Upcoming- Fall 2009

This autumn is beginning to look quite full. Besides teaching at CCA I have three art events:

Overlap

I have a piece in Overlap, a group show at Elga Wimmer gallery. Here's the info:

Overlap - Extending beyond edges and boundaries in art & architecture
August 27 - September 19, 2009 (Tuesday - Saturday noon-6:00pm)

Opening Preview: Thursday August 27th 5:00-8:00pm
Opening Reception: Wednesday September 9th 6:00-9:00pm

Art and architecture are often portrayed as distinct, even opposing fields, though they share many material and conceptual practices. The invited artists and architecturally trained designers share interests in generating forms, pattern, and geometries through tactile material processes -whether hand crafted or through the use of computational technology. They often incorporate an awareness of codes or conceptual layers in their work as well as new generative methods and modes of production. The intent of OVERLAP was to begin with these commonalities, and provide space for indefinable qualities to emerge, hinting at something new.

The participants in the show are 4-pli/Associated Fabrication, John Monteith, Jon Meyer, Kelsey Harrington, Myles Bennett, SOFTlab, THEVERYMANY, yo_cy, and Ziad Naccache.

Curated and produced by Kelsey Harrington & Christine Yogiaman

Governors Island Art Fair

I will be installing Farm Yards stickers on September 5th during the afternoon at Governors Island in New York, as part of the Governors Island Art Fair.

The Governors Island Art Fair - over 150 artists

The art fair is open weekends, September 5-27, 11am-6pm. See here for more information on visiting the island.

San Francisco Open Studios

I have a new studio in San Francisco, and will be participating in the San Francisco Open Studios, October 24 & 25, 11am-6pm. My studio is at 900 Tennessee, unit 18. Here is a flickr set of Unit 12, which is quite similar.

New York to San Francisco by train

Hudson valley, taken from the train. The slanted tower is caused by the iPhone's rolling shutter.

I took the Amtrak train from NY to SF. Three days total on the train. And spectacular scenery - particularly after Chicago, when we reached Wyoming and Nevada. I went coach class for the first leg of the trip, from New York to Chicago. Then I splashed out on a sleeper room from Chicago through to SF. I'm glad I had a sleeper - the moment I settled into my little sleeper room, I shifted from travel mode (watch the bags, stay on alert) into vacation mode (relax, put my feet up, stop worrying, read a book...).

My general impressions: The people on the train were great, the views were amazing, service was generally good, the food was so/so, and the Amtrak carriages have seen better days - for example, the toilets broke in my carriage, which was no fun for anyone. That said, I would take the train again, if I had another space three days.

Click here to see more photos.

Super magnets for putting up artwork

Here's a cool technique for mounting flat paper-based works to a wall:

Basic technique:

1. Drive a flat-headed nail into the wall until it is flush.
2. Place the paper against the wall, over the nail
3. Put a neodymium disc magnet on the paper, over the location of the nail. It will stick to the nail and pinch the work, holding it against the wall.

This technique easily scales to larger works:

More nails: For large-area works (e.g. 40"x40" or more), place a nail about 1" in from each of the four corners. For wide works, use 3 nails along the top edge. For long works, place a nail in the middle of each vertical edge.

More magnets: If the work uses heavy paper, you can stack up 2 or 3 magnets over each nail to increase the pinch pressure.

You can buy neodymium magnets from a number of household goods stores - the Container Store calls them "mighty magnets". Some hardware shops sell Magnetsource.com magnets, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are not too expensive - less than a dollar a magnet - and they are reusable.

Ward Shelley showed me this technique. It has several advantages over the pins, clips or tape:

• You don't have to be super-precise about the location of the nails. Once you have the work up, you can "slide" it, moving each corner so it slides under the magnet. I place a level on the top edge of the work and adjust it until it is level. This is much more tolerant than working with pins.
• Unlike clips or pins, the magnets leave almost no impression on the work - I've found I can put up a work and take it down and not see any mark where the magnet was. Unlike tape, there is no risk of tearing.
• The magnets are unobtrusive and have a more minimal look than pins or clips.

The one downside is that, when the work comes down, you have some nail holes in the wall, instead of pin holes. In most art locations this is no problem, because the walls are patched and painted all the time. In a home location, you may want to stick to pins.