art updates and shameful avoidance tactics

I am currently in the middle of a new practice: shameful avoidance tactics, that is. Avoiding what I really *should* be doing which is calling people, finishing up some art projects with (very) impending deadlines, and planning my fall syllabus for a class I'm teaching at CCA. Oh, lord, why do I do these things? The avoidance, that is...I generally like what I do, it's just that sometimes i just want to chuck it all away and laze about for weeks on end. Huh, I've actually never done that. That could be interesting.

ANYHOW. Some good news! I received a Fellowship Award for a 2006-7 artist residency at the Kala Art Center in Berkeley...It's a traditional and digital printmaking facility, as well as a video production facility, so I'm super excited to work on several projects I've had in mind (but not the computer space or photography studio to work with). Only 8 artists were chosen out of a national applicant pool, so I feel very lucky to have gotten in. My friend Packard Jennings also got it, so maybe we'll even collaborate a bit. Huzzah! I plan on starting sometime in September and it runs for six months. And since it's in the East Bay, not too far from where I'll be teaching twice a week, I can go straight to the studios there to work on stuff after classes. Double huzzah!

Here's some art openings of mine coming up soon:


FOUR ON ONE: 4 CURATORS CURATE STEPHANIE SYJUCO
At the Garage Biennale, San Francisco, CA
July 29 - August 25, 2006
Four opening receptions: 7/29, 8/5, 8/12, and 8/19, all Saturdays 6 - 11 pm.

==> show website
==> garage biennale website
It's sort of a meta-project, really. I am having four openings (one each week) for a priod of 4 weeks, and each is organized by a different curator and curatorial "vision." The instigator, artist Michael Zheng, has a thesis that curators have a huge effect on the contextualization of artwork, almost to the point where they control the meaning of a work (as opposed to the artist controlling the meaning). It's an interesting idea, and while I'm not in total agreeance, agreed to participate in this experiment. The four curators are all very different (museum/commercial gallery/alternative space/artist-run), so it should be interesting!


NextNew2006: Art and Technology
At the San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art
August 1 - September 16, 2006
Opening Reception: August 12, 6pm to Midnight

==> gallery website
==> ISEA Symposium website

I am making the most un-technological piece in the exhibition, which for me is the point! I know for a fact that there will be lots of high-tech plug-in artworks in the show, and mine will be about images of consumerist items downloaded from the internet and printed up at "real size" and displayed as foamboard cutouts, set up in a large array. The original source images were downloaded from ebay and craigslist (all previously used items). Look, I got nothing against technology, really. I just think it's overrated. Haha.

Below are some shots of the work in progress taken at my studio...click on 'em to make 'em bigger and see more detail!






Finally, my show at the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu is coming down in early August (boo hoo!). If you're in the area, please stop by!

Now I am off to the studio to get some work done. oof!