Trying to work

It's been difficult to get in the studio since moving in to the new place. Lots to stuff to do during the day: getting the apartment management company to fix things that should have been in good shape when we moved it, cleaning up, unpacking (still), looking for jobs. I know that sometimes I've used these chores as an excuse for not getting the artwork done. I have been able to do some collage work in the meantime though. I just wish that I could get my stuff together enough to start painting in earnest again and finish the Iggy piece. I've got commissions to do as well. There's no shortage of things to do, just a shortage of energy I suppose.

Storms

It might seem that the strong thunderstorms that are now striking for the second time today have nothing to do with artwork. I'd be inclined to agree. But setting up a studio with lightening strikes and thunderclaps meant keeping on task was difficult.

Moved in (partially)

After two months of searching, calling, waiting, packing, and overall being stressed out, Meg and I are in a new apartment in Evanston. Hopefully I will have soon transferred all of my painting items from my old studio to the one set up in the second bedroom of our new place. It is significantly smaller, but there's no commute and I don't have to pack a lunch.

I like Ben Schonzeit

Hey everyone,
I found this guy's work (a 8x9 foot photorealist picture of crabs to
be accurate) in a cookbook from the Worcester Art Museum of all places.
It might not be your cup of tea; however, I like the mimicry a
photograph seemingly before the subject matter itself.
http://www.benschonzeit.com/

Application & Paperwork

Learning to write in college was a necessary and rewarding process;
however, learning the ins-and-outs of residency and grant applications
has brought me new appreciation for what technical writers do day in
and day out. I suppose IKEA was onto something when it shifted to
picture for its instruction sheets. Still, even that could use some
retooling.

Tom Walther
thomas@tomwalther.com
thomaswalther1@gmail.com

Thoughts for exhibition

I'm looking to submit my work for an exhibition entitled "War and the Body". What follows is a fleshing out (warts and all) of why I think that 3 of my works should be included.
The one seen above on the right called "God would have mercy. Jon Rambo won't." pokes fun at a few things. One is the body of warrior; it is supposed to be idealized. The soldier has flaws as a human, but they are spackled so that the fighting force they represent as an individual does not get muddied. The idealized warrior is nothing new. Achilles comes to mind. But this can be dangerously misleading. Rambo, for instance, is the unbound and idealized soldier from Vietnam. Rambo was vehicle for Cold War propaganda. Rambo 3 presents the Mujaheddin as kinfolk of the revolutionary patriots of the US. Never mind that in 2001 the crows came home to roost.
On the left I have a work that represents the lack of attention by the American people to the plight of the soldier. The space in which the image takes place is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art where Egyptian art is displayed. Is this the only interface that Americans can access the "orient"? It doesn't seem to matter to the visitors. No matter how bad the burnt out humvee is, the human is missing. Because of severity of wounds, an open casket ceremony is not always available to the families of the dead. Here, despite the horror, people forget the soldier (body).

Hopefully I can hone this down to 2 or 3 sentences for my submission.

Stuff happened

Knowing that I am going to make much more frequent posts to my blog, I'm previewing my future inventory. My wife and I went to Italy; many pictures of the country will be forthcoming. And on that note I'm going to share the works that may or may not take inspiration from them.

OK, enough inflated language. I went. I saw. I... damn! Stay tuned. Something will happen.