Not quite ready to depart with your aluminum cans? Why not make them into large sculptural works. Gotta love the Etch-A-Sketch! I believe our own Mr. Peter Morgan played around with building a wall of TAB cans in his kitchen...

I will actually have to spend another afternoon at the Vancouver Art Gallery in the next couple weeks in order to fully appreciate and digest the third exhibition currently showing there. By the time Marcus and I had fully experienced both the Monet to Dali and House of Oracles exhibitions, my brain was tired and numb. Which is unfortunate because on the third floor of the gallery I found myself finally face to face with Andrea Zittel's artwork. Her show, Andrea Zittel: Critical Space, looked very interesting, but I didn't have enough brain power to go through much it. I love her A-Z Fiber Form Uniforms in which washed and carded wool is "felted" directly into the shape of a shirt or dress. There are no seams. Really gorgeous stuff! And the A-Z Smockshop project is also of interest. Some of the completed smocks were on display at VAG as part of her Critical Space show. I'll let you know how my second and more complete viewing of Zittel's exhibition goes. The show runs until September 30th.

Marcus and I spent Saturday down at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The main purpose of our trip was to check out the special Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art exhibition, which included works by Manet, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Rodin, Picasso, Dalí, Gauguin, and many others. It was of course an enjoyable show to take in. Gotta love the innovation and creativity of the "masters". Our favorite piece was a oil painting by Odilon Redon titled "Vase of Flowers" (1905). It was an absolutely beautiful piece in person.

By far, the surprise of the day was actually a separate exhibition on upstairs, House of Oracles: A Huang Yong Ping Retrospective. We were both blown away by his work. Neither of us had heard of Huang Yong Ping, a contemporary artist from China, but I'm really glad we checked out the show. Extremely witty and impressive commentary on Western influences and Chinese tradition. Really, really thought invoking. It is the first exhibition in a long while that I actually took the time to read through all the artist statements. My favorite piece was "La Pêche" (2006). It involves a biblical story of a sea monster (Leviathan) who can only be destroyed by God himself. In the case of this artwork, Buddha catches Leviathan while fishing with a great fishing line made from small buddha rosary-like beads and culminating with a crucifix-like large hook. Ping's exhibition is on in Vancouver until September 16th.

I like the mailart submitted to the more i change. The project is fully tilted the more I change...the more I remain the same. The organizer of the project is still accepting submissions, if you'd like to participate. Mail your work to:

stevenspat
6684 East Lake Road
Auburn, NY 13021
USA

The main concept is that the more dynamic you think you are, the more likely the opposite is true. Interpret at your will.

Here's a blog all about puppets. For those who think CG has killed the puppet- not so.