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***34 YEARS OF ILLEGAL IMPRISONMENT!!!***______________________
THIS IS MY PERSONAL BLOG FOR RANTING, RAVING, AND ART NEWS. If you are looking for my gallery, please visit KalliopeAmorphous.com.
Swept, Self Portrait From Resurrecting Ophelia
Two images from Resurrecting Ophelia are featured in F-Stop Magazine’s most recent group exhibit. The show, Away From Here, will be up through February and March. 2010.
Diamanda XII, Mixed Media On C-Print
The human face
is an empty power, a
field of death …
… after countless thousands of years
that the human face has spoken
and breathed
one still has the impression
that it hasn’t even begun to say what it is and what it knows. -Artaud
Diamanda Portrait XXVI, Mixed Media On C-Print
I received a stack of Chavela Vargas CDs in the mail yesterday from my beloved Amazon.com. Chavela Vargas is primarily known for her renditions of rancheras genre songs – a folk music genre popular in Mexico. In her youth, she dressed as a man, smoked cigars, drank heavily and carried a gun. At 81 years old, she publicly declared that she was a lesbian. She was Frida Kahlo’s extramarital lover for a few years. She denies rumors that she once kidnapped a woman at gunpoint, but admittedly jumped out of a window after a woman disappointed her. I totally love her biography, her voice completely rips my soul out-but this particular performance of La Llorona is beyond description. I love this woman. She projects so much raw emotion that I almost feel as if I am overhearing a private supplication….and her careful control over each syllable is what renders it even more beautiful. Chavela is often referred to as “la voz áspera de la ternura” (the voice of rough tenderness).
(Speaking of cigars, I started smoking them on New Years Eve and now I am smoking them so much I am bankrolling the Nat Sherman company.)
On the subject of great music coming out of Mexico, Diamanda Galás will be performing several concerts there in the coming weeks. She will be performing a set of “outlaw songs” and I am spitting tacks that I won’t be able to get there. Frequent readers of my blog know by now that I never shut the hell up about Diamanda, but I usually hate everyone so when I see real talent and beauty I want to run my mouth about it (spontaneous double entendre not intended, but also not untrue in this case). So, if you are in or around Mexico, check the dates and try to get a ticket for what is going to be an amazing performance.
No one ever comments when I post music, so those that are capable, enjoy this brilliant live performance by Chavela Vargas and check out some of her other work. She was very popular in the 60’s and 70’s, but I like her later and most recent work best. I always tend toward liking the later works of female vocalists, because it seems like those extra years of living add a greater authenticity and depth to their work. I feel like I can’t take anyone seriously on any level until they hit 50, which means I have about 18 years before I can even take myself seriously. Below is the (rough) English translation of this folk song, which is also a beautiful poem. This piece must be listened to through to the end. Chavela’s build up into the last few lines of the song is exquisite as sorrowful patience turns to frustration and demands Qué mas quieres? Quieres más?!!
English translation:
Lla Llorona
They all call me the black one, Weeping Woman,
The black one but the loving one,
They all call me the black one, Weeping Woman,
The Black One but the loving one,
I am like the green chili plant, Weeping Woman
Spicy but delicious,
I am like the green chili plant, Weeping Woman,
Spicy but delicious,
You were coming out of the temple one day, Weeping Woman,
When by passing by you caught my attention,
You were coming out of the temple one day, Weeping Woman,
When by passing by you caught my attention,
Beautiful you were,
The Virgin I thought I saw,
You say I have no pain, because you never see me cry,
There are the dead who do not cry,
and their sorrow is much greater than mine,
There by me, Weeping Woman, Weeping Woman, Weeping Woman, Take ME to the river,
Cover me because I am dying from the cold
Because I love you, you want for me to love you more,
I have already given you my life, Weeping Woman,
What else do you want?
Press release for one of my running exhibits. A group show called Transmorphing at Caladan Gallery.
CALADAN GALLERY
“TRANSMORPHING – THE ACT OF CHANGE”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACT: Marjorie Kaye
@Caladan Gallery
(617) 838-8929
CALADAN GALLERY presents an on-line exhibition of 23 national and international artists entitled “TRANS-MORPHING: THE ACT OF CHANGE”. The very nature of life suggests energy in constant flux; movement in an everlasting dance of cause and effect. Nature presents unpredictability wrapped in repeating cycles. It is the push and pull, the contrast between rest and movement, predictability and the unexpected, that preps the stage for transformation on either a collective or personal level. Some aspects of transformation are rooted in ancient rites, reminiscent of shamanic journeys; some are born of irony, and seek to transcend the mind’s repetitive habit of cause and effect; some simply transform the world of physical causation, opening the envelope into a region of possibility. There are certain truths to the universe, certain responses and visual stimuli are common, and are seldom processed by ourselves consciously – these expectations are ripped apart in this exhibition, and a place full of variables is encouraged to present itself.
This exhibition will be on-line at http://www.caladangallery.com from February 1 – 28, 2010. For more information, please call (617) 838-8929 or email us at director@caladangallery.com.
MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Solo Exhibition Award Winner Kalliope Amorphous (New York, NY) writes: “I am an artist working exclusively with the self portrait photograph. These three images are from my most recent series, titled “Valkyrie” which explores the metamorphosis of woman into bird. It was difficult to pick three images, since the series of 12 photos follows the progression of the “possession” and ultimately the transformation of the female form into a bird. I have chosen three images which I think encapsulate the three stages…”
From large scale to that which can be held in the palm of the hand, Andy Bievenue (Belleville, IL) transforms the everyday into icons. The objects in these works transcend the utilitarianism that created them to become personified. They emit the persona of those who are lost, searching; or as in the case of “Smaller Than We Expected”, the essence of an overseer and protector. Inanimate object transforms into personal iconography, a quality of the unknown injected, realism fading into potentiality.
Peter Chamberlain (Honolulu, HI) states of his digital media pieces: “These prints are preliminary experiments in a series based on a specific process; physically construct a sculptural structure, photo-document the 3D object, digitize and manipulate in Photoshop to transform into a modulated 2D image that signifies a new and unique 3D structure. These particular works began with a traditional mortise and tenon covered bridge I helped my brother construct near his home in the Adirondacks.”
Caberbe Joseph (Winter Park, FL) depicts the transformation of woman from victim to power within the confines of these three individual photographs. In “No More” and “Please Don’t Cry”, the women are marked, their vulnerabilities on the surface, victimization a danger. One shifts to the piece entitled “Power”, a woman standing strong. Naked does not necessarily evoke a sense of vulnerability, as this woman transcends all to appear as she is, her strength emitted from the aura of her inner world.
Gallery Member Elizabeth Kellogg (Beverly, MA) shifts the focal point within these pieces from one end to another. The doll-like figures become lost in a confused, veiled miasma of subconscious ether. However, upon further viewing, the veils lift and the figures are revealed, at once both vulnerable and defiant. The transformation occurs within the image itself, and we are left with a mirror of our own unknown emotional associations.
Photographs by Russ Osterweil (Oakland, CA) illustrate that as in nature, the man-made is subject to the transformation that occurs from time. As natural substances are subject to the rain, wind, and other catalysts, so are the structures born of the mind and hand of the human architect and engineer. There is an added element to consider, also, which is the trends that illustrate the day, which are also born from necessity, however much they are veiled in aesthetics and human consciousness. So that when an area, that is, the essence of a block of housing, a bridge, a community is transformed, there are a myriad of reasons behind it. Some are more obvious, such as a storm, earthquake, etc. But other transformations arise from an individual’s idea or vision. Destruction, construction – all is a circular motion, as unpredictable and predictable as the natural world.
Mare Vaccaro (New York, NY) states: “My work investigates the deconstructed female form and its relationship to femininity, beauty and empty adornment. I have alopecia universalis, which is a genetic miscoded medical condition that renders my body completely hairless. In the absence of a created persona I am a blank canvas. I use this blank deconstructed form to explore the “created” selfdesigned expression that assimilates societal expectations of femininity. This “deconstructed self” depicts the female form without defined beauty or persona. The pressure to adorn oneself according to the standard of femininity leads to the creation of persona that masks the true self and manipulates the world into believing that what it sees is real when it is not. I am using the deconstructed female form to question what is real, what is persona, and whether femininity can be redefined.”
COMPLETE LIST OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: “TRANS-MORPHING: THE ACT OF
CHANGE”
Kalliope Amorphous, New York, NY Solo Exhibition Award Winner – Photography
Andy Bievenue, Belleville, ILSolo Exhibition Award Winner Photography
Peter Chamberlain, Honolulu, HI Returning Artist Digital Media
John Chwekun, La Mesa, CA Mixed Media Sculpture
Michael Coakes, Park Ridge, IL Digital Mixed Media
Lauren Curtis, Franklin Park, NJ Gallery Member Mixed Media
Lisa DuVernay, Harvest, AL Painting
Luba Grenader, Marblehead, MA Mixed Media
Priscilla Hine, Berkeley, CA Mixed Media
Caberbe Joseph, Winter Park, FL – Photography
Elizabeth Kellogg, Beverly, MA Gallery Member -Mixed Media
Genne Laakso, Ellensburg, WA Mixed Media/Photography
Richard Lund, Long Island City, NY Returning Artist Mixed Media
Amy MacLennan, Hastings, NE Painting
Lauren McSwain, Statesboro, GA Mixed Media
Rosemary Meza-Desplas, Dallas, TX Mixed Media
Hariclia Michailidou, East Elmhurst, NY Digital Media
Mohamed Nabil Shehata Mohamed, Cairo, Egypt Gallery Member Photography
Russ Osterweil, Oakland, CA Photography
Soi Shin, Cambridge, MA Painting/Mixed Media
Tanya, Peabody, MA Mixed Media
Mare Vaccaro, New York, NY Photography
Heather Wilhelm, Costa Mesa, CA Gallery Member Photography
CALADAN GALLERY
Marjorie Kaye, Director
P.O. Box 391939
Cambridge, MA 02139
http://www.caladangallery.com
director@caladangallery.com
So I am not getting any work done this week and am just calling it a vacation, but thanks to a vampiric sleep schedule and Starbucks, I have completed six more portraits of Diamanda. These were all started back in the fall and the first two are my favorites (especially the first one). I kept trying to draw ravens wings on the second one, but couldn’t get it right and it looked ridiculous when I tried to Photoshop some in, but it is still one of my favorites from this project. I want all of these images to have a timeless quality to them where they will not be able to be pinned to a particular date, so they are all getting “aged” and toned in a sort of moonlight shade. Her face is so classic and timeless anyway so it is well suited to the treatments. I just wanted to see something that was softer and more romantic than usual…while still preserving the darkness, power and intensity. I hope to Hecate that she won’t hate them.
Not for sale and do not steal. I think she is the most gorgeous thing on the planet and I am making these primarily for my own a”muse”ment and for others who appreciate what she is doing with her work. The only place I will probably be posting these is in a set on my Flickr page called Θεά. The art communities there seem to be enamored of them so hopefully they will check out her work and get enlightened. I have some others I will get to posting in time.
Diamanda Portrait XVI, Mixed Media On C-Print
“I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy.” -Baudelaire
Diamanda Portrait XVII, Mixed Media On C-Print
Diamanda Portrait XV, Mixed Media On C-Print
Diamanda Portrait XX, Mixed Media On C-Print
Diamanda Portrait XIX, Mixed Media On C-Print
Two more from this project. I’ve had these two in limbo for months and finally finished them last night. I have several exhibitions running right now and other work and deadlines I should be completing, so of course I am doing everything but what I should be doing–which actually turned out to be a good thing because these are my absolute favorite portraits so far. I am always distracted by beautiful women in one way or another…so this is nothing new (ha!). I have many more of these portraits in various phases of completion, but will not get to finishing them for a little while, since they are a giant time vacuum.
Diamanda Panel VII, Mixed Media On C-Print
“With a great musician…his playing is that of so fine a pianist that one cannot even be certain whether the performer is a pianist at all…since his playing has become so transparent, so full of what he is interpreting, that himself one no longer sees and he is nothing now but a window opening upon a great work of art.” -Proust
Diamanda Panel III, Mixed Media On C-Print
Resurrecting Ophelia, Left Wall
I finally compiled most of my exhibition photos into one folder. You can see them on Flickr. The first seven photos are from last night’s reception for my Resurrecting Ophelia series. The folder of images is HERE.
Also, one of my poems-Silk has been published in this months Flutter Poetry Journal, a journal of surreal poetry.
Sono Lo Segno, Mixed Media On C-Print
Best viewed large. Click to enlarge.
This is a mixed media personal project that I have been working on for some time. It is a multi-process diptych printed on Endura metallic C-Print. I created it by first shooting selected film frames through a sheet of semi-frosted glass and transferring the resulting vague image to paper. The original outline of the image was shot from very grainy footage of a scarce copy of Plague Mass. I then drew in and embellished the faded areas with charcoal pencil and ink and then went over it with distressing inks and tools. After this, I scanned it and laid digital textures over it and then transferred it to a C-Print. The actual print looks much better than it does on the computer monitor-the textures are very deep and rich.
I have had this idea in my head for awhile, but was not sure how such a process would translate artistically, and it was quite a bit of trial and error. The resulting antiqued/haunting effect is what I had envisioned. I have been working on several original artworks of Diamanda, but this is the one that I am most happy with at the moment. I am visually enamoured by the subtle body language that comes out in her performances. Of course, Plague Mass was much more visually evocative, but even in her seated piano performances there is always a poetic visual element going on in the shoulders, hands, etc. It is sometimes reptilian, bird-like, or colubrine-hinting at the shamanic or primeval. I don’t know if it is the poetic thinker in me that notices these things, but I had been rabid to somehow translate it into visual art. This, and the fact that I find her incredibly beautiful. So, in my insomiatic sprees when I am too scattered to focus on my work, I have been working on these hybrid images. Or, I should say, I have found a new way to procrastinate.
In the panel on the left, I am in love with the posture and hands, the hint of facial features, and what remains of the shimmer of blood on the bottom half of the dress. The right panel is much simpler, but also has it’s own story, and the sweep of hair between the shoulder blades is my favorite. Sono Lo Segno (“I Am The Sign”), is a reference to a lyric line of the Plague Mass composition, which I tried to reflect in these two images.
These are not part of my “work” work and are not for sale. They are a personal project and homage to a muse, but I will share them here as they are completed.
