Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Wedding Preparations
In celebration of my brother's wedding, my sister and I went to get our nails done at "Cosmos Nails" on Sansom St.
We also came up with an family theme for the wedding, "Stay Gold." This might continue to be an ongoing family theme, Pony Boys and Girls.
Obviously, this meant that we got gold polish, me a full nail and Savannah a gold tip. Oh yes.
Sisters getting nails done was pretty amazing. And it was amazingly confusing to the women doing our nails because they just could NOT understand how a svelte glamorous minx, Savannah, and a short fat bull dyke, myself, could be sisters. Seriously, the look of confusion was priceless. It was awesome.
We also came up with an family theme for the wedding, "Stay Gold." This might continue to be an ongoing family theme, Pony Boys and Girls.
Obviously, this meant that we got gold polish, me a full nail and Savannah a gold tip. Oh yes.
Sisters getting nails done was pretty amazing. And it was amazingly confusing to the women doing our nails because they just could NOT understand how a svelte glamorous minx, Savannah, and a short fat bull dyke, myself, could be sisters. Seriously, the look of confusion was priceless. It was awesome.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Congratulations to Mr. Cosmo Baker-Peck and Mrs. Sydney Baker-Peck
The new Mr. and Mrs.
From left: Walker Roberts, Savannah Roberts, Ilene Baker, Cosmo Baker, Zoe Strauss
-------
--------------
It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell,
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell
They furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale,
But when Pierre found work, the little money comin' worked out well
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell
They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records, all rock, and rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell
They bought a souped-up jitney, was a cherry red '53,
Drove down to New Orleans to celebrate the anniversary
It was there where Pierre was married to the lovely mademoiselle
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell
They had a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell,
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell
---------
LB and Walker
Savannah Roberts and Ruby
Winnie and Ilene Baker
Cos and John Hoyt
---------
So here's to my brother, Mr Cosmo Baker, and to my sister-in-law, Ms. Sydney Peck
(and I mean for real "in law" since she graduated from law school last week)
I love you both and wish you all the happiness in the world.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Not a Mistake
Object
Meret Oppenheim
Just a reminder of how great this is. Meret Oppenheim, you killed it.
Like Hotcakes!
Some pieces have sold from "If You Reading This" and how great is that? Great! Keep buying friends! KEEP BUYING!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Vision Theory
Enough personal information.
You know what I'm all about? Thinking about seeing!
Part One
Iconic Memory
Persistence of Vision
Visual Short Term Memory
Aside: Yes, wikipedia is filled with misinformation. But why would anyone use it as a definitive reference? It's an encyclopedia! It's the start of sending someone to research or read more information about a subject. I mean, it's not that I hadn't tried to xerox an encyclopedia page and turn it in as a finished paper in grade school. I ain't taking research that far!
It's a great starting place with basic information when you just need a little info.
----
The Myth of Persistence of Vision Revisited
Part Two
Short-term memory for scenes with affective content
The above article is one that I have thought about a lot in relation to the slide shows.
Part Three
"High-speed still photography dates back decades, most famously to the spectacular milk-drop and bullet-through-apple photography of Harold Edgerton, who invented the strobe in 1931.
Very-high-speed movie photography started later, and came into its own as a scientific tool in the birthing room of the atomic bomb. Its purpose has been not so much to freeze a moment in time, but to glimpse what changes from one infinitesimal moment to the next. It begins at the point at which our familiarity with ordinary time-splitting ends, a point not far past the 100 milliseconds that constitute the blink of an eye. Ordinary cameras freeze time, but crudely and in big chunks. Movie cameras fool the eye into seeing continuous motion when only 24 still frames are presented per second. We know from snapshot experience that the 1/500th or 1/1,000th shutter setting will stop most human motion. Beyond this realm—into micro- and nano- dimensions of time, let alone across exotic picosecond and femtosecond frontiers—the very fast is almost as invisible to us as the extremely small. The eye does not register, and the conventional camera does not record."
Lights, Camera, Nanosecond Action
By Ethan Smith | July 2003
You know what I'm all about? Thinking about seeing!
Part One
Iconic Memory
Persistence of Vision
Visual Short Term Memory
Aside: Yes, wikipedia is filled with misinformation. But why would anyone use it as a definitive reference? It's an encyclopedia! It's the start of sending someone to research or read more information about a subject. I mean, it's not that I hadn't tried to xerox an encyclopedia page and turn it in as a finished paper in grade school. I ain't taking research that far!
It's a great starting place with basic information when you just need a little info.
----
The Myth of Persistence of Vision Revisited
Part Two
Short-term memory for scenes with affective content
The above article is one that I have thought about a lot in relation to the slide shows.
Part Three
"High-speed still photography dates back decades, most famously to the spectacular milk-drop and bullet-through-apple photography of Harold Edgerton, who invented the strobe in 1931.
Very-high-speed movie photography started later, and came into its own as a scientific tool in the birthing room of the atomic bomb. Its purpose has been not so much to freeze a moment in time, but to glimpse what changes from one infinitesimal moment to the next. It begins at the point at which our familiarity with ordinary time-splitting ends, a point not far past the 100 milliseconds that constitute the blink of an eye. Ordinary cameras freeze time, but crudely and in big chunks. Movie cameras fool the eye into seeing continuous motion when only 24 still frames are presented per second. We know from snapshot experience that the 1/500th or 1/1,000th shutter setting will stop most human motion. Beyond this realm—into micro- and nano- dimensions of time, let alone across exotic picosecond and femtosecond frontiers—the very fast is almost as invisible to us as the extremely small. The eye does not register, and the conventional camera does not record."
Lights, Camera, Nanosecond Action
By Ethan Smith | July 2003
Cash Money Negative Thousandaire
Well my friends, it seems as if I should be on the road to economic self-sufficiency. And I guess that if I was another person, I might be. But as of right now I am looking at about 9000 dollars in credit card debt for photo production and I still haven't paid this year's taxes which will be around 5000 bucks and I just got a mysterious tax bill from the City of Philadelphia for 2000 dollars regarding my PAID 2005 taxes. What the fuck is that about?
Yeah, that's an awful lot of money I owe. THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY. How did this happen? I'm damned if I know. Seriously, the money I spend is all on photo shit and how is it possible that I spent THAT much on my work? I'm totally burned.
Now, I know this is mentally ill, but, to me, it's worth going into debt to produce my work the way I want to. It's 100% worth it. The way my household income works is I spend all of the money I bring in on my work, and I spend some of Lynn's money on my work. Lynn spends her income on supporting both of us and pays all our bills and deals with all our financial stuff. I know, as much as I am committed to my work and think it's important, it makes me seem like a total asshole.
But the Pew runs out in 2 months, I have less than a thousand bucks in the bank and I have no concrete plans for income. Does the term "shit's creek" ring a bell? In the next couple of months I am hoping to figure out how to make enough cash to pay my taxes and then pay my debt off to zero in the next 2 years.
The biggest problem is that I hate thinking about money, and I wish there was a way to have a system for myself as easy as when workers have taxes taken out of their paychecks. I'm not complaining; I'm just genuinely mystified by how when I was making the most money I ever have, I managed to accrue over 15,000 dollars in debt.
Yeah, that's an awful lot of money I owe. THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY. How did this happen? I'm damned if I know. Seriously, the money I spend is all on photo shit and how is it possible that I spent THAT much on my work? I'm totally burned.
Now, I know this is mentally ill, but, to me, it's worth going into debt to produce my work the way I want to. It's 100% worth it. The way my household income works is I spend all of the money I bring in on my work, and I spend some of Lynn's money on my work. Lynn spends her income on supporting both of us and pays all our bills and deals with all our financial stuff. I know, as much as I am committed to my work and think it's important, it makes me seem like a total asshole.
But the Pew runs out in 2 months, I have less than a thousand bucks in the bank and I have no concrete plans for income. Does the term "shit's creek" ring a bell? In the next couple of months I am hoping to figure out how to make enough cash to pay my taxes and then pay my debt off to zero in the next 2 years.
The biggest problem is that I hate thinking about money, and I wish there was a way to have a system for myself as easy as when workers have taxes taken out of their paychecks. I'm not complaining; I'm just genuinely mystified by how when I was making the most money I ever have, I managed to accrue over 15,000 dollars in debt.
The Greatest Person in the History of the World
That would be my lady, Lynn Bloom. I had planned to write a long thing about her, but she would prefer that I don't, so I'm limiting this post to just two quick points.
1. I have been doing a lot lately. Nothing that I've done recently could have been done without Lynn Bloom. Actually, nothing that I've done in the last 18 years could have been done without Lynn Bloom. Think I'm exagerating? Um, no.
2. Lynn Bloom is the greatest of anyone ever.
On the move
First, I have GOT to update my website...it hasn't been updated in about 3 years. But that's on the back burner, friends! I'm starting to return emails now and then I'm going to clean the kitchen and then I'm shopping for dinner and that's what I'm all about right now. Except for the post about my lady that I'm putting up right now.
Million Dollar Movie Update
Possibly the WORST "Million Dollar Movie" I have ever seen was on this week. I should qualify that because I am judging only the "suspense/intrigue/murder" Million Dollar Movie genre and not the "romantic comedy" genre which is turned off immediately.
The "Million Dollar Movie" is holdover from the time of VHF and UHF and somehow has held on to the Sunday night post 11PM news slot. I love it.
This week's Million Dollar Movie was "Mind Over Murder," starring Tori Spelling. Ms. Spelling plays an attorney who hits her head and gains the ability to read minds.
It was really unbelieveable.
I tried to stay with it until the end, but I just couldn't make it.
The "Million Dollar Movie" is holdover from the time of VHF and UHF and somehow has held on to the Sunday night post 11PM news slot. I love it.
This week's Million Dollar Movie was "Mind Over Murder," starring Tori Spelling. Ms. Spelling plays an attorney who hits her head and gains the ability to read minds.
It was really unbelieveable.
I tried to stay with it until the end, but I just couldn't make it.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
I'm very happy with "If You Reading This." There were a number of components that went into structuring the show and I am too beat to write even somewhat coherently about any of them.
However, I'm busting out this one right now. I'll clean it up later. The photo "Bulletholes" faces the street and is in an unlit corner, although it gets plenty of light during the day. It was important for that one to face the street with the window reference and "looking at" and "looking through" and vision references and all. Plus, the reference to our endemic gun violence and our homicide rate.
While facing "bulletholes" you can see "shot appliances" in the first room and "gunshot wound" in the further room. Because of the character of the space, I wanted to connect one room to the next, not only one photo to the next which lent to placing photos not just so they would bounce off of each other, but so the whole show would pinball from one photo to the next and the rooms would be connected.
Check it out
Here's one more example-
In this grouping there's a text reference and a form reference and a mirroring of the photos within this group of four, and other photos in the show.
"Venetian Blinds" is hung directly across from "Man's Back" and from across the room there's a reflection of "Venetian Blinds" in the glass on "Man's Back."
I love these 2 together in the show, but it was too much if they were in the same room.
However, I'm busting out this one right now. I'll clean it up later. The photo "Bulletholes" faces the street and is in an unlit corner, although it gets plenty of light during the day. It was important for that one to face the street with the window reference and "looking at" and "looking through" and vision references and all. Plus, the reference to our endemic gun violence and our homicide rate.
While facing "bulletholes" you can see "shot appliances" in the first room and "gunshot wound" in the further room. Because of the character of the space, I wanted to connect one room to the next, not only one photo to the next which lent to placing photos not just so they would bounce off of each other, but so the whole show would pinball from one photo to the next and the rooms would be connected.
Check it out
Here's one more example-
In this grouping there's a text reference and a form reference and a mirroring of the photos within this group of four, and other photos in the show.
"Venetian Blinds" is hung directly across from "Man's Back" and from across the room there's a reflection of "Venetian Blinds" in the glass on "Man's Back."
I love these 2 together in the show, but it was too much if they were in the same room.
Society Pages part II; Thanks.
Really, the only lowlight of the opening was that I didn't get to say hi to everyone who came and there were a bunch of people (like Jane Royal!) who I really wanted to see but didn't even get to a quick hello. OK, another low light was when I tried to say hello to Kaitlin and I spilled her whole glass of wine. I actually spilled it into my pocket. It was as if I took the glass and poured it directly into my pocket. It was ridiculous.
Thanks to all who came, especially those who shlepped up from Phila. And Baltimore. And thanks to my Whitney friends who came, employed there past and present.
Frank Smigiel. Bon Voyage, my friend. And Margie Weinstein. I love those guys.
Many friends were there-
From Philadelphia...
Libby Rosof. Roberta Fallon was up there before the opening. I love them both.
And to Silicon Gallery Printers. Rick and Kaitlin from Silicon representing!
Justin James Reed
Left to right
Justin, Me, Karen and Jason
Robert MacNeill...I barely saw him! But I love him. Congratulations on graduation.
Astrid Bowlby. Yes.
Plus, others not from Philadelphia including the great Amy Stein... It was a genuine pleasure to meet her and her husband. I just wish I could know how she was able to get so close to this bear.
Brent Burket Please. You all know I love him.
Mark Barry. Looking very handsome with longer hair.
Daggers United, Liz and Angela and Rainy.
Of course, the awesome Marv Seline and Liz Seline.
And NY EMMY winner Suzanne Glickstein
And Danielle Jackson recently of Magnum fame
Also Caryn
The Dime crew, Jed and fam and Josh and fam.
And Ms. Piken and Mr. Koper
And Jimmy Wentz and Marcus Wentz
Mr. Kevin Maguire. He's tops.
Schnipper!
And Anne Lafond and family
Thanks to all the Silverstein gallery folks, Bruce, Beth, Liam, Yvonne, Luis and Amina.
I know I'm missing about 50 people... if you're reading this just let me know you were in the mix.
Thanks to all who came, especially those who shlepped up from Phila. And Baltimore. And thanks to my Whitney friends who came, employed there past and present.
Frank Smigiel. Bon Voyage, my friend. And Margie Weinstein. I love those guys.
Many friends were there-
From Philadelphia...
Libby Rosof. Roberta Fallon was up there before the opening. I love them both.
And to Silicon Gallery Printers. Rick and Kaitlin from Silicon representing!
Justin James Reed
Left to right
Justin, Me, Karen and Jason
Robert MacNeill...I barely saw him! But I love him. Congratulations on graduation.
Astrid Bowlby. Yes.
Plus, others not from Philadelphia including the great Amy Stein... It was a genuine pleasure to meet her and her husband. I just wish I could know how she was able to get so close to this bear.
Brent Burket Please. You all know I love him.
Mark Barry. Looking very handsome with longer hair.
Daggers United, Liz and Angela and Rainy.
Of course, the awesome Marv Seline and Liz Seline.
And NY EMMY winner Suzanne Glickstein
And Danielle Jackson recently of Magnum fame
Also Caryn
The Dime crew, Jed and fam and Josh and fam.
And Ms. Piken and Mr. Koper
And Jimmy Wentz and Marcus Wentz
Mr. Kevin Maguire. He's tops.
Schnipper!
And Anne Lafond and family
Thanks to all the Silverstein gallery folks, Bruce, Beth, Liam, Yvonne, Luis and Amina.
I know I'm missing about 50 people... if you're reading this just let me know you were in the mix.
Society Pages
This was a great night. Holy fuck, I am having a solo show at a super fancy gallery in Chelsea.
Me in front of a giant sign of my name and a lady walking by
Savannah Roberts, Cosmo Baker, Ilene Baker, Walker Roberts, Zoe Strauss
Without a doubt, the highlight of the evening was having ALL of my siblings and my mom there. Please note the non-stop love in my family above. My brother Walker "Don't Talk About Me" Roberts is here from Japan and that is just amazing.
A shout out to all of my family that came including Aunt Mar, Uncle Colin, Aunt Jane, Jimmy, Deb and James. Love, love and love.
Brent Burket, Savannah Roberts
Also, I love Brent, so how great is this photo? Brent AND Savannah. Correct.
Plus, don't miss Sam Gotthelf in the lower left.
Christine Settino, Savannah Roberts, Walker Roberts
Thanks to a very tired Tina for coming up.
Angela Dufresne, Zoe Strauss, Liz Bonaventura
Daggers represent
"Triple Threes" Jane Roberts, Walker Roberts, Cosmo Baker
Good times
I am waiting on more photos and will be putting them up. Be on the look out.
However... this whirlwind month has yet to reach it's zenith.
NEXT WEEK, THE BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR...THE WEDDING OF MR. COSMO BAKER AND MS. SYDNEY PECK.
Sydney Peck and Cosmo Baker
Me in front of a giant sign of my name and a lady walking by
Savannah Roberts, Cosmo Baker, Ilene Baker, Walker Roberts, Zoe Strauss
Without a doubt, the highlight of the evening was having ALL of my siblings and my mom there. Please note the non-stop love in my family above. My brother Walker "Don't Talk About Me" Roberts is here from Japan and that is just amazing.
A shout out to all of my family that came including Aunt Mar, Uncle Colin, Aunt Jane, Jimmy, Deb and James. Love, love and love.
Brent Burket, Savannah Roberts
Also, I love Brent, so how great is this photo? Brent AND Savannah. Correct.
Plus, don't miss Sam Gotthelf in the lower left.
Christine Settino, Savannah Roberts, Walker Roberts
Thanks to a very tired Tina for coming up.
Angela Dufresne, Zoe Strauss, Liz Bonaventura
Daggers represent
"Triple Threes" Jane Roberts, Walker Roberts, Cosmo Baker
Good times
I am waiting on more photos and will be putting them up. Be on the look out.
However... this whirlwind month has yet to reach it's zenith.
NEXT WEEK, THE BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR...THE WEDDING OF MR. COSMO BAKER AND MS. SYDNEY PECK.
Sydney Peck and Cosmo Baker
Friday, May 18, 2007
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