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

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

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

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!

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

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

Click image to enlarge

Surfing With The Alien

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

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)

Tracey Baran (1975–2008)

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!

Get Out And Vote, Bitches!

"Working"

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

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

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

Max's First Trip To McDonalds

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