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3/2/03:

Notes from the fragile monument

So I'm feeling quite good (and exhausted) about the little bar-centred art opening last night. I did get a few slightly derisive comments on the ersatz "Office Depot aesthetic" - namely, unmatted photos hung with binder clips and push-pins. Unfortunately no one really appreciate that lightly hammering plastic push-pins into a plaster firewall with a staircase on the other side makes the preperatory work all lot less of a cop out than it looks. Renae and I had the particular challenge of trying to get the photos to hang a good two or three inches from the wall so as to de-emphasize the splattery orange sponge painting behind it. The original hook-and-wire idea failed, hanging the clips on long finishing nails became a comparatively more precious Home Depot aesthetic, framing was out of the question for my dirt poor ass, so the robbing-the-cubicle strategy stood. I've seen this done many times in real galleries to great effect, but I guess if one is overcoming the slight deprecation of hanging work in a bar, clips are just more steps back. Doesn't matter - it did well as the photos -and-new-bands-party it ws intended to be.

The music was way better than anticipated. The Prehistorics (unfortunately sans web site) rocked. derek's new band had a powerful Talking Head's-ish first start (and this band doesn't even have a friggin' name, let alone a web site) and the surprise set from legendary Chicago buskers Twang Bang was a brilliant bit of generosity. Having only been around them taking their show to the Critical Mass Rides, performing in a pedal-powered Santa sleigh, it was nice this time to actually hear them and their wacked-out wordsmithery ("Got a nineteen-sixty-eight cadillac
And I'm drivin' drivin' drivin' like a maniac/
Under-aged girlfriend sittin' in the back/ And I'm drivin' drivin' drivin' like a maniac"). Paul and Sam of the always awesome Haypenny zine took a drive through shitty Michigan to be there. I also got to shake hands with the quite talented Ms Zulkey which I add only for a little blog-related name dropping.

So yeah, you should've been there. The only next best thing I can do is hope to get a little virtual gallery of everything in the show up on Betacorpo.net this week. I really think there's some interesting interplay between my irreverent signs and Renae's ancient Greece and all its valndalisms, so it'll be worth a look. But this week also includes leaving for Brazil, so obviously my priorities and promises have gotta stay a bit in check.

Bonus: I learned about Freedom Fries last night. Somehow I missed the headlines on that one. Freakin' wierd!

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posted by jeremy @ 1:45 AM