That Place on Grand, Chariton, Iowa

The Death of Books is now featured at That Place on Grand in Chariton, Iowa, located at 118 North Grand. This is an eclectic store that offers antiques, consignment items, new products, and gently used articles.

I am happy to be able to display this body of conceptual art in part of the store's main display windows - giant glass panes at street level of this old brick building built in 1894 for the Knights of Pythias Lodge. It's a great location on the east side of the square at the foot of the Lucas County courthouse. 

These are the very last pieces of the conceptual book art that was originally displayed at the Des Moines Arts Festival in 2012, and again at Greater Des Moines Exhibited at the Polk County Heritage Gallery in 2013, where I received a Special Mention. If you have seen this work before and passed up the opportunity to purchase one for your own library, don't miss your chance now to own a truly one-of-a-kind piece of art.

I love books. I love to read them. I love to hold them.   
I confess … I am a book sniffer.

This body of work represents my sadness for

the fact that we don’t open dictionaries anymore. Spell check has made the entire next generation practically incapable of spelling. Word programs on our computers not only flag a word for being spelled incorrectly, it will correct it for us. Our smart phones automatically anticipate the word we might be starting to type, and then will finish spelling it for us.

Dictionaries once held a position of power and authority in the library. Usually the largest book in the building, it was sometimes grandly displayed on an oak podium. I wanted to create artwork that would illustrate the fact that we never open these great old books anymore. These were once our doorways to knowledge – we opened a book to find answers. Not just dictionaries, but encyclopedias and many other reference books.

Now, with e-readers, even printed fiction books are in danger. It was just in 2011 that Amazon.com announced that they sell more e-books than they do paper books. 2010 was the last year that Encyclopedia Brittanica printed their beautifully bound sets for your library shelves. We just no longer open paper books as much as we once did – for pleasure or for research. 

I have collected many antique dictionaries over the years, and I actually use them. I like to see how the definition of a word has changed over one hundred years. I knew I had a duplicate of a 1949 Webster’s, so The Death of Books began with one of those copies. I attached antique doorknobs to the book in a way so that they no longer turned, to show that we don’t open these old books anymore. After I did that, I decided that it simply wasn’t tragic enough – it wasn’t traumatic enough to express how strongly I felt. So I decided the noble thing to do was to put this book out of its misery. I didn’t want this antique dictionary to die a death of neglect on the shelf, or worse yet, in a box somewhere getting dusty. I wanted to elevate it to the height of conceptual art in the hopes that someone else would put it out on their desk or their coffee table and have this discussion with someone else. So I shot it. I euthanized my antique dictionary to give it an honorable death.

This body of work includes many reference books, as well as several groupings of fiction. Each piece is completely one-of-a-kind. All of them have doorknobs that seal their fate. All of them have their own toe-tag hanging from a knob that details their name (book title), DOB (date of birth), DOD (date of death), Place of Death, and Cause of Death (homicide). Every piece is unique and includes an evidence bag that contains the round that went through that book, along with the brass casing found at the scene. Some of the books have the bullet in situ, or in position, trapped inside the book.

There are other issues at play in this conceptual art.

The Death of Books touches on the topic of the desensitization of violence in our culture, particularly of our children. It also skims the surface of the sociology and psychology of the community and how our families are affected by it. It reaches into our pasts, and makes us question our futures.

See The Death of Books at That Place on Grand, 118 N. Grand, Chariton, IA.

Aftermath - The DSM Arts Festival

Here are a few photos from the Des Moines Arts Festival. I had so much fun ... and so many questions to answer about this body of work.

Most people were really attracted to the bright colors and unusual arrangement. I was really lucky to be in an end spot, which allowed me a little bit of bonus space outside my 10'x10' allotment, but more importantly, it put me in a premium spot as the first booth on the right as patrons walked through a main entry to the festival streets.

I had some brown craft bags printed with the name of this project (you can see one in this picture), and I was happy to sell a few bags as people entered just as impulse items. Probably the cheapest thing to buy at the festival!

It was clear that many people just enjoyed seeing books - most of them old books, a few of them new books. It was a stretch for some people to accept and appreciate books as part of a body of conceptual art. Some were just simply horrified that I had violated perfectly good books with bullet holes.

In addition to books that have been shot, I also included a few Golden Books that are caught in old, rusty hunting traps - you can see Chicken Little in the foreground with the bright yellow cover. That book was actually a 1930s copy that was already falling apart, so I didn't feel too bad about letting it get caught in the jaws of a rusty trap, but still, it was really just as difficult to execute those pieces as the ones that I shot - pun fully intended.

A big conversation starter was another piece in the foreground - do you see the one with the black gas pipe drilled through a pile of askew books? That is my Book Club. Intended for home security - use it for self defense. I carried it around like a bat on my shoulder, but it is very heavy (about 15 pounds), so even though I play softball, I didn't swing it very often. Besides, there were too many people around to do that without causing fright. It worked just as well as a walking stick, and I encouraged people to hold it and think about the metaphor. Lots of laughs and interaction with that one. I would love to make a custom cabinet for it - like the wooden cabinets that used to be used for a fireman's axe. Now, we usually see a fire extinguisher in a metal box with a glass front. That display would be another homage to Ray Bradbury.

This piece is titled "Rorschach Test", and features two dictionary 
pages from the first section of a 1959 Webster's in the area that has the "new" words in it. Rorscach Test was one of the new words,along with others like "schizophrenia", "seabees", and an  entire collection of other post WWII era military terms.

I have used a bird's skull in the center as well as beaver jawbones in the four corners. The lead buttons are those that used to be used to match house window sashes with screens and storms - in the day when they were framed with wood. In the fall you removed the wood framed screens from your windows and replaced them with wood framed storm glass to keep the winter chill outside.

The antique glasses are yellow to match the yellow in the beaver teeth. I thought of using rose-colored glasses for the metaphor, but then it would not match the teeth, and I really wanted to keep the sepia-tone palette going throughout the whole piece. Non-glare plexiglas is used to complete the look of an archeological museum display in a cabinet, with the entire blue-framed piece appearing to float between the layers.

I was not able to get a really good shot of the actual shelving unit inside the booth - it was always surrounded with people in a very small space. However, I did take the above photo in our back yard that really highlights my husband's talents. We had several lengthy discussions about possible displays, and if time were no factor, we would have created an entire tree with books growing out of the branches.

What we made allowed us to include the use of doors as shelves, which helped tie together the whole analogy of "books as doorways" with the doorknobs on the books themselves. It was tricky for him to cut the individual logs so that the doors would sit relatively level on them, but he is a skilled perfectionist. I was fortunate to have the Queen Anne's Lace in bloom - I love this picture of the trees in the meadow.

Even the knob used to hold a bag was an antique cabinet knob.

It seemed throughout the festival that people who talked to me were genuinely interested in hearing about the idea behind The Death of Books. Most of these people were baby boomers, like myself. Lots of teachers - lots of librarians - lots of students.

One of my favorite parts of the booth was the yellow papered wall in the back with the giant red letters that spelled out "READ". I actually bought these letters from the North Side Library when they remodeled and upgraded their signage. It was my intent to have a house big enough to have a large library so I could install the LIBRARY letters on my wall. Didn't happen. I mean, it hasn't happened ... yet! I have downsized my thinking a little bit and now plan on using the word READ instead. Still don't have the house that it will fit, but I do have the letters.

So I covered the back wall with yellow paper and hung Sharpies from string in various spots with the hope that people would write their own comments. I wrote something on the paper as starter, but it took no time at all for the idea to bloom. I am going to just share some of those photos and let you enjoy them...

 

 

I have no idea what the foreign language comments are, but I choose to believe that they are positive notes from a fellow book lover. I originally just had paper installed above the silver bar (see photo below), but it was filling up fast and few could reach the area above the red letters, so on the second day I added more strips of yellow paper below the silver bar. After the shelves were taken apart and removed from the booth, I snapped this shot of my ten foot wide back wall. Now, I am thinking when I have a big enough house to have a large library, I will install these red letters on my wall, but I think I will include the yellow paper behind them. The messages are so personal and so profound, they give me a lump in my throat when I read them.

The Death of Books at the Des Moines Arts Festival

I am thrilled and humbled to be honored as one of the Emerging Iowa Artists selected for the 2012 show which opens in just a few days on June 22nd. This three day show consistently is voted into the top ten art festivals in the nation and sees about 250,000 people throughout the weekend. My booth is called The Death of Books, and for those of you have followed this blog, you saw the very first pieces posted in my blog from November of 2011. Most people just kind of look at me and nod politely when I try to describe this body of work. Most people also do not recognize immediately that those holes are bullet holes, but you can see the question in their eyes and the wrinkle in their forehead and you can almost hear the thought, "Is that what I think it is? I have never seen a bullet hole up close and personal, but what else could it be? Why is there bullet holes in the book? I get the doorknob idea - they no longer open, no one opens books for information anymore. Why bullet holes?"

I continue to explore the tragic fall of "real books". I am still saddened by the fact that some children are growing up and have no idea how to look up the spelling of a word in a paper dictionary. I am annoyed on a daily basis as I see fellow college students that not only can't spell, they don't even know how to use spell-check correctly. It is astonishing to me to see a word used incorrectly in a power point presentation. You know what I mean - someone didn't know how to spell a word, and as they typed it in, Word automatically suggests several words close to what it thinks they are trying to spell. The problem is, when the student doesn't recognize the correct word in the list (because they don't know how to spell it), I imagine they just pick the word at the top of the blue list. They have no idea if they are right or wrong, but they know they have selected something that Word suggested so they know it is spelled right. Unbelievable.

I love dictionaries. I love words. I always have and always will.

I have found some extraordinary books that I have used in the latest body of work being revealed this weekend. I have found some extraordinary doorknobs to pair with them.

Most of the books are dictionaries and other reference books. No one uses these anymore. With the ease and availability of the internet, people just point and click online - for everything.

When was the last time you opened a book that was more than one hundred years old? Have you ever done that? If you haven't, can you even imagine what that is like? A book of that age probably passed through five generations. A century. One hundred years.

My son found a small pocket-sized book in the basement of our house awhile ago. It was printed in 1856. That makes it older than the American Civil War (1861–1865). It was written to be used for flower and plant identification. I am sure it was the type of book a proper lady used. Small enough to be kept in a tiny handbag or tucked away on a bookshelf in the parlor. Apparently at some point, it was lost or forgotten. Dropped behind the piano. Stuck behind the back of the mantel. It is in pristine condition. We don't have it on a high shelf to be admired, although we are very careful with it. We use it. We read it. My eleven-year-old son has taken it outside into our 1.57 acre backyard and used this tiny little gem of a book to identify plants and flowers growing in a natural setting (which means we don't mow). It is an extraordinary book and we are honored to be the caretakers.

In preparing for the festival this weekend I have been amassing an arsenal of books and doorknobs. As the assembling process started, I found that I had a significant stumbling block. I came across a few books that I could not bring myself to either shoot or drill for doorknobs. I couldn't do it. I have decided that for the time being that they have won a "stay of execution". I am going to display some of these books at the art festival with lengths of gold cord wrapped around them - kind of like the pictures you see of Houdini before he submerges himself in that claustrophobic tank of water. I want people to appreciate the fact that for the time being, they have been saved. They are still being held captive, however, and I may decide to shoot them someday, but not today and definitely not tomorrow.

The last couple of years as a full time student with five majors has really been a challenge. I owe a big thank you to Kelly Friesleben, my academic advisor, who has never failed to encourage me in my somewhat radical approach to higher education. I keep telling every one who asks that these five majors are all related and they will work together for a greater good that has yet to be revealed to me. I feel peace on this path so I will stay the course. There are times that it has felt like being in a luge competition, and not only in your night class Dr. Kathy Petersen! Thank you for your mighty passion for psychology and thank you for your relentless pushing in the classroom. I am sure that sometimes it feels like shoving boulders uphill on a muddy slope, but I want you to know that your efforts have made a difference in my life, and they have influenced my art. Thank you Professor Guy Cunningham for incorporating your unique view of the world in your classroom, but more importantly, for challenging me to create my own. Your wit and intelligence has always been stimulating and sardonic - in a good way! Thank you Dr. Sheryl Leytham for your soft heart and your sharp brain. Both have helped me to have a little more empathy and a little more hope for the human race. The opportunity to re-examine recent art history was never made more exciting than it was in Rachel Schwaller's class - thank you for stirring up my disgust for Jeff Koons and my admiration for Andy Warhol! Your enthusiasm is contagious! Mary Jones, I did not think it was possible for me to love books any more - until I took your bookbinding class and fell in love all over again.  While it definitely made the pursuit of this body of work more painful and more difficult for me, it also made it much more meaningful. I hope that message comes through in this conceptual art. Thank you also, Mary, for taking the photographs I needed to meet the requirements of the application for the Des Moines Arts Festival - they were beautiful and professional and I am sure they were a big reason the jury accepted my work for the Emerging Iowa Artists category.

Last but not least, thank you Michael Lane! You were the first person after my husband to see the first dictionary with the first doorknobs and the first bullet hole. Your reaction was priceless and was the tipping point in my decision to go down this path. Not only did you tell me that I "absolutely needed to take" the bookbinding class, but you encouraged me by letting me know that this concept was really, really relevant. With you by my side I filled out the Iowa Arts Council mini-grant application (which I won!) asking for help with a custom display for this body of work as well as marketing pieces to be printed for the festival. I am just as excited about the custom display as I am about the books - it is the perfect metaphor to complement the books. I will take pictures at the festival and share them at a later date.

If you are in central Iowa and can join us at the Des Moines Arts Festival this weekend, please do. I am in booth #EIA12 in the southeast corner of the festival grounds.

TV Trays and Thrift Store Frames

What is the state of Contemporary Art?

Since we have talked all semester about the impact and influence the internet has had on art today, I simply googled that phrase. The third hit that comes up is a link to a Washington Post review by WP critic Blake Gopnik. He is decidedly unhappy with what he saw in three massive European shows.

The first pieces I will talk about are quite different, McCracken on the right and Davila on the left. Gopnik has this to say: Noting the juxtaposition betweem McCracken's work and Davila's, Post critic Blake Gopnik writes, Documenta "curators are equally committed, apparently, to a bevy of extra-sloppy, ugly-is-beautiful, sex-themed allegories."

I think this is a good start in showing where contemporary is today, and what critics are saying about it. Essentially, they are as lost as the up-and-coming artists are. I still stand by my opinion that when it comes to Post Modernism, anything goes. I don't think an artists has any limits - subject matter, material, installation, performance, electronic media - it is ALL SYSTEMS GO!!! If there are any artists today who feel constricted, then they are simply confused by their alternatives. It is because they have no boundaries that they are lost. They are still thinking like college students. They need an assignment with parameters. They are coming out of college and are just standing there with the deer-in-the-headlights look in their eyes going, "Okay, now what do I do?"

I was very happy with the class that I am writing this blog for - the teacher was particularly enthusiastic about Art History from 1960, and also clearly loved to instigate conflict. Her favorite comment: "Fascinating!" I am old enough that I still think of Spock when I hear that word used singularly, but she is far younger than me, so I am pretty sure she does not have the same connection to that word as I do. (A plastic Spock, just for you Rachel!)

Aside from that, we were always encourage to spew about our likes and dislikes - every time we came to class. It was the mediocre work that was the worst - she needed to show us stuff that either elicited an "I love it!" or an "I hate it!" Anything in the middle was boring. If it did not bring out strong emotions from us, she didn't spend any time on it. She went out of her way to find artists and works that were strong emotionally. Isn't that what art is all about - stirring you to emotions? Don't you always remember all of the really awesome art you have seen? But don't you also always remember the really awful stuff? I think they both are burned equally into my brain cells.

The Davila piece shown above reminds of our assignment of appropriated art. One of our class members bought a framed piece of (expletive) from a thrift store, and painted some additional things on top of it. Perfect for the assignment. I have done this exact things in the past with my young boys - bought framed pieces at the thrift store, primed them over, and given them their own "masterpiece" substrates to work on. I have also taken the same approach a few times in art therapy projects.This was a little intimidating at first for my boys, but the senior citizens who worked on this for art therapy loved it. They all had an inner DaVinci going on and were thrilled that it was already framed and ready to go.

I think my boys were more interested in painting out some TV trays and covering them with their new designs. They knew they were going to be a surface to eat on, and we finished them with several coats of clear polycrylic to help protect them. They also use them for play - marbles work great because there is a lip on the edge to keep things from rolling off, army guys work great - small enough to make a whole battlefield, and just writing and drawing. They are so proud of these, and I love the fact that we made art they could use and appreciate every day. The framed paintings we appropriated from the thrift store? Those never got hung. They were never that excited about the finished product. Were they intimidated by the thought that a framed piece of art was not within their abilities? Maybe. They mostly just weren't sure what to paint. The TV trays? No hesitation. They both jumped right in. The only difference I can clearly see is the big frame - it must have been a little too much for them.

The Davila piece looks like an appropriated framed piece. Maybe it was another of the artist's pieces that did not sell, so he added a bunch to it. Maybe it was his practice palette - I've seen some really beautiful palettes that end up being hung for art. Accidental art. That is contemporary.

Then you look at McCracken's minimalist piece from the late 80's and say, "Yeah, that is still relevant today. That is still contemporary art". To me, it clearly took more time and effort than Davila's, but that is not singularly what makes it contemporary art.

After trying so hard this entire semester to define art, to declare if art is alive or dead, to identify art when I see it, and finally to ask what the state of contemporary art is today - I am still not sure I have any definitive answers. I am not sure anyone in our class does, including the intelligent, knowledgeable, and passionate instructor (you can call me a suck-up, but those adjectives are sincere).

What I have learned is this: I am sincere and passionate about the art I create. I am filled with emotion that I am trying to express when I work on the pieces I work on. It is important to me to instill a reaction in the people that view my art. Last of all, I deeply hope that I am creating a memorable image for people to carry for the rest of their lives. I want them to remember my work in ten or twenty or fifty years and say, "Yeah, I remember that. It was kind of cool and it made me think."

The Plight of the Mega-Artist

Oh please. I can't believe that we spent an entire class period on this "plight". Wah wah wah, cry me a river. What? You, as a Super Star, have too much money? Too much fame? Too much recognition? Well if it's enough, then stop doing what you are doing. Go away. Go into hiding. Surely you have enough money that you can afford to be anonymous - if you really want to, that is.

The thing is, I don't think you want the anonymity. I don't think that you really want to go away. I think you are addicted to your fame, deserved or not, and now you truly cannot get enough of it. You are so persecuted. You are so pursued. The press won't leave you alone. Why don't you try this: Try farting every time you are interviewed - tv, radio, internet, or old fashioned newspaper and magazine interviews, just try farting. It would be best to do the SBD's - silent but deadly. My ex-husband was a pro at those. I am sure you can put together just the right combination of food and drink to time the release of your natural gases with an interviewer asking, "So what is next for you, SuperStar? What can you possibly tackle next that will turn to gold?"

I just have to say this to you, SuperStar: lead, follow, or get out of the way. Don't stand at the front of the line and complain, you big, whiny baby. In Wanda's infinite wisdom, "Shut Up and Like It or Get Out" Cafe.

Wanda's - Shut Up and Like It or Get Out Cafe

My friend (Little Lori) sent me a link to this amazing work by Washington artist Nicole Dinardo. This is so commercial and so fun and so technically breathtaking. I realize it could never be considered "high art". You are never going to see this in a gallery, or at least not a traditional gallery.

In a story that appears in the King5.com webpage (Snohomish, Washington), we learn the following information about the artist:

In her Snohomish paint shop, Nicole Dinardo took her hobby of airbrush painting, applied it to one of the hottest selling appliances, and turned it into gold.
They are custom-painted KitchenAid mixers, selling from $450 to $1,400 a piece.
"You're paying for an original piece of art on a really functional item," said Dinardo.
First she made them for family, then for friends.

"This one here I did for a dear friend of mine Mariah," she said, as she showed off a pistachio green mixer painted with birch tree branches, birds and Swarovski crystals. "I know the birch trees signify something that goes back into her family, and the birds, everything on here is personal and emotional to her."
She made a gift for a grandma, with handprints and drawings from her grandchildren. Another one was for a soldier in Afghanistan, who had an animal print mixer made for his sister.
Now Dinardo makes them for celebrities. She showed us a pink on pink one for Katy Perry, a cream colored mixer with flowers she made for Britney Spears, and a yellow patterned mixer with "T's" all over it for Tori Spelling.
A gold and black pattern she was working on is for Beyonce.
"Beyonce's will actually be 22 karat gold (leaf), versus this one that is painted to look like gold," said Dinardo.
And now she's custom-painting 30 mixers for the swag bag at the Oscars. What an endorsement for a single mom, who seven years ago asked to be an apprentice at an auto design company.

"I get lots of networking opportunities that allow me to do work for those people, which is really wonderful."
Dinardo is swamped with orders. She says waiting time for a custom mixer is probably three months away. But she is offering gift certificates for Christmas.

Visit her website, Un Amore. and her Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/customkitchencouture?ref=ts&sk=wall#!/unamorecustomdesigns.

Like I said earlier, this is not "high art", but it is so flawless, it would make Jeff Koons envious. I like the variety of styles and looks that she achieves, but I also like the personalization she is willing to do for people. In her website she does have a few mixers that are listed for sale the were spec pieces for her, but it appears she has a mile long list waiting for her to complete custom orders. I really like the fact that she is combining her clear love for authentic automobile detailing with kitchen appliances. I have seen painted refrigerators and stoves before, but I have not seen customized small appliances before.

You must go to her website and see more than mixers. It is filled with other items she has painted - lots of skateboard decks - some were pink with skulls and bows, an old black tram with blue flames that has been re-chromed, and other appliances. She also has a few pieces of what appear to be wall-art, I mean like canvases (or whatever substrate she uses), flat pieces hung on the wall, like a regular painting. When you look at those pictures (I couldn't copy and paste any of those pics), notice the background of the photos. Some are obviously taken right in or near the shop she paints in, but most are taken in what appears to be a boutiquey gift shop. I wonder if it is her shop, or if she just places her items in other people's shops for consignment. I am guessing the latter because she seems to have a long list of waiting customers.

The last mixer I had was a "vintage piece", similar to the one shown at left. After my friends' mom passed away, I was helping them with the estate yard sale. The mixer was one of the things left at the end of the day so I got it for $2 (they didn't want to take my money, but I insisted). It was black and chrome and reminded me of my mom's kitchen (although we were never rich enough to have a mixer on a stand, she had a smaller hand-held unit. But it was a design of that era, so it was nostalgic for me to use it. It had a bad cord right where it connected to the actual plug end, so I had to make sure it was positioned just right when using it to ensure that electricity would actually run through it. Sometimes I was actually stupid enough to hold the cord, pushing towards the outlet, to make it run. I thought a number of times I needed to replace the cord on that thing, but I kept using it. Until one Thanksgiving Day when I was mixing the mashed potatoes with my awesome, vintage mixer, holding the cord just right, and got the hell shocked out of me. I saw stars. Without any hesitation, and without saying a thing, I picked the entire stand up, with the mixer bowl full of Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, and dropped the entire thing in the trash.

I have always wanted one of these KitchenAid models, and my dreams came true a few years ago. My friends Diane & Ralph were having the grand opening for the spectacular showroom at Ador Kitchens & Baths (http://adoronline.com/Culinary.html). Part of the night's festivities was a drawing for a number of kitchen goodies provided by the Culinary Institute of America. I won the mixer! Unbelievable! I don't win things in drawings or raffles. I don't win lotteries, even small ones. I was very excited, since I had been mixer-less since the Thanksgiving fiasco. My model is a nice gun-metal gray, and is top-of-the line (shown at right). One of my daughters said it was nicer than the one they had at the bakery she worked at. I will probably never be able to afford all of the accessories that can be had, but it came with a few attachments and one of them was a dough hook, so I was very excited. I am still excited about my KitchenAid mixer.

My future, perfect kitchen will be finished diner-style and I will have a large sign in neon running the length of the long wall above the counter that will proclaim, "Wanda's - Shut Up and Like It or Get Out Cafe". Wanda's will be a big, swirly pink script. Most of the other text will be seafoam green in smaller block letters. "Get Out" will be in either white or ruby red, and it will be set on a flasher. I suppose if I had the money to swing the whole diner thing complete with a neon sign, I could afford one of these mixers. I will order it to have the neon sign painted as a distorted reflection on the top of the mixer. In reverse. I should probably just budget for that, since I may be able to afford that LONG before the whole diner thing happens. I like that idea, working on the vision, keeping the image in front of me every day.

Nicole Dinardo is able to utilize her artistic talents in many ways, and the customized mixer thing has taken off for her. Like I said earlier, this is not "high art", but it is amazing and marketable. She is in demand for what she does. It will never be in a museum, but it will earn her a very comfortable and respectable living. So I have to ask myself, is my goal to be a successful, commercial artist, like Miss Dinardo? Or is my goal to produce masterpieces? In my typical over-achieving manner, I intend on doing both. I would like to have fun with my art, creating with humor and talent and thought along the way. In this path of creating, I sincerely hope that I am able to come up with something that has a little bit more of an impact than painted mixers. I would dearly love to create a masterpiece of my own generation, something that speaks on several levels to not just my peers, but to the generations of my children and grandchildren.

Camping with Mark Dion

I loved watching the PBS video in class of Mark Dion. He is very contemporary and very appealing to me. He reminds me that so much of my house and life is filled with art, I should sell tickets at my front door to My Art Museum. Let's take a little tour and see what we can see in My Art Museum.

The first exhibit is titled "Camping with Mark Dion". This is what my husband's work room and all of his campsites look like. Seriously. He is a leather artist, making period correct saddles and holsters. He should have been born 150 years ago. He focuses on the immediate post-Civil War era, but is generally interested in the history of the cowboy in the American West. The items you see in this first photo are laying all over my house. I have those same wooden nail kegs, wooden barrels, old leather doctor satchels, seriously old trunks (they make great coffee tables!), nets, traps - all of it.

The next display in My Art Museum is really funny to me because it reminds of a story that one of my husband's high school classmates told me at the first class reunion I attended with him. My husband walked to and from school with his rifle - it was allowed in those days - he was squirrel hunting both ways. He usually got one or two on the way to school, he would leave his gun in the Principal's office - that was called "gun-control" back then - and then hang the squirrels in his locker. This locker mate was always terrified because he never knew what sort of dead animal would be hanging in his locker when he got to school. I guess it was a fox one time. In any case, he was too afraid to ask my husband to please refrain from this practice on the  way to school. He also couldn't find anyone to trade locker mates with him. So he silently endured it for two years. It would be very likely that you would find this scene in one of my husband's campsites as well.





Next on the tour of My Art Museum is trunks filled with plastic toys. As I said earlier, we have plenty of old trunks, and they make great storage. My two young boys also have plenty of toy guns. I love this display - all the bright colored modern plastic guns inside of an old trunk - this is a great contrast! It makes me smile.

After that we find the coffin croquet set. I like this piece because like the plastic guns, it takes an item associated with fun and games, and turns it a little bit macabre by placing it in a coffin-shaped box. For the extra bit of final humor, we include wheels on the coffin to complete the croquet set. I grew up playing croquet in my backyard, but I know it is a much older lawn game than that. However, in My Art Museum, my croquet set would be stored in a wooden ammunition crate. They are the right length and just the right depth. This piece has humor and it makes me smile!

The next display in My Art Museum is the swizzle sticks and buttons. This is also a delightful piece for my eye - it is organized and obsessive and colorful - and filled completely with cheap, everyday items that may have been found on the ground. Again, this kind of stuff is all over my house - I pull it out of my lint trap from my dryer and sweep it out from underneath my couches. I really didn't know that I should be cleaning it off, saving it, and putting it in shadow boxes. Is it important that they are clean or can I leave the dust bunnies attached? Hmmmm......

The last picture we see in My Art Museum tour is not something inside of my house, but I could create this in my yard with the things inside of my house. I seriously love this display. Placing the books and the pictures on a tree - this is great fun to me and hugely appreciated as art. All kidding aside, this is the kind of art I love - just about anything with books turns my art on. We have bags and hanging shelves that look like old wooden swings and old pictures and books and books and more books. This is simply breathtaking. I would seriously do this in my front yard, but I would have to have a smaller tree. In my yard I have two-hundred-year-old oaks. Their first branch is about fifteen feet off the ground. I could nail the pictures right on the trunk, and I could hang ropes from the lowest branches, but it would be mostly destroyed on the first windy day. I could see this same kind of approach to a tree inside of my house. I would love to set this up on the landing of my main staircase. In one corner would be the main trunk, and then the branches could reach up two stories tall!

My Art Museum is not intended to slam Mark Dion. I think he is a great artist and I really enjoy his pieces. It really does remind me to examine my own environment and see what kind of art I have been living with my whole life. Seeing more of his pieces makes this thought run through my head: You know all of those people who go to a show and say "I could've done that" or "My kid could've done that"? Do those people go home and "do it"? Or encourage their kids to "do it"? After seeing this book tree, I know that I would seriously consider creating this in one corner of my house. This would be a great installation piece for me in my house. It would not be an original idea, it would be appropriated art. It would also not be something I would consider selling. It would be something that I would love. It would be something that I could see and enjoy everyday. It would be something that was humorous and tender and filled with memories. It would be something that would inspire me to create my own art that would hopefully fill the viewers with those same emotions. If my art could do that, it would mean that I could stop charging admission to My Art Museum and start charging to sell my work!