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Look, See has moved.. Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow.. The Birds Stop Their Singing.. My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darling..
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Look, See has moved
It?s time for a change. Look, See has moved, effective January 1, 2008: looksee.chrisashley.net/ This new blog is powered by WordPress (I have been running a test version in parallel with this current blog since late October). It is my intention to continue making an HTML drawing for every day in 2008 and beyond. I see no reason to stop now. Since April 2000 I have blogged at three locations. April 6, 2000 to February 15, 2001: my first blog, XYZ, no longer functioning online, exists as an incomplete archive stashed under my current domain name. Powered by an early version of Manila running on my desktop at UC Berkeley.February 21, 2001 to October 22, 2003: A Place to Work, Nothing Fancy, powered by Manila on a Windows server at UC Berkeley. It is not supposed to be online anymore, but surprisingly, it?s still there. October 12, 2003 to December 31, 2007: the most recently past version of Look, See; hosted under my own domain at Cornerhost, it is powered by Movetable Type. The complete blog is intact, functional, and searchable. It comprises: 2,239 postsApproximately 1,541 HTML drawings (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)Images of over 200 works on canvas and paperForty eight essays and other related writing A bunch of other mostly art-related posts The HTML drawings have been used to make inkjet prints that are hung in groups, typically by month; to date works based on this medium have been exhibited at eight galleries between May 2006 and January 31, 2008. Landmarks & AnomaliesOne of the earliest HTML drawings I can identify is Boxboy, posted November 24, 2000.The first really satisfying HTML drawing is Night Driving, posted January 19, 2001. One of the goofiest HTML drawings made is Cow, posted February 24, 2001.A breakthrough occurred with Summer Short Stories, July 14-28, 2002; I realized how content was useful to the edge between abstraction and representation. First use of images in HTML drawings during September 2005.Animation, March 2006.All 2004 HTML drawingsAll 2005 HTML drawingsAll 2006 HTML drawingsAll 2007 HTML drawingsPlease visit the new place, and if you can, update links and bookmarks. Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow, 20071231, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow
Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow, 20071231, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
The Birds Stop Their Singing
The Birds Stop Their Singing, 20071230, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darling
My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darling, 20071229, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Art Review : Chris Ashley: I Made This For You
I Made This For You reviewed by Timothy Buckwalter for KQED Arts & Culture: Art Review : Chris Ashley: I Made This For You I'm gonna say this right off, and then we can move on. Chris Ashley has created the grooviest advent calendar. Ever. At some point that idea will hit you as you are wander through I Made This For You, Ashley's current online show at Marjorie Wood Gallery. I'm sure there is some element of intent at work here; Ashley's daily drawings are laid out in pop-up windows that represent the days of December. When the calendar realization first hit me I lost interest in the work for a bit. It all seemed so hokey, and kinda hoary, but only for a brief while. Soon the serious joy that is the exhibition quickly lit back up. And serious joy it is, in a hard edge sort of way. Read the rest......
While Jesus is Bleeding
While Jesus is Bleeding, 20071228, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
With Nothing to Sell
With Nothing to Sell, 20071227, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Dwell in That Shack
Dwell in That Shack, 20071226, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Where Happiness Never Ends
Where Happiness Never Ends, 20071225, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Up This Hill and Down
Up This Hill and Down, 20071224, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Sang in True
Sang in True, 20071223, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
The Fire is Burning (Happy Birthday Ann)
The Fire is Burning (Happy Birthday Ann), 20071222, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Set Your Fields on Fire
Set Your Fields on Fire, 20071221, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Small Praying Band
Small Praying Band, 20071220, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Where the Birds Are Still Singing
Where the Birds Are Still Singing, 20071219, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
No Pomp or Style
No Pomp or Style, 20071218, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
How Much I Yearn
How Much I Yearn, 20071217, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
How They Linger
How They Linger, 20071216, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Filled With Green
Filled With Green, 20071215, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Noise of Wings
Noise of Wings, 20071214, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Jack O'Diamonds
Jack O'Diamonds, 20071213, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Eyes of My Mind
Eyes of My Mind, 20071212, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Dew Drops On The Ground
Dew Drops On The Ground, 20071211, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
On The Other Shore
On The Other Shore, 20071210, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Just Before Dawn
Just Before Dawn, 20071209, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Meet Them in Heaven
Meet Them in Heaven, 20071208, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Never Go Back Home
Never Go Back Home, 20071207, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
Get Up Rounder
Get Up Rounder, 20071206, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Rough and Rocky
Rough and Rocky, 20071205, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
My Burning Cheek
My Burning Cheek, 20071204, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
The Master's Bouquet
The Master's Bouquet, 20071203, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
"B I T M A P: as good as new" catalog
Figure, Head, Rock, Tree, 2007, 30 inkjet prints, 55 x 51 inches (installation view, B I T M A P: as good as new @ vertexList (Nov 24th 2007 ? Feb 03th 2008) An online catalog of this exhibition can be viewed on the vertexList site or downloaded as a PDF....
But Not Forgotten
But Not Forgotten, 20071202, HTML, 230 x 310 pixels...
Tempted and Tried
Tempted and Tried, 20071201, HTML, 310 x 230 pixels...
"I Made This For You"
The MARJORIE WOOD GALLERY ANNOUNCES THE OPENING OF AN ONLINE EXHIBITION OF HTML DRAWINGS BY CHRIS ASHLEY "I Made This For You" by Chris Ashley on view, online only, now through January 31, 2008 at THE MARJORIE WOOD GALLERY... http://www.marjoriewoodgallery.com/exhibitions/ashley The Marjorie Wood Gallery is pleased to present San Francisco Bay Area artist Chris Ashley's "I Made This For You." Chris Ashley uses HTML to make colored tables that are rendered as images by a web browser. He calls these "drawings," which he has made and posted daily on his blog. Although the images he makes are typically "abstract" they often reference and allude to the real world. He tries daily to make something that is beautiful, that is pictorially interesting, and that responds to or embodies an idea or subject. Each day during December he will make one HTML drawing that will be posted online at the Marjorie Wood Gallery Website, where they will accumulate during the month. The completed set of drawings will be exhibited through the end of January. The exhibition is accompanied by an essay, "Painting on Water," by Oakland artist George Lawson. FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Marjorie Wood (415) 641-4967 The MARJORIE WOOD GALLERY is devoted to promoting innovation and experimentation in the visual and literary arts. Commissioned projects by emerging and mid-career artists and writers are available to view at: http://www.marjoriewoodgallery.com...
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Untitled, 20071130, HTML, 350 x 290 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071123, HTML, 350 x 290 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071121, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071120, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071119, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071118, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071117, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071116, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071115, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071114, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071113, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
"B I T M A P: as good as new"
Announcing Blip Festival and "B I T M A P: as good as new" VertexList space and Blip Festival have the pleasure to present "B I T M A P: as good as new" a group exhibition celebrating the history of the digital image, the aesthetics of early computing and early video-game consoles. Expect pixels, old monitors and 8 bit sounds!"B I T M A P: as good as new" is proud to feature: Chris Ashley, Mike Beradino, Mauro Ceolin, Petra Cortright, Paul Davis, DELAWARE, Notendo (Jeff Donaldson), Eteam, Dragan Espenschied, Christine Gedeon, Kimberly Hart, Daniel Iglesia, JODI,Olia Lialina, LoVid, Kristin Lucas, David Mauro, Jillian Mcdonald, Tom Moody, Aron Namenwirth, Mark Napier, Nullsleep, Marisa Olson, Will Papenheimer, Prize Budget for Boys, Jim Punk, Akiko Sakaizumi, Paul Slocum, Eddo Stern and CJ Yeh.A reception will take place at vertexList on Saturday, November 24th 2007 from 7pm - 10pm.The exhibition will be on display until Sunday, February 3rd, 2008. Live 8 BIT music performance @ the opening reception, 8.30pm. VertexList gallery hours are Friday, Saturday, Sunday 1pm -6 pm, or by appointment. We are located between Graham and Manhattan Avenues onBayard St. For more info please visit our website www.vertexlist.net or call 646 258 3792About Blip: The Blip Festival is a four-day international cultural event taking place in New York City this November into December, focusing on the 8-bit scene - musicians and artists who use low-bit videogame and computer hardware as their creative tools. The festival is the widest-reaching event in the history of the form, boasting a roster of over 40 international artists performing and exhibiting from places as diverse as Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Argentina, and across the United States....
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Untitled, 20071112, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071111, HTML, 230 x 340 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071110, HTML, 160 x 440 pixels...
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Untitled, 20071109, HTML, 160 x 440 pixels...
Steven LaRose’s Otherworldliness
The following essay was written for the exhibition catalog for: Steven LaRose: Portraits or Landscapes from the Uncanny Mist November 10 - December 22, 2007 Kristi Engle Gallery 5002 York Blvd. Highland Park, CA 90042 Opening Reception: November 10, 2007, 6:00 - 9:00 pm ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Steven LaRose’s Otherworldliness Well into Kevin Costner’s underrated film Waterworld, there is a moment when the camera views “the Mariner” about three-quarters from the rear and we catch a glimpse of a gill behind his ear. It’s an unexpected, even shocking moment—although it makes sense that a future water-covered earth resulting from melted polar ice caps would require the evolution of gills, it’s jarring because it’s an otherworldly way of being that exists “outside of or not in accordance with nature as we know it— nonnatural, preternatural, transcendental[1].” Because of his gills, the Mariner can dive to the remains of previous civilizations at the ocean’s bottom to retrieve objects or artifacts valued as treasure. Looking at Steven LaRose’s new paintings, I think of the Mariner’s gills, the kind of world he lives in, and his activities. Context Over the past year or so I have witnessed the development of LaRose’s current crop of paintings via virtual studio visits. Generally, he reports progress on his blog[2] with images and writing elaborated in discussion with a community of fairly regular visitors, while finished work is captured and sorted in Flickr [3]. Anyone can look, although clearly, seeing paintings on a monitor is no substitute for the actual thing. Still, peering over the artist’s shoulder, even edited and in pixels, is a privilege few people experienced in the past. It has been fascinating to follow the ups and downs and back and forth from my ringside seat. Having watched LaRose’s (heroic) struggle with the many paths his work took until he wrangled them into a more focused, though certainly not myopic, direction, I think of how he has entwined several components into a combination that is integrated and strong. Three components in this recent work I want to discuss are subject matter (the otherworldly), material (the properties of colored liquid), and viewer experience (the sublime). Otherworldly From the first moment I finally relaxed enough to successfully snorkel I was immediately enthralled and terrified. I knew that I had entered a hostile and indifferent world in which I am a complete foreigner, but that I could carefully visit and observe. For years I have known: I am no Mariner. Floating face down on the surface of the ocean, one sees tremendous beauty, but in colder and deeper waters, particularly, the sights are almost monstrous and vaguely repelling, or compellingly otherworldly. LaRose’s images ooze a sense of otherworldliness. His images depict some other form of life from an environment foreign to me. The scale is weird and indefinable, and we can’t really know how large something is: near or far, microscopic or gigantic? What kind of space is depicted: shallow or deep? Are two depicted objects supposedly different sizes or instead positioned closer to and further from the plane upon which they’re painted? Despite all of my looking I can’t know with certainty where I am in relation to the images, and, in fact, I don’t even know if I’m in the same world. I’m a visitor. Numerous ambiguities let me look at these images in several ways. The two shapes in Beautiful Miasma might be ocean life, microbial life, or extraterrestrial life—are they parent and child, or prey and predator? 05-26-07-b is simultaneously a Jurassic Cyclops skull, a setting sun over a megalithic formation, and an egg or eyeball in a bell jar. 05-22-07-c is a snail and a cauliflower, a dendrite and a nebula, and antennae and an explosion. Is this nature or fabrication, history or fantasy, science or monstrosity? Although “outside of accordance with nature,” I take some consolation in knowing that it’s all simply paint on a flat surface, but only a little consolation—because everything I see is unnamable and uncertain I am filled with the inner struggle, even anxiety, of approach-avoidance, fascination and revulsion, and a deeply engaged ambivalence. And I like that, in a creepy, familiar sort of way. Liquid The story goes that God made a form and blew life into it, resulting in Adam. But that’snot necessarily a useful model for the artist: He made the form that He imagined to receive the life that He had planned for it, whereas the artist struggles to find a form into which he desperately hopes to be able to breathe some life. The former is perfectly conceptualized execution, while the latter is chaotic trial and error. The artist finds ways to realize form and life, though the route may be indirect and unexpected, delayed and unknown. Many of LaRose’s recent images are made by blowing on the paint though a straw, or with a compressor or hairdryer; by pushing the paint with objects; and by tilting the horizontal support. The thought of blowing paint brings Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin's The Soap Bubble, ca. 1734[4], to mind, but rather than blowing a perfect sphere, LaRose’s blown shapes resemble burst bubbles and splattered liquid. Yet I don't see accident and disorder; but instead composed images of colored liquid deliberately shepherded into complex layers of skittering lines and choreographed shapes like explosive floral fireworks. Pushing colored liquid around a horizontal surface with a straw is a risky business for an adult attempting to make serious images. It’s related to Surrealist techniques: coulage, frottage, grattage, heatage [5]. It’s also a grade school thing, akin to scratching lines through black ink to uncover the brilliant waxy crayon field below. Is this a way of suppressing expected art skills, or developing new or unexpected skills? For LaRose, whose drawing and painting skills are extremely impressive, to blow paint is to avoid an expected dexterity of the hand, while employing other extremely sensitive parts of the painter’s body—mouth, tongue, throat, lungs—areas that are soft, delicate, vulnerable, hidden. Sublime Edmund Burke's idea of the beautiful and the sublime, published in 1757[6], is that the “Beautiful…is what is well-formed and aesthetically pleasing, whereas the Sublime is what has the power to compel and destroy us [7].” In Tracey Bashkoff’s excellent introduction to the catalog On the Sublime[8] she quotes Burke, noting that beauty is “that quality or those qualities in bodies by which they cause love, or some passion similar to it” and the sublime is founded on “whatever is qualified to cause terror.” She notes that in comparing sublimity and beauty, Burke concludes that &ldquo ...
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