THINKING LIKE THE UNIVERSE

i'm in a group show called thinking like the universe at hatch gallery that opens tonight. 7x7 calls it one of the distinctive gallery exhibitions opening this week. opening reception: fri, jan 18, 7-9pm hatch gallery 492 23rd street, oakland (show runs from jan 18th - feb 23)

the show, curated by aimee friberg, includes work that "examines our desire to make order from, or understand the interconnectedness of the universe, from subatomic particles up through the species. whether observing expressions of landscape – abstracted, bastardized or imbued with mysticism – or zooming in to see the patterns that exist at the particle level, we intuit the moving force that connects."

this reminder of interconnectivity is particularly poignant at this time of year, so in the spirit of our collective newness, i share a few images from the first dawn of 2013, spent visiting 49 palms oasis in joshua tree.

CINEMATHEQUE AUCTION

this 30x30 mounted C-print entitled "key west" will be available at the cinematique benefit art auction this friday. these guys have been pioneers in supporting experimental film and video for 51 years now, happy to do my part.

silent auction details: friday, december 14, 2012 incline gallery 766 valencia street @ 18th, san francisco 6 - 8:30pm

more info here

KELLEN

AMY IN ELLE

elle magazine used this shot of james rowland shop co-owner and lifetime buddy amy blaustein in an article about how great she is.

SONG OF THE DAY

shock's debut single "heaven" is the song of the day on gawker today... pumped.

WE'RE BUILDING A HOUSE!

for the past two years, i've been working with a small but dedicated group of artists to build a house. in the spirit of what this house will eventually become – a center for learning –  we've been learning as we go. very few of us are actually skilled woodworkers, but this building process has become part of our practice, as detailed in our teacher's book, zen architecture. jesse schlesinger, who organized the class, is far from a novice with wood. maybe you've seen his greenhouse behind the general store? while i'm still figuring out how to correctly sharpen my chisel, jesse has become one with this project. his dedication and focus made it possible.

lead by paul discoe, we've been using the same traditional japanese joinery techniques that he uses in his joinery structures (notable bay area examples include the green gulch zen center and ippuku). all of the major work was performed off-site, then the pieces were brought to the site for assembly. as i imagine any barn raising would be, it was an all-hands-on-deck situation, and after such a long time coming, a truly joyous event.

here's a time lapse of day 1. 

paul arrives with our hand mortised and tenoned beams and posts.

groundbreaking ceremony.

with a gift of a tapa cloth from papua new guinea.

the building begins.

this is jesse. insert your own dedication metaphor here.

the walls were first laced with a grid of bamboo, then covered with clay harvested from the land.

there was plenty of other fun to be had. here hannah leads a rag rug workshop. these beauties will line the floor of the tipi.

awesome people everywhere.

charlie made the food.

felix made the mess.

josey baked endless loaves of bread in this wood burning oven, another recent edition to the property.

did we mention the sauna? eli making it happen.

as unevidenced by this photo, drew is doing design/build for an entirely separate and simultaneous project, the residency space. break time!

it's always break time when you're 7.

dave invited some kite-makers.

and some kite watchers.

a glimpse of the clay bowls that jessica made for the occasion.

no rest for the weary ... eating on the roof, so as to finish it before sundown.

unless of course, you had better things to do.

stay tuned for a time lapse of day 2...

FOGGY NOTION

here's a time lapse i made for kind buds foggy notion and drew bennett. turn it up!

KIM GORDON FOR MERCY VINTAGE

from kim gordon's closet. she's selling her stage-thrashed (and gently-used) items at mercy vintage in oakland. the shoot was a bit of a school girl's fantasy for me, having looked to kim for inspiration in my early music-making days. the launch party was sponsored by refinery 29. more details on MTV style and huffington post. there are still plenty of pieces available, online and in the shop. when you head in there, check out my photos on permanent installation.

VORTEX

a scene from chris duncan's first year MFA show at stanford. chris recently threatened that he might not make these vortex paintings for much longer. i really hope that's not true, but at least i'll forever be tied to one this way. there's some wonderful insight as to just how colorful chris's world is here.

SCREAMING SUMMER

NATURAL SELECTION

cheryl dunn made this great video for the NY times about the creative growth beyond trend fashion show. a few of my photos from the event will be on display at creative growth through june 21 as a part of their annual home show. the opening is tomorrow night during the oakland art murmur.

Opening:
Friday, May 4

Creative Growth Art Center
355 24th Street, Oakland, CA 94612

PHOTO AND SOUND SPACE

above is a shot of me and mine taken by my friend and constant source of inspiration, douglas adesko. it is best viewed in his new photo and sound space, since you'll get a taste of what the dinner conversation is like around our place.

doug feels like the brother i never had. below is a shot i took of him in his native environment, making something awesome, as usual ... a cabin with a roof that opens wide. one day i will be this good with wood.

GIMME GNOMEY

EVERYBODY INTO THE POOL

this one is lovingly named after beth lisick's eponymous book of short stories. i still think about one called "brokeley" where she moves into a gentrifying neighborhood (next to berkeley) and finally succumbs to incessant requests from neighbors asking to mow her lawn ... but then she comes home to find the guy doing the job on hands and knees, with scissors.

BEYOND TREND: BACKSTAGE

i wanted to capture the moments just before and after the catwalk when everyone felt like a star.

BROTHERS

CREATIVE GROWTH: BEYOND TREND

this is ruth, a creative growth participant, wearing her own pieces in one of the many shots i took for this year's creative growth look book. the fundraiser fashion show is this evening and refinery 29 sums it up best: lots of really great people pulling together for a really great cause.

HAWAIIAN JUNGLE

SHAPES IN THE WOODS

LAND AND SEA

this is land and sea. 

they invited shock to perform this evening at berkeley art museum as a part of the ongoing L@TE series. a children's choir will join us and we'll be standing inside of an intergalactic installation created by kenny. it will look a lot like this, a set he just built for a short film that takes place inside of a space ship. lights and visuals by colleen and luke. think prisms and shadows. i'm really excited. i hope to see you, floating on the moon.

update: coverage on NME.