astronautinasandtrap-blog

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In framing watercolors from the past

Both mine - left Cervantes 24”x16”

Right: the depth of painting and other fleeting thoughts

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The musing state

In my thesis 1+1=1 I write about two ideas of thought towards my artwork one of building ideas from non related subjects and images and one of memory the way that people remember is to break down a event into unrelated images and build a narrative around them.

A constant cycle of building and dismantling - experience and memory in this way people experience art works in the same way they recall memory.

When professor Debono invented lateral thinking he is teaching people to think laterally in this way of musing solutions we can make evolutionary jumps outside of vertical thinking - proving and disproving in order to move forward. Like a science fiction hyperspace jump lateral thinking makes the same type of leap when solving problems.

Iam reading Temple Granden’s “ Visual Thinking “ in it she explains to the general population what all of us on the spectrum experience, how we solve problems, by plucking clarity from a unseen pile. Making associations that reviel themselves to us.

Granden continues on to write about how many fields have excluded people on the spectrum by having them submit to algebra - and other obsilas they encounter early in the education process.

This made me see a similar issue in the arts when creating public works or grant applications the first hurtle is a written letter of interest or intent - these are sorted by cast aside the ones who have typos, my question is why is this used at all when looking at a visual arts application - how many great things and people are missed out on by this non artistic scale being applied to their ideas. I had an opportunity to speak to someone from a state review board and it was as though we were speaking different languages - she saw nothing wrong with applying this way of sorting to grant applications. The use of a vertical thought to a lateral thinking solution has no bearing on whether you can accomplish your idea on time with in your budget. As I have proven for many years - realizing this short coming makes me move to address it in my next application. And to write to the Temple Granden foundation for their support

James Meyer

3/03/2024

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Use in case of emergency-

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How many times is enough to apply to something- a lot of times you don’t get a grant the first time you apply but how many times do you try? Three times - I k ow that the reviewers think you should apply again but it is such a hit to be not chosen . I have been passed over recently and I don’t know how much I can go on. Without getting some encouragement. But I do think this every year- and loose heart - fall pick myself up and continue

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I am still alive - and I can never make it all right for you - after I got fired from my job I was ashamed of what I had done. A year later I got arrested for what I had gotten fired for. The weight of what I had done gave me vertigo- I could not do anything- I could not walk - I could not talk to anyone- i could curl up in a ball on the floor. I did think of suicide. It would come and go- my family kept me alive. I would go out paddle boarding and think about tying a block to my legando push it off the board. It would come and go. I stayed I stayed for my family. After I went to prison and came home . The town was very polarized about me being home- I paid my debt to society but I am still being punished- by getting fired for who I am . I got fired three times- I am being attacked by the irs because they felt left out of my case and the Justice Dept and the art world, they all think they have to punish me. Iam still here

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10 -5min monologues at lights out gallery in Norway Maine- your kindness is a weakness. Your kindness is a weakness. Your kindness can be perceived as a weakness. Short monologues that speak about work relationships- and power dynamics- what is art? What is ideas- the red phone- the light- makes you aware of something important- the phone ringing in a gallery breaks the silence of the room- conceptual art requires a incongruity to break the illusion- to call attention to itself-. When you pick up the phone someone is talking about personal introspective ideas - are you supposed to be listening to this is it to personal? Honest raw funny these monologues I feel are art

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There are known unknowns - the cadence of Donald Rumsfeld is part of the reason this is so interesting- how much do people think about they don’t know or understand- what do you know about people you meet or start talking to- like the nesting dolls- each person has something they don’t revel about themselves

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Who controls the conversation- as incarcerated artists we should be able to curate our own art work - trust that we know what the conversations are- that we have a vision of what we want to show.

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Thank you Donald Rumsfeld- for pointing out the process of thought

The art world should understand this to move forward

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How do museums and galleries know what is currently being made by artists? About 5 years ago there was an article written about a young couple who are collectors donating their art collection to the museum of Baltimore- the couple had bought what was being shown in New York art galleries for the previous ten years- this however did not reflect what was being made by artists- it only represented commercial sales in New York for that period- few women few people of color - this was a recent article about a constant problem-

The laziness of the museums is overwhelmed by the volume of artists- how do artists overcome these limitations? You see books like 9th street women, the women were there making and also being shunned and marginalized- when I worked for BARD CCS I worked with new curators they were so lazy and in order to solve problems would simply go to a art fair and pick a handful of artists to include- this was super disturbing for me as it made me realize the habits they were developing.

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How do galleries find artists- do they look outside of their daily routines? Do they listen to unofficial scouts? If you are not in the sphere of other artists in galleries or collectors because of the short coming of the system they will never see the majority of the artists. How does one break this cycle.

Does the internet help ? Do you bang on the door to be let in ? The people who have complained and let in close the door behind themselves

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Islander the idea that islands are unto themselves and that you depend on nieghbors family friends to stay alive- your food and water are finite so you grown up conserving- also all those who know the shape of the island- recognize it right away without explanation. Also they know they can call on you. I have this as a touch stone