Fearsom Fables... Environmental art at the Hyde Park Art Center

This is a series of paintings done on 8 foot panels, displayed leaning up against the wall throughout the entirety of Gallery #4 in the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago. One side of these panels shows devastation, the other side shows a utopia. The devastation is unrelenting ? it shows a world where every resource has been mined, from the trees in the forests, to the ocean and the human spirit ? there is nothing left but the reminisce of the culture that we opted for. The dried ocean floor with its oil tankers and the desolate neighborhood with the tire swing remain, but the corporate promises and support have completely faded.

Tom Torluemke, although born and raised in Chicago, moved to Hammond, IN where he lived for over a decade. While there, he worked with the city and tried to build something sustainable. Based within the arts he and his partner Linda Dorman organized events and community betterment programs with the Northern Indiana Arts Association. The fact that Tom was not politically motivated ultimately made him a thorn in the side of those that were, and he had to watch as his vision was not appreciated and led to the building of another mall with more promises made but never kept.

This piece is a complete experience, it is not smart, it is not hip, it is not coming from the overly self-satisfied world of the intellectual and educated arts. This is one man?s fear ? a fear that is in all of us, the one fear we all too often decide to ignore 99% of the time. When we do think of it, when we make a choice because of the fear or because we want to be better, or even just be seen as being better, we are taking an action for the betterment of the whole. That is what Tom is asking of us, take a little action, it doesn't have to be much, maybe just start by turning around one panel to turn a dilapidated city-scape into a redwood forest, but for christs sake do something.
images by Linda Dorman

MST3Ks Joel Hodgson: Riffing Himself at Mayne Stage

When I heard Joel Hodgson was going to be performing his one man show "Riffing Myself" in Chicago I jumped at the opportunity to interview the man. For those of you that are not either old enough to know Joel or just missed out on all fun because you were doing something else, he is the man behind MST3K. What, you may ask, is MST3K? Well, it is a cult comic series that begin in 1988 and featured Mad Scientists who shot Joel, and later, Mike into space forcing them to watch the worst movies ever made. The reason for this was so that the scientists could unleash the movie onto unwitting audiences and ultimately rule the world. Joel was accompanied by 2 robots which, as the shows intro explains, he made and together they make comedic comments about and during the movies, otherwise known as riffing. Oh yeah MST3K stands for Mystery Science Theater 3000 and fans of the show are called Mysties.

The big win here, and where a lot of my excitement stems from, is that Joel is a real Midwestern talent. If you are from the area you would see this right away, if you are not you would notice that there is something different about him, and it may seem a bit unpolished. I associate this to the fact that Joel is down to earth in his work and it shows, an honest and matter of fact demeanor are always on display with everything I have ever seen him do. In talking with Joel I asked him about this, he spoke of growing up in the Midwest and have aspirations of being in showbiz "You can only be a performer" he stated, and I see this as a very Midwestern approach. What I mean by that is he picked one path that made logical sense and did all the hard work of staying on that path and made it work for him. With a great work ethic, creativity and common sense he found no envelopes to push because everything he did he created himself. Repurposing, appropriating and recycling old ideas, taking other people paths or cow towing to the man has not been seen as a respectable creative practice in the vast Midwest, and might I add that Joel grew up in Stevens Point WI, not Chicago like I had the pleasure of, so his experiences regarding this are probably more extreme than I could imagine.

Joel has seen and experienced a wide array of successes in his career but the approach to his work is always the same, a lot of hard work and preparation as well as being able to do it. When talking about performing, as he is about to do twice at The Mayne Stage here in Chicago, he said "It's a big responsibility (to entertain an audience) so I only do it when I am able to" he went on to say "the commercial world of show business is kind of an awful thing and I like art much better", I hear that and tip my hat to the man. it doesn't seem to be that easy to be in the business Joel finds himself and survive doing what you love, and that has very much always seemed to me to be an art form for him.

Joel will be presenting 'Riffing Myself' which is the story of how Mystery Science Theater 3000 came to be. Joel tells the story of his lifelong passion for entertaining and performing and how this plucky Midwestern kid created one of the most niche cult classic series that has ever hit television. I am a fan of his so forgive me if I seem like I am exaggerating. The presentation features photos, videos, documents and notebook pages from Joel's personal collection, illustrating some rarely seen projects and the creative process that helps brings them to fruition. This is an all ages event and I should mention that for those who found their Midwestern creative voice watching things like MST3K there is a VIP package that includes a 4pm screening of Mystery Science Theater 3000, meet and greet with Joel, signed poster, light appetizers and reserved seats to the 8 PM show.


Mayne Stage
8pm and 10:30pm shows

So on Dec 3rd I had the pleasure of going to the Harris Theater to see the second of four concerts in the MusicNOW series for the 2012/13 calendar, and ti should be said that this series has been in existence since 1998. This series focuses on... well, I am not exactly sure what this series focuses on because that information was not clearly spelled out on on the CSOs website. I did go to the event, so I was privy to the fact that it focuses on new and local composers in some fashion. Don't ask me how exactly, that was kind of lost on me when one of the pieces was over 15 years old and only one of the four composers was local, kind of; I feel that a more apt title to the series would have been MusicKindOfRECENTLY. Putting all that aside, because who wants to go the symphony and bitch about semantics anyway, onto the music, but not yet exactly.

First off I had to sit through a video of composer Steven Bryant arrogantly letting us know how great the piece was we were about hear that he composed. Here is a hint CSO, don’t do that. I first thought, okay maybe Stevie is just like that, maybe he doesn’t really understand the creative process, maybe he was told he is a genius at a young age and doesn’t have a true grasp of reality. What do I know about composing. I am just here to listen to some music now; unfortunately it was composed by that smug composer Steven Bryant, who I was just introduced to via a video, which did nothing to help me appreciate the piece. The question I walked away with was would I have enjoyed the piece more had I not heard Stevie talk so highly of it from a place of arrogance and intellect.

As the night waned on the arrogance in the videos didn’t cease, although Mason Bates and Zosha Di Castri seemed slightly less willing to express theirs so openly. Both Mason and Zosha presented pieces I appreciated. I was able to get lost within them despite the interview videos that precede the performances. You may be noticing that I am focusing on the videos much more than the music, and you’re right. When the CSO decides to show short format video, which I can only assume, is to help new audiences appreciate concert music, I have to chime in.

As many of you know, I have been making short format videos to help expose the visual arts of Chicago for over five years, and so I know as well as anyone that what the CSO is trying to do is not easy, and bravo for them giving it a go. I would suggest that they do a bit more research on how to successfully accomplish a goal like, make the composers likable, or, focus on what excites the composers about the piece we are going to see. When Zosha spoke about her piece I could see her excitement level rise when talking about some odd instruments that we would be seeing but that gave way to more stiff academic pompous jargon speak, which I couldn’t make heads or tails of, it must be said that by this point I didn’t really care to either. Having video of the composers just because you can is no reason to complicate what you are here to present. It makes sense that in this MusicNOW series a video could work, and I can appreciate that, but there is this site called YouTube, which can be a great guide to how people are using videoNOW to present things like music. Just thought I would pass that along.

The next two Concerts in the MusicNOW series are on February 25th and June 3rd you can access programs and details for these concerts at the CSOs website.

A great game

Check out "Dragon's Lair FREE - HD"

This is a classic game from my childhood. So glad I don't have to keep putting quarters in the machine to get to play it.

Newest painting just in time for fall - buyers wanted

Newest painting just in time for fall - buyers wanted, originally uploaded by MartinJon.

Newest painting just in time for fall - buyers wanted

OpenWall at the 47th Ward Office

Artists are always finding new ways of connecting with their communities, and what says community more than your Alderman's office. OpenWall is an initiative being executed in the 47th Ward office and by 47th Ward artists and Alderman Pawar. As a lifetime Chicagoan I realize the importance of the Ward office, if you have problems with the city and want them taken care of it, you can storm into the Ward office and yell "Who do I need to talk to to get (fill in with service you are looking for)" and that is how it work, or doesn't depending on the response you receive. This is an important fact because if most of the traffic you are attracting is angry or at the end of their rope it is important to not give the impression you, the Ward, is trying to hide behind politics and red tape. Alderman Pawar said it best while speaking to the artists and attendees at the opening of "1+1=Community", the current show up in the 47th Ward office, when he said "The art disarms people".

Curator of OpenWall, Patricia Larkin Green, has a particular sense of what can be accomplished with this initiative, not only for the artists and the ward but for the arts and those who appreciate the arts throughout the city. I think this is a great step to get the arts attention in politics. We found out last night that these shows have influenced Alderman Pawar to buy art, and not just any art; he is buying local art which in turn supports his community and constituents. It is important that artists and politicians understand that working artists are a part of, not only a creative community, but of the business community. To be building a bridge that connects artists with local politics will keep arts in community discussions to beautify neighborhoods and build the business of a thriving arts community.

 Every quarter the OpenWall committee determines a theme, selects and displays artwork in the Ward office which is located at 4243 North Lincoln Avenue. The current show "1+1=Community" features over a dozen artists and is being presented in conjunction with Chicago Artists Month. This show features the artwork of the OpenWall committee members (the first 1) plus one artist of their choice (the second 1) that live within the 47th Ward. To learn more about the artists and the event please check out the OpenWall blog at http://openwall forartists.blogspot.com/

It should also be noted that on Friday October 19th there will be an artist talk from 7pm -8pm at Essanay Studios/St. Augustine College 1345 West Argyle Street Chicago, IL 60640 .

Here is a newly revised painting I did recently

Here is a newly revised painting I did recently, originally uploaded by MartinJon.

Here is a newly revised painting I did recently