Laurie Trok and Andres Ortiz Ferrari show at Monk's, 3634 Penn Ave in Lawrenceville

PENUMBRAE

Deconstruction Workers (Andres Ortiz Ferrari and Laurie Trok) are opening their first collaborative installation this Saturday night at Monk’s (3634 Penn Avenue) from 7-11 PM.

Penumbrae :: Construct 1.0 explores the relationships between shadows and form by creating an environment filled with paper cutouts and stencils that ebb and flow through the space. Inspired by cave drawings, petroglyphs, and street art, the Deconstruction Workers weave iconic glyphic imagery through an endless web of contrast, evoking a primordial yet modern sacred space that changes and moves as the viewer finds their way through this other world. Filled with a parallel entanglement of lyriform sound, chaos finds its order.

Head over to Monk’s on Saturday and experience a space of partial illumination, as shadow covers, surrounds and obscures a dreamlike cosmos.

( $20 gets you a stencil of the artists’ choice when the show comes down next month! )

Benefit for the Granada Arts Education Project

Here's my donation:

Elise Rugolo and Adrienne Borkowski at the Framery

Elise and Adrienne have a lovely show up at the Framery in Lawrenceville.

Elise Rugolo creates small square collage paintings. Elise is a wonderful colorist who favors rich ruby reds, oranges and peacock blues. Her palette is accentuated by the surface patina she creates using cut paper, pattern, bits of fabric and yarn, spots of paint and wax.

Adrienne Borkowski creates cigar box assemblages containing found objects from nature and handmade objects. Using boxes and small glass flasks, Adrienne's work reminded me of mysterious evidence found, collected and contained.

(Image: Elise Rugolo, The Old Neighborhood, Acrylic, collage, digital transfer on birch)

The Framery:
www.theframerypgh.com
4735 Butler St
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
(412) 687-2102

Opera for a Small Room, a collaboration between Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller at the Carnegie Museum

Walk into a darkened, cave-like gallery space at the Carnegie Museum of Art and in the center of the room is a large wooden crate structure. A rectangular cutout window in the wood allows us to peek into a room filled with hundreds of records, turntables, old radios and antiques, piled upon tables, shelves and floor, odd light fixtures-one made from a Heinz tomato can. A ghostly shadow sometimes appears while records switch on and off remotely and a soundtrack bounces from inside to out. A collage of sounds creates a landscape for the ears: a man's deep husky voice, a soprano opera singer, noises from the world outside the lively room. As the sound of a train approaches, the entire lighting/sound mood inside the room changes- dims, becomes quiet and is overtaken by the whirring/ jackhammering/rush of the train. The lights sway- the tables all shake.

This is a fantastic installation by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller -- imaginative, mesmerizing, engaging!!

From their website: There are twenty-four antique loudspeakers out of which come songs, sounds, arias, and occasional pop tunes. There are almost two thousand records stacked around the room and eight record players, which turn on and off robotically syncing with the soundtrack. The sound of someone moving and sorting albums is heard. The audience cannot enter the room. To see and hear his world, they have to look through windows, holes in the walls, and cracks in the doorways and watch his shadow move around the room.

On view until July 24, 2009 at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh--- don't miss it!!!

Spotlight on...Laurie Trok

In addition to being a talented emerging artist, Laurie Trok is also my studio mate and sometimes collaborator, an awesome jewelery maker, my fashion icon, and an all-around great gal. Here, we talk about her artistic process and influences.

Tell me about all of the different interests you have.

I am very interested in the way things are perceived and understood. I am fascinated with language, especially the visual language we find ourselves in constant dialogue with. I like to play with shapes and arrange parts of things to invent new meaning, or to find it within something.

Your artwork is a mix of collage, construction, graffiti and doodles. Can you talk about all the different artists and processes that influence what you do? What inspires your work?
Wow. I love looking at art. I can spend a whole day on the Internet or reading art magazines about new work being made. I think it's important to have a rich sense of where we come from as artists in contemporary society. This means my influences range from Matisse (specifically his cutouts) to Swoon.
Other influences at the moment are Andy Goldsworthy, Diana Cooper, Kara Walker, Ray Johnson, Robert Rauschenberg and Mark Bradford. I am inspired by the artwork I see on the street on a daily basis. I love looking at zines, comics, posters...(check out PaperRad) I am also greatly influenced by my artist friends. I love to see their processes and work, and watch as we steal from one another shamelessly. Especially you, Lauren, and my friend Todd Scalise.

What is your creative process?
I like to think my process is something that is ever-changing and growing. In my two-dimensional work, I like to begin with blind contour drawings (drawings done without looking down at the page) and use the marker bleeds on the opposite side of the page to begin the transformation of the work -- breaking it down into shapes. These shapes are constantly being cut into and out of my collages, and appear in my three dimensional work as well. I am pretty much lost without a pair of scissors or an exact-o knife.

How does music influence your work?
Oh, boy. I studied classical music for most of my youth into college, when I turned toward the visual arts. I think it's because of my music training that I work so abstractly. I think in music and in shapes. I like to listen to music while I work. I am not interested in representing things literally. I am interested in creating reality. Music is the highest form of this idea.

You use a lot of interesting materials-- found, thrown away, recycled. Can you talk about how these materials shape your work and why you are drawn to them?
There are several reasons why I work in recycled and found materials. One is strictly financial. I want to work, now. I can't afford art supplies, and I don't think I need them. Not today. With the excess around us, I feel responsible for this waste. I feel it is necessary to use the images that fall all around us, and build something new out of them. To order the chaos, so to speak.

Your artwork seems to be moving off the wall and becoming more sculptural--do you think you will be creating sculpture in the future?
YES. I love working three dimensionally. One of the reasons I want to go back to school is to learn how to use more materials so these three dimensional sketches can be realized. I enjoy playing with materials that don't go together, finding new meaning. This has naturally brought me to a more 3 dimensional sensibility. I am really excited to explore the possibilities.

What is your dream project?
Right now I am applying to a residency program in the Grand Canyon. I dream and hope that I'll get it, so I can work with the raw materials that the environment provides. It will be a literal breath of fresh air from my manic paper-cutting.
I guess on a larger scale my dream project would be some kind of installation of cut paper, filling a space that can be inhabited. People that spend time there could interact with the work, add to it, etc. As time goes on and material filters in and out of the space, the work evolves. That would be cool. I just thought of that.

You have a day job, how do you balance your job with your creativity?
I wouldn't take my advice on this one. I am struggling with that right now. Ideally my answer would be that I am able to take things from daily life straight to my studio and that since it pays the bills and helps me achieve balance, I see it as a stepping stone toward a future of art-making as a full-time career. It takes nothing away from being an artist, it only adds dimension. While I believe that, I struggle to practice it. I harbor a lot of bitterness about the ways I feel forced to spend my time. Like I said, its something I'm working on....

How do you get through artist's block?
I mainly feel blocked by time and material/financial constraints. This has taught me to work resourcefully and spontaneously. I feel as if there is no time to waste, and have become accustomed to working with whatever material I can get my hands on. When I feel blocked, I go back to the drawing board. I look at a lot of art during my down times. I go to museums, I walk outside. I copy art that I like. I continue to work, even if I feel I am producing very little. It's strange what comes out of these times. It makes it all worth it.

What are you working on now?
I have a few projects in the works. I am going through a sort-of boring but necessary phase right now of cataloguing all my of work up to the present. I've been really lazy about it, but I am learning more and more that organization in this area leads to opportunity.
I have been drawing a lot, too, in anticipation for the weather to break so I can realize some of these drawings on a large scale in my studio. Lauren and I are planning to exhibit this spring together with a two-wall, multi layered installation. All the drawings in the cold and scraps of paper cut will end up a part of this work.

(Above: Vinyl and collage on window panel)

Laurie Trok is a working artist in the Penn Avenue Corridor in Pittsburgh. She recently exhibited her collages and vinyl collage windows at Garfield Artworks.

Laurie studied Music Performance and Studio Art at Duquesne University and is currently working toward a residency program in the Grand Canyon. She plans to return to school in the fall to continue her studies.

To see more of Laurie's work and for contact information, please visit her Pittsburgh Artist Registry page.

Thanks Laurie!

Spotlight on.......Douglas Levine

I'm so happy to be able to share this interview with you! This person really inspires, encourages and supports me on a daily basis. His name is Douglas Levine. Once, I overheard him with a piano student saying, "Don't practice like a farm animal. You're hitting your head against the wall like a cow." I wrote that down in my sketchbook, and have a good laugh at it every so often.

(Photo: Douglas on the tiny plane during our trip to Belize taken by Lauren Braun. (He had a band-aid on his thumb.)

How do you maintain such intense focus on your work?
For me, nothing focuses creativity like a deadline. Collaborating also helps coral that sometimes elusive rascal, Mr. Focus. When I’m only beholden to myself and without a deadline—like just trying to work on ‘my own stuff,’ focus is much more inconsistent.

Do you ever get bored with what you're doing? How do you work through it?
One nice thing about having many creative hats (composer/arranger/performer/music director/teacher) is the necessity of changing it up with regularity. Nonetheless, drudging and uncreative projects present themselves. Like having to reduce an orchestral score for a smaller production. Or transcribing someone’s music from a CD or audio file. With luck, it pays well AND a deadline is looming.

What is your daily creative practice?
I used to make sure to practice the piano at least an hour a day, come hell or high water. Alas, this no longer seems to happen, as my focus has shifted to the writing. Writing is tough and slow, for me. Though I’ve been at it for over a decade, I’ve yet to find a consistent routine. It varies from project to project. I’d love to have a block of 4 hours a day to write.

Who/What inspires you?
I’m inspired by anyone who commits to the daily grind of being a creative artist, and manages to stick with it for the long haul. Nobody else can make your art, so if YOU don’t make it…a little trite, but true.

Who/what have been your greatest mentors, muses, influences or champions?
I’ve had some wonderful teachers, but didn’t find a mentor until my mid-20’s, in my graduate school piano instructor, Ralph Zitterbart. Grad school marked the first time I felt confident and settled in my choice to make music my life. That’s when Ralph came along…I wasn’t ready for a mentor prior to this.

What is your dream project?
I simply hope to always be working on a new music, dance or theater work that is actually in the pipeline for a production. To someday make respectable $ doing so is, I suppose, where the dream aspect filters in.

What has been your greatest reward, creatively?
To collaborate with the talented Marcus Stevens on the 3 year journey of writing and performing the new musical Eastburn Avenue. A second production (or new commission) will be the next greatest.

How do you feel about the music you create after it's all finished and being played?
I’ve had very few experiences with being able to listen to my own music being performed. The vast majority of my projects have included me as a performer. The times I’ve gotten to be a listener have, in recent years, been more fun and gratifying than when I was younger, and the self-critic would get the upper hand.

What is the best compliment someone could give you?
A couple of times I’ve received compliments to the effect of, “It’s not really my cup of tea but I came (to your production) anyway, and it really affected me.” It’s nice to know that your art can impact people at an emotional level.

By contrast, sincere compliments from artistic peers are also reassuring. I once hired a serious jazz drummer for a children’s musical I scored that had a swing and funk influence. During the first rehearsal I overheard him say at one point, half under his breath, “hip.” It warmed my heart.

What project(s) are you working on now?
Presently I have a healthy mix of projects, musical directing a big conservatory production for Point Park University, writing a new one-act musical, and preparing for two upcoming cabaret concerts.

Douglas Levine stays busy in his hometown of Pittsburgh as a piano soloist and accompanist, composer, arranger, musical director and teacher. He has written original music for companies including City Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Attack Theatre, Gateway to the Arts, Pitt Repertory Theatre, The Playhouse Repertory Company, Dreams of Hope, Renaissance City Women’s Choir and Pittsburgh Musical Theater. He composed the scores for the new musicals Eastburn Avenue (Playhouse REP,) Colorfast (Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater Festival) and Shakespeare Street (Playhouse Junior.) In 2005 Doug released Kromatica, his debut recording of original piano compositions and arrangements.

Thanks Douglas!

Spotlight on......Fred Betzner

In this interview, I talked to friend and funny man, Fred Betzner. Fred and I met as co-workers at City Theatre and now he has moved his employment location down the street to JB Booksellers where his new co-workers are graced with his comic relief and funny charisma. Lucky for them, sad for us.

You have a particular style/brand/aesthetic of humor, how did it develop and who are your comedic heroes and heroines?
Well, it's a rich tapestry. I think that, like all aspects of anyone's personality, my "style" has been influenced by a thousand different sources and shaped over such a long period of time that it's difficult to describe concisely. But I'll try.
I was very sheltered as a child, my father was a Christian Minister and my parents imposed many, some fairly arbitrary, restrictions on what I could watch. The one thing I was allowed to watch without any restrictions was Nick at Night, which, for anyone who doesn't know, would show sitcoms and dramas from the 50's, 60's and 70's after 8pm. So while I wasn't allowed to watch Roseanne or Cheers (both of which I believe are now on Nick at Night, makes ya think) I could watch as much of The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres and Mr. Ed as I wanted.
And I watched them constantly, I loved it, I really didn't feel like I was being deprived of anything (except The Simpsons, I was very upset that I couldn't watch The Simpsons) because those old shows are SO GOOD! And remain some of the best ever produced.
Seriously, you want a master class in physical comedy? Watch The Dick Van Dyke Show. Green Acres is one of the most absurd things that has ever been created, that show is INSANE!
So my early comedic influences were all from these classic comedies. I don't remember a whole lot about my childhood, but I was diagnosed with ADD (not the hyperactive version) and few things held my attention like television, I just absorbed everything I saw and when I wasn't watching it I was thinking about it (and getting in trouble for not focusing).
But it kind of made for some isolation in high school 'cause while all of my classmates were watching Bevis and Butthead, I was watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show (which frankly, is better than Bevis and Butthead).
Anyway, so I had this bedrock of the classics from my early youth, but once I started getting into 9th or 10th grade, my parents stopped caring as much and I got to watch Seinfeld and Newsradio and Wings (not a great show, but it had its charms) and David Letterman and, once I was in college, South Park.
So I guess in many ways, all of these styles and characters just stuck in my head. I honestly don't know how I would describe my particular aesthetic, though I hope it comes across as smart and inventive. I will say that I've always been drawn to the random, what is "funny" if not what's unexpected. And I am really interested in bringing back some styles of comedy that are, for all intents and purposes, dead.


How do you get through comedic block/writer's block, or a just a case of the plain old blues?
Ha, well if I knew the answer to that I'd be a hell of a lot more productive. And happier. Writer's block…honestly, I walk away from it until I'm inspired again, it can sometimes take, literally, years. The blues (or as I like to call it "crippling depression") don't so much present writing problems, in fact it often feeds it.

What is your life motto?
I don't really have one, so I'll give you two. One for life that I made up just now:
"Be nice to everyone except Douchebags (and be mean to them in a way that they don't get).

And for comedy, I'll steal one from South Park, "If you can't make fun of everything, then you can't make fun of anything."

The last time you had a deep, full throttle belly laugh-- what or who caused it and what were the circumstances of said laugh?
Oh god, I laugh out loud all the time, I don't even know. Probably something ridiculous one of my friends said...or at The Daily Show.

You studied film and theater in college, you bake amazing bread, and something tells me that you're a great chef!!-- can you tell me more about your diverse interests and how you find time for them in your daily life?
I'm interested in just about everything. I love learning about science, the law, politics, biology, the history of ridiculous things. I would hate any and all of those things if I dedicated my life to any of them but as it is I like finding out interesting things about them. And I love coming across people who love what they do. Someone who is excited about the most boring thing in the world can make it seem really interesting.

Let's talk about the Hodgepodge Society. What's it all about? What is your part in it?
The Hodgepodge Society is an ancient organization of wits, raconteurs, and erotic pastry chefs dedicated to the betterment of society through humor. Or well, that's the set-up anyway. In actuality we're a..."sketch comedy group" is probably the easiest way to describe it...though that's not wholly accurate. The whole idea came about after a close friend of mine attended a very depressing night of theatre (the kind of theatre that a friend of yours will do, and you have to go, and all their inner demons and, well, crippling depression are all there on stage for an hour and a half) and walked away drained saying to himself, why can't this just be fun. Wacky even! What ever happened to vaudeville? The idea is to have the zaniness of a Marx Brothers movie on stage, we're getting to that point, but most of our venues have been on the small side. I am one of three primary writers alongside Joe Lyons and Robert Isenberg who co-founded the group while I was living out of state. Since my return I've been primarily focused on creating content for our website which we are constantly trying to grow (and is in desperate need of an overhaul/face lift). I wrote a series of video shorts about the election which has gotten a very positive response; we also have a podcast that is a much more traditional sketch comedy show. All can be found at http://www.hodgepodgesociety.com/.

What creative projects are you currently working on?
Boy, I'm about to start writing a one act play for the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, I just finished our 6th Hodgepodge Podcast (or Podgecast) and we are about to start brainstorming sketches for the next batch, I'm at the beginning of the process of making a Hodgepodge video game, and we are MC-ing some comedy nights at the Cabaret Theatre downtown over the next few months.

What has been your greatest reward, creatively?
I love it when the things that I do connect and work on an audience the way I want them to and thought that they would. I like it when my instincts are proven correct. I'm not naturally very confident so it's nice when I make a choice that ends up working out.

What has been your greatest challenge, creatively?
Really, forcing myself to get motivated. It's not easy to work an 8+ hour day at a job that you hate and then spend a significant portion of your free time working on something that has little immediate tangible reward. I love having completed a project, but sometimes I just hate the process of getting there.

What's on your current reading list?
Ok, the first volume of Peanuts comics from 1950-54 as well as the biography of Charles Shultz, Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco which I've read before but frankly wasn't smart enough at the time to fully appreciate, John Adams by David McCullough, and a book about physics concepts as exemplified by comic books.

Who have been important mentors, influencers, muses, instigators to you in your development as a creative person? Why?
Well, I think I touched on many of these in my first answer; I'll talk about actual people here. My father could be described using many colorful adjectives, some flattering many not so much, but "funny" would certainly be among them (maybe "goofy" is more accurate, but you get the idea). In my adult life I've really tried to be as self analytical as I could be, because there are a lot of aspects of my father's personality that I detest, many of them the same ones that he claimed to hate in his own father. So I really have dedicated myself to not falling into that trap, to take the best parts of what has been passed on to me (and I do believe that to some extent personalities are passed on genetically, though I have no idea if that is a scientific reality) and discarding the parts that I don't like (a short fuse, a general inadaptability, etc). This may sound depressing, not to mention off-topic, but I actually think it's a really good life skill, and has led to a creative approach that I really like. The ability to watch something, really enjoy parts of it, separate out the parts you didn't and then learn from other people's mistakes has been very valuable to me.

Fred Betzner is a contributing member of the roving sketch comedy group, The Hodgepodge Society. He has a notable laugh. Sometimes he is very quiet but when you're lucky, he drops a comment into the conversation in a giggle inducing, high-pitched voice that could only be Fred. He bakes some damn fine bread and I also think he has a talent for cooking up some really yummy Italian food-- though I can't be certain. He also knows an awful lot about film- and on many occasions we've had long and complicated discussions dissecting mainstream and indie titles.

Thanks Fred!