On Blogging, The Price of Getting Somewhere, and What Comes Next

Been rather busy as of late and it's been difficult to attend to the blog the way I had been. The price of getting somewhere, maybe: One often loses time for the things that got them there, and this blog has been a dynamite kickstart device. I intend to keep it alive! and perhaps change strategies on how to maintain it more efficiently and quickly.

Current rundown of status is that I have offered to stay on as Artist in Residence & Curator at The Tech Garden in Syracuse through at least the spring of 2017. I like the role, I like the opportunity to show art there, and hit a major home run with January's "Star Trek Vs Star Wars: A Logical Choice". Huge sprawling public call exhibit asking fans to paint their answer to the timeless rivalry between the two most important cultural icons of the post-space age. Coverage of it to follow as soon as I figure out how to correctly work a new camera & hem in the auto focus' sense of humor.

Poster design by Cayetano Valenzuela.

More Tech Garden shows to follow, and I also accepted a position as Curator/Art Dude at The Dev in Utica NY, a music/gastropub venue that does a marvelous service to the community by dedicating a healthy portion of their walls to feature rotating gallery shows of local artists. I've had two shows of my own work there since 2013 and was part of one group exhibit. Works sold, I met other artists and helped solidify a place in the downtown Utica cultural landscape. It made too much sense to say no, especially as my studio space at Macartovin Apartments is exactly one block away.

And more Macartovin shows are planned. We hit another home run right out of the ballpark in December with a hair runway fashion show produced by three of the outstanding talents I've come to know as being the best at what they do. It was truly a multimedia experience in every sense of the word, opened by a breathtaking Catherine Wright performance and climaxing with what I can only describe as Space People coming down from the Sky Machine to the beat of a growling, throbbing music soundtrack showcasing Marilyn Manson.

Macartovin Annex, December 18 2015.

Not exactly m cup of tea as far as music goes but by golly, those ladies totally killed it, one of the most majestic artistic experiences of my career, topped off by a gallery show of large works by my usual cast of Utica area creators. We're hoping for a followup event of some sort with related gallery show perhaps in July or August and I want a role on the stage this time, the itch to join in the performance end of it now almost impossible to bear.

Then again every day is an art performance, and playing the role of "The Art Dude" now pretty much what I am focused on wherever I may end up. Which may have been the big revelation of a birthday insight back in January. Itself punctuated by a superb show at the Kirkland Art Center in Clinton NY with longtime colleagues Tim Rand and Tony Thompson. What I realized while setting up the show on my birthday -- 49 and he's single, ladies -- is that I am doing exactly what I'd set out to do with this so-called career.

Kirkland Art Center, January 10 2016.

It may not be Andy Warhol's factory with silver walls, tripped out supermodels lying around on couches and David Bowie stopping by after lunch. But it's my goddamn version of it, located in those Central New York havens where I've been welcomed. Which is why it was important to stay on at The Tech Garden even though at this time the position is unpaid. Likely should remain that way so that other artists are able to also be able to benefit the growth that comes with having such a role.

Yet I also reasoned that if anyone has the convincing voice to change that it's myself, perhaps benefitting artists yet to come even more by mandating that ALL institutions who wish to benefit from the cultural presence of a sharply curated space financially support the effort. Private sector support for the arts is key: Access to public funding is limited, establishing gallery spaces a risky endeavor at best, and artists often stymied by a lack of exhibition venues to ply their trades in.

Let's see what I can do about it.