Character Profile – feather2pixels

Tagged: Character Profile

July 30, 2013

Favor de agarrar uno.

9:20 am

Character Profile, the July 2013 text and language based group show I curated at Root Division in San Francisco, is over.

Just a rapidly fading collection of electrochemical brain markers and digital residue on the internet, the exhibition now exists only to the extent that we accept the highly contested notion of the past as a tangible component of reality. Character Profile does not think, therefore it may not be and may never have been.

To combat existential dread, I recorded this ten minute walkthrough of the show in 1080p.  We did it off the cuff in one long continuous take, so sorry if I misrepresented anything you might find important.   Thanks to EB , Trevor, and Lonwell for help with this.  And thanks to everyone who participated in the viewing and creation of this show.

[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/UXwZGbFcN6o” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]

Post Categories: gratuitous videoshows

Tags: , , , ,

Comments (0)

July 12, 2013

There is absolutely no educational requirement for being published.

10:14 am

Here is a sneak peak of noted gluten artist Ben Hill‘s Toasted Puns, installed at Root Division for our language-art show, Character Profile. This has to be seen in person to believed!

Post Categories: shows

Tags: , , ,

Comments (0)

He often plays the peacemaker between McCain and the senators McCain has offended.

10:02 am

Character Profile at Root Division is installed, open, and ready for the masses.

It really couldn’t have turned out better.  I am extremely proud of it.

The opening is this Saturday July 13, 7-10PM:
Root Division
3175 17th Street (between Shotwell and South Van Ness)
With a performance by vocalist-violinist Dina Maccabee around 8:30

And to help that along, we’ve got some press.  A delicious glossy spread in the July-August 7×7 magazine:

And a blurb in the July 11 SF Examiner:

Post Categories: shows

Tags: , ,

Comments (1)

July 3, 2013

Dress up like your favorite Star Wars characters, help us find “Yoda” around the ballpark.

9:59 pm

Here are some more photos from some Character Profile projects.

Ben’s Hill‘s Toasted Puns how have a title bun.  This was my first experience screenprinting baked goods and I must say I hope I have a reason to do it again soon.


America, you requested it and I am giving to you:  American Fistfight, is a multi-projector screenprinted slideshow controlled by a boxing robot.  It looks like a huge mess, but it’s coming along.

Post Categories: shows

Tags: , ,

Comments (0)

June 29, 2013

How about if we interrupt the program every millisecond to update the timer and the display?

9:39 am

Ben Hills toasted puns are coming in from our eight lettering artists. I toasted, shrink-wrapped, and tagged the first set yesterday and they are looking delicious.

Displayed artists: Amy Bryan and Astrid Kaemmerling

Character Profile opens July 10 2013 at Root Division. (Opening Reception: Saturday July 13 7-10PM)

Post Categories: food pornshows

Tags: , , , ,

Comments (0)

June 27, 2013

If product is heated, vapors generated can cause headache, nausea, dizziness and possible respiratory irritation if inhaled in high concentrations

10:19 pm

Check out this studio photograph from my upcoming instructional pamphlet: How not to embed one buffalo wing in clear epoxy resin by Jonathan Fischer.

Post Categories: questionable experiments

Tags:

Comments (0)

June 18, 2013

He lights a fire within me.

8:39 am

Know anyone who wants to help me and Ben create a wall of Toasted Puns?  Please pass on this link ASAP.

Post Categories: questionable experiments

Tags: , , ,

Comments (0)

June 17, 2013

From TV host to fierce defender of scientific issues.

2:50 pm

With a fierce commitment to words and play, the curation of my upcoming group show Character Profile is going to focus on separating Root Division in to discrete wings by topic, complete with screenprinted signage.  Want to know what sort of art’s in each of these wings?  Then join us for the July 13th 2013 opening. Do it!

And here’s the screenprinted signage:

Post Categories: printed signsprints on wood

Tags:

Comments (0)

You may have wondered if a backyard fire pit is legal.

2:25 pm

Character Profile

“Character Profile: New Works in Language, Text, and Wordplay”
Curated by Jon Fischer
Opening Reception Saturday July 13 7-10PM (one block from tacos!)
Exhibition Dates: July 10-27
Root Division
3175 17th Street at South Van Ness, San Francisco
free

About eighteen months ago in Golden Gate Park, I had a sudden flash of inspiration in the form of a succession of twenty-eight free associative phrases that I quite immediately knew I wanted to develop into a substantial art piece.

I was associated with Root Division through some teaching work, and decided to go even further and pitch them an entire language based show through their curatorial submission program. Over the course of four of five months of back and forth I refined the concept, got three or four trusted collaborators involved, and the proposal was accepted as the July 2013 show at Root Division! This group show is going to feature the language-based visual artwork of 27 artists including my beloved Ben Hill, Nowell Valeri, and Erin Bregman. I think it’s going to be a really fun, multifaceted show featuring but not limited to:

  • A wall of Toasted Puns.
  • An interactive sound installation in which visitors can manipulate Presidential speeches with obscene gangta rap with old TV commercials, to create their own postmodern soundtrack the way God intended.
  • Flip Books.
  • A New York Times vs USA Today death match.
  • eBooks (a humongous “e” made out of books).
  • And lots of other engaging, interactive work dedicated to a spirit of play.

Bring your kids!

My project, “American Fistfight” evokes the early era of cinema with rudimentary moving image sequences produced entirely with screen printed 35mm slides. Several vintage projectors connected with a fabricated control panel will allow visitors to maneuver image sequences for themselves while the results are displayed on the gallery wall.

From the curatorial desk:
Character Profile is a visual arts exhibition featuring projects that explore intersections between the forms, mechanisms and meanings of language. Drawing from a cross disciplinary group of twenty-six collaborators from across the country including writers, visual artists, and craftspeople, Character Profile investigates novel functions of language through a broad range of materials, media and approaches. Many of these works are dedicated to a spirit of engagement and play. The exhibition highlights art designed for direct interaction with visitors and work that provokes expanded meanings and alternative associations. These artists present language as both a medium and a subject, and deftly maneuver words to both convey and critique meaning.

Character Profile

Post Categories: shows

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Comments (0)

February 25, 2013

The loudest voice will be the voice that speaks for those who lost their voices.

1:41 pm

Last year I decided that I wanted to focus on art that features wordplay.

To facilitate this, I arranged to curate a show on art that features wordplay at the always-canny Root Division.   The key word here is “play.”  The word “word” is also key.   I suppose the word “features” provides some key context as well.

You know what? All the words are important.  That’s the point of the show.

Please forward this to anyone who might be interested–not just visual artists.  The show is in July 2013 in SF and proposals are due by the end of April.

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS:

Character Profile

Curated by: Jon Fischer

Deadline for Submission: Monday, April 29, 2013
Exhibition dates: July 10-27, 2013

Root Division invites creators working in all fields to submit work for an exhibition entitled Character Profile, featuring artworks and projects that explore intersections between the form, mechanisms and meaning of language.

Considered works may:

  • Explore the material and aesthetic quality of language, using text as a medium to create patterns, sounds, and familiar objects.
  • Provoke expanded meanings and alternative associations between words, in some cases inviting visitors to construct their own art from words.
  • Feature visual forms of wordplay, free-association, puns.

The goal of Character Profile is to create a visitor experience that is interactive, thought provoking, and accessible to a diverse group of guests.

The curator will entertain any works that investigate novel functions for language through a broad range of materials, media and approaches. Selections will be made with an emphasis on:
1. A dedication to the spirit of play.
2. Developing projects from a wide range of artists, designers, and makers.
3. Versatile and interactive works.

Proposals for new projects will be considered for selection in the exhibition. These applicants should submit examples of related work and a detailed proposal.

Checklist of application materials:

  • 4 images (jpegs: 72 dpi, 600×800 pixels max) (Digital only please; Sorry, no slides) AND/OR Link to Vimeo or other video platform, (If not available on the web, please submit a 3-minute video clip on CD/DVD for Mac)
  • Artist resume (1-2 pages max)
  • Artist statement (1 page max)
  • SASE (for return of materials if desired)
  • E-payment can be made via our website [HERE]
    (or submit a $10 check/money order made payable to Root Division)
  • Completed application form [HERE]

Deadline for Submission: Monday, April 29, 2013

Please call 415.863.7668 or email events@rootdivision.org with any questions.
**Artists selected for the exhibition will be notified by May 17th, 2013 via email or phone about the inclusion of their work in the show. Curator will conduct studio visits as necessary, but good documentation of work is strongly suggested.**

ROOT DIVISION

3175 17th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.863.7668
www.rootdivision.org

ABOUT ROOT DIVISION:
Root Division is an arts and arts education non-profit located in the Mission District of San Francisco. Root Division’s mission is to improve appreciation and access to the visual arts by connecting personal inspiration and community participation. We provide subsidized studio space to working artists in exchange for their service in creating shared learning opportunities for the community. Artists develop creatively and professionally by teaching art to underserved youth, leading adult education classes, and producing exhibitions that showcase local emerging artwork. By combining multiple opportunities for creative exchange, Root Division cultivates an artistic ecosystem that enriches life throughout the Bay Area.

Root Division is supported in part by grants from Grants for the Arts: SF Hotel Tax Fund & Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund, The San Francisco Foundation, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and the Potrero Nuevo Fund. The Second Saturday Exhibition Series is sponsored by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, the San Francisco Arts Commission through a Cultural Equity Grant/Organizational Project Grant, the Fleishhacker Foundation, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation.

For further information regarding events and/or press materials, please do not hesitate to contact Amy Cancelmo at 415.863.7668 or events@rootdivision.org.

Post Categories: shows

Tags: ,

Comments (0)

test1