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It’s been pretty great being able to be in the studio all day, everyday…even if there is no AC.
The posts allow for the big center gear to be attached once the other 8 sections are bolted together.
Spent most of the day figuring out how to mount the main gear for the vault so that it could be removed.
Figured it out with some 4×4′s and 1″ dowel rods.
Excellent trip to the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga today. They have made some great choices for their recent acquisitions.
It took too long figuring out how I was going to cut the gears for the bank vault. I tried projecting them and using lots of math but finally found a gear generator app online. It allowed me to print the gears, spray mount them to the wood and then cut them out. It was still a lot of work, but it’s done.
Classes ended a week ago and I’ve been in the studio every day since. Right now I’m working on getting the vault bolted all together and the pistons aligned. I’m also painting all the for sale and foreclosure signs; these should be done very soon.
After months of reworking a series of diptychs, I’ve decided it would be best to spend my time on something else. I repainted the series dozens of times and just never felt like they were right. On my way home from the studio last week I was struck by just how many homes are for sale or are in foreclosure. In just a 30 minute drive I saw well over 30 signs. I went back and photographed them and started making mdf cutouts of their various shapes. So far I have 31.
I’ve been out of town for the week visiting the sights, sounds and sometimes the smells of New York City. After the Met, MOMA, New Museum, Pulse Art Fair and several others I also managed to create and order fabric to create six ties. The pattern for each of the ties is based off and and designed around the logos of the top 6 bailed out banks. I am thinking of displaying these in white shadow boxes with a tie in the center and American flag pin to the right side, signifying a lapel. The often hidden relationships formed between political figures and major corporations served as inspiration for this work.
Today I started working on a series of ties for bailed out banks. I’ve been intrigued by images of corporations, specifically CEO’s. An image I found recently showed the top three bailed out bank executives walking alongside each other. Each of their ties were remarkably similar, having a strong diagonal pattern. I also started to notice images of ties with tiny American flag pins on the breast pocket. Pulling up logos from various corporate entities, I found a recurring pattern; the color and overall design of their logos are uniquely patriotic. The Bank of America logo is very close in design to the US flag while other designs such as the JP Morgan Chase logo have a distinctive “trust us” appeal.
I also came across this website which discusses “The Power and Meaning Behind Bank Logos”
I used the JP Morgan Chase logo to create a repetitive pattern that I then transferred to a blank, white tie. The results were pretty good, but I am now looking to having them printed by the yard.
