Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
That’s a portrait of Lincoln done in a concentration camp during WW2. No, it’s not Nazi shit, this is in the USA. Japanese Americans during WW2 were stuck in barracks in the middle of the desert in 11 different locations. The art being done about it, has been beat to death. So here’s a Fresh take. Blend new artists with the old artists, and show some work that has never seen the light of day. Yes, it’s another “Camp” exhibition, but it’s more current and thought provoking. There, I said it. On the above painting, the artists painted a Lincoln on a rice bag stretched out like canvas. That alone is worth the price of admission. Below is another painting. Imagine the son got painted after Lincoln since the Lincoln portrait is behind him. JANM I’m glad people had burlap bags so paintings got made. These drawings are really cool. If they were done more today, I could see these in art shows around the country. It’s a bit Picasso, but it’s still cool. The video version of Giant Robot 7. That’s Michael Louie skating Manzanar’s giant empty pool with the skateboards with the giant wheels. This is a nice image. It’s rad that Renee Tajima Pena made this film years ago, and it’s cool that it’s part of this exhibition. These are awesome old painting. Imagine if someone started buying up all of the art done while in the camps. Do you think it would make a comprehensive collection that would one day be worth as much money as other art made during certain times? I hope people would care, but in reality, it’ll be worth whatever someone’s willing to pay for it, and it might be best in the hands of JANM. Shizu Saldamando The skateboard used in the video may end up behind glass at the JANM.
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Moving out is always tough. I worried about this move for a month almost every day. In the end, because I worry, I always think that the job is easier than it is. But on the flipside, it takes a lot of energy, and I hold that in me and live with it constantly. It’s not just moving, it’s the work before and after, and that doesn’t include the other aspects in my life and work, that I worry about, and I carry those daily as well. I don’t think I’ll ever stop worrying about things, and I’d like to think it’s because I care. I’ll live less, and I’ll smile a bit less, but that’s my life. Real Rock N Roll movers (realrocknrollmovers.com) were quite great. See below for more. Yes that’s a rock n roll mover. Movers are there to move your possessions, but is that all they do? I hear horror stories about things getting stolen, broken, etc, but these guys are actually smart movers. They’re conscientious, methodical, and tactical. They can play tetris with your goods to make sure it fits well and safely. Instead of just lugging items, they look out for each other in how things are being carried for more leverage. They actually look at what the terrain is before they move to make sure things are safe. I really like it when one of the guys will call out, “Stop!” and they all huddle to discuss what they are doing in that instant and how it’ll affect the entire job. Maybe that’s the teamwork of being in a band coming out. There’s a lead singer type, a drummer type and a bass player type. Together they make music, and together, they guys can move. David, Chris and Keyla patch the wall. We had a good run in Silverlake. It was a fun ride, and I hope we can do it again. It’s the first whole location that we closed. We did actualy close half of our NY store, but that’s NYC. Rents and economics make no sense there. This feels like the first real closure, so I have some thoughts on it, that I hope I get out one day soon when I figure them all out. That’s what the wall looked like behind the case. It’s a bit out of control, but that’s what Pryor did to the wall to make sure it was flat. I’d say, he’s a bit OCD. See how small some of the pieces are? It’s a bit crazy, and it does make a nice art installation. That’s the big shelf unit made by Pryor. It’s fairly modular.
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The station Vocalo.org put the content of our talk online. It’s an interesting station since if you read the FAQ it actually tells you that you can make content, submit it, and they may use it. Maybe something like Current TV. I sort of don’t remember the interview too well, since it seemed to fly by, but here it is again online for anyone to hear. It’s a real station, but I think a feature like listener added content is a cool way to go. http://vocalo.org/explore/content/64458
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Sunsets, the feature film still is getting it’s day. It’s now played twice in Chicago to not the largest crowds, but twice at Siskel Film Center. The first time they (Siskel and Ebert) were both alive and well with a powerful show that influenced crowds to see movies. Today, Siskel has passed away and Ebert is working hard through a stroke. Rating movies has gone to new folks, mostly online. Films have changed. The medium and technique are different. Yet, the film center still exists and makes movies look good. The front door itself is a reminder that you’re entering a real cinema center. Don’t mess around inside. This is the Rucker Park of film. The projection was beautiful. A serious projection system that made us look good. I actually sat through the film again. What do film fest folks do to kill a bit of time? Scrabble. That’s the scene when we walked in. Game on. What’s with the eye patch girl in the painting!
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Forgot to tell you all, esp since I was ragging on airlines not too long ago… yesterday? Anyways, here’s something sort of funny. Plane to Tokyo is about to land. Lower, lower, lower, and as it hits ground, the guy two rows in front of me who’s sitting in an exit row at the front of the cabin, with a steward and stewardess facing him vomit launches on the cheap carpet in front of him. Quickly, the smell wafts backwards. The steward is on his hands and knees cleaning it up. The plane is now taxi-ing to the gate. It’s a bummer. I would have made every effort to put into the pillow case, or even in the blanket that every seat has, but no, this guy let it rip. Soon, they use an air freshener and the smell was gone. I last saw the steward wiping his shoes.
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