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

Facts of Destruction

TindelMichi Monster Sized Numbers

Trucks: Usually 11 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, a monster truck must weigh a minimum of 9,000 pounds, with some monster trucks weighing as much as 12,000 pounds. The less the body weighs, the more strength and weight can be put into the frame and engine without sacrificing speed and maneuverability. Average cost: $150,000.

Engines: Custom-built, supercharged and methanol-injected, a monster truck engine burns up to 2.5 gallons of methanol per run (approximately 250 feet). The size of the motor is limited to 575 cubic feet, according to United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) regulations. The average monster truck team will go through five engines in one year. Average cost per engine: $35,000.

Body: Made of fiberglass, a monster truck body is custom designed. A fiberglass company generally owns the mold to the design. Average initial cost: $50,000. Average cost of remakes: $3,000.

Tires: Manufactured by Goodyear and Firestone, monster truck tires must be 66 inches high and 43 inches wide. The average monster truck team will go through eight tires in one year. Tires are customized and hand cut to accommodate track conditions. Cutting one tire takes approximately 50 hours. Average cost: $2,600 each.

Shocks: Most monster trucks run with nitrogen gas shocks. Some trucks run with one shock per tire, while others run with as many as two per tire. The complete shock package includes a coil-over-shock kit and spring. Average cost: $1,250 each.

Paint: A monster truck must be painted to cover the rough fiberglass body. Airbrushing logos and specialized artwork add to the cost. Average cost: $3,500.

Race Team Budget: A monster truck team incurs a number of expenses throughout the year from repairs and maintenance on a monster truck and the hauler to fuel, racing uniforms, lodging and food. Average cost per year: $250,000.

Crushed Cars: Steel body full-size cars are the vehicles typically crushed during a monster truck event. Cars, as well as vans, buses, motor homes, airplanes and ambulances, are attained from local junkyards and returned after each event. Average number of cars crushed per year: 3,000.

TindelMichi : Priceless

A Grey Box and The Honor System

So I made the long drive home to My Alabama.

From Atlanta that’s 4.5 to 5 hours to my parents door step.
I awake the next morning and decide to go treasure hunting. I want to explore, flea markets, roadside stands, and mom pop stores for possible materials for future installs and found object projects.

I plan and calculated my adventure. I will take Florence blvd or highway72 east to Huntsville.Thats about 80 miles of adventure and plenty of daylight. The plan was simple, find treasure and to photo document the trips images for inspiration. I'm developing a new aesthetic called FlorPop.Florence Pop.Im not sure what it is yet, just an idea right now. I think I want to hick up Andy Warhol’s great idea and sell it to NYC intellectuals too. Then do the Whitney Biennial on this Southern ticket and develop my factory called The Farm or The Coop or something. Anyway, I really want to find treasure and have fun searching. Relax.

First stop a flea market, about 15miles into my trip. I go in. It’s the usual junk, but at a knife booth a gray haired hicky man says "I got switch blahdes far 8 duhllars". I score some throwing stars. They were .50cents each. I'm cool with that, so I continue on.
I stop to photograph signs, abandon farm houses, creeks, lakes, trees, and fields.

As my journey continues I speed past Isoms Orchard. It’s been there forever, they have good Apple cider. Out of the corner of my eye I see a huge huge cage of... My eyes see them, my brain fires, nerves tingle, I process the shapes and in 2 seconds my mouth says GOURDS!!!! I put on brakes and whipped it around. From the highway I could see rows and rows of gourds in various shapes and stages of drying. Excited, doing a pirates dance for finding booty I get out of the car. Reading the sign posted that say..."We are tired and have gone into the house to rest. Gourds on the yard are 3 dollars, everything under the shed is as marked, pick what you like and pay the gray box. No shopping after dark. Thanks."

Weird I thought to myself. I got out and I picked my treasures. Waiting for someone to come help me or say "Hey, what'r you hunting." I wondered around the shed, made noise, tried to look suspicious anything to make someone come out, but they never did. The Grey box was taunting me. The honor system I said to myself, Wow who does that. I fumble around some more in hopes to get that person to come out.Im really trying hard, because I don’t want to be tempted with taking more than I pay for. They never came. I budget 7 gourds at $3bucks ea. is 21beans.I reach into my wallet for the money and decide to write them a note.” I am an artist in Atlanta and will be using your gourds in my work. I was going to order some from the internet. Not now. I will take back the gourds as small pieces of My Alabama. Thanks for being here, MICHI. I felt good by the whole situation. First, the find and the absent customer service rep.Then the faith that you will do the right thing.They really are doing this.

I wrap 21 dollars in that note and drop it in the grey box. Thinking wow, I could take all of these gourds, but I didn’t. I cant.Why not? Who trust a customer like that? I couldn’t figure it out. I continued on to Huntsville to more flea markets. I buy a new John Deere belt buckle green and yellow with gold plated trim. The gray haired gent eyeballed me the whole time as if I was going to pull a David Copper field on his merch.Strange I was thinking. The buckle is FRESH, but not as cool as the gourds and the customer service I call The Grey Box Honor System.It is something to ponder.

Dear Natalie

Often times kids can express themselves in ways we as adults have forgotten.Kids are brillant its no question.They hold nothing back and statements are to the point.This is what I want for my Artist statement and what I want for my work.Things to be just as direct and honest minus the sugar coated statement.DearNatalie, is a letter that was found crumbled in the hall and is now new source of inspiration.