jónsi EP!

new jonsi EP !!

trokcessories!

new jewelry in the works. here are some beginning shots of the new earring line. vinyl on spectacle lenses. irregular matching. fine line work. wear my art! collage lens work to come. happy to customize as well. holler. also coming soon - belt buckles. pins. mobiles.

email me for details!

the beauty of destruction

Being faced with inevitable destruction is a painful and fantastic experience. Confronted with the pain of loss, I think we often find ourselves brooding over what has been taken from us. We feel entitled to the things we have grown accustomed to, especially the things our hands have helped to create. When things, people, and places are taken from us, a void grows. It calls to mind the Taoist teachings of the "fertile void" (the creativity of the self in which all exists in a ceaseless motion of formless form) (Lao Tzu). Of course this void gives way to growth. It is redemption, in Christianity, death giving life. Jesus tells us to die to our selves that we might live. Loss breeds a kind of selflessness. It reminds us that we too are temporary as we exist here on this earth, and that time is a constant flux of death and rebirth. It is humbling, and empowering.

A few days ago, the cat i am fostering for some friends destroyed a piece of my art that was very important to me. More than that, Kali Ma is the goddess of destruction. I learned so much from creating this specific piece of art. I felt steeped in death as I was making it, calling to mind the losses I have experienced, global loss, and my own fears concerning mortality. Throughout the work, my attitude toward destruction continued to change and grow. I wanted my Kali to represent all of this. I wanted to evoke the fear and awe of the forces of destruction and death. Insomuch as Kali is death, she is life. She perplexed me, fascinated me, hypnotized me, and taught me. The moment I felt it was finished, I had a sort of mini satorsis, the kind of transcendence I continue to hope my work will bring forth. It was beautiful.

I am glad for those of you who got the opportunity to see Kali before curiosity took its toll. I relish in the irony and the story of her death. After thinking about it for a few days, I see already how the creation of this particular work of art prepared me to lose it. And that is beautiful, like natural disaster, or like nuclear bombs. I don't claim to understand anything about what happened, but I am beginning to feel a certain kind of freedom as a direct result of this loss. Its hard to explain. But letting go, accepting, and finding pleasure and beauty in the ephemeral only drives me toward what I believe to be the eternal. I'm not sure what that is. But I can feel it here, among the ruins of Kali.

kathy's song. kathy's song.

saturday eye candy, etc.

nirvana alchemy film by jennifer west // naked australians for spencer tunick // world's most anticipated architecture of 2010 // holden caulfield and andy warhol?? //  interview with tatiana trouve. // really digging carl fudge's new screenprint collages. here is my favorite :

lastly, if you aren't already following my girl laura's blog - you should start. she is an amazing photographer and she is away this weekend, so i'm hoping for some really great shots from her when she returns.

track for the weekend - four tet / love cry - enjoy!

stacks remix

check out the discuss (andres ortiz ferrari) remix of one of the greatest songs of all time, RE: stacks by bon iver. love this remix!

stacks remix by discuss

TROKBLOG!

the much anticipated trokblog has arrived. look out for new art, and pretty much everything cool or exciting that comes my way that seems worthy of sharing. enjoy!

trokart updates :

currently i'm working on a few projects, never as many as i hope...
at the moment i'm finishing up a piece for my friends paul and bishop's house. i'm using vinyl on tile, and getting great results. here are some shots of recent progress. can't wait to get it up on the wall!

 

in other news, i'm working on a huge video concept / project with andres ortiz ferrari. most of it is top secret at this point, but we are really excited about it. here is a rough / tiny snippet to get the wheels turning.

i've also been brainstorming ways to get my goddess windows framed. (that link goes to my new fan page on facebook. go ahead and fan me if you want. i won't mind.) i am experiencing some frustrating technical difficulties, and haven't really been able to move forward with the windows until i can get this problem resolved. if you know anything about building frames for windows, or have access to someone who does, shoot me an email. i will definitely pay for the assistance!