It’s been a long summer. I’m pleased to say that my recent solo show opened last Thursday night in Seattle at Platform Gallery to the 1st Thursday masses who seemed to enjoy the absurd travails of the fictional William Powhida searching for rock stardom. One African-American gentleman approached me and said “Man, when I come to an art gallery, this isn’t what I expect. It’s not what I’d call art. I like it.” Tom Sanford’s Poster for Sellout: The Bastard Tour in context His comments were echoed by another young woman on Saturday who simply said “It’s nice to see something completely different.” I’m not sure what they said exactly (brown liquor), but in the absence of commerce, I’ll take it. If anyone is waiting for a new Powhida, they are all in Seattle.

The First Thursday crowd in Seattle

Well, not all of it, exactly. I’ve donated a small John McCain Hex drawing

to the Dieu Donne Benefit auction and am finishing a drawing for The Drawing Center Benefit. Please go and support those fine institutions because if John McCain wins, there will be zero federal dollars for the arts. Fuck John McLame and Sarah Fey. I really hope that whatever your political affiliation maybe that you are considering the long term implications of your vote in November. Whoever takes office will be responsible for two to three Supreme Court appointees. A McCain/Palin administration would inevitably tip the balance towards a deeply conservative bench for decades. An Obama/Biden administration may provide some necessary balance to the court. While there are huge obstacles facing the country from the wars in the Middle East to the turgid economy, I feel that McCain/Palin won’t just be another four years of the disastrous policies of the Cheney/Bush (that’s right assholes) misadministration, but extending them for decades through like-minded conservative judges who interpret the Constitution like it’s 1787. If you live outside of New York, where my vote will only win Obama so many delegates, please consider the long term implications of your decision. This is a crucial election year for the long term direction of the nation. Please don’t mistake my satire for apathy. I may be a cynical fuck, but I support women’s rights, diplomacy, gun control, separation of church and state, and checks and fucking balances. I can’t get behind the continuing violation of privacy, torture, war, tax breaks for corporations (ie greed), faith-based reasoning based on literal interpretations of the Bible, and trickle down economics. Shit rolls down hill, not gold. Anyway, I make art, not policy so here’s some installation shots from the show.

Banner and Stage Installation

detail: Banner and Stage Installation

Record Store Installation

detail: Record Store Installation

The Blackout Session Installation

Well, my interview with artists Amanda Browder and Tom Sanford is online at Bad at Sports, a Chicago-based arts blog. Unfortunately, my interviewers were disappointed that my studio lacked both strippers and coke both of which tend to make work impossible. Hopefully, I made up for the lack of drugs and tits with my art, some beer, and stories about the art world. My next solo show, The Bastard Tour, opens September 4th at Platform Gallery in Seattle from 5:30 - 8 pm if you happen to be in the northwest. I’m still seeking old vinyl for the show, so please drop it off at the gallery if you live in the greater Seattle Metropolitan area. Otherwise, I’m going to be scouring record stores for the worst of the worst. Detail: (Cover) Sellout, gouache and graphite on panel, 54 x 44 inches, 2008

If you happen to have fallen out of love with New York or are over it, check out Kristen Jensen’s hand embroidered “I Hearted New York” t-shirts at her website, www.iheartednewyork.com
I have one, though I secretly still love New York. Paradoxically, it would probably make her happy if you bought a little piece of her sadness, or just visited her project. You can check out her work if you happen to be at the next Hunter open studio this fall.

If you know you want one, just email her at jensen.kristen@gmail.com

image linked from www.jameswagner.com

Just wanted to thank everyone who came out and made Saturday a fun time for all and helped Jade and I earn our money back on the lemonade stand. James Wagner has a nice shot of us in action. Check out his blog to see more images from NADA’s County Affair and a nice write up of the day. It was an unusual event, one I haven’t seen the likes of since Parker’s Box weekend long IAM5 Anti-Art Fair a few years ago. If NADA can put together a few more events like this, I’ll have to start writing apology letters. Keep your art cups, cause we’d like to take this down to Miami with an expanded mission.

We’ll keep you posted.

Stop by tomorrow, Saturday the 26th, at the NADA County Affair on 27th Street between 11th and 12th Avenue to buy some lemonade and shit from Jade Townsend and I between noon and six. We will be offering lemonade in hand drawn art cups, as well as ‘my foot up your ass’ and ’the secret to art world success’ among other things (including free phone calls to independent curator Janet Phelps in Texas. She’s waiting for particularly bitter artists to call.) Please inquire about the lemonade special and just come hang out with two weird, desperate dudes trying to make their money back the old fashioned way.