El Kookooee 2009

El Kookooee se quema 2009

Gabriel and I went to see el kookooee burn in the south valley last night (10-25-09). The say in Albuquerque's South Valley, but it isn't actually Albuquerque, it's Bernalillo County, fortunately a place apart from the sprawl-ville of Turkey Town. El kookooee is essentially the boogeyman, Latin style. A giant effigy built to scale and scariness and symbolizing the past year's regrets and missteps (or lies, affairs, petty crimes, and bad things we do but don't necessarily get caught doing). Participants write their regrets to the kookooee on paper and set them with the effigy to burn after sunset. That's how I understand it. 

We arrived early at 5p.m. Gabe played with all the kids on the play set as the chilly wind blew and partly cloudy skies obscured the sun in a very Fall-like way. The crowd started to thicken and we ran into some old friends and art types who are involved in the construction of el kookooee. As the night got on and chillier and the Aztec dancers finished dancing and drumming (finally!) they lit it up and el kookooee burned. Fabulous. Gabriel loved it. I recommend this event to all but, you know what, maybe just stay away as it is nice with the modest and friendly local crowd. Check the pics...

El Kookooe

Gabriel and crowd

It burns...

The moon's out too

More burning el kookooee

The crowd and the sparks 

Two images from Dreams and Trees

Here are some other images of new work from Dreams and Trees.

Rio Grande Amanitas (post fire beginnings), 2009

Mountains Can Be Spaceships, 2009

Dreams and Trees

Sustainable House, 2009

I opened a new show at Box in Santa Fe last night. Everything was well hung, lighting was hit or miss, daytime lighting is reportedly better. The opening was uneventful. No fist fights, just a handful of familiar faces and old friends and a thimbleful of new ones. My work seemed over the top full of color compared to other artists' work in other spaces of this large gallery. I like and am proud of my colors and I am pretty amazed that other current art so frequently follows the "muted colors if not just black and white hovering above the grey gallery floor" dictum established sometime between 1965-1980. Now, I know this isn't always the rule, but I won't say another thing. Bright and surprising colors rule. It was good to see one or two new "ur" pieces in my show- the pieces that will likely be the keystone cores of more significant work to come in the next years. Be warned.

Santa Fe's Railyard District

The new and improved Railyard District is definitely new. Box Gallery has a great location and easy parking with a dance/performance studio in part two of the yellow clad building. A new contemporarified corrogated-type clear story window sporting mononlith has been thrown up on the lot as well. You see this building everywhere in New Mexico these days. Once an interesting new building style, now just boring i've-seen-this-everywhere pile of materials that houses post hipster businesses. My other complaint is about yet another Flying Star chain location down the tracks. Known in my circle as Flying Butthole, this Albuquerque based chain restaurant-cafe-what the fuck is it has locations everywhere. Who is patronizing this place? Over almost ten years I've seen this business go from a quality food- interesting community focal point in Abq's Nob Hill to omnipresent way overpriced out of the freezer tasting food shitty service turn your pockets inside out money taking street thug type place that I can't believe hasn't filed for bankruptcy yet. Who eats at that place?

The Drive

The drive up and back to SF was good. Especially up during the late afternoon light of Fall. The clarity of sky light and landscape colors (especially Fall purple asters and yellow chamisa) was enough entertainment to satisfy for a couple days and then some. Just to the side of this beauty was another type of visual stimulation: developement and "progress". The arching-urching-hurling-banging sprawl that is rio rathole continues to consume the landscape north and west of Albuquerque. Every time I witness this I have the same questions: how far can this go, where are these people coming from, and what do they do to pay the bills? Other notable development is in Algodones just to the side of the highway. I'm sure this type of development happens elsewhere, but why do so many people want to buy overpriced new houses next to the noise of the highway in New Mexico? And on it goes. Note the land for sale signs dotting the entire ride up to or down from Santa Fe. New Mexico is for sale to the developer who can bribe the most connected politician and the dopiest mid western snow birds with money to burn from a life of drudgery in the flat lands. Also note the tumble weed sprawl in the highway median along the Rail Runner tracks and "no cross" barrier the whole way between SF and Abq. Glad we're hitting the road today for smaller places.