I'll be meeting up with Ferris Plock in the next week for a studio visit, but until then take a look at this video Colin Day shot for Ferris' upcoming show Rest For The Wicked at The Shooting Gallery. Ferris talks about where his work derives from and what a huge influence his trip to Japan has been on his latest body of work. The detail in his work looks so intricate and rad. His newest body of work looks soooo good! I can't wait to see thses guys in person. Be sure to check out SG's blog for an interview with Ferris too.
Contributor Jillian Mackintosh (and co-owner of Gallery Hijinks) sits down with fellas Mark Warren Jacques and Seth Neefus to chat with them about their collaborative project that opens tonight at Gallery Hijinks. - meighan
For more information on Free Life Center or the events happening this weekend, visit galleryhijinks.com.
As the week comes to an end, the Free Life Center gears up for a fun filled weekend of art, music and raging good times at Gallery Hijinks. Since May, Mark Warren Jacques and Seth Neefus have been touring the west coast with their traveling art exhibit, inspiring health, happiness and the creative life. We got to talking with these two artists, check out what they have to say.- Jillian
Most of the
people who are reading this interview probably have no idea about The Free Life
Center; how do you usually describe it?
Mark Warren
Jacques- It seems easiest to describe the project as a movable gallery space,
built of reclaimed materials, in a modular fashion. At its full size the
structure is a pretty large free standing building (10 ft wide x 16 ft long x
10ft tall), complete with lighting, a tin roof and a wood floor. Since we
designed the building to come apart in sections, we have the option to vary the
size of the installation to fit the environment it is housed within. We've also
built the structure in manageable pieces to allow us to travel, which is
exactly what we've been doing this summer, an art tour. At each location along
the journey we've been setting up the structure and filling it with our artworks,
video works, process documentation, interactive installation elements, music,
good vibes. Along with our own artworks we've asked members of each local
community to join in. We've had a ton of friends play music, dance, draw, jam,
sleep, eat, and hang with us in and around the installation... So yeah,
installation, art, video, music, art tour, curating guest performance,
performing, documentation, its all a part of this big project.
What is does the
“free life” really mean?
Seth Neefus - It
is in the mind, just follow whatever speaks to you inside, and see where it
takes you.
Are you really
living the free life?
sn + mwj - yes
What do you hope
to accomplish with the free life center during the tour and even after?
sn-To share an
experience of art, music and good people, the Free Life Center is not a
permanent place or thing, it is a chance to explore what we have created and
are willing to share with everyone we meet. We hope to inspire artists and
communities to take a journey and experience what they enjoy to the fullest.
Whether they hit the road or take on a new perspective, if we inspire, we are
stoked.
mwj- Honestly I
feel like we have already accomplished the initial goals of actually doing it,
building it, making art, working together, working with others, and taking it
on tour. People’s reactions have been amazing, inspired and in turn inspiring.
How long does it
take for you to build up the structure it’s self and install the show inside?
sn - The
installation is built so that we can set it up and take it down in a matter of
hours. Typically its taken us 3 - 5 hours for set up and a bit less for
takedown.
mwj - we're
getting pretty buff this summer, that was high on the list of priorities for
the project too.
How much of the
tour and your performances are influenced by the time spent living in Portland,
OR?
mwj - all of
life is inspiration in one way or another.
What’s your
favorite part of PDX?
sn - There is
room to grow.
mwj - Good
people, cheap beer, cheap rent, the beautiful Sandy River, Mt. Hood, it’s not
SF.
What’s your
favorite part of SF?
mwj - Sunshine,
the grime, crazy people, tons of wild energy, its not Portland
What are you
really excited about right now?
sn - This moment.
When are you the
most productive?
sn - In the
woods.
mwj - All the
time. Specifically after or during coffee, which is pretty much all the time.
Not only is the
FLC an artistic venture, it involves many types of musical performances. What
kind of music have you been listening to on the road?
mwj - We are
practicing zen driving methods, ha.
A little bird
told me that you drink a lot of 40 oz beers, what brand is your favorite and
why?
sn - That is not
entirely true, but I do like miller high life in a 40oz.
Have you run
into any particularly strange or comical experiences while on your epic road
trip thus far?
mwj - When we
where in Vancouver B.C. we stayed up all night with some friends and ended up
on a beach in the downtown area watching the sun rise and sparkle on the water.
This super old Chinese lady somehow crept up on us wearing a red jogging suit
and white plastic bags on her feet. She was walking so slow, one foot in front
of the other in the sand, that no one really heard her coming. As she passed no
more than five feet in front of us, everyone took notice and a strange and
beautiful silence fell over us, the beach, and the morning city air. In slow
motion, one foot in front of the other, the old lady performed her patient
dance right on past us, the glittering water acting as her silver stage
curtain. Strange, comical, beautiful, like life is. "Good morning"
she finally said as she crept toward her day.
If you were
limited to 5 tools of the trade in your line up, which would they be and why?
sn - Graphite
pencil, paint brush, watercolors, color pencils, pencil sharpener. They are
fun.
mwj - Paint, a
tiny brush, a good woman, some beer, and nice weather.
If you were to
die and be reborn as another animal, what would it be?
sn - a deer
mwj - seth
The opening
reception for the Free life Center is on Friday the 23rd of July from 7-10 pm,
as well as musical performances the night after on Saturday the 24th, from
6-9pm. Check out this sweet time lapse of the Free Life Center's erection as well as postcards for the Free Life Center and photography exhibit
happening in the back.
Gaia blew through San Francisco in May for his show at Heist Gallery. Never one to be shy, Gaia spread his pieces all over the city. It was exciting to see a Gaia piece suddenly appear on my walk up 6th street to Mission for coffee. Notoriously a hectic environment, and when I say hectic I mean crack, squalor and over all unbelievable depths in which the human psyche can sink to everywhere you look, despite the city's attempt at a 'beautification' program. But to be greeted by this piece, still groggy and ducking panhandlers trying to make your way to get coffee was a nice change of pace.
I wonder if the folks in Seoul, South Korea felt the same about Gaia's latest domination. Gaia recently spent time in there through an exchange program. He hit 4 parts of the city, dipping into Korean folklore, religion and his own perception of the state of the nation within his latest paste-ups. Each piece has an accompanying video with an explanation behind Gaia's inspiration. Check em out on Gaia's vimeo page. They're all pretty diverse and beautiful. I can't decide which is my fave. Can you?
Here's some Saturday afternoon goodness for you of ROA's first visit to NYC from the boys over at Brooklyn Street Art. It's super motivational, kinda gives me a kick in the pants to get out and do something creative today.
ROA's solo show at Factory Fresh opened last night and is on show through the end of May.
As I mentioned below I took a few videos of Peggy Honeywell playing at the We They, We They opening last nice. She was modest, sincere and gracious. It was a beautiful set. Total warm fuzzies all around.
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