the starving artist

has moved!!!

please continue reading the life and times of canh solo and frequent my new location on my official portfolio website!

portfolio: http://www.canhsolo.com/

new blog: http://www.canhsolo.com/blog

LIFE DRAWINGSSSS

some more

the one i did today is the best so far, but i dont have a pic of it :\

life drawing

life drawing

life drawing

life drawing

life drawing

life drawing

life drawing

life drawing (hella wrong forshortening)

1.5 weeks of class left!!

Yelp pisses me off

What’s yelp? “Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review, and talk about what’s great – and not so great –in your area.” Go ahead, log on to yelp and search Chinatown in Seattle, WA. Chances are the first couple pages are all restaurant reviews and to make matters worse, Dim Sum is in its own section outside of food. For many people, the International District seems to generate an exclusivist ego for those searching for “secret Asian goodies.” And Yelp, well it’s the ultimate outlet for those Lewis and Clarks who brag to friends and families about their newly found treasure, to allow them to brag to an entire community. Although Yelp uses the term “review”, I find it increasingly difficult to understand it if each reviewer is awarded badges of honor such as “elite member” displayed on their profile page and avatar. What exactly dubs thy an “elite member” of a community review website? I had previous notions that those who are “elite” demonstrate a particular knowledge or skill of a particular craft. And to make matters worst, users have developed slang terminology for popular locations such as Uwajimaya, now sadly known as “The Waj.” No offense Yelp, I usually enjoy reading what people have to say, but I am never fully convinced of what any one person has to say on Yelp.

here are some statements ive copied and pasted from yelp:
“It’s “The Waj”.

It’s Ranch 99’s trendy, but sweet sibling. The sister you strive to become. “

sounds like this person has some unsolved family issues

“There are so many unusual items at the Waj as it is affectionately called by locals.  I love that you can get more than just asian food here.”

as i read it, unusual items = asian food

“Can’t read the asian writing, or, don’t know how to cook a specific product that looks interesting to you? Ask someone who works there. Most of the time I have had no problem at all asking how to use a specific  sauce, or how find things that I needed for recipes.”

asian writing? wtf?

“What kind of dork reviews a grocery store? This kind, apparently.

When I was a kid I hated Asian food. I refused to eat it under any circumstances. Eventually I became old enough to drink and one very intoxicated evening I decided to cave in and try yakisoba. Ever since then Japanese food and I have been best pals.“

you’re not alone, there are thousands of dorks reviewing on that website, if you didnt notice.

“This is the best thing in the International District.  Amtrak is located nearby and there are plenty of buses running in and out of this neighborhood“

you would want to get out of the neighborhood immediately after your trip to “the best thing in the I.D.”

“Not much to do in Chinatown/International District; Uwajimaya is probably the biggest highlight.“

i have to respect your decision, i dont agree with it at all though

im not dissing yelp on this, just the people who post on yelp (the louis and clarks, the exclusivists egos, mostly white people)

ps,

yelp offers to remove bad ratings for a fee (for businesses)

talk about extortion:

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/yelp_and_the_business_of_extortion_2_0/Content?oid=927491

another great post about why yelp sucks:

http://feedmedrinkme.blogspot.com/2009/02/problem-with-yelp.html

ive been driving myself nuts

with photography

for the past few months, i havent been able to capture anything significant or worthwhile

its always been like this for me, there will be a few weeks or months of pure energy, passion, and dedication

and then it dries up

like a rasin in the sun

i dont have any desire to take photos

and i lose it..or most of it anyways

ive always been a firm follower of technique and high-techniques

this goes for everything, im obsessive with being structurally adaquet and foundationally secure

i guess there are certain fears that restrain me from not worrying about it

but ive never minded that

until i felt like i had not much more to go

NOW! this is not a sign of ignorance or extreme confidence (cockiness)

it is a sign of worry..worry of plateuing

or even worse, a declination of skill

that fucking bothers me (some times to depression..i know, hella sad.)

but it happens

i forget how to draw or take photographs

not necessarily forget, but will undermine what ive learned

when i believe that my subconscious will be able to deal with the rest if my hands are unconsciously moving

and part of that is true for most of art making when youre “in the mode”

and this is where the best products usually comes from

a spontaneity in the course of your work

but there is also a level of awareness you must have in order to continue your pursuit

as artists, you must be aware..photographers especially

and an open receptivity to your surroundings that essentially “free” us from our binding presets

not aiming for a certain response or ambiguity

neither blocking or absorbing our environment, but simply responding to it

this is my personal cure to artists-block

(or photographers-block..i dont consider myself an artist yet..read the title, ARTIST IN TRANSITION ^_^)

i take my camera outside, without any preset, pre-imagined, pre-anything photograph in mind

simply outside interacting and responding to the environment through the viewfinder

and ive been getting some great photographs doing this

regretfully, when i do have a preset image, i rarely am able to capture it

unless all conditions are in my  favor (light, texture, figure, emotion, camera model*, lens, etc)

that wont be happening anytime soon

here are some images from today that i took with an open and clear mind

(i realize there is no solidified way in actually achieving an open mind or any of this, we are all individuals who prefer different methods)

but this works best for me

there is no real conceptual connection between these images (yet? (;)

contextually, they are all black and white and geographically identical in locale

final project 1

final project 2

final project 3

final project 4

final project 5

final project 6

final project 7

***these photographs will be used in my foundations class freshman final project at cornish along with others, finished product will be done in 4 weeks along with artist statement***

**also, i never undermine actual technique, so as much as i like to say i have to be aware and receptive to spontaneity…i am also hoping for constant control of my technical skills**

hello april! how you doing? where you going? can i come too?

spring is here! or is it? seattle always does this..but the forecast shows that it will be sunny all week

SEATTLE VS FORECAST

will the returning champ be able to outwit the forecast yet again?

im not sure

i dont feel like writing much either..

here are pics from today! (4/5/09)

(emphasis on spring time and cherry blossoms..last year, they bloomed too early and died from the funky winter)

cherry blossoms

danny woo community garden

danny woo community garden

danny woo community garden

danny woo community garden

chinatown bulletin board

chinatown recycles

chinatown

chinatown

officially titled "sakura hadouken"

but  i got around something that i shouldve been doing years ago yesterday

I always went to bookstores to read while i was in the book store
because im cheap and not at all interested in reading at home

but due to extreme boredom
i bought three books yesterday

1) tao of photography
2) how to be a gentleman
3) art and artifice: japanese photographs of the meiji era

they arent considered the hardest or most intellectual read

but its a start right?

it feels like its going to develop into a good habit this summer

im even thinking about buying a book case

i also got the chance to meet mark dacascos and photograph him for an interview with the international examiner (or asian weekly?)

the current host and chairman of Iron Chef America and one of the best martial artist actors along with Jet Li (go ahead, type his name into youtube)

mark played in “Double Dragon”, “Legend of Bruce Lee”, “Only the Strong”,  “Cradle to the Grave”, and hella more

having the opportunity to meet and photograph him is still settling in

mark dacascos

mark dacascos

mark dacascos

mark dacascos

mark dacascos

mark dacascos

mark dacascos