Wow....its been... *looks at previous journal entry* ...over 6 months since my last update! I'll admit that art has not been much of a priority the last few months with traveling and working on various sustainability and community projects. But the annual Sasol New Signatures exhibition is coming up, so I gotta get my ass into gear for that.

This got me thinking about the drunken slur that is Contemporary Art. Why do I call it a drunken slur? Quite simply, the manner in which we use our voice [art] has become so removed from the average person that nobody actually understands what we are on about.
Let me explain this further. Contemporary artists usually have some or other message they want to deliver about various pressing issues, from politics, to poverty, to global warming, and generally we want people to be moved in such a way that they do something to change the situation, or at the very least, become more aware of the issue. This is all good and well....but when looking at some of the work that's produced, unless you come from an artistic background and have some sort of awareness on the issue the piece is responding to, you probably wont know what the heck the piece is about. Sure you would be able to have your own interpretation about it, but chances are it will be so far off from what the artist intended. The open-ended nature [in terms of interpretation] is very much a post modern phenomenon (all thanks to Duchamp), and while it does cause people to interrogate both the artwork and its relevance to contemporary society, only a small group will really understand the work [elitist]. This is because we are taught to be more and more subtle, using symbols and signifiers that are far from obvious. So the work requires considerable thought when attempting to interpret it, in a time when the average person doesnt particularly like to think for themselves. Society likes things to be laid out nice and easy for them. Creating such 'deep' works really isnt going to have much of an impact on these people if too much is required of them to understand it.

SO WHAT IS THE POINT OF USING YOUR VOICE IN SUCH A WAY THAT ONLY A SELECT FEW UNDERSTAND.
Pehaps the time for subtlety and open-endedness has come to an end... If art is to be a tool for social change then it needs to be used in such a way that it both appeals to the masses and is easy for them to understand.

Hope this made sense to someone other than myself..LOL
Over and Out

Thats right! Almost time for the long awaited end-of-year exhibition.... Things have been insanely busy, but its all coming together now. I have just uploaded the main 3 of the 4 works for my installation..the 4th is still in the works. The first three are pretty much complete, so now the next mission is sorting out presentation.

Note- the pictures i uploaded dont do these works justice... and the colours are slightly different from what you see on the photos.
They are 2.5meters tall and the viewer is force to view them quite close up with a very short distance between the viewer and the work itself.

Going into the final two weeks now as we prepare for exhibition..things are going to be even more busy... but once its all over i'll submit some rough stuff and process work from my visual journal.

Let me know what you think of the 3 pic ive uploaded, and if you are in Port Elizabeth between the 14th and 27th of November, be sure to check out the exhibition on NMMU North Campus Art Faculty.. exhibition opens 14Nov.

Much Love to you All

i know i know..i haven't updated this thing or uploaded many new pics lately....been busy as heck..so give me a break

OK, so i'm busy with my entry for the annual Sasol New Signatures competition..its alot like 3rd Yr Inst-1st Piece [link]
..only more interesting, slightly smaller, and has a full on construction built around it so that it can be viewed as intended....in darkness...
submission date is next thursday, so once thats out the way i will post some pics of what i been doing, experiments and what not..

i will also be beefing up and reprinting my book from last year The Mayan Prophecies as i have got a buyer for it...my first sale.. but with being so busy, i havent been able to get round to reprinting it..but its recess now...so i have just a little more time on my hands..in between writing an essay on Marcel Duchamp

Thats my quick update for now...
Peace

Ok..so i been tagged....guess you leave me no choice other than to leave 8 random facts about myself

The rules:

1. post these rules
2. each person tagged must post 8 random facts about themselves.
3. tags should write a journal of these facts
4. at the end post 8 more bloggers are tagged and named
5. go to their page and leave a comment telling them they're tagged

1: I'm always eating.. my lecturers say i have a bottomless pit for a stomach..and i think i believe them..LOL

2: I have two tie-dye items of clothing....

3: I have never broken a bone in my body

4: i have however had half a toothpick stuck in my foot.. seriously...half of it was inside my foot..the other half broke off

5: I pretty much only drink water and fruit juice...very rarely have a soft drink..and never have alcohol.

6: I sleep in my studio at varsity... not like random dozing off when i'm meant to be working.. i actually pull out a mattress, sleeping bag, and pillow, and spend the night there.

7: I used to love the Beach Boys..LMAO.... "Round Round Get Around.. I Get Around!"

8: I nearly fell out of the window of a 3 story building trying to talk to pigeons when i was two years old..ROFL.. my mother nearly had a heart attack...hahaha

ok..so i dont have 8 people to tag..but will tag all those on my friends list minus The Seacow..seeing as he tagged me
so...the nominees are.. LillvA, REDDPRIME, KaydubbleOEs, and faeriefriend

Peace out monkeys

ok...so change of plans....my concept and ideas for the years art has taken a bit of a turn and evolved greatly...
no longer will i be constructing 7 massive stelae...but rather making a 2.5m tall by 15.5m long collage that will be hung from the ceiling...it will be more of an installation... the collage will spiral inwards and the viewer will actually walk inside the spiral....
so yeah...got my work cut out for me....again..

busy planning on opening up an alternative healing centre with a friend in the next few months..so some art might be made for that..and got a number of exhibition coming up that i would like to submit works for...so hopefully i'll be uploading alot more work through the year.

hope you all keeping well.
Peace and Love my brothers and sisters