follow up to the art prize controversy

A couple of weeks ago I posted this about the controversy around a major art prize in Australia. Here is a follow up and the final word - I love the comment posted by some angry artist at the end of the article, along with the article trying to explain 'appropriation' in an art world context. Classic.

shhhh nfdu PROJECTS is going adult content

Don't tell anyone.

folsom photos

Here are a couple of images I was processing this morning.

what a week

This has been the longest week, and I only worked 4 days...go figure. And, happy to say I have a 3 day weekend for ANZAC Day. Yay. I need to work on the SARAH! SARAH! SARAH! webpages this weekend and check in with people to see how they are going. I lost a little bit of energy with it, not that I'm bored or over it...I just haven't been inspired to work on it. This mainly has to do with the deadline being pushed out to later. However, I still need to follow up with the artists to make sure they are on track. I've received projects back from a couple of people, which is encouraging. Some people will be more ambitious than others, so just need to make sure they follow through.

Now, I'm going to enjoy my Manhattan...

ariel electron track

Here is another amazing track from Ariel Electron. I see some visuals on the horizon....!

machine telepathy electroda

the discreet charm of 'friends' on facebook

Here are a couple of my favorite (crazy?) things I've seen on FB this morning:

and DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN.

and

likes Christians Who Want A National Day Of Prayer!

I can deal with the first one as silly childish right-wing humor. I can dive into silly childish left-wing humor from time to time...however, I don't recall wishing ('praying,' seriously do you think god really listens?) George W. Bush would die, even though he did lie to get us into war.

The second one...well, seriously. what. the. fuck? A national day of prayer? I have one word, creepy.

I guess both are proud 'tea-baggers' or whatever they are calling themselves these days...?

follow up on the below post

I got bored and decided not to pursue it - just in case you were wondering...

I began the hook of a story as my status update on Facebook, which I hope someone adds to. I guess writing about it on the blog kinda ruins that spontaneity, but no one reads these posts so it doesn't matter. The last time I did this, it ended up quite well. Let's see where this one goes...

kevin

gaga a la vine

porn for the blind

Check this out. More context here.

don't you love it when...

...you get 'friend' invites on Facebook from people who you have no fucking idea who they are and in their 'religion' category they have 'Baptist' listed? Sorry, hun...Baptists kinda freak me out...in fact, all Christians kinda freak me out, along with Jews, Muslims, Buddhist, Hindus, Scientologists, Wiccans,...anyway, you get the idea. Being kinda freaked out, isn't the same as hating any of the these folks. I have some very dear friends and family members who belong to one of these religions or another. I'm just saying I'm not gonna be 'friends,' especially in a cyber context, with people who wear ignorance so proudly...seriously, I need a drink...

postmodernism invades the archibald prize

After living here about six months, I made a comment to someone back home that the Australian art scene had skipped postmodernism altogether. Clearly, I was wrong. This article put a big ole smile on my face.

finally, I have an answer

So, I was at a friend's birthday party last night and someone asked me what I thought about the Mardi Gras events. I fumbled around for words, and finally returned a question, "Do you really want to know?" This gave everyone a chuckle. I said I know I'm going to come across like one of those annoying Americans, who begins every sentence with, "In America..." Mardi Gras is kind of a let down, and I've never really been able to put into words what it is. Comparing it to Gay Pride in San Francisco, Pride is a zillion times better and a lot more fun than Mardi Gras. After some back and forth I was finally able to express what it is about Mardi Gras I don't like. Everything is so event driven that it leaves little room for spontaneity. I mean seriously, I don't have the mental space or the inclination to even begin to know what I'll be doing in three months, so don't ask me! It's like everyone in Sydney becomes a tourist in their own city. Having to plan in order to have a good time is too much work. The next time I find myself in a conversation where someone pops the question about Mardi Gras, without batting an eye I'll reply, "It's great and all, but I don't want my fun to be that complicated."

collages

I was going through my hard drive and came across these images I did 3 or 4 years ago. The idea never really went anywhere, but I still like them. I think I cut them up before moving Australia to reuse them...? Actually, I gave one to my friend Paul for his birthday.

I can dream, can't I?

and now for something completely different...

it's the war, stupid

So, I woke up this morning and the first thing I watched was the Wikileaks video showing American soldiers killing what turned out to be a couple of Reuters photographers and others ('others' might be threatening or non-threatening, I guess we will never know) back in 2007. It was, well, not the best way to start the day. I was disgusted. I wasn't disgusted because I was shocked; rather, I was disgusted because I realised how much I wiped the war out of my thoughts, since living in Australia. While this video is from three years ago, it made me painfully aware of the present.

I think Glen Greenwald hits the nail squarely on the head.

next project?

I was thinking about the next project for nfdu PROJECTS. I was thinking about doing something on democracy...literally by having people nominate topics, then vote, then I produce material on the winner. Nothing really new, I guess, but still an idea that grabbed my attention for more than 2 minutes.

The other thought was to do something involving nipples or bad shoes.

woe is my blog

Okay, after this post I promise to stop complaining about the template. Never did get the pic to load the way I wanted it to, so said the hell with it and what you see now is what you're gonna get (for now). Somehow managed to loose my Google Analytics tracking code during all the changes...ugh. That has been corrected. Okay, I'll stop complaining.

light and fog book purchasing info

light and fog by nfdu PROJECTS | BOOK INFO

making some progress

The image is fixed without repeats....now, if I can get the image to fill the page...

frakkin 'ell!

If you are seeing multiple background images, then I haven't fixed this problem. Gag...it all comes down to form...no one really cares about content, right?

please stand by...

Well, I got the background image correct...now, trying to stop the repeat and fix...

water

Okay...let's go with water for a bit. Trying to change the background image with CSS code and replace it with an image of mine, but for some reason or another it's not working...ugh.

nfdu PROJECTS announces artists for SARAH! SARAH! SARAH!

nfdu PROJECTS is pleased to announce the line up for SARAH! SARAH! SARAH!, artists include Benjamin D Cartwright, Michelle Cernuto, Ariel Electron, Jason Hanasik, Simon Harris, Sarrita Hunn, Travis Meinolf, Michelle Melancon, Toban Nichols, Karen Olsen-Dunn, John Rajcich, Zachary Royer Scholz, and Kate Van Steenhuyse.

SARAH! SARAH! SARAH! is a project that invited artists to explore Sarah Palin as a theme for creating work. Almost everyone has an opinion about Sarah Palin. In June, find out the opinions of a group of artists.

fascinating article about female suicide bombers

Here