Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The 2011 BingoRage Roundup [Part 1]

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*** PSA WARNING & SPOILER: Adult language and disturbing ideas, below. ***
*** Seriously... go now. ***



It is an uncomfortable fact to acknowledge, even for some die-hard evolutionists, that people kept interbreeding with the ancestors of chimpanzees for millions of years, multiples of generations, even as our ancestors began to move away from the root ape lineage.


The thought of our ancestral "grammas and grampas" inheriting and donating genetic material with Bonzo just feels wrong.


But that is bad analysis; a moralistic "ick factor" weighted against the measure of reality. Proto-chimps and proto-humans were not hybridising to create an unholy chimera against the rules of some dogmatic "nature"; they were two separate, but overlapping populations emerging from an older, extinct ancestor on the basis of reproduction mechanics. That does not preclude a design, there is simply no evidence-for or need-for, design, in species and speciation.


Mercifully, we are no longer able to interbreed with the chimpanzee. Imagine the embarassment that a liger's mother must feel.

Right Eye
Acrylic on unstretched canvas. 2011. approx 24" H x 26" W ; 2 coats acrylic matte sealer.




It has been confirmed (apparently), that the Neanderthal swapped genetic input with Europeans, but not contemporary African humans. They didn't go for the whole "caveman" thing... apparently. Not into Bears, so much, back then.

Forget that noise; that's not even the most scary, interesting human evolutionary information to come down the pipe in these, the last years of the Mayan Calendar.

The bestest and most-inspiring mindfuck, for me, is the near-certainty that there were 2 or 3 other "human species" coexisting with us, as late as 30,000 - 50,000(?) years ago. Homo Floresiensis "Hobbit", "Woman X", Neanderthal and -possibly- Homo Erectus.

Throw in the contemporaneous, giant, temperate Orangutang at the end of the Old World and at the gates of the New World, Gigantopithecus [aka BigFoot] and it is no wonder that our dreams, fears, archetypal stories and nightmares are filled with Aliens, Strangers, Ghosts, Demons and other hairy, striding, all-too-familiar Monsters.



Your meat is identical to that of the mouse. That doesn't mean that you should f*#@ it. Bonobos are sexually proficient and promiscuous, you could probably train one to boink you, but it would be expensive. Afterwards, there is no guarantee that the beast still won't bite off your face, because: they are not monogamous.

They are alot like us.

(Update, 1430 hours. Editors note: I have no idea where this thought was going, or what it has to do with "2011", so I am electing to finish here, with the following thought: Those folks across the water and down the street are all in our family. That's what a species is... a giant family.)

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The impending Ryan McMahon/Clarence Two Toes/RedManLaughing podcast-themed interview/inquisition/bare-knuckle powwow continues to impend.




The semi-official #ZABRW (ZzorhnAndBingoRageWandercast) Media testscreen. Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 2011.


I haven't started cutting [Part 2] of #ZABRW S01Ep14, yet. I am... listening to Joe Rogan's podcast, Episode #166. It is so reassuring to listen to another germinating fruit of the psychedelic reawakening of of North America. The right-wing nutjobs of this world would hold that it is imperative to stomp out civil rights, due process and the ability to publicly disagree with the system; much of the overall human progress achieved and lost in the last hundred years.

Joe Rogan battles against the douchebags for us and takes direction from his followers; embraces and respects them...

Listening to the Joe Rogan podcast, the Deathsquad.TV Network, the Marc Maron WTF podcast and Kevin Smith's Smodcast Network has become, amongst other things, an emerging masterclass in comedy and the comedian's art. A window on the behind-the-scenes, philospohical conversation about entertainment and the wider culture.


The Zzorhn And BingoRage Wandercast
Click here, for the enlightenments.


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Art "resale royalties", do they help or hurt artists?
"... the right to 5 percent of a later sale is like a lottery ticket — and like lottery tickets, the vast majority of ticket holders walk away worse off. And the net effect is to transfer wealth from unsuccessful artists (the lottery losers) to successful artists (the lottery winners)."

Regardless of the effect upon painters and sculptors; my fear is that this could be some sort of Trojan horse for "Big Copyright" to start imposing fees on derivative works, which will be pursued with a policing fury and judicial consent that the average paint spiller cannot afford to pursue their righteous pittance claim. Suck it, "Shartists" (sheeple artists) Copyright and TradeMark of BrokenVultureArt/BingoRageStudio.

The only artists that this kind of financial device may benefit are "1 percenter" artists (whom do not need the extra loot), "wannabe 1 percenter" artists who could use a little boost, corporate intellectual property speculators, lobbyists and willfully ignorant legislators.

Do not feel alarmed; this is how most corporate money is created nowadays: finding or creating new rules to tweak, new loopholes to explore, greasing the skids and lying about malfeasance.


I'm not bitter.
Really.
Happy New Year.
:Eric





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Sunday, December 25, 2011

New podcast episode, new canvas, older masks



ZABRW - S01 Ep14 (Part 1) “North Korea, Zzorhn birthday, True Romance...”


Woooo, woooo, woooooo, Conspiracy theory, expensive beep, so ronery, wayne and shuster in a dungeon,lobbing buckshot through your neighbour’s window every six months,vice guide to NK slave camps, mining with acid, naked gun fragment, shiny thing, melt down libyan money, the light is shone behind the curtain behold the breadless sandwich, clipboard confessions, bypassing the wigger rastafarian, spoiler alert, Do you do everything Elvis tells you to do? ex-cop pisses off a Don, alabama’s corkscrew fight, superman has lex we have timmy64, ryan endorsez ronPaul, Eric wants it bigger, we hose the video feed and had to stop the audio feed, cat intermission behind the emerald curtain. Part 2 due by New Year; special guest?

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Those are my notes for the first half of our most recent podcast. “The Zzorhn And BingoRage Wandercast” , Season 01, Episode 14 (Part 1), is now posted.



I want to clarify my point in the discussion of the Sicilian Ancestry scene between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken. Dennis Hopper’s character knew he was going to die and reached back for the most base , encompassing, “historically plausible” and fearless insult that he can muster. The truth, of course, is more complicated than that. Google it. But, check this; A significant percentage of all asian men are descended from Genghis Khan, supposedly. That dude and his male heirs married, “conquested”, raped and orgied their way back and forth across half the known world, dropping his seed in all of his enemies, friends, uneasy neighbours and hosted diplomat’s wives. So who cares about the Moors in Sicily? As genetic insult, it seems sorta piddlin'.



Our second live attempt had switched from a 20-person voip chatserver to a free videocast streaming site. We lost some of the audio to creeping feedback; too many microphones and speakers locked into exotic feedback loops, three different laptops, two functioning cameras in a crumbly basement. The video seems to be encoded in some exotic flavour of flash video that defies editing, so far. Will work on a different video studio setup for next live attempt.

You can watch a portion of the live video at Ustream. Fair warning; it's a bit lame. I know there's a commercial and audio drop... fast forward to 03:04 after commercial, thanks.


New camera/usb microphone working out great; my fave xmas present, so far. Looking forward to new, impending audio projects. Going to do a sit-down with local boy made good, Ryan Mcmahon of the RedManLaughing Podcast, about the new media and probably - the democratisation and hustle of the new audience. Then there is the long-shelved audiobook reading...


The newest piece that I have been working on is the Rock Bass Uber Alles. It’s about 50 inches H x 24 inches W on unstretched canvas. The fish in this scene become more fully realised, the deeper they are. Their strict order is being trespassed, however. The meaningful layering, cut with lying thread.



Staying near my internet connection this Xmas, touching up some papier mache pieces that have been in semi-finished limbo. A layer of clearcoat to the painted pieces. A dash of red to the cheeks of this one, while slathering a base coat of scarlet for another’s first-paint.


"Blackbird" and "Rosy Cheeks". Acrylic on paper, 2011.



Cooking up a batch of paste to finish off a couple small sculptural pieces and a mask with a ragged edge. Layers and layers, squinting for thin spots ‘gainst halogen’s lamp. That’s how I’ll be spending the next couple days.



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Both of these paper masks were "cast" from the same clay face. The papier mache process changes the soft clay and subsequent "copies" taken from the same sculptural form. Changes can be exaggerated in the fabrication process, after the initial paper cast is taken off the form. Then, of course, the final paint can make a world of difference.










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"Rosy Cheeks" and the "Blackbird Mask" -above- are different generation casts of the same clay form... evolved.



The brave JohnnyCat shows his mettle, by furiously guarding the blaze orange hunting clothing, earning him the title of "Bestest hunting cat in whole house (when orange cat isn't listening)".

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Monday, December 19, 2011

The Old Sea Captain Vs. The Ancestral Jay

-- Click most pics for larger view.


I had said that this painting reminded me of an Ojibway archetype; an essential battle, a terrifying synergy between water and sky on a big lake or other substantial expanse of water. The mythological imagery that leaps to mind is the purported enmity between the Thunderbirds and Mizhepezhou.

In this canvas, the water role is played by the "Old Sea Captain"; A bushy-lookin', clay-pipe chompin', twisted and dehumanised Davy Jones mutey (mutant, not speechless).

He is spewing/projecting some offensive force that penetrates and defeats "The Ancestral Jay", a now-extinct corvid of dubious anatomy.

Part 1



Part 2




After stretching and fixing the canvas onto the boxframe, I mixed various blues, green and white to make a turqoisey colour for the background. Using the handle of my paintbrush, I "scratched" a quick sketch into the wet paint.




Honestly; the canvas didn't look like much after first paint. The scratch lines were traced with grays and whites, dull sage greens. When I started throwing paint at the hair, it began to change.




Adding black, hard lines to the Sea Captain turned it from a full profile to a partially straight-on face. Dripping paint reinforced the throat lines of the bird.



Introducing the pipe nearly obliterated the jaw, which had been defined with thick, hard, dark lines. It reaches far into "our" space; the bowl becoming the foremost foreground.




a


Detail pics of the Old Sea Captain and The Ancestral Jay, before the solid, tube-squeezed lines and dots of the final changes.

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Joe Rogan, discussing #OWS on his great podcast.


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Friday, December 09, 2011

Twilight And Totem-Pole Painting Puzzle - Nov. 2011

Update: 5pm - Auction link fixed and podcast link added. Dec. 10_3am - Embed latest podcast, with flash player. Add more pics.

The Zzorhn And BingoRage Wandercast podcast page.

Season 01 Episode 12





Our Winter 2011-2012 Sponsorship-piece will go on auction at Ebay, December 9, 2011; 9AM PST Twilight And Totem-Pole Painting Puzzle - Nov. 2011

The chickenosaurus is... perhaps, not as feared as the brave JohnnyCat, but it is still a formidable presence. However, in the company of dubious bunnies and pop-vampirism, it feels like a lamer. Bad chickenosaurus.

The canvas was begun after this autumn's deercamp. It underwent many changes -as you can see, in the video- but managed to maintain its chickenosaurusness.

I am auctioning off this work to help cover our butts for the winter, so if you have some rich uncle or crazed hippy bosses with money in their mattress, please forward this post. The auction begins Dec.09 and only runs for seven days. There is a chance that it may reach its destination for Xmas, depending on the vagaries of paypal transaction, but is more likely to be shipped in the new year.





The chickenosaurus doesn't yet exist, but Jack Horner is trying to unleash it upon the world. Way to go, science!!

More disturbing than the chickenosaurus or the loose vampirism, of course, are the bunnies of ill-repute that seem harmless, but are just biding time.



So, be a good lad/lass and chuck us some dough, or badger someone with real money, for us. Miigwitch. (That's for the cashy skins out there.)

Oh, look... It's that brave JohnnyCat. Good Johnny.





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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

SpiritFirePark sponsorship project, Zzorhn & BingoRage Wandercast Season 1 Episode 5 "Internet Gaming 01" and Warcraft-audiencemanship

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(Updated Oct.14, 2011: Sponsorship details added, below.
Oct.15: minor edits, pic moved and title change,
Returning viewers, please note sponsorship package notation.)



There are three grown men in the room, actively ignoring me while I try to ask them some serious questions. Nuts and bolts -type questions about game mechanics and battle strategy of "World of Warcraft". They are speaking aloud to each other, gesturing and making grand grunting noises occasionally.

It's Alliance vs. Horde, baby.

There are other grown men, grown women, children and perhaps bots on this battlefield, from all over the world. My acquaintances are being attacked by an emergent army of different species, genders, "classes" and levels. This particular battleground pits 15 enemies against our side's 15; I lose track of who is winning and how. I think that this war battle may be timed, but I am not sure. My friend's character stands on a hill, defending some flag while his team is getting their ass kicked somewhere else. I feel distinct hostility from the group as he answers my questions and encourages me to walk around in his skin as the others continue to get beat down, mano a monster. We win, somehow. The guys compare their stats and brag about their "damage per second", etc..

Later, we refought the battle of Normandy in WOW fashion; a tall ship has docked and is spilling attackers onto the pier. Our side play the allegorical German gunners, as we rain havoc with steampunk/magic cannon on the seaside. [Parabolic laser-tracer sights.] We retreat inland and upwards as chugging siege engines follow. Eventually, there is no higher ground to fall back to. Afterwards, our guys attack from the shore in a reversal of roles; the time difference to the "objective" determining the winner. One of our players falls into a hole on the dock and is stuck for the entirety of the attack. He can't even kill himself and rejoin the fight.

We're waiting for the next battle to start, wandering around some medieval village comparing companion animals and "mounts", etc. One guy can summon a troupe of Scottish Highland dancers, but is saddened to admit that they can't be summoned in battle.

There is loose talk of fishing, "grinding", foodstuffs, trading and manufacture "in-game" as we wait out the "11 minute average wait-time". An ominous theme plays through the speakers as we are summoned to the dungeon.

"Everybody stay together"
"Eat that fish before we go any further"
"10 seconds..."
...
"Is that a Boss?" (I say)
"No, that's garbage." (A doorman, of sorts.)
"Somebody pulled!" Evidently "pulling" is bad, because our group is buried in an avalanche of hideous critters.
"Tanks are supposed to pull, but this Tank blows."

I wonder, aloud, why they can't attack with their mounts. "What's the point of riding a Raptor (dino) or a Dragon if you can't attack with it?" All present agree with me.

"Is that a Boss?"
"That... is a Boss."
It looks like a gigantic-metallic-grim-reaper-demon-arthropod wielding a battle-axe the size of a bus.

"My guild got hacked once... we saw a character going back and forth to a mailbox... robbed us blind."

"Tank's not going to like that you're pulling all the attention."

My notes end at this point. Much fun was had by all, then they went out dancing.

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Please be forewarned: The following podcast contains adult language, sulky muttering and poorly thought-out arguements.




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SFP Sculptural Sponsorship Opportunity

These pics show the last big change to the Sturgeon Mama sculptural model, moving the pelvic fins back and lower on the body; a more realistic position. I have striven to make the proportions of this piece realistic, while employing a stylised representation of the fish's body.


The sturgeon has become more realistically proportioned and anatomically corrected as the modeling evolved. The process is further documented in a previous BingoRage posting (photos and video).




Paper copies of this piece will be available for purchase (profits supporting BingoRage Studio and Spirit Fire Park)Papier-mache replicas of the "Sturgeon Mama" will be available in "plain paper"/finish-at-home form, or finished by #BingoRageStudio; available in hanging, wall-mount or floor mount.

We are also looking for someone to sponsor a bronze casting/installation at Spirit Fire Park, which will also provide us with the means to offer residencies to regional artists and expand our "canvas" footprint at the park.

Proposed Sponsorship Project at Spirit Fire Park:
The "Sturgeon Mama" Installation.

A large, gravid Sturgeon swims over exposed bedrock ridges and between the Aspen, sinking towards the forest floor's forage; Bronze back glints amongst the Balsams as distant train whistle blows.

The Ontario Arts Council funded our inaugural season as a public artpark, generously supporting the building of our multipurpose muralwall, paper mask-making for our theatre space and sculpture creation for installation in the park. The sculpting of the foam/clay sculpture model "Sturgeon Mama" is a direct result of that OAC Northern Arts project.

With this sponsorship project, we would like to fund: 1) the creation of a rubber and plaster negative mold, 2) wax positive casts of the fish's form, 3) plaster investments and ceramic shells for the wax segments, 4) casting, fabrication and "finishing" of the bronze sculpture, 5) delivery and installation of the mounted and finished bronze, [subtotal: $ 110 000]

6) 4 artist residencies at Spirit Fire Park over the next two years [subtotal :$ 20 000]

7) ongoing BingoRage studiowork and 8) continuing infrastructure development and maintenance at the park. [subtotal: $ 50 000]

Total sponsorship package: $ 180 000 (N.B. - Subject to change if the price of copper skyrockets + any applicable taxes/duty/etc.)

The "Sturgeon Mama" will be available for private purchase, after we fund the rubber and plaster mold-making process; currently at $ 95 000 (N.B. - plus delivery and installation + any applicable taxes/duty/etc.).
* It is important to note that individual destinations and installation requirements need to be addressed and funded budgeted separately from the casting/fabrication/finishing process.

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We are particularly excited at the opportunity of enabling and encouraging regional arts-community development in NW Ontario.

Please pass this sponsorship opportunity along if you know someone looking for large fish sculpture, riverside-park installation needs, memorial plaques in their name, money spilling out of their pockets, etc.

8-)

The boys at Anurag Art - Bronze Foundry and Studio are just lickin' their lips to get started on this project.



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Friday, October 07, 2011

Zzorhn & BingoRage Wandercast Season 1 Episode 4

The long-awaited North American Archaeology episode.


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Thursday, October 06, 2011

Sturgeon Mama - sculptural form in foam and clay

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(Update Oct.15, 2011: Added more pics and sculpting description)
Most pics click for larger detail.

The #SturgeonMama sculptural model has been created by carving the rough form in a stiff plastic extruded foam, with steel wire brushes. This left a roughened exterior which bonded well with warmed/worked oil-base modeling clay.









It has been built-up and modified considerably as it has resolved into its current incarnation. In the future, this form could be significantly reworked to produce a different form. When I had the foam core at the park, I mused aloud about "carving the guts out of it" and making a hollow sturgeon with detail inside, reminiscent of the Morriseau "X-ray" stylisation. Maybe later.








After a quick reference glance at some sturgeon pics, it became obvious that the tail was all wrong, so I used a serrated putty knife, some foam scraps and a whole lotta hot-glue to correct the tail fins. The rough foam-carving had been done without a reference picture, but fit well to the new fin positions; the plan had always been to mount the dorsal fin after initial carving.

The body is highly stylised; with its "rib segment" look and diamond "scutes" (large scales along the sides and back. The scutes along the body parallel the lateral line of the fish, while the scutes of the back are represented by the rippled line of the profile.




Much of the form's resolution was informed by the conscious shaping of the back end of the body, where it meets the tail and along the belly. It is in this curve that the fish grows heavy with its spawn. The expansion of the belly and increased depth of the body necessitated the movement of the pelvic fins back and lower on the form.





The accompanying video has audio from the fabled "lost episode" of Zzorhn and BingoRage Wandercast. Actually, we had too many beers and had lost most verbal command; so, it's really not lost, just not totally useable. The paper cast of the model will be installed at Spirit Fire Park in the spring. This is a link to the BingoRage posting describing our "Sturgeon Mama" sponsorship project at #SpiritFirePark; please pass along to friends seeking ways to spend lotsa cash.

Miigwetch.
:Eric



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Monday, October 03, 2011

Zzorhn & BingoRage Wandercast Season 1 Episode 3

"Shut the fuck up, Zzorhn!"




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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Inaugural Zzorhn & BingoRage Wandercast

We are calling this the Inaugural podcast, basically because we really screwed up the first one; so, here is Episode 2. Don't expect total coherence.
:E




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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Recent art videos of recent painting [and embedded audio inspirations].

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"Interdimensional Mallard and the Mystical Piranha-Crappie-Halibut Hybrid"
Acrylic on canvas. Video from Jan.6, 2011. Picture is from April 2011, when the painting is clearcoated and considered finished.

Interdimensional Mallard and the Mystical Piranha-Crappie-Halibut Hybrid. Acrylic on canvas; Broken Vulture Art, BingoRage Studio.



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"Yellow Cliffs" Acrylic on canvas. Video from March 2011
In this piece, extinct beasts chase humanity into the present and are left behind. The cliffs echo the land that has been ripped away by continental glaciers.

Yellow Cliffs. Acrylic on canvas; Broken Vulture Art, BingoRage Studio.



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"Miss LoonTrout Got a Crappy Boobjob. Mr and Mrs. Crack-Penguin Pull Their Tired, Old William Tell Routine. Nanabush is Alive, and In The World."
Acrylic, ink, beadwork, papier-mache and antler on Canvas.
Video from March 2011.





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"Loon Family" Spring, 2011. Acrylic,ink on canvas.
A fave motif of Norval Morrisseau.

Loon Family. Acrylic on canvas; Broken Vulture Art, BingoRage Studio.



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A "Tell 'Em Steve-Dave" (TESD) podcast animation.
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