pillow talk

Art for Obama..

Todd Hido
#6097, 2006, 11"x14" C-Print, from the series A Road Divided
Caption Info: "From my upcoming solo show in San Francisco
that opens the day after Obama could win the election!”
Artist's Proof #2

My friend Eirik Johnson recently told me about Art for Obama an incredible fundraising effort to help elect Barack Obama come November. I have been thinking about trying a similar effort to fund raise for Obama with the sale of a piece of my petroleum piece... fight big oil with oil...more on that soon. The list of participating artists in Art for Obama is incredible! This is a not to be missed opportunity for collectors and liberals alike. The auction opens October 1st and closes October 8th.

Art for Obama is an online auction of photographs to benefit the Obama Campaign. Fifty of the country's most prominent artists and photographers have donated their work for this cause. The auction will launch on October 1st and will run for one week. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Obama Campaign, to the Democratic National Committee and to non-profit organizations such as MoveOn.org, which are currently devoting their energy to helping the Obama campaign. Proceeds will be distributed in strict accordance with Federal Election Commmission regulations.

Eirik Johnson
Untitled (never-land), 20" x 24" Chromogenic Print Borderlands, 2005,
Notes: Homeless encampment, sign reads "Never Never-Land, Home to the Lost Boys"
Edition: 3/10

first day of autumn...

fall blows in...
the most important election of my lifetime in motion...
I am trying to stay positive...

Sunday was a good day...

heather - 9.14.08

Sunday was a good day. I did some scanning of film from my Hermitage residency... more on that soon. I started working with the shark's teeth I collected while in Florida. And I helped my dear friend Heather of (h(om)e) photograph some of her new pieces. The rainy day proved to be a productive day... free of self analysis I just made work and it felt good.

SNL gets it right...

New City Art reviews show at David Weinberg Gallery

Review: Who Gets What: A Political Show/David Weinberg Gallery

Sonja Thomsen’s iridescent bubbly color studies of crude oil that show the aesthetic side of what the world is fighting over and remind us—again with the postmodern staple of absence—that we should stop and smell the gasoline.(Michael Weinstein)

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CoPA's 2nd Annual Juried Show - Juror George Slade

Tonight is the soft opening for the 2nd annual CoPA juried show, 5-9 at WPCA. Juror George Slade will be in Milwaukee on October 10 to give a gallery talk about the show. George Slade is great to work with and an incredibly knowledgeable photo historian... his selections for this year's show are diverse content and consistent in their quality of execution.
I look forward to seeing the show tonight. I was privy to a sneak peak and it looks great! Last years show was a great success and I only imagine the turnout and support of this show will be the same or more (possibly more since the show is having three events!) Be sure to try and get to Milwaukee to see the show from photographers working in MN, WI, IL and MI. The show runs September 12 - October 18.

no time to float... much work to do

View more positive videos here

on my wall...

This is an image from the May 1, 2005 New York Times Film section that I have had on my studio wall for the past years. The image is from the film "The Holy Girl" directed by Lucrecia Martel. The newsprint is slowly fading but the text and image continue to fascinate me.

Opening in Chicago

Almost one year after the incredible SPA opening (9-8-07) at Silverstein Photography in New York NY, I found myself at an opening (9-5-08) at David Weinberg Gallery in Chicago IL. It was a great night.

1. Thanks to Cain (my wonderful husband)
2. Thanks to the parents- making it to a early Friday night opening out of town.
3. Thanks to Lisa for stopping by the show after a long day of looking at photographs in Chicago and prior to driving back to Milwaukee fighting traffic all the way.
   
4. Thanks to Mel and Dan's support and attendance. Plus and awesome gift!!!
   
5. Thanks to David Weinberg.
   
6. Thanks to Alec's opening across the street at Stephen Daiter and his always warm smile.
7. Thanks to Jon and Brian for stopping by.
8. Thanks to Jason for his visit and sincere conversation.
9. Thanks to Laura and Micah for driving down from WI.
   
10. Thanks to curator Aaron Ott - check him out on the right flashing the ring next to Cain! (David Weinberg in the back)
    

what are they chanting?..."drill baby drill"

Two days after the term Drill Baby Drill was coined at the RNC by Republican Michael Steele. Two of my pieces considering oil were shown at the David Weinberg Gallery on September 5, 2008. I can't tell you how disturbed I was listening to all of those people chanting together on Wednesday night... frightening.



The exhibition could not be at a more opportune moment when we have Mrs. Palin a native of Alaska rejecting science and global warming issues. Her support of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is just the tip of the iceberg! (couldn't resist the pun, sorry)

In the exhibition "Who gets what: a political show" curated by the fabulous Aaron Ott at David Weinberg hangs two of my pieces: hole (fall, winter, spring, summer) and petroleum. I have been photographing constructed pools of oil for the past two years. By looking at oil and making it visible I am questioning its many implications.



The hole images are odd with the stark black hole, its presence and location unidentifiable. The images address the paradox of oil being "natural" and our obsession with it everything but. The inclusion of the seasons reference geologic time and the environmental consequences of our obsession.


The 9 panel grid of oil titled petroleum is seductive with the oily iridescence and high gloss images of this exorbitant and elusive natural resource. The sexy surface subverts our logical understanding about oil and politics being closely entwined.

I hope the intended irony is not lost on the collective... "drill baby drill"...really?!

thanks Ed Winkleman

McCain on Arts Funding

love the Daily Show...

thanks for this jon...

RNC.... WTF?

• VIA MOVEON.ORG
  
• Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is "God's task." She's even admitted she hasn't thought about the war much—just last year she was quoted saying, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq." ^{1, 2}
• Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Palin told members of the group—who advocate for a vote on secession from the union—to "keep up the good work" and "wished the party luck on what she called its 'inspiring convention.'" ³
• Palin wants to teach creationism in public schools. She hasn't made clear whether she thinks evolution is a fact.⁴
• Palin doesn't believe that humans contribute to global warming. Speaking about climate change, she said, "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being manmade." ⁵
• Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP. ⁶
• Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn't even support abortion in the case of rape or incest. ⁷
• Palin opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She's said she will only support abstinence-only approaches. ⁸
• As mayor, Palin tried to ban books from the library. Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, "news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor." ⁹
• She DID support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). Palin claimed that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." ¹⁰

• Sources
  1. "Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'," Associated Press, September 3, 2008
  http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24701&id=13709-3239487-XGppiCx&t=6

  2. "Palin wasn't 'really focused much' on the Iraq war," ThinkProgress, August 30, 2008
  http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24702&id=13709-3239487-XGppiCx&t=7

  3. "The Sarah Palin Digest," ThinkProgress, September 4, 2008
  http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/

  4. "McCain and Palin differ on issues," Associated Press, September 3, 2008
  http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24703&id=13709-3239487-XGppiCx&t=8

  5. Ibid

  6. The Sarah Palin Digest," ThinkProgress, September 4, 2008
  http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/

  7. Ibid

  8. Ibid.

  9. "Mayor Palin: A Rough Record," Time, September 2, 2008
  http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24704&id=13709-3239487-XGppiCx&t=9

  10. The Sarah Palin Digest," ThinkProgress, September 4, 2008
  http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/

zoe strauss rocks!!!!

Zoe Strauss

I can't tell you how incredible it is to be able to watch a prolific artist at work and to openly share her process, her politics, her love. I know I am preaching to the choir here but it deserves to be said again... ZOE STRAUSS ROCKS!

From Zoe's blog on August 29, 2008:

President George W. Bush joins Arizona Senator John McCain in a small celebration of McCain's 69th birthday Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, after the President's arrival at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix. The President later spoke about Medicare to 400 guests at the Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club in nearby El Mirage. White House photo by Paul Morse

New Orleans, August 30, 2005

Flak Photo & Hijacked, Volume One

Flak Photo is now featuring images from Hijacked, Vol 1. Check each day to see a new piece by artists such as:

In support of the project, Flak Photo highlights twenty-five of these photographers in the month of September and includes images from Timothy Archibald, Greta Anderson, Grant Willing, Alana Celii, Bill Sullivan, Caitlin Harrison, David Griggs, Emily Portman, Gareth Willis, Graham Miller, James Mellon, Janelle Ryan, Jason Lazarus, Juha Tolonen, Karron Bridges, Lisa Kereszi, Mark McPherson, Martin Mschkulnig, Michael Gray, Nathalie Latham, Nicholas Chatfield-Taylor, Robin Schwartz, Shen Wei, Suzy Poling and Amy Stein.

Float Like a Feather, Mount Eden, Auckland City, New Zealand, 2003 —
Photo © Greta Anderson

what is wrong with this country!!!!

Read the article in the Minnesota Independent here

so much is wrong... that is why we need NEW LEADERSHIP.

Must attend event....

Panel Discussion – The Emergence of the Color Photograph
Thursday, September 18, 2008, 7 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Moderator-Wally Mason, Director of the Haggerty Museum of Art
Lisa Hostetler, Associate Curator of Photographs-Milwaukee Art Museum
Brian Ulrich, Photographer
Karen Irvine, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College, Chicago
Tom Bamberger, Photographer