Madonna Inn

"Let's say that Albert Speer, while leafing through a book on Gaudí, swallowed an overgenerous dose of LSD and began to build a nuptial catacomb for Liza Minnelli. But that doesn't give you an idea. Let's say ... Chopin's Sonata in B-flat sung by Perry Como in an arrangement by Liberace and accompanied by the Marine Band."

- Umberto Eco in On Ugliness

The third visit is the charm. The Swiss Rock is booked and this time, I hope to have access to the swimming pool (though this tennis court color scheme may be photographed once or twice during my visit).

I am either going to love or hate this (hopefully the former). In any case, my intolerance for pink may be tested. [All images via.]

The Fraud Issue: Idaho Center for the Book

Thanks to Stephanie Bacon, Faux is featured in the latest Idaho Center for the Book newsletter.

Luxury Magazine

Sometimes the Internet is kind and brings your work to the attention of strangers in South Korea. Here is an interview with Luxury in their latest edition focusing on food. I am one of this month's "food artists." I wish I knew what questions were translated from English but I remember that I was asked why I chose cake, I elaborated on the first float, and I discussed the most tricky part of the process. Perhaps that is what is written here.

Postcard Collective Fall 2014

The last three Postcard Collective entries have featured photographs taken on my phone (What does that mean? Hope I am not getting lazy.). This one is also unusual since I used an envelope which goes against most things I believe in when thinking about postcards. There were too many components and I ran into the problem of not being able to say everything using only two sides.

Hopefully Ernst thinks this is an adequate reinterpretation of his postcard.

Further Adventures in Anonymous Items Stolen from Art Departments

To be printed to scale soon.

This is Problematic

Hm... still contemplating how to contend with this (but am thankful that Hearst Castle is conserving water in California's horrific drought).

"An Anonymous Inventory of Items Stolen From Art Departments" Part 1

Jacinda Russell, Site specific installation currently on display at the Biennial Faculty exhibition at Ball State University, 2014 - ongoing

Twice a month I photograph new objects as my favorite part of this series is people quietly volunteering to let me borrow something to eventually display over an entire wall. I've deduced that aside from the obvious (tools), chairs and still-life drawing display pieces are the most sought after. I did not take any one of the above, however, I borrowed Mark Sawrie's "Stolen BSU Photo Area" stamp and made sure it was represented on the wall.

"Performance: Contemporary Photography from the Douglas Nielsen Collection"

From the Center for Creative Photography's website:

"This exhibition gathers more than 100 works from the private collection of Douglas Nielsen, choreographer and professor at the University of Arizona School of Dance. Featuring photographs and photo-based prints by artists as diverse and provocative as Diane Arbus, John Baldessari, Jo Ann Callis, Nan Goldin, Bruce Nauman, Richard Renaldi, and Cindy Sherman, the exhibition’s unique installation draws out the dramatic and physical tension that can result between photographer and subject, the observer and the observed. Among the exhibition’s highlights are focused displays of images by Nancy Burson and Jimmy DeSana, as well as compelling works by lesser-known artists such as Todd Gray and Noah Kalina, all of which are presented in ways that are by turns whimsical, meditative, and revealing about a fundamental aspect of the art and nature of photography."

Every time I return to the Center for Creative Photography, I remember how fortunate I was to attend school at the University of Arizona and to be able to bring my students to world class exhibitions directly across from the Art Building. My tour guide was Cass Fey and she explained the background information in presentation and installation. We walked through discussing our favorites, remarking at how well the objects fit with the photographs, and the salon style hanging (and even incorporating the circular columns). I most enjoyed seeing Noah Kalina's video Everyday in the context of a museum rather than a viral link found online.

Until the next visit, Arizona!

Arizona Inn - October 2014

The week before leaving for Arizona, I kept thinking about the most important pools that informed my experience of living in Tucson. The Arizona Inn featured many attempts to float a cake in 2010 and is the epitome of a pool one would want to sneak into (as this action is often a topic of conversation in the summer time). I began to look at satellite views and made prints the day before leaving.

Even after soaking all of them in the pool that is featured in the satellite view, I am more interested in the warped, smudged and dried original (not so much the photograph above). Still thinking and collecting...

The water was murky but inviting. Unfortunately, I have a far better image of this noodle on my iPhone but this is the best one from the digital SLR.

I left a souvenir from the 2010 cake float (back then all the chairs were covered with yellow fabric).

 

Here are the prints drying in the back seat of the rental car.

 

The two other pools that made a lasting impression on my time spent in Tucson. I did not trespass and photograph them during my visit which is leading me to believe that there is something more significant to be made by this act of capturing the image rather than visiting the location itself.