Mostly Memory

Mostly Memory

New Work by ARMSROCK & ELBOW-TOE

December 12 - January 2, 2009 

Thinkspace Gallery

4210 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90029

323.913.3375

Open Thursday - Sunday

1pm - 6 pm  or by appointment

Portion of the installation room for  Mostly Memory. Image courtesy of Thinkspace Gallery.

Hey folks. For those of you following my blog, I am so pleased to be in a magnificent show with ARMSROCK at Thinkspace gallery in LA. If you are in LA, near LA or have ever even thought about LA, even if you haven't this is the reason to go to LA.

You can check out photos from the opening night on the Thinkspace Flickr Page as well as the Lord Jim Flickr Page.

If you are interested in acquiring any of the remaining pieces from the show you can view the show pieces here.

For all inquiries regarding the show please email contact@sourharvest.com

Double Boiler

Well I'm back. Wrapping up a couple loose ends for the year and then it is on to more. I am going to start a new project called Black Book Blogger, and you can email submissons to elbowtoe@gmail.com please put "blackbook submissions" as the title.

Starting a major project for Black Rat Press this year and will keep posts of the progress on that front. Keep your eyes peeled on the street as well.

Thanks to all who have been following this blog, and have a great New Year.

Here kitty

Saw this in the Orlando Sentinel.

BBC World Service Documentary

As an avid listener of NPR and the BBC World Service I am beyond honored to have been chosen as a subject for a documentary on streetart in New York. A wonderful reporter spent the better part of a week hanging out with me discussing art and life. For more information on the program and how to subscribe to the podcast click here. The program goes live on the 21st.

Chalice Begonia

Chalice Begonia 2008

Charcoal and acrylic paint mounted on reclaimed lumber on birch support

35 x 46 inches

Doodlers Anonymous

I am completely honored to be the featured artist on this great blog called Doodlers Anonymous.

They asked me to show the drawings I have been creating on the subways. You can view the set here. And make sure to check out the rest of the artists as well.

Brooklyn Block Party

Nature Study 2008

Linocut and acrylic washes on paper

19 x 26 inches

Brooklyn Block Party, a group showing from Richard Mock, Swoon, David Ellis, Mike Houston, Martin Mazorra, Dennis McNett, Judith Supine, ElbowToe, Gaia, c.damage, and Imminent Disaster comes to Ad Hoc Art on Friday, December 12th, 2008. 
Brooklyn Block Party will showcase both wood and lino hand-cut original blocks (get it…Brooklyn Block Party) along with the prints pulled from each block created by these prolific artists. 

On top of all that, C215 will grace the project room with his solo show, Junk Store. 

Both Brooklyn Block Party and Junk Store run December 12th, 208 - January 4th, 2009. 

More at adhocart.org

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Linocut and acrylic washes on vellum, pasted on wall by street artist ELBOW-TOE. 6 x 10 feet. My current body of work is an allegory about memory's power to hold us back or move us forward. The central character in this parable is a 6 x 10 foot linocut of an Everyman, who has lost it all and wanders the plains with all his belongings strapped to his back. He navigates a world in crisis by learning from his past. The remainder of the characters that he encounters are individuals lost in regret. I have developed these paintings and prints during the American housing and credit crisis of the past year. In contemplating where we are and where we might be, I have found myself looking back at history, remembering the Great Depression, and considering what effects it had on the American psyche. The uncertainty that existed then is present now, and I am addressing the kind of escapism through nostalgia that can occur in the midst of calamity. Every character that the Everyman sees is gripped by this need to escape their present circumstance. They are people lost in a memory at the very point when they should be paying attention to what lies ahead. Many different artists have inspired the flavor of this world including the photography of Walker Evans, the films of the Cohen brothers, the music of Tom Waits and the theatre of Robert Wilson.

For more info on the title

Big props to Wheeler, Luke and Michelle.

Lowering the big boy. Hope to print the first pull today. 6 x 10 feet, 3 months of carving later.

Interview with Jet-Set Graffiti

I am totally excited and completely honored to have been interviewed by Jet-Set Graffiti. To see the video click here.

Mason Dickson (In Progress)

Mason Dickson (In Progress)

My current body of work is an allegory about memory's power to hold us back or move us forward. The central character in this parable is a 6 x 10 foot linocut of an Everyman, who has lost it all and wanders the plains with all his belongings strapped to his back. He navigates a world in crisis by learning from his past. The remainder of the characters that he encounters are individuals lost in regret.

I have developed these paintings and prints during the American housing and credit crisis of the past year. In contemplating where we are and where we might be, I have found myself looking back at history, remembering the Great Depression, and considering what effects it had on the American psyche. The uncertainty that existed then is present now, and I am addressing the kind of escapism through nostalgia that can occur in the midst of calamity.  Every character that the Everyman sees is gripped by this need to escape their present circumstance. They are people lost in a memory at the very point when they should be paying attention to what lies ahead.

Many different artists have inspired the flavor of this world including the photography of Walker Evans, the films of the Cohen brothers, the music of Tom Waits and the theatre of Robert Wilson.

Chalice Begonia (In Progress)

Chalice Begonia (In Progress)

I am going to start posting process images for my upcoming show with Armsrock at Thinkspace Gallery in December. The show is titled Mostly Memory.

My current body of work is an allegory about memory's power to hold us back or move us forward. The central character in this parable is a 6 x 10 foot linocut of an Everyman, who has lost it all and wanders the plains with all his belongings strapped to his back. He navigates a world in crisis by learning from his past. The remainder of the characters that he encounters are individuals lost in regret.

I have developed these paintings and prints during the American housing and credit crisis of the past year. In contemplating where we are and where we might be, I have found myself looking back at history, remembering the Great Depression, and considering what effects it had on the American psyche. The uncertainty that existed then is present now, and I am addressing the kind of escapism through nostalgia that can occur in the midst of calamity.  Every character that the Everyman sees is gripped by this need to escape their present circumstance. They are people lost in a memory at the very point when they should be paying attention to what lies ahead.

Many different artists have inspired the flavor of this world including the photography of Walker Evans, the films of the Cohen brothers, the music of Tom Waits and the theatre of Robert Wilson.

Brooklyn Door 4

Brooklyn Door 4

Gouache on paper
22 1/2" x 15" 

Painting by Jessica Hess.  

I had seen another one of these at a show at Jeff Bailey, in Chelsea. Very cool interpretation.

Unplugged

I am in the studio about 14 - 16 hours a day. And most of this time I am listening to NPR. As the economic crisis has ballooned out of control, listening to news of it has made me more an more stressed. And I think I am listening with the hopes that they will turn it around. I realized this morning that I know who I am voting for and there is nothing I can personally do to avert the economic crisis. Because of this I am taking a break from reading The New York Times, listening to NPR, or even checking my twitter feed.

Mostly Memory

Mostly Memory, the work of ARMSROCK and ELBOW-TOE.

Thinkspace Gallery

4210 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90029

December 12 - January 2 2009

Opening Reception December 12  7-11 pm

Coming very soon. Should be an amazing show. I will start posting some process shots soon.

Long Way Down

Very busy getting work done for my show with Armsrock at Thinkspace, out in LA. I will start posting some images soon. I have been working round the clock and listening to a lot of NPR. I know that the roller-coaster that the economy is on is really starting to wear on my nerves. It is like seeing a car crash in very very slow motion. So slow that you can experience all the emotions with every extended frame. 

Self Portrait

Buffalo Mask created by Rachael Wheeler and Oddree Freitas.

Back in the studio working hard on show for LA, will follow with more details soon.

Easy-Boy

Easy-Boy Cut paper on birch panel 26 x 35 inches

All Rights Reserved

Don't Get Ahead of Yourself

Don't Get Ahead of Yourself

Cut paper on Birch Panel

14 x 18 inches

All Rights Reserved

There is a practicality to old men. 

Hair slicked back with grease,

Rumpled shirt,

Thoughts turned inward.

For all I know

He could be

my grandfather.

- ELBOW-TOE

This Quagmire We're In

Don't Let John McCain Make America a Prisoner of War

20 x 6 feet

Growl But Never Bark

Growl But Never Bark

Cut Paper on Birch Panel

10 x 17 inches

All Rights Reserved.

The Daily Draw for September Part 2

The Daily Draw for September Part 1

Busy in the studio.

Did Your String Come Undone?

Did Your String Come Undone?

Cut paper on birch panel

12 x 22 inches

All Rights Reserved

Reversal of Fortune

Reversal of Fortune

Cut paper on birch panel

24 x 32 inches

All Rights Reserved

Geeked Out

free powderly!
Originally uploaded by jakedobkin

Ok. So James Powderly one of the founders of GRL just got jailed in China.  Not good. 

On the other hand, not sure it was the wisest move as the Olympics are coming to a close soon and the Chinese government is probably less worried saving face than they had been before. 

So searching GRL for news, I come across photos from them on FuckFlickr which is pretty interesting in concept and purpose. Then I am digging around and I come across White Glove Tracking. It has made me want to dabble in programming again and video work.

Bloody Busy

Oedipus

Pasted paper on walls.

4 x 6.5 feet

Been very busy in the studio. 

Listening to a lot of NPR. 

Well back to work.

Perhaps the Voice Could Bellow Like Velvet

Perhaps the Voice Could Bellow Like Velvet 

Cut paper on birch panel. 

18 x 26 inches.

All Rights Reserved.

I Must Resist the Wool Pulling

I Must Resist the Wool Pulling

Cut paper on birch panel.

16 x 22 inches.

All Rights Reserved.

Related

Victor, Victorious

Victor, Victorious

Cut paper on birch panel. 24 x 30 inches. All rights reserved.

This piece is loosely based on the play The Maids by the French writer Jean Genet. I am also wrestling with issues of patriotism as a guise for aggression.

Genet loosely based his play on the infamous Papin sisters, Lea and Christine, who brutally murdered their employer and her daughter in Le Mans, France, in 1933, although the play is not the story of the Papin sisters as such. Solange and Claire are two housemaids who construct elaborate sadomasochistic rituals when their mistress (Madame) is away. The focus of their theatrical playing is the murder of Madame, and they take turns portraying either side of the power divide. The deliberate pace and devotion to detail guarantees that they always fail to actualize their fantasies by ceremoniously "killing" Madame at the ritual's denouement

For more on The Maids

Overgrown

Elbow Toe
Originally uploaded by mikeion

Cool Hunting on Electric WIndows

A real nice video done by the folks at Cool Hunting on the Electric Windows project in Beacon.

Birds of a Feather

The Mind Is an Unreliable Container of the Past.

I Can't Go On. I'll Go On.

I have been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Stunning book. I can only muse at what his outline for the novel must have looked like. The story follows the rise and fall of a town in Columbia and uses several generations of one particular family as the device to hang the story on. It has really got me thinking about family, history and how moments that have so little significance in the present could be the turning point in retrospect for great things, be they good or bad.

Yes, we can

Self-portrait of ELBOW-TOE.

Been hard at work in the studio. Was thinking this morning about Obama. One thing that really struck me – and I am a supporter of him – is his power as an orator. It has been what has drawn me in, but what concerned me today is how that visceral personality could be used to sway people if for some reason things go horribly wrong. We have seen charisma used to both the benefit and detriment of society. I just hope that Obama's ethics are strong enough to temper himself from letting fear drive that remarkable presence.

Unfashionable

So my friend just sent me this link.

They covered up the attribution.

I have no words.

Movement

I have been very busy in the studio. The new Beck album is on full rotation as is the latest from Deastro. I have been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez, as well as the writings of Eduardo Galeano. Also reading Electra, the play not the comic book. I would love to get over to the Met to see the Turner Exhibition – one of the greatest painters ever in my opinion. 

I am feeling rather partial to Samuel Beckett and Tom Waits at the moment. Also getting back to public musings.

Bad Hair Day

Elbow Toe drawing
Originally uploaded by LazyEye2

The Writing's on the Wall

Last Night I Reached for the Void and All HE Handed Me Was a Stepladder

Last Night I Reached for the Void and All HE Handed Me Was a Stepladder

9 x 16 inches

Cut paper painting on panel. This piece is for Big Issue Art Exhibition in London at Black Rat Press. The show will benefit the Big Issue Foundation.

Rest In Peace Kenny

There was a homeless man that served as the security guard for a building on the way to my studio. I had talked to him several times and seemed like a very nice man. He passed away the other day and I know his absence will be felt.

Call 311

Busy working and was listening to the NewsHour on NPR the other night. The commentator was discussing the most recent G8 meeting. They played snippets of Bush saying that the developed countries were creating a new set of standards to get the environment back on track. 

Will these new limits really mean anything at all?

ELBOW-TOE tribute cat

ELBOW-TOE
Originally uploaded by lisacat

Saw this on flickr the other day. Thanks Lisa!

The Daily Draw for June Pt. 3

Finished the first of many images today. Feels quite good to get back to work.

The Daily Draw for June Pt. 2