"Mobile Home" Photos by Peter Garfield

Peter Garfield, "Trespass", 1997, C-print40 x 30 inches

Peter Garfield, "Split-Level", 1995, C-print40 x 30 inches

Peter Garfield, "Communique", 1996, C-print40 x 30 inches

The latest drawing I've completed (below) adds a little lyricism and movement to the composition of my house drawings. I was researching different art/artists that have also added movement or drama to such stiff subjects as housing divisions. In the late 90s, Peter Garfield took photos of small model homes in midair. The results can be humorous, but present a darker or somewhat confusing undercurrent. In an essay about these photos, Alexander Uhr wrote, "In the absence of any definitive answers, I was left with an alternately thrilling and discomfiting sensation — thrilled at seeing a remarkable event, discomfited that I could not interpret exactly what I saw." The first time I saw one of these photographs in a magazine, I immediately thougt of the Wizard of Oz - After viewing them in a post-9-11 world where horiffic explosions and overwhelming natural disasters are frequently (and tragically) the headline, these works take on more weight. In a letter to Alexander Uhr, Garfield wrote, ""The idea of absence, a substantive lack of something, has always intrigued me." This idea has also intrigued me and informed the content of my own work - whether it be the absense of context through the isolation of subjects with my own work, or the absence of any explanation of the events presented - as with Garfield's work.

New Drawings

Nathan Abels, "Layout" (2) Graphite and Colored Pencil on Paper, 11x14"

Nathan Abels, "Layout" (2) (Detail View) Graphite and Colored Pencil on Paper, 11x14"

Nathan Abels, "Layout" Graphite and Colored Pencil on Paper, 11x14"

Nathan Abels, "Layout" (Detail View) Graphite and Colored Pencil on Paper, 11x14"

Minutiae on Modern Art Notes

Modern Art Notes, by Tyler Green, has included Minutiae on their Denver links. The Wall Street Journal has called Modern Art Notes "the most influential of all visual arts blogs." Two years later the WSJ said, "You won't find a better-informed art writer than Tyler Green." I'm honored to be included on their links, and hope to continue to build a positive reputation with this blog.

Guest Blogger: Michael Woody

In a effort to provide new aesthetics and different tastes to minutiae, I'm putting together a new feature in which I will be presenting the shortlists of several artist I know. This week Michael Woody, a Savannah-based artist suggested four Southern artists to look at;

Chris Jahncke, "Night junk in Progress", 2005, Oil 130 x 110 cm on wood.

Eric Sall, "Dripping Dream", 2005, Oil on canvas, 96 x 78 inches

Neil Bender, "4 Prigs"

William Fields, "Unknown Yogi", 2001, Prismacolor, pastel/paper, 30.25 x 22.75 inches

Michael Woody himself is an excellent painter and conceptual/multi-media artist. He has worked with photography, video, painting and drawing - all with great proficiency.

Michael Woody, "Cars" (Installation View)

Ghost Tree and "Silver Spears"

Although it is well out of my financial price range, I've always loved this "Ghost Tree" by Erich Ginder. If you're in Denver - Forest Room Five has one of these. It's a great combination of high modern design (the base), and nature.

I took some photos yesterday that accompany the "Ghost Tree" well. We hiked from the town of Marble, CO to what remains of an old mining town called Crystal, CO. We met someone there that was enjoying the isolation that can be found in Crystal and she let us fill our water bottle from the mountain spring that supplied water to the few people there. She told us that on an early autumn morning, the sunlight carves between two of the mountains and hits the side of the aspen trees and they look like "silver spears reaching up to the sky."

Unique Delft Painting

Delft Painting by Charles Krafft

Delft Painting by Charles Krafft

New York Delft Tableware - via Notcot

Paintings by Isabel Manalo

Isabel Manalo, "Land of Belfia", Mix Media on Raw Linen, 72" x 96"

Isabel Manalo, "Cocoa Sunblock", Mix Media on Kitana paper, 17" x 21",

Isabel Manalo, "Tough Enough", Mix Media on Kitana paper, 17" x 21"

Abstract Aerial Landscapes

Photos above - the landscape east of Denver taken this morning on the way to Limon, CO area. Photos copyright Nathan Abels 2007. Click for larger image. The lines on those first three images were likely from cattle - you can see the feeding troughs in the detail of the second photo down.

I feel obligated to mention Emmet Gowin's abstracted aerial landscapes from the late 80s like this one:

Most Recent Drawing

Nathan Abels, "Semi Trailers", Graphite on Paper, 11x10"

Leaves with Snow

This morning's snowfall on autumn leaves.

Photography by Emma Kidd

Lomo Supersampler image (multi exposed)
Lille 2004
Lomo Supersampler image (multi exposed)
Lille 2004
Lomo Fish Eye photographs (some double and triple exposures), taken in Canada; Winter 2006
Lomo Fish Eye photographs (some double and triple exposures), taken in Canada; Winter 2006

Photos by Emma Kidd, inspired by our first snowfall of the season here in Denver.

E.T. art

Spielberg's E.T. was on tv this afternoon, so here's a few related art images:

from Stencil Revolution

UFOs in ancient/historic art via Nibiru, Planet X who writes, "This painting is called "The Madonna with Saint Giovannino". It was painted in the 15th century by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) and hangs as part of the Loeser collection in the Palazzo Vecchio. Above Mary's (left) shoulder is a disk shaped object. Below is a blow up of this section and a man and his dog can clearly be seen looking up at the object." Check their website out - lots of interesting images with UFO/disk-like shapes in art throughout history - taken with a grain of salt of course.

Tonight!

Here's a preview of Season 4

SPECIAL EVENT
Art21: Protest + Rory Golden
Friday, October 19, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Screening of Season Four, PBS Series Art:21 and artist talk with Rory Golden.

At the Platte Forum
1610 Little Raven Street, Suite 135 | Denver, CO 80202

Circle of Birds and the art of Jamie Hunt

I was listening to an old instrumental ep on Burnt Toast Vinyl called "Circle of Birds" which was made with members of Unwed Sailor, Ester Drang and Pedro the Lion. I would really recommend the album it's short but quite beautiful - with great art by Jamie Hunt. You can download the album from insound for just $2.70. Can't beat that. I had difficulty finding anything about the artist except for these three images (I love the tiger/peacock famil on the first image):

Josh Keyes (again)

Limited Addiction Gallery just posted a preview of the new Josh Keyes exhibition (opening Saturday) online which sold out in a day. Impressive. There are some great new pieces up to see, including this one called "Tic Toc"made specifically for this Denver show - with the inclusion of "Bronco Buster", a statue in Civic Center Park near the Library and Art Museum downtown.

"Bronco Buster" photo by Erik Holmberg

Josh Keyes, "Tic Toc", Acrylic on Panel, 18x24"Josh Keyes, "Treadmill #2", Acrylic on Panel, 30x40"

Paintings of Jim Gaylord

I think these paintings by Jim Gaylord are really fresh - well balanced combinations of realism and abstraction:

If You Leave
oil on canvas
48 x 84 in.
2007
Cruel Summer
oil on canvas
34 x 40 in.
2007
Should We Talk Above it Now?
oil on canvas
40 x 62 in.
2006

These works by Jim Gaylord remind me of the abstractions by Ingrid Calame:

INGRID CALAME
From #231 Drawing (Tracings up to the L.A. River placed in the Clark Telescope Dome, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ) , 2006
Enamel paint on aluminum
24 X 48 inches


They also have aspects that remind me of pop artist James Rosenquist:


"The Swimmer in the Econo-mist (Painting 3)," by James Rosenquist, oil on shaped canvas, 13 feet 2 inches by 20 feet 3/16 inches, 1997-8