Twins that make art together has a certain ring to it. Ryan and Trevor Oakes fit this bill.
While they have done a considerable amount of work, I occasioned upon their work on the excellent blog The Jealous Curator and the particular pieces featured were some of their early work with matchsticks. The two pieces that tickled my fancy in particular are the “Matchstock Dome” pair.
Not to be a pretentious artfuck about it, but I love how these pieces imply their own destruction. Well, not only imply, but beg it. Looking at these insanely time-consuming constructions my first desire is to throw a lit match at them, or even more satisfying, strike them across a piece of sandpaper. Those are strike-anywhere matches, I suspect. Here we have a couple of sculptures (assemblages?) that play on how art is shown as a perfect, inviolate object, while making you ache for their ignition. The audience touch/ don’t touch interplay is strong here, in no small part because you know that firing it up is in direct opposition to a) how much time it took los bros Oakes to glue the matches together, and b) how wonderfully they would flare up and burn to ash.
I also find it interesting in a constructive sense – the variance between matchhead and matchstick is quite small, and I can imagine building a ring of matches but expanding that to a spherical form based on the squared-off matchsticks is quite impressive on a strictly “putting things together in a pleasing way” sense. I enjoy this piece formally and as a simple object that forces me to acknowledge my desire to destroy art for the very reasons I respect it.
Well done, Oakes brothers, well done.
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Well, at long last I have put together all my group noun images, cobbled together a cover, and put it all together in book format. Here’s the cover:
The book is available via Blurb in eBook, softcover, or hardcover formats. If you’ve been following this project, you may notice that I have corrected the misspelling “Abecediary” to “Abecedary”. Thankfully one of my keen-eyed friends pointed that out to me before putting the book together! Every day is a school day.
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Hey gang, here’s where I need your feedback. I have finished all the letters of the alphabet for my collective noun project, but if I’m going to put it together as a book I need a cover.
I’ve put together a couple of options…
Abecediary cover version 1
or…
Abecediary cover version 2
So there you have it… 2 versions, which do you prefer?
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This PSA from Metro Trains Melbourne playfully explains that there are many dumb ways to die – setting fire to your hair, taking your helmet off in outer space, or mucking about on train tracks.
Just look at these poor saps. Each one has died a gruesome (and entirely avoidable) death, and there they are, dancing about. Cautionary tales get the Mr. Men treatment. There’s a Gashylcrumb Tinies – esque morbid humour at work here but the drawing style by animator Julian Frost for agency McCann Melbourne is as cute and playful as the song by Tangerine Kitty accompanying the video. Very catchy, fun, and it gets the point across. I wonder if a simple “WARNING $500 FINE FOR CROSSING TRACKS” sign wouldn’t be more effective, but then I wouldn’t get to enjoy this fun video of things I should know enough not to do… though I have been known to make wiring repairs around the house and the place hasn’t burned down yet.
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Checking out Hi-Fructose, I found out about a new show opening this Saturday, Mild Climate. It’s a collaborative exhibition at Art Whino Gallery in Washington DC featuring a pair of Portland OR artists, Blaine Fontana and Amy Ruppel. I enjoy collaborative work as I find that the interaction of different styles, approaches and themes often creates a richer dialogue within the work – and this is certainly true of Fontana & Ruppel’s work together.
As an aside, I really have to hand it to Art Whino Gallery for providing so much information! So many gallery sites just give you the names and dates and maybe a couple of press release thumbnails, and that’s it – and to find out any info on the artists you have to google up a frenzy and search all over for some decent images to get a look at what’s going on with the work. Art Whino Gallery has a TON of biographical info, detailed show info (even down to what kind of beer they are providing – PBR FTW), a good description of the intent behind the exhibition – they truly do this interwebs thing right.
In this collaborative series of paintings Blaine Fontana and Amy Ruppel find common ground in nature. Juxtaposing their two artistic styles, Fontana’s graphic approach with Ruppel’s realism, the Portland, OR artists create works that are unified in their references to the world around us. The earth tones typical of Fontana’s work and the depictions of animals in Ruppel’s, join to create a balance where the singular artist is no longer visible. Through their combined multi media approach the two present these Seven pieces that at once portray their similarities while using contrasting elements that support and elevate the other’s work. As well as the collaboration works there will also be individual pieces from each artist on exhibit.
– Art Whino Gallery
The show opens Saturday November 17th (tomorrow) at 8pm, and is on until December 17th. If you’re in the area, you should definitely check it out.
