erikparranews

Between Currencies

2010-07-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

BETWEEN CURRENCIES | RECEPTION FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2010

Opening Reception: Friday, August 6, 5 - 8 pm
Shows Run: July 30 - September 11, 2010

In his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Between Currencies, Erik Parra examines the tension between the meticulously cut and the shredded with his sharp juxtaposition of vintage pop media clippings and multicolored paper cutouts. These images dwell in a strange temporality, serving both as documentation of the past and a proactive peek into future shapings of collective hopes and dreams. The tangled layers of artificiality eminent in both the medium and the message- between black and white and RGB, history and desire, question the relevance of a search for American authenticity.

Johansson Projects

2300 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94612

Hours: 12-6, Thurs–Fri and Sat 11-5

Information:

510.444.9140

kimberly@johanssonprojects.com

www.johanssonprojects.com

Creative Capital PDP

2010-04-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

I am excited to announce that I am officially a Creative Capital PDP Alumnus. I would like to thank SOEX for an intense and very amazing opportunity.

Erik Parra

Welcome to the Brand New Erik Parra Dot Com

2010-04-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the newly redesigned Erik Parra Dot Com. This new website is a work in progress and I will continue to work with it in addition to updating new content. I have been building the site myself, with the help of Fivepoints Arthouse. I have designed the site to be easily updated so please check back often for news and new images of recent work. You can also connect via RSS on the connect page.

Please enjoy!
Erik Parra

the first post of the rest of your life

2009-10-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

For weeks now I have been attempting to make writing as natural a part of my creative process, as painting or drawing. This has entailed some house cleaning, a bit of rearranging as well as some strategizing and a whole lot of soul searching. Recently my first piece of art writing , a column that looks at Olafur Eliasson's masterful use of water as a medium, was published in issue 3 of Plastic Antinomy. Standing at the launch party with the magazine in my hand was a very invigorating moment. So much so that I started crafting a list of everyone who ever inspired or encouraged me to write in order to send them a magazine in thanks. Please look for your magazine it is in the mail.

In the meantime and because to continue the practice is the highest form of honor please stay tuned for more blog posts related to the arts of the bay area and beyond.

RIP RR

2008-05-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

Overwhelmed, I just found out that the great Robert Rauschenberg has passed. Rauschenberg's early works are very important to me, a feeling galvanized when I had the opportunity to catch this exhibition of his works while living in New York, a few years back. I remember spending hours at a time lost in those combines, history and that intangible that mesmerized me so. RIP Robert Rauschenberg, Thank You.

Time to Continue

2007-11-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

An explanation for the lapse of time can only be summed up in academic terms, that is to say I was consumed by academia. What is worse I was land locked in the center of the country with out adequate material to write about.

I was teaching color theory in the fine art department of a very large state school. At this particular research school, the fine art department is housed in the college of education and the various arts are equally without community and college organization. This is endemic of larger cultural problems with in the state, our country, etc. but this does lead to internal issues with regard to the organization of the department that are not your garden variety Hickeyean state of affairs. For instance color theory was considered an elective, that is not required by art majors, which never made sense to me, but I digress.

So there I was in the heart of middle America with out a thing to see worth writing about. Since this is no longer the case, I will resume writing about art, music and film my way, as I experience them here in San Francisco.

have you seen this man?

2006-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

Broken Glass
back in action
soon!

telling

2005-12-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

The Lenny Bruce Performance Film is the second to the last routine Bruce ever did because he would die one year later. In it he uses excerpts from his three obscenity trials to illuminate the flaws of trying him for obscenity law violations and the judicial system in general, all while delivering his routine. Going back and forth between trascripts from the cases, his bits and what are obviously newer adlibbed pieces we get to witness a very intelligent, creative person performing in a very relaxed way. Bruce is in the moment, comfortable enough to take risks that ultimately underscore his programme and pay off in spades for the audience.

attitude

2005-09-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have been watching this non-stop since I bought it a week ago, it is just that good. This is one of the first sort of comprehensive filmic ethnographies of punk that I have seen that get's it right. That is to say it is sensitive to punk as first, an idea or frame of mind and second, as an extension of American roots music blues, and rocakbilly. This film also addresses in a clear, logical way the America, London punk squabble by clearly delineating the bands that influenced each other vis a vis interviews with people that 'were in the pit' at these shows or who were integral in their respective scenes. There is an amazing short documentary about the LA punk scene which is a great suppliment to this book, this DVD also includes other shorts that address punk's affect on fashion, the influence of zines, timelines, an interview with the ever intense, self-proclaimed "Professor Hank". There is a tremendous amount of material handled in a clear, smart way but what else would you expect from a document created by Don Letts.

point-to-multipoint

2005-08-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is the exhibition announcement for the installation. Networks are a collection of smaller entities working together to form a larger entity. Communication, transportation and the nervous system, for instance, all share ten characteristics inherent to "systems" they each contain senders, receivers, channels, transport, traffic/payload, security, signaling, scheduling, terminals and ancillaries. There are two main kinds of networks, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint. In point-to-point networks traffic moves from one node to another such as with roads and telephones. In point-to-multipoint networks traffic moves from a central hub that controls the flow of traffic to different nodes, ie. nodes are not directly connected and resources and information are mediated. I was looking at several different systems local to Greensboro yet relevant to many neighborhoods across the country. I was also fotunate enough to be able to integrate aspects of my own studio research(outside of the residency) and inquiry somewhat seemlessly. The title of the piece refers to the numerous systems at play in the installation, the multiple layers of meaning as well as the installation's role as hub or mediator in the point-to-multipoint system of communication I have installed.

drumroll please

2005-08-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

I know I have not posted in a while but last week I was in full production mode and could not justify posting. I didn't even check my email but now I am finished and have some photos for you to look at. The top three are an attempt to capture the enitre installation and the bottome two are some close up shots of some of the cars. I have about 52 images and will post some more in the next couple of days.

sketch

2005-08-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if any of this is going to make sense so please be patient with me. This is one of the final planning drawings before I get into the space and start installling, fabricating elements, painting etc. The grid on the wall to the left will be a grid of these and to the right will be a painting of several historic buldings from the area, painted amber and white, just like an old tyme black and sepia photo. That rectangle hanging in front of the back is a photo of the city council of Greensboro from the seventies I believe, that sais " City of Greensboro: Responding to Citizen's Concerns" it is going to hang in front and sort of float, it will also be lighted during the evening/night. On the floor reading from left to right there is going to be a stack of books with titles such as "Modern Carpentry", "Living in Communities", "Architectural Resources", and "The Sociaology of Urban Regions" to name a few, on top of that stack will be an empty fishbowl. next to that will be a rug of sorts that I make which has a slightly abstracted floor plan of the entire space. Next to that will be a table with record player, phone, coffee cup and some board games, there will be some flexibility as to the exact objects, then there is going to be records leaning on the leg of the table that refer to the idealized notion of the west, via record cover photos, text etc. In front of that there is a huge ball bearing that will sit atop a red pillow, on a white pillar. The only other objects will be the floor plan of the area deliniated by cars and trains. I hope that was clear and I will post images of the project in progress.

Except I will be in New York until the 20th so I will not pot until then. Have a great weekend.

myspace

2005-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a view of the space that I have to work with, the photo on the left is taken from picture frame left and the photo on the right is taken from picture frame right. I know this sounds confusing but I will include a diagram and sketch for the overall installation tomorrow, for now let us refer to the collage wall and the back wall (which is painted black). The third and fourth walls going clockwise from the beginning are the hallway/entryway and the window, respectively. All of this will make sense as it grows, and after you see the sketch.

spirograph fun

2005-08-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here is another spirograph drawing. I am completely charmed by the outcome they are so elegant, simple and seemingly perfect upon first view but as you spend time with them you notice the slight imperfections that happen as the system is put into play and the design is made. It is these physical anomolies that, as in the case of snowflakes make each, individual. In this particular drawing I have made one very ordered and decorative and then took the exact same spirograph set up and made another with the same number of rotations however I did not hold the ring as tightly in order to subvert the spirograph process and product.

progress

2005-08-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of one of the drawings that I have been working on that will essentially cover one wall of the installation that I am working on. I have begun in earnest to prepare the space because the deinstallation is complete and I cleaned the space and will have pictures of this process starting tomorrow. For now I will post two drawings this one is spirograph on scanned, output image from a drawing intstruments catalog from the early 50's. I am scanning and printing for a couple of reasons first there is only one and I want to leave it in tact and second, most importantly, I want to use numerous pages to cover one wall and there just was not enough in one catalog.

around

2005-08-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Collaborative by definition means working together with other people. That also means working around what every one else has going on which can be frustrating at times but I have enough little projects that I can cope.

Here is a drawing that I made using a spirograph and some very cool letter-press, clip art plates that I found.
I know this post is a bit thin but I will post more later or tomorrow as soon as I get some pics of the smaller projects that I am working on. I will say this, I am quite excited as de-intsallation and recuration of the exsisting window piece have begun and now I can start working out arrangements/placement of objects and fabrication for my window. I will post a drawing of my proposed idea as soon as I get one that is satisfying as a drawing and not jujst a sketch.

tasks at hand

2005-08-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

I have come up with some goals that I have for the duration of the residency, obviously their relative importance is inversly proportional to their order, but I am going to try to accomplish all of these tasks. So here is what I am working on:

Projects I have going at elsewhere
-Mapping traffic use as people interact with space, patterns of migration
-Devising a hierarchy of “roads” arteries
-Devising a nomenclature to accurately define the use of the arteries
-Devising a system to for self governance of interaction with space, ie signage
-Small installations, with in the space, “paintings” with objects
-My large installation

we have pictures

2005-08-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

Ok here is my attempt to upload some images of the scenario that I spoke about a few posts back, this amounts to a sketch. This is the first attempt to organize objects, formally, in space, in context. The Stay Puft Marshmellow man represents the oncoming natural disaster, it is a reference to a meeting we had prior to the installation in which someone made a comment about that particular toy representing a natural disaster. So there is the context of the reference as it relates to the history of the space but there is the reference to Ghostbusters, which was a natural "disaster of biblical proportions! What do you mean "biblical"? What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor. Real wrath of God type stuff! Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! "

Sit In

2005-08-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

I met with the director's yesterday and they are as excited about my proposal as I am. Hopefully after today I will post some long awaited images for you to see. Until I work out the bugs and get some images up, please check out this bit of Greensboro history an event that I had not forgotten about but it's location I had, that is until last night. It is really kind of amazing to walk by the Woolworth building, which is like three blocks away from the studio, where such an important event took place.

forward progress

2005-08-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

Moving forward with my project today I started setting up a small scale installation in order to work out some size, color content relationahips. I will try to post pictures shortly but for now words will have to do. I set up three lanes of traffic that have come to a complete stop due to a collision of epic proportions. A metro police helicopter has fallen out of the sky and crashed into the cab of a red eighteen wheeler causing a light blue sports car to crash into a brown sports car and if that was not bad enough there is some sort of natural disaster coming.

What object did you picture in your mind, to represent that natural disaster?
If you want a hint as to the natural disaster I have chosen I will give you hint, it references one of Bill Murray's funniest movies and it is 50 feet tall. In addition to this small installation (that will grow and change as I move toward the final installation) I have been making little drawings about the space, my experience here and certainly planning my proposed moves. I have also been attending meetings about the South Elm Street Redistricting Project you know revitalise the downtown and what not so if you have opinions about making the cement plant a good neighbor then they would love to hear from you. Well that is all for today, thanks for stopping by, more later stay tuned.

humbling moments

2005-08-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had one of those humbling moments. I went on a trip with some of the other resident artists to see John Coltrane's house, yes that infamous house where an amazing artist grew up and then returned to kick H very humbling and now a moment of silence. Now go play some Coltrane it is all I have been listening to since.

humbling moments

2005-08-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

to the library

2005-08-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is a little how Elsewhere works, if you would like more background go here, otherwise I shall begin in the library. Somewhere along the way the idea of a library was concieved and then a system for arranging the books was devised based loosely on the dewey decimal system and the internal structure that is shaping up the stuff of Elsewhere. So in the library there is a section for all of the sections found with in the space for instance there is a studio section, a kitchen section, a lobby section, a garden section, a bathroom section and there is even a library section in the library (there are a few more but not having been here they will not make sense). So books are arranged based on their titles and in what section they would make most sense, so there is room for interpretation and there is always room for a well formed argument and I believe that there is one hard and fast rule, well as hard as it gets here at Elsewhere, anyway, and that is that all books about animals go in the garden section as all animals deserve to be outside so books with animals in the titles as well as books about animals go in the garden as do books about sunsets, plants and general outsideness, for the most part. Books about art generally go in the studio, biographys generally go in the audience section, as do books about TV, Film, and bestselling fiction works such as works by James Michner. Romance novels go into the Freud's Office section and books about excercise, food and nutrition go in the kitchen. Literature and classics go in the library section and most books involving teaching or learning or various combinations there of go into the Educational Research Initiative section. But it is less straight forward because there are instances that would not make sense to outside observers, such as books that might have the word "bridge" in the title would go in the lobby section because there is a bridge in the lobby here. So the beginning of this post is just that a way to begin, shelving of books would not necessarily follow these guidelines especially if it refers first to the space and second to the history of the space which are some very important ideas when you are at Elsewhere. If you want to get into the library shelving system email, or post a message with a book title and I will tell you where it would be shelved and why.

The United States and Its Neighbors

2005-07-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have spent most of the day digging through some of the enormous amounts of "stuff" here, it is just like shopping at a really old, dusty thrift store. I am contiunally surprised to find toys and books that I have long since forgotten about. No concrete thoughts about what I am going to do yet, I am still finding my way in the space and in the programme but I am collecting books that have been used for educational purposes, (many of which I had as a child) for source material, I am thinking. Whatever I ultimately decide on it will incorporate images in some capacity. Stay tuned for more from elswhere.

I have been listening to:
Ornette Coleman "Shape of Jazz to Come"
Rise Against "Revolutions Per Minute"

mia

2005-07-30T22:18:00.001-07:00

culpa for the hiatus! I have been traveling and helping my father start his studio school (which is a whole summer worth of Blogs that I could not get to as I was entertaining, however I will, get to the Highlights intermitantly as the memories bubble back up to consiousness). But enough about me...This is my first evening as a Resident Artist at the Elsewhere Artists' Collaborative and it has been interesting getting to know the infrastrucure of the program. There seems to be a performative element to this program that many of the people here seem to really enjoy and it makes me a bit nervous, the whole performing business and all. It seems very much like reality TV in some ways but I am not exaclty certain how I can articulate this point just yet so this theme of my relation to acting and performing here at Elsewhere, specifically as seen through a "reality TV" lens, I will revisit. I did however, and I am very excited about this, find several textbooks that I had in grade school and am cooking up something very tasty for my project. I will certainly keep you posted but it is late, I have been traveling and have just absorbed an heroic amount of information so I depart but I will see you very soon.