists, and others from the community. Each piece is no more than $1.55, and proceeds benefit maintenance, repairs, receptions, etc. at Jinx Art Studios.

For more information or to get involved, email:
jinx.candyshop (at) gmail.com

Cybernetics and Gaming

from http://www.wafaabilal.com/html/bio.html
Iraqi born artist Wafaa Bilal has exhibited his art world wide, and traveled and lectured extensively to inform audiences of the situation of the Iraqi people, and the importance of peaceful conflict resolution. Bilal's 2007 dynamic installation Domestic Tension placed him on the receiving end of a paintball gun that was accessible online to a worldwide audience, 24 hours a day. Newsweek called the project “breathtaking” and the Chicago Tribune called the month-long piece "one of the sharpest works of political art to be seen in a long time," and named Bilal its 2007 Artist of the Year. Bilal has exhibited worldwide including in Baghdad, the Netherlands, Thailand and Croatia; as well as at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Museum and various other US galleries. His residencies have included Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, California; Catwalk in New York; and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In fall 2008 City Lights published “Shoot an Iraqi: Life, Art and Resistance Under the Gun,” about Bilal’s life and the Domestic Tension project.
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Wafaa Bilal's 2007 installation, Domestic Tension is intriguing to me through its use of media, sharp political critique, and reflexivity with the user/participant. His use of an online server that can be accessed by anyone connects dirrectly with second order cybernetics, in that those outside of the system/gallery space can connect dirrectly with the artist, and in this case cause him bodily harm through the paintball gun.

I am also interested in the differences between passive observers, i.e. those at the gallery watching others manipulate the gun via a computer terminal, and those who are enacting in the "gameplay" of Shoot[ing] An Iraqi, as Bilal originally intended to title the piece. Active participants of course include those sitting at home operating the gun, though perhaps these participants are more engaged the sort of disconnected reflexivity Bilal is creating because their connection to the artist is limited to the computer screen. So are those "outside" of the gallery (literaly and figuratively) only playing a game? Rather, are those engaged through the "gameplay" of Bilal's piece more engaged with the piece itself? There is also a video blog that he kept everyday of the piece, that anyone can view online. This serves as another level for users to connect online with Bilal, as seen through his self-directed webcam and not the limited one attached to the gun. It offers a more insightful, personal and provocative view of the artist; a glimpse of what he may sound and look like slightly removed from the "gameplay" narrative.

Now, as I have been watching the video blogs from Domestic Tension and reading Shoot An Iraqi, which traverses between Bilal's experiences growing up in Iraq during the Gulf War and to present-day experieces in Domestic Tension, I am still able to experience the piece even though I never operated the painball gun over the web.

Palimpsest Performance at BEAF 2009

Palimpsest Performance at BEAF 2009 from Evan Bridges on Vimeo.

Performed at the Bellingham Electronic Arts Festival, (www.beaf.org) with Sebastian Mendes. (sebastianmendes.com/)

Six microphones, (two handmade contact mics, three instrument mics, one stereo mic) were attached to Sebastian's sculpture, Palimpsest III, and routed through a mixer to my computer. Live recording using Motu's Digital Performer 6 for recording and manipulation using free plugins from Soundhack and Pluggo. All source sound originated from the sculpture.

The audio and video was captured using a Flip Mino HD video camcorder's built-in microphone.

Bright Lights Ahead

Come on down to the "Pink and Red" group show at Jinx tonight during artwalk for art and music by Memes and Frozen Clark.

My studio will be open with some new pinhole Polaroids framed and for sale under bright new track lighting.

See you there-- starts around 7-late and music is at 9pm.

Back from Tucson, AZ

Took a little trip to the southwest, visiting relatives and getting to see some parts of Arizona I hadn't before: Sabino Canyon, Bisbee, Titan Missile Museum, Asarco Copper Mine, and a local swap meet that wasn't all I'd hoped for. I also saw some great stencils again at the Epic Cafe on 4th Ave. and University, and over at BICAS, a local bike co-op downtown, near the Presidio district...

Look for some pinhole Polaroids from the trip at Jinx this Friday, 2/6 for art walk and the Red and Pink show that is going up.

Artvalk 12/5

Slow goings at artwalk, especially when it is cold/wet outside. Despite it all, Biagio Biondolillo and Anna Arvan played an intimate set with acoustic guitar, cello, and tambourine, in the basement studio space of Sheena Sisselman, two days before they hit the road for San Francisco.

Here are two grainy phone pictures:



In my space I hung a few pinhole polaroids and a new collage featuring a woman with gold teeth.

Also had an 8mm home movie showing (not my family or friends, yet.) that I will be using for a series of drawings on paper in upcoming months.

Photos from the last artwalk...

Here are some photos (courtesy of Gunther Frank) from art walk 10/17. I projected vintage 8mm and 16mm film footage on reflective panels
that were rearranged throughout the evening to create different lighting effects.