Christian's Blog

Cyclo-Cross, Eugene, Or.

2008-10-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Just something I've been doing since I've been home.

Writing with Xu Bing's "Book from the Earth," Moca, Shang Hai

2008-10-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

I think the art museums in china had the biggest impact on me. I kept reading about this Chinese contemporary art scene and how it was booming in China. Here in this video we're using Xu Bing's "Book from The EArth, " the piece uses pictographs so that any language can comincate with each other. To me ominous in it's cool break down of our diferences across the globe and inspiring in it's ability to make people think about the modern era and it's universal cominication. What would we ever do without all this information at the finger tips. maybe it's a handicap maybe it will take us into space. For me, I thnk I'm suffering from the information overload. How to make work about that?

Drawing @ the MOMA, Sahng Hai

2008-09-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

Drawing at my favorite place in Shang Hai, the MOCA. Here's an example of the kind of work I was doing while in China. Part of my work, in keeping with a mobile theme, was a hand made journal, which I drew in every chance I got. This kind of mobile work was challenging for me in that my work is trapped in a book.

Subsequence blog

2008-09-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

We're home, we're back to working at the restaurant and school starts today. I tell people who ask me how China was, that it was unreal, I can't believe I was there and it happened at all. Three weeks with good people and an amazing staff and the a 5000 year old country named China.

Most of all the biggest affect China had on me was my work. Art had to be created in a mobile on the go setting among a different and old culture, mostly walking around the big cities of Beijing, Shan Dong and Shang Hai. Among a saturated city with good people where contemporary Chinese art has been having a renaissance, we explored wide-eyed Jin Mao Tower, original cite of the Communist Congress and my favorite The Shang Hai Museum, The shang Hai Museum of Modern Art and Shang Hai Biennial. All the big Chinese artists of the last 20 years had work there and it seriously pushed my mind to want to make art. And in the heat of the moment during our travels in China I pulled off some work, some complete and some left behind, like ink wash experimental drawings left hanging at our exhibition in Shan Dong, and some work not yet realized, like the six tapes of video footage waiting to be born into something. Work-on-the-go was challenging for me but I came through; for example, for our last critique in Shang Hai I was able to pull off some printmaking (with the help of some inspiration from Beijing printer Kang JianFei) which involved the six sides of a giant Mars eraser, left-over ink wash experiments, emergency asian paper, wood block and stamp pad, I was
able to come up with a "mono-print mass" yet to be signed, which, in it's presentation became a kind of emotional, visual and artistic view into feelings I had in Shang Hai.

With more work ahead of us at the Lavern Krause, I've been getting the buzz from emails, of a kind of Urban Street Scene Theme of China for exhibit at L.K. I'm into the idea as long as some visions of mine can meld with the theme. I would like to fully exploit and meld into the show anything we found or bought or drew or made, anything we as a group philosophized upon during our adventure. In China I had this feeeling the whole time that anything we did or brought couldn't go to waist, and China as a whole seemed so good at using materials. This to me sums up the feeling China had on me: this kind of on-the-go art work and overwhelming importance of material since we were all far away from home.

I think we can express that at Laverne Krause, certainly that is what my goal is.

Thanks, to be continued...

Shang Hai

2008-09-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Shang Hai is a great city! We've been here for about five das or so and I have to say we've been to a few places. We've been to the top of Jin Mao, you get a free fresh water pearl with the purchase of a ticket to the top(80 plus stories) and a great view of one of my favorite buildings in the cityscape, the Shang Hai Financial Building. This particular building has made it in to the sketch book and into a small wood cut that needs work.

The coolest thing so far in Shang Hai was the ShangHai Bieniale where I finally saw live work by Yin Xiujin and Yue Minjun and a new favorite Chinese artist Wang QingSong. Yin Xiujin made a plane car combo (life size)conected by modern textile cotton t-shirts (more portability and travel themes)"Flying Machine". Yue Minjun had an amazing piece commenting on cars and fossil fuel, made from steal and car paint of humanoid dinosaur anti-heroes called, "Colorful Running Dinosaurs."

Suzhou city was old, amazing and surrounded by canals. The only garden we got to spend time in was out of this world, shot footage, we'll see what we can do with it. Bai Ta Pagoda was a spiritual experience to climb to the 7th floor and take in Suzhou's 5 million residence and watch people perform insence cerimony. the train ride home an impressive example of Chinese life and what it's like to be a chinese trying to get around by train. Edwin is the MAN! He was reading chinese maps and characters and getting people in taxis, and making sure everyone was having fun.

A Few Words At the ShanDong U Art Opening

2008-09-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Edwin and I are just saying a few words of appreciation at the art opening in Shan Dong that just came to an end this Tuesday. I feel very accomplished and have made a new partner and friend in Fan Yi Ming. We pulled off the animation of the 3D art journal and I was able to get some polaroid packaged exhibit and my journal was out there with some Chinese ink paintings I struggled with and left in Shan Dong at the show. Thanks ALL!

2008-09-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

YES! we pulled it off, here are Fan Yi Ming and I at The Shan Dong University art show, look forward to seeing the animation of the 3D art journal that got titled "Traveling World". Also here is some product design in my polaroid photos, "Polaroids, Chin Is The Place," "Hand Made Journal" and ink paintings. Thanks ALLL!

Now we're in Shang Hai after a 9 hour over night sleeper train car ride!

ShanDong ARt intensive, BUT I'M ALIVE!

2008-09-13T05:40:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Just want to tell the world about my new favorite artist: Du DaKai, he's a traditional Chinese painter with work up at Shan Dong Universtity of art and design, he's the MAN! His work is very basic, but busting with information, plenty abstract and executed on traditional tools like ink wash and asian paper, his work is what I try to accomplish when I try to do art outside of printmaking and sculpture. Especially on the move in China I'm trying to get use to their materials (asian paper, ink wash and water, VERY MOBILE).
So I've strated some personal work in the local medium, which has started twice actually. There is a big unfinished structure on the ShanDong campus that is very dangerous to climb but a the top is an excelent view of the landscape surrounding the campus, which is like no other I've seen. At the first attempt to gain accsess to the top of this structure, I dropped all my asian paper twenty feet down in the muck while navigating a treturous corner and stay alive, I alos dropped the first attempt at My landscape ink washes. Luckily The basement store had more paper, which was fortunate because most of the school is closed for Mid Autemn Festival. So I found more paper, and on the second attempt to get to the top of said structure, I started ink wash drawings over and I 'm back on track, stay tuned.

ps 3D suitcase journal was given life today when my Partner and I finished shooting a stop animation with the contents of my experience here in China, Yin Xiujin EAT YOUR HEART OUT!

Hand Made Journal

2008-09-12T02:34:00.002-07:00

Here are a few images from my Hand Made Journal from the Great Wall and time in Jinan, Shan Dong. A persistent theme in my work here in China so far has been MOBILITY.
We've been in Shan Dong for about five days now. Our hosts are treating us like rockstars, five star restaurants and trips in a big bus to the countryside. So far we' ve worked much with our Chinese partners, my partner is named Fan Yie Ming, and he's a good match. I imagine he's being adveturous with our ideas together: We're working on The 3-d suitcase journal, a stop-anima cartoon is on it's way. Something new to happen to the 3-D suitcase journal is the manufacturing of many stuffed dolls or monsters, I like to call them characters. Their emergence happened when I arrived to the Shandong art school and noticed that character making, or doll making was a popular theme at the school; I would say it's a popular theme in folk art and all of Asia and even Latin America, anywhere where their is some kind of effigy used in the culture to communicate, anyhow the phenomenon made it into the journal and we've got about a dozen dolls in the journal made of materials my partner had and even some found object buttons for eyes and such. Stay tuned. The exibition is on Tuesday, I might have to leave the 3-D jounal here???

Shandong has been too good to us Americans! I hope we can get close to their expectations while we have many for them to live up to. By the way we've been to the home town of Confucious, the top of Mt. Tai, a kite factory(using the word factory loosley) and a printing shop(relief, very old school).

2008-09-12T02:34:00.001-07:00

Thirty Towers of the Great Wall

2008-09-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

Before we left Beautiful Beijing, We hiked thirty towers of the Great Wall. Wow! an impresive piece of stone winding up and down the highest and lowest chunks of mountain. I made many sketches, I was very happy with. One of the Funnest things to do on the Great Wall is to ditch the old ladies who walk the wall everyday to make a living off the tourists. As you walk the wall, you will be aproached by all sorts of people making their living uop there, one kind is the spontaneous tour guide who will adopt you as their leage. These ladies walk the wall everyday and are very strong and nimble up on the wall and if you're looking for a little entertainment and a chalenge, you can try to lose them by out walking them, they ARE persistent! I managed to loose one such tour guide and break a fine sweat doing so, the pay off is some time alone to take in the Chinese mountain geography and impressive stacks of ancient brick. Oh, Yeah, the zip line is only scary until you get passed the rocks and over the water.
Cheers!

On Asignment at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing

2008-09-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

Ni Hoa!
Six days have elapsed since last writing in here, but believe you me I've been a good journalist, in my very special way ofcourse. Here are some on asignment photos at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing; the ancient sight where the Ming Emperors came to communicate with heaven and God. As usual the temples are a compound of relic culture and masive achievment, here are two large temples, one circle(for communion with god, in Chinese culture the circle is heavenly and the square terrestrial), one square. In the photos above, you can see yours truley making sketches in my hand made sketch book and meditating about what it would mean to hold discourse with god like the Emperors of old China. If a higher power were to be listening (or leaning over my shoulder and looking in on sketch book) it would hear from me a plea for time and patience for our kind as I feel our kind have strayed from the rhythm. Also an opportunity to make a small sacrifice came to me( The emperors of old made many sacrifices at this Sight), in the form of a pair of older ladies as they aproached me for their picture to be taken with my polaroid. My first reaction was to walk away since my polaroid film is expensive a slim pickings but soon it hit me that it was my asignment to make a sacrfice while here at the Temple of Heaven so I shot the couple o' older chinese ladies and gave them the polaroid. I must have made their year! People don't seem to have easy access to pictures here and I'm sure the pair of ladies apreciated it.

Day two, Beijng, Ni HUn Nyo!

2008-09-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hello out there!
Beijing is a beautiful city with a busting art scene nice people, cheep everything, much transportation, and vry old cultural centers Like The Forbidden City.

The airport was too clean but I was put at ease when we hit the more urban center, lots of bikes and scary driving. We eat well and its customary to try and eat too much. Whre we stay is at the temple hotel is close to the people it feels like, we walk through their lives every day.

I dont have much technology to get pictures onto this page but that's nevr been my thing any way but don't worry I'll be binging you'all the narartive in my own special way. I'kicking much ass in the Journal I bound in the States and making babysteps towards my 3-D portable suit case journal, getting some sewing done and finding stuff in the streets.

798 or ChiJioBa was an ispiring space, artists space and direct retail for their work. I was really drawn in to work BY a printmaker maybe called Kang JinFei. Woodcuts mostly, he also pulled off a some installation with the printing blocks that I will be taking inspiration from.

CAFA or The Central Academy of Fine Arts seemeda great school, The Printmaking space was inpresive and sulpture studio open and spacious, I would go to school there. We were treated like rockstars.

Hi, I gotta go find some found object and draw.

Zai Jian!

Gita and Christian, last day in Eugene

2008-08-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hi from Eugene, Oregon. My girl, Gita and I are spending a little time together on our 6 year aniversery and the last day before I head out to China. I'm a little nervous. I've acumulated a ton of of material to make art in China. Stay Tuned.
CHEERS!

2008-08-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

"Portable Cities," 2006
"Dangerous Things In Baggage," 2006
by Yin Xiuzhen

Recent Screen Prints, Summer 2008, CSW

2008-08-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

Art and more

2008-08-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello,

As we get closer to leaving for China, I'm starting to get excited about how I'll make art in China, which will be in a mobile setting. I've been looking into art by contemporary chinese artists Yin Xiuzhen, Weng Fen, Ai Weiwei and He Yunchang. I'm interested in these artists for their language and debate with ideas of identity and movement into a so called modernity and consumerism. I would like to think that I confront these same issues in my own work, which at home in the U.S. I achieve through Printmaking, street art and the 3rd dimension or sculpture. But I understand part of the glory and challenge of our whole Art In China art adventure is that I will be limited in those mediums available here at home. Taking inspiration from especially Yin Xiuzhen and her Portable Cities, 2006 where she created a kind of 3-d urban narrative, using found fabric and object collected around the world, about the cities she had traveled to which all fits into a brief case. I fell in love with Portable cities for the piece's mobility and ability to absorb the energy one feels when traveling. So, with some anxiety, and inspiration from contemporary chinese art, I've gutted a typewriter suitcase to take with me into China in where hopefully a mobile 3-d journal will grow.

baby steps into modernity

2008-07-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody, What does one do with such a thing as a blog. I am very old school but not very old, I like to draw, and love the smell of paper, so this is all very weird to me but I can see it's potential.