Random Abstract Poetry - 11/07/08

Here is some more random abstract poetry to start off your Friday.

I take the Brooklyn Rail newspaper and underline words and phases in the articles that catch my attention. Then circle a word or phrase for the title. It's more of a subtractive process, taking a page of words and editing down to a poem or maybe several. It's kind of backwards from the traditional process of adding words to a blank page. But it works for me. The pieces of newspaper with these random abstract poems get used as collage material in my artwork.


How It Changes
Limitations, imperfections.
Talking in your sleep.
They're connected to each other.

Forgetful, I can't lose it.
So the idea became more.
I saw progress.
A bizarre thing to witness.

Being forgetful.
False memories will fade over time.
A different kind of reality.


Time
How one could not remember?
Random over time.
I would close my eyes.
Try to remember.
And try again and again.

Loss of memory.
This thing that grew.
Something you could see.
It was everything.

Part of it was moving through.
We didn't know how.
Fragments of her mind.
Trying to connect.

The only way was through.
Give us an idea.
Her past was all mixed up.


From the 60's
Two parts coming together.
Like a certain color.

I find an idea.
And think it emerges as something visual.

Described in detail.
How does the idea develop?

I was curious.
I found a book of the future.
Most of them were wrong.

I like weather reports.
I love following time.


Psychedelic or Islamic?
Looking at Twombly.
Cut out and manipulate.
My hand drumming in ink.

What I do now.
Making myself dizzy.

What about phrenology?
You've got to believe that it's real.
But most of my patterns are.


A Book on Nostradamus
Pseudo-science.
Studying bumps on people's heads.
I'm drawn to pseudo-science.

There is no tangible proof.
That thing.
Your use of pattern are patterns?
I look at a lot of things as invented.


The drums
On a pad with a metronome.
Making circular scribbles.
The movement was similar.
The metronome my drum.

It was a personal mark.
From that moment on.

Charting memory.
The works are extensions.
Alone, when no one is watching.


Strategy
You're setting up a duel.
That's happening in real life.
My drawings more personal.

I feel an itch.
I mark it.
Then transfer it to paper.
Like drawing a map.

You're interested in games?
Actually, I stopped playing.


Experiment
I don't understand.
I use specific bits of information.
Sometimes it's uncomfortable.
But I want to.

I feel like something I didn't completely make.
Shifting as you go.
I'll set up some way to push two things together.
And see what comes from that.

Change it.
Combine it.
And over time, I'll lose track.

What I had.
A lot of it is set up.


These Are The Things
Let's get out of here.
Out a side door.

I thought about the watch, presenting itself.
I had no moral qualms.
That was obvious.

A fear of getting caught.
Most people do.

Recurring nightmares.
Fueled by grotesque stories.
Mostly stories, I prefer to think.


I Like To Let Things Happen
Sensation into language.
Like something I couldn't process.
I need to get lost.
It's difficult to make sense.


Outright Deception
Come up with something more.
Removed, intricate.
A financial maneuver, perhaps.

The actual event.
Running over homeless people
The idea will never live.

Years entirely gone.
I move forward like a shark.

A story in the paper, about blood-red walls.
Wrought iron railing.
A 70's tv movie.
The landscape of Los Angeles.
Intrigued by something long.

A cartoon of talking tools.
A little off the formula.
The tools have something to hide.

Some Random Abstract Poetry - 11/06/08

Some Random Abstract Poetry - 10/06/08
Category: Writing and Poetry

I take the Brooklyn Rail newspaper and underline words and phases in the articles that catch my attention. Then circle a word or phrase for the title. It's more of a subtractive process, taking a full page of words and editing down to a poem, rather than the tradition process of adding words to a blank page. The pieces of newspaper with these random abstract poems get used as collage material in my artwork.

Out of Control
You invent systems.
But then your systems, the drawings, get lost.
Drawings, charts, earthquakes and wars.
The absurdity.
A statistician of the absurd.

Literal connection.
Some sort of rhythm.
How much of your plan is predetermined?

I don't really plan.
One element, a shape maybe.
Sometimes I have , but it almost never goes.
I don't know.
The final work is small, recorded over time.


Non-Linguistic
Translate abstract thought and visual form.
The ambiguity to inject imagery.
How do you get such interesting shapes?

Drawing successful.
It has to end.
It has to take.
I feel that there's a lot I cannot understand.
It's confusing.
I have to have control.


Rare to See
A little market.
The inescapably sunny days.
Walk up and down the sidewalks.
Discovering night, as gentle floodlights.

The passes of the valley.
Velvet rope clip joint.
Pretty girls in miniskirts.
A dude in square-toed loafers, barfing chocolate martinis.
Unglamorous.

A menacing dwarf.
An aging pimp.
A middle-aged cowboy.
Those oddly relaxing cheap drinks.


Now?
When you see it, you see when.
The day before the storm.
You going?
You going?
I don't know.
Get some food, it was bad.
The government's never been there.
Why are you going?


Personal Decision
They were talking.
I looked at my wife.
I refused to go.
Thousands and thousands, and they weren't going.
I hear I'm very happy.


This In You
Like a death trap, there was no food.
The bathrooms and stuff.
Those people, I knew.


Here On Our Own
I want to say is.
This is.
Is that?

Been abandoned.
Looking for the people with money.
Class and privilege.
The government was never there.
We're not looking for the government.


Ain't Nothing to Feel
Naked as the truth.
Just naked, just naked.
They all got blood.
Everybody that died.
Four or five.
With all this murder, they are responsible.


Photos in Chinese
In a two-room apartment,
I gathered the looks of people.
I saw a waterbug.
A flashback to the Lower East Side.

Lunch

Lunch
2008 - 11"x12", Mixed media on wood.
www.ErikVP.com
(Sold)

Dinosaur is hungry and all the animals know it. What does dinosaur want for lunch today? Lizard kabob, bbq giraffe, fried anteater, or turtle soup. There is only one safe place to be and that's on top of dinosaur's head.

Many of the images in my artwork are seen within the painting and then I draw them. Newspaper collage painted black with some razor blade scratches makes this process work really well. The black paint creates a better contrast for bringing out lines in the surface.

Clean Teeth

Clean Teeth
2008 - 11"x12", Mixed media on wood
www.ErikVP.com
(Available - $100)

The animals never know if dinosaur is just visiting or looking for lunch. Dinosaur went to the dentist today and got his teeth cleaned. He's showing his shiny new teeth off to all his friends, but is making everyone very nervous. He's also giving his rainmaker friend and turtle a free ride.

I was working on this painting around the same time as "Lunch", so that's why dinosaur is featured in both. There were a bunch of random scribbles in the yellow mountain area. Each scribble evolved into a lizard or snake. The Brooklyn Rail was used for all the newspaper collage.

The two green trees on top of the mountain symbolizes Ventura, California. This is explained in greater detail in an earlier painting called "One Green Lizard"

Green Eyes Likes Spam

Green Eyes Likes Spam
2008 - 11"x12" - Mixed media on wood.
www.ErikVP.com
(Not For Sale)

Sam wonders if his pet green-eyed snake would like to eat something else besides rats and mice. He brings green-eyed snake a can of Spam and tells him it tastes really good fried in a pan with a bowl of rice. Green-eyed snake likes Spam in a can. It tastes like rats and mice and he doesn't even have to catch it.

Say!
I like Spam in a can.
I do. I like it Sam I am.
I would eat Spam on a bike
or have for lunch while on a hike.

I would eat Spam in the rain
or riding home on the F-train.
And in Central Park sitting in a tree.
And even while I watch TV.
Spam is so good and yummy you see!

I like Spam with a bowl of rice.
It tastes a lot like rats or mice.
I will eat Spam in a box.
And I will eat it instead of a fox.
I will eat Spam here or there.
Say! I will eat Spam ANYWHERE!

I really like my
Spam in a can.
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam I Am!

It wasn't until after the drawing was complete that I added the Dr. Seuss, "Green Eggs and Ham" influences. I was thinking of a title and first though of "Green Eyes" since that's what I notice first when looking at the drawing. Green eyes, made me think of green eggs and ham. I like to eat Spam with a bowl of rice, so then the title became "Green Eyes Likes Spam". My wife saw the painting and I told her the title. She's a preshool teacher and knows the Green Eggs and Ham story well. She asked if the train was from the story. At that point, I decided to read the story and that's when I decided to mix my drawing with the story.

A few additions were then made to the drawing. I scribbled in the can of Spam with a rat and mouse in the pink section, added the rain drops over green-eyed snake's head, and the phrase "I am Sam" by the little guy on the bike. I referenced "Green Eggs and Ham" and made a few changes. I have an earlier painting called "Snake In The Garden" is also tied into the story where Sam is wondering if his pet snake would like to eat something else besides rats & mice.

Wiggle Your Feet

Wiggle Your Feet
2008 - 11"x12", Mixed media on wood
www.ErikVP.com

The two ostriches are observing the strange looking fish. They conclude that it must be a mudskipper hopping around on land. Fish tells them he is not a mudskipper. "Mudskippers have modified pectoral fins for walking on land, but I have legs and feet just like you", says fish. Yellow ostrich is skeptical and tells fish to wiggle his feet. Fish wiggles his feet.

There was a previous painting underneath this one that had some yellow. I didn't like it and started covering the painting with gesso (white primer). There was this little section of yellow in the middle that I liked so left it alone. The yellow turned into an ostrich. I drew the fish, cliff, and the second ostrich. It looked a little too plain for me, so I glued some newspaper along the top of the painting and did some random doodling on each piece.

If you look at a larger, detailed photo on my website, you will see the phrase "Wiggle your feet several times..." in the yellow newspaper section. I really liked the phrase and that inspired the short story and the title. I normally put feet on the walking fish, but the animals normally have legs & no feet. On the yellow ostrich, you can see that the feet were added in later since I used charcoal and it was a little darker that the pencil I used for the legs.

I went to Thailand years ago and saw some mudskippers (amphibious fish that hop around on land). They are one of the most fascinating creatures I have ever seen. I have a painting from earlier in 2008 called "UFO". The painting underneath UFO had a mudskipper in it, and I had mixed feelings about painting over it, but eventually did and it evolved into UFO.

An exacto knife was used to scratch up the surface, and there are a few traces of gold and red paint exposed from the previous painting. The newspaper also gets torn up a little, and I leave most of the loose pieces alone, but remove anything that's too fragile and about to come loose. You can't see this in the photo, but if you ever see my work in real life, you will see this in most paintings with newspaper.

Fire

Fire
2008 - 11"x12", Mixed media on wood
Price: $300US
www.ErikVP.com

Even after doing this summary, my thoughts about the meaning of this painting remain fragmented. I can explain some of the random thoughts that inspired the painting along with the symbolisms. When I am creating a painting, I just create. It's not until after the painting is done that I try to unravel what it's about.

- On 9/11/08, I walked by a fire station near my apartment and saw a bunch of firemen returning from the ceremony at ground zero. Some of the symbolisms related to 9/11 include, the red firehouse & ladder, arabic type graffiti on the mountains, fire, red smoke in the sky, the twin towers symbolized by the two trees on top of the pink mountain, with the right one beginning to fall, the four floating pyramids symbolizing the twin towers, Pentagon & United flight#93

- The walking fish has been in a few previous paintings, although this is the first fire breathing fish. There's sort of a life & death theme since both the walking fish and the ankh can represent life, yet the fire, floating ankhs & pyramids represent death.

- The white, black, blue, and red water drops falling from the sky onto the fire-breathing fish could represent the cycle of life and death. They could also be thought of as war and conflict, or "good" vs "evil" between the United States(red/white/blue) and Middle East (black).

- I recently read, "Basquiat - A Quick Killing In Art", and remember thinking a lot about the similarities between Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jimi Hendrix including how both died early in their careers due to their loosing struggles with drugs. The fire-breathing fish is my favorite part of the painting. "Fire" is one of my favorite Hendrix songs, so that inspired the title.

Many of my paintings include the sun, but it's a little less obvious in this painting. It's the black & white sun on a stick to the right of the yellow mountain. It's more of an American indian sun god than a traditional sun.

You will notice I have both colored pencil and pastel pencil listed in the ingredients. The M&M flowers at the base of the mountains are pastel pencil. The pastel pencils are softer and have more friction between the painted wood and the pencil lead, so you get a better buildup of color. I tried using the colored pencils first, but they looked dull. The outlines of the moutains are colored pencils, and this works because it's directly on unpainted wood. The pastel pencils are delicate and smear easily. A sprayed varnish needs to be applied very lightly.