Wednesday, November 4, 2009

After Image




The piece at the bottom of these three images reflects my interest in Paul Klee. (1879-1940) He was born in Switzerland and repatriated to Germany. He was also an instructor at the famed Bauhaus School of Design and Architecture. Many years ago I saw a group of his works in the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. The Guggenheim was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and to visit it is to enter a work of art containing the treasures of many other works of art. For the record, this building is designed as a spiral and the more leisurely way to see the art is to begin at the top floor and work down. (If you really want to put more efforts into the visit, start at the bottom and go up.) The Klee pieces I was so taken with were plaster impregnated gauze infused with tempera and paint. In the expereince of viewing art, I once had a design instructor that introduced me to the idea of "After Image"; the way a piece of art will stay with you, the feeling of it, the very image of it burrowing into one's subconscious - then, it coming back at unexpected times to follow you, remind you, make you think of it again. Two other pieces from this series also follow the design of pyramids and suggestion of cosmic events.
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Guggenheim Photo Credit: © Jake Dobkin

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

D.C. Dollars


This is about the way changes in politics affects the value of our economy. Everyone knows that but I found a way to put to together in a visual way. The subtext is here is "Asian Trade Winds Buffeting The Path Of An Old Camel." All the conditions of trade are very interrelated. More than ever negotiations are more important than aggression. The piece is about import and export, coming and going, and the ever present contrast of accepting the notion that the architecture of our trade affairs are esoteric investment instruments that can dominate us or serve us.
Collage 20x18 cm.
© 2009

Friday, October 30, 2009

Folding An Idea






Ray Johnson the father on modern mail art once said, "When I make mail art, it a matter of folding the piece down, folding and collapsing the concept so it fits into an envelope." This is the newer approach I've begun and somewhat like Johnson standardizing the size onto a typical sheet of typing paper. I was working in postcards for a long time but have returned to a more traditional collage technique and moved away from a completely digital approach. Here, the parts and pieces of the "Superbus" project.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Jackson Pollock.org

Fun location to make your own Pollock inspired art. "We will Pollock you."

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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Return Of The Dredge

For reasons I won't discuss right now, the blog met with untimely deletion. I am certain my absence has been greatly exaggerated as I suspect, I was not missed pervasively. So, I am beginning again in a way that will be substantively different. Different content, more variety in the content and mixture with an eye toward getting syndication.
Here are the things you can expect to see here in the posts to come.

  • More Correspondence art as it seems this is a good way to consolidate my collections.
  • My own journal entries to go along with these these things.
  • Photography both current and from the past
  • Fashion News and commentary
  • Haiku and other creative writing.
  • Articles about Bipolar illness.

Hello again, goodbye. With Cheer

JJ