Update: Art ltd.

The podcast I did last night was fun. I hope you enjoyed listening to it. Speaking of press, George Melrod of Art ltd. mentioned my wildfire painting in his essay, “Eden is Burning” from the March/April 2010 issue, writing;

Denver artist Nathan Abels paints cryptic scenes deconstructing the interstices of natural and human habitation, where mysterious wilderness intersects with quotidian society. Hints of danger abound…

The Untitled Art Show

Tonight I'll be discussing my current show on Denver's own "Untitled Art Show" podcast. If you're not familiar with the show- it is a weekly conversation with (mostly) Denver artists, gallery directors, curators, etc. I listen to it every week and I'm really excited to be a part of it.

Music for Your Studio; Vol. 25

This weeks' 25th (!) episode of Music for Your Studio is the Rising Storm podcast series. According to their site, "We focus on lost gems in the genres of garage, country rock, psych folk, psychedelic rock, and other overlooked classics." I really been enjoying the most recent one called "Jangle Town." You can download the mp3s on their site or subscibe to their podcast via this link. Good vibes.

Ambient Video Podcast: The Snowflake Series

The Windows Exchange presents the Snowflake Series -ambient video for your portable device. These are brief little vignettes for a one minute vacation from your daily life.

itunes podcast feed. zune podcast feed.

Two Great Art Video Podcasts

While I've been spending most of my days in the studio, I've been keeping myself energized with some great video and audio podcasts about art. The MOMA has several audio podcasts to choose from (here). I'm really excited about these video pocasts as well:

Merrily Kerr's New York Art Tours

These short videos are great - succinct but not shallow. Merrily Kerr is thorough in her research and shares her insights while showing the viewer around the gallery. I think it is fantastic to get a short tour of NY galleries from all the way across the country. I'd highly recommend subscribing to this series (free). RSS feed here.

Vernissage TV. Well made video podcasts that include artist interviews and gallery tours. Recommended. RSS feed here.

If your mp3 device does not have video capabilities you can watch these videos on their websites - they are only a few minutes long and will be much more beneficial than watching another Sarah Palin parody on youtube.

Great Cities of the World

Image by Andy Singer from a Peak Oil/Climate Change Art Show in San Francisco

Quite ironically, I was listening to yesterday's mentioned Kunstlerkast on my commute to work this morning. It is ironic because the one I was listening to was about parking garages and the influence of the automobile on our lives. In the discussion, James Howard Kunstler said, "You know, one of the upshots in America is that sure, we all have our own cars at our disposal all the time, but because of that, there’s almost no place in America that’s worth being in or going to. That’s one of the unintended consequences of mass automobile use is that you actually destroy the terrain so voraciously that nowhere is worth driving to."

James Howard Kunstler

I've noticed that lately I've been posting more about audio than painting or visual art. I suppose that is because I'm trying to finish up preparing for my show and I'm doing a lot more listening than looking right now. On last week's road trip I listened to a podcast from Humanist Network News that spoke with James Howard Kunstler about the "human habitat". He's very entertaining and informative in the interview, and I'd highly recommend listening to it:


I was especially interested in the emphasis that Kunstler made in the interview to criticize a lot of the hypocrisies or fallacies in modern environmentalist thought. In particular he notes that the current push to find new liquid fuel sources like ethanol shows the reluctance if not refusal to let go of the automobile and embrace other modes of transportation and urban planning. The description to one of his own podcasts sums this up well saying, "The problem in America is not that we're driving the wrong kind of cars, per se.The trouble in the United States is we're driving incessantly. We're driving every kind of car there is, incessantly. And we've got to find a way out of the incessant motoring and a way to live without it, and a happy way to live without it—not a punishment way to live without it, but a way to be happy and do it. And it means, really, a completely different paradigm for everyday life."

His book, The Geography of Nowhere is also highly recommended:


He's recently started his own weekly podcast called the Kunstlerkast - which you can find here.

Artcasts

I was browsing the podcasts on zune this morning and came across the podcasts from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - they have great interviews, commentaries and even enhanced photo/audio podcasts. If you're wondering what a podcast is - you can break down the name as a portable-on-demand-broadcast. Basically its and mp3 or mp4 audio and/or video file that can be downloaded (usually freely and legally) and listened to at any time. Think of it as a recording of a radio show. I know the SFMOMA October 2007 podcast has Olafur Eliasson content and I'm really looking forward to hearing it.

Video Art for your Ipod or Zune

Happy New Year Everyone. I'm looking forward to all that 2008 has in store.

Relja Penezic, "Ocean Parking" 720 x 24P High Definition Video, 2004

Artist: Relja Penezic Music & Sound: Victoria Jordanova©2005 ARTaVIVA

My regularly scheduled blogging will continue to be unpredictable until I get this ongoing computer power supply problem sorted out. In good news though - I now have a Zune mp3/video/picture device that I'm loving (thanks dude). Since getting it, I've been exploring the world of podcasting - something that I know very little about - and I'm amazed at how much free (legal) content there is out there on nearly every interest imaginable. I was browsing some art related podcasts and came across artaviva - a site that is promoting video art for high-definition televisions. They're asserting that the flat-panel high-definition screen is the "contemporary canvas". Whether or not you agree with them you should check out their site and download a few of the video podcasts (aka "vodcasts") for your ipod or zune or maybe just to watch on your computer. They are pretty tranquil from what I can tell - which may help you ease in to the new year.