"Tolerance is another word for indifference" - W. Somerset Maugham

A small lesion was found on my brain recently. I'm still unsure what it means. The radiologist decided it's an abnormality or scarring of the tissue, a trauma. When I told a friend of mine she said "yeah, an abnormality that makes you incredibly intelligent and creative." It meant a lot to me and I want to continue working with this idea.

Winner!

Last Thursday (First Thursday) some friends and I went out to see a couple art shows. We first stopped at PNCA to see first year MFA candidate Daniel Glendening's show which included open-fired clay, and resin sculptures resembling rocks and a 20 minute video of what appear to be stars (not celebrities) dancing. The most exciting part of the night was our time at IGLOOgallery. My good friends Lori Gilbert, Miles Sprietsma, and Ralph Pugay were auctioning artwork along with lots of other local visual artists. To enter in the auction, you had to purchase a ticket for $5, write your name on it, and put it in the cup next to the artwork you wanted. At 9:00, a name was drawn from each cup and the winner got to take home the artwork that night. I bid on Ralph's painting and won. I'm really stoked! Pardon the bad lighting.

Hospital with Hotdogs, 2009, 14"x 18", acrylic on masonite

A sort of free flowing mission statement for a project i'm starting about feeling neutral.

Nationale Birthday

Last week, I went on a search to find cool birthday gifts for my boyfriend. I took a walk to the strip of shops and studios on lower east Burnside. To my disappointment 3 or 4 shops I had planned to peruse were closed, early. The store that was open, however, was not a disappointment at all. Nationale was just the thing I was looking for. Interesting artwork, imported French goods, and a great selection of art books. I picked this up, signed and all!

Illustrated by Chris Johanson and Jo Jackson.

Dr. Kevorkian, the painter

Last night a friend of mine informed me that Dr. Kevorkian is not only a promoter of assisted suicide but also an artist. His stuff is eerie, bizarre, or in other words, Kevorkianish. In my opinion, he's pretty smart to exploit his creepy reputation to make it as an artist.

Here are some bunny puppeteers pulling strings at some guys mind.

Currently, at the Heist Gallery in NYC, an exhibition called Cake Mixx is showing. The artist, Dustin Wayne Harris photographs cakes (built by the women he's dating) which he thinks are metaphors for his relationship with the people who made them. Like a crystal ball, he uses them to see into the future of the relationship.

I've been thinking about how inanimate objects relate to people and can have some of the same "personality" traits as a human being. People are complex, but no matter how complex the object, whether it be constructed out of many objects or a single item, cannot compare to all the baggage of a person. However, I do believe that because what we know of people is mostly on the surface, there isn't as much to relate. Relationships are even more complex, involving two people, so why didn't Harris participate in the making of the cakes photographed? He's relying entirely on the other person to determine how the relationship will end up, as if the single failed cake maker is faulted for the demise of the team. Try following a recipe with another person, or traveling with your new girl/boyfriend and having to navigate a new place, than you might have a better idea of how the relationship will turn out.

Maybe Next Time

Aaron and I went to Seattle this past Valentines Day weekend and saw one of my favorite artists, Whiting Tennis, at the Sunset Tavern to see the Nick Jaina show. I blew it and couldn't get up the nerve to tell him how inspiring his artwork has been to me. Although I still have some major, heart wrenching regrets, the whole situation was very exciting. It made me realize how reachable our idols are, despite how high we hold them up in our minds.

Whiting Tennis

Babes

My sister is having a baby so the sisterly thing to do was to plan a baby shower for her. Much needed baby gifts, embarrassing games, food, what more could she want? I put together these invites for the event. 

Deer or the Download

I illustrated and printed these CD-less album covers for Deer or the Doe a while back. We wanted to release a digital download but with more than just files because album artwork was so important to us. The image came from a photo we took of ourselves underneath a large, striped piece of fabric. Using stripes was helpful in drawing the draping and folding.

Princess

Back


I'm awake, but a little groggy. It's rare to wake up in the morning and immediately feel ready to go. I think only Disney princesses can achieve that. Somehow, with no exercise and a poor diet of maple syrup and hand picked berries from the forest, they get up and skip along to do nothing all day. I, however, am doing lots of things today. First and foremost, I will be assisting Aaron while he letterpresses The Shivas album covers. They will be gorgeous. Also, I am working on a baby shower invite for my sister. This image is an example of what came into my brain when I thought about 'baby', and 'children'. It's perfect for my concept.

On another note, I letter-pressed these flyers for my friend Coyle's solo-show. The opening is on Monday, February 1st from 4-6pm and will run until February 26th at MK Gallery, PSU.

Front


Back

Prints Finished!

Here are some photos of my adventures in the last ten weeks. Today, I finished the final two prints of a series of six. Soon, I'll have them photographed posted for you all to see. Tuesday is my final critique at PSU ever! After the critique I'm putting together a DIY opening in Neuberger Hall, room 293, 6-8pm. If I can scrounge the cash, i'll have some wine and snacks for anyone who wanders in to have a look.

Magnus Muhr

Recognition

During the time I thought I was finished with school (mere months), I didn't know what to do with myself. I had all these ideas brewing but couldn't justify spending money and time on projects that would only be executed for myself. I realized that I need others to rely on me in order to get things done, which is why I started the Structure project. I've asked people for their time (an unpaid favor) and in return I must do my part of the project. If I don't do my part then they've wasted their time, at least that's how I look at it. I'm interested in continuing these kind of collaborative projects when I finally finish school just to keep myself busy. Ideally, I'd just force myself to work solely for the benefit of working, learning, achieving goals and not for others, but I've found my weakness and am glad that I can make work out of it.

Do Ho Suh

His spaces made of tulle are more like memories than an actual place. He studies a space, taking precise measurements and documenting the smallest details and then sews the replica.

Some things that keep me focused

Whiting Tennis

Christo

Contemporary Studio Practice take 2

For the second time, and after I believing that I was graduating, I am taking Contemporary Studio Practice with Horia Boboia. I like the class because it allows me to work freely in the studio space. I have 24/7 access to the room, as well as the freedom to choose the medium and content of my project.

The Project

I had a vision of doing a collaborative series. I had a mental image of what my final presentation would look like before I had a concept. In my vision was a studio space with a table in center and at the table was an individual building a structure. On the wall behind the work table was a shelf with a collection of similar looking structures and drawings of those structures.

For this project I asked a number of people (in this case, creative friends and family) to build a structure out of the specific materials they were given. They had three rules: to use ALL of the materials, to complete the piece within 2 hours, and to make sure it was stable enough for me to move around. Other than that, they had complete creative freedom over their piece. My part of the project involves documenting the process, and using the structures as models for drawings and prints, which is what i'm currently working on.