Cassie card March 3, 2008
Cassie’s cards for her exhibition later this month have been ordered. As always, they’re single-sided full-color and a limited run of only 100 +/- 5%. I may propose doing another card that is actually a work, but so far I’m satisfied with this image and the simplicity of the layout and minimal information available. I like these things stripped down, it also ensures that any activity or buzz that navigates around the event is generated more by word-of-mouth than any promotional artefact. Meanwhile Cassie and I have to be selective about who we distribute cards to, turning the postcard into a type of limited invite, and once they’re gone they’re gone.
Tonight we’re meeting up to watch movies, eat tacos and cut-n-paste some collage work together, or just generally bounce around ideas about the installation, the event, and the production of contemporary art.
backlog January 19, 2008
Today:
- server upgraded.
- Normal Space WordPress install upgraded (included server maintenance, managing old databases, etc.)
- old code purged
- some crackers with cheese eaten
Feels good to be back though.
On a side note, I’m increasingly ecstatic with and surprised-but-not-really-surprised by just how flexible and fast WordPress is for running my life these days. If you know your way around, you can update this software faster than Carl Lewis down the 100m dash.
the projector runs the show October 21, 2006
I think I’ve found the projector I want to acquire for 48 Hour Run @ Normal Space: a Lumenlab pre-made-but-DIY-driven projector that supports component, s-video, tv (coax) and vga signal. Inputs aside, the main reason to acquire this projector over many others is the $30 replacement bulb. Yes, only $30! Whereas most Sony or InFocus or other manufacturer’s bulbs cost around $300 to replace (meaning after replacing two bulbs you could have bought a new projector!), LumenLab claims to have found a way to use a $30 lamp to produce approximately 6000 hours of lamplife at 1000 lumens. Of course those aren’t too many lumens, and the unit only supplies a 600:1 contrast ratio, but for the cost and for affordable art projects, this projector should run the show!
Related links:
Lumenlab website
re-title listing October 9, 2006
Re-title was kind enough to list my call for submissions for 48 Hour Run, a video screening project I’m planning for the future in my studio at Flux Factory. I’m listed in Artist Opportunities #44; for those who don’t know re-title have a service where every fortnight they publish (via email) listings of opportunities (from residencies to awards to exhibitions) for artists. If you’re not already signed up I highly recommend it. Not to brag or anything but their listings tend to be highly filtered (around 10-15 per issue) and offer some of the best opportunities of the moment.
Want to sign up? Request their newsletters.
hiatus? you betcha! August 30, 2006
After a lengthy time away from the Normal Space blog, I’m inciting some new work. I’ve updated some of the code running this space, and will be adding some new features and text to the main pages, and most importantly will start taking submissions for my next show/work, which will go online soon under the title ’48 Hour Run’. Stay tuned for details!
slideshow is up April 17, 2006
at the opening of Normal Space @ Flux Factory I had a slideshow running on my computer monitor. the images are from various vectors, and while some of them are years old, I think they all helped lead up to the fabrication of Normal Space.
images of studios I have worked in, or friends and fellow artists, or me buying work at exhibitions!
the slideshow as it is now is as it was at the opening, 147 images and randomly displayed. obviously I have plenty more documentation material available so I will probably be adding to this slideshow over time, but for now you can experience it as it was.
click the image for the slideshow
the door lives elsewhere April 16, 2006
it’s been three days now since the opening of Normal Space and an interesting tidbit of information I haven’t shared until this point is, what did I do with my door?!
As you know, most rooms have doors. My studio is no exception. When I started plotting out Normal Space as a ‘gallery’ (wall), one of my first thoughts was “What do I do with my door?” Obviously I didn’t want to leave it on the hinges, and subsequently loose 3ft. of wall space for the door to stay open during open hours. Pretty simple solution: remove the door off the hinges.
I did exactly that, and moved it into our library/living room where it has been ever since. Three days and nights I have operated without a door, which is a slightly odd feeling never being able to seclude yourself completely or having that signifier for privacy or contemplation available when you need it.
of course I have always considered my door a part of my Space, even if it is on the outside. and having removed it, I have noticed one significant backlash: my studio is significantly colder, especially since it is still getting down to 5C/40F these nights, so once the sun sets it tends to get pretty chilly in Normal Space.
brrrrrrrrrr…
Normal Space aftermath April 14, 2006
the inaugural opening at Normal Space was a great success, judging by the volume of Stolichnaya vodka and Baileys Irish cream I dispensed!
thanks to all the artists I have worked with over the years to make this show possible, thanks to the artists who showed up, and brought along their crowds to what was one of the more-exciting Flux Thursday events in some time.
other thanks are due:
thanks to Jacqueline for working the bar.
thanks to Morgan for getting me those lamps.
thanks to Stefany for the ice.
thanks to Anthony for screening his film.
thanks to Jean and Kerry and Robert for their art and support.
thanks to Emma for the coconut i scream.
thanks again to Jean for the excellent dinner.
I will compile documentation shots soon, and make much of this material available on the web for future reference or access elsewhere.
Normal Space opens! April 13, 2006
it’s here!
artist map April 12, 2006
it’s approaching 2am monday morning and since i’ve pretty much resolved the location of all the work for the show, i’ve gone ahead and sketched out the artist map for the show.
the artist map of course will allow visitors to put name->to->work.
i considered several options for the show no doubt. name labels on the wall are the most obvious option, but as there are already over 20 works on the Space wall, with other works scattered about, the Space is already pretty crowded and name labels i think would have only served to add confusion to the array of works on display.
so i considered writing on the wall, with pencil. while i think this is a nice aesthetic, i didn’t conclude it added anything to the work or the show, and so dropped that option.
i eventually concluded upon a hand-drawn (with pen) map. this was simple as a majority of the works are all located upon a single wall, consolidated, of simple sizes and shapes in relation to each other, and could be simply drawn with annotations of artist names.
i will post the map online after the opening (i just don’t have the time to scan it and do this now), and it will be available at the Space as a letter-sized photocopy for viewers to walk away with.
wines & spirits April 10, 2006
bought the liquor today needed for the opening which is just a few days from now. I decided upon a 1.75L bottle of Stolichnaya vodka and 2x 1L bottles of Baileys Irish cream. these are two of my favorite drinks currently: Stolichnaya I like mixed with some type of juice on the rocks (so I have some cranberry juice and a leftover case of Red Bulls from the FluxBox opening) and Baileys I prefer with just one or two cubes of ice.
The lady at the liquor store is great, she’s an anecdotal queen who can relate just about everything you say to something her mother once told her! she’s fantastic!
I just hope I bought enough.
Risa Puno at Normal Space
Risa Puno is officially added to the inaugural opening of Normal Space @ Flux Factory.
i stumbled upon Risa’s work at the 2006 Scope art fair in NYC. my first interaction with her work was near a door gangway, and her machine suggested something part-insectoid part-retro-space-lander (the ‘bacteriophage’).
i put a quarter in and received a capsule that i have yet to crack open. the plastic is quite tough and suspect i will need to take a hammer to it to get it open (Risa says other people step on them!).
Risa had other work available throughout Scope including a free machine that included hand-written fortune-esque phrases such as ‘I love cowboys’ or my personal favorite ‘I like to take shit apart’.
At the time I did not know these works belonged to Risa, but i was curious enough that i wrote the Scope organizers and requested if they could tell me the artist’s name given my description of the work. They eventually wrote back, informed me it was the work of Risa Puno, and i tracked down her website, which i was pleasantly surprised to see contained an image of me interacting with her previously mentioned ‘Bacteriophage’ dispenser! Great!
I’ve sent an email to Risa inviting her out for the opening. I love the spontaneity of this all.
site back online April 9, 2006
you may have noticed this site went down this past weekend. well it actually went down friday morning, around 4am when a malicious h4x0r (hacker) gained entry to the admin backend of my webhost (telnap.com) and started purging accounts. i was one effected by this action. i had some data backed up but not all, and will work over the next 24 hours to restore this site to its previous capacity, and will detail these events further. right now i need some sleep.
the exhibition opens in less than 4 days, and having to deal with this has been a huge pain, but whatever. as we say in the trade, “d4+ h4x0r SuX0rz”.
subway word April 3, 2006
Blair Butterfield, a fellow American i met while studying in London, who gave me a test painting over two years ago and who will be making her NYC debut at Normal Space, just emailed me an exciting rumour:
My friend contacted me to say they saw an advert in the subway in NY for the normal space show.
Sounds great!
hope your [sic] well, probably really busy.
Awesome! I don’t know who is responsible for this, but thank you, you rock!
Dezso not Deszo March 29, 2006
AHHHHHHH!!!
I just got an email from Andrea Dezso who will be in the first opening at Normal Space; I have a small (6×7.5 cm) colour inkjet print mounted on card by her. So she just informed me:
I noticed that my name is misspelled on the invitation you sent me a link to. The correct spelling is Dezso (the z comes first then teh [sic] s). I know it’s totally counterintuitive, it’s only used this way in Hungraian [sic] as far as I know.
I sware, it’s impossible, something always goes wrong!! No matter how long one spends proofing everything, reading and re-reading, checking grammar, spelling, names, etc., you always miss at least one thing somewhere! Fortunately, it actually made me laugh to realize this! I’m sorry Andrea, I’ll get it correct next time!
workday March 27, 2006
it was a great day in the studio. did a lot of maintenance for Normal Space, including sanding, painting, electrical and art-gathering. 
i came to a realization today about working with particular elements of this gallery: above the drop-ceiling line the drywall was mostly neglected and abused. not a total surprise there, obviously the drop-ceiling wasn’t intended to be removed for the space to be converted into an exhibition space! but the maintenance required to smooth out certain elements of the space require more than i expected, and will have to be dealt with at another time.
enough layers of paint over time will solve some of these issues. so i threw down some paint!
even did a mopping of the space. man what a difference that made! dust is a phenomenon because you can sweep and sweep and vacuum and do all of that, but some of it always remains; you need a proper mopping to really remove it.
then for the first time i got out most of the work for the show and pooled it all together along the gallery wall. the accompanying photo shows about 2/3 of the work for the show. still a few others in storage elsewhere and 3 pieces yet to acquire off-site. but laying it all out made me realize just how much i like all of this work. i’m really excited to see it fill the space, to be a living gallery.
the other maintenance for the space/show i did included installing one overhead lamp, a 4ft. fluorescent. i’m unsure yet if i’ll be using fluorescents or incandescents for the exhibition. i need to do more electrical work to really solve that concern. i also compiled the initial slideshow that will be playing on my computer monitor (19″ ViewSonic G90fb) during the opening. right now it’s 70 photos. a few more to add and i’ll likely re-compile them for the web after the opening.
all in all a fun day’s work!
cards arrived March 23, 2006
the postcards for the opening show arrived today! they look GREAT, and were super cheap! they’re completely blank on the backside which i really love, none of that small-font informational crap, just blank. so i can scribble notes all over them. yay!
cards printed March 16, 2006
I remade the postcard for the show. Actually, I never had a card made, just that other image (which I was distributing photocopies of by hand because I don’t have enough ink to print these en masse), which is very similar to the one used for the card. But I found a great printer online with a discount going on for this month for regular 4″x6″ postcards and thought I should test their quality, and what better opportunity than for my first studio show! And this way I can send actual cards to the artists involved so they can show everybody else how important they must be because I collect their work.
I mean, that is why we make work right? So other people can collect it. Right?
It’s nearly 1:30am, the file has been uploaded to the printer, the cards are scheduled to arrive on the 23rd. If you want one and aren’t sure if I have your postal address, then send me an email and I’ll send you a postcard! Pretty cool huh?
this weekend March 9, 2006
i’ve set aside all of my tools, and bought some new ones. not sure i’ll be able to get to re-rig the lighting, but i’ll definitely have time to tackle some of the physical aspects of the space, including some sanding, spackling and painting. then i’ll be able to start laying out all of the work, and seeing it in the space as a collective body for the first time. i really do have a lot of work to negotiate, but you never know until you see it in the space.
as always, i’ll be sure to take some photos this weekend to document my progress, and will likely post some pictures here to show my progress. another thing i plan on developing this weekend is a small maquette to quickly reposition all of my works and consider their salonesque display. this approach has overlaps with a piece i’m currently working on for Lance Wakeling’s artMarket Mini 2005 2006 (as well with other works i’ve developed in the past).
34 days to launch!
Jessica Cannon writes in February 25, 2006
Jessica Cannon, another artist who will be participating in the inaugural Normal Space exhibition, wrote to Flux Factory today, as she later expressed “half excited half confused”. Now I find this whole curve pretty interesting, so here’s the story:
This past November (me thinks) I went to the Parsons MFA Open Studios in support of my friend Ashley Kesling whom I met while working on the Novel project at Flux Factory. While there I did a round of most of the studios, obviously. Later in the eve, after enjoying a few Newcastle Browns which were gallantly being offered from an empty, abandoned studio, Ashley asked if there was any work I was particularly fond of. While I couldn’t remember her name then, I said yes and I could take Ashley to the studio, perhaps she could tell me more about the person.
After a drunken tour we stumbled into Jessica’s studio and Ashley burst into a laugh – I knew I had made a good choice!
I already liked Jessica’s work, especially her drawings, of which I remember things such as skyscrapers and an iceberg adorned with scenes of play. Ashley explained they are public work proposals, and they exist in several places: in drawings, photomontages, and actual works (the type of work my old friend Elaine Arkell from London would really love!). Then I appreciated the works even more! I really wanted to meet Jessica, and Ashley assured me we would someday.
Then, just a few weeks later, there was the 2005 Night of 1,000 Drawings at Artists Space. A deluge of drawings and other works on paper hung from wire with bulldog clips, I spotted three pieces that I was considering buying. I paced back and forth between the three pieces, contemplating which one to buy (even though they were each only $50, I could only afford one). I wasn’t really interested in who the artist was, because I wanted to focus more on the drawing and its inclusion into my collection. But then I broke down and inspected the rear of each work to see who the artist was, and wouldn’t you know one of them was by Jessica Cannon!
!SNAP!
I bought it. Well chuffed with that purchase! What a great piece. A drawing of a slab of sidewalk concrete that has grass growing out of it, which Jessica has also made into an installation.
So several months go by, I start planning out Normal Space, and include Jessica’s name onto my original flyer-image posted on the Flux Factory website to start spreading the word about the exhibition. Anyhow somehow Jessica caught wind of her inclusion in the show, wrote to Flux, Flux forwarded her email to me, I replied, and she says:
…now I’m just excited. I think its really interesting to reactivate a space by installing different artists’ work in it… especially since its a studio and there already exists so much potential there
Jessica really understands the impulse behind this show, and I can’t wait to meet her!
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