Spring time is Sculpture moving time. Venues are making ready for their summer seasons. Moving heavy art is not for the feint of heart however. The Impacted Female got a new location this week, and during the installation at the Historical Museum in Tecumseh, MI we had a minor incident that brings a pause.  A truck lurched forward just as the sculpture cradle crested the ramp and it came down in a hurry. Fortunately it was lined up well and no one was hurt and no damage.The mind races for a bit at a time like this and then idols for a long time afterwards on the "could haves" and the dangers of what we are doing. this one went OK but their have been a few that cost me rework.   What if someone got injured? Yikes! Steady boys, don't be nervous, just stead boys.  The mind will idol on that 1/2 second every time I unload now, as it did for the rest of that day and on into the next.
Be careful out there.
Tj

From Art Serve Michigan! Great article on Tj

http://news.artservemichigan.org/2011/07/putting-art-first/
Great article by Katie Donavan

400 lbs of Light Weight Cement?

I was all ready for my first large cement casting, I had the ingredients, mold was prepped, armature welded up and materials measured out. Estimates on the surface area put the cement at about 225Lbs. So I started in on a Friday morning. One side complete by evening. The trick to concrete is to cast continuously , never letting the material reach full cure where you are going to add more. Saturday morning early I was casting side 2 and assembling components. Some breakage occurred, then an armature alignment issue, causing me to cut metal and remove the base rig. By dinner time I was exhausted but not done. A quick meal and back to this fight, to select a place at which I could stop for the night without leaving a major flaw in the cement work. By 3 AM the skin was all assembled and the armature welds figured out. My pre-measured ingredients were gone a long time ago. I’m now into my entire stash of stuff to get this monster finished. The weight grows. I realize I’m at about 340 lbs now.

Little things like lifting, positioning and rolling over an object of this size when it is still delicate pose quite a challenge. Just me and my modified engine hoist in the middle of the night maxed out to it’s highest lifting point is an eerie thing. I’m propping it up to get a new position on the lifting strap. It is dangerous and tentative. Jazz saxophone in the background is calming but the panic is immediate. Be quick before this heavy sucker shifts or falls. Tension and adrenaline into an old guy’s body already drained from two days of continuous lifting, mixing , stooping and calculating. Whew, back on the hook! Position achieved, next operation.

The shower and bed feels pretty good but is short lived. Sunday morning I am back to weld in the base armature, fill the core with foam and layer in my partitions and finally trowel off the bottom of this massive base.

At the end of the session I had over 400 lbs of material and 39 hours in three days.

How does it feel to see her standing complete, out of the mold? Decompressing and joyous. Now comes all the finishing, grinding and polishing, but not tonight. Tonight I drink and wonder what the …. Is the matter with me? Where are the studio assistants? Am I out of my mind? I like to sing a country song these days, “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.”

Thanks,

Tj

(with a little Toby Kieth)

Spirit of a New Project

Last week I posted from my notes on how we obsess on things.

I’ve been reading Artist in His Studio by Lieberman, which looks at those famous guys from a hundred years ago in France. Almost all had a few antiques around, notably the (then) recently publicized African sculptures and Japanese prints. They were struggling with how to get the raw underlying spirit of nature and people into their expressionistic works. Most were ceaseless fanatics in the studio with intense discipline to paint or sculpt. (Giacometti’s brother took molds from his pieces at night because he never stopped working on them).

I’ve been focused on a full scale version of a complex piece, bouncing from camera to computer to tape measure to projector to calculator and wondering about the efforts.

In our times of commuting, computing, and machine interface, have we lost the ability to search for underlying spiritual condition? In our screen time we may watch the modern art forms of TV or Movies. There’s lots of focus here on the results of underlying spiritual condition (CSI, Criminal minds, vampire, murder, celebrity fixation and reality shows). If we spend a lot of time on the web it seems really removed into a tech blizzard.

It is my hope that I can cap the statements about the car culture fixation with this work. It is a tough undertaking. This week I studied casting and assembly methods and did armature design on the new piece. I am prepping the “Boomer’s Nike” for a rubber mold which will allow me to make the major components. The size and logistics are an intense study. All the while the non technical side of my brain is mulling the spiritual understatement that should emanate from this big composition. Can it truly indicate the speed at which we hurl through our world of cars and screens? Is it worthy of the time and materials I will consume to make it full scale? Should I be doing more human or nature focused pieces that speak more to the spirit? What is the spirit of our day? Is our machine interface and constant analysis making us spiritually cold? Can a car centric form speak to the spiritual condition? Could this be the end of the Car Impact work? It always seems like the last piece I’ll ever make when I get into a big project like this, and it should. How else can one create his best from his utmost?

Passion & Time

Here is a fun clip done from the GR show recently. I had a ball showing this piece, and it prompts me to think about real passion and time utilization. (click the pic after reading)

At a show or event you can obsess with your fellow buffs about authenticity, production statistics, industry lore, current trends, and of course- grouse about, and critique the stuff on either side of your position! Yes, organized events draw out the worship in great depth and magnitude. And these last two statements apply universally to any modern obsession; sports, guns, music, art, clothes, wine, you name it! We get so knowledgeable that we start to be indignant to the novice. Yes we can now compare how we rate on the "Snobometer" for all our passions, "On cars he is a 6, on beer a 7, but the guitar thing he is off the meter at 12!" How many passions can one person actually hold at once? And more importantly, what do all these hours of contemplation supplant in our lives?

In each pursuit we achieve goals, we acquire something new, we crest a hill only to note the mountain we couldn't see just beyond our conquest. On some items we finally realize the "minisculity" of our knowledge and capability and give up the striving. Or we back off burned out. At the end of a life what will remain? What did we find fulfilling? God designed each one of us with certain bents and passions that align with His way for us. Many poor substitutes supplant these perfect walks with Him where there is incredible peace and a pure satisfaction of life lived by the moment in the way we were created to be, with God. If you have never experienced this flow, ask Him to show it to you. At the end of the day the life of true joy is worth so much more than all the striving. For me it is doing a big sculpture for people to experience.

What's it for you?
Thanks-Tj

Ain't over till.......

Well it is true! It ain't over till the paperwork is done, or in this case the documentation. I'm now in the task of trying to get good clean images of this project put together in some fashion that tells the story concisely. But what a job! I'm spending a lot of my time and the time of other great artisans like Rob White on Photo shop, and Steve Goolian on Video to package the visuals from this installation. It's huge. The location was so cluttered that we are having to remove tons of junk from the backgrounds of the photos to let the piece come through. Funny how you never quite envision all the work it takes to do a project of this scale. But I'm slogging through and getting ready to use the documentation for new project applications. Sure will be nice to get back to the studio for some sculpture!

Aftermath

I new this day would come. There are pieces of the Car Chase all over the yard, the pad isn’t prepped for re-installation because I’ve found no cheap source for earth moving equipment and my budget is spent. The hunt is over, I ache from all the loading and moving and I’m not on the stage any more. Worse yet I need to generate basic operational funds so I will have to seek some kind of work, sheesh. I’ve got some big molds to do and the studio needs a remake to get it organized again, and it’s pretty cold outside. Winter is approaching, and I’m doing the Edmond Fitzgerald with an old guitar and a slide to commemorate the season.
Life is not a disaster but quite a bit more stark than last month in the sunshine. A lot of documentation to do to get the “CarChase” story usable for marketing efforts. The dazzle is over, the news teams are gone, the wind blows some debris across the drive and we plod forward into increasingly chilly winds.

The Dark side – Art and Auto Decline

Each night as evening fell I would turn on my lights and prepare for the evening crowd. Flicker has sported some beautiful picts of the flying bugs at dusk and the car splashed in lamplight and back lit with the fantastic projection show going on behind me on the four story building. The white forms loom beautifully from the darkness. One evening I was explaining the Car Chase and the phrase “BugSwarm from off shore” perked the interest of a former Buick builder from Lansing. “You must hate foreign cars as much as I do” he spouted. “Hate for competition doesn’t help you. If they are better, you need to step up.” I responded. “We built great cars at Buick” he blustered. Not noticing his rage building, I blundered into his sore spot. “They’re out dated styling only appeals to old people.”I noted. He took off on a rant about how great General Motors was and how people don’t get it. My tongue was sharpened now and the thrust lunge at the heart was too easy. “Yea, but your bankrupt.” I might as well have called his mother a whore. “F--- You” He threw down his hands and walked a fast circle, and paused eight feet away, lurching back in my direction, “JUST * # F– YOU” and stormed off.

I spent the rest of the evening in remorse for having goaded him and wondering if he would be back with a hammer. I forget that some folks cannot be philosophical about what is happening in Michigan and are very tender about their beloved industrial institutions; the big three. I thought to myself :“This is why many here refer to east Michigan as the Dark side” It Rained about midnight and we shut down.

Running the Good Race

Art-Competition: It is almost an oxymoron. Who does an artist compete against besides himself? Maybe those that are technique driven or a few anal detail chasers view others as competitors, but the endeavor of making art is inherently not about one person pitted against another. Yet, striving for a prize is the driver, and the public vote determines the winners in the ArtPrize.

An interesting dilemma comes. I have been told by some pretty fine artists that I should not speak so much about my work. It should be interpreted by each viewer and the mysteries within it should remain to be discovered. But what about those who haven't a handle on art in general and are desperately seeking clues so they can apply their minds to what is in front of them?
For these masses of folks I talked incessantly until I had it honed to a 15 second elevator speech. The relief and delight espoused continuously from the viewers encouraged me to do more for them.
And I think a decent composition prompted them to ask and the cliff notes helped them vote. I stayed in the top 25 from the beginning of the tally. It is an honor to talk art with the public and, even more so, to be acknowledged by them for a creation.
The Artprize folks will not reveal how close I came to the top 10. Was I #11 by 2 votes? Or #25 removed by hundreds from #24? I guess I’ll never know. But like the apostle Paul I hope I ran the race with integrity, pressing toward the mark with all diligence.
Like Love- better to have tried and lost than never to have tried at all. But also like love- Why not me? Am I bad? Not desirable? Silly? Nah, just an artist pitted against himself. I’ll get em next time.

Car Chase ends in....

Well, It was really unbelievable that I was in the running for thousands in prize money. We went to Cathedral square for the announcement of the top ten. A channel 8 news guy did a short interview with me , we were early to check out the site and they were just setting up. The big money guy stepped to the pedestal and was very brief. No hoopla just the list of ten. “And now, in alphabetical order,--Bang it was over right then for me, before he said a word. The first name posted started with D. My balloon air squealed away ending in the traditional flutter and the rest of the program was irrelevant. We stood up as soon as the names were done and walked off.
Now comes the long week with no prospects other than having to dismantle this monstrous work.

Many condolences came in and “Top 25 from 1262 is still pretty good.” but the fun is gone now. I have to started figuring my way out of the economic hole I’ve dug. And how to capitalize on what I have done. Most of the ten I agree with so at least the public is not so bad at judging art in Grand Rapids.
Great fun while it lasted.
Tj

Video interview

Interview on WZZM13 done on Tuesday, airing tonight, since Tj remained in the top 25 all through the first week of voting on ArtPrize! Announcement of Top 10 is tonight at 6pm!!!
If you missed them, he also did an interview at the beginning of ArtPrize with the Grand Rapids press, seen on mlive.com, and had a spot in the Holland Sentinel when ArtPrize opened.
Great press for great work!

Final Round

Yesterday was a beautiful cool sunny fall day and the traffic at the BOB was steady. Fans came dragging their friends to see my piece. Many were trying to see the whole show before issuing their votes. We had 1000 cards printed initially and then put the number on the back with a sticker, they were gone in the first 2 days. I estimate we had printed another 2000 little slips with the shot of the piece and the number to make it easy for them to vote. People shot pics like paparatzi. Friends in clumps, families, kids with the artist, you name it. This piece is now all over facebook. "Hey, worth a pic it's worth a vote!" I'd quip handing them a slip. On the third day I called home and said "Print more and get them down here, I'll be out by 3". Some were chopped funny and I stuffed these in a different pocket, trying to only issue the best ones. My printer is now blinking error notes and needs a hundred bucks worth of cyan powder. By last night at 9:30 I had handed out every slip of paper I had,(even the funny ones) and was down to left over stickers with only the number on it. They went on peoples jackets, coffee cups, and other artists cards. About 50 voters took them.

My videographer came by and we got some fantastic night time footage. I rolled home at 1AM thrilled with the news that I was in the top 25.


Today it is a press barrage. We set up interviews with radio and news papers and a photo session with the piece. As it happens a news team had come by documenting childrens' reactions to the show while I was fixing the bugs. They did an up close personal interview and it was apparently used on TV. Link

The announcement is tonight in GR and we are all going. What big fun to compete and try to show the public my work.
Thanks for dropping by! Vote Car Chase. "Oh Yea, sure, it's made of foam with my own formula of polymer modified concrete .... bla bla Bla...."
Tj

ArtPrize Respite

It is Raining in Grand Rapids, thank God. I have a day to chill a bit after the 24/7 build, install and tending of the Car Chase for ArtPrize. What a marathon. I’m used to all nighters to hit a deadline making a piece, I had planed for a brutal installation schedule, but it had not occurred to me how much tending the public venue would require. The BOB parking lot is the hottest spot in town. That’s great for the voting. I’m running in the top 25 and people really seem to enjoy the piece. But there is an acrobatic performance next to me and 2500 people pack in and want to use my piece as a set of bleachers. I get up on a lamp pole base4 times a day to monitor and spook nearby people yelling: “PLEASE do not climb on the sculpture.” The parking lot has food and drink booths including beer, so the crowd lasts well after midnight. They kick over my lamps, and set their kids on it for a picture. But I hand out number cards and tell the story over and over, and they vote for me. 5 strait days of this routine is now behind me with just a few days before round one is over.

Had a couple of bugs come down in the wind storm last night but it still looks pretty good. Oh to win a prize and recoup some expenses!

Friends in from out of town so we will enjoy a lunch at the BOB. The owner stops by, he is doing well and I am a major attraction. He quips: “Hey tj, mind if I stand on your sculpture?” Thanks Greg. More next time from ArtPrize in GR.
TJ.

Installed !

I’m sitting on a folding chair in the parking lot next to the Car Chase installation. I’ve been remiss in my writing because I’ve had a solid two weeks of non stop finishing, packing, hauling, unloading, installing and general figuring out how to do this. The results are gratifying though. Lots of thumbs up comments on the work. Old guys remember their dad having a Hudson, kids love the cartoonish car, curious ladies see the figures in the waves and exclaim. And everyone has a question. What year is that? How long did it take? What is it made of? How did you come up with this idea.

I re itterate my thesis on the impact of the auto on our society over and over as they ask. It is a lot of fun to work the crowd.

Will it be worth the effort? Some how it already is. This event has forced me to finish a major composition.

Come on down and Vote 24611!

See you at the BOB,

Tj

www.Sculpturebytj.com

Made the paper!

In the Holland Sentinel over the weekend:
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/lifestyle/x1699586162/ArtPrize-inspires-global-competition
Though, a couple of things to clarify:
the PhotoShop stuff is done by someone else (Rob White), and the Hudson is not being chased by birds, rather Bugs!
Still, good press!

How to vote for for Car Chase

Update on ArtPrize -voting for Tj and Car Chase!
During ArtPrize, there will be two ways to vote for Car Chase: Online or by text message.

• To vote online, you can search for Tj Aitken or "Car Chase" and vote right on Tj's profile.
• To vote by text message, send votes to 878787
• To vote on Tj's piece, send in the message: vote24611 (vote up) vote24610 (vote down)
• Note that your 5 digit code (representing Tj's work) must have the word "vote" in front of it when it is sent in the text message.
• Why the up vote and down vote? During Week 1, you can vote an artist up or down. ArtPrize designed voting this way knowing that an artist with the most votes up may be the most popular, but the artist with the most votes up AND down may be the most talked about, thought about and controversial work in the event. Both the popular and controversial works are important to the conversation around ArtPrize.
• See instructions for all the different ways to vote.
• Come to The B.O.B. to enjoy all the art, food, drink, and fun! (Party starts Sept. 23 8pm)

Making Waves For ArtPrize

It is Saturday and, of course, I feel way behind. I Took a few moments to go to the Cruise with the hot rod Lincoln last weekend, and do a little promotion for the Car Chase. The bug on the roof attracted a lot of attention and I worked the beer tent handing out cards and explaining the voting for ArtPrize. But it rained a lot.
The studio this week was all cement, pigments and broken glass as the waves for around the Hudson got set in stone. Next is the cable suspension system for the bugs. That has to go up next weekend. It is a joy to be sculpting but a project of this magnitude is also nerve racking. My studio assistant Skye Hopper shot some pics for me. See you In Grand Rapids at the BOB!

Getting ready to install pieces of Car Chase

Sites for registering to vote in ArtPrize are now posted and it's all FREE! See the ArtPrize website for info.

Keep up with TJ's progress here, on facebook, or his website: www.SculptureByTj.com

Chasing the Car Chase

Jambing on "Car Chase" in the studio to get the big installation done for ArtPrize and sudenly I'm derailed. A material supplier that I depend on for polymer concrete has gone out of business closing down production on my best formula. (Stress...Stresss) I spent a week on the net and phone and a trip to Chicago to find solutions. New trials, samples purchased, lots of blocks in a row with different materials. Man I 'm now a stucko lab. Tests finally yielded a suitable replacement but sheesh, what tension! Now I 'm back to carving and closing in on the forms.

Thanks a lot you bankers who caused our economic state, you just caused me a weeks work.

But the art continues. How do you stone a Hudson? Very carefully, and with polymer modified concrete! Skye Hopper, my studio assistant comes in occassionally to help. More next week as we get ready to stone all the waves.

All the best.

Tj

SculptureByTj.com

ArtPrize update -voting info

ArtPrize update: Voter registration is FREE!!!
Voting Anyone 16 years of age or older who registers in person at the ArtPrize event can vote. You cannot vote without registering at the event. There will be no charge for voter registration.
How to register
Attendees will be required to present a valid government issued ID in person at a registration station
ID can be drivers license, other state ID or passport
Pre-register on artprize.org (coming Sept 14) and save time activating your voter status at the event
There will be voter registration stations throughout the city September 23-October 7