Piece By Piece

Hello Joe! Sorry to not get back to you before this. I made that piece around 1994 for a show at Jack Hankey Gallery in San Francisco.

The workbook created for my show FREE!LOVE!TOOL!BOX at San Francisco’s YBCA. The publication was designed to ask people important questions about their own roles as creators. 

Performing “Shambling Monstrosity Seeks Same” In honor of Scooter Laforge’s Monster Salon at Howl! Happening 

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCBnLWjipRc)

Made when I was 15-16 years old. Chock full of teen drama and self mocking fragments. That's a photobooth picture of me with glitter/blood draining from my wrist and mouth. Just recently ran across a few envelopes of things my mom has saved and this was among them. The star stickers are from a time when you had to lick the backs to activate the glue. I can't say that this was made in response to anything in my life other than a desire to make something that looked cool.

This ended up leading me in two directions: In the immediate sense I started making panting/constructions that increasingly relied on the built up brushstroke and gel medium/rhoplex to make surfaces that were thick and torturous. Years later, in 1995, I began making small, 9"x12" stripe paintings on board. They were received  with some consternation when I showed them in San Francisco. 

Started looking through old photos and sketchbooks. This particular one, from when I was 15, was clearly influenced by Claes Oldenberg's "Notes in Hand" book. Lot's of ideas for floppy overstuffed things, some small collages and some declarative statements about "environmental art". Aside from the sad spelling, I noticed that I ended up making some things not unlike these pieces with my "Mopes" pieces from the mid 90's and again in a sculpture from 2005. Ideas keep cycling around.

Explaining "Margaret Dumont as Madame de Mistival" a piece from "The Philosopher's Suite" 1990-3

Nayland Blake takes over Matthew Marks' 22nd Street exhibition space with humorous assemblage and found-object sculptures. The small presentation, reveals Blake's interest in crafting a narrative through overlooked objects and subversive content. Blake searches for discarded identities and brings them to the forefront of his work. What Wont Wreng is on view through April 20th 2013 at Matthew Marks, 502 West 22nd Street, New York. Photo and text Juliana Balestin 

In truth this whole piece was a tribute to/rip off of Richard Foreman's plays, and Kathy Acker's novels. The script is a collaged text that attempts to talk about the realities of race and desire by stitching together stuff like "The Turner Diaries" and lyrics from Yellowman.  

Made this in the frenzy of work around the 90-91 period.  In part I was transitioning out of my restraint pieces and into the bouquet pieces that used much more delicate materials. Looking at this now I feel like it takes a lot from Jannis Kounellis.  One of the small group of pieces I showed at Mary Boone's gallery in '91.