Aesthetic measure =
order
———-
complexity

(I’m not sure how to type formulas into blogs, so in Canadian English, that formula is: aesthetic measure is order reduced by complexity.)

That’s it! That solves all my problems as an artist, I think! Thanks, George!

…now, if anyone could explain the easiest and fastest way for me to apply this formula to my art, I would greatly appreciate it. Oh, and where do I sign up for Birkhoff’s job? I’ll travel and look at art and come back with like three formulas anytime.

I’m an admitted internet junky and I spend plenty of time reading and scoping out new webcomics. I’ve seen a lot, possibly them all. Seriously.

So it’s no small feat when one artist can catch my attention and hold it for longer than 30 seconds.

Which brings me to The Abominable Charles Christopher.

       Critical Review:

       Kutlug Ataman’s Kuba and Paradise

      At the risk of sounding somewhat cliché I’m going to go ahead and say that there is a jewel located on the third floor of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Kutlug Ataman’s Küba and Paradise installation fully takes advantage of the space provided by filling two parallel rooms with sixty-four television sets. Walking among these TV’s creates a sort of sci-fi aesthetic that would make Micheal Bay squirm with envy. 

      Formally, the installation is pretty great. The two rooms are similar in that they both harbour many television sets and that on each set is a video portrait of an individual, be it an adult or a small child. However, the two rooms differ in that one room contains portraits of southern Californians while the other has portraits of individuals from a community in Istanbul. The room representing Istanbul is filled with a hodgepodge of forty old and used television sets and forty old and used chairs. All of the TVs are set at different volumes so that the room is filled with sound, but each interview is sub-titled so that if the viewer chooses to do so, they can experience each piece personally.

In comparison, the California room is completely silent. It has 24 identical hi-def TV units and a pair of expensive headphones to accompany them. Obviously, each room provides a unique experience.

     Fortunately the concept behind this visual finery is strong enough to provide a backbone to the piece. In each interview, Kutlug Ataman gets his participant to describe why they think their home is paradise. Some of the interviews do tend to get a little off track (a young boy from Istanbul describes his love for soccer, while a woman from California describes her business practice), but the theme remains. It is only appropriate that these two pieces are brought together for the first time at the VAG (they were previously shown separately) because Vancouver itself is often viewed as utopian. It certainly makes for an interesting comparison when these three very different communities – California, Istanbul and of course, Vancouver – are brought into one gallery space. Each location has its own idea of perfection and it is particularly interesting to see the differences.

     One of the most obvious variations is in how the pieces are presented. Although negative connotations could and should be applied to each separate piece (the Californians have expensive equipment and are therefore spoiled, while Istanbul has used equipment and is therefore poor), each piece also has its own beauty. The Istanbul installation has a kind of warmth to its modesty while the California installation beautiful and cool.

Graffiti Research Lab, founded by Evan Roth and James Powderly during their fellowships at the Eyebeam OpenLab, is an art group dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, artists and protesters with open source technologies for urban communication. The members of the group experiment in a lab and in the field to develop and test a range of experimental technologies. They document those efforts with video documentation and DIY instructions for each project and make it available for everybody.

http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=76

Dedicated to making political and social statements.

Mr. Game

The Objective: To obtain as many or all coloured wristbands possible.

The Players:

·         In order for the Mr. Game to be successful there must be 10 or more Players.

·         Each Player is assigned a colour and may not change colours in the duration of the game.

·         God/Gods. There may need to be more than one. They control Mr. Game.

·         Bitches. (See the rule #6)

Boundaries:  The game will take place on Granville Island. Leaving the Island will result in the Player(s) being disqualified. A Google Map describing the boundaries can be located here: http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100685268942017269264.000447cb702c49a312dc4&ll=49.269569,-123.133757&spn=0.006413,0.014462&z=16Please note: these boundaries are not concrete and may be changed.

Materials:

·         Each Player will be provided with a certain number of wristbands (hair elastics) in their colour.

·         Each Player must have a cellular phone with text messaging. This is how you reach God. (If text messaging is not free for you and you want to play, either pay the price or try to borrow a phone that does have free texting. Phones, unlike the wristbands, will not be provided.)

·         It is also recommended that Players wear clothing they can run, hide, jump, swim, tumble and crawl in, and appropriate footwear.

·         God will also need a cell phone for texting and a notebook, pen, computer, etc. for recording what takes place. They will also need an excellent view.

The Rules:

1.       Before the game even begins, Players are encouraged to go over the boundaries via the Google Map provided and also get a good look at the rest of the Players involved. You will want to know everyone’s names and faces.

2.       Throughout Mr. Game there will be no talking allowed. This not only includes verbal communications, but also gestures, body language and anything else you can think of. Players may only contact God, and only through text messaging. Bitches don’t get to communicate at all.

3.       To begin, Players will be assigned their colours and corresponding wristbands and then encouraged to spread themselves out throughout the Island. Remember, when you are playing Mr. Game, you are on your own. You can trust NOBODY!

4.       Once everyone is spread out, God/Gods will send out a text message to all the Player’s assigning them the name and colour of another Player to hunt. Every Player will have someone different to hunt in this first stage of the game.

5.       Mr. Game begins only when God sends out a text that says: “Go!” This is to be sure that everyone starts at the same time so there are no unfair advantages.

6.       On Go! Players hunt down who they have been assigned. When a Player finds their prey they must chase them down and tag them like in the game “Tag.” If tagged, the Player becomes a “Bitch” and the Player who tagged them is now their “Master”. The Bitch must now give all their wristbands to their Master and acquire a wristband of their Masters colour. (Example, if Player Orange tags Player Green, Green gives up all their wristbands and becomes an Orange Bitch. Player Orange must now sport orange AND green wristbands on their wrist to show they are now a Master.)

7.       After tagging their new Bitch, the Master must text message God and let God know who they tagged. God will then respond with the name and colour of the Player the Master and their new Bitch must hunt next. (It is true that the Player the Master hunts next was the one the Bitch was hunting initially; however, it must be kept in mind that there is no communicating allowed between Players at any point in the game and that it is also very important that God is able to keep tabs on all the Players. Therefore, text God when you tag someone. Just do it.)

8.       When Master’s acquire Bitches, the game play changes very little. It is just more Players hunting the same person.  When a Player tags a Master, the Master and all of their Bitches now become the Player’s Bitches. (This means the Player will get all the coloured wristbands that the Master had and now all the Bitches will have to change the colour of their wristbands.)

9.       It is also important to note that once a Player becomes a Bitch, they remain a Bitch until the end of Mr. Game.  If a Bitch tags another Bitch they become their Master’s Bitch.

10.   Finally, and most importantly of all, Masters may control their Bitches, but God/Gods control ALL players. Keep this in mind. Mr. Game ends when there are no Players left to be hunted. 

Thank-you for participating and we hope you enjoy Mr. Game!

-Love Sam and Justin

Please let me know if you have any questions (I understand that it is a very confusing game!).

The game is going down Monday the 17th at 4:30. Please meet us in the Concourse Gallery if you would like to play.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Anyway, let’s get down to some real business.

Here’s Mr. Map: http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100685268942017269264.00044734d9afae54df114&ll=26.115986,0&spn=119.647303,236.953125&z=2

I enjoyed researching the subject and I hope you find it informative. If you think I missed any films (Disney or Disney-related, perferably) let me know.

See you cats tomorrow!

Essentially, the artist takes the comic and complete removes Garfield and everything he says/thinks from the strips. The result is hilarious.

Enjoy:

http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/page/1

 On a somewhat-related-but-not-really note, I just finished reading Alan Moore’s first League of Extraordinary Men [and Woman] comic book, and I highly reccomend it. It wasn’t as good as Watchmen which was exceptional; however, it wasn’t nearly as awful as it’s movie. I can’t wait for Hollywood to butcher Watchmen (which is being filmed here right now!), too!