Blue Blanket

Please watch this until the very end.
Andrea Gibson rocks!
Thanks Witchy!

Secret

I'm experimenting a bit with alternate ways of presenting my work/ideas that are not so literal and direct. Although I do believe that one of my strong points is putting it all out there in the hopes that it makes you uncomfortable enough to consider something, I also recognize when I become too direct. I end up trying to say everything at once, and often that's no fun for the viewer.

So this is the beginning of a new series (on the side, if you will). We'll see where it goes.

Covering

There are many things going on here, and writing about it seems to diminish them. So I won't.

Reality Bytes

--UPDATE ----UPDATE ----UPDATE --

As promised, here is the video. This, of course, is a very low resolution version. This is only half of the work shown at the Contemporary. The second video is Labeled.

Reality Bytes finally opens this weekend. Preparing for this exhibition has consumed most of my time over the past couple of months. I don't think my camera has left its bag since Christmas as editing has taken over. But I'm not complaining. It's been a lot of fun and a huge learning experience. One word of advice -- don't try to learn new software at the same time you're learning a new medium. ;-)

If you're in Dallas, try to come to the show. Nine artists from Germany, New York, California, and Texas make up a collection of digital narrative. I've seen some of the other pieces, and it's going to be a great show!

Opens Friday, February 23, 2007 at 7:00 pm at The Dallas Contemporary.

I'll add the video here after the opening. We also will have a companion exhibition in Second Life at the Metaverse Gallery & Performance Space, curated by yours truly. Here is the slurl.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/UTD%20ArtTech%20Island/137/54/36/

Labeled (Video)

During the past year or two I have become increasingly aware and intrigued by the rituals that make up our daily lives. We walk through most of them without a conscious thought, but others seem painstakingly self-inflicted if you really stop and think about them. Take makeup application, for example. I don't necessarily have anything against makeup, but as time has begun its march across my face, I'm increasingly aware that when I apply it, the goal is to hide some imperfection deemed unacceptable by society. I'm supposed to wear makeup to look pretty because I don't look as pretty without it. They say. I don't know if I will ever rid myself of what has been beaten into my head since childhood. I suppose on some level, the ritual began as fun and games when playing dress up with Mommy's makeup and shoes. We weren't thinking about making ourselves pretty. We just wanted to be grown up. Being a grown up was way better than being a little girl, so we would claim that new identity for the afternoon. That carried over into adulthood, where makeup became a tool for creating an altered identity (at least for 8-10 hours until I washed the "face" off). Makeup isn't necessarily the enemy creating that outer shell. We seem to do the same thing with measurements and dress sizes. How many lost dress sizes did you brag about the last time you went on a diet? I went from ___ to ___! I'm now a size ___! Fill in the blanks and attach that label to yourself because you're using those numbers to define yourself. As we sit in front of the mirror creating an altered identity, we apply more than just colored talcum powder and dyed wax. We also wear our numbers like prisoners. Whether they are worn proudly or not, we accept them as identity as we immerse ourselves in rituals to either embrace them or reject them.

Feeding

What is it about my fat cells that I love so much? It seems I'm quite attached to them. I nurture them, I caress them, I breathe new life into them at each feeding. I find myself disgusted by my lack of control. It's not so much the excess weight anymore that bothers me, rather the inability to stop my addictions.