M O S S O N W O O D

A-ha!

Art Slob has moved onward and upward to Seguin Township, Ontario.












My new blog is MOSSONWOOD.

C'mon over and bear witness to all of my sustainable forestry adventures in the northern wilds of Canada!

Bill

RIP

I've decided to stop posting on Slob Art and Gallery Crawl.

Thank you for coming by now and then to say 'hi'.

I plan to start a new blog in the future and will let y'all know about it here.

Bye for now.

Bill

Gone Fishin'

Was happy to nosh on some very fresh Lake Ontario salmon this afternoon, washing it down with some cold lager.

Many thanks to buddy Steve Tso for manning the rods while I was at the trolling wheel.

Doesn't get better than this.

PetMate

Oh, I love this auto pet feeder...
FUTURE NOW!!!

Live/Work Art Studio

I'm looking for a new pad a t the moment. Yesterday I went off with visions of a groovy live/work art studio place. It didn't quite work out like I hoped.

The first thing I noticed outside the purple/green/yellow building was the vomit on the sidewalk and about 30 stuffed garbage bags in various stages of decay along the wall. The place was infested with young punk rockers and a capped soda bottle rested on the stairs 3/4 full of urine.

The shared bathroom sink managed to hang from the wall despite the fact that it had been smashed in two. An aging note was taped to edge, 'Out of Order'. The formerly white plastic shower stall was in shades of gray and without a curtain.

The Willy Lowman landlord pushed through the carcass of punkers out front ('carcass' the herd name for punks) to show me the 'studio' for rent inside. One of the guys called out, "Don't kick out Frank' as if I was the landlord's enforcer.

The purple 'studio' had two doorways - without doors - a skylight and those crap 70's office drop ceiling panels half smashed to bits. "So this is it. Except we've gotta put a hallway down this back wall", said the landlord. "I don't trust those guys not to piss in my milk", I say. To which the landlord replies, "You get a bar fridge in your room", he replied. Not that they wouldn't piss in the milk if they had a chance.

I passed.

The Move: Update

Just to let you know how the move is going....

Time Out

I'm moving!

The new pad has no Internet connection, so posts will be few and far between for a while.

Alaskan Polar Bear Heater

Winter blues got you down?

'Alaskan Polar Bear Heater' (This drinkie's for the old folks - sorry, kiddies)

• 2 shots of vodka
  
• a little rum
• some bitters
• a smidgen of vinegar
• a shot of vermouth
• a shot of gin
• a shot of scotch
• a little brandy
• a lemon peel
• orange peel
• cherry
  
• some more scotch

• mix nice

Bill's Ice Hotel

As much as I enjoy the rustic charm of my artist's garret, it's time to move on.

Behold, my new swank digs. Many of our friends south of the border have never seen a typical Canadian snow chalet.

They're quite popular up here in the wintertime.

Pimp Hand

Still from Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain

Came across the hilarious on-line Urban Dictionary.

Of the 15 definitions of 'Pimp Hand' on offer, I think this one covers it...

PIMP HAND

1. (n.) A sign of virility, strength or social efficacy. An informal measure of one's ability to mack, pimp, or generally to get play, action or get your freak on. Generally characterized as "strong" or "weak."
2. To "exercise one's pimp hand": to increase one's skill at short-term sexual interactions, or to demonstrate such.
3. One's ability to control one's bitches.
4. A back-handed slap, used to emphasize superiority, or a forthcoming need to choke a bitch.

1. Damn, son! Yo' ass picked up some *fine* bitches last night! Yo' pimp hand is strong!
2. You're losing your touch, man. Come out to the club tonight so we can exercise your pimp hand.
3. His strong pimp hand keeps his hos in line.
4. You gonna take that shit?! Introduce yo' pimp hand to that bitch ass motherfucker!

Gallery Crawl: Bring on the Paper Horses

Here's the latest edition of Gallery Crawl served up both hot and cold.

Snowdown in Toronto

Another fun round of snow dump in Hogtown this weekend.

I couldn't believe my eyes as I walked through the park.... Some nutty film students put a sofa and a couple of young actors in t-shirts outside to do a scene. The poor actress sat freezing as a wankjobpunk director pondered the camera placement.

Art!

An Artist's Life

Ever wonder what an artist's garret looks like?

Well, the ceiling looks like this...

"The ceiling's falling!"

The Consolation of Old Age

What do I look forward to in my Autumn years?

French New Wave movies I have yet to see.

InSite: Temporary Public Art

Was thinking about doing some public art yesterday - paint doesn't dry too well below 10 Celsius - and came across an organization in Milwaukee called InSite (visit website here).

InSite acts as an artist/community g0-between to arrange the installation of temporary public art in the community.

Ah, heck, I'll let one of the founders explain it (see video here).

It's a great idea!

Gallery Crawl - Leap Day Edition

Wandered out on a gallery crawl this cold February 29th in search of great art.

Here's what I found...

'Killer' Knut

Came across a hilarious news headline from London's Daily Mail...

Still think I'm cute? One year on, cuddly Knut has turned into a 22st killing machine

Killer Knut

So the cute and cuddly 'Knut' polar bear at the Berlin Zoo is one year old and is doing what comes naturally. Guess we shouldn't feel too bad about the polar bears kicking the bucket as the polar cap recedes - all they want to do is chew on little kids.

Cute Knut

Gallery Crawl: Is it Sculpture?

Howdy, folks!

C'mon over to this week's Gallery Crawl installment where I explore new Toronto art. This week, let me know if you think the artwork at the Diaz Gallery is sculpture or something much more sinister...

Tunes - 'Sex Bomb'

These days I am into the Tom Jones version of Sex Bomb.

Painthand

Bill's Painthand

Used the back of my hand to paint with this evening. Hey, if Turner can finger paint, I guess it's OK with The Academy.

'Onro' Painting: Start and Finish

Start

Here's a quick snap of my first paint gestures on the canvas.

I like to get something down as it comes intuitively. Then, sit back and feel my way forward.

I'll post the finished painting when complete.

And here it is...

Finish ('Onro' Bill Pocock, 2008) 107 cm x 107 cm

Hard to believe the initial black on gesso brush strokes would lead to the finished white over gray 'Onro' painting. At various stages along the way, I made decisions which radically changed the image. My method seems to be building up a painting on ruins as if it were an ancient city. Each is related to the other and are interconnected.

The first thing I did was flip the 'start' canvas upside down.

The Handlebar (moustache) Club

Came across this great men's club in London, England. The Handlebar Club.

The qualification for membership is:
"a hirsute appendage of the upper lip, with graspable extremities"
and, in addition, we specify that beards are not allowed.

Here's some of the members...

Gallery Crawl: Feb. 7 - 9, 2008

Come smell the new Toronto art on this week's Gallery Crawl....

Art TV contests

The TV producing gods are at it once again with a sort of art star search show idea. The latest incarnation is on the Project Runway model. Only instead of fashion designers, they would judge artists. Read about it here.

Here's some of my thoughts as I ranted to a close artist friend....

The whole idea is flawed because it would set tasks for an artist to fulfill. I agree with art critic Robert Hughes when he says the job of the critic is to express how one observer confronts a work of art. The critic is not in the position to pronounce certainty.

It's essentially an art school model where students are assigned tasks. Once an artist begins to 'wade into' his/her obsessions and create individual work, the artist can no longer be told what to do. The artist tells.

So, in a show that eliminates artists based on perceived critical value assessments of work done within specified criteria of time, and subject, and material, nothing is truly resolved. It comes down to how well an artist pleases judges.

To quote one producer...

" [Art is] something we consume every day... whether it's your favorite coffee mug, an ad in a magazine or a mural you drive by on the way to work."

Produce a painting in a week. What if your method takes a month, a year?

Every one has to make a sculpture. What if you're a performance artist?

Paint a landscape. What if you're only interested in the human form?

I think it's asking artists to jump through hoops like circus animals and is totally irrelevant to their own, very specific practice.

The analogy to fashion design is faulty. Fashion designers operate in a commercial trade demanding a wide variety of skill sets to satisfy industrial demand. Fashion design is creative craftwork - not art - in my view.

I offer Giacometti as an example. For me the absurdity - beyond exposure - of the TV project is clear when we consider how Giacometti would fare as a contestant. Giacometti created very specific, focused, intense works. Imagine dictating an assignment to this artist outside the realms of his specific obsession with the human form. Imagine demanding Giacometti make a conceptual art work. Ridiculous. To sit in judgment for approval? He would take a puff of smoke, maybe smile, and walk away. That's what I think.

Photo: 'Alberto Giacometti' by Henri-Cartier Bresson

Writer Needed

I'm looking through Craigslist ads and came across this awesome advert...

I need a writer to write a short story about me driving in a lamborghini with the top down eating tons of food, with a hot naked girl. if you are interested, please send me a short sample of your writing. please write a couple paragraphs about me driving in a lamborghini with the top down eating tons of food with a naked girl. If i like what you send i will commission you to write the full piece. about ten to twenty pages. i will pay twenty dollars per page.

I love it.

Portrait of a Young Painting

The evolution of a painting. Approximately eight days from start to finish.

I like it at this point, but I'm gonna take another
crack at it. Maybe I lose the painting, but I'll take
the chance. At least I'll have the picture....




I much prefer this one to the previous ones.
The other painting was lost, but as I look at the
photo, I don't care for it anymore. Let's get lost.


'Double Cross' Bill Pocock, 2008 (BP080207-114114)

G1313 Sandwich Board

I joined the board of a local non-profit art gallery - Gallery 1313.

Here's one of my good deeds. I took an old sandwich board and refurbished it for a new gallery look and feel. At least on the sandwich board.

One thing I learned while painting it? A new respect for the fine craft of sign painting. Damn it hard especially with the toxic fumes and 10 cent brushes.

I'd like to say never again, but I'm too old for that.
.

Gallery Crawl: Feb. 1 - 2

Ever want to see what a block of ice looks like on top of an organ keyboard? Check out this week in Toronto contemporary art at....www.gallerycrawl.ca
.

John's Hair

I recently reconnected with a childhood friend, John. I only know what he looks like from his on-line photos. One thing I do know is that John has great hair and he wears it 1001 ways.

Here's two of his hair styles. One regular, one funked.

Regular.

Funked.

Gallery Crawl Jan. 24 - 25

Just banged off the latest installment of Gallery Crawl. This is my on-going journey through Toronto's Contemporary Art World in all its gory.

PICK OF THE WEEK: 25th anniversary show at InterAccess.

And now you can see more of my ga-roovy paintings for sale on-line after the jump....

Oscar's Revenge - BP071221-202805

Click to enlarge

I've started to digitally catalog some of my 2007 paintings. In addition to all the regular info I add some thoughts, ideas, fond memories or frustrations about the painting.

Read somewhere this was a good idea because people want to know what a 'real' artist thinks about all day long.

Because I'm special.

Nonist 080120

Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF)

Blogger, the nonist, wants you to say hello to his little friend. It's an awesthetically pleasing former scientific satellite.

"...when it comes to certain items I have the tendency to objectify, to glaze over purpose and function and context and just splash about in the shallows of aesthetics."

See the full January 20th, 2008 post at the nonist (space and science tags).

Bravo, sir. Bravo.

wet, wet, wet

I've been painting away like a happy little piggy in the mud.

Some people might want to barf, looking at this painting, but it's nice to remember it fresh.

'Sebastian's View' Bill Pocock, 2008

Premier Endorsed!

Last night I went with an old buddy to The Albany Club - Toronto's ancient conservative party digs - and had drinkies with none other than Ontario's 22nd Premier, Mike Harris.

Imagine my surprise when the old man - nice guy, good speaker - took one look at me, admired my luxurious mane and exclaimed, "You should run!" That was good for a laugh.

I ordered another round and wondered where I should run to....

Making the Rounds

Many thanks to Andrea Carson over at VOCA for pointing me to a nice article on why people collect art. One collector had a good line...

"Collecting is being there in the trenches every week," he says. "It's time-consuming but very gratifying when you go to hundreds of galleries and then finally, something stands out."

Only by seeing so many art shows - that your brain starts to melt - do you find the occasional artwork that stops you in your tracks. That's special.

I get the feeling that too many people decide they want some art for their home, go to a couple shows and find something that's the best of that small sample. It's gotta move ya baby!