Attenborough Naftel Yard Sale

The Great Holiday Tailgate!

You're invited to the first Attenborough-Naftel Tailgate!
Saturday December 22, 2012 (day after the end of the world)
11am-4pm
At Union Craft Brewing
1700-D Union Avenue Baltimore, Maryland 21211


We'll be tailgating out our newest and most unique collaboration to date, Pregame Session a 4.4% Mild Ale at Union Brewing. We will be pouring this incredible new brew right off the taps of Attenborough Naftel‘s (A/N) new intervention, Tailgate ManCave, which is the result of nearly a year of gutting and renovating the interior and exterior of a 1975 Winnebago Indian D-23. The Winnebago showcases hardwood floors, entertainment unit, library, full bar with kegerator, and urinal for the interior, the exterior supports an additional TV unit, dual Weber grills, lawn games and sound system.

Inside the brewery, Union be hosting a vinyl record sale to benefit Believe In Music, a non-profit organization that strives to bring music education to inner-city youth with no access to music programs. Thousands of vinyl records will be on sale with a DJ spinning classic records all day!

So get ready to tailgate the holidays - Bring your prized tailgate dish or something to throw on the grill and share with friends. We'll get the grills and the firepit hot and pints will be pouring inside and out. And don't forget to bring some extra cash for some vinyl records to benefit a great cause and for some new UNION merch too! :)

Hope to see you all on the 22nd.

Attenborough / Naftel

BookFace invite-
http://www.facebook.com/events/307575592675963/

Union Craft Brewery-
www.unioncraftbrewing.com

5 in 1

Also, I'm excited to announce that there will be a Roving Project show here in Knoxville coming up in October.

Artists include:

Craig Cully

Erin Treacy

Nathaniel Galka

Tim Clorius

Denise Stewart-Sanabria

Saturday October 13, 6-10:00pm-ish

@ the historic Weigel House aka Monday House

2721 Asbury Lane

Knoxville, TN 37914

Vote!

Help me win Art Takes Miami! 
yeah, right.

I did something I rarely do and paid to enter a competition.  Usually, that kind of feels just like taking money and throwing it up in the air and watching it get sucked into a black hole, never to be seen again.  Or rather, buying a lottery ticket...you know the odds are really bad, but the daydreams are nice for a while.  In the end you're minus a few bucks, had some fun crossing your fingers, but ultimately disappointed.

This one actually seems somewhat worthwhile considering who the judges are, so it would be great if ya'll could check it out, possibly enter yourself, and uh...vote for my portfolio :)

Plywood + another project

As some of you know Chris Attenborough and I (Sean Naftel) have been collaborating since we were at the college. We work under the name PEACOCK creating situational pieces based on space. We also have been working on Roving Project, a wandering curatorial program that drops into slack spaces for exhibitions. And now, we have started Plywood.

Plywood is a white cube gallery located in North Baltimore. It is also being slotted under Roving Project, as the space is ours until a tenant found for the storefront. Our first exhibition opens the 9th of September and will be a solo exhibition. The show is yet untitled, but features the photographic work of Jim Lucio.

So check out the website www.plywoodsite.org and keep checking back for more information on new exhibitions.

----------------------------------------------

Another project that we are currently preparing for is the 3rd incarnation of the Free Art Booth. PEACOCK has been invited to present this piece at the (e)merge Art Fair this September in Washington DC. We are currently seeking submissions and would love to have work from other BCAers. Shoot us an email, find us on the facebook, or check out www.peacock-interventions.com for more info!

BINGO

 

A1 Labarts presents BINGO @ 8 Shooters Studio.  A very serious exhibition featuring work play by an international group of emerging and established artists:

Kiernan Dunn Duffy Goodman
Joshua Jobb
Thane Lund
Hali Maltsberger
Sean Naftel
Brian Nigus
Beka Peralta
Giorgio Sadotti
Kevin Van Aelst

Opening reception First Friday, June 3, 6-10:00 pm, 2011.

On display through June 29.

8 Shooters
1202 N Central St.
Knoxville, TN 37919

Curated by Hali Maltsberger

Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen

The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen

A touring public artwork by Jim Ricks

June 7th - 21st 2011

The Aughty regions of County Galway

Official launch: June 7th, 2011, 9:00 am at The Huntsman Inn, Galway

“The best public art piece... ever.” – Alice Maher, Artist

“The artist has combined an icon of ancient Ireland with an icon of contemporary Ireland, playfully re-presenting elements of Irish culture, often over-used commercially to attract tourism, in an accessible, witty, and visually arresting way.” – Kernan Andrews, Galway Advertiser

The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen by Jim Ricks is a monumental inflatable sculpture designed for members of the public, of all ages, to interact with. The artwork will be touring venues around the Aughty Region of County Galway during June of 2011. The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen is a replica, at twice the scale, of the famous 6,000 year old megalithic portal tomb of the same name, which is located in the Burren, Co. Clare. Jim Ricks created the interactive soft sculpture with the intention of bringing a portal dolmen to Aughty, a region which has no dolmens, only wedge tombs.

The official launch of The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen will be on June 7th, 2011 in front of the Huntsman Inn in Galway. The piece will be set up first thing in the morning (weather permitting!) followed by a small reception at 9am. It will be touring the Slieve Aughty region of Galway for 2 weeks. The tour will close with an afternoon appearance adjacent to the real Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren, on the June 21st solstice.

Jim Ricks’ practice is characterised by challenges and disruptions to ownership, intellectual property rights and any conception of originality. As such, he openly imitates art and life through available means and materials. This process embraces creativity through divergence and welcomes the accidents that occur in the ‘knock off’ process as the (automatic) art itself. The work also frequently explore the grey area between flattery and theft. Ricks’ work is influenced by his background as a prolific graffiti artist and a political activist.

Born in California, Jim Ricks received his MFA from the National University of Ireland, Galway and Burren College of Art programme and his BFA from the California College of the Arts. He has exhibited internationally, most recently with with The Black Mariah for the Terminal Convention, Cork, and at What are You Thinking?, The Niland Gallery, Galway. In 2010 he received the Artlink ‘New Art Award’; exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy (Dublin); had solo shows at Fort Dunree (Co. Donegal), Occupy Space (Limerick) and Pallas Contemporary Projects (Dublin); took part in group shows with Dock Discourse at 126 and offsite (Galway), The Galway Arts Festival (Galway), Monster Truck Temple Bar (Dublin) and Pallas Contemporary Projects (Dublin). In 2009 he exhibited in the Galway Arts Centre (Galway), Monster Truck Gallery (Dublin), IMOCA (Dublin) and participated in Frieze Projects’ COPYSTAND: Autonomous Manufacturing Zone (London). Ricks is currently working on the touring public work In Search of the Truth (The Truth Booth), a collaboration with Cause Collective (US) in 2011.

Supported by the Galway County Council, the Clare County Council Arts Office, Ground Up Artists Collective, The Huntsman Inn and Eight Bar and Restaurant.

For more information about the artist please see: www.jimricks.info

To see the Bouncy Dolmen in action please visit us here.

Read what the Irish Times says about it here.

Read what the Galway Advertiser says about it here.

Check it out on publicart.ie here.

And share the event on Facebook here.

2011 MFA

Some shots from this years MFA's plus PhD, Visiting artists and undergrads!

http://www.showerofkunst.com/2011/04/images-from-tete-tete-tete-and-more.html

Denver...

Hello to all...

I am back in my native mile high city where I’ve recently finished applying (finally!) for MFA programs, and am playing at the art-world game...

I’ve had some wonderful opportunities since returning from Ireland, including a teaching internship in Telluride, CO and a few artist residencies. I had one at the Science Museum of Minnesota where I was given a cabin in the forest for three weeks, and another on a tiny, private island off the coast of Maine with one other artist and eight writers. I stayed in a wonderful studio/room in a giant barn out in the woods where I had all the time and quiet one could want.

Since then I've been working at a few mind-numbing jobs in Denver to pay the bills while I continue to spend time in the studio and work towards the next phase of my life. I have had two solo shows and a couple of group shows. They were both well-attended and well-received, and very instrumental in helping me get my foot in the door in Denver.

I have signed with a gallery here called Walker Fine Art, a large, contemporary space in the museum district. I'm very excited about that relationship; it's owned by a wonderful, fiery woman who knows her business very well. Also, she's looking for it to be a long-term relationship, and is willing to follow me and continue to show my work through and after graduate school. Just since signing on about six weeks ago, they’ve sold eight of my pieces and are anxious for more! (kind of a lot of pressure though...) I’ve had quite a number of other sales recently as well, through prior or additional outlets, much to my surprise and excitement, and just in time to give me a little boost while trying to compose daunting application essays about artistic worth.

My work continues to focus primarily on the natural world, and I still consider drawing to be my main medium, though I have branched out a bit with painting and printmaking over the past year. I have continued to work on both large and small scales, usually simultaneously, which I find to be beneficial. My time in nature and the devotion to my subject matter have both continued to grow, and benefit immensely from opportunities such as residencies that allow for the “time, space, and inspiration” we all know and love from BCA.

Lastly...I’ve finally gotten a website up and running, which for someone as web-handicapped as I am (hence the long delay in my blogging) is a pretty major accomplishment. :)

www.noctua-creative.com

I Need Yo Votes

Just a little shameless self-promotion…

I have two submissions in the running this week on Threadless.com. 

Not going to explain what Threadless is for those of you that live under rocks.  It should be pretty self-explanatory anyway.

When Pigs Fly

Apples and Bananas Make Oranges



It's been a long time since I've played Threadless, and I could really use your votes.  And the cash.  So I'd appreciate it if you would take a look and score them…but not if you're going to be a jerk and give them 0's.  Can do without that.

Thanks!

Miami + Art =

Hey all so I think I've contacted everyone about this, but I thought I would go ahead and post the details here in case I missed anyone.

I am taking part in an exhibition with the Winkleman Gallery in Miami during the art fair chaos this December. I'm recreating a piece that I think most of you have seen. For those that haven't its the Free Art Stand and it is exactly what it sounds like, a stand... with free art. Below I've included the text that I typed up for the official call-

I've been invited to present a new and improved version of a work titled Free Art Stand for #rank, an exhibition organized by the Winkleman Gallery (NYC), to take place during fair week in Miami. As many of you know Miami, during the first week of December, becomes the center of the art world; hosting numerous fairs, events and exhibitions, Miami is a flutter with contemporary art. The following is only a small list of some of the events taking place this year: Art Basel, Scope, NADA, Pulse, Art Miami, and the one hosting the “Free Art Stand”, SEVEN. I would like to invite you to join me in the Free Art Stand, as one of my collaborators during the exhibition. I am asking artists to submit up to 4 high quality pieces of work, to be included in the exhibition. During the exhibition I will be manning the stand answering questions about the donated works. Each piece will have a corresponding details page with artist contact info and bio, that will be given upon request. The Free Art Stand questions the idea of payment & capital for works. Is there a value in having your work distributed in the atmosphere that surrounds major art fairs like SCOPE or Frieze or Basel or any of the numerous, large commercially profitable international art fairs? Is there a long term value in that situation? in future connections? in the dissemination of ideas? is it cultural capital? The Free Art Stand is a venue for a dialog surrounding how art is valued in the contemporary market place and how its assessed culturally."

So anyone that is interested that I haven't been able to contact please give me a shout and I can forward all the details for you. seannaftel[at]mac.com

Also anyone in the Baltimore area the weekend of 12 November stop by Jordan Faye Contemporary and check out the mess Chris and I will be making.

Resident in B.V.

Well, this is just a quick post from me- I seem to be the only one still at BCA, here in the pouring rains of November. I'm working on my PhD in studio art, hoping to graduate in October 2011. The working title for my thesis is 'Being in the Land: A Sculptural Investigation of Ecology,' and the main research question is 'How may sculpture communicate the experience of a reciprocal relationship with a natural environment?' I'm collaborating with Nature, building specially designed nest boxes for birds and beehives for honey bees.The sculpture created as a result of both my labor and the birds' and bees' labour.
Outside of school, recently... I have work in a show in Italy called Ecosynthesis and I've been invited to show at Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cookery School down in Co. Cork. I'll be installing a 6 foot nest made from culled hazel shrub next week and am hoping for a lovely meal...
Other than that, I thought I would pass along this link from VAI in case any of you hadn't seen it...
http://visualartists.ie/publications/visual-artists-ireland-student-pack/
It's info on making a transition from student life to professional practice. Although, all here are alum, there still might be some helpful information.

For now, I will leave you with this...

Bananas

I have not danced since leaving Ballyvaughan. I have not used my camera to make art. I call myself an Image-Based Artist now, to avoid telling people I am a photographer that does not take photos. The experience at OSU is much different in both good and bad ways. I get to teach Intro to Photo, I am loving it, my students keep getting more creative. I am hoping to teach after I graduate, they try to offer all Grads at least one class to teach per Quarter. The Photo grads are pretty sweet. It's hard to beat the coolness of BCA grads, even I am less cool since becoming a Buckeye.

I am happy to report that I have lost all 40 pounds that Ireland put on my body. I am back into my skinny jeans and victim to no more fat jokes... except by Tim who lives about 2 blocks from me. I have been dating my boyfriend Alex for over a year now. Last christmas I took him to Ballyvaughan and we stayed at Logues and at Jess and Stef's places. It was sad to see the village so quiet, no music bumping from Number 2.

I have been in a couple shows, some at the Hopkins Gallery, and others around Columbus. The ViEW Project just came down, it was at the Urban Art Space. This July I have a show at the ROY G BIV Gallery and my MFA show will also be at the Urban Art Space in June. If you are ever in Columbus, stop by and have a PBR with me!

UP . TO

Working at the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore

Studio in Hampden but I have decided to move out this winter. My studio practice seems to have shifted more toward having the TV/Music blaring- on my couch with a cup of coffee. I am going back to my roots as a child where art production happened on the living room floor with friends.

My own work has become much more focused on 1 image at time rather than than the typical photo series, I usually work with. The difficulty has been in making the work still cohesive enough to have a focus but not become a series or body of work in a whole. I am hoping to create a "database" of works that can interchange with one another over time. New pieces entering the work, old pieces reappearing and others being rotated- like how a curator would work with a collection. The work is still based around place, but has opened up more in order to bring in new ideas- then really working with editing down in the end rather than building up a body of work. Create loads of pieces then reduce that down, but not discarding the pieces I don't show (letting those pieces float around to re-contextualize other works) . I have been hiding the pieces for now, and will start to invite in critique when the organization process begins.

Collaborating with Sean still- in front of the TV, over beers, and on the phone. The image up top is a sketch for a piece that Peacock is doing at the Jordan Faye Contemporary next month. We are assembling places at the opening based on a spoken word, google earth, imagination, expectation, and what ever else comes into play. The actual construction of the work table will be much more modular, and easily fit in the back of a 2004 Toyota Tacoma.

Still love beer and fear wood stoves.

Knoxville

is where I currently am.  Guess we all might as well do the whole "where you at now/ what you doin?" thing to start off with, eh?

I was living on the family farm in Greeneville, TN, but recently moved back here into a charming house in the ghetto.  The growing season was over and after months applying for various jobs all over the states to no avail, I decided to just make the most of it here for now.

I had a great studio in Greeneville that I miss a lot, but I've converted my basement  into one that's working pretty well.  No hammock though.  Bummer.  Been getting involved with galleries and shows here and got into an exhibition in Kentucky which there's a nice article on here. 

Aside from that, I had forgotten how wonderful autumn is in Tennessee and how much fun football games (tailgates, honestly) are.  Also nice to be reunited with my car…..


So that's that…now more interestingly, check out this interview with Johnny Knoxville (probably the most noteworthy contemporary artist from my hometown) in which, among other things, Tom and Jerry cartoons are discussed. 

There's also this New York Post article about the Jackass 3 screening at MOMA.

And uh, this...heh.

Up and Running

Hey everybody!

So here it is... hopefully this will be a useful resource.  Be sure to send me your current email address so I can add you to the list of authors and you can begin posting.

Cheers!


Also, just for the record, I would like to say that I feel the glacial erratic is a much more appropriate symbol for us and the Burren College of Art…it's the antithesis to the perfectly integrated structure of the Burren stone walls and represents the random displacement of the students to a non-native landscape. so uh, yeah...