7/29/10

Installation room COMFORT ME AGAIN

… made for “Experimental Station Laimdota” {ESL} during Contemporary Art and Music festival in Cesis, Latvia.



Laimdota is a Latvian girl’s name, common in folklore, and means  “given by ‘laime’ “ -  I cannot find a good translation for ‘laime’ though, i think there is no such name in English - it is something like a profound peaceful happiness plus a little bit of pure luck and a bit of deep wisdom.

My work for the ESL was a deeply personal meditation, a joyful playroom of perplexed happy soul, installed in a 10 square meter room in an old forlorn beautiful house, full of flubdub and rubbish. To me it was like writing a poem.
I'll try to deliver it to you through a small photo story. 


{The forgotten heart. Materials used: silicone heart, plastic flowers and mushrooms, oil paints, butterflies, cobwebs, dead spiders and their dead victims of different species, some of them possibly unknown to Entomology} 



{Closeup of the heart} << love the way how this reads, should call a whole show by this phrase some day.. nay, maybe too sweet.. 


Little Salome playing again. This is a self portrait actually. I want the world to be perfect and beautiful. Deer is breathtakingly beautiful but the butt is ugly and debases the deer. So, I cut the butt off, and the world becomes perfect.}
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Installation of the little Salome; together with a religious text book-herbarium from 70’s. Homemade on typewriter for illegal distribution, as such books were not allowed in Soviet times in Latvia. Found forgotten in a tramp obsessed basement among cat-wetted flubdub.}
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Tiny mixed media fragmentary paintings on the walls >>see some closeups below>>}
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{view of the whole room above} 


{The materials used for the moulding: my lace and tulle wedding dress self-made through sweltering summer nights, plastic butterflies, cobwebs, dead spiders and their dead victims of different species, some of them possibly unknown to Entomology, all disguised with golden spray paint and star glitters. >> see some closeup pics below>>}






{The floor scattered with crushed sweet flag leaves and roots. It was a common tradition in olden times Latvia to use sweet flag plant this way in summer fiestas, as it scares insects and leaves a sweet unmistakable scent. It was dizzy, almost swooning in my little sun heated room.}


{‘ant tracks’ left on the wall}


{'plastic surgery for Mama Nature' angel overlooking the place. Mama Nature must be beautiful!} 


 And this is a tapestry project for another room - Mama Nature gives birth to Emily, and Emily gives birth to dreams:



7/12/10

SHOWS OF 2010

I’ve been silent for a while, but working all the time to bring some pleasant surprises to you, and I can announce my participation in three wonderful group shows this year in California, US. All the shows have absolutely wonderful confirmed artist lists with really talented people, some of which very dear to me, and all have amazing, very special curators.

1. "JEST in Time: The Phylogenesis of Clowns" in August, in the Distinction gallery, Escondido; co-curated with Dio Sumagaysay
2. "Horrorwood" in October, in WWA gallery, Los Angeles (Culver City); WWA gallery’s curating team Industrial Squid
3. "Subtleties of Character" in December, in the WWA gallery, Los Angeles (Culver City); co-curated with Dan Barry

Now, about the closest one, this August already: "JEST in Time: The Phylogenesis of Clowns".
All pieces will be sold auction style, starting at $100 {Pieces will also have a “buy it now” price, that will be valid through 9:00 pm during the reception}, 100% of the gallery profits to be donated to ArtHatch and Palomar for art Scholarships, so you’re supporting a great cause as well as obtaining an outstanding addition to your collection by bidding/buying the artworks from the show. Contact the gallery to see the preview list!




There are a couple of reasons why I feel particularly drawn to the idea of this show.
The one thing – clown {ie. Circus} is an art itself. To use art for creation of art, simulation for creation of simulation, mediation for creation of mediation and so forth – there is something decadent in this idea, something that the tasteful, venerable art would avoid. I feel it attracting.

The other thing – the symbol of clown itself is extremely intricate. Basically, clown is a person who works in a circus, usually ridiculously dressed, performing funny acts, and amusing people. But I know of nobody, especially small children, who would actually LOVE clowns, who would really find them sweetly amusing, pleasant and lovable. They are found rather creepy, even eerie {Sorry all the nice clowns out there, maybe I just haven’t met you}
Do you like clowns?

The first clown persons in popular culture I recall are: Krusty the clown from The Simsons – a miserable, cynical addict person and Joker from the Dark Knight movie – a murderous psycho with incurable childhood trauma..

I find that the most positive and human examples actually are some stingingly honest and lonely persons hiding their total inability to live in the fierce society, hiding it behind a physical, seemingly entertaining mask {some Charlie Chaplin character?}

This last part is the one that moves my heartstrings, because this is the state that is very human, very understandable, and I believe that actually almost everybody has felt this way for a moment some time, whether you weep or gulp down the tears, admit it or hide behind laughter - and I have felt like that as well.

So, my piece for the clown show is going to be very personal, very much of a self portrait, titled “Consecration of a Clown”.

Some sneak-peek detail pictures below.






This and that about other shows coming very soon.....