Intellectual/Creative
Artist's whose work I follow include Patricia Piccinninni, Roxy Paine, Julian LaVerdiere, Joep Van Lieshout, Mariko Mori, Takashi Murakami, Andrea Zittel, Vito Acconci, Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr, N55, Stefan Lindfors, Kal Spelletich, Arthur Ganson, Andy Goldsworthy, Christo and James Wines.
I follow contemporary representational realism closely. I've been perfecting my drawing skills since childhood, and hold opulent draughtsmanship in very high esteem. Before college, I even studied art in an academy setting, learning to apply the painting techniques of the Italian and Flemish masters. I used to be a regular at the Art Students League for the technical demonstrations of Nelson Shanks. Sophisticated renderings executed in graphite attract my attention, and I admire Steven Assael, Kent Bellows and Robert Schultz for their representational facility. Some people are eager to distinguish contemporary realism from "real art," to advertise their sophistication. Tell me about why realism is not really art, and I'll describe your rational failure in exhausting detail.
Where films are concerned, I'm mainly interested in the production design. The more complex and stylish, the better. I'm a completely unrepentant admirer of Greenaway even though that's considered a ridiculous cliche. I have been called an "aesthetics queen."
My reading is dominated by books of a technical nature these days. Books dedicated to various areas of personal inquiry take up the rest of my time. I regret I hardly ever read fiction anymore, but I'm drawn to postmodernist fiction. Particularly the variety that Brian McHale describes as narratives of "heterotopic zones." I actually think there's something artistically important in the kind of minimalist realism associated with authors like Carver, but that my reading isn't sophisticated enough to penetrate it. I'm currently reading "Three Blondes and Death." I read the online comics "Finder" and "Templar Arizona," both of which seem to take place in heterotopic zones. Please give Carla Speed McNeil and Spike money.
Profoundly non musical. I don't play any instruments and probably couldn't even follow sheet music. I _am_ sensitive to various organizational principles for sound besides the harmonic. Spatial organization in Indian music for example. I'm an admirer of early pioneers of electronic composition like Dockstader and Tudor, as well as the concretists like Varese and Antheil. I think my interest in "machine music" began when I saw a movie in my childhood that featured "interesting music concerts." A composition scored for violins, cello and typewriters captivated me. I'm fond of industrial music, and some current pop performers that use noise music as a point of departure like Xiu Xiu, Mu and Deerhoof. I also like twentieth century minimalist composition. Particularly Polish minimalists like Gorecki and Kilar. I am illiterate of classical music. The stuff the kids listen to today causes me physical pain.
Amateur machinist. For several years I've been growing a small, personal facility to fabricate parts for various creative projects. I work with plastics a great deal, and I'm equipped to do my own injection molding and vacuum forming. I started calculating and milling my own gears after a project of mine required me to do my own worm wheel calculations. That led to some die casting experiments. An old gray beard of my acquaintance recently bequeathed me an ancient slip roll machine and an english wheel, so I've been eagerly reading as much as I can find about aircraft sheetmetal construction. I'd like to work with fiberglass, but space limitations and my gentleman's rental agreement will probably preclude such experimentation until I can find a more suitable place to build. The next major procurement will probably be a five axis CNC machine. Then a laser cutter. I have this fantasy of doing my own electrical discharge machining, but the thought of placing an electrode into a big vat of kerosene scares the hell out of me.
I am a RepRap enthusiast who believes in the politically transformative power of the technology. I'd like to be mass producing second generation reprap's for my friends and colleagues within ten years.
Western Boxing enthusiast. It's often remarked that the sport is in disarray, but I don't think it is. The disunity of titles has followed the movement of the center of enthusiasm from the US to Europe. It's a feature reflected in the names that dominate the Heavyweight division today. Klitschko, Valuev, Chagaev, etc. I was distraught by the recent decision given to Mayweather, but I console myself with the knowledge that he is genetically predestined to die in a drive by shooting.
For several years I've had a reawakening of enthusiasm for the Martial arts. Reading Howard Gardener aquainted me with some obscure intellectual faculties I had been trying to put a name to. Particularly proprio kinesthetic intelligence and corrective haptic feedback systems. I've been investigating the development of the faculty. How it might be enlarged and perfected. This inquiry tends to lead one to a variety of martial schools. I'm always looking for people accomplished in these disciplines, willing to offer insights.
Personal.
Political.
Professional/Creative.