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**

the homie c-1st

Untitled

C-1ST

i

1988

c-1st

“I set out to not capture an image, but to express change. I don’t focus on a static, fixed image for nothing in life remains unchanged. Paying equal attention to where I place the paint as well as where I do not paint, are integral in the overall expression. Most ignore space and think that it is nothing, missing the opportunity for self reflection; my paintings allow the audience to take the time to gaze inward allowing the changes on the canvas to guide them through their emotions. Space and darkness are just as important as mass, light, and death. Change is an ever flowing river.”

- Artist Statement

check his blog out at http://c1st.wordpress.com/

Revisiting Chinatown

I love this place

it’s the first place i go to if i know im not doing anything, a thing ive been doing since the 7th grade..

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown

After 8pm, $2.49 Sushi!

Glowing Buddha

Waji

Ichi the Killer

Joy to the World

Chinatown

The Purple Man

Chinatown

What happens when Garbage trucks cant make it down King

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown

okay, im just putting it out there

im a 19 (running on 20) year old virgin

im not going to say that im proud or ashamed of it

im not going to criticize myself or anybody else

and it is definitely not a statement on my views and morals

i wish i could say i was saving myself (i hear that gets me brownie points)

i wish i could say that i had high morals for myself (i hear that gets me browie points)

i wish i could say i was catholic (definitely brownie points)

but im not.

its just how things worked out to become what they are now

now with that out there..i am going to further elaborate on why i think i’ve been single for so long (5 running on 6 years)

thats crazy right? not in a good or bad way, its just crazy! sure there were one or two flings in the middle, but in the end, i haven’t really experienced what 99% of my generation is obsessed about..hooking up, love, and having sex (i just graduated from high school)

okay, that may be a really broad view so im going to say it was a “joke” (read the previous post)

anybody who knows me knows that i think alot, often too much in certain situations

and its become rather unhealthy..but im okay with that

but whenever i talk to people about it, obviously they just dont understand what its like

i mean really though, should i expect them too?

this is what i hate hearing:

1) dont worry, youll find her soon enough

2) dont worry, youre time will come (wtf does that mean jared?)

3) dont worry, shes out there

4) dont worry

5) dont worry

6) dont worry

so i dont worry, i just think, think, think

but thinking too much leads to worry

so i try not to think about it

here’s what i do to not think about it

1) go into hermit mode

2) play video games

3) watch anime

and it seems whenever im out with my friends, im reminded of how much of a stiff i am

i know that ive become a good person, i dont know how much of it is due to the fact that ive been single for 5 years and a virgin

(my guess would be high..really high)

its one of those things where you count up the situations that couldve happened and how it couldve changed your life and you thank the world you didnt because of how you became to be who you are now

*4% of adults are virgins

im not saying were better and cooler or un-better and un-cooler, just that if you put us up against the 96% of adults that are in a dodgeball game, we would definitely lose…real bad

lets look at this chart

virginal college majors

from: http://www.earthfrisk.com/blog/?p=18

just a quick reminder, im an art major..seems like i should switch to math

so here is where it gets really interesting

this is my thesis on why the hell am i a 19-year old virgin majoring in art:

I’m an artist, its a work, a trade, a passion, a sub-culture, a life-style; but any of those require some amount of dedication just like anything else. But what is the importance of an artist in society? We aren’t mechanics, or doctors, or lawyers. We (those that lack the exposure to sell platinum records or million dollar paintings) do not make life that much easier for others, not significantly at least. And if we do, it isnt enough to be able to support ourselves. For an artist to be self-sustainable, to operate and function within the middle class (at least), the amount of dedication and work put in, i wholesomely believe, is immensely greater than it is with being a self-sustainable doctor. Of course right? Now im not going to say its harder or more rigorous, im opposed to criticizing the difficulty of one’s life and choices. We all go through it, thats my excuse for not wanting to hear your life story. But to put simply, to be an artist that can live off his/her work is rare (about 75% of artists in the nation have to have two jobs to sustain living expenses in this country).

With that said, i’m going for my bachelors in fine arts, knowing well that success is as slim as making the NBA and that attending an art college has merely transformed into a transition of becoming “a starving artist.” I’m paing $26,000 a year to eventually starve after I graduate (if they do not prepare me enough for the real world, not an artist community). I’m not going to starve literally, or possibly maybe..if worst comes to worst, but i’ll be starving: needing more, not having enough, malnourished, underfed, dying. So i have faith, i have to, i have alot of it, enough to pay pack a hell of a debt.

So i try to dedicate myself to a higher degree of learning and understanding myself and my art because they are both reflections of one another. But recently, the amount of photographers in the area has skyrocketed, i shoudnt even say photographers, more so picture takers. As Stephanie Slycooley has said, they are re-hobbyists. Now, im not against you carrying around your new nikon or canon DSLR (or sony and pentax if you really have to) but due to it, the interpretation of what photography beyond an art community and into real society has become vague, lost, and cheap. Because those people that carry their nice cameras label themselves a photographer by attaching their full name as a watermark on their picture, i am not being taken serious in my work. They have nice cameras, they take nice pictures, but they continue to struggle to find beauty within the photographs..simply because it doesnt exist.

All of this and many, many, many more reasons have led me to believe that to become successful n a world measured by dollars as an artist, i have to become better than my current self and offer more than what others can. But really? How can you do that in art? You can choose to hire the best doctor or knee specialist in the world to examine your fractured bone and you can have a japanese specialty mechanic do maintenance on your honda..you have those options of choosing the best. There is no “best” in art, only the most influential. It’s really all preference, and the goal is to be preferred by almost everyone

So as of right now, this very moment, i am in a state of permanent confusion. Always confused, thats the job of an artist. What the hell does that painting mean? That sculpture? This song? I know that the understanding of art is life long and longer, and its almost the same reason why many pieces of art is appreciated more after death.

So what does this have to do with girls? Well understanding yourself is key to understand others right? Girls cant convince themselves to take part of a serious relationship with an artist simply because he is a nice guy. Of course! It’s so damn true! He does’nt have and can’t promise any stability in life! Now i’m not saying all girls arent willing to, but at this age, within this culture, and how the views of most of our generation has been molded to conform to the popular belief of what beauty is, yes, yes i do think so.

Ahh.its really because i dont have any faith that a girl in her right mind ever would

date a guy like me.

now before you respond

things i dont like hearing

1) as long as youre doing what you love…

2) its okay (im not asking for help, im asking you to respond)

3) dont worry

ps

of course this whole thing is written for the girl i want in mind for a long term relationship, if i wanted an artsy girl, this would be a whole other story (joke)

two pieces of art

that deserve a post, i might do this more often though..since i am an art major :O

"Complex Shit"

A giant inflatable dog turd created by the American artist Paul McCarthy was blown from its moorings at a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a window before landing in the grounds of a children’s home.

The exhibit, entitled Complex Shit, is the size of a house. It has a safety system that is supposed to deflate it in bad weather, but it did not work on this occasion.

Tetris

If you happen to be wandering the streets of Sydney, you can find these oversize, illuminated Tetris block sculptures floating over your head as you walk through the narrow corridors of Abercrombie Lane.

The Giant Tetris (aka “One More Go One More Go”) is actually part of an outdoor art exhibition called Live Lanes – By George! which runs through January 31, 2009.

VIA www.kanyeuniversecity.com (Kanye West’s Blog)

“Street Art Blows”

Street art blows. That’s basically what it comes down to. It’s sad because as a medium it has so many possibilities, and while everyone is doing it, almost no one is doing it well. What’s more, no one is calling the shit brown. Instead, everyone is getting in magazines with half-baked ideas that have been half-baking for about half a month. Going out one weekend with some wheat paste and your digi-cam doesn’t make you a street artist. Posting it on your blog Monday morning doesn’t make you any good. We need to stop telling kids that what they do is good if it isn’t.

We have to start asking questions and stop accepting everything on the walls as good. We need to ask ourselves why it is important that this is outdoors? Would this be any good if it weren’t? Why does it matter that this is done where and how it was? How is this new and, most importantly, why should I care?

Street art has become the annoying little brother to graffiti. He is the one who saw something cool, but couldn’t quite pull it off, so he came up with a lame knockoff to impress his friends. The reason most street art sucks is because it is trying to be what it is not. Street art is NOT graffiti, so why treat it like it is? Designing a poster or a sticker with your image on, having 500 made and putting them up is not a challenge. You want a design challenge? Go tag. Take three to five letters; write them over and over again, outside, illegally. Do it on surfaces not meant to be written on with a medium not designed for writing. Do it for years while trying not to get caught and, on top of that, make it look good. Come back and then we can talk about design challenges. Street art practitioners should have different goals for a different medium. Quit stepping on graffiti’s toes, there are new challenges and new directions you can to go in.

Too much energy is being spent on making vinyl toys and painting on sneakers instead of actually innovating on the street. Street art should at least be outside. Stop selling us snake oil and give us the real shit.

Okay, you say, but kids are still going to do street art. Fine, so do it, just try to do something new and not something that has been done better before. Take something that hasn’t been taken, and take it somewhere different. Take a risk or two. Just don’t expect anyone to like it.

WE’RE NOT PRO-GRAFFITI / ANTI-STREET ART

We’re not pro-graffiti, anti-street art. A lot of people think we are. We think a lot of those people didn’t really read what we said in our statement, but perhaps it could use some clarification.

We think graffiti is mostly boring. It has sunken into the everyday background of the city; no one notices it anymore. You have to know something about it to be interested. The graffiti that gets the most attention is the non-traditional stuff, work that stands out and grabs the public’s attention. Street art has that potential, but it risks losing this edge if the market is flooded with bad, “non-traditional” graffiti in the form of crappy stickers, posters and stencils.

The flip side of this is that what is most interesting about graffiti can also be what makes it so boring. Graffiti has a tradition; it has clearly defined steps and sequences, levels and places it exists. The fact that this tradition was formed by inner-city youth without a profit based motivation and without the goal of a tangible reward is astounding. It was a groundbreaking idea and phenomenon. Now, thirty-odd years later, the tradition still exists in practice, but graffiti has been put in its place. It has lost its potency. It has been relegated to certain neighborhoods where it is allowed to exist, places where if it is not tolerated, it is not buffed. The initial mode of being seen that accompanied the movement, namely the trains, has been co-opted by advertisers and is no longer a viable way for writers to get up. Trains are painted today because of the tradition, not as a means to get noticed by the public. Graffiti today is an undeniable fact of the city, and while graffiti still is a form of rebellion, people are no longer surprised to see it. In this way, society has accepted it.

Street art lacks this limitation in that it has the potential, to stick out in to the non-initiated viewer. Our apprehension comes from the fact that street art is doing nothing different than graffiti, only it lacks the ingenuity. It is being used, by some, strictly as a medium for getting up. It exists almost exclusively in the hip, rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods of the city and is done mostly by art school kids. “Street art” is not the voice of the ghetto, it is not the voice of the voiceless.

Neither is graffiti today, really, but that is another topic. Our point is that tagging, as an action and a medium, has got to be one of the greatest design challenges of the late 20th century. Take five letters, make them look good, then go and write them big, bold and everywhere, illegally. As it has evolved, graffiti has expanded out of the ghettos and into art school. Most good art school taggers at least try to raise the bar, to have their graffiti benefit from their education as well as the tradition. Is it the same game as the kids in the Bronx were playing in ’78? Nope, but it acknowledges the work they did and admires the effort. Some kid sitting at home designing a sticker in Illustrator, then paying to have them printed and putting them up, while it may be a good design formally, has nothing on tagging; it benefits from it’s legacy yet ignores the craft and risk that is critical to the tradition. What is frustrating is that this kid can get fame in books and on the Internet because it is this new medium and market we call street art. Through self-promotion and stamp licking, this kid becomes famous because of his networking, not the net worth of his workings. It is co-opting the hard work of graffiti without the risk and with an ignorance of the tradition.

How many times have you seen some shitty paste-up over a fill-in? In the graffiti tradition, it’s grounds for beef. In street art, it is a prized commodity because the flick looks like you did your thing in the city, in a rough neighborhood with real graffiti. Graffiti is not a gritty urban backdrop for your poster, it is graffiti, and it is someone the voice of someone else. Beef with it if you got beef with it, go over it if you want, but be clear you are going over it, and unless it’s beef, at least try to top it.

Does this mean street art should only exist within the tradition and rules of graffiti? No, exactly the opposite, it should recognize the tradition and then acknowledge the differences. Does this mean graffiti and street art can’t co-exist? No, but the inherent differences should be recognized and street artists should try to capitalize on them as opposed to trying to do graffiti with stickers and stencils.

read more at: http://www.streetartblows.com/

————————————-

I’d pretty much have to agree with most of what is stated above, it’s so true. Most street art sucks! capitol hill especially

the snow is like the fog, you’ve got to take advantage of it but man does the pressure from that can get cold, cold enough to just say fuck it, i dont even wanna finish. i nearly got frost bite on my fingers, thats all bad news..and with it being so damn cold at night, its still HOT out! so watch your back

Mobbin in Lines!

Book

Book

Book

Design

my first book (;

hahahaha sike!!! this was an assignment for my foundations class over viewing the strategy of lines, mapping, collecting, and producing a “container of information”..its an actual book with actual stuff to look at and read inside so i was only lying about it being published..for now

i dare you to look inside..i double dog dare you

pretty good huh?

a broke artist

I just finished my intro to digital imaging class last week

which took up my tuesdays, my wonderful tuesdays

but now i have them back!

its now thursday, my other day off from being an art student..a day off from being a critical, self absorbed, non-matching, unappreciative, little jerk

god i hate being a freshmen all over again..but there is nothing like being an art student

sometimes i may be a little harsh on myself and others around me, like why the fuck am i here? and sometimes ill ask myself what the fuck are you doing here?

so lets try to answer that right now

im at an art school to pursue art, something i love..thats what were suppose to do in life..but another thing were supposed to do in life is make money..dont bullshit yourself, IT IS WHAT WERE SUPPOSED TO DO!

pursue art + making money = as likely as making it to the nba

its not impossible, but its not likely either

okay, so im probably being a little harsh on myself right now, but i have to be..because this damn school hasnt proved to be worth it yet and the only thing that is keeping afloat is that whisper in my head

“..its worth it..its worth it..“

but that whisper, is the same whisper that tells me i can make it, you know that whisper..its called faith

what scares me the most is, im not the “starving artist” yet, this is only a transition. a 4 to 6 year transition into becoming a full-fledged starving artist and this transition into the real world is going to be the actual cause of my inevitable starvation. loans, loans, loans..

would it have been better to just not go to school and make art in my bedroom?

nah, as much as id like to convince myself about how i am “wayyyy passed” what is being taught to me, i cant..ive learned alot of things, conceptual thinking, newer ways of working, a fresh thought process into art making..but is that worth $26k a year?

can that whisper in my head hold me up after college is done? or even til spring registration?

god i certainly hope so

THE PHYSICS!!

So my phone died yesterday, after a year of loyalty..my samsung blast gave out

here’s the bulletin i posted on myspace

“it has to be a cool phone
and by cool i mean it has to function
and by function i mean it has to match with my coach bag (kidding)

im looking for anything!!! hit me up asap

ill trade you for a photoshoot (; or cash”

Thig from The Physics (check out the first set of photos i did for them) hit me up offering his blackberry curve, now im no tech-wiz (contrary to popular belief) so im still struggling to learn how to use this thing, but here is the short shoot i traded them for the phone

check out the physics music at www.myspace.com/realphysics

oh and my phone contract expires tomorrow ><

The Physics

The Physics

The Physics

The Physics

The Physics

The Physics

had sushi today with keo, ian, and jared…nothing new about that

kept it under the $10 mark

cuz im a starving artist (;

im just broke, not starving

YES!

Okay, so im finally going to commit myself to this! my personal blog..so personal that i’m sharing it via world wide web :S

i’m just documenting my commute, art, thoughts, struggles, accomplishments, ups, downs, life and times through a lens..a canon L lens (;

i’m also going to try to be 100% honest with myself and you all..starting here, step one:

My name is Canh Nguyen, not Canh Solo…I’ve always had mixed feelings about my last name, i mean really..half of the vietnamese community has the same last name…or tran..and i wont tell you how to REALLY pronounce it, because even i cant (nuwin..?)

I jacked canh solo, yes..from han solo..the epic hero of star wars (surprising how many people dont know who he is)

but my friend khelil crisis (thats already a dope name, dont waste it!!!) aka khingz (okay, so you want another dope name) aka blacc han solo (greedy arent you?) had the name before me, just putting that out there..are you happy now? i bet he wont be until i find a new name..canh crisis?

im 19, and i dont feel that much different from 17, just waiting for 21..i dont know why though? i mean i dont drink (i dont drink enough) to be super excited about it..

lets see what ive done on my big 18 list

1) go to a strip club (not)

2) smoke (not)

3) buy lotto (not)

…and i dont remember what other wack ass privelage came with the big 18..some would say i havent lived enough..tin’s said that to me actually, after she told me she hated me..and now look at us! were like..the best chums

but im not a square (i swear to you!)

im the coolest 19 year old vietnamese from seattle, washington that was born on march 1st, 1989 that has an older brother, a younger sister, and the hardest working dad in the world

i go to art school..art college is what i like to call it, because it makes it seem like its harder than it is

BUT IT IS HARDER THAN YOU THINK! THAN I THINK! THAN WE ALL THINK!

damnit!

so even if you LOVE what you do, there are still struggles..inner struggles, questions, no answers, and the search for eternal balance..nirvana, yip yap..the mayo between the bread..duh

doesnt mean its going to be easy, nope..i threw myself out there by declaring my career straight out of high school with the preconceived notions (just as you thought) of that which has to do with art making (it being easy breezy beautiful cover girl)

its hard people!

god..im glad i got that off my chest