Here is a needlework sampler I’ve made based on the tradition of needlework samplers and the processes used by producers to create contemporary musical compositions.
For those who might not be familiar with what a needlework sampler is, here is the definition from Wikipedia: A (needlework) sampler is a piece of embroidery produced as a demonstration or test of skill in needlework. It often includes the alphabet, figures, motifs, decorative borders and sometimes the name of the person who embroidered it and the date. The word sampler is derived from the Latin ‘exemplum’ – an example.
And here’s how Wikipedia says needlework samplers originated: The oldest surviving samplers were constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries. As there were no pre-printed patterns available for needleworkers, a stitched model was needed. Whenever a needlewoman saw a new and interesting example of a stitching pattern, she would quickly sew a small sample of it onto a piece of cloth – her ’sampler’. The patterns were sewn randomly onto the fabric as a reference for future use, and the woman would collect extra stitches and patterns throughout her lifetime.
It occurred to me that needleworkers used to have to make patterns and images to decorate fabric in the same way that contemporary music producers make beats and musical compositions by repeating and layering audio samples in digital sound editing programs. So the files created using digital editing programs today basically function in the same way that needlework samplers did in the days when all embroidery had to be done by hand.
The portrait of Bill Cosby made out of JELL-O shots went off without a hitch last night at Buoy Gallery. Here are a few pictures of what went down:
Once the portrait was finished and open for consumption things took an unexpected turn as participants in the exhibition started to rearrange the JELL-O shots to see how Bill Cosby would look if, for instance, he had a doobie in his mouth and a ponytail or if he spontaneously turned into pacman.
Here’s a slide show I made with a time lapse of Bill’s JELL-O shot transformations:
Thanks to everyone who helped me with this project, especially Al from Buoy Gallery, Mike from the Music Hall, and Raj from Tulsi (who let me use his kitchen and refrigerator to make the JELL-O shots).
You’re invited to “JELL-O HEAD,” an exhibition by Andrew Salomone featuring a portrait of Bill Cosby made from approximately 1,000 JELL-O shots. The exhibition will take place on Bill Cosby’s birthday, Sunday July 12th, starting around 4 pm, at Buoy Gallery. The audience is invited to enjoy the exhibition as they consume it and are welcome to as many JELL-O shots as they wish (over 21s only). Plans have also been made to broadcast the event live over the internet so that viewers at home can witness the gradual destruction of Bill Cosby‘s likeness and possibly some of the audience member‘s sobriety (the title of the exhibition is a reference to both its content and the mental state of some of the audience members on the following morning).
I’ve embroidered a sweater for Amy Winehouse with all of her tattoos on it in all the right places.
Let me tell you why I’ve done this:
About 9 months ago I heard something about Amy Winehouse having health issues. Then I noticed that Amy Winehouse never seemed to be wearing a lot of clothes in any of the pictures I saw of her. I also noticed that she changed her look very often and looked drastically different from picture to picture. It occurred to me that maybe she felt like she had to wear revealing clothing in order to be recognized by showing off her distinctive tattoos. I found several pictures where it appears that even when she did wear warmer clothing, she was still forced to expose her tattoos.
It seemed very problematic to me that someone who is dealing with health problems would have to expose herself to the elements just because her profession requires her to be publicly recognizable. I realized that if someone were to make her a sweater that displayed her tattoos to the world without exposing her to the elements, then maybe some of her health problems would go away. At the very least it might prevent her from getting a cold.
Here is what Amy Winehouse might look like in the sweater I’ve made for her:
I thought about other ways of making this sweater, but decided that the sweater had to be embroidered by hand so that it would be as unique and distinctive as the tattoos it covers up. It also made sense that the sweater should be embroidered because embroidery is like a tattoo on fabric.
I know this sweater may not be appropriate for a lot of the fancy places that Amy might have to go, but I know she has had problems with paparazzi in the past, so at least maybe sometimes when she is recognized and photographed she can also be warm.
It only makes sense that Amy should have this sweater. If anyone has any idea how to make that happen please let me know: asalomone [AT] gmail [DOT] com
This is a show I have coming up. I’m planning to broadcast the exhibition live over a webcam so that everyone can get a good view of the JELL-O shot portrait as it is consumed.
Making art with a Lite Brite is not a new idea. But I recently found a Lite Brite at the dump near where I’m living and decided to use it to work out some imagery for an upcoming project.
Here’s what the Lite Brite I found at the dump looked like in the box:
I quicky ran out of the colored pegs that I would need to finish the project I was trying to work on, so I tried to finish it by going to www.litebrite.com. I still didn’t get the results I was looking for, but I did manage to make this more realistic representation of the clown from the “It” movie:
I think maybe they should consider releasing a new version of Lite Brite with more pegs in it for lazy artists. This is what the box should look like:
What’s a vampire’s favorite candy? A sucker! What is a Mummy’s favorite type of music? Wrap! . . . You like that? There’s lots of fun, chills & thrills and so much more happening at the Arizona Museum for Youth [AMY], now, throughout the entire summer!
Here’s a new video of a performance I did a couple years ago:
I just recently got the original video footage from a friend of mine in Ireland and I finally finished editing it this weekend.
Basically, this is a mash-up of the cartoonish, but graceful, violence of video games with the authentic, but humiliating, violence of real street fights (and the way both types of violence are used to entertain spectators)
Thanks to everyone who helped me with this project, I’m putting a longer version of the video on the project’s page if you wanna take a look!
This is a project I’ve started since I’ve been back in Ireland over the last month or so. It’s a band called, “The Smell,” that only plays trad (traditional Irish music) on battery-operated instruments that I think were all designed to be children’s toys. This is a video of us playing at an open-mic night in a pub in Cork. We’ve been invited back to play again this week and promised some free pints!
