jonathan gitelson

New Website Draft and a Shout Out to Robert Linkiewicz

2011-06-14T13:01:00.004-05:00

This post is two things:
1) a "What's UP!" to my man Robert Linkiewicz in the Columbia College 10th floor darkroom
2) a preview of the new version of my website that I've been working on the past two weeks (shout out to my man Ian Whitmore)

Last week I called up Robert asking for lighting advice for my classrooms at Keene State. The two of us go way back and he was always one of my favorite people at Columbia. Robert's a huge music buff (as am I) and we have spent hours upon hours talking about music, parenthood, movies and generally just laughing. When I called him last week, he scolded me for not updating my blog often enough (fair enough). So Robert, this one goes out to you!

Now, as I mentioned above I have been busy the past two weeks completely re-working my website. I like the old template but upcoming projects have made it so that I needed a re-design (plus it was time).

A Beta version of my new site can be viewed here:
http://jonathangitelsonthegit.virb.com/

I would appreciate any and all feedback before this goes live, I'm still making some minor tweeks and could use the feedback.

100 mississippi

2011-02-20T08:58:00.000-06:00

A funny thing happened when I became a father back in 2008: I began to find myself constantly counting. It started with my son's bedtime. Each night when I thought he had finally nodded out, I would count to 100 mississippi for insurance, just to make sure it was safe to start my tiptoed retreat out his bedroom door. Being a neurotic individual, I somehow convinced myself that anything short of 100 mississippi would wake him up and prolong our bedtime routine.

Eventually, I started to become curious about how I could measure other things in my life by counting to 100 mississippi. How far could I walk? How many steps could I climb? How much snow could I displace using my landlord's snowblower?

This video was made in the midst of one of our many large snowstorms this winter. This is the first film of a series, it will be paired with photographs and diagrams. Here are some of the photographs made that day. They somehow got majorly screwed up but I kind of like the result.

Days 16-20

2010-11-10T08:44:00.003-06:00

Days 11-15

2010-11-09T08:17:00.005-06:00

Days 6-10

2010-11-08T06:54:00.005-06:00

Work In Progress (The Sweet Spot)

2010-11-07T12:30:00.011-06:00

It has been a very long time since I've posted here, life has been upside down with a big move and a new job. As the dust is beginning to settle, I'm starting to get back to making art. Number one on my list is to complete my piece "The Sweet Spot," a project that began in Chicago and will be completed in Vermont. It is a result of a fifty day study to determine the ideal place to stand on the Montrose Brown Line platform (in Chicago) to get a seat on the train during the morning commute. This project will be shown next Autumn and so I'm suddenly feeling a lot of pressure (which is good) to nail it out.

During the fifty days that I collected my data, I made detailed notes to organize my findings. These will be part of the final piece (probably hung in a grid) and present my findings as well as miscellaneous doodles.

Amsterdam Update

2010-07-03T08:22:00.006-05:00

Well it has been a week of pretty intense studio work but I have completed the paint stencil letters for my piece for Amsterdam. We are heading out of town for the weekend but the last task when I get back is to stencil "-Albert Camus" at the bottom of the text block. I have another 8' x 8' print and will be slicing it in half and hanging the two 8' x 4' strips on either side of this piece at an angle to create depth. This is a sketch of what the installation will look like:

More posts on this piece to follow in the coming weeks.

Archie Is The Best Thing Ever!

2010-07-03T07:56:00.010-05:00

Needless to be said, Archie is the best thing ever! He has recently become obsessed with building blocks and it is so much fun as a father watching his little brain at work. The other night I came out of my office and found his latest city perched atop our living room table:

I was an avid builder as well when I was a kid, here is a glimpse of my young brain at work:

My dream is that as Archie gets older, I'll have an area of my studio partitioned of for his wild creations. Here is a video that Robin created of Archie hard at work:

Gearing Up For Amsterdam!

2010-06-15T13:51:00.013-05:00

This August I will be flying to Amsterdam to install a new public artwork. The event is being hosted by Inkijk Gallery and curated by Jan Theun Van Rees. I met Jan Theun a number of years ago when he was in Chicago photographing his "One Wall Away" series. We have stayed friends ever since and I was thrilled when he invited me to participate in this exhibition / public installation.

Sometimes as an artist, the hardest thing can be too many choices. When Jan Theun approached me with the concept for the piece, he told me that I could do anything that I wanted so long as it somehow drew a connection between Amsterdam and Chicago. Hmmmmm. I've never been to Amsterdam and had no idea how to proceed. Everytime that I thought about my relationship with Amsterdam, my thoughts would eventually circle back to my undergraduate studies of Albert Camus and his novel, "The Fall."

My first copy of the novel had this cover and was borrowed from the bookshelves of my Grandmother's apartment.

"The Fall" is one of my favorite novels and was a central part of my undergraduate thesis. The more that I thought about my piece, the more that I decided it should reference "The Fall" and portray the imagery that Camus created in 1956 and that informed my ideas about the city. Step one was to buy a new copy of it because my old one was overly underlined to the point of illegibility.

Although the majority of the novel takes place in an Amsterdam dive bar, occassionally the main character Clemence leads the reader around the town and to the shores of the Zuider Zee. Upon rereading the book, I decided to focus on the passage that appears at the beginning of this blogpost and to use Lake Michigan as a stand in for the Zuider Zee. I emailed Jan Theun to discuss my plans and he was excited! He told me that he had never read the novel but that he had an old copy of it and it was bookmarked to the exact passage that I was thinking of using. This sealed the deal.

Eric Pickersgill is without a doubt one of the best students that I have ever worked with. We first met when he was in my color darkroom class at Columbia College and he has ta'd and assisted me ever since. Not only is he a great person but he is also really coming into his own as an artist. Eric has been creating large liquid emulsion lightboxes throughout the past year and will be showing them soon at The Light Factory in Charlotte.

For the past couple of years Eric has been working out of an abandoned factory on Chicago's south/west side. He built a gigantic darkroom there and a rig for projecting negatives onto the wall. I had seen his liquid light prints before and decided that this would be the perfect technique for my Lake Michigan image as well. After an initial meeting last thursday night, we met at his darkroom bright and early Saturday morning to get to work.

This is an image of the enlarger tilted on it's side in order to project my image at 8 feet by 8 feet.

Step one was to pin the 8 square feet of fabric up against the back wall of the darkroom. After getting it into place, I sprayed starch on the fabric (this apparently helps the image fix to the fabric) and Eric followed behind with an iron. Once that was finished, Eric applied a bottle of liquid emulsion to the fabric as I guided him with a safe light. Next up, a two hour exposure.

The development of the fabric was far and away one of the most extreme things that I've ever done in a darkroom (no snarky comments please). Eric had built eight foot troughs to house the chemicals and a two person pulley system for agitating the print.

Two hours later, we had a properly processed print (the above is a detail). Here is Eric looking like the tough SOB that he is (twelve hours and one print later):

Next up, hand stencil the text in the studio.

Something I Made Today

2010-05-28T20:24:00.002-05:00

Exciting News and Exhibitions

2010-05-25T15:52:00.004-05:00

This summer is turning out to be incredibly hectic but exciting as well. This Spring I accepted an assistant professor position at Keene State College in New Hampshire and the family and I are starting to plan for our move to Brattleboro Vermont at the end of July. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up here but also some exciting new:

1. I just learned that I was named an award winner for the Magenta Foundation Flash Forward 2010 competition. I will be published in their catalogue and will hopefully be exhibiting my work at the Magenta Foundation Festival in Toronto in October. My work was selected by Andy Adams of Flak Photo, Amanda Maddox from the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Susan Bright.

2. I will be presenting my piece, "Staring Contest" at the Conduit Gallery in Dallas this August. The show is entitled, "The Program" and is being curated by Charles Dee Mitchell. I'm excited to be sharing the same space as David Askevold, Matthew Day Jackson, Luke Murphy, Jason Rhoades, Erin Shirreff and Bill Viola.

Hot Off The Press!!!

2010-04-16T20:48:00.006-05:00

Today was a big day for this project, I finally picked up the finished books from Loveleaf. Last night I had a nightmare that I picked them up and was really bummed out but fortunately, the opposite was true and they look AMAZING!!!!!

Here are some shots of them at the bindery earlier today. This is us burnishing the covers to give them a worn and one of a kind aesthetic:

Ode To Alec Soth

2010-04-03T10:36:00.003-05:00

Alec and I became friends a number of years ago and have hung out in Chicago, Minneapolis, Miami and spots in between. It's not often that you find someone who is both extremely successful in their field and also incredibly sweet and down to Earth. I've really enjoyed our friendship and over the years and I have made him a few keepsakes along the way. The first was a baseball card that I created for him a few years back when he came to give a lecture at Columbia College. He had told me that he was jealous of the baseball cards that I had created in my piece "The Quitter" and he wrote to tell me that he wanted a baseball card dedicated to himself as well. Ask and ye shall receive, I granted Alec his wish:

Well last night I headed out to my favorite German bar with the family to indulge in some beer and wurst. Resi's Bierstube is the best beer garden in Chicago and I had recently met Alec there for drinks along with Brian Ulrich and Matt Siber. So I got to thinking about Alec and turned to my wife and said, "I wonder how old Sothdog Millionaire is doing?" Robin was like, "did you just make up that name for him?" and I was like, "Yeah." After dinner with my stomach full of beer and beef, I sat down to create the following poster, my newest ode to Mr. Alec Soth:

Help Support My Book, Get An Inexpensive Print!

2010-03-28T11:05:00.003-05:00

I've recently embarked upon a new book project via the website http://www.kickstarter.com

My project for kickstarter consists of publishing five copies of my artist's book "Scavenger Hunt" for the "Hamburger Fotobuchtage Festival" that will be held in Germany this June. My books will be presented by "Kehrer Art Books of Heidelberg". I've self published books in the past but never as one of a kind art objects. My goal is to create a full edition of 50 books and I have found a great local bindery called "Love Leaf Press" who are going to help me out. Each book is going to cost me roughly $250 to make but they are going to look really really good!

You can view my page at kickstarter.com by visiting:
http://kck.st/9n9Z6y

Essentially, I am looking for backers to help me finance this project.
Individuals who donate $25 towards the project will receive a signed 8" x 10" page from the book (page of your choice), individuals who donate $50 will receive a signed two page spread from the book (spread of your choice) and if you are feeling insanely generous, individuals who donate $450 will receive a signed one of a kind copy of the book (again, finished edition of 50). The way that kickstarter works is that in order for me to receive the money and for you to receive your print, I need to meet my minimum goal of $1200 (however there is not a maximum cap) by June 17th. If you know anyone who might be interested in participating, please pass this along.

Young Git In The Magic Factory

2010-03-28T11:00:00.002-05:00

1960's IHop Commercial

2010-03-04T13:47:00.001-06:00

I dream that one day I'll be able to make a video piece as awesome as this!!!

What I Dream Of Singing The Next Time I Go Out To Sing Karaoke

2010-03-04T13:23:00.001-06:00

The Sweet Spot (in progress)

2010-01-21T10:25:00.005-06:00

This past month I've been enjoying the winter break from teaching and spending each of my days in the studio (bliss!) I've been working on a piece for my new series entitled, "The Sweet Spot."

"The Sweet Spot" is a piece about finding the spots on the train platform where the train doors have the highest probability of stopping. I charted my morning commute for fifty days in the Spring of 2009 and have been busy trying to visually articulate my data.

The finished series will have a series of charts, notes photographs and video. The piece I've been working on this break is perhaps the most daunting, a 100 inch wide reconstruction of the data collected in my field notes.

For me, this piece has been a real tug and pull. Although I work more quickly with Photoshop than I do with my hands, I wanted this piece to be hand drawn. It has been exciting and nerve racking, I've never worked this way before. In Photoshop if you screw up, you can just copy and paste and the problem is solved. When using oil based paint markers, changing your mind can be a lot more difficult and labor intensive.

As with any piece in progress, I've had about a million moments where I was convinced that what I've been making is crap. At the moment, I'm seeing a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

One of the hardest things about holing up in your studio is that there isn't any external feedback. I'm getting to the point where I am ready to show people the work in progress.

This autumn I have been invited to Amsterdam to create an installation piece inside of an abandoned storefront in an underground train station (here is a previous installation shot of the space). I'm thinking about incorporating some of this piece for that exhibition.

So, that's where I've been spending my days. Back to work, more posts to follow.

Can't Wait To See This Movie!

2009-11-04T17:47:00.006-06:00

Two Chicago Events This Weekend

2009-10-20T21:25:00.009-05:00

It's been a great Autumn so far: Hanging out with my main man Arch, watching football, mourning the Red Sox and still hating the Yankees. I've also been making new work!

I have two events coming up this weekend, come by if you're able:

1."The Harold Arts Residency Exhibition" will be opening this Friday at Heaven Gallery (1550 N Milwaukee Ave - 7pm to 11pm)

I spent a week this past July at The Harold Arts Residency in Ohio and created the piece, "Out Of This World." I will be exhibiting both the poster as well as the video.

2."West Carroll Open Studios," this coming Sunday (3200 W. Carroll Ave - 12pm to 7pm)

As a part of Chicago Artist's Month, I will be opening my studio to the public along with the other artists who have studios at 3200 W. Carroll Ave. It should be a fun day to see a ton of work in progress, artists will include me, Andrew Ayer, Jared Dreyer, Annie Heckman, Arielle Marq, Anton Mackey, Harold Mendez, Mike Olson, Jennifer Scott and many many more.

I'm in studio 8 on the 2nd floor.

R.I.P. Sweet Captain Lou

2009-10-15T07:23:00.004-05:00

Growing up in the 1980's, the World Wrestling Federation was a big part of my life. Sleeping over at my friend Tommy's house to watch Wrestlemania 1, going to the County Center in White Plains to watch matches, buying every wrestling doll that there was, etc etc.

Captain Lou Albano had a special place in my heart: not only was he a central character in the 1980's wrestling scene and a hilarious personality, but he also lived in Mount Kisco NY (as did I). I remember seeing him a number of times at the Mt. Kisco movie theater and being awed by his presence. Here he is in Cyndi Lauper's video, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!" . . . classic Captain Lou (as Cyndi's dad).

Rest In Peace Captain.

Buy Great Photographs And Support A Great Cause!

2009-10-11T13:42:00.003-05:00

During my senior year at Marlboro College, I used to volunteer a few nights a week at The Insight Photography Project. Insight was started by my former photography teacher, John Willis. John and I have remained friends over the years and each year I donate a print to the Insight Benefit Auction:

http://www.auction.insight-photography.org/

This year's auction is especially impressive!
If anyone out there wants to buy me an early holiday present, I'll take this print by Danny Lyon:

Vagina Panther and Golden City Riot

2009-09-27T12:06:00.003-05:00

I'm a lucky dude to know so many people who make really great music. I first met John and June a few years back through our mutual friend Brian. Brian and John are old friends from Ohio and have been playing together for years. Anyhow, over some beers they started telling us about their new band called "Vagina Panther." Seriously, have you ever heard of a better band name???

John and I met up again at Brian's wedding in Arkansas and picked up right where we left off. He gave me a copy of their new album (amazing!) and invited me to direct a video for them. After watching how incredible the video above is, color me too intimidated.

The second band that I have had playing lately in my house is my friend Eric's band, Golden City Riot. Eric is one of my best friends (going back to first grade) and on my recent trip to Seattle, we spent many an inebriated moment working on a band icon for a set of stickers that he is producing.

Golden City Riot plays out a lot in Seattle, catch them if you know what's good for you. If these two bands ever played a joint gig, I think my head might explode from the pleasure of it all!!!!!!

False Proof at Kirkland Arts Center

2009-09-27T11:51:00.004-05:00

Well, Autumn is upon us and it's been off to a hectic start. Two weeks ago I was out in Seattle for the opening of the exhibition "False Proof" at the Kirkland Arts Center. The show was curated by Cable Griffith and was one of the best shows I have seen in awhile. My favorite piece in the show by far was Eugene Parnell's life-sized taxidermed Big Foot. Eugene's Big Foot is the first thing that you see when you walk in the gallery. He is standing on a pile of leaves, digging through a hiker's backpack and eating a powdered donut (observe the white powder on his lips).

The entire show is amazing and I recommend checking it out before it comes down in early October.

Here is a writeup from The Stranger:

Not knowing has two sides: Not knowing is the greatest, not knowing is the worst. In the slight but refreshing group show False Proof at Kirkland Arts Center, not knowing—remaining in a state of possibility, running a continual loop of faith and disbelief—is mostly just great. Nola Avienne paints tiny alchemical symbols drawn from medieval sources using her own blood. She's committed to the mysteries. They stand for themselves, which is why you can't understand them. Eugene Parnell's life(?)-size, big-eyed Taxidermied Bigfoot gobbling the powdered doughnut of a hiker whose clothes and backpack lie at the creature's feet in the gallery is labeled as made of the following materials: "taxidermied bigfoot." Drew Christie's elaborate "historic" display of "evidence" about the Elliott Bay Sea Beast—a toothy Loch Ness Monster—collected and compiled by one Albrecht "Aesop" Ribbentrop is sometimes too cute but mostly irrepressibly endearing in its refusal to try to be convincing. You can hear the sound of the beast (it roars and gargles at the same time), see drawings and photographs of it, even look at instruments made in its honor by sailors just moments before they were eaten by it. Hanging in the middle of the room is the beast's skeleton: a happily false thing made out of barely disguised wood, glue, and newspaper. "I shall be vindicated," Ribbentrop's writings declare. Done.

A trophy twirling around on its head, defying gravity, would be more intriguing were it not happening in video—a medium in which disbelief is a given. That work is by Zack Bent. Jana Brevick's devices for problem solving are not served well here; you need to know that Brevick creates jewelry to fully understand these devices as talismans rather than too-sweet mini-sculptures. (My favorite, because it so clearly doubles as a necklace, is her Optimizer, a choker with a black box machine for a pendant. What's going on in there, who knows?)

In a video and diagram based on the Brady Bunch episode "Out of This World," in which Greg fools Peter and Bobby with a fake UFO (until the authorities are called and Greg is exposed), Chicago artist Jonathan Gitelson debunks the realness of the fake UFO by attempting to restage the hoax himself according to Bobby's on-show instructions. Fail. Gitelson's illustrated how-to diagram leaves intact the secret of how to. It hardly matters whether there is life on other planets when there is the magic of TV, which is not diminished in the slightest by not being magic at all.

Samantha Scherer's photorealistic velvety black watercolor and gouache paintings are on thick paper that curls up at the edges like it's entrapping its only subjects, little white faces peering out from the bottom of the paper's black universe as if they were almost entirely cropped out, à la "reality" video stills or photographs. (Blair Witch style.) Scherer's employing the clichés of horror-vérité but making them work again, much like in an older series where she appropriated the parade of corpses on Law & Order and made them feel individual again in her tiny drawings. Something in her handcrafted and yet utterly mediated approach demonstrates a recognizable struggle: Familiarity and unfamiliarity can be indistinguishable. Which is the worst.
-Jen Graves

Hilarious

2009-08-20T12:40:00.000-05:00

A Lot Of Good Art Going On . . .

2009-05-22T15:36:00.008-05:00

The other day Archie and I headed to the West Loop to check out some of the new shows. I'd been out of town on opening weekend and was really excited when I read the there was a Mel Bochner show at Rhona Hoffman Gallery. I've only recently become more familiar with Mel's work and he has become one of my all time favorites (right up there with Tom Friedman). The show looked great and it was nice to catch up with Kat and Charlotte and Rhona.

Next it was off to Kavi Gupta Gallery to see the new show by Clare Rojas who is another one of my all time favorite artists. If I had the money, I would of bought everything in the show!

This Wednesday I'm flying to NY to see two openings tha I am really excited about: Brian Ulrich's show on Thursday night at Julie Saul Gallery and Will Lamson's new exhibition at Pierogi on Friday night in Brooklyn.

All of these shows come highly recommended, go check them out!

Guest Blog Entry: By Shawnee Barton

2009-05-20T11:22:00.004-05:00

Mondelli's Lounge and the condofication of Chicago

I haven’t always been “anti-condo”. We adored living in the old building on 14th and Michigan, which was once the first private hospital in Chicago, even though it sometimes felt like living in a museum. The condo board protected the original marble floors and 16' tall windows to annoying excess. Moving furniture in and out required a permit, a lecture on conservation, and hefty fee. We’d often have to maneuver, with arms full of groceries, around groups of architectural tourists to get into the building. But doing these things felt right. It was the price we paid for the privilege of living in a bit of history.

Unfortunately though, less than six months after we moved to 14th and Michigan, the earth-shaking rumble of pile drivers started waking us up every morning. In 2005, the city of Chicago limited the number of allowed condo conversions in existing buildings, so developers started leveling entire blocks of the South Loop. Glorious, old buildings on all sides of us were being destroyed, and it felt like a personal attack. When you live in a city, your neighborhood is as much a part of your home as the furniture inside your four walls.

Sadly, it turns out that Chicago has a long history of destroying its architectural history. In 1972, Richard Nickel, an architectural photographer, died while hurrying to photograph historic Chicago buildings before they were demolished. He was in Louis Sullivan's Stock Exchange building when the ceiling came crashing down on him and his camera. An article published in the New York Times a few years ago called Chicago a “battleground” in the “preservation-versus-development debate,” and unfortunately the stalled economy isn’t slowing the destruction down. This past year, the eleven downtown blocks of Michigan Avenue were placed on The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2008 List of Most Endangered Historic Places.

This is all very sad, but I can honestly, and perhaps embarrassingly, say that it didn’t hit home to me until one afternoon when I needed a drink. I headed straight for Mondelli’s, my favorite bar, only to find a crane swinging a wrecking ball into the building. I cried right there on the corner of Oak and State. It truly broke my heart.

Mondelli’s was rumored to be the smallest bar in Chicago, but what it lacked in size it made up for in character. Old Chicago gangster photos lined the walls and busboys shuttled hot and delicious pastas in from the old-school Italian restaurant next door. The raspy-voiced bartenders ditched the typical mini-skirt and boob-revealing uniform and wore sweatpants, 80’s mom jeans, or whatever they felt like wearing. They made a killer drink called the “espresso martini,” and playing the widest variety of good music you could imagine.

Because it was such a small bar, you would eventually end up talking with the folks around you. My favorite regular parked his Harley on the sidewalk right next to the front door and always wore a black leather vest that read “National Hair Piece Designing Champion” across the back, and he wasn’t some poser hipster. He actually was a Harley-riding National Hair Piece Designing Champion.

I’m not quite sure how such colorful individuals managed to find this place in a neighborhood filled with uppity boutiques and trendy night-clubs. It was our own little misfit island, and that’s why I adored it. This place was my Cheers, so it seemed only fitting that it was the last place I visited when our family left Chicago for a new life in California. My husband waited in the loaded-down Honda while I placed a small commemorative plaque and a bouquet of flowers along the fence around the construction site.

The guys on the demolition crew were surprisingly open to my memorial. Several of them asked me about the bar and even told me about their favorite watering holes. I had previously found perverse pleasure in vilifying the workers, but after ten minutes of talking with them, I realized that they were just doing their job. The foreman promised me that my plaque would hang on the fence for the rest of the day, and I got a little sense of comfort knowing that those men knew that the building they demolished was special and that the land they cleared for condos was loved.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This was posted by Shawnee Barton, an artist who keeps a blog on other people’s blogs. If you have a little nook of cyberspace and are open to welcoming a guest poster, please email her at shawneebarton@gmail.com. She will be grateful. To see where she is headed next, check out shawneebarton.com.

Treblinka

2009-04-22T20:32:00.009-05:00

Today I checked out the book "Treblinka" from the Harold Washington Library here in Chicago. I first read the book when I was twelve and in Hebrew School in order to prepare for my Bar Mitzvah. Back then it was an assignment just like any other; however, lately I've had a renewed interest since I'm travelling to Poland for an exhibition in a week and am planning on visiting the camp (it is actually a memorial, the camp itself no longer is standing). I wanted to re-read Treblinka so that when I stand on the actual site, I will have some kind of a connection with the history of the place. The more I read, the more I think that it will impossible to register the connection between the memorial and the history.

Although my ancestors on my father's side were Eastern European Jews, they had long been living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan by the start of the war. My mom's side of the family was a different story. My grandmother grew up in Czechoslovakia on a farm with her grandparents. She was not Jewish but her grandparents owned a farm that the Nazis wanted and they ended killing them to take their land. My grandmother saw her grandparents die and after escaping, she immigrated alone to NY in 1938 at 18 years of age.

My grandparents had different ways of dealing with the war, my mother's mom never talked about it and never had any desire to return to the continent. My father's mom reacted by boycotting German goods until the end of her life (apparently very upset when my parents bought a Volkswagon Beetle in the late 1960's).

As for me, I didn't meet anyone from Germany until I was 22. I was living in Guatemala at the time and shared a house with my dear friend Ute. For me, the war was something of the distant past. I found that I really connected with the Germans that I met and their uniquely dry sense of humor. That being said, I remember the first time that Ute and I talked about the war and to my surprise, the war was still very much alive for her. She still carried a degree of guilt, This was really eye opening and made me feel even more affection for her.

Two years later I travelled to Germany to visit her and have been back since to exhibit my work in Munich. Although I felt removed from the war (my father wasn't even a twinkle in his mother's eye), I was acutely aware of the history of the place. My gallery is on Ludwigstrasse which is the street where Hitler held his early rallies, it was pretty intense to stand on the same spot where the Third Reich was born and I felt it pretty deeply.

And so next Sunday I depart for Poland and to the site of the Treblinka Death Camp. One of the amazing things about Treblinka is that it was one of the few camps to rise up in revolt. It sounds insane to say that I'm looking forward to the experience but it is something that I've always wanted to do and I'm sure that it will be profound. I've found that my relationship with the Holocaust has greatly changed since I've become a father, it has become even that much more unfathomable.

Below you can find a documentary about the events leading up to Treblinka, it is long but interesting. I'm sure I'll post again on this theme after my return.

The Sweet Spot

2009-04-12T19:48:00.004-05:00

I'm excited to say that I've started to make real progress on my newest project, "The Sweet Spot." Essentially, I've been mapping the train platform at my local station to find the spots where I have the greatest probability of standing where the train door will open (thus getting a seat). I'm starting to propose exhibitions of the piece so keep your fingers crossed and keep your eyes out for further updates.

Procrastination

2009-04-12T19:03:00.002-05:00

Procrastinating this evening, I came across this video for the song "Face of Jesus in My Soup" by Avi Paul Weinstein. I felt it to be especially relevant considering today is Easter . . . despite the fact that I'm Jewish. Anyhow, the video consists of found footage from the local library of international driving instructions. Enough dicking around Gitelson, get back to work!

Chaucer, Cellini and 365 Star Style Secrets

2009-04-10T17:17:00.004-05:00

As I am prone to do at least once a year, on Wednesday morning I locked my keys inside of my car. The one silver lining was that I happened to do this directly across the street from an auto garage. While I was waiting for them to unlock my door, I sat down in their waiting area in order to flip through their magazine selection. I must have been in an extremely intellectual part of town because the reading selection ranged from In-Style, Time and Hispanic Magazine to Chaucer and Cellini. Fortunately for me, they were able to open my car door before I had a chance to reach the conclusion of The Canterbury Tales

This Dude Got A Guggenheim?????????

2009-04-09T13:08:00.005-05:00

Of course he did! I'm so happy that three of my good friends were all awarded Guggenheim Fellowships yesterday: Brian Ulrich, Anna Shteynshleyger and James Nakagawa. All three are great photographers and great people . . . Midwest Represent!

Guest Curator #7: Shawnee Barton

2009-04-05T19:37:00.003-05:00

This was posted by Shawnee Barton, an artist who keeps a blog on other people’s blogs. If you have a little nook of cyberspace and are open to welcoming a guest poster, or if you're a video whiz and want to help her with her crashing trucks/fireworks project, please email her at shawneebarton@gmail.com. She will be grateful. To see where she is posting next, check out shawneebarton.com.

"Once upon a time, I wanted to make a video where a semi-truck carrying firecrackers crashed head on into another truck and a large scale fireworks display erupted with symphony orchestra music and all.

I never could figure out how to make that video, but while I was looking for footage of trucks crashing, I came across these old drivers training videos that are super gruesome. They have names like "Wheels of Agony" and "Mechanized Death." I liked them so much, I ordered the whole set from the Ohio Department of Safety . Anytime I want to impress someone, I pop these bad boys in the dvd player and show them off like they're like a big-horned hunting trophy or a limited edition Princess Diana plate."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx-rXEdaGao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fHQyp9ytA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G844qTtTShA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzr7CHX_0b0&feature=related

USA IS A MONSTER

2009-04-04T10:23:00.009-05:00

CLICK HERE FOR A HIGH RESOLUTION VERSION

I lived in Boston from 1998-2000 and during my first summer there, I shared a house with some amazing artists and musicians (ten of them to be exact). It was a bit of a freak-out house: people camping in the back yard, fridge filled with nothing but Hamms Beer, recording studio in the basement, you get the idea. Anyhow, two of my friends from the house were Colin Langenus and Tom Hohmann. Colin and Tom were in an amazing band named BullRoarer and shared a bunk bed in the room next to mine. After BullRoarer came to an end, Tom and Colin began the band USAISAMONSTER which consists of Colin on guitar and Tom on drums. I've always been amazed and inspired by my friends from those days who still continue to constantly record and to tour all of these years later despite their lack of finances and commercial success.

So the years passed and I moved to Chicago. In 2003/2004, I found out that USAISAMONSTER was coming to town to play a common room at the University of Chicago. I headed down with my friend Nate and caught up with Tom and Colin after a number of lost years. It was so great to see them and to see that after all this time, they were still creating music at a million miles an hour . . . truly inspiring.

Ok, I'll cut to the chase. My friend Jonah emailed me the other day because it seems that USAISAMONSTER has a video up on the Pitchfork website. I could not be happier for these guys, the video is amazing (looks like the work of Tom), the song is amazing and hopefully it brings them some well deserved attention. So . . . check these guys out if you see them coming through your town, it will be well worth your while!

Here is some vintage BullRoarer to take you home, it's incredible what you can dig up on youtube!!!

Inspiration!

2009-03-30T12:03:00.002-05:00

A quick break from youtube to share with you this video that has me completely awed and inspired at the moment. The other day I was at home on the couch with Archie asleep on my lap when I started surfing On-Demand to see if there were any rock videos worth watching nowadays. I grew up glued to MTV (I used to record hours upon hours of it on our family VCR) and have been disappointed that in recent years it has become harder and harder to find worthwhile videos on the "music" channels. Often times the only way to view videos is to watch them on youtube which inevitably means that you'll be watching them in crappy quality. Anyhow, I came upon this video by Blitzen Trapper and was completely floored. This is the kind of video that I would want if I were in a band . . . Enjoy!

You Tube Guest Curator #6: Ben Arnow

2009-03-26T14:30:00.003-05:00

Ben is a friend of mine, we've been friends since kindergarten and for the majority of this time he has been a huge Police fan. It's not surprising to me then that he is into this smash hit by Sonseed.

You Tube Guest Curator #5: Geoffrey Hammond

2009-03-24T10:19:00.003-05:00

Although I have only lived in Chicago since 2001, I am an avid Chicago Bears fan. Despite growing up in NY, my interest in the Bears was first piqued in 1985 with the release of The Super Bowl Shuffle. How could you not love a team that featured a 382 pound defensive lineman named "The Fridge" who found a guest spot as the world's fattest running back. Anyhow, I had a copy of the song on vinyl and used to camp out in front of MTV hoping to catch repeat glimpses of the video.

This morning Geoffrey sent me this video that was made by the Southern Food Brokerage . . . some of those guys have impressive flow!

You Tube Guest Curator #4: Chase Browder

2009-03-21T09:09:00.002-05:00

Today's segment is from my friend Chase who is a great photographer and an even greater Texan. Chase writes: "This is a Segment from Texas Country Reporter, a TV show exploring Texas since the 70s. This clip is about a restaurant that serves chicken fried bacon. CFB is an appetizer at this restaurant where you order steaks by the pound not the ounce. My favorite part is when the owner talks about tasting CFB for the first time and says 'that's pretty good, just needs a little cream gravy,'"

*Viewer be warned, I think I had three coronaries in the course of watching this video.

You Tube Guest Curator #3: Michael Pajon

2009-03-19T07:39:00.003-05:00

This gem was sent to me by my friend Michael Pajon and is both hilariously funny and incredibly awkward. My wife Robin is a music teacher and twice a year she arranges voice and piano recitals for her students. When I showed her this clip earlier today, she said, "What's wrong with that lady? She's going way too fast for him and she doesn't even try to help him out!" Poor John Daker.

You Tube Guest Curator #2: Christine Grykien

2009-03-17T10:36:00.003-05:00

This gem is from my friend Christine in Northern California. She writes: "You may have seen this one before since it was one of those things that spreads round like wildfire due to its universal hilarity, but I believe it deserves a place in any good youtube review. And if you haven't seen it before, just remember: Living Rooms, Bedrooms, Dinettes.

You Tube Guest Curator #1: Brian Ulrich

2009-03-16T16:07:00.003-05:00

Brian writes: "For the past year I've been working on a new project called 'Dark Stores, Ghostboxes and Dead Malls'. It's an extension of my earlier work examining consumer and retail culture since 2001. While researching I've come across many whom are nostalgic for certain brands and stores that have gone by the wayside. This training video removed from context of a 1980's Caldor store epitomizes a methodology for weakly attempting to indoctrinate new employees to store ideologies. The Corporate meets the Comedic with production right out of Beta-Cam videos that reveal a gut wrenching look into late 20th Century workplace."

Curated You Tube

2009-03-12T09:51:00.004-05:00

I was talking to my friend Cable the other day about a brilliant curatorial program that he is starting up at Seattle's Kirkland Arts Center called "Bru Tube." He is inviting different people to curate a ten minute block of selected youtube videos and I thought this would be a fun feature to add onto my blog. Over the next few months, I will be inviting people from all kinds of backgrounds to select a video for me to feature (after all, I've been so bad about posting I figure this will be the kick in the pants I need). So I'll go first:

The Who were my first live concert experience, I saw them at Giant's Stadium in the summer of 1989 with my friend Anthony Cupaiuolo. We were obsessed with the Who all throughout middle school and used to watch "Tommy" every day after school in his parent's living room (I've probably seen it 6000 times). Recently I was talking to my friend Robert who runs the darkrooms at Columbia College and he told me that I had to check out this clip from 1967 on The Smothers Brothers Show (Robert is a huge Who fan as well). This is the performance where Pete Townshend destroyed his hearing as a result of the explosion in Keith Moon's drum set. I love how Pete plays it super cool at the beginning of the clip and how he loses his cool by the clips end (who can blame him, the dude just lost half of his hearing!) Enjoy, more to follow.

For The Birds

2009-03-11T20:19:00.004-05:00

The other day while walking to the train station, I came upon a piece of toast in a tree,

The Coolest Thing EVER!!!!!!!!

2009-02-08T11:24:00.004-06:00

Stop animation graffiti?!@#$%^???!!???@#?
Write 1000 times on the blackboard children, "I will never complain about making labor intensive artwork again, I will never complain about making labor intensive artwork again. . . "
To see more work by BLU, visit their website HERE

Old School

2009-01-23T14:24:00.010-06:00

My friend Nils emailed the other day to see if I had a photograph that he could potentially use for the cover of his friend John Foti's soon to be released album. He was especially interested in some old pictures that I made the year before moving to Chicago for grad school. These photographs are from 2000 and were made at the local community college in White Plains, NY (I rented darkroom space to try and learn color printing before starting my MFA). I hadn't looked at these pictures in years, a fun walk down memory lane (click to enlarge):

Check Please

2009-01-16T20:43:00.004-06:00

Here in Chicago, we have a show on PBS called "Check Please" which is a favorite here in the Gitelson household. Each week, three people share their favorite restaurant in Chicago and a round table discussion ensues. This is footage of Barack Obama on the program in 2001. To see a longer clip, click here. One more reason to love our next President.

It's the Art Market, Stupid!

2009-01-04T16:20:00.003-06:00

Despite the slumbering economy and post-holiday decompression, I will have a bunch of my work at Photo LA next weekend (January 9-11). If you find yourself at the fair, swing by booth #B3 (DNJ Gallery) and check out my work. Here is the info:

FAIR LOCATION
Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405

The De-Evolution of the Guitar

2009-01-02T14:02:00.006-06:00

I started playing the guitar when I was twelve years old and took lessons until I was 18. Despite this six years of education, I never learned how to read sheet music. Instead, I learned how to read tablature which is the lazy man's version of notation. Each week I would meet with my teacher Steve and he would write out a new Zeppelin song for me to practice (some weeks it was ACDC, some weeks it was YES). Steve wanted me to learn how to read but I was lazy and stubborn and he eventually gave up (after all, Hendrix didn't know how to read music, right?)

On New Year's Eve, Robin and Archie and I headed out to our friends Mike and Lindsey's apartment for a Guitar Hero party. On the drive over, I got to thinking about the realationship between sheet music, tab and guitar hero dots. There has to be a graduate thesis in there somewhere, don't you think?

Sound Advice from Thelonious Monk

2008-12-29T20:46:00.003-06:00

Click image to enlarge

2008-12-22T10:42:00.002-06:00

Surfing With The Alien

2008-12-17T18:54:00.003-06:00

Maybe it was the snow outside that had me feeling nostalgic, but this morning I downloaded the 1987 Joe Satriani album, "Surfing With The Alien." When I was in seventh grade, I spent a lot of time with my friend Sean Gallagher discovering the joy of smoking cigarettes and listening to Van Halen, Steve Vai and of course, Joe Satriani. This is some serious guitar nerd music and it holds up as being as ridiculous today as it was twenty-one years ago when it first came out (god I'm getting old!). Enjoy this taste:

"Film Director" at the Milwaukee Art Museum

2008-12-11T15:46:00.004-06:00

I just learned that my piece "Film Director" is currently on display at The Milwaukee Art Museum in an exhibition of highlights from the museum's photography collection. Swing by if you have a chance, the museum is one of the coolest architectural structures you'll ever see!

Archie (King of the Caribou)

2008-12-11T15:44:00.001-06:00

Tracey Baran (1975–2008)

2008-11-21T20:36:00.005-06:00

I learned tonight that photographer Tracey Baran died earlier this month at the age of 33. I first met Tracey at The Museum of Contemporary Photography in 2002 while I was in graduate school. She had an exhibition at the museum and I remember her lunchtime lecture and being really impressed by her work. We struck up a conversation later in the day and came to the realization that she lived next door to my friend Ben's farm in upstate New York. We emailed occasionally after that first meeting and met again in 2006 at the reviews in Santa Fe where we both received the Juror’s Choice Grant. We caught up in the lounge of the hotel and it was really great to see her. I can't say that I knew her very well but none the less, I was really saddened and shocked tonight to learn of her passing. My thoughts go out to her friends and family, she was a great photographer and a really nice person.

Best Band Ever!

2008-11-19T07:16:00.000-06:00

Get Out And Vote, Bitches!

2008-11-03T06:00:00.003-06:00

"Working"

2008-10-27T16:46:00.006-05:00

I'm happy to announce that I'll be in Los Angeles this weekend for the opening of the exhibition "Working" at DNJ Gallery. It's a three man show featuring my series, "Dream Job," Nathan Baker's series, "Occupation" and Patrick Wymore's series, "On Company Time." If you are in the area, please swing by and say hello. The show runs until December 13th so swing by if you are in town but miss the opening.

A Letter of Deep Apology

2008-10-24T11:40:00.011-05:00

Dear Blog,
I'm writing to apologize for the fact that my Dad has been a terrible blogger these past few months. I'm tempted to say that he's been too busy but this is irrelevant. I know that his lack of correspondence has hurt your feelings and for this I'm very sorry. Now, where to begin . . .

This autumn has been a roller coaster of emotions for me: first my Mom's team the Chicago Cubs got home-field advantage for the playoffs, then they were swept away by the Dodgers in just three games:

Despite the Cubs loss, my Dad's favorite team the Red Sox were still in the running for the championship. We watched every game together, even the incredible game 5 comeback. Despite their efforts, the Red Sox lost game seven and even though my Dad says we gave it a good shot, I know that he's crying on the inside:

Other than that, it's been nothing but news news news at the house. First it was the conventions, then the debates, then Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, and on and on and on. I'm really happy that Obama's ahead in the polls, I'm just hoping it stays this way for the next two weeks, the thought of a Mccain/Palin White House is just way too scary:

Finally, my Dad and I have been spending a lot of time listening to music in his studio. My favorite band at the moment is The Phantom Sons:

The Phantoms Sons is a new project by one of my Dad's best and oldest friends, Cable Griffith. My Dad's friend Nils also plays on these demos and his friend Eric is teaming up with him so they can start to perform their songs live and on stage. Look out Seattle, if you see these guys playing out, it will be well worth your while to stick your head in for a listen:

1. "Evelyn":

2. "I Know A Girl":

3. "Meant To Be":

4. "No Man's Land":

5. "Strong Like A River":

6. "Waiting":

And so that's it. Thank you blog for being so understanding of my Father's negligence. I'll make sure that he stays on top of things from here on out.

Peace,
Archie

Devil Music Ensemble at The Chicago Cultural Center

2008-09-13T14:10:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow (Sunday, Sept 14th) at 1pm, The Devil Music Ensemble will be performing "Red Heroine" at The Chicago Cultural Center here in Chicago. DME is an ensemble out of Boston that features my good friend and former roommate, Jonah Rapino. For the last number of years, they have been scoring old silent films and performing live musical accompaniments. Tomorrow's show will be at 1pm and is guaranteed to be pretty amazing and free of cost. If you like music or film or both, come check it out.

If you're not in Chicago but want to see when they'll be coming through a town near you, check out their website at:

http://www.devilmusic.org/

Sarah Palen and the RNC Flip-Flop

2008-09-04T12:39:00.001-05:00

2008-08-30T15:44:00.002-05:00

Max's First Trip To McDonalds

2008-08-29T18:17:00.013-05:00

I'm lucky to have grown up with the world's greatest dog and the world's strangest parents (they seem to be getting stranger by the day). Not only have they gone to Wendy's for "date night" to enjoy the salad bar and debate over which of the senior citizens my dad could "take" in a fight, they also treat our dogs to a variety of treats ranging from Baskin Robbins Icecream to Dunkin' Donuts. I think that a lot of this has to do with empty nest syndrome, my brothers and I moved out of the house over ten years ago.

One of these outings resulted in a photography book (if you've ever wondered where I get my influences from) entitled, "Max's First Trip To McDonalds." The book arrived one day in my mailbox at Marlboro College and I've cherished it all of these years, placing it on my bookshelf between "Walker Evans: A Biography" and Calvin Tomkin's "Marcel Duchamp." So, for the first time in cyber-space, I present to you the cult classic, "Max's First Trip To McDonalds" (with original captions):

"I'm going to McDonalds!"
"I've got shotgun!"
"Decisions . . . decisions"
"Remind them . . . no pickles, no onions on the cheeseburgers"
"See - I'm sitting nicely"
"Hell with that"
"Wait a minute, I missed a crumb"
"I can come again? . . . Right!!"

Chillin' On The Home Front

2008-08-21T15:21:00.004-05:00

Git Yearbook Pictures (Through The Years)

2008-08-10T20:57:00.005-05:00

Little Gitel In da' House

2008-07-29T22:49:00.010-05:00

Archer Morgan Gitelson
6 pounds, 14 ounces
July 28, 2008

Stranger Than Fiction

2008-07-25T18:58:00.002-05:00

This morning, friend Amy Stein sent me a link to this bizarre site in Japan that reminded her of my "Staring Contest." The purpose of the video is to teach shy men in Japan how to feel more brave in the face of beautiful women:

Japanese companies are always looking to meet the needs of the "niche-ist" of niche markets. For example, top-selling record label Avex has discovered a new way to reach extremely anti-social sets — the NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), and the most reclusive of the recluses, the hikikomori. Most believe that these groups’ refusal of social participation stems from their lack of social skills. The hikikomori almost never socialize with other people and prefer to spend their time in their bedrooms, completely locked away from the world. The total numbers of NEET and hikikomori may have been overestimated in the past, but they do exist to some extent and are mostly male.

"Avex is trying to reach these groups with a new DVD — part "corporate social responsibility," part traditional content delivery, and part talent blog/model promotion. The DVD is called Miteiru dake (Just Looking), and it features various talent/models just staring straight ahead. That’s right, the models on the DVD do very little other than stare straight at the camera. According to the website, the idea is to get young males who aren’t used to socializing with women to become more accustomed to making eye contact and/or handle the fact that a sentient being sits across from them and awaits interaction. The DVD hopes to cure those afflicted with shyness so that they may rejoin society."

Thanks Amy, amazing stuff (and incredibly creepy!)

Later on, I headed down to Hyde Park to see my friend Erik and a show that he had recently helped to curate at The Smart Museum. Afterwards we grabbed lunch, talked a lot about art and headed over to his studio to look at some new work. Erik's one of the smartest people you'll ever meet and it was great to have so much time to catch up. While hanging out, Erik told me about this hilarious video from Adult Swim's, "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!" As you can see from the two videos below, sometimes the truth can be stranger than fiction:

value="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html"/>

Hijacked Photography Exhibition at The Australian Center for Photography

2008-07-20T11:58:00.003-05:00

This is a video from ABC Australia about the current exhibition at The Australian Center for Photography in Sydney. The exhibition features work from "Hijacked Volume One: Australia and America," a book edited by Mark McPherson & Max Pam. I'm honored to be featured both in the book and in the exhibition along with friends: Jason lazarus, Suzy Poling , Amy Stein and Bill Sullivan (amongst many other great photographers whose work I had not previously known). Pick up a copy as soon as they become available.

Bring Your Friends

2008-07-17T21:28:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow night there will be a great opening here in Chicago that will feature my piece, "Staring Contest" as well as the work of Nathan Baker, Claudia Burns, Sean Fader, Mandukhai Kaylin, Jason Lazarus, Aron Gent, Tealia Ellis Ritter, Terttu Uibopuu, Sarah Mckemie and Brian Ulrich. Here's the info, bring your friends:

7pm
3219-21 South Morgan Street
Chicago Illinois, 60608

the show runs July 18, through August 8, 2008

Staring Contest

2008-07-05T16:22:00.003-05:00

I've just completed my newest piece entitled, "Staring Contest." "Staring Contest" is a video installation that consists of two videos. Each video is of a man staring directly into the camera without blinking for a duration of 25 minutes, at which point the videos loops back to the beginning. For the installation, two television sets are placed directly across from each other at a distance of approximately eight feet. Each TV will show one of the videos so that the subjects of the two videos appear to be staring at one another. This piece will be debuted on July 18th at The Co Prosperity Sphere in Bridgeport. Swing by the show to see it in person and visit it on the web at: http://www.thegit.net/thegit.net/videos/staring_contest.html

Where Art Lives, Radio Interview with Yours Truly

2008-06-23T20:42:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for me, it was my first time hearing myself on the radio! I was featured on the Chicago Public Radio program "Hello Beautiful" and discussed the recent art commission that I just completed. Click HERE if you would like to hear the interview.

Mustachio

2008-06-21T09:11:00.001-05:00

Recognize This Photograph?

2008-06-17T11:41:00.001-05:00

2008-06-05T13:38:00.002-05:00

This morning the new Armitage Brown Line Station opened and with it, the debut of my permanent installation. After nearly two years in the works, it was pretty amazing to see it in its final state. If you live in Chicago or are just traveling through, swing by to have a look!

Hanging Out At Fenway, Old School

2008-05-28T16:35:00.003-05:00

When I was twenty-two I moved to Boston which is where I discovered both my love of Super-8 film and the Boston Redsox. In the spring of 2000, I was working at a restaurant in Harvard Square and spending all of my free time sneaking away to Fenway Park. I used to go to day games by myself and try too sneak down to the corporate seats behind home plate (these usually stayed empty during day games and it was easy to sneak down without an entourage). This is a Super 8 film that I shot on such a day. Pedro Martinez was on the mound (my favorite in those days) and if memory serves, I think we won the game. Go Sox!

Me and Robin and Harrell Fletcher

2008-05-27T18:03:00.004-05:00

Last week at The NY Photo Festival, I had the chance to hear Harrell Fletcher give a talk about his work. Harrell is one of my favorite artists, I first became familiar with his work via his web collaboration "Learning To Love You More" that he made with Miranda July. For those of you not familiar with his work, it is a wonderful blend of art and sociology and I encourage you to look through his site. Harrell was exhibiting in Leslie Martin's exhibition "The Ubiquitous Image" and at the end of his talk, he informed the audience that for his piece in the show, he was asking people to share their wallet photographs with him so that he could scan them, print them and hang them in the exhibition. I just happen to always keep a photograph of Robin in my wallet and was excited to include it in the show.

Two Upcoming Auctions

2008-05-26T15:34:00.004-05:00

I will be participating in two upcoming photography auctions, one at The Museum of Contemporary Photography this friday at The Douglas Dawson Gallery here in Chicago and one at The Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe on June 7th. Both should be well worth attending, happy shopping!

Corey Arnold

2008-05-19T11:43:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, my friend Amy Stein (who by the way won The NY Photo Festival Book Award this past friday) introduced me to the photographer Corey Arnold. I'm a huge fan of The Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" and Corey's photographs examine that same world. He's both a photographer and a fisherman as well as a really nice guy. He'll apparently be in a show at Bucket Rider Gallery next spring here in Chicago where he'll be sharing the walls with one of my favorite Chicago artists, Cody Hudson. Good times . . .

NY Photo Festival

2008-05-10T18:06:00.003-05:00

I'll be flying into NY this week for the NY Photo Festival. I will have five pieces on display at The Museum of Contemporary Photography Pavilion from my series, "Items Of Clothing Secretly Hidden By My Girlfriend (So That I Wouldn't Wear Them Anymore)." Please swing by and check it out if you find yourself in town.

The World's Most Stupid Video

2008-05-08T18:04:00.004-05:00

I've recently been archiving all of my old VHS tapes and this afternoon I came across this, the most stupid video ever made. During my first year of grad school, I was required to take a 19th Century Photo History course. For our final, we had the option of either writing a paper or creating a piece that addressed 19th century photo history. I've always enjoyed looking at the work of Eadweard Muybridge and found it extremely interesting that he used to manipulate his data to achieve certain results. For my final, I decided to make this movie which uses his technique to evaluate whether or not a break dancer friend of mine was able to do the worm and leave the ground. We manipulated the facts (as did Muybridge) and came up with this, the stupidist video ever made. Enjoy!

Which Famous Photographer Are You?

2008-05-08T11:06:00.005-05:00

This morning, one of my students sent me a link where you can take a survey that dares to ask, "which famous photographer are you?" After filling out the survey, I learned that I am Helmut Newton. Which famous photographer are you? Click HERE to find out.

CTA Part 3

2008-05-06T15:38:00.004-05:00

Today I went down to the Armitage Station to check out the progress on the installation. They were finishing up with the sealant and should be finished by the end of the week. It looks like the station will definitely open on June 1st and will be featured at some point in June on NPR's "Hello Beautiful".

Opening This Thursday At The Nelson Hancock Gallery

2008-04-29T22:30:00.003-05:00

This Thursday, I'll be in NY for an opening of my work at The Nelson Hancock Gallery in Brooklyn. The show will feature four of my artist's books, one video and ten framed photographs. The books that will be included are: "The Scavenger Hunt," "If I Had A Girlfriend," "I Wave in Front Of Every Apartment I've Ever Lived In Except for One" and "The Ballad of Carl Wilson." I will also be showing the film: "I Wave in Front Of Every Apartment I've Ever Lived In Except for One" and ten images from my series, "Dream Job." If you're in town, please come out and say hello. The show opens from 6-8.

CTA Installation (part 2)

2008-04-29T22:26:00.004-05:00

Today I went back to the installation site to check out the progress since last week. The crew had to take the last day and a half off due to cold temperatures but there were a lot of new tiles none the less. Installation is set to conclude by the start of next week although the opening date for the station has been pushed back until the end of May.

Installation Shots, Day 1

2008-04-24T15:06:00.005-05:00

Today was the second day of installation for my public art piece and my first day on the site. I was really nervous to see it come together at full scale (it's very big and very permanent) but was excited when I actually got up close and had a look. The Station (CTA Armitage Brown Line) is scheduled to open on May 1st and installation of the piece should be finished by the end of next week. I'll be back on Monday to take some more pictures and will post them later that day. In the mean time, enjoy the project's website at:
www.chicagoelstories.com

Garbage Can Project Portfolio

2008-04-21T20:24:00.020-05:00

Having recently wrapped up my surveillance for The Garbage Can Project, I've now begun to commission a series of hand-made, 12" x 16" portfolio cases. The tricky thing with a web based project is trying to figure out 1) What the physical form is for exhibition and 2) What to sell (it's a hard reality). I've decided to break the project up into a series of portfolios, one for each week. Each portfolio is available in an edition of one and consists of seven photographs and a dvd of the weekly footage (this portfolio is August 12-18, 2007). When someone is interested in acquiring one, they can choose their week and the portfolio will be custom made for them.

The spine of the portfolio has the week contained within and the front of the case is embossed with a line drawing of one of the cans. Inside of the case is a hand bound book that is also embossed with a white garbage can icon.

The first page of the book contains the project statement.
Each page contains that day's image and the date on which it was made. This is from August 12, 2007.

August 13, 2007.
August 14, 2007.
August 15, 2007.
August 16, 2007.
August 17, 2007.
August 18, 2007.
This page lists all of the weekly video activity

There is an envelope on the back cover of the book that contains all of the weekly footage. The menu for the DVD is custom built and divides the footage up into seven short chapters (one for each day).

And so that's it. I'm still trying to figure out ideas for exhibiting this work in a gallery setting, I have some ideas but nothing is set in stone.

You Fucking Fuck!

2008-04-15T09:01:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, as I was walking home from the train, I came across this message carved into the concrete square of the sidewalk. When I saw this I chuckled and kept walking. When I got home I bolt locked the door, curled up on the floor and started to cry. Enjoy!

Super 8 Movies

2008-04-09T13:16:00.007-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything and as usual, I could come up with about a million lame excuses. One of the things I've been up to is archiving my family's Super 8 home movies from the 70's and 80's. There's something special about memories that were captured on film as opposed to video. This clip is one of my favorites: me, my brother and our friends playing Slip & Slide on our front yard circa 1980. The best thing about it has to be the way my father included his hand and the hose on the left hand side of the frame. Oh, the good ol' days . . .

The Iron Git

2008-03-21T16:09:00.004-05:00

Me, my brothers and the ex WWF Champion Iron Sheik in a Howard Johnson's hotel, Orlando Florida, August 1986.

Springtime In Chicago (as seen from our back porch)

2008-03-21T14:08:00.004-05:00

Two Of My All-Time Favorite Photographers

2008-03-16T20:17:00.005-05:00

These are two of my favorite photographs of all time, one by Brian Ulrich and one by Roy Decarava. There's a connection between these two images besides the coat hangers, maybe it's the silent quality that they both have. Brian and the lovely Rachelle spent their sunday today helping to paint our new apartment. After-words, we went to an amazing German restaurant around the corner to eat wurst and to talk over the confusing difficulties of being a mid-western artist in this day and age. Like presumably everyone in our field, I sometimes feel overwhelmed and insecure about trying to navigate the contemporary art world. Brian and Rachelle are two of my best friends and had lots of great advise for me, I'm lucky to have such wonderful friends.

The End Of An Era (Part 3)

2008-02-26T07:47:00.003-06:00

November 29, 2006: The infamous rat incident. You learn new things every day watching surveillance footage of your garbage cans. I, for instance, had no idea that rats could be so resourceful when seeking out food. You gotta respect the little bastards ...

The End Of An Era (Part 2)

2008-02-25T22:22:00.005-06:00

This is one of my personal favorites: On August 8, 2007, my cat Wally became intrigued with something outside the of window and stuck his head in front of the camera. Look at those cheeks . . .

The End Of An Era (Part 1)

2008-02-24T20:37:00.004-06:00

Today marks the start of the last week of filming for The Garbage Can Project. Robin and I will be moving to a new apartment next weekend and so on this, the final week of filming, I've decided to make a daily post featuring one video highlight per day. The above clip is from March 12, 2007 and features one of our cans being stolen in the middle of the night.

Didn't Your Mama Ever Tell You . . .

2008-02-23T19:12:00.006-06:00

Didn't your mama ever tell you not to chew your finger nails? Well the above photograph is evidence of why she was right. I spent all of this past thursday night watching "The WB" in the Emergency Room at Rush Hospital waiting for a doctor to take a look at my infected pinky finger.

I guess I'm lucky but I've only ever been in the emergency room three times and each time for something completely weird. The first time that I went I was eight or nine years old and had been camping with my family in The Berkshire Mountains. I had a rather severe case of poison ivy and I woke up one morning with webbed hands. Overnight, all of the poison ivy blisters had merged together to form a wall of blister. My parents took me to the ER where they cut the blisters, wrapped my hand and sent me on my way.

The second time that I went to the ER I must have been about twelve or thirteen and like all of the cool kids at school, I had just gotten my right ear pierced. The day after it was pierced I had a baseball game and while I was at bat I had to wear a batting helmet that had hard plastic ear flaps. Needless to say, after three times at bat my ear had become so infected that it swelled up over the earing. After the game I went to the ER where they pulled the earing out through the back of my lobe. My ear is permanently pierced as a result despite the fact that I haven't worn an earing since.

My visit to the ER this past week was perhaps the stupidist visit of all. I injured my hand by chewing on my nails. I'm a chronic nail biter and must have been absentmindedly chewing away when I ripped my pinky nail a bit too far. A few days and a thousand germs later, my pinky swelled up like a beach ball and became discolored and disgusting.

A few days and a few anti-biotics later, the moral of the story is clear: Stop Chewing Your Nails People, Your Mama Was Right!!!!!

2 Weeks til' Moving Day (and a whole assload of boxes)

2008-02-16T10:38:00.003-06:00

Here We Go Again

2008-02-07T10:00:00.000-06:00

Well it is moving time once again. Robin and I just found a great new apartment on the north side of town and are getting ready to make the big move on March 1. For me, the first step of moving involves sorting through all of the stuff that I've accumulated in order to pair down and organize. Yesterday was day one of "Operation Nostalgia" and I came across some lost gems.

"The Three Bad Girls." During the summer of 1997, I had a job as a cook in the nursing home where my mother works in Croton NY. In August I moved to Guatemala where I felt more than a little homesick and where I eagerly awaited letters from back home. This photograph is of three of my co-workers from the nursing home, a real gem of a photograph (taken my Mama Git).

This photograph was made in the Spring of 2001 and is from my very first nude photo shoot. I was working as a bartender in NY prior to relocating to Chicago and was one day approached by a waitress who asked me if I would take some nude photographs of her. I was excited for all of the obvious reasons but also because I had always loved the old nude photographs of Andre Kertesz. As excited as I was, I was also very nervous. So on one of my days off she came to my parents house, took off her clothes and asked me what she should do. Feeling that I should be "pure" to my art, I set about shooting a few roles of the most conservative nude photographs you've ever seen. The whole thing was incredibly awkward, she wanted Playboy Centerfolds and I gave her images straight out of the urine stained apartments of a Dostoevsky novel. Oh young Git, so much to learn . . .

This photograph is from 2003 during a road trip with my friend Matt. I was helping him with a film that he was making as well as playing the role of a balding alien. This haircut was truly disgusting although it did get props in a Minneapolis dive bar where a punk rock girl came up to me and told me how much she loved my "Drunk Uncle."

This is a photograph that one of my parents took at their home in NY. It's the view of the back porch under a heavy blanket of snow. I love this shot.

So boys and girls, believe it or not there once existed a currency in Europe before the Euro!!! This is a two Franc piece from my first trip to Europe. As an undergrad, my studies had been devoted almost exclusively to the writings of Albert Camus. Camus has always been a real hero to me and I nearly wet my pants when I found myself in Paris walking the same streets that he had once traversed on a bicycle dressed in a nun outfit during the occupation.

Here we have a shot of Young Git reclining on his Grandmother's couch in Yonkers NY (circa 1986). I used to think this pink polo shirt was "The Bomb" (eat your heart out Kanye West!)

And finally, here we have photograph by the young Brian Ulrich from back when he was a mere student in grad school. I'm not sure if he ever did anything with this photograph but I've always had a real soft spot for it (this is from around the time that he was first beginning his Copia project).

And so, I'm off to pack some more. I'm sure there will be plenty more artifacts in the weeks to come.

Get Out And Vote!!!

2008-02-03T22:22:00.000-06:00

Can You Dig It?

2008-01-27T10:59:00.001-06:00

Click the photo to enlarge

Items of Clothing Secretly Hidden By My Girlfriend (So That I Wouldn't Wear Them Anymore)

2008-01-15T11:04:00.001-06:00

This morning I published a new project to my website. "Items of Clothing Secretly Hidden By My Girlfriend (So That I Wouldn't Wear Them Anymore)" has been on the back burner ever since I found a bag containing some of my clothes in the back of Robin's closet. Apparently she had been confiscating things each time she did the laundry. The complete inventory can be seen by clicking here.

Paris and Me at Art Basel Miami

2007-12-19T14:46:00.000-06:00

Well it's been a week and a half since the insanity of the Miami Art Fairs and slowly life returns to normal. I wish that I could take credit for the above picture but it was taken by good friend and amazing artist Julian Montague. Without a doubt, the best part of the weekend was catching up with old friends. As has become standard in the past few years, I shared a hotel room with my two other wives Brian Ulrich and Matt Siber; however, this time we were also blessed with the company of the wonderful and talented Sonja Thomsen. Highlights included running around town with Nate Baker, cocktails with Alec Soth, dinner and introductions with Taj Forer, not nearly enough quality time with Amy Stein, breakfast with Cody Hudson, gallery chatting with Michael Foley and Tom Gitterman, and on and on and on. Of course for me, the absolute highlight was spending a ton of quality time with the Munich gang: Nicole, George, Mark and Florence. Oh yes, and I can't forget Paris. Hopefully she spent some of her time buying art in addition to shoes.