Allenby Tce

For our art/design block this term we're doing spacial design. It's a really great paper and I'm loving it. We've all been given locations around Wellington to map and write about and inhabit and eventually do some sort of instillation/intervention in our site.

So my site is Allenby Terrace, which is a skinny staircase that leads down off of The Terrace, by Vic Uni. It's straight out of Point Break.

Anyway, this morning I did an intervention. My plan was to try and encourage people away from my site by handing out flyers.

They looked like this (click to enlarge... I think):

Unfortunately, I think the overall satire was too successful (the use of comic sans alone is too cutting. Type jokes. Love 'em) as people were generally skeptical of my flyers intentions.

I kept an eye on the site for half an hour. Most people would stop and look, but it was only a couple people who actually look a flyer.

Amazingly, noone took me up on my offer to not walk down Allenby Tce. Unless they did after I left, which in that case, awesome.

In the end, I think I am just too hilarious.

Sculptorial Update

I've found out in the past couple months that I'm a slow sculptor. Basically, this means that while I keep coming up with ideas, I'm not quick enough to make them all. So my brains faster than my hands. My sculptures jump from one thing to the next to the next. I guess I'm still trying out ideas.

Anyway. Here's kind of a taste of what I've been up to.

Gil

Big Al

Severus

Sebastian

Amy

Olwen

Olwen in action...

Finlay

Finlay is my absolute favourite (that's why he has the best name). He's made of polystyrene offcuts and wool and a stick. Here's a video of him in action...

He's more impressive in person.

Sculpture Farm

Okay. So this is an extremely valuable Damien Hirst artwork called "The Incredible Journey". It consists of real life, really dead Zebra preserved in formaldehyde. 

 

This is a $2.00 toy I bought at Pricebusters in Newtown of a plastic toy zebra suspended in silly putty. I've chosen this bizarre not-quite-a-knock-off as a starting point for my sculptures this semester.

Starting in paper and string.  

Then cotton thread.

(scary reverse angle)

Masking tape.

Potato. 

Masking tape and cotton thread.

Cotton thread and potato.

And a potato one again to round things off (Note the stripes). 

This is the haul after week two. More to come I'd say. Stay tuned.

Painting Final

Got to present my works yesterday. Really happy with how they turned out. Here's my final white painting I finished on Friday.

white #5 - acrylic on board

I put them up really high on the wall. I think craning your neck to look at works add a certain ...dimension.

pproccess

Thought ya'll might appreciate some process photos, to understand just how state of the art my latest set of white paintings are. In case you're wondering, they're pretty much necessitated by my large collection of white acrylic paint. As well as a cautioned journey away from the highly saturated palette I'm accustomed to dealing with. I don't mean to undersell them. I'm actually really thrilled with how they turned out. They represent an exploration around a set of rules, and really feel like the first works in some sort of larger idea. However, my painting brief just finished, which is extremely bad timing. I would have loved to experiment further, but no doubt the distractions and priorities of next semester may hinder this slightly. Anyway, I see it as a door left open. Who knows?

white # 4 - acrylic on board

white out

Two more white paintings. They don't photograph very well. If you're in Wellington come by and I'll show you them in person and you'll be all "Oooh... I get it."

white #2 - acrylic on corrugated cardboard.

white #3 - acrylic on card

Callum Versus The Sea

So. I'm making video art. Yeah... not so sure. Be worried. Potential disaster ahead.

Coming Soon.

Right

acrylic on gouache on corrugated cardboard taped to wall  feat. wet paint

this week in art school

(Untitled) - Sculpture

(Untitled) - Sculpture

 

Procrastination #1

Collage #6

(Untitled) - acrylic on gouache on corrugated cardboard on wall.

PAINT

A few weeks back I had an interview for Massey School of Fine Arts up in Wellington. As part of the interview I had to go through the arduous, but ultimately useful process of photographing the work from my folio from last year. WHICH I finished a year ago last week, promising to post pics of it online asap. So, yes. That's how long Callum takes to come through on his promises.

I promise to do better in the future.

Anyway, here's some of my paint work. I'm using old family photo's to make creepy mixed-media-mash-ups. It's all about memory and childhood nostalgia. In other words, exactly what turns me on creatively. I'm super happy with them.

Fred's Dilemma

As promised (for once) here follows the illustrations I did for my grandpa Terry's book. IN SUPER LARGE!!

Chapter One (and front cover) - The mysterious island where it all takes place. Note: scary cliffs, huts on beach, cliche distant flying birds, super dramatic lighting.


The Scary Cliffs: A BODY?!! Oh heavens no! What a terrible accident. Definately an accident... Or was it?? We may never know. Unless a selfless hero becomes a detective to try and solve this dilemma.

Giorgio: What a bully... what a coward... What a fiend! (if you read the book you'd understand my hatred for him. Jerk). The island has it's own laws now, and you will face cage-related consequences if you disobey!


The End: Lot's more stuff happens on the island, but I won't ruin it (or let you know if they get to freedom or descend into savagery). This is a perfect circle-wipe ending, showing the now idylic island. Cue bright sky and a calm mist.


I'll happily illustrate your book if you wrote one. Not that I'm advertising or anything. I'm just super happy with these drawings. I hope you like them and they make you want to buy my grandpa's book. I'll let you know how when I figure it out myself.

Currantly*

(*man do I love currants!)

So, as things tend to do for me occasionally, I've found myself with some projects on the go. The latest completed is the one below, Grand Spectacular.

I'm also working on some illustrations for an adventure book my grandpa Terry is getting printed. It's called Fred's Dillema and is set on an island where a bunch of survivors from a sunken cruise ship try to survive each other and mysterious goings on. I'm doing sick Brett Helquist ish pencil sketches. Except way less dramatic and classy. I'll upload them onto here when I've scanned them, I'm pretty happy with them.

Also on the go is me painting. I have to get back into practice for art school, and I'm in the process of assembling my portfolio for my interview so it's as good a time as any.

The other exciting thing happening is band related. Hans Pucket played at a party the other week which was super fun. I bashed my knuckles on the edge of the drums and spattered blood over the snare and floor tom. It was super punk. Highlight was our Jungle Book medley. We're playing at thom's previously mentioned leaving thing, with all of the bands in the world, so that should be cool.

Also, Custard Bear returned from the depths of nothing-whatsoever to play a paid gig with THE FUCKING BATS! (aka The Bats). It was in the hagley park fanzone (yeah!). Jack had some wedding on an island, so we got our good pal Kurt in as a more than capable substitute, who proceeded to kick ass in every respect. So much fun. I missed playing bass more than I realised. We played a couple oldies, but a new rock song oli wrote that tuesday. My brother dishes them out like the best of them, really. It's insane.

So, all of this, AND full time working going down. In case you were wondering from my absence of posts, I do keep myself occupied, really.

(Photo from Hans flat party gig below)

Thom's Leaving

So I made him this cover art for a mixtape he's making for people that come to this gig on saturday with ALL OF THE BANDS IN CHRISTCHURCH but he's asleep. So I'll post it online.

It's pretty cool. Lot's of colour. I like the cat in it.




If you come to the gig and pay ten dollars instead of five you'll get a cd with all the bands that looks like this. Do come. Really.

SMOKEY GHOST

Oli and Callum have been productive.

Introducing a track by Hans Pucket.

(artwork by me)

Smokey Ghost

Thanks Thom.