Dinner/Alarm Bells

Inspired by Ms Lottie writing about fantasy dinner party guests. It's a tough one to narrow it down and to be honest my list would probably vary depending on what mood I'm in. I had a ponder and whittled my final eight guests down to:

Thích Quảng Đức
Buckminster Fuller

Margaret Cho

Oscar Wilde

Gloria Swanson

Keith Richards

Christine Jorgensen

Aleister Crowley

I can only imagine some of the topics that may arise if you were to gather this bunch in one room but methinks it would make for an splendid evening of entertainment!

Luminous

I am completely smitten with the work of Irish artist Eleanor McCaughey. I've been keeping an eye on her output over the past few years and her work has evolved incredibly in this time. Her portraits display intricate detail and have a luminous quality. She has a knack of being able to capture the essence or likeness of her subjects. She works mainly with oil, acrylic and watercolour paint.


Eleanor graduated with a certificate in Classical Animation and a Higher National Diploma in Graphic Design from Ballyfermot College in 2001. Having worked in the field of Computer Graphics for four years she wanted to learn more traditional skills. Hence she joined the Academy of Figurative art, Dublin in 2005 and took classes in traditional oil painting.



In 2006 Eleanor moved to Vancouver BC, Canada where she exhibited in a number of group shows. She is currently living in Dublin.


I recently asked her a few questions about her art, and influences.
"So many artists have influenced me; my all time favourite artists are Mark Ryden and Jonathan Viner. Their work is quite surreal but really nicely painted...I receive a monthly mag called Juxtapoz which keeps me inspired, it’s usually packed full of really great stuff."


Are there any particular spaces that you find inspiring?
I guess I draw inspiration from everything and everywhere really!


What inspires you to make art and what keeps you motivated when things are difficult?
I get such a great feeling when I see amazing art and listen to a great album....it just makes me want to paint. When things get tough I usually read lots of interviews with artists I admire, i realise its pretty tough for everyone. If it's something you really want to do you've got to hang in there and just give it your best shot. I also moan to my boyfriend a lot; he's usually amazing at encouraging me!

Describe your art in 4 words.
All over the place!


What is your ultimate goal as an artist?
My ultimate goal would be to make a living out of my art without having to have a part time job and to exhibit in NYC.

To see more of her work and contact details: http://www.myspace.com/eleanorspaintings

Sleepless

Gonna be some big changes in my life in the next 3 months and I'm filled with a mixture of excitement and fear.Excitement at new experiences and fear of the unknown:) Hence the sleeplessness!

Currently listening to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusrat_Fateh_Ali_Khan
To buy more of his music

Høy

I hate it when i either find something/get told about something brilliant and upon checking it out discover when it's too late. Case in point the Telemegaphone Dale.

If you've ever wanted to shout something from a mountaintop this was an easy way of doing it!

Telemegaphones are tall loudspeaker sculptures that automatically answers incoming phone calls and projects the sound of the caller's voice into its immediate surroundings. Telemegaphone stands seven metres tall on top of the Bergskletten mountain overlooking the idyllic Dalsfjord in Western Norway. When you dial the Telemegaphone’s phone number the sound of your voice is projected out across the fjord, the valley and the village of Dale below.



On a calm day you can hear the Telemegaphone sounds in the centre of Dale, some three kilometers away from the Telemegaphone. The Telemegaphone is intended to be loud enough for people in Dale to be able to distinguish words and phrases, but subtle enough not to wake anyone up in the middle of the night.

It took about 9 people to carry the equipment needed to the top of the mountain.
Also it's wind powered and self-reliant

The Telemegaphone was open 24/7 until 6 September 2008; According to the creators the local deer hunt starts September 10 and they don't want to scare the deer. Nor the hunters... :)

http://www.unsworn.org/telemegaphone/index.php

No One Belongs Here More Than You

The lovely folks over at the Anti-room had a post a while back about female crushes. Not quite the same but I've had an artistic crush on Miranda July for quite some time.



July is a woman of many talents-Filmmaker, performance artist, musician, actress and writer- and seems to possess a relentless work ethic.


It was her first feature length film 'Me and You and Everyone We Know' from 2005 that brought her to my attention. I'm always hesitant to wax lyrical about films unnecessarily but i was really touched by the writing. She managed to capture something very human and fragile and relay it onto film. As a result of watching this it made me want to find out more about her work.



She grew up in Berkeley, California where she began writing plays and staging them at all ages clubs. Her strength, in my opinion; is her ability to create extraordinary stories from everyday 'mundane' life. The results range from dark and twisted to a sense of joy and clarity.At the heart of each strange,and often comic tale lies the basic human need for love,understanding and acceptance.

"In July’s modern world, the mundane is transcendent and everyday people become radiant characters who speak their innermost thoughts, act on secret impulses, and experience truthful human moments that at times approach the surreal. They seek together-ness through tortured routes and find redemption in small moments that connect them to someone else on earth"




Her videos, performances, and web-based projects have been presented at sites such as the MOMA, the Guggenheim and in the 2002 and 2004 Whitney Biennials. Her collection of stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You, was published in 2007 and won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. Her fiction has been printed in The Paris Review, Harper’s, and The New Yorker.

There was a particular idea in 'This Person' that i loved.

The lead character wakes up one day to find that all people that have caused her pain in the past-the jocks who made fun of her, teachers, and ex-lovers- have come back to throw a party in her honor. They explain that all the pain they caused her was done intentionally, to transform her into a better, stronger person. That without those experiences she would not have grown and developed as a person. "Certain jerks and idiots and assholes appear from time to time, and it is as if they have had plastic surgery, their faces are disfigured with love," July writes.

Her art encourages viewing things from a different perspective; lifting your consciousness above the everyday tasks and roles that we play out in real life. She is also heavily involved in using the internet as a artistic tool to encourage participation in art. For example 'Learning to Love You More' is both a web site and series of non-web presentations comprised of work made by the general public in response to assignments given by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher.

For more info on Ms July:

http://mirandajuly.com/
http://learningtoloveyoumore.com/hello/index.php
http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/

Distracted

Normal transmission will resume shortly...

Lost Weekend

I'm starting to get hyper thinking about all the musical goodness that i'm going to get to sample this weekend. Electric Picnic here i come! Santogold,Terry Callier, Tinariwen, George Clinton & the P-Funk AllStars, Underworld, Lou Rhodes, Wilco...the list is long. These could be the highlights of the weekend for me:

1: Crystal Castles



2: Sigur Ros


3: The Roots


4: My Bloody Valentine


5: Grace Jones




Hopefully i'll make it back from Stradbally with my eardrums, limbs and sanity intact:)

Martha Cooper

On a Graffiti kick today!

Nice piece on Martha Cooper-I bought a book of hers a few years ago and fell in love with some of the images she captured. A New York city long since gone.She is best known for documenting the New York graffiti scene of the 1970s and '80s. She also captured the emergence of hip hop as a genre in the late 70s.

More on Martha:
http://www.kodakgirl.com/
http://www.nycitysnaps.com/
On Amazon

Streets Ahead

There are two Dublin based graffiti artists whose work i really like at the moment: Maser and Fink


Maser
According to his website Maser has been painting for over ten years in the Irish/International Graffiti scene, painting in such places as New York, Copenhagen, London, Holland, Belgium, Spain and Sweden.

He began studying fine art and continued on to Graduate with distinction in a BA in Design Communication (graphic design). From that he was Awarded Membership of the International Society of Typographic Designers (MISTD). Within the last 2 years Maser has focused more on his painting/street art and has high ambitions to promote the positive aspects of the graffiti culture to the Irish society.

More on Maser: www.maserart.com
http://maserart.blogspot.com/

Fink
Fink is a Graffiti/Mural/Stencil Custom Artist, Photographer and Graphic Designer.


FiNK studied Visual Communication in England for which he received an Honours Degree with Distinction. He also holds a Certificate in Art, Graphics and Printmaking. He has exhibited and painted in both England and Ireland. He also Dj's

More on Fink: http://www.flickr.com/people/fink55/

Respect, or lack thereof

I'm a tad late finding this one. I've read it a number of times in sheer disbelief that a person would address his colleagues in the fashion Times writer Giles Coren did.

Coren should have had a cooling off period and then let someone do some editing before he sent this- I've yet to read a more ignorant or patronising letter.

The response? Read here