HONESTLY, 2011

HONESTLY, 2011
smile 
http://youtu.be/SfqIBlLqTdU

'HONESTLY' is a seemingly simple project using a Smile as medium. At many points of the video the viewer could pause the piece and display a moment of absolute truth of a positive emotion. Play the video back in real time and that changes. The shapes of the smile shift during the extended hold. The low-resolution and ghoulish florescent lighting create strange, disconcertingly shapes in the corners of the mouth. The smile loses authenticity. Smiles are supposed to be markers of happiness. They are also employed as tools of happiness. Numerous psychological journals have mentioned that one could feel happier if they just forced themselves to smile their way out of a negative discourse. As the subject's smile morphs over the course of the video the viewer is painfully aware that this smile may not be an indicator or tool of a pleasant experience.

Because the video includes the audio stimuli the subject is subjected to over the extended period the viewer begins to share a similar, but not exact, experience. Is the viewer now projecting their own critique on the artwork? Or is the subject projecting her own views through the artwork despite the audience's experience or artist's intent? Because the subject and the artist are the same person this paradox is answered simple with Yes. D.) All of the Above. This pop song is objectively terrible, this is not a pleasant experience and this is indeed a very simple project with limited interpretation.


There are three videos in this series, all equally irreverent:
1.) http://youtu.be/SfqIBlLqTdU
2.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXd_ZOsL9CQ
3.) http://youtu.be/3zkyZ9JHEWM

Digitally Manipulated Breakfast Composition As Political Statement, 2013

Digitally Manipulated Breakfast Composition As Political Statement, 2013
performance

This piece has been created so recently that if you cannot figure out the context you should give up on the internet for a while. The artwork was validated by peer review and published on The Jogging.

Miss Who, 2009

Miss Who, 2009

modified game board

'Miss Who' is a modified version of the popular board game "Guess Who." The mystery people of the game have all been replaced with a catalog of women from the 1982 Miss Georgia Pageant. All of the contestants look strikingly similar and it derails the game mechanics.

The classic version is a game of elimination where you ask your opponent 'yes' or 'no' questions to narrow down the flock enough to correctly identify your opponent's 'mystery person.' In 'Miss Who' the questions have to become subjective:  Is your girl a virgin? ⋅ Did your girl get her braces off before middle school? ⋅ Is she always the victim? ⋅ Is your girl a cat person? ⋅ Does your girl wear contact lenses? ⋅ Did she forget to mention 'world peace' during the pageant?

For its fusion of high and low art it has been awarded the highest honor, The Allee Willis Certifikitsch of Authenkitschity!

Pet Pop Pair, 2009

Pet Pop Pair, 2009

NetArt

'Pet Pop Pair' began as seven day show named 'Curating an Art Show' (2008) presented in the ephemeral (and much forgotten) format of MySpace bulletin. To refresh your memory-- MySpace bulletins were internet posts locked to friends list and displayed only ten days.

I streamed ten online pet videos to ten melodramatic songs by band Magnetic Fields. Funny pet videos projected and extracted deep sentimentality from the music of Stephen Merrit in a critical take on the very overwhelming crisis of intentional irony among art circles.

Revisiting the process a year later once the YoutubeDoubler mashup tool surface the statement shifted. The video streaming the songs was now visible simultaneously with the pet video (as before it was just audio). Heavy symbolism, allegory, metaphor and hyperbole of The Official Musiv Video marked itself unfitting next to the cute animals. Viewer attention is split. The conflict brought too much focus on the primary media of the Official Music Video-- the pop music.

Dually the subtext drawn by the lyrics juxtaposed with pet videos became more visceral and appropirate than the intentional subtext given by the Official Music Video directors.

The remaining explorations have been linked below. Keeping with the original spirit of  'Curating an Art Show'  I will not attempt to fix or recreate broken links as videos are removed and source material has copyright claims against it. Deletion and change are inevitable parts of online culture, and soon, like all good things, the only thing that will remain are the screencaps.

"I Always Thought I'd Be A Mom"

feat. No Doubt circa 2000

(04:16 feels like 00:13)

~LINK

"Pay My Auto-mo-Bills"

feat. Destiny's Child circa 1999

(04:03 feels like 00:12)

~LINK

"I Need to Feel Your Touch"

feat. Cake circa 1998

(02:44 feels like 02:35)

~LINK

"I Still Feel You Like I'm Right      Beside You"

feat. The Backstreet Boys circa 2005

(03:45 feels like 00:11)

~LINK

"Stinking, Stinking Without You"

feat. The Cranberries circa 1996

(04:27 feels like 01:38)

~LINK

"Don't You Put Me Down In Front of My Children!"

feat. Lindsay Lohan circa 2005

(03:59 feels like 02:50)

~LINK

"That Girl's Got Expensive Taste"

feat. Offspring circa 1999

(03:12 feels like a lifetime)

~LINK

Maven Dooshe, 2007 (ongoing)

Maven Dooshe, 2007 (ongoing)

performance

Maven Dooshe is a fictional, but active, band created by artist Kevin Strickland (http://kevinstrickland.com). Two band member roles, Maven and Dooshe, were filled by artists Mooshe Nickerson and Dave Valeza for the band's premiere live performance: an album release double-booked at the same time and place as the opening reception for Strickland's MFA thesis 'Zero Heros' (2007).

The album consisted of field recordings and chatter from discarded cassette tapes mixed over-top Internet sounds including low-view YouTube videos, AT&T voice-generation software and simple keyboard melodies. The album was violently promoted in the weeks prior to the show via online video podcasts that took visual cues from propaganda and social media cliches (including online slideshow generation websites). Band members kept silent on artist statement and intention to increase expectations.

Despite these methods of hype the band's album was never played at its release party. A collection of cassettes from popular 80s musicians were played in its place. Few attendees purchased the album as it was exclusively released on cassette. In place of music sales the band sold 'merch' including trapper keepers, stickers and clear plastic back packs-- leftover media from earlier art projects by Stirckland.

The resulting hullabaloo of dancing, shouting and purchasing reinforced the themes present but understated in Strickland's featured paintings. 'Zero Heros'  is a series of oil paintings of trading cards with all identifying imagery and text removed. The subtle white canvases portray the worthlessness of cards to a public outside of collectors and enthusiasts.

The Maven Dooshe project continues as a collaborative. Current contributions focus on pure appropriation of sound with little editing or musical additions.

If you would like to join the project, we encourage you to perform under the name Maven Dooshe at your local karaoke night. Karaoke is the most widely available "IRL" forum for stolen and misused music. It spreads the band's Artist Statement, the opportunity to listen again.

For more information please consult the Internet.

http://myspace/mavendooshe

https://soundcloud.com/mavendooshe

Pimp My Minimalist, 2007 (ongoing)

Pimp My Minimalist, 2007 (ongoing)
NetArt


A question was proposed to a Facebook community: "Why there always be a bro so offended by minimalist art that he rejects the lesson behind it?"

a.) Because bros are used to looking at beer labels which reject minimalism and are packed with directed imagery and typography

b.) Maybe it's because they come to class stoned and eat smelly potato chips loudly and need validation for this minimal lifestyle

c.) Bros like everything pimp.


So began the movement to "update" and "improve" great mininimalist art for the current generation that likes thigns fast, accessible and glittery. 'Pimp My Minimalist' is a collaborative project using the Blingee.com website as its exclusive tool to add computerized glitter to minimalism in the form of animated .GIFs

The archive of Bling-Minimalism has been moved from Facebook to Tumblr in the always fleeting flight of most popular forum for internet discourse.

http://PimpMyMinimalist.Tumblr.com
Submissions continue to be accepted.

Runaway Train, 2007

Runaway Train, 2007
NetArt
http://youtu.be/P-W1NJDkDHo

Choreography and timing are not lost when the original 70s funk track is replaced with alternative rock ballad "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum. The perfectly synced dance moves create humor and deeper context not originally present in the dance routine. It highlights the repetition and conventions of  popular songwriting structure across all music genre, and reminds the viewer that trends are temporary and styled for the "in" audience and will one day too become dated.

This simple video has morphed into a ongoing fight for Fair Use on the internet. Every 9-12 months the music of this video is silenced when YouTube claims copyright violation. It may not have been the original intention, but the short video so strongly conveys song writing conventions and montage theory that it is a powerful teaching tool, and protected under Fair Use.