Opening: Pulse and Parcel

This year I had my first solo-show opening at Side Street Projects in Pasadena, CA. The install took me about 2 weeks to complete, totally around 40 hours. This is definitely one of my most ambitious projects to date, and the largest as far as scale and conceptual scope. All that said, the opening was also a success. The afternoon opening of about 30 people brought people from different communities together for a two hour window of parcel claiming and spatial engagement.

My 28th Birthday

This year for my birthday was vastly different than last year, as I was heavily consumed with my first solo-show opening at Side Street Projects. There are 3 pieces featured there, including a 3/4 acres outdoor installation that will remain up for 1.5 months. This installation was very time consuming and a new feat for me. I did however, take the day off of installing for my birthday, but did spend most of the day at school in class.

At the end of the day I came home to my awesome partner in life that had a home-made cake waiting. To continue the celebratory feel, we went to a local wine and tapas restaurant called Brix in Silver Lake, CA. After sampling a few flavors and some wine we headed back home to cut into the cake, opening some presents and rest a little before the next day started again.

This birthday I gave myself one of the best birthday gifts, a successful opening!

My First Art Review

On February 26th, the art exhibit that my program and cohort put together was reviewed by the LA Times. The review looked at the role of community art projects and discussed how sometimes the projects work, and sometimes they fall short.
Here's what they had to say about my artwork in the exhibition:

"Jamie Crooke's partnership with the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic provides one possible answer. Crooke walked the streets around the clinic pushing a cart selling health-related items–bandages, apples, wheat grass seed, Emergen-C packets – in exchange for a dollar or a bit of conversation. In addition to examining the cart itself, gallery visitors can watch a video and flip through a photo book documenting the project. The cart also features a price list including the above mentioned items as well as the cost of one year of employer-provided health insurance (about $13,000) and the annual compensation of United Health Group's CEO (more than $9 million). With this sly, humorous gesture, the piece makes its critical point about inequities in healthcare spending, whether one sees it on the street or in the gallery."

While I am not sure what the future holds for me with this profession and type of art making, one thing is certain: I will also have my LA Times review when I was 27 years old :)

You can read the whole review here:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/02/art-review-love-in-a-cemetery-at-the-18th-street-art-center.html#

Artwork Up.

Today I installed a piece of artwork at school for a group art show. It feels good to be doing something so familiar and something I know very well. I chose to display a piece that I think I wrote about earlier, the bindle stick or "hobo bag". The reception for the show is next week, so I will take a picture then and post it up.

It feels good to be focused on something other than my feelings for a change. I'm really looking forward to the end of the semester.