first images coming in!

I am back in the states recovering from a triumphant project. I am sorry that I don’t have more media to post at the moment. My team and I are sifting through so much media but as soon as I get it I will start posting it so you can see what the performance looked like. We had the most ideal weather sunny and windy which kept us all comfortable though out the 13 mi. Here is a still from my interview on Channel One in Iceland from a show called Kastljos during a photo shoot with Oddvar Örn Hjartarson.

Tea-Stained

On a recent tea-stained day, we sat around our huge wooden table drinking cups of tea and talking, talking, talking. It was cozy weather day, which we all welcomed. Finally, a day to show off our newly found sweaters treasures from the Red Cross. Peter has become quite chummy with the ladies who run the store. He is always on the hunt for more sweaters. Here is his latest purchase.

Our days are flying by, at a furious pace. They are filled with walks, meetings, cooking at home, shooting, and of course, friends. We have eight more days until the performance and it is getting very exciting. We are planning on going dancing tonight. I am looking forward to cutting some rug and hope no one will be parking on the dance floor, ahem!

Korka and her husband have arrived after having a brief stop in NYC. Early Saturday morning Jenalee arrives from San Francisco and our Art Posse will be complete. My family, and more friends will arrive next week. I am thrilled. I am also looking forward to seeing how they will all fall in love with Iceland.

One Fierce, Fashion Fiend.

I would like to introduce you all to Jenalee. She is the another artist who is performing with me in Ritual To Break A Spell. Jenalee is a performance artist, artist. Her work explores the body and at times, a wink and to the glamour element of drag. By day she is the manager of Little Bird cafe in the Tenderloin and by night a video queen conjuring various embodiments of her spirit. Her are some samples of her work:

Jenalee and also met in the New Genres Department at SFAI. We really became close friends and collaborators during a film we made called The Slumber Party. It was an 8 hour performance piece with other SFAI’ers in studio 10. It was an exploration of teen/horror/party genre when a super natural element comes into play and wreacks havoc on their innocent lives.

Jenalee’s role in this performance is the embodiment of magik. Period.

Landscape, embrace us.

We are slowly adjusting to our new time space and so we have been spending a lot of time wandering the landscape.

My Own Private Reykjavik vibe..

First Day in Iceland

 

We have arrived! It was a blurry-eyed taxi ride to Reykjavik and wee have settled quite nicely into our new home. We are just a stone’s throw from the city center on a quiet street. Our first day was mellow.  We struggled to fight jet lag and so what better way then to fuel up on many tasty cups of coffee and a film. What better way then to get into the spirit of the project then watching the classic Zoolander?

 

Captain Kirk, able to sail the through any storm.

This is Kirk aka: the captain, who is our project manager. He will steer us to safety if ever we encounter rough metaphorical seas during the project production in Iceland. No one head’s is calmer nor cleaner when it comes to sizing up a potential problem. He is most charming and witty and though he lives in the captain’s quarters his heart belongs in the kitchen. He has the culinary skills that would make a Michelin star green with envy. We are blessed to have someone who loves to feed people.

My love affair began with Kirk Wilder when we met at engagement party dear friends.  Our friendly crush was instant and we instantly shared deep secrets, hopes and dreams for the future, healing from the past and vision for projects near and far.

Kirk is an undisciplined (yet adorable) hack zero formal design nor art schooling yet a deep understanding and attraction to form, design and color. By day, Kirk can be found running a virtual flower shop for the luxury world and by night he is usually tinkering with pen, paper, painting, fabric, electricity, found objects to create and dress the landscape.

Kirk believes in comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable. Be it through a combination music, art, design or acts of civil disobedience.

Peter Max Lawrence: Film maker, Trouble maker, Maker of Super Heros.

I would like you all to meet Peter,head film-maker for this grand adventure in iceland. Peter and I met in the hallowed hall of Studio 10, the heart of the New Genres department at SFAI. Peter is the most prolific artist I know today. He has done thousands of drawings mostly based on super beings from swamp thing to Batman to his own super characters.  He has shots years worth of video footage that is incredible. To say I am a fan in not even getting close to how much I adore this man as a person, soul and artist. One of his numerous talents is shooting moments that seem to be at the time just passing by, but his eyes catches the most poetic passages of time that grow and grow on you. He declares “I make bad art” which in itself is a bit of a shocking statement because art is subjective. However, to embrace the good the bad and the terribly awkward, in my book, is an incredible strength. His taste  runs on the salty side but I do prefer my intellect savory with bite not sickly sweet.

This video is one of my favorites. I encourage you to check more of his videos on vimeo.

Ode To Korka

Here is a video that was made on Valentine’s Day in honor of Korka. This video was made my her brilliant husband Tyler Hurd. French New Wave, eat your heart out.

Korka

As you know, I have been furiously getting ready to go to Iceland for my project. I would now like to introduce you to my team. Each of the following posts will explore briefly a member of my art posse. This post is dedicated to Melkorka aka:Korka, she is my head designer. She is from Reykjavik, an Alumni of SFAI in sculpture and now lives in San Francisco with her lovely husband Tyler who makes incredible art.(Video to follow in another post) It has been wonderful to work so closely with someone on an art piece. We have spent hours geek-ing out over silks, digital prints, fashion books and have loved every minute of it. I think, as an artist, one of the best ways to get to know someone is to work on a project with them, a collaboration ideally. One gets to have long juicy conversations about art, life, what inspires you, and whom you admire. I always try and have those kind of conversations regardless of what I am doing, but when you are working with someone new they are especially dynamic. I have never experienced seeing a drawing come to life as a muslin and become fully realized until now. I must tell you, in is very exciting. To move from 2D to 3D is an incredible leap conceptually. It has been such a pleasure seeing these ideas unfold before my eyes.

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I had to add to this page Bjork’s new single in honor of Korka.

Spinning Sequins Into A Snake

So, whilst in the throws of my love affair with this current project it is at times important to have little side projects simmering around to keep the creativity flowing. I started reading Miranda July’s blog about her new film The Future and she did a call for videos. The concept was simple: please animate an object that you think would come for you when the end was near. Make sure one can see your hand in animating it. simple, right? A nice echo to her Learning To Love You More project which I missed so I felt it was time to send her something. I made this simple video for her, using a vintage Art Deco dress. I figured, if it was my time to go to Valhalla then I want to be brought to the valkyries by the most beautiful object I have. For those with sensitive constitutions, I must warn you that this video contains what looks like abuse towards a vintage garment. I can assure you the dress was not distressed in any way, except for shedding some antique sequins and beads.