aeroplane video tryps
Posted by: Matt McCormick
you are here
Posted by: Matt McCormick
I AM HERE
On Friday November 30th I will be performing the live version of future so bright at the Aurora Picture Show in Houston as part of the You Are Here symposium. Other artists involved include The Center for Land Use Interpretation, Nato Thompson, and the INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED AUTONOMY, and the show looks to explore how contemporary artists and researchers are using maps and tactical media to document and understand their environments. I am very stoked to be a part of this show.
THEN I WILL BE HERE
After a couple days in Houston I will then proceed to Miami for the Miami Art Basel Art Fair, where the installation version of future so bright is part of the official program and VERY STEREO will be rocking out at a secret dance party. I also plan on drinking a pina colada.
If you happen to be in either of those locals please drop me a line. Below is a video clip of me performing future so bright at Holocene a couple months back that my pal Dalas shot...
Future So Bright from dalas verdugo on Vimeo.
the giant pumpkin regatta
Posted by: Matt McCormick
A couple weeks ago I had the great pleasure of attending the 2007 West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin, Oregon. Started in 2003, the annual regatta pits the regions giant gourd growers against each other in what is a competition of size and speed, and while it sounds both impossible and crazy, it is in fact what the name suggests; it's a boat race, but the boats are giant pumpkins. The competing farmers/captains grow giant pumpkins, carve and hollow them out, put them in a lake, get in them, and then race them as if they were kayaks. Qualifying size for race eligibility is 600 lbs, but most of the giant pumpkins competing in the regatta weighed in at twice that (the biggest pumpkin was 1408 lbs). They all had to be lifted into the water with the help of a forklift, and many of them were decorated with designs ranging from airplanes to turtles to giant mushrooms.
At first I was very worried that these giant pumpkin racing vessels would quickly capsize and send the racers into the frigid depths of Tualatin Commons Lake, but I realized that these gourds were sea worthy (or at least duck-pond worthy) as soon as I saw the first one dropped into the water. While on land, the gourds look like giant, saggy pockets of orange flesh, barely resembling their perky smaller cousins waiting to be carved into jackolanterns. But in the water the giants became buoyant, bouncing watercraft ready to sail to victory. The growers participating in the race, often referred to as "squash bucklers," looked both proud and scared; beaming at the opportunity to show off their prized gourd, but also secretly wondering 'what the hell am I doing floating in the middle of this lake in a giant pumpkin."
When the race started, it was as if some giant man wrapped from head to toe in orange water-wings was drowning and flopping around in the middle of the lake. Water was splashing in every direction, giant gourds bounced up and down in the newly turbulent water, and an overall sense of panic was in the air. Boaters furiously paddled only to find their gourd spinning in circles or bumping into the nearest competitor. But amongst the madness, two gourds emerged as the the ones to beat. Leading the pack was a gourd operated by a man dressed as Skeletor and close behind was a gourd decorated as the famous X1 rocket plane.
The world record for largest pumpkin is 1689 lbs, set just this year by Rhode Island farmer Joe Jutras. The growing season for pumpkins typically runs from mid April to mid October, meaning Joe's pumpkin grew approximately 280 lbs a month, or over 9 lbs a day! He was quoted as saying the most important daily task was making sure that the pumpkin didn't grow in such a way that it would rip it's own stock off. But soil monitoring, fertilizing and watering, and favorable weather are also clearly important. While giant pumpkins enjoy warm, humid summer nights, it is unclear if any of the gourd growers are going organic.
The giant-pumpkin-growing community spans the globe and isn't messing around. Seeds from award winning giant pumpkins often sell for hundreds of dollars a pop, and at websites like bigpumpkin.com you can track the daily diaries of giant pumpkin growers and literally watch a seed transform into a champion vegetable.
Growers spend hundreds of hours caring for their giant gourds, and many liken cutting the pumpkin from its vine to cutting an umbilical cord. The growing season is followed by shows, competitions, and weigh-offs as the giant gourds are toured to fairs throughout the region. Pacific Giant Vegetables Growers Association President Ron Wilson told The Tigard Times that "by the time of the regatta, you are so burned out (that) this becomes a chance to blow off steam and really have a moment of fun"
The Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers (PGVG), who were the main sponsors behind the West Coast Regatta, have a very informative and inspirational website . "The PGVG is moving forward as Giant Vegetable growing gains interest. What we offer is a progressive outlook with more organization, membership participation, and an open arms approach to the sport."
Sport indeed!
this last pict was taken by my pal Megan Scheminske
stop remembering me
Posted by: Matt McCormick
the subconscious art of graffiti removal
Posted by: Matt McCormick
YIKES! Am I being stalked? Last week the tag in the above picture, reading "if this were art you'd be in a gallery right now" appeared just up the street from my place. I am not sure, but it certainly feels like it is referencing my film The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal, and it's literally a block away from my house in place where i could not miss it.
There has always been a small, yet vocal, group of people who absolutely hate this movie. My assumption has been that these people are young graffiti dudes who have never actually seen the movie but have a very hostile, knee-jerk reaction to the title. You can find their rants in graffiti chat rooms and websites, and in the occasional nasty email that someone sends me out of the blue. They usually say something along the lines of "I've never heard of anything so retarded in my life" or "this sucks you're gay" (these are direct quotes) and they clearly don't realize that the movie is pro-art and pro-graffiti.
UPDATE: SEE THE COMMENTS BELOW FOR MORE EXAMPLES!
The funny thing is that there are some very well-known graffiti artists who love the movie, and it's actually been featured in several 'street-art' group shows along side artists such as Barry McGee, including the totally awesome Beautiful Losers program that Aaron Rose curated. I think that anyone who has seen the movie and has half a brain can pretty much figure out that the movie is not anti-graffiti.
But this new message puzzles me. I can't tell exactly if it is pro or con, and whether it is directed at me or a broader audience. It kind of seems like it has to be directed at me, because the statement clearly falls within an already established context. Unless, of coarse, the writer is being completely self-referential, and not making a statement about graffiti removal but graffiti itself. It could be that the fact that a buff serves as the backdrop is little more than artistic coincidence, and the writer is making a statement that graffiti itself is not art.
Or, it probably is just all in my head. But still, it creeps me out. If you haven't seen the movie, or maybe you just don't remember it, here is an excerpt:
The project initially started as collaboration with my pal Avalon Kalin. He was the first to label the buffs as an accidental art form, originally calling it subliminal art. Our conversation continued for several months, and we quickly realized that the aesthetic interpretation of graffiti removal served as an incredible metaphor for so many things; from official/social control of the visual landscape to the 'authoritative' anointification of what is art and what isn't. The funny thing is that the film really isn't about graffiti at all, but rather the need for independent thought when it comes to interpreting the environment around you.
*While on the subject of graffiti removal, I must make note that I believe there is an exciting new movement happening down in Woodburn, Oregon. I was there just a couple days ago and noticed some buffs that couldn't quite fit into any of the stylistic form categories I list in the film (symmetrical, ghosting, and radical). This new category might be best described as "organic" and consists of traits found in both symmetrical and ghosting while also portraying a clearly natural, nearly life-like quality. Very amoeba like!
