- 
Stumble
It! blog.tylerrobbins.net - back to the main site
|
July 11th, 2008 Regression |
Being a person involved in art making, I find it difficult to find employment opportunities that really tap into my skills. I don't want to be a barista, or wait tables. I want to use what I know, to some capacity. During the summer there are opportunities to teach. It's a nice mix, wedding shoots, community rec classes and high school camps. Teaching is just part inspiration and part exhaustion. It's not high intensity like landscaping, but answering questions and demo-ing techniques gets to be tiresome. But, the students are pretty refreshing. I am in the midst of teaching a digital photo class and a traditional darkroom class. Both have their own bonuses. Digital is a slam dunk, kids know their cameras to some extent, and photoshop is just fun to pick at. I don't specifically assign tasks, I consult and nurture. The darkroom class is great in it's own respect, first and foremost the kids are 110% more engaged in their work, because like, you can't access facebook on an enlarger, and cell phones and blackberries (kids have blackberries?) are a no no in the darkroom. In either class people learn and grow. They discover new interests and find new talents. So do it, or perhaps I rediscover things. I hardly ever print in a darkroom anymore, and I rarely 'play' with photoshop. Art and trying to be successful at it is work. I miss being carefree about what I do. I have my moments of freedom, but the business end of it can crush that for days on end. Show submissions, framing, researching venues - blah. So with that said, I have some show and tell, a self portrait that I made in the computer lab with my students the other day.
Mostly this was done in response to a particularly vane student who insists on correcting images of herself, almost obsessively. Striking isn't it? Playing is good for you.
|
July 1st, 2008 New cool stuff to buy |
I love new products that are fun to mess with. I don't need more films and emulsions to play with, but here I am. Really I should be furthering a body of work, making contacts, networking, promoting and getting real work done. But.... I have a new thing to play with! Freestyle Photo started carrying a paper made by Efke that is a direct positive paper. It has an ISO of about 1 (s l o w) but it can load right into a pinhole or really any camera (with the right sizing....) and it develops in normal black and white paper chemistry. Cool. Useful? Maybe... I haven't had a ton of time to play with it but I already see the potential for using this stuff as a teaching tool. Here's a sample:
It comes in various sizes. The size that caught my eye was 4x5. I loaded some up in my crown graphic and started experimenting. It's pretty cool stuff when it works.
|
June 23, 2008 News |
I have three of my suburban / agrarian panoramics photos on display from July 1st through July 31st at The Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery (part of the Univeristy of Nevada, Reno). The show is titled Post Petroleum, and I am pretty proud to be a participant. I wish I could go check it out, but uh, gas is expensive and Nevada is far away. If anyone sees it, please let me know how it all turns out. The show was curated by Christine Pinney Karkow, an artist I plan to research and maybe get in touch with. Honestly, I entered on a whim, there was no entrance fee and the subject matter fit my interests. I am just glad to get into something outside of my Wisconsin borders.
|
June 08, 2008 Break out your Stereoscope! |
Technology changes, media progresses. We live in the age of high definition and digital media. It kicks ass. But, there are some things that have fallen by the wayside that I think are pretty cool. Stereo cards used to be a standard thing to buy at a tourist destination. It added another dimension to viewing a postcard from your trip. I like 'em, some day I want a closet full of dusty stereo cards. My parents had a small wooden Kraft cheese box full of old stereo cards and a musty viewer that sat on the shelf of a library table when I was a kid. I loved that thing, so I snagged it somewhere along the way. Later in life I realized there had to be a way to make my own. So after some research and purchases from ebay, I had my own stereo photography setup. It's a fun thing to dabble with. Without going into the details of the process, I thought I should share a couple of my recent triumphs. If you want to learn how it works and how to do it, google stereoscopy, there are tons of concise and useful guides out there. Click the image for a larger version.
I have printed and mounted these to cards and they look fantastic. I plan to employ stereo images in my current project.
|
May 29, 2008 I suck at blogging. |
It has been a busy month since my last post. Summer is on its way. My spring semester ended and I cranked out a last burst of work. More about that another time. I am glad warm weather is here. It's time for yard work, gardening, outdoors and cookouts of course.
I can hear vegetarians crinkling their noses. Oh well, I can't please everyone
|
April 27, 2008 Much Ado about bushes |
Landscaping has been on my mind. I yanked out a few bushes, and rather than landfilling them I posted them on Craigslist. They were japanese barberry bushes. Pretty colored deep red foliage and tons of thorns. I hate thorns (unless they bear edible fruit) so I decided to replace them with something nicer. The bushes are off to a new home but not without protest from others: hey, My reply ... I agree, they suck but in a suburban ecosystem (whatever that is) they are a viable planting, and not very harmful in a yard. It's not garlic mustard. I will see what happens. It was a nuisance just by being thorny. But maybe they will be welcome elsewhere, maybe not. Invasive species are a part of the modern world, I try to make my landscape as natural as I can, but what isn't invasive nowadays? I'm Caucasian, I shouldn't be here. I own a parrot. My lawn is 40% Kentucky bluegrass. Common earthworms are invasive in many places. It's hard to say where to draw the line. There are ginkos grown all over the Midwest. Much of what we grow never belonged here. I don't think these bushes will be put up to evil uses. They are sold in countless landscaping nurseries. There are countless others planted around me. They are great bird habitat (even to the invasive European sparrow and their invasive bird flu), and attractive to boot. I just hate their thorns. If it wasn't for my yard this plot of land would still be a hybridized and chemically fertilized mono culture of soy beans or corn, heavily subsidized by the government, crushing international grain prices. So, really is it really a big deal if someone else gets a couple of free barberry bushes? I see your point, but really.... what is natural anymore, humans have made their mark and I don't think that is good, but it may not be bad either. It just is. I'd just rather see them go somewhere and be enjoyed. The average home is occupied for 6-7 years on average. They will probably get planted, established and ripped out again by someone else. They are free. If you want to come pick them up, spray them with round up and kill them by all means. I have done my part, I butchered their foliage, dug up their roots and left them on my driveway. They are dead to me. I could have just as easily ignored it, deleted it or even heeded his warning. I just don;t care. I'm not the one to whine to about invasive plants. I try. I really do, I mow with a manual mower, I collect rain, I don't use pesticides or chemical fertilizers. I'm just a guy with bushes that I don't want. Really, these bushes aren't the ones I want gone... but this post wasn't about politics.
|
April 6, 2008 Assorted News |
Good news for me: Friday night was the opening of the 80th Annual Student Art Show at The Porter Butts Gallery. My photo titled "Camo" (pictured in my last posting) was selected to be in the Wiscosin Union Collection. So, I sold a photo and I get a new slot on my CV. ---------- I have also started a project that will be out in the wild. I have created four trackable Geocaching Items, each was created for the purpose of collecting photos of 4 different items: Garages, Weber Grills, Refrigerators and Suburb Signs. If you are a Geocaher in my area, chances are you will be able to participate. Once I drop them off in caches that is.... Each item has an attached tag explaining the mission of the item, if you find one, send me a photo of the requested thing. If you aren't a geocacher, and still want to participate, by all means send me photos. This is a curatorial project and I figured I could use an alternate method to aquire images.
|
April 2, 2008 Happenings
|
There are a lot of shows happening in the next few weeks, The next batch of MFAs are ready to have their thesis shows. If you are interested checking them out, check the UW Madison Art Department web site. I have a couple of works in shows right now too....
"Kingsford is God" is on display at the Overture Center for the Arts (Madison, WI) as a part of the show titled "Fresh Hot Press" - On display through mid June. It will also be printed in Photo Forum's "Best of College Photography" Annual 2008
"Camo" is on display at the Porter Butts Gallery in the UW Madison Memorial Union as part of the 80th Annual Student Art Show. The opening is this Friday night. Come check them out along with all the other great work happening around here....
|
March 26, 2008 John Shimon & Julie Lindemann
|
Today I had the pleasure of having a chat with John Shimon and Julie Lindemann (www.shimonlindemann.com). I have been avoiding visiting artist critiques but when I found out they were coming to do a talk, I frantically got myself downtown to sign up for a studio visit time slot. The meeting was not exactly a critique. It was a chance to delve deeper into the cult of photography. John and Julie work together as a couple. I was interested to see their dynamic at work. They both had much to say about what was tacked to my walls. Being academics they have a supportive and constructive critical dialog. The whole experience was pretty self indulgent, yet I think they simply enjoy meeting people, and getting to see what artist are doing, big or small. Their own work is comprised of a cast of characters that aren't prime time or up and comers. They work within their own community, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Their subjects are picked directly from the streets. People they meet in passing, people they have been in contact for years. Their interest is in local culture, and at times sub culture. The vast array of variety available in a small post industrial city is astounding.
Mel Seymour 2007 They plainly state that much of their work is historically influenced. Many of their portraits echo heavy hitters from the past such as Diane Arbus, August Saunders, Dothea Lange or Walkers Evans. But the echo isn't bouncing off a smooth chamber wall, it is bouncing off of the smoke stacks and warehouses of their own city, and maybe once in a while a barn. Many of their subjects are in their native habitats. You would think working in the same locality would become stagnant, but apparently Manitowoc is not experiencing a shortage of local color any time soon. They are constantly mixing up their processes. They use an anachronistic blend of hand applied emulsions, antique equipment and digital technology. In they era of choppy digital video, they opt to post footage shot with a Bolex on Youtube. This is what it takes to keep the medium of photography fresh. I hope to cross paths with them again. I felt like we could have talked longer - it made my day. If you live in the fair state of Wisconsin, there is an exhibition featuring their work coming to the Milwaukee Art Museum: Unmasked
and Anonymous:
|
March 24, 2008
|
Happy birthday to me. That is all.
|
March 03, 2008 Philanthropy / Phlebotomy |
I'm
never rolling in excess cash. As a matter of fact after after 5 years
of undergraduate, and 2 years of graduate studies, my financial portfolio
is a nice round negative number. I don't have money to give, I am spending
my next several years worth of paychecks as it is. I am living the American
dream, hell yes. Debt, liberty and prosperity.
So, when it comes to giving, I look inside myself. Actually the nurse looks at my left arm and stabs me with a sizable needle. I make it a point to give blood to the Red Cross whenever I can. It's easy and fairly harmless. I am type O positive, which being type O, from what I remember, means I am a universal donor. The Red Cross always seems to be in the middle of a blood shortage. When my date comes they call me like a stalker ex-girlfriend until I finally come in and let them tap my vein.
Blood giving, or letting was something I feared. I hate needles and I have been known to get woozy when I see people bleeding. My first time made me incredibly anxious and I was desperate to get it over with. It made me feel ill, I was weak but I went back 2 months later and did it again. A gallon of blood later, I am almost competitive. I try to fill the plastic pint bag in record time. Nine minutes from start to finish is my average. I ask my fellow donors in the collection site if they want to race. Maybe being cocky about donating blood is dumb. But it makes me feel good, the whole process, well sort of. Think of it this way, your body makes this stuff, and if you take some out, it makes more. Granted giving up a kidney is noble, but I can't regrow them. Helpful hints: Drink plenty of water before and after. Don't go if you think you are sick. Eat a steak, they test for iron content (no one wants anemic blood). Despite the warnings of avoiding alcohol, after a donation, I'm a pretty cheap date. Union South often has pizza in their canteen area. If you haven't donated blood, try it. If you can't (it happens) don't worry about it. You can always volunteer to help others donate. I'll be hooking my left arm up every two months regardless. It's only hour of your life every two months, but you can help save lives.
|
Feb. 23, 2008 Think Spring |
I know that around here, if I say "I am so ready for spring" I am pretty much preaching to the choir. Winter sucks, but I have taken care of a lot of things that I totally wipe from my thoughts once the grass greens up. I have been back to making some time to work on perfecting daguerreotypes and alternative processes (although the sun would be a great help for that). I have also taken charge of my archive of photos, and after some skepticism, I have embraced Adobe Lightroom. The keywords are really handy once you spend some time categorizing. My knowledge of how to handle my little suburban domicile has been on my mind. I need to do yard work! I miss composting. I had some bok choy that went a little limp. Normally that sort of thing would find it's way out to my compost bin, there is 2 feet of snow on my yard and the lid of my bin is frozen shut. I just chucked it into my yard, and a day later the rabbits had pretty much devoured it. If you are like me and like to do what you can to lessen the impact of your lifestyle, I have a book for you to read, by Hannah Holmes - Suburban Safari. It's highly informative and entertaining. It was the perfect compliment to my visual project. Not to mention she has a lot of insight and knowledge that relates to how I feel about how I live. She spends a year studying her immediate environment, and consults experts on how her little patch of the suburbs factors in to a broader environment.
If my neighbors thought some of my habits were nutty last year, just wait!
|
Feb. 17, 2008 Minneapolis, MN Walker Art Center |
Friday night, I went to Minneapolis to bask in the glory of having a small part in a big show. I had never been to the Walker, and now I know that I will have to go again. It's a confusing building, but as far as big white boxes go, I would be proud to grace their walls some day. The exhibit, Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes, was dominated by photography. I got to see some heavy hitters like Gregory Crewdson Ed Ruscha and Larry Sultan, and some people that are just now making it big like Brian Ulrich and Paho Mann. There were paintings, installations and sculptures, all created along the common thread of the American Suburb. Seeing the things I meditate and research about in one place, made me realized that I have been running after the coat tails of a larger and active dialog. I took it all in, and bought a catalog. The installation I am a part of is titled "Tell us about your neighborhood". All of the clips were selected from a call for submissions on Youtube. 12 clips were selected. They are on display on a television set in a darkened rec room in the main gallery space. The walls are covered in dark wood paneling and the floor is softened with a layer of deep pile green shag carpet. Viewers are welcome to sit on a selection of been bag chairs. The clips are selected with small remote controls that are cabled to a side table. The clips can be seen online as well on Youtube (there are more videos than the 12 shown at the gallery). The party itself was something I think I will pass up in the future. I'm not a fan of crowds. The tickets sold out and it was apparent that people had come in full force. I had hoped to meet some of my idols, but it was impossible in the throngs of trendy uptowners. After waiting in line for my free beer, I decided that my next beer would be from my friend's fridge, not the cash bar. I'm not sure I got my $33 worth (beer was $5 and a glass of wine was $8 - seriously). I have my reasons for living in the suburbs, I'm not into being part of scene and spending $5 on a domestic beer, maybe i'm not elite or cool enough. I'll stick to pitchers at my local bowling alley. The show was a mixture of mockery of the sprawling middle american masses, as well as a serious look at the changing and more diverse composition of suburban neighborhoods. It's a pretty rich topic, despite the saturation of people using it for inspiration. I think the folks at the Walker made a great effort and the show had a great balance. Here's to you Mr. Andrew Blauvelt! The show runs February 16th - August 17th and then moves on to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Carnegie Museum of Art in October of 2008.
|
Feb. 10, 2008 Show and Tell. |
It's cold outside. I have taken this chance to further my repertoire of daguerreotyping skills. It's not something you can just set out to do whenever you want. The plates cost money, and you can't really have bunch ready to shoot. The buffing takes a little while, the fuming takes a little while, the exposure takes a little while, the developing takes a little while. You get the idea. I made myself some buffing paddles with some maple and some flannel. I am slowly making some usable equipment. I stated with a fuming box. My original version took far too long to prepare a plate, that and the iodine was attacking the suction cups that held the plate in place, as well as the seals. I have constructed a newer more usable version, It works great.
click for a bigger image I have also been working up new ways to display the finished product. I tried using my weak but adequate woodworking skills (although I am getting better) but the end result feels too bulky. I am trying to stay away from the traditional leather and velvet treatment. My latest case draws from my bookmaking experience, I used pva glue, chip board, paper and some prints, one is a cyanotype (on the top of the cover) and the other is a inkjet print (on the inside) the dag itself is nestled in the case and well protected behind thick glass. I was trying to make it look contemporary and clean.
click for a bigger image I'm getting ready to shoot another, I will share the results later on. Until next Time,
|
Feb. 03, 2008 Yay, blogness!
|
Welcome. I hate the word blog, but since blog is widely understood as a page used to post news, essays and rants about thing I am interested in or involved with, it seemed the appropriate way to go. Having a web site on the information superhighway is no longer cool enough, and I refuse to be on myspace in any meaningful capacity. It's cold out, and I am in the middle of a mild existential crisis. I can't shoot what I want to shoot, and in grad school, time is everything. Shout out to Justine Kurland for pushing me into the abyss and making me no longer want to make art, I got over it. I need to learn to take criticism with a grain of salt, big grains of salt. So what is going on? I am in the middle on designing some new daguerreotype equipment. My graduate cohort at UW Madison currently has a show up in the 7th Floor Gallery called 'Two-Timed'. There are over thirty artists exhibiting. The show closes Feb.. 14th. Check it out 455 N Park Street, Madison, WI. I have a selection of prints from my Beautiful and Disgusting series hanging at my local neighborhood coffee shop - What's Brewin'? in Sun Prairie. It's a nice place to get some coffee, food or even beer and ice cream. What's not to like? In the bigger world, I threw together a little Youtube Video as a submission to the Worlds Away : New Suburban Landscapes that is opening at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN. I plan to attend the preview party on Feb. 15th. Time to network! That's it. xoxoxo - Tyler |
