Saturday, December 23, 2006

Chauncey Brown


You don't want to mess with Chauncey Brown.
After a stint in federal prison, Chauncey Brown lived on the streets
for a few months, before meeting Mortimer Jones and getting involved
with the Parts and Labor Collective. A difficult relationship to say the least.
Mortimer and Chauncey get in regular shouting matches that occasionally turn
to fisticuffs, however Mortimer always wins. To keep him appeased Mortimer
has made Chauncey Brown the Canine Fitness Director.
A recent quote: "I was a lost cause, but now I teach them Parts and Labor dogs everything I know."

Thursday, December 14, 2006

NEW WORDS FOR YOUR ARTIST STATEMENT!


BEING AN ASS IS JUST A MATTER OF CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD!

MANIFESTATION: For that special festering in all of us!

PERMEABILITY: And other things too transparent to mention...

CONTEXTUAL: When you need something to rhyme with sexual.

CONCEPTION: Where sperm and bad art meet!

THEMATICALLY: Everyone loves theme parks!

TEMPORALITY: This number is temporarily out of service.

CONTEMPLATIONS: Get off that rock and put some pants on!

QUANTIFICATION: Like quantum mechanics, but fuzzier.

SUBCONSCIOUS: You're getting sleepy...sleepy....

PARTICIPATORY: When Art ATTACKS!

EPHEMERAL: Emeril would be proud!

Parts and Labor Vs. Bigfoot


Both are equally hard to find.
Both have unusually hairy palms.
Both stand well above eight feet tall
Both have been blamed for the disappearance of valued livestock.
Both have been encountered by frightened tourists.
Both are remnants of a lost species of ape.
Both receive orders from the enigmatic Mortimer Jones.
Both are known for throwing great art openings.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Parts and Labor Vs. Area 51


Both are equally hard to find.
Both have evidence of recent alien visits.
Both are developing powerful sci fi lasers.
Both are sinister new world goverment braincenters.
Both are run by a mysterious order of mad scientists.
Both employ a team of highly trained robot assassins.
Both are protected by an invisible mind shield.
Both are good places to spend a Saturday Night.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Self Interview of Mortimer Jones


Mortimer: So you're an alias.
Mortimer: I resent that.
Mortimer: What would you prefer?
Mortimer: Well, nice of you to ask. I'd prefer "alter ego".
Mortimer: So you're an alter ego.
Mortimer: I resent that.
Mortimer: Maybe we should stop this interview.
Mortimer: What seems to be the problem?
Mortimer: Well you're being difficult, all I want are a few questions answered.
Mortimer: Okay, I apologize, what are your questions?
Mortimer: Alright, then, what's the reasoning behind your existence?
Mortimer: I feel like one should change their personality completely, as often as possible, without warning.
Mortimer: That's an unsettling thought.
Mortimer: Maybe personalities are prisons. Next question ....
Mortimer: Prisons.....so your goal is to free yourself of prisons?
Mortimer: Maybe people should question their ideas, especially the ones they have of themselves. Brains can't be trusted. Instincts though....
Mortimer: Instincts are better?
Mortimer: Instincts are your mind ignoring your brain.
Mortimer: What the hell does that mean?
Mortimer: You bore me.
Mortimer: They told me you were a real asshole.
Mortimer: Well "they" must be right.

Encounter With Bruce New


Mr. Obsolete: So Mr. New, the collective has invited you to show some of your work, but you're not actually from Chicago are you?

Bruce New: No. I currently reside in the wilds of northern Kentucky with a bird.

Mr. Obsolete: What kind of bird?

Bruce New: Why does it matter?

Mr. Obsolete: Well it matters alot. I mean if you're in the woods with a pigeon that's just kind of sad. If you're in the woods with a falcon that's kind of macho. If you're in the woods with a stuffed bird, that's a little creepy.

Bruce New: It's a woodcock, if you must know.

Mr. Obsolete: Excuse me!

Bruce New: A woodcock, what, they don't have woodcocks in Chicago!

Mr. Obsolete: We really have to change the subject......so your art, you do photo montage?

Bruce New: Yes, on a mountaintop next to the sun.

Mr. Obsolete: With your bird...

Bruce New: Right.

Mr. Obsolete: Right....

Catching Up With The Patron Saint of Photography


So, Joe Ziolkowski was one of the few professors I had in school that left a lasting impression on me.
He was always generous with his art and his knowledge, encouraging of my work, and a constant source of inspiration on how art can be a life and a lifestyle. He even put me up in his loft for a few days when I was homeless during college.
He's taught in Chicago, Detroit, and now at RIT. I tracked him down recently. Check out his website.
He's a great photographer of the male form, and most recently...landscapes, and has published several books.

www.joe-ziolkowski.com

Lily Mayfield Is Not Your Wife


One of our guest artists in our second show is one Lily Mayfield, photographer.
I find her work compelling because it's intimate but strangely detached.
There are personal issues, relationships, but with a cleanliness that reminds me of Hitchcock.
She is a domestic femme fatale because you can't tell if she is sad in these images, or if she is plotting someone's death.
Either way, there's a great tension in some of these photos that I find intriguing. They bring to mind issues of relationships, the distance between people, how the smallest moment can be a crisis, and a woman's role in a modern household.
I think that if one were a thoughtful person...one would find a great deal to think in her photographs.
Check out some of her work on her myspace page on our friends list and come to our December show to think in person.

Signed, Mortimer Jones
Offensive & Vulgar Idealist
The Parts and Labor Collective