Bingo is not just a game of luck.

The other day I attended a lecture by Molly Nesbit about Bingo, Gordon Matta-Clark's project at Artpark in 1974. I'm a big fan of Gordon Matta-Clark, and I learned some things about his work that I didn't know before, but that's not what I want to write about...

At the lecture I was sitting next to Matthew Barney and Rirkrit Tiravanija. It's not unusual to see well-known artists (or critics, curators, etc.) at an event held at an art institution in New York City. Just last month I saw Lawrence Weiner at his own exhibition. In both situations, I kept to myself, thinking it would be intrusive to approach them. But recently, I've been thinking that perhaps I am missing some opportunities by not talking to these people when situations like these arise. I feel a bit uncomfortable approaching people I don't know at these sort of events, but if I just work hard in my studio and don't make an effort to connect with people (famous or not), well, that just seems like a bad strategy.

I do think that an opening or a lecture reception is an appropriate place to initiate conversation. If people didn't want to talk, they wouldn't stick around, right? But how to start a conversation? It always seems like the artist or speaker is already talking to someone. If you do get a chance, I guess the smart move is to open with a thought or question about the exhibition or lecture, rather than blabbering about your own work. But is this how people "network?" The whole thing feels unnatural to me, but I know that I need to get over that.

If anyone is reading this blog, I'd appreciate feedback on the subject.

image: Gordon Matta-Clark's Bingo pieces installed at Artpark, 1974

Read this:
How Hillary Clinton Blew It

That basically says it all.

Why Sculpture?

I've recently been asking myself why make sculpture at all. As an artist, I think of myself as a sculptor, but I also make drawings and occasionally digital prints and video. Starting from scratch in my new studio feels like a good time to ask this question.

Sculpture has all kinds of practical problems: Will it stand on its own? How much will it weigh? How big will it be and where will I put it after its made? Storage is definitely a problem. I'm also worried about the amount of garbage I generate. In the past, I haven't thought much about these issues. I've made heavy objects using concrete, resulting in not easily portable, nor easily stored sculptures. I've avoided these problems by having specific locations for the objects in advance of building them. Or by destroying them after having them documented.

Now that I have my own space, these issues actually seem to be bigger problems than in the past. Yet I still feel compelled to make sculpture more than any other art form. I think part of it is that I like the process of a sculpture coming to life during its construction, since the very nature of a 3D object forces it to negotiate its existence with the real world.

Although I plan on spending most of my studio time in the upcoming weekends making drawings, I will continue to make sculpture in the future. I think my new sculptures will be very different than my past work. This will be difficult, since I feel very attached to the way I've made my work in the past. The drawings will help me generate ideas regarding what to make, but I think whatever I make should satisfy the following criteria :

- easy to transport & store
- not terribly heavy
- avoid the use of raw materials when possible

I chose these criteria based on economic, environmental & spatial considerations...as well as my aversion to heavy lifting. However, I reserve the right to break my own rules if I feel like it.

In addition, if I make anything that needs to be cast in concrete, I will only make a small model and the form for casting the concrete, along with detailed illustrated instructions. No reason to cast a big heavy object unless someone wants to buy it or exhibit it.

image: The Thinker, Rodin

Year of the Rat

新年快樂！ 恭喜發財！
(Xin Nian Kuai Le - Happy New Year)
(Gong Xi Fa Cai - Wishing you prosperity)

Happy Chinese New Year! It is officially the Year of the Rat. I'm taking this weekend off from my regularly scheduled studio time to celebrate the new year with my wife's family in NJ.

I only made it to my studio one day last weekend and I was looking forward to starting my new drawings, which will now have to wait until next weekend. However, I can't really complain about 2 days of eating home-cooked Chinese food. In China the festivities last for 2 weeks. Plus, I'll get a chance to practice speaking Mandarin before my first class on Monday.

image: Year of the Rat, 2006 by H.H. Wong 黃可鏗

Why I support Obama over Clinton

The results from Super Tuesday aren't final yet, but things are looking good for Barack. Obviously it's a very close race with Clinton, but Obama did win more states and is claiming to have won more delegates overall.

Here are two big reasons why I support Obama over Hillary:

- The war in Iraq. Hillary is not going to end it. She voted for it, but now she says she opposes it. However, she's received more financial backing from the defense industry than any other candidate...including Republicans.

- Obama not only represents change, but has the ability to bring it about. He excites people. Motivated people will translate into action. In addition to the Democrat base, he will do well with the independent vote and even some moderate Republicans. I cannot possibly imagine any Republicans voting for Clinton in the general election...they all hate her way too much. On top of that, I think Clinton supporters will vote for Obama if he is the nominee, but not necessarily the other way around.

Sellout

I have recently discovered a website worthy of mention.
Sellout is a new blog run by artist Deborah Fisher. (I recently found her own art blog also, and it is well worth reading...I spent most of the day going through the archives and its full of a lot of really smart writing.)

The basic premise of Sellout is to provide a forum on the practice of being an artist. But it approaches topics from a practical angle; the business side and everyday concerns of making art. But before you roll your eyes, go check it out.

It's pretty new, but it's already filled with some good questions, with various answers & suggestions coming from a decent number of active commenters. I suspect it will get even better over time as more topics are covered and the readership grows.

At least the studio is ready, even if I'm not there

When I woke up today, it was snowing pretty hard. It wasn't sticking, and I knew it wouldn't last long, but the forecast is predicting rain for the afternoon. I rely on my bicycle to get to my studio and even though bad weather doesn't normally stop me from riding, I wimped out today. Probably because I hate cleaning my bike after riding in the rain, and I recently got soaked really bad on Friday night's downpour. Now the weather isn't even that bad, but it's a bit too late for me to go.

At least I finally finished getting the studio set up. I also started building support panels which I will use for mounted drawings, similar to these. I was planning on mounting the paper today and starting some small studies. Instead, now that I've decided to stay home, I will do some sketches in my book and work on some ideas I've been thinking about for new sculptures...more info on that in the near future. I think I'll also study Mandarin for a bit. 下個星其一晚上我有第一中文課。(Next Monday evening I have my first Chinese class.)