Pfister Video Interview Posted

The Pfister has posted the video interviews with the six finalists to their Vimeo page.  You can click here to see them.  It appears that they edited out a lot of my psycho-babble, which somehow bounced between bizarre topics including arctic research stations, Stand By Me, and homunculi.  It's probably for the better since I was a little concerned about coming off as a lunatic after my interview, but it seems that the video crew covered for me.  This clip is pretty much a collection of the most mundane sentences in my interview.



Artist in Residence Finalist: Matt Ducket from PfisterHotel on Vimeo.

Thanks to anyone who has voted in the Pfister Artist in Residence poll on Facebook (here and here).  If you don't have facebook, you can send an email to: amyhansen@marcuscorp.com.  Just throw Artist in Residence Vote and Matt Duckett in the subject, and that should be fine.

Here are a couple more pieces I've done over the last few months. I told myself I'd keep on top of this blog a little better than before, and here's the next batch of work.  These are a couple drawings I did last fall.

 

 

Cave Man, charcoal and graphite.

 This self-portrait was for a drawing show, so I wanted it to be as much about the act of drawing as it was about me.  For a self-portrait, I went back to a park where I spent quite a lot of time as a child.  But the imagery really is a commentary of drawing itself.  The large steel doors behind me had hundreds of dents in them, both tiny and quite impressively deep.  The deepest seemed to form the initials 'RS,' visible over my shoulders.  Maybe it's because I was there in a particularly introspective mood, but the act of marking a place with initials seemed to parallel those prehistoric cave drawings. They both seemed to say "I was here.  I did this."  They are both a record of experiencing a particular place and time.  I picked up a rock and scrawled my own initials on the concrete.  I remember using rocks to draw on sidewalks being a somewhat earth-shattering discovery as a kid.  I wrote my initials to say that I, too, had been there.

All of this is captured in my own record of the experience, using graphite and charcoal.  I wanted to stack these frames of experience on top of each other, and see drawing—basically mark-making on any level—as a rather vain attempt to capture the act of being present, a small moment in time made nearly permanent with rocks and sticks.
 

Portrait of Frances, graphite and charcoal

This is a drawing of our friend Fran, who just gave birth to a beautiful little daughter.  Though this was done months ago, I suppose it makes this a double portrait.

Recent News...

It's been a pretty wild few months.  There's a little bit of news to share, so I'll be updating this blog (and my website, finally) over the next few days. 

My work was accepted into the exhibition "Au Naturel" in Astoria, OR.  I hope I can make it out for the opening in February.  Better start saving my pennies.  Or have a garage sale at the studio....

I am also a finalist for the Pfister hotel's Artist in Residence.  It's a year-long residency at one of the best hotels in the nation.  They built an artist studio on the ground level of the building, and support the artist while he/she creates work and interacts with the public.  The artist will also help folks check out the surprisingly large collection of Victorian  art the hotel has.

The public can vote on facebook for the winner, at both the Pfister's page and their sister hotel the InterContinental's.  The six finalists all have an exhibition at Gallery M in the InterContinental hotel.  If you'd like to support me, please check out the show if you're in the Milwaukee area, or go to the two links and vote for me.  Unfortunately, this year they've ceased text voting and other options, so facebook is the only way to vote.  That rules out quite a few of my friends and family, which is probably one reason I'm second to last in voting!  Oh well, there's still time.  Thanks to everyone who has voted so far!

I haven't posted any new artwork in quite a long time, so I'll start.  Here's a couple new pieces I've made in the last few months.  I'll be updating the blog with more work throughout the week.

Welder, oil on canvas

 This is of my friend Josh.  Sadly, the beard and most of the hair are no longer a part of him.  That's okay, I guess, I think I have met my quota of paintings of beardy guys.

Self-Portrait, graphite