The Jones's Name Drop'n the Image pose Stop Front'N

Celebs like'm
BOB knows whats up!!!
Usher owns one.
I could say the white stripes too.
Street Creditable
Museum quality
Collector worthy
TindelMichi:
so aesthetically trill.

Now! For the Youth

Dosa went nuts with his design.It made the kids tired,so he had to finish it up


I recently received a call from B-Girl/Activist Kelly B. asking me to help the youth and I said no. A few months later I get a call from Dosa he says, What is wrong with you ? Why aren't you doing this project? You need to be a part of this its for a good cause. My brother and I have our own youth foundation that mentors creative kids back in my home town of Florence, because no one was there for us creatively. He has gone off to Hollywood and done his big time movie stuff and well, I'm doing what I do.We figured we have made it up our journey and did ok, what if there was someone there to help kids realize their goals. So I agreed to help Kelly B.

We were to create a giant paint by number on 3 3ft letters that addressed a specific topic.The youth leaders would then paint the letters. Illustrate the issue and offer a solution.My topic was poverty.So on the N the figures are under a bridge while the rest of the world moves in happiness around them.

My solution was a good one I think. What if there were a farm that provided those at a loss with shelter.They raised their own food and sold it to the public on the honor system.What if they had a huge veg and fruit sale on the 1st and last sat of the month.They could even sale crafty stuff for folk who like that sort of thing.


My thinking was that being farmers would give them confidence and pride in wathcing these plants grow because of their own hard work.Maybe maybe not,but i am an ideas guy.

MIAMI Art

After the Comfort Kills Pursuit:Fight!!! show, I went to Miami with my lady to relax and scope for new gallery's and to make new connections.We jet set to the tropical playground for a week.Hotel on the beach,the smell of ocean and scooters for transportation.
The trip was timed with their art walk in the Design District,seeing this as my opp to introduce myself to Miami. I put in a call to Atlanta tastemaker Caleb Guage and poof "they are expecting you"was all he said. I was on the list at every night spot imaginable. Xavier is the guy.

So back to the art...Met up with the guys from Friends With You through Xavier.We did Art Basel with them two years ago. Their show by far was my favorite.They painted the walls like a weird outer space playland and filled a gallery full of their bouncy ball characters. Everyone had a smile on their faces and I felt like I was part of something special. It made me remember that art can be totally fun and not intellectually over bearing. Like POP art it was generic imagery that was easily acceptable and engaging to the public. Awesome!

I forget the artist name but the work was called "Bait" which feature a swimmer floating across the gallery floor with a shark in hot pursuit. There was a Baboon sculpture that reminded me of George Long's work. In short, made the connects, got the list for Miami nightlife, and got the tan.
Enjoy.Traveling is my next ArtForm.

Product Bombardment of a 4 year old

Today my best friend and artist/fashion designer Shannon Schmalfedlt sent me an email.

"Mai is keeping a sketch book diary. She has been writing down every word she sees printed out. For example, the CFN was copied from a gas station sign. It's weird to see the words out of context and through a child's eyes where they have no meaning. (Also notice the Sony brand name with the backwards n copied from TV and a possible Honda reference)"

and i replied to her
...product bombardment of a 4year old whom has no
money to buy such products,but they are part of her environment and
she cant get away from these words. CFN these are gas issues right now.
Sony and the lost board game BINGO. Maybe kids want old games and
not play stations,Ipods and cellphones.A Scooby snack,Narnia maybe and JVC. I think the POWER says the most we all want it,
presidential elections, gas companies, mom, dad, mai, the market, and the NO in box's, too FRESH.

I thought it was super fresh.
Maybe by chance but the family is under this CFN gas pump.
Mai
Mom
Dad
Gas prices are on alot of families minds as i think we see the decline of family vacays.
I think it says Chevron to they left no sure. So i Google Chevron the first thing i see is Human Energy
Power.
I say genius.

Comfort Thoughts

Comfort Kills Pursuit: FIGHT!

By MICHI

April 2008

Comfort kills pursuit

Fear kills comfort

Pursuit kills Comfort

-Tyrus Smalley

Comfort kills pursuit: FIGHT! is a personal mantra for one’s self to be proactive about obtaining one’s goals; a small phrase that warns against complacency and stagnant behavior. Its purpose is to inspire us to battle routine and monotony in our lives. Complacency is the killer of progress and a destroyer of dreams, and in time it can turn freethinking or creative thinkers into fear toting routine robots that perform the same movements without thought of change. On a daily basis we fight our comforts. The fight to get of bed and leave the comforter’s warm embrace, to face daily activities, stuck in traffic fighting and jockeying for a faster lane and quicker route only to be elsewhere, fighting for parking, struggling to beat the ticks of a clock and the date of a deadline. For me, the mantra speaks to all this including my creative process, the exploration of new ideas, and challenges with personal issues.

Comfort Kills Pursuit: FIGHT! uses boxing and quilting as the installation’s metaphors. The quilting imagery was chosen for obvious reasons-they are much like paintings, they are a testament to hand-made labors of love. Quilts provide a safe refuge from the cold. They have ability to tell a story through patch worked scraps of fabric. The idea of taking nothing to create something is impressive to visualize. While researching ideas, I jotted down this quote on scrap paper from the article Quilts as Symbols in America, by Jamie Leigh: ” …quilts and quilting are used to convey certain themes of self-expression, union of opposite values or people… the formation of close bonds, kin, heritage, history, family, comfort, love, and commitment.” The writing goes on to say”…Quilting is a medium that can bring contrasting backgrounds together to create a new meaning from the intermixture of its contrasting influences...” The thought of quilts recording history and meshing ideas into a union of various thoughts is a harmonious pattern that relates to my work. In the imagination the hand painted patterns represent small crops from larger paintings that were created in one’s visual past. They supply small details of information about the quest to develop an aesthetic that is uniquely Southern and contemporary. They are patches of struggle, comfort, and break-through moments about ideals.

With inventive thinking it’s simple to compare the artists and boxers. Both individuals require rigorous training physical and mental months before the exhibition. Creatively, it feels like one has to train their hands and ideas in preparation. The artist is up nights jumping rope, hitting the bags, sketching, reading, questioning, truly searching and becoming serial killer obsessed and focused on an idea.

In boxing there is also the interwoven issue of race that has been quilted into the fabric of the sport dating back to the times of Jim Jefferies who came out of retirement to fight Jack Johnson. Jefferies claimed "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro." This was the creation of "The Great White Hope.”

In creative thought, The Great White Hope is the gallery. It is the stage set by its four white corners mimicking the boxing ring. It is an opponent that has eluded many of fighters or artists. We all believe in its mythical power and its collectors’ ringside seats to elevate and hype our careers to the next level just by hanging there.

Comfort Kills Pursuit suggests that the fight is not a physical fight with thrashing left hooks, upper cuts and jabs that would send paint flying, but a fight for mental liberation. There are many things in our lives that we are fighting to free from our minds. What are you fighting? I am fighting for liberation from a history of images that portray black males as strange fruit, machinery, and property. There is a direct relationship with these images that show humans in horrid conditions. Some events occurred in my father's life time, such as bouts with the Klan that have been woven into the fabric of my family’s stories. How have these images affected the thought process and the image of self? How have they shaped the spirit? For me, the Boxers offer a strong positive image for the psyche. They are heroic. The poses comment on the physical strength and confidence that it takes to pummel and be pummeled. The boxers are tough and encourage us to pursue the win.

There are several aspects of boxing and quilting that could be explored and elaborated upon. The ring girls could be distractions and obstacles in the rounds of creating works. In quilting, maybe that would be sticking one’s fingers. The bell could signal a finishing point, the sound of a new round of ideas or new patches of fabric. Throwing in the towel is unexplainable. Quitting is not an option. The fight is to continue to pursue the win.

Even beyond the boxing and quilting, the phrase can be applied to different areas of thought. I have asked this question to my own imagination one million times. I hear my colleagues question their creative environment and its lack of community. Has Atlanta become too comfortable in its pursuit or fight of defining and establishing a contemporary arts society? When will we realize the unique character of the region and use it to our advantage? Declare Atlanta and our scene just as avant guard, fresh, and talented as cities like Los Angeles and New York City. Has Atlanta become a commercial gallery setting pursuing the sale of works for interior decorations? Personally, have I become comfortable with the idea of art as consumer products and tailored my statements to fit the criteria for success in a commercial gallery society? Seems like all I think about is the sale and not the work itself. Make it sale it. So I am partly fighting to gain my expressive voice. Again I ask, What are you fighting for?

So, It is part of my creative process for ideas and subject matter to crisscross and mash up like the layers of paint that are applied to the canvases or the patch work fabrics used to develop a quilt. Some ideas are clear and others are there as symbols. The cute characters, drips, color blocks, automatic scrawl, cryptic phrases and jokes all have significant meaning that relate to the works. In this body of work I try to explore many things at once as I understand how they relate to the ideas in my brain and the installation’s title.

Rd8KO Comfort Kills Pursuit:FIGHT!!!!

Comfort kills Pursuit
Fear kills Comfort
Pursuit kills Comfort
Pursuit kills Fear

Quote by Tyrus Smalley,
Artist, designer, Free thinker
brilliant mind, and neighbor.

DRAW-OFF BALLS OUT

Man I hope someone brings us some snacks...



The Draw Off
March 8 : Noon to midnight
Competition has always been an intrinsic part of the art world. Whether it is between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti battling for the commission for the doors of the Florence Cathedral Baptistery or Picasso and Braque duking it out to see who could “father” the cubist movement first, the element of contest has created some of the greatest artistic works of our time.
Heeding this competitive tradition, eleven Atlanta artists will simultaneously create new works on the walls of Eyedrum during a twelve hour period. The artists will work side by side using mediums only restricted by that which can be attached to the wall. Combining elements of fine art and performance will create a spontaneous and collaborative climate for the artists to work within. The collaborative element will be between both the artists sharing a work environment and the audience that will be watching and experiencing the drawing process.

Participating artists:
Maxwell Sebastian
Mandie Turner Mitchell
TINDEL-MICHI
George and Silas Long
Jesse Cregar and Sarah Emerson
Lydia Walls
Leuwam Tesfai and Meghan McNeer
Mario Schambon

Closing Day : April 19