Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 09

Kitty and Crow Series 09

All entrances to restaurants in Japan have curtains called noren.  Noren are traditionally used by shops and restaurants as a means of protection from sun, wind, and dust, and for displaying a shop's name or logo (Wikipedia).  I was quite fond of them when I lived in Japan (1983-85) and purchased several for decorative purposes.  I wonder where I have put them now?  Maybe I sold them in a garage sale long ago.

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Warning.....this is a performance art video that might be considered inappropriate for many.  You make the decision for yourself, watch or not.  If you are not sure, Google the artist and find out for yourself.

China’s First-generation Performance Artist: Zhang Huan | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n6kxB9_GD8&index=46&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 08

Kitty and Crow Series 08

I love that in collage I can worry about perspective if I like and dismiss it at will, too.  The crow sitting on the bridge is definitely out of proportion and it is just fine.  Is the crow part of the background or is it foreground.  The drips of paint, the chartreuse color seems to have altered what might be the foreground.  I like that about this piece.

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From Nairobi to New York: Advancing Afrofuturism with Wangechi Mutu | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUHEL8YLB9Q&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=43

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 07

Kitty and Crow Series 07

Somehow I feel this has a Halloween feel to it.  Perhaps it is a Japanese Halloween.  I do love the crow at the window.  Is he looking in the window desiring something shiny within?

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Warning......this could be difficult to watch!

Marina Abramovic's Relentless, Violent Genius | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASB07-v_ADM&index=38&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 06

Kitty and Crow Series 06

There is a definite formula in this series.  When I post the last card in the series there will be a slideshow of all the work with a two second delay.  It will be easy to see the comparison.

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The Evolution of KAWS' Street Art Aesthetic | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPTntCQqXm4&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=35

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 05

Kitty and Crow Series 05

No. 5 seems to be a really unified collage to me.  The background with the clock and the baseball player's face, all circular.  The crow and the cat balance each other as well.  The baseball player makes me smile. :-)

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The Explosive Genius of Cai Guo-Qiang | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DepIRbT6JDc&index=34&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 04

Kitty and Crow 04

Putting a hole in each one seems to not be for everyone.  Again the reason for the hole is that the journal housing this series is held together with a Chicago screw.  This screw has a male and female part that connects in a "tunnel" in case you have never seen one.  Once screwed together you do not see the ridges of the screw.  Several of my students who have made a similar journal in class wanted to have a different method of holding their journal pages together.  Suggestions were a wrap-around binder, a ribbon, and a book sleeve like the ones that hold magazines.

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The Brilliant Color Textiles of Abdulaye Konate | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 31

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2sJhsCPuZM&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=33

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 03

Kitty and Crow 03

Love the stencil I got.....probably from Stencil Girl......that depending on how it is arranged can be pluses or xes (x's) which helped to create the Portfolio pastel xes (x's) here.  I like to do something to finish off a collage such as splattering, line work, or using the pastels.

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Designing for Versailles: Olafur Eliasson | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 32

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82mA_f4jcV8&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=32

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - 02

Kitty and Crow Series 02

In case you do not remember or are visiting for the first time, Menko is the type of vintage baseball cards found on a Japanese card game.  I rather like how much red there is in this piece.  It all ties together really well.

Yesterday I was asked about where I get my vintage wallpapers.  They are readily available online.  Just do a search and you will find more than you can look at.  Then you can download them to PhotoShop for your own use.

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The Tenacious Alchemy of China's Cao Fei | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB9NFRWREec&index=30&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Menko (Kitty and Crow) Series - Covers and 01

Kitty and Crow Series  (Front Cover)

Kitty and Crow Series  (Back Cover)

Kitty and Crow Series  01

A new series starts today.....Kitty and Crow.  In each one you will find something architectural, a cat, a crow, and a vintage Japanese baseball card.  I also used vintage wallpapers in the backgrounds.  There is a hole punched in each card that has art on both sides and a Chicago screw holds all the cards together.

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The Evocative Fabric Stylings of Do Ho Suh | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbL4jsC0itw&index=26&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 20

Letters to Bill Series 20

This it for Bill!  Thank you all who have commented to me on this series.  I plan on a Bill II in 2018.  My challenge for No. II will be that the remaining Bill envelopes are different sizes.  I will make it work.....I just have to think about it.

animation of series.....my surprise for you

The Body as a Found Object: Antony Gormley | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBK4RBRj1U8&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=24

Letters to Bill Series 19

Letters to Bill Series 19

We are closing in on the end of the Letters to Bill series.  No. 20, tomorrow, is the last one.  I have a little surprise for tomorrow's blog entry.

I feel this collage is full.  If you use the rule of thirds there is something in all the intersections where each third meets.  I might feel this one is busy.

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Marc Quinn and the Mutability of the Human Body | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 33

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdRfD7Urd6Y&index=31&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 17

Letters to Bill Series 17

Just for your interpretation..........

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The Evocative Fabric Stylings of Do Ho Suh | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbL4jsC0itw&index=26&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 18

Letters to Bill Series 18

Whimsical cat!  Perhaps it was scared by the woman or had just gotten into something it should not have been investigating.  You know about curiosity.

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The Socially Conscious Cartography of Tiffany Chung | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 39

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAgs-BTlUnI&index=25&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 16

Letters to Bill Series 17

This might be one of my favorites of the Bill series.  I pretty much like everything about it.  The cock of the woman's head just makes it all come together in my book.  It reminds me of the work by Nick Bantock.

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KIMSOOJA Explores the Notion of Being Human | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 4  5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Dq9dNmE-I&index=19&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 15

Letters to Bill Series 15

Last May we saw two moose on our trip to Yellowstone National Park.  One was standing in a river and the other was just by the road.  What magnificent animals!  I like many things in this collage....  the stern look on the man in the stamp;  the stance of the moose and the woman's look captivate me; and  I even like the oddity of having the elephants in the same collage as a moose!

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Art and the Life Aquatic: Charles Lim | Ep. 49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bFZ4gcsAPA&index=15&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 14

Letters to Bill Series 14

No you are not suffering from double vision.  There are indeed twins in this piece or at least portraits times two.  I like how the cat attempts to balance the piece.  For me, the horizontal third is void with the exception of the cat's tail and the stamp.  It works as a composition though.

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Pipilotti Rist, Pioneer of Video Art | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCusgvPo5vM&index=9&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 13

Letters to Bill Series 13

Too much lavendar?  Maybe for my taste!  Maybe a big smudgy.  Remember I put of the warts as well as the winners.

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The Evocative Painted Mural Art of SUIKO | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 56

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAkNa1E-kU&index=8&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 12

Letters to Bill Series 12

I wonder what has disturbed the cat?  Whatever it was has caught the attention of the woman!  Oh my, the symbolism here!  The cat is looking at the USA perhaps like the world is right now!  Perhaps that is why the woman is so worried.  I know I sure am.

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The Physical, Terrifying Boldness of Phyllida Barlow | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 57

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U13vtixS52w&index=7&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 11

Letters to Bill Series 11

Maybe Bill, the recipient of the letters, was originally from Texas.  Who knows?  Most likely no one living knows.  It is my prerogative to make up the narrative.  It gives the document life even though it might be historical fiction in a sense.

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The Unconventional Art of Liu Wei | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 61

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3dri7ECm1c&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=3

Letters to Bill Series 10

Letters to Bill Series 10

I like to put ephemera from several cultures together, a melting pot if you like.  In this piece we have both Japanese and Chinese as well as an Arabic nation.  I used PhotoShop to manipulate some of the images around the building.

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Sculpture as Action in Damián Ortega's Art | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 59

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ2VVbijG2M&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=5

Letters to Bill Series 09

Letters to Bill Series 09

There is something about her look that captivates me.  Just who is she checking out.  What does she know about the person?  Is she worried or just interested?

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Nicholas Hlobo's Post-Apartheid Sculpture Art | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25BZnnEqrP8&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg&index=6

Letters to Bill Series 08

Letters to Bill Series 08

I feel there is something odd about this piece and yet I think there is something accidentally fun about it.  Can you see what I am referring to?

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Sonia Boyce, Pioneer and Trailblazer | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uslJWg5JirE&index=4&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 07

Letters to Bill Series 07

There are many things about this piece that I like...the way the postage stamp is there but disappears into the background.  I like how the woman's head is there although part of it isn't.  I like how the flowers and the bird make a triangle. In fact, there are a bunch of triangles formed by different pieces of ephemera in the collage.  I like the movement in this piece.

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Martin Creed, Poet of the Everyday | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 36

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG41M6lYNRM&index=28&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg

Letters to Bill Series 06

Letters to Bill Series 06

For me, there is a lot of depth in this piece and the paint seems to be the reason for it.  I found a bunch of business type stamps at the Goodwill which appear in this series.

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Michelangelo Pistoletto's Ground-breaking Art | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 63

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qHRWcLP8_o&index=1&list=PLqq4LnWs3olUpaD8oXCF7IlLikGBY7HFg