Really Big Nobori... (for me anyways).

Well... just a short time since the last post but I have kept busy. This is a set I was working on that got postponed so I decided to move them forward anyways. This set of three is based on Ginkakuji temple in Kyoto not far from The Philosopher's Trail. The previous sets I worked on in the past are a bit smaller. These measure seven feet tall and two feet wide. And to switch it up a bit I have decided to move back to the trees for this one.

Also a bit different in the set is the use of multiple spacial planes as seen in the pic above. From some deep perspective to grounds that meld back into space to plane old flat. My brain had almost melted trying to remember how to work that trick. It just sort of happened that these in particular worked out that way. Also with these, unfortunately you can not see the text in these pics, each one contains a text of a Zen koan. Sorry but by the time I thought of documenting these they were twelve feet up in the air.

I do believe I will work more with the printed koans on the next project. The sense of serenity they can bring the brain is truly amazing. During the third week of June I will get this set out in the public realm. It is going to take a bit of time to figure out where these will live for a bit of time. I am considering a beach side location as there are plenty of those around here. I have started to consider expanding out into Boston or Cambridge. I think I will be saving that as I am really enjoying locally. Ideally I would love to get them over seas but have not yet figured out how that would work yet.

The lanterns from the previous post will also be out in the third week of June. Almost have it figured out.

Post it soon.

Len

Nuclear Power and Printed Lanterns

Greetings again! The past few months have been busy with projects going out into the world. At the moment there is now some down time and i have started a few new projects. Such as the pic above. These are fashioned after Japanese candle lit lanterns. The scenes are from photos of Kiyomizu-dera and Ryoanji temples in Kyoto. The grounds there are amazing and very contemplative.

So why the title for this post this time? I have been interested in and fearful of nuclear power and weapons since the days of Ronald Reagan. How he did not manage to get us into some nuclear disaster is beyond my imagination. But I will move on. After the disaster in Fukushima last year my interest was rekindled. For some time I have been trying to figure out how to fit it into the art work. These lanterns were intended as a short term project but the notion to fit in my disdain with nuclear power just fell into place. Inside each of these lanterns is a scroll, currently in production, which contains facts on nuclear power. In particular, facts on spent fuel rods.

So why impose nuclear facts onto such peaceful imagery from a land charged with a history with nuclear issues? The idea of these places never being able to be accessed again should a nuclear disaster happen again came to mind. Of course Hiroshima and Nagasaki come to mind. And at the same time what could stop it from happening here. It seems our neighbors to the slight north west in Vermont were working to have a license for one of the reactors there not be renewed. Imagine not being able to return to your home because of a mistake or natural disaster damages the plant. It is not far fetched.

A nice detail shot! Here in the U.S. we store the spent fuel rods. Basically uranium or plutonium pellets are placed in the rods. These rods are the basic fuel that powers a nuclear plant. These plants are generally giant steam engines. Each rod has a shelf life of six years. This is where it gets creepier. When they are no longer viable as fuel they need to be cooled. They are so hot that they must be stored in a pool of water for quite a number of years before they are cool enough to be placed in a concrete container. Think about it. Something stays that long and radioactive for that amount of time. Over my years on this planet I have read numerous articles and heard many of our fair leaders tout nuclear energy as green. How the hell is the byproduct of this type of energy clean? It contaminates ground water, soil and makes whole areas uninhabitable.

A fine bamboo forest above! My goal is to print up one hundred of these to go out into the world. The fact scrolls are currently in production. Thirty of the lanterns are complete. I do like the idea of these delicate little things dealing with something of something with such brute force. I hope to complete them by August 1. I am willing to send a handful out to people who are willing to light them up in different locations on the same day. Nuclear power is something that has been overlooked for a long time now. Even if these get a few people to raise their eyebrows or learn a bit more about the actual facts of nuclear power I will be happy.

So I must go now. I will post further details about getting these out to folks in the next week or two. I also have another nobori set of three in the works. Perhaps I will post those next week.

And now for something a little different....

The above photo is from the newest set I have been working on. These were made for The "Artifact, Archive, Orchard," project at the Peabody Historical Society at Brooksby Farm. My fine employers, Montserrat College of Art also took part with the help of Sarah Smith presenting some work shops previous to last night. Book arts, poetry and art collided here for a few days to look at the history of Brooksby Farm in particular. Thanks to Colleen Michaels and all for considering me to produces these banners.

This was an interesting challenge for me and an interesting experiment. One, because of the volume of work needed to fill the space. I ended up with a total of 16 banners being installed. Usually the sets are about half of that. Secondly, these are of American history and I have never in my life delved down that lane to make art. None the less, as I started this project, I found myself very involved in it trying to figure out what exactly to do with this subject.

At first, I thought I should represent everything very literally. You know, straight forward landscapes and the like. After a couple of days with that experiment I threw that idea out the door. Silly man! I chose to work similiar to past projects and piece them together stencil by stencil. Very time consuming but much better. It is like solving a puzzle without knowing what the finished puzzle should look like.

Everyone last night at the reception/ reading was very gracious. I even got to bumble my way through a few words in front of everyone. Ted Pattison, a conservator at Harvard College, presented a lecture on books from the 1800's which I found myself wrapped up in.  So with the end of the evening, I decided to leave this set with the Historical Society as they seemed to have found a good home there.

Good day all.

1 project = 4 months and some thoughts on one year later!

Well now... it has just come to the attention of my brain that I have spent the bulk of the last 5 months working on the repeatedly posted 8 nobori flags. Never in my years on this planet would I have thought I had the attention span to do that. I suppose that makes all well in the land of Velvet Pelican Projects. This past week I was lucky enough to install the at Endicott College as part of the Art in Odd Places project hosted there. See below.

Fortunately none of the other participants had chosen the bridge across the pond. I had originally planned to dig several holes on the campus and plant them. When I drove up I realized the bridge had to be claimed. The idea of using a common passage had not occurred to me. One of the first ideas for this project was to have them meld into a more serene grounding. Then the idea hit me like a brick. So what if they are not as per the first intention? What if the go in a common area. Louis Sullivan did this with his architecture. The melding of organic forms with populated areas. And it makes sense. The return to an easier more calm existence in hurried times.... love it.

This was a very pleasant experience. It was interesting to hear the many people who passed by and talked for a few minutes. All of them enjoyed the notion of having them there and were happy to see them. As I usually exist within my tiny bubble of the art world, it was interesting to hear from others outside of that bubble and hear their thoughts. I think Velvet Pelican Projects will continue along these lines putting more art out into the world. When one exists so much in there own existence it is good to leave that bubble and explore.

I also must thank my young and reluctant helper, my kid, Lucien Camus. He came along after much pushing him out the door. He worked with me for and hour installing them and actually seemed to enjoy it. It is funny. This project brought many thoughts to mind. A year ago I returned to producing art on a regular basis. Starting out with the idea of bringing Velvet Pelican from under the bog, helping open the Blue Think Box and the many days of the week that I get to work in there. Hey! A pretty good life.

I now feel as though I am running out of words. Up for next week is a 19 flag set going up at Brooksby Farm for a poetry festival next week. Posting late next week. Later!

The Set of 8 and a New Set of 3

Greetings all. The ground has thawed enough to plant the 8 nobori I have worked on over the past two months. I've posted them as smaller sets previously but they are intended to be in a larger group. Originally there was to be 12 but the new set varies too greatly to keep them cohesive. Here is a pic of them planted.

This does give you a very good idea of what they are like in person. I think this gives the actual experience of seeing rows of these in Japan. Once again I can't get past my various experinces over there. It is interesting that in a smaller set they do fine but in larger groups they are much more impressive. The idea and applications of the multitude often pay off. The other goal was to make these to work with the natural areas I would like for them to be seen in. I'm not after irony. Images of cityscapes or coffee cups or people would not have the same effect. Much in the way Louis Sullivan treated his architecture. Melding the synthetic with the organic.

This is the new set. Smaller then the previous 8 but heading down a slightly different path. Mostly back to black so to speak. Also more of a handle on the atmospheric perspective. I believe that I do enjoy working with more soarse elements to create the compositions. Still landscape in nature and playing twith the nobori concept, I am very excited with these. Yes, there are a few owls placed in them. It seemed like a goofy idea at first but I guess you could say inspiration hit. A few years back I would probably have thrown them in the trash. I guess getting a bit older does that. Just as well I think I will be investing more time with these.

And again I find myself trying to figure out what to do with them. I don't want to just land them in public and I do at the same time. Perhaps it is time to start exploring some realistic ideas. The previous strung up flags were easy with trees. But digging up holes in the ground can get people a bit angry and me into trouble without the right to do as such.  Hmmmm, seems some homework is in order.

February 21.... Nobori

Well now, it has been a month since the last entry. Over this time I found the proper name for these new sorts banner/ flags I see about in Japan. They are called nobori. One can find them everywhere from coffee shops and restaurants to temples. They have a long standing history. Silly me, I should have thought to have done some homework. Anyhow here is another set to gaze upon. This is another set of four like the previous entry. A bit different though is the introduction of...... (everybody "WOOO" now) color.

 Please pardon the slightly crooked line of the set up. After all, the ground is pretty damned hard at this time of the year. This is the second set of three that I wish to have in the complete set. Another set of four is just getting started. This set is much more in the landscape fashion. I am also keeping the idea of atmospheric perspective handy. These are not actual space but more impressions of being somewhere where our contemporary rush does not catch up with us.

I am not too sure where or what I am going to do with a set of twelve of these or where to even install them. I am getting a good amount of work established. I am playing with the idea of perhaps, submitting them for some shows. I'm a bit out of that loop at the moment so I guess some homework is in order. Ideally, I would like to keep them outside and see what becomes of them.

 I must say... with the elections coming up and all of these polls and icky things popping up all over as usual, I have been becoming more of the world again in terms of politics and governace and I come up lacking. Annoyed at best. I have been considering jumping back into the realms of politics and art. But I must say that I am very hesitant. I have been looking back at my brief history on this planet and I have come to see the same cycle happenning over and over again. We seem to have not been able to move forth in our way of thinking, I mean some sort of giant leap like during the industrial revolution. I guess I am looking for something BIG.

But with the little difference I see since I was in high school I think I rather be more forward looking. To keep making the kind of art where people will see it and have a brief change of moment in their day. A glimpse of something else rather then the daily grind of our elected leaders uselessness and apathy. Perhaps some political art down the line but for now this seems to be the right track. I must go make breakfast now.

Sanjusangendo Pieces Finished for Outside....

VERY EXCITING. After not a very long time, but long enough for me, these four pieces are finished. And let me tell you the ground out there is really solid and cold. None the less, these are my favorite pieces I have made since last May.

Again, I really considered about pretty landscapes and if that is what I wanted to make. I never thought I'd see that day but here they are. I guess I have come to terms with the idea that not everything has to be groundbreaking. Going back to more traditional forms of visually communicating have paid off. The act of pulling something out of the past and updating it. In terms of execution, yes. Silkscreen is the choice of method. Processing it through digital imaging, again yes. Posting it on the web again... contemporary. Using the idea of asian vanishing perspective and the long scroll like format in combination with contemporary tools is something I am becoming far more excited about.

I guess mining the grounds of the way past is a good way to revive your own eyes and thoughts. Sort of going super retro. In terms, art need not always be groundbreaking or trend setting. each piece takes on its' own life though the decisions made about its' execution. Years ago I would not eve have considered creating something of this sort. But after the Fu Baoshi experience things just kind of took off. Much of his work was created during the early tenure of the Chinese communist government. Many of his pieces were based on the poems of Mao. Again, another example of using traditional formats with contemporary ideas.

I will be producing another few sets in this fashion. I do think there should be more in the sets though. And on another note, I will be working with my collaborator over the next few weeks to produce sets of translations of zen koans. this will take a bit so please bear some patience. They will have a pretty large run and will be available for the consumption of the masses.

Also now that I am building up a pretty good stock of work I will start getting them out to the public shortly. The difference now is that I would like to keep the sets intact. I'm not sure of how this is going to work but I will fill all in on this in the near future.

BYE!