Occulter presents: "Black Beach" at White Box NYC Tonight!

Hi Everybody,

I hope that your Summer is ending on a posi note!

Just a quick note--I have work included in the Occulter exhibition "Black Beach" that opens tonight(!) at White Box in NYC. Both the opening and closing receptions are going to be super-rad dance parties--I hope that you can make it! 

The details and the press release are below:

BEACH BOX: WHITE BOX  Summer Series

 August 15 - September 2, 2012

WEEK 1

 BLACK BEACH: An OCCULTER Group Exhibition

 Curated by Derrick R. Cruz 

 August 15 - 22, 2012

 Opening Reception: Wednesday, August 15 | 6-10pm

 DJ Sets by Pendu NYC + Live music

 Closing Reception: Wednesday, August 22 | 6-10pm

WHITE BOX is pleased to kick-off its new Beach Box Series with Black Beach, the first group exhibition by New York City artist collective OCCULTER. Black Beach will run August 15 - 22, 2012 with an opening event on Wednesday, August 15th from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. and a closing event on Wednesday, August 22nd from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. Both events will be hosted by Agency Antares and will feature live musical performances curated by Pendu NYC.   

Five OCCULTER artists will be featured in Black Beach: Nadav Benjamin; Jeremy Dyer; Derrick Cruz; Jonathan Goldstein; and Gabriel J. Shuldiner. Each artist will present large-format works spanning the scope of digital constructions, mixed-media paintings, sculpture and site-specific installations. Smaller works will be presented in a "Consumables Shop" as limited editions at the WHITE BOX CAFÉ UNIVERSAL.   

In Black Beach, OCCULTER members introduce a cohesive installation of tenebrous works as a call to worship at a pantheon of amorphous symbolic traditions they themselves simultaneously construct and explore. Each work displays an attempt at understanding consciousness or the incorporeal, with history (aesthetic, religious, political or otherwise) as a tool, not a guide. The installation as a whole evokes a self-reflective spirituality that reluctantly seeks community while concurrently providing escape.   

Contrasting the contemplative allusions in the artworks, on opening and closing nights, Black Beachwill transition from a space of observation to one of participation, as a set of energetic musical performances curated by Todd Pendu of Pendu NYC fill WHITE BOX. In true Pendu form, the space is bound to become a "community dance party".     

Those wishing to attend the opening and closing events are encouraged to RSVP to rsvp@occulter.org at least two days prior to each event.  

The artists will be present at the opening event on Wednesday, August 15th from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.Black Beach will be open to the public August 16 - 22 during regular WHITE BOX hours. WHITE BOX hours are Monday to Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Sunday, closed.

For more information, contact info@whiteboxny.org.

"Not Kansas" at RayKo Photo Center

This is just a quick note to let you know about a show that I'm in that opens this coming Thursday, July 19th at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco. RayKo is an amazing space and I'm excited to be a part of this show, alonside some incredible photographers.

I will be in town for the opening, so San Francisco peeps--please get in touch!

Here are the details:

Not Kansas: Photographers Explore Their Own Worlds

Featuring work by: Alison Carey, Chris McCaw, Germán Herra, Curtis Wehrfritz, Christopher Colville, Jeremy Dyer, Robin Robinson, Tomiko Jones, Lisa Atjay and Tami Bone.

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 19th, 6-8pm

Exhibition dates: July 19th – August 31st

RayKo Photo Center Gallery

428 Third Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

415-495-3773 (ph)

http://www.raykophoto.com

If you are in town, I hope to see you there!

Haemál at Verve Gallery

I have been selected by Verve Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe, New Mexico as their on-line featured artist, with an exhibition currently on view here. 



I will also have work on view at the gallery during Misha Gordin's exhibition, Shadows of the Dream, which opens this Friday.



The opening is from 5-7pm this Friday, June 15th.


The gallery is located at 219 East Marcy Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico.



I hope that those of you in the area can make it!

In Memoriam: Bill Wooldridge

I got the news earlier this week that Bill Wooldridge had passed away. Anyone who came through the punk scene in Tucson in the late 90s through the 2000s will remember the big scary-looking bear of a man standing at the back of the room at Skrappy's, grinning as he picked up kids who fell down in the pit. Strangely enough, it's his voice that I remember best, soft-spoken and gentle, laughing quietly after making a goofy joke.

Bill and Kathy built a community in Tucson in a more fundamental and important way than I think any of us will ever be able to fully grasp, even before they opened Skrappy's. I have spent so much time in their home--learning photography by shooting bands in their living room and eating at their table (Potlucks! Vegan Thanksgiving!), not to mention the countless hours spent at Skrappy's through its various incarnations. While Kathy is more immediately recognizable as the face of Skrappy's for many people (our punk rock den mother!), Bill was at its heart. For so many of us, they were surrogate parents, opening their home to anyone who needed it and providing a safe place for people with nowhere to go.

I have never met anyone quite like Bill, and I am better for having known him. My thoughts go out to Kathy, Eli, Dusti and Heather.

A memorial is scheduled for today at 2:30 MST at Skrappy's. A Chip-In has been organized here to help Kathy and her family with Bill's final expenses. Please contribute, if you are able.

I have a couple of exhibition announcements for my west coast friends:

In 2011, I was honored to be selected as part of the Critical Mass Top 50 (http://www.photolucida.org/cm_winners.php), and have work included in the traveling Critical Mass exhibition which opens this Saturday at Photo Center Northwest in Seattle, and then travels on to Portland and San Francisco.


Here are the dates and details:


Contents: Love, Anxiety, Happiness, and Everything Else

Critical Mass 2011

February 18--March 23, 2012:

Photo Center NW

900 12th Avenue

Seattle, WA

www.pcnw.org

206.720.7222

Opening Reception:

Saturday, February 18th, 6-8 pm

After, the exhibition travels to Portland, OR:

April 6--29, 2012:

Newspace Center for Photography

1632 SE 10th Ave

Portland, OR

newspacephoto.org

503.963.1935

Opening Reception:

Friday, April 6th, 6-9 pm

and then the exhibition finishes up in San Francisco CA:

May 10--June 15, 2012:

RayKo Photo Center

428 Third Street

San Francisco, CA

raykophoto.com

415.495.3773

Opening Reception:

Thursday, May 10th, 6-8 pm

If you are local to any of these shows, I hope that you can make it!

A warm New Year's greeting...

As the year draws to a close, and, especially as it has been so long since last I posted, I thought it would be good to wrap up the year with an update.

The exhibition at Occulter was fantastic. Thank you to everyone who came out to the opening. A thousand thanks to Derrick Cruz for giving me the opportunity, to Chris at Occulter for helping to make everything run so smoothly, to Luke from Iapetus for the amazing sound and to the snow cone guy for being generally brilliant.
The show is archived online at the Occulter site, and there is still some work available.

In other news, I was selected as one of the Critical Mass top 50. It's been such a privilege to be included with such a group of incredible artists and photographers, and the response that has come from it has been so positive.
I will have work included in the Critical Mass touring exhibition. I'll post the information soon.

Speaking of exhibitions, I have work included in "Specific Environments: Landscape as Metaphor" currently on view through January 14th at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, Colorado.

In November, I was selected as the featured artist of the month in Diffusion Magazine. Diffusion features some incredible work by artists with non-traditional approaches to photography, and it was an honor to be featured in such company.

Lastly, I recently did the art and layout for the cassette reissue of the Sadness Saturn/Utarm split on Handmade Birds. It was a crazy small pressing of something like 32, but there may still be a copy or two available from the source.

Thanks for bearing with me through this big text block of a post. I'm traveling right now, and can't really post any images. As for the coming year, there are quite a few exciting things in the works that it is too soon to mention just yet...

I hope that this last year has gone well for you, and may the coming year be filled with happiness.

"ASHES" at Occulter, NYC

It's been a long winter, but now, just after the Equinox, it finally feels like Spring. What better way to celebrate than with bleak images of desolate and Wintery landscapes? To that end, I have an exhibition of my work opening next week at one of my favorite spaces in the city.

Here are the specifics for the exhibition:

OPENING RECEPTION

THURSDAY JUNE 2, 2011, 6-9PM

SOUND PERFORMANCE BY IAPETUS

RUNS THROUGH JULY 3

OCCULTER

83.5 ORCHARD STREET

(BTWN BROOME & GRAND)

NEW YORK CITY

OCCULTER.ORG

CONTACT

917-759-2220

INFO@OCCULTER.ORG

If you are in the NYC area, I'd love to see you at the opening. If you can't make it, there is a preview of the exhibition online at occulter.org.

Luke 2

An image from a while back. This is a different Luke than the last--this is the Toy Baron of Lulubell fame. He's now based in Tokyo, so needless to say that, with today's news, he's been on my mind.

Thanksgiving Greetings

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Now go and do the right thing.

Blossom Artist Series: Jeremy Dyer - Opening this Thursday, November 18th, 7-10pm

I am having an exhibition as part of
the Blossom Artist Series that opens this Thursday at Blossom Cafe. A
portion of each sale will benefit the Social Tees Animal Rescue, a
non-profit, no-kill animal shelter and rehabilitation center in
Manhattan. In addition, Blossom will donate a portion of all
restaurant sales on the date of the opening to S.T.A.R.

Here are the details for the opening itself:
Cafe Blossom
466 Columbus Ave (Between 82nd & 83rd St)
Thursday, November 18th, 7-10pm

I'd love to see you at the opening, but if you can't make it, please
take a moment to look at the important work that Social Tees is doing
(including animals available for adoption!) at http://on.fb.me/9KYG62

*For further information, please see Blossom's press release:

"We are very excited to announce The Blossom Artist Series!

At Cafe Blossom we have opened our hearts and our wall space to
showcase local vegan artists whose work and goals are consistent with
our animal-rights-oriented stance. Through these exhibitions we hope
to raise financial support and increase awareness for various
animal-related, non-profit organizations and the urgently important
objectives they are bringing to your table. 25% of the proceeds from
the sale of each piece in The Blossom Artist Series will be directly
donated to one of these organizations.

Our first exhibition in the series is with Brooklyn-based artist and
vegan activist Jeremy Dyer. The opening reception will be held on
Thursday, November 18th from 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM. 25% of the proceeds
from the exhibition will be donated to Social Tees Animal Rescue
(www.animalrescuenyc.org). Cafe Blossom will donate 5% of all
restaurant sales occurring on November 18th directly to Social Tees
Animal Rescue. We hope to see you there!

Social Tees Animal Rescue (S.T.A.R.) is a non-profit, strictly no-kill
501c3 organization that takes abandoned animals from various local
kill shelters and provides them with a safe haven and veterinary care
until they are placed in a proper home. S.T.A.R. rescues,
rehabilitates and places over 3000 animals into loving homes every
year.

Jeremy Dyer was born in Tucson, Arizona. He received his BFA degree
the University of Arizona and his MFA from Parsons School for Design
in New York City. Since 2000, his work has been exhibited nationally
and internationally. He lives and works in Brooklyn."

http://jeremydyer.net
http://www.blossomnyc.com
http://animalrescuenyc.org

¡Viva el Dia de los Muertos!

Betty Spurgeon, 1929-2010

Farvel, Bedstemor. Indtil vi mødes igen, jeg vil holde Dem i mit hjerte.

I Am The Black Wizards x3

So good...

...and for comparison:

Luke

I shot this portrait of my friend Luke on the eve of his departure for a three-month stint in Nepal. Follow his adventures here.

Happy Midsummer

Ceremony

Cake Shop, NYC, 6/19/10

I love matinee shows in the Summer...

The Songs That Saved Your Life

Some time back, my friend Mathyld tagged me with "10 songs that built me and / or changed my life." Normally I don't go for this sort of thing, but in this case, I thought that it was a really great idea, and somewhat appropriate here since music and sound play into what I do and am interested in with my work.

So, in no particular order:

1:

Seele Brennt, Einstürzende Neubauten

I bought the EN compilation Strategies Against Architecture II from a used record store while I was in Junior High. I had no idea what to expect, knowing only that they were "a bunch of weird German who built their instruments out of trash."

Listening to this record the first time scared me, being so far removed from anything that I had ever heard before. The CD set came with extensive liner notes, which were as interesting to me as the music itself. The components of each song were explained in detail, from lyrics to the purpose behind each noise-making object used. Looking back, besides opening up my musical horizons, I think that this album became sort of foundational to my later artmaking practice, instilling this idea that the process and the materials can be just as important as the final object.

Seele Brennt is an emotionally and physically draining song. It makes me hurt a little every time I hear it. The lyrics are whispered, due to Blixa having lost his voice before recording. As he raises his voice to a shriek at about 4:38 into the song, you can hear the precise moment that something in his vocal cords breaks. Amazing.

2:

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before, The Smiths

I could substitute pretty much any Smiths song here, but this is the first Smiths song that I remember hearing where something buzzed and resonated inside my ears and brain. I am eternally grateful to Morrissey and company for helping get me through so much.

3:

(You're My) Radio One, Henry's Dress

Much like the Smiths, this could be anything from the Henry's Dress discography. The fuzzed out noisy bass and jangly guitar will always sound like Summer 1994.

4:

February Fourteenth, Lilys

Dry Summer nights, driving through the desert with the windows down, mix tapes.

5:

Firecracker, Frail

One of the first hardcore records that I ever bought was Frail's Idle Hands Hold Nothing 7" and it came into my life at a period when I was getting involved with a punk scene that was emotional, politically engaged, participatory and totally at odds with the more meatheaded aspects of hardcore. This song sums up that amazing period that was DIY hardcore in the '90s for me. I came away from it having gained so many of the guiding principles in my life--veganism, straight edge, political awareness, a sense of personal responsibility, and a love for DIY culture.

6:

New Jersey vs Valhalla, Orchid

This pretty much sums up the horrible, horrible Summer of 2000 for me. Seeing Orchid play this at ABC No Rio early that fall and getting hurt in the process was just the cathartic release that I needed.

7:

The Accidental Protégé, Death In June

Dodgy aesthetic politics aside, Death In June were an absolutely perfect band, especially circa the albums What Ends When the Symbols Shatter and Roseclouds of Holocaust. One of my favorite images that I've made was inspired by a misheard lyric from this song.

8:

The Drowning, Christian Death

A tad embarassing, this one, although I still do love this song. When I would visit my Mother in Kentucky during the Summer as a kid, I would trade tapes with my friend's brother. One of the first things he taped for me was Christian Death's Catastrophe Ballet, thus beginning my proto-goth phase in 8th grade. The take-away lesson from this was that I look horrible with black hair.

9:

Attitude, Bad Brains

Probably the best (if not only) punk song inspired by the book "Think and Grow Rich." Seriously, how amazing is HR's dancing in this video? Positively positive.

10:

Babysbreath, Lovesliescrushing

I once planned for this to be the last song that I would ever hear. It's perfect.

That's it...it's difficult to narrow it down to only ten... I had to leave out so many things-- The Cranes' Beautiful Friend, Minor Threat's In My Eyes, Babes In Toyland's Real Eyes, Big A Little A by Crass, and Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger, etc. etc. So many crucial songs...

That's it for this very long post. Please see Mathyld's original post and list here.

New Sketches...

The end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 has been incredibly busy for me--with travel home, travel overseas, and general day job craziness--and as a result, I've neglected this place. Starting just recently, I've been able to add more studio time to my schedule, and so I'll be posting more work and work in progress here. In the mean time, here are a few recent preparatory sketches in color that I've done for a project in progress:

A bit different than my usual stuff, but it should all make sense together in the end.

"This Day, Anything Goes..."

Happy Hallowe'en and Merry Samhain y'all. Be sure to get into loads of trouble.

Happy Birthday, Ursula K. LeGuin!

Last week, my favorite Gorgeous Lady of Writing turned 80.

Her work is brilliant, and a chance purchase of "A Wizard of Earthsea" at a used book shop when I was in 4th grade had a major impact on wee Jeremy's early development, and still manages to influence and inspire me. Every few years or so I reread the Earthsea Cycle or Always Coming Home and I'm amazed that every single time the experience is fresh. The Earthsea Cycle in particular, though written for "middle readers," feels like it grows up along with me and that I can come back to it again and again, with my lived experience enriching each subsequent read.

There are very few writers that I can think of who are able to address issues of race, class, or gender with a smattering of cultural anthropology and Taoism thrown in to boot in such a subtle way, especially in a science fictional or fantastical framework. Besides, she is a woman of impeccable integrity and wit.

Seriously, words can't adequately express how fond I am of this lady. Now go and read The Left Hand of Darkness already!