MICA interview

Here I am again, trying to write this entry under a very tight deadline. So much gets left out….The big story this week is my open house visit to MICA. I think that, based on the impressions I got over the event, that I might have a shot. I had a very positive interview, where I espoused my idea that performance art could be so much better if someone of my sensibilities could produce some. Never mind that I don’t have any real burning desire to do any performance art. But I can see how my tiki/lowbrow aesthetic could be married with performance. In fact, I am already doing that with some of the work I am producing with Trixie. My interviewer said that she would (probably) endorse me as a candidate because I have not only the technical skill, but a grasp of contemporary issues. She also said that I would “shake things up”….So, I think I will take the plunge. This program feels like the right fit at the right time.  Besides, who needs $60,000 laying around anyway….

The next step in the process is to get letters of recommendation, which is a dicey proposition (and a scary one, it has stopped me from even starting applications in the past) because I don’t have any good academic connections lately…I still have a letter from Tom Parish, but for all I know, he could be dead…(as it turns out, he’s not…just retired) I will have to go through my old files to find who else I have asked in the past.

Hearing the students and graduates give their slideshows really gave me a shot in the arm. I can really see penetrating deep into my work, but at the same time I am scared that the “rarefied air” has some poison in it. I like the idea of having a year to absorb the lessons learned from this six week immersion…I think it will keep me from drinking the kool-aid. (Unlike some of the conceptual art cult that seems to be there…) I must stay connected to object making.

The sketchbook has had nothing but words in it. This signals to me that there is a reformulation of strategy going on….Thoughts:

Perhaps a self-portrait with cut paper is the next big jump.

Rigged Carnival games…as performance? Paintings will get caught up in the figure running the game…how to avoid?

Interviewer suggested that I get deeper into research about performance art…is the convergence between my painting and lessons learned from theater really where I want to go?

The other problem is getting ones thoughts organized and in one format! (From sketchbook)

Hillary Spurling---Matisse Biography

…Till next week Cash…