As of right now, the shows are 95% done. SuTRA was finished hanging this afternoon, and Practical Art goes up tomorrow. I just have one more form to fill out for insurance purposes and send to Practical Art, which will be faxed over first thing in the morning (care of my favorite FedEx/Kinkos pal with the long, shaggy hair) and then the work will be hung tomorrow evening.
I faced a few issues with both venues over the past couple days (not on their respective parts, by any means.) Just the nature of the beast. There was some scheduling confusion with SuTRA that worked itself out, so there are no worries in that regard. I've had a cold for the past few days and have felt really out of it, so bringing the work to Practical Art felt really...odd. I don't quite know how to describe it. Almost like I didn't deserve to be showing there. Not to say that Kara and the other girl whose name I never learned made me feel unwelcome (quite the opposite, actually), but I was already feeling very anxious. Coupling that with the anxiety that comes with opening a show, I felt very uncomfortable.
I received a text from K regarding a couple issues with the show:
a. Typographical error on one of the title cards. SERIOUSLY? Typo? Me? Color me veryfuckingangry at myself. When asked how I'd like her to proceed, I was and am tempted just to have her write in the 'n' (which was left off the end of the word "known"), which I think is the simplest solution.
b. Unstable frame. The single biggest issue that seems to arise with using reclaimed wood as panels is their framing instability. Because the panels typically used to be parts of mass-produced furniture that I salvaged from alley dumpsters, they're often comprised of pressboard or other materials that tend to bend nails and cause me to shout "FUCK!" in the studio. The issue with this piece, however, is a little different. It was a piece of wood I found that already had two piece of wood attached to the top and bottom. I was really drawn to the sort-of shoddy assembly of the panel itself. K's concern was that she doesn't think it will hold up on the wall once it's hung. I told her, if needed, they can nail it directly to the wall. I also told her that, short of setting the work on fire, they can do anything they deem necessary to hang the show. I question whether that was unprofessional on my part (moreover, I'm worried that it came off rather terse), but I really do have a lot of faith in the venues.
These shows both mean a lot to me. Both represent a lot of who I am and where I come from. I'm very proud of the focus that I had in making these shows happen. ALL of the work at Practical Art (and more than 50% of the work at SuTRA) has never been shown and shows a lot of the things I've been experimenting with. The notion of going back to school has been a major factor in my desire to push myself as an artist. There are two sculptural pieces in the show, and I'm so proud of myself for being willing to venture from an avenue of strictly two-dimensional work. Outside of sculpture, there are a few pieces that exhibit strong conceptual themes, as well as work that I hope will blur the dividing line between two-dimensional and three-dimensional.
As far as I'm concerned, the shows are done. I have the opening receptions to contend with, which I'm just trying not to think about. This work is so important to me that I've just started to detach myself from it. I had my ideas and my concepts, I put my heart and soul (and quite a lot of blood, sweat, and tears) in to the work, and now I'm done. I'll do the performing monkey bit and play the character of an artist, but honestly and truly? I fucking hate opening receptions. Not all, of course. Just mine. They drain me and, at the end of the night, I always feel a lot of remorse over what I could have/would have/should have done.
Regardless of anything, I'm just really glad that my dad will get to see the show. While Nonn's been my super creative cheerleader, my dad's been sort of my partner-in-crime. He hooked me up with supplies and really gotten on my ass about getting the work done.
All in all, I'm excited for the receptions, I guess. I'll feel better once I get the insurance form faxed over, I think.
In other art news, I have two more confirmed shows and one tentative show for October. Information will come on those in the coming days, but I'll be at Coe House and The Tire Pit at Longhouse Studios, which is exciting because they're two venues I've never shown at before (and headed up by people that I think are pretty damn fantastic). Feeling very lucky right now. More on non-art aspects of life later. (*scoff* as if THOSE even matter!)
