What the press is saying about ME.

"....a friend of Ms. Rinnhofer's, artist Chris Albert." - The Pulse (of the Harvey School), March 2011, Vol 11, Issue 10.

 photo: Rachael Borné/The Miscellany News

Matthew and I were interviewed by Emma Daniels of Vassar College's newspaper, The Miscellany News for a story on the Dead Hare Radio Hour.  The story, Dead Hare Radio Hour fosters Hudson arts community, came out last week.  The Misc.'s arts editor Rachel Borné stopped in to the radio studio while we were airing show #1 and snapped the photo above.

Just a couple of bearded, aging hippie/mountain men making radio.....or that's what the caption that comes to my mind when I look at that photo....

Eye Candy Friday: Catch an eyeful

Today's ECF is a commemoration of the procedure endured today by one of us here at KAMP MAYKR.

Art Boobs is an ever growing compendium, in blog form, of all things boob in art - contemporary and not.  I'm a longtime Art Boob subscriber and find it refreshing and enlightening tour through art history.  I usually consume art boobs through my google reader, so on visiting the site today for research, I found that Frank van Eykelen is the man behind Art Boobs.  To him, I say thank you. 
And for those who find this content somehow uncouth or simply not your cup of tea, perhaps you'd appreciate Frank's compilation of photos of people with their giant zucchini on his Stereoparty blog.

But back to boobs.  This Ted talk by Deborah Rhodes, is one that should be watched and passed along. 

(I'll say I have had issues with the marketing juggernaut of Breast Cancer fundraising Campaigns that have infused itself into a  - at the expense, I think, of other, more deadly cancers, statistically speaking.  But cancer is cancer and information relating to innovations and knowledge pertaining to treating/detecting cancer in all its forms should be explored and supported and spread and given the opportunity to be debated, not cast aside by those steeped and committed to the line of conventional thought.)

Still haven't had enough?  Here's a full frontal peek-a-boo taken by c-monster of a work created by Raquel Paiwonsky.  I just found Paiwonsky's website, which features an eyeful and then some.

Your Eye Candy Friday archive.

Dead Hare Radio Hour, show #1 in the can.

The first show of Dead Hare Radio Hour dropped yesterday. It was pretty thrilling to hear it on the radio.

What a roller coaster of emotions, stress, etc. But finally getting it on the air is exceedingly rewarding. Now we just have to turn around and do the same thing next week..and the week after that and the week after that.

You can listen to show #1 on the player below. And by this point, it should be downloadable...(We're still learning this as we go.)

The Dead Hare Radio Hour Launches, March 22, 2011

 
I've been chained to my computer of late even more than previously.  The culprit behind this turn of events (aside from my own impetuous urge to get my self into burdensome, but rewarding projects) is The Dead Hare Radio Hour.
DHRH is a joint project with Matthew Slaats.  He had proposed to me the possibility of doing an art related radio show at least a year ago.  Ideas are easy to say yes to when they are just ideas.  Matthew had shopped the concept around to a couple of local internet radio operations before it occurred to him to check with Vassar College's radio station, WVKR. Matthew works at Vassar in the technology department.  The proposal was accepted and we were suddenly faced with a new recurring deadline, another unpaid gig that comes fully loaded with a vacuum custom made for sucking up hours of personal time.  We both had one of those "oh shit" moments.  Then we went forward, with trepidation and excitement at every step.
Our first show airs tomorrow, March 22 at 5pm, Eastern Time.  Our regular timeslot - provided we're not pitched from the station will be Tuesdays from 5-6pm.  In addition to the broadcast originating in the Hudson Valley (the signal strength is 3400 watts and can be heard in portions of five states,)  the show will be streamed live on WVKR's website, and it will be available for download as a podcast. (Podcast will be available for download by Wednesday evenings....consider subscribing to it - when the feed is set up this Wednesday.)

The format of the show will largely be talk, with interviews and conversations with artists and curators and such, but we also want to feature sound works from artists and musicians and folks who are engaged in radio as an art medium.
Matthew and I are of like minds on many fronts - one of them being that we both are interested in catalyzing and sharing conversations about art and culture -  but we bring different aspects to the show.  He's an artist with heavy a social practice bent and I tinker in the studio.  I think he's more concerned with investigating the role of the artist in society than I am and this may well be reflected in the directions we each follow in uncovering content for the show.

The Hudson Valley will be a major focus of the show content, a - because there's a lot of interesting people and projects based here, and b - because this is where we're at, and the content of the show will, in some way, be borne of convenience (but not of laziness.)  But it's not only going limited to this region...by any means.  We'll be capturing the folks we encounter on our art-driven paths.  It's a big/small world out there and we're interested in examining how concerns/inspirations/connectedness in large and small contexts intermingle and influence the work and conversations that are happening on the ground, in any region.  We will be bringing on board other contributors to add to our coverage.

Given our schedules, much of the show content will be pre-recorded, although we look forward to doing some live in studio things as we are able.  I think we're both far less interested in interviewing people than capturing conversations between people.  I, for one, am an avid listener.  I hope to set up situations that other folks are apt to enjoy listening to.

So Show #1 features two interviews.  We speak with Carolina Miranda of the blog c-monster.net and Duncan McKenzie of Bad at Sports.  I follow both of these individuals, gladly.  ( I've been an avid listener of the B@S podcast since 2007.  It is my weekly dose of art.)  Part of what I appreciate most about both of these projects is the mixture of intelligent reflection and humor (not rarely, the adolescent kind.)  High and Low, intermingled as they should be.
I find both of these interviews entertaining and informative. I hope ya'll will too.  This being our first show - there is some unevenness in the audio quality of show 1, but we're learning valuable lessons everyday as we get our radio legs.

Why the name?  There's a little context on the Dead Hare website, and I'll be posting a bit on that here soon too.

Today Angelika reminded me of these photos she took of a dead hare several years ago in Eastern Colorado.  Dead Hares are everywhere these days.

Eye Candy Friday: Lost? Never. Just found.

I  spied this small sculpture while walking to the Hudson  Valley Tweetup held at Chill last Sunday afternoon.  Though tiny, this  piece has a presence that could rival any di Suvero over at Storm King (which opens its 2011 season on Apr1, BTW.)   On the way back, this thing still presented a pull on me.  So I took it  home.

The new acquisition, re-sited at Kamp Maykr.

 This found work in Poughkeepsie strongly recalls (to my mind) the recent David Hammons exhibit at L&M Arts in NYC

This jacked up Mac laptop screen could pass as a pretty good abstract Cosima Von Bonin piece.

(I couldn't get a photo without that glare)

The full Eye Candy Friday archive over @ MAYKR.com

Little Bits

Two months have passed since the Kamp Maykr household was diminished by a third.  Although she was physically tiny, Icci more than adequately occupied/filled the space in this threeway domestic situation.  She was fourteen years old, and over the course of those years, she became my master, and in the last several years could play me masterly, like an instrument.
She was a malnourished, wheezy five week old South Beach stray. My neighbor found her while walking her dogs and brought her home later suggesting that I consider taking her.  The prospect of making such a commitment, one that could easily span ten years, terrified me.  She was adorable, but being tied down, even by one as minuscule as she was seemed overwhelmingly monumental.  Judging by my reluctance, one might expect I was facing a marriage with a ready made family and all the responsibilities commensurate with that.  But somehow I took on that responsibility, and swore that I would do what I could to give her a life better than the one she was otherwise destined for on the street.  My friend Cynthia contributed a nebulizer (even took her to the vet and, I believe, took care of the initial vet bills.... (THX CYN)) and we created a vapor tent to treat her lung infection.
All of this was before she was Icci.  I think Cynthia gave her some froufy name in the interem.  I was planning on naming her Balthus, but that concept was met with derision from many around me.  Her proper name, Euridice came from a certain operaphile/phone  which appealed to me since I could diminish it to the mispronounced Icci.  In recent weeks, I have come to see her diminutive name as a composition a work that has both a symmetry and is unsymmetrical.

The lid of her left eye had this little "v" shaped void (I assume from cut from her life on the street) that resulted in that eye never fully being closed. The white on her muzzle was always distractingly asymmetrical and I sometimes wished I could smudge a little paint on there to even up the effect.

Several works been several works have been directly or indirectly inspired by Icci.  Here are a few of them:

 Orfeo et Euridice, 1997, oil and collage on canvas

 Icci, collage, acrylic on paper, 2004, 9"x12"

 Repose, oil on masonite, 2005  48"x48"

Depletion Drawing 18, 2007

Depletion Drawing 16, 2007

Angelika Rinnhofer, Felsenfest XIV

.

 eehcee 2011, marker, oil on panel

2011

Fourteen years of that ten year commitment have passed.  I'd gladly sign on for at least another ten  - complete with all the half fitful nights of sleep with her her tiny leaden body pinning me down while she slept like a baby.  A tiny, furry, lovely smelly little baby.

Dead Hare Radio, Art International Radio, (performance by dubknowdub, Mar 10)

 Looking down from the 12+1th Floor.

We haven't gotten our first air date yet, but Matthew Slaats and I are gathering content for our new joint endeavor, The Dead Hare Radio Hour.  Last night I headed down to the Clocktower Gallery and the studios of AIR (Art International Radio,) formerly WPS1, to interview AIR Managing Director Beatrice Johnson and Director of Programs David Weinstein to talk about the history.
 

 STO installing his works on paper.

Additionally, I chatted with STO, who along with ELI, make up the visual and noise making entity DubknowDub.  The duo will be culminating their month long Time Sync Laboratory Residency at the Clocktower with an exhibit and performance, tomorrow (March 10) @ 6-9pm.  STO was in the process of installing his ink on paper works.  He explained that along with the visual works he and ELI created during their time in the Clocktower, they've been sampling the creepy sounds made by the building late in the night.  Apparantly, a man committed suicide in the Clock Tower in 1913, and it's said the building is haunted....
A quote from a note on the deceased's body in the original NY Times story:
"Dear Art:  Everything you've done for me sticks me like a pin."  Yep. That sounds about right.

STO's battery powered grocery cart - instrument.

If you want to catch tomorrow night's performance at the Clocktower Gallery at 108 Leonard St, here are instructions on getting into the building.  The evening's events can also be heard on the ARTonAIR audio stream. 

AIR has an extensive archive of audio documentation on its website.  The audio stream features a mixture of art and culture related conversation and music and sound works.  Definitely worth spending time to dig through for some treasures.

 Mary Heilmann's Two Lane Blacktop, 2009 

is one many permanent works installed throughout the space.

Thanks to Beatrice and David, and STO for taking time to speak with me.

A little Small Talk

I'll be participating in an informal panel discussion to accompany the exhibit, Small, in which I have some work.  The panel will include most of the artists in the show: Claire Lofrese, Kazumi Tanaka, Kirsten Kucer, Deb Davidovits, John Allen, Susan Walsh, Greg Slick, Jill Reynolds and it will be moderated by Jennifer Mackiewicz, the exhibition curator.

The talk is happening at Hudson Beach Glass at 162 Main St in Beacon, and it starts at 5pm.

Eye Candy Friday: You'll spoil your dinner.

Ms. Rinnhofer's digital photo class at The Harvey School got an assignment this week:

Serve up your Eye Candy Friday for the week.

Ms. Rinnhofer has many talents.  Not the least among these talents is her ability to whip up a delicious and nutritious meal for herself and me, seemingly from thin air.
A certain egg and potato thingy that was last Saturday's lunch sported an uncanny likeness of a human skull.  I simply cut a potato into small pieces for teeth and Voila! a class assignment was born.  The students were charged with making faces with their food and photograph the results - like a table top Archimboldo.  The students then voted on the selections that are included in this post.  Here they are in no particular order. 

Anderson Greenwood

Armando Vazquez

Emily Silk

Emily Silk

James Underwood

Natasha Stein

Shovana Clarke

Maya Sank

My thanks go to the students for willingly contribute their work to this post.  Thanks to their teacher too for such nice lunches.

The complete Eye Candy Friday Archive.

Words Words Words

I have, in recent weeks, been treated to and participated in an awful lot of talking.
Matthew Slaats and I are on the verge of launching our weekly art oriented radio program for Vassar College's radio station, 91.3 WVKR, which will also be available in podcast form.  The Dead Hare Radio Hour (our show) is responsible for a majority of this talkto which I've been privy...and that part for which it has not been responsible, I'm sure it will find a way to usurp in some way.

Here's a little rundown of what I've heard, and what you may end up hearing through the radio show:

Lori Grinker (left) with Sabine Meyer at Fovea

Feb 12 - Stephanie Heimann & Lori Grinker @ Fovea:  Lori Grinker gave a talk relating to her current exhibit of photos of Iraqi refugees at Fovea.  I interviewed both Stephanie and Lori.

Feb 15 - A triple header @ Vassar:  Matthew and I conversed while walking through the 150 years Later exhibit at the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center.  While there we happened upon, and interviewed,  Katherine Newbegin, whose work, along with Tina Barney and Tim Davis, is featured in the show.  Tina Barney gave a talk on her career.  Ira Glass gave a talk and schooled a standing room only crowd on making radio and crafting compelling narrative (particularly timely for me.)

Feb 16 - Peter Iannarelli and Jill Reynolds came over to Kamp Maykr for sustenance and satisfying conversation as part of Angelika's Hole In The Head "salon" series.

Feb 21 - My first solo DHRH interview via Skype with Carolina Miranda.  A real treat, and a great way to get auger in this new interview based vocation.

Feb 22 - Matthew and I interviewed (also via Skype) Duncan McKenzie of Bad At Sports.  Lots of fun.  Plus, our talk with Duncan  inspired us to create and deploy (out of necessity) our first show "feature" which we'll calling the "Duncan McKenzie Working Blue Profanity To Sound Effect Conversion Chart" - we will be on drive time radio after all.  When needed for reference, the chart will be available on the DHRH site.

Feb 23 - I sat in on a talk at Bard CCS by Debra Singer, outgoing Executive Director of The Kitchen on the topic of archiving performance and art events.  The Kitchen is planning a 40th Anniversary Exhibit of selections of its archive...sometime this Summer.

Angelika and Peter on the couch at last night's talk.

March 2 - Peter Iannarelli and Angelika Rinnhofer spoke as part of a series of talks organized by the Beacon Art Salon at the Beahive.  Aesthetics and meaning in the context of contemporary art was the theme of the talk.....and I imagine I'll find a way of getting audio from that onto the air.

So much for the past, here's a bit of what's coming up:

March 5 @ 11 am - Jill Reynolds is giving a talk in Pawling, NY on her work and the work of other artists who are inspired by and use scientific concepts in their work.  This talk is held in conjunction with Jill being a 2010 DCAC Fellow.

March 12 - Small Talk (4 or 4:30ish).  A table top discussion at Hudson Beach Glass as part of the Small exhibit on view there now.  I'll be participating, and likely trying to record it.

Apr 9 - Fovea will be holding a panel discussion as part of Lori Grinker's exhibit.  Fovea is hoping to raise funds to bring one of the refugees, a young man named Ali, from TX to Beacon for the talk.  They could use some help making this trip happen financially.  If you'd like to assist, please visit the website to find out how to help.

That's it for now.  More is coming up.  I just needed to share this sliver of my last 2 or 3 weeks.  Remember, Dead Hare Radio Hour....coming soon.

James Westwater @ kork through April

James Westwater's turn on the board of kork started this week.  Through the end of April, a selection of James' Evidence Bags will be scrolling across the board.