Ross Racine

These "digital drawings" by Ross Racine were found at but does it float. They closely resemble a lot of the aerial photos I've taken personally, although his are composed digitally without photos.

Subdivision; Highland Farms, 15 3/8"x 20 1/2", 2006

Aerial photo by Nathan Abels

Subdivision; Goldenwood Shores, 15 3/8"x 20 1/2", 2009

Aerial photo by Nathan Abels

Subdivision; North of Prospect Gardens, 15 3/8"x 20 1/2", 2007

Aerial photo by Nathan Abels

Architectural Stutter

by Léon Krier - found at gemeinschaft

see also:

Bill Amundson, "What Our New Home Thinks"

New Works by Bill Amundson

New works from Denver's own Bill Amundson (not even on his website yet!). Bill shared these pieces with me recently and I'm happy to be able pass on the sarcasm, wit and visual pleasure of these drawings with you. Be sure to click on the images - the details are great on these works:

SIGNS WITH HOMES, 18"h by 36"w

HOME WITH BRAD PITT BILLBOARD, 27"h by 26"

TREE WITH HOMES, 18"h by 40"w

SELF PORTRAIT WITH PRICEY MOUNTAIN HOMES, 44"h by 40"w

LANDSCAPE WITH STORE, 32"w by 26"h

Screamo and the American Suburbs

photo by Nathan Abels

Brad Troemel recently wrote this excellent blog post about the genre of music most often referred to as "screamo" (screaming + emo -emotion) and how this particular genre has originated and thrives entirely in the suburbs of the American landscape. It's a well written discussion of the music, lyrics, and some of the reasoning for its existence. Troemel writes, "The true reason for this self-pitying, emotionally introspective type of music is boredom. The uniformity of scenery, lack of youth venues (beyond sports), and cultural stagnancy of the suburbs make for a confined existence." He contines by saying, "The solution to boredom for this generation of musicians was twofold: 1. to over exaggerate existing relationship dramas to the point of absurdity or 2. to create new, unfounded social dramas as a kind of self destruction to perpetuate the meaning of one's own existence- sort of like slapping yourself in the face to stay awake."

Having experienced a small corner of the hard-core/screamo scene in the 1990s, Troemel's writing resonated with me. I remember the frequent weekend rock shows in youth-group centers, basements, and one of our favorite venues - the "back door" (the back room of a tattoo parlor in Fort Wayne). Each show with it's own tormented/heartbroken singer, ironic t-shirts, tattooed sleves, and asymmetrical hair. How suburban.

Far Off

photo by Nathan Abels

For my few loyal readers, you may have noticed my recent interest in the "Peak Oil" problem and environmental/human habitat problems that come with it. Last Thursday I took a hike up to Loch Lomond which is outside of the town of Elizabeth, not far from Idaho Springs. We got lost trying to find the trail-head, and probably went down every dirt road in Elizabeth (which thankfully is not many). As we toured this small mountain town, we noticed that most of the town is for sale. After a while it was strange to see so many places for sale. If I had to guess I would say that approximately 75% of the properties in Elizabeth were for sale - this may be a high estimate, but it was definitely the majority of the town. I checked out the town website, which states "Many residents commute to Denver and its southern suburbs to work and shop. The Town’s future is, therefore, closely tied to the growth potentials of Colorado’s Front Range communities." With what I have read about Peak Oil, the suburban or far-off commuting town model is not sustainable without cheap fossil fuels (which are in shorter supply by the day). Then, while reading c-monster this morning, I came across this headline from the NY Times - "Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs" - and the article starts out in ...Elizabeth, Colorado of all places. Worth a read.

Bill Admundson

Bill Admundson, "What Our New Home Thinks"

Bill Admundson, "Eight Custom Family Homes"
Bill Admundson, "3 Neighborhoods"

I had a great conversation with the very funny and energetic Bill Admunson yesterday at Sliding Door Gallery. Bill is also an artist who works in what he calls the "Suburban Regionalist mode". His works have a great sense of humor, just like the artist.

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.

Amy Stein

There's a very worthwhile and recommended interview with Amy Stein here. She provides the reader with interesting insights into her image-making process including her discussion of the research and collaboration involved in making her most recent series, "Domesticated". When asked about her working process, she simply states, " Interest is piqued, research is done, locations are scouted, pictures are taken." Well put Amy.

Amy Stein, "Inbetween"- 24 x 30 inches, Edition of 12 - 30 x 40 inches, Edition of 3Nathan Abels, "Street Lights, Fog and Trees" - notice how similar my photo is to Amy Stein's photo below - but how much better her photo is...one small element changes the entire image - making it much more conceptual, provocative and in my opinion - much more interesting.

Amy Stein, "Untitled"(?)
(I love this photo)

Amy Stein, "Hillside" - 24 x 30 inches, Edition of 12 - 30 x 40 inches, Edition of 3