Day One Road trip...

     I did not leave Eugene until almost one o'clock, admittedly a late start on a 13 day road trip which would take me about 1000 miles away from home.   I got on I-5 south long enough to pick-up HWY 58 which crosses the Williamette Pass.  I jumped out of the car only once and took a few shots, knowing there would be a lot more snow shots to come on this trip.  (and yes there was that anxiety about my late start).

     After that I drove south on HWY 97 till I got to Klamath Falls.  Cute town.  Wouldn't wanna live there.  (Didn't even take a photo).  Good cheap place to get gas though.  South of Klamath Falls is this little road called HWY 140.  I had never been on it before and was not sure whether it was passable or what elevation the summit was at.  It was a dreamy, easy ride because on that weird little road I found a small town called Bly just loaded with the sorts of things I am looking for on this trip.

     This great little bldg was constructed in 1899.  I love that they repainted the 'Wild West Show' mural.

     And right around the corner was a second hand store that probably hasn't been opened in years.

 All this stuff was just sitting outside.  (Maybe it's worth more 'gone' than anything else).  There were several old glass fuses,  3 old clothing trunks and even an old bathtub rusted beyond repair.  Quaint but basically worthless except to summon up that nostalgic feeling some of us adore.

     
     Next place I stopped was on the outskirts of town.  Two abandoned buildings caught my eye, one right across the road from the other.  How could I not stop?  Yes I did see the 'no trespassing' signs but I figured if I am just taking pictures I am not hurting anything.  The first one was cute and small.  The huge old handmade yellowstone bricks and the signage caught my eye.  "South Fork Trading Post" the handpainted sign read...

     I looked around the back and found the door had already been opened by someone else.....and inside was an old piano.  Does this say Jeanette Wall's 'The Glass Castle' to anybody else?  If you haven't read that book it's a short, intense read featuring several old shacks and a scene with a piano that you will never forget.

   The place across the street was once a beautiful country style home with a huge inviting porch.

      It too had an obvious 'No Trespassing' sign.  (I take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints).  I peeked into the hole where the window had once been and found the remnants of a life once there.  Perhaps several lives now located on the other side of town or some new horizon several miles away.  The turquoise chair says 1970's but I have no idea whether this place has been squatted in after it was abandoned by it's owners.

     I took a little hike around the back and came upon this... (the next big windstorm is going to take this down.) 

     After traveling for a hundred or so miles I finally got to HWY 395 and a little town called Lakeview.  Must of been the same guy that owned this place because they too had several 'valuable' items just sitting out there on the dirt sidewalk.

     and around to the side more junk presumably for sale....

    I continued down HWY 395 till about 9 that night.  Tired, I found a Super 8 motel in Susanville.  It was Friday night and I forgot that high school kids in small towns often rent motel rooms to party in.  There was a group of them hanging about smoking cigarettes around the entrance to my room.  I did get some good sleep after the bozo next door turned his TV off.  But the wireless internet was so bad I couldn't download these pictures onto my blog.   But that did give me time to post some pictures on Facebook and mull over Day Two.   (to be continued) Yona c. Riel

Andy Warhol at the JSMA

    I went back to the JSMA last night for a second view of the Andy Warhol/Gus Van Sant show.  This time I was accompanied by my friend Karol.  As we walked up to the museum there were several thousand small flags on the lawn

    I thought it was about the number of deaths in Iraq, as it has been in years past but this one was about children being sold into slavery in the U.S.   I recently read a story by Dan Rather on this very subject.  Disturbing.  Unfortunately most of these little flags had Jerry's or Home Depot printed on them making it look more like a advertisement for them.  Here's another shot...

    We went into the JSMA this time to hear the curator's talk about the show.  Turns out the guy I had thought was Gus' lover was in actuality one of the curators.  You can see them both, one standing by the 140 polaroids taken by Gus VS, the other up front talking about the show.

    They pointed out during the talk that most of Gus VS's work was done in black and one because he could get a negative from that particular polaroid film and enlarge it but most of Andy's polaroids were in color so that he could use them to inform his silkscreens.  Also Andy was smitten with a polaroid camera called the Big Shot and the museum just happened to have it.

   It might not be that easy to tell in the picture but what a huge and awkward camera.
   In the show, at least for Andy's side of it, the curators arranged the silkscreens by the polaroids that informed them.  For me, as a artist, I found adding the depth of an artist's process into the show made it better than most shows.  I enjoy seeing how an artist gets from idea to finished piece the way a carpenter might like to know another's experience with certain types of wood.
    The first series of photos are all Mick Jagger.  There are three of them...

    The curator talked about Andy literally undressing Mick with his camera.  From what I can tell Andy did that with all the people he worked with.  Sexuality played a huge role in his work as did idol worship.  (It makes me wonder what Andy would have thought about shows like American Idol if he were still alive.) 
   Following is the silkscreen that came from the 3 polaroids above..

  The next subject of Andy's work is Debra Harry who was the lead singer for Blondie.  Here's a few polaroids that Andy took of her..

   and here is the print that he made of her.  Everything is in black and white excepting her huge red lips.  The curators talked about how silkscreening something reduces it down to an image with the fewest of details and how that process was perfect for making a piece iconic. 

      The next subject of Andy's camera was Truman Capote.   This first one is the polaroid...

  and the next one is the silkscreen that became of it...

   It's interesting he has completely erased the body in the print and makes me wonder if Warhol simply did not find him attractive or if he thought the hat, the eyes and the hand with a cigarette defined the man.  Or both.
     The next silkscreen is of just a torso, duplicated with red lines accentuating the gestures.  We know more about the pose or the way the artist feels about a male chest than we do about the identity of the subject...

   The last three silkscreens of Andy Warhol's are ones that are not famous and also some of my favorites.  The subject matter is fruit.  The museum did not have the polaroids to go with these silkscreens so I just have pictures of the art.

    There were a few other exhibits going on at the same time, most notable was the camera work of Weegie and the installation work of Nam June Paik.  I was impressed by both of them and I hope if you make it to the show you will make time to see these two other exhibits.  Very worthwhile in my opinion.
  Lastly I would like to mention the show in Portland, at the PDX Contemporary Art on Flanders street.  It is of Gus Van Sant's 'cutups' and goes through May 29th.   As always your comments are greatly appreciated....  Yona c. Riel

Gus Van Sant and Andy Warhol at JSMA, opening night...

   I began the evening grateful that a friend decided to accompany me.  I had been searching for a week for a warm body but it wasn't until I went to Saturday Morning coffee with the girls that I found my companion for the evening, my old friend Eva.

   As we were approaching the exhibit Kitty, the much loved mayor of Eugene was walking out.  (I am wondering as I write this if she had her own private showing or had somewhere else to go...I guess as The Mayor you got to do a lot of hit and runs in one evening.)
    After we said "We love you Kitty" we stumbled into an already packed maze of people on the first floor of the museum and it was only 10 minutes after the doors officially opened.  I immediately asked for directions to the 'Gus VS show' then Eva and I headed upstairs into even more people many of whom were crowded around Gus Van Sant.  I perused the walls beautifully arranged with polaroids as I waited for the moment when I could get a word in with Gus.  There was a tall faggy guy (I say this in an endearing way) who looked and acted like he was both from Portland and Gus' best friend.
    "Remember when I wrote that song?" I overheard him asking Gus, "Well it was about him" he says as he is pointing to one of the 140 polaroids that were displayed like a giant montage.  "Whose this?" I heard him ask, "and whose this?"  "What film were you thinking about casting her in?  Oh my god that is Kelly Lynch"....  It went on like this for several minutes, Gus patiently answering the bazillions of questions thrown at him by the numerous people surrounding him.  (Later I heard he is quite shy and somewhat of an introvert.)
     Finally after looking around some more and noticing the quality of the enlargements from the polaroids I went up to Gus and asked, "How did you get such great quality from a polaroid?"   "Well when you shoot the 665 polaroid film", he said,  "you get a positive and a negative.  So you just put the negative into the enlarger and you can make them as large as you want since the negative is basically 4x6 just like the picture."
   I was stunned he had saved all those negatives because most people, including myself, unthinkingly throw them away.
   I started taking pictures with my IPhone so I could post them on my blog.  I took a picture of Gus while I was close enough to do so but it came out too blurry to identify.  I also took a picture of the director of the museum who was wearing a fabulous dress that looked like it was made from newspaper.  That one didn't come out either.   But this one of Charlise Theron came out beautifully.  I love the way the shadow from the window blinds cross her chest and her short butchy haircut...

      This shot of Daniel Day Lewis came out great also.  This was one of the polaroids that Gus had enlarged to larger than life size.  It was almost like he was in the room...

   It is fascinating to me how other artist do their 'work'.  What tools they use and how they make their decisions in my mind defines an artist.   From the information I gathered Gus would often try out actors who did not have agents.  He took the polaroids to remember use in visual arrangements with others that he was thinking of casting in the film to get an idea of how they would look together.  Often he would write their name and contact information on the back of the polaroid as this would be his only way to find the person if he did decide to cast them.
   (Polaroids, for me, are embedded with instant 60's nostalgia since it was the only camera I remember my father ever having.  He bought it soon after our move to America and it became a frequent guest on camping trips and family days at the beach.  When he first got the camera he would take photos all the time and these became a documentary of my childhood from 10 yrs of age on.  Okay, enough about me.)
     The next picture will be familiar to many.  It is of Keanu Reaves.  I am guessing he is 18 yrs old here, possibly younger.  He starred alongside River Phoenix in one of my favorite Gus VS movies

'My Own Private Idaho'.  It was one of the first successful movies about gay men.  Gay hustlers no less.  I still love the movie.  It spoke in a real way about the bonding that takes place between people who share a 'subculture'.
   The next picture is of the late River Phoenix who after 14 movies and just as he was rising like his namesake overdosed on heroin and cocaine.  In the picture he looks so young and innocent it is difficult to believe.  And it makes me sad all over again for the loss...

     Next is an icon who appeared in more than one of Gus' films.  Perhaps you will recognize the infamous William Burroughs who it seems only does cameo performances.  Apparently he was a good friend of Gus VS' and informed much of his work.  WB also worked with Gus on music videos.  William would recite his poetry and Gus would make music for the poem.

 

     It's a little blurry but I think the picture of Burroughs sort of suits him don't you think?
   I took several more pictures of Gus Van Sant's polaroids, some recognizable and some not.  First there is Jennifer Connelly again looking quite young...

   Then there is this beautiful portrait of David Bowie.  That white triangle under the right eye is a classic portraiture technique and suits him well...

  

    Most of Gus Van Sant's polaroids were arranged on a large panel.  They were also in black and white since that is what the 665 film came in. There were 140 of them arranged on a 4' x 6' panel.  I didn't recognized many of them which is why it was great that Gus answered "Whose this and whose that?" all night.
    I heard him say he took his camera to the Independent Spirit Awards when he was nominated for 'My Own Private Idaho' and this is why the 3 Coppola's are included on the giant panel.  The Coppolas were up too high so I couldn't get a good shot of them.  But you'll recognize this next guy if you are even a little versed in quirky filmmakers....

     It's John Waters who has strange black makeup on the right side of his face....
    The last of Gus VS' polaroids is a very young Nicole Kidman.  She starred in To Die For, made sometime in the early 90's...

       By this point it was time to walk down to the room where the food and wine were being served.  They had chicken rosemary sandwichs and lots of makings for a salad and dessert.  After all that looking and talking about art a cool glass of chardonnay was in order.
     From there we hit the photo booth which was 3 dollars for 2 sets of 4 different pictures.  There was a steady line all night.  Most people came out laughing.  Cheap thrills, and you even get a takeaway.    
     Since Gus Van Sant was in attendance that first night I spent the majority of my time there focusing on his work.  I intend on going back to the show on Wednesday when the curators will be speaking about the hows and whys of the show.  I will do an entirely different post on Warhol's work.  Thanks for reading and as always your comments are welcomed.... yona c. riel

Day two... when your dreams turn to dust maybe it's time to vacuum

    I got out of Susanville at a reasonable hour.  (For me 10am is good.)  My hopes and expectations for the day were so high they nearly went through the roof of my truck.
     My plan was to drive south on HWY 395, through Reno/Sparks and into California to find one of my favorite haunts from the early 80's.  I had a girlfriend back then that was building a house for her parents in the area.  When I visited her she would always take me in her old Chevy truck to miraculous places.  One of those places was Buckeye Hot Springs.  Buckeye is seven miles up an unmarked gravel road.  Once you find the area you can park in it's a harrowing walk down slimy rocks.  Meanwhile right next to the hotsprings the Stanislaus River is crashing down it's bed making melodramatic harmonies.

     The local people who know the area often go down in the spring once the snow has cleared and build up a pool for the 120 degree water that comes out of those slimy rocks.  If you get too hot in the 'pool' it's just a step over a pile of rocks into 40 degree water.  You have to hold on though, especially in the spring because the snow melt makes for a furious current. 

    As you can see in the picture I was a little early.  There is no way my truck was going to make it through even a few inches of snow.   Any sane person would have left it at that.  But my hopes were so high (especially after finding the dirt road), I locked my truck up and walked up the steep and snowy road till I could walk no more (about 3 miles).  A voice in my head was saying 'this is no fun, I'm tired, blah, blah, blah' and another voice kept answering 'just one more hill and if we don't see it we'll turn around'.  (yes, I do talk to myself).  After about an hour the voice who wanted to turn around finally won.  I could feel the tingle of tears start to irritate my eyes.  (Disappointment is one of my least favorite emotions.)
     So I walked all the way back down the road, and took a few shots of the view.

   And a long shot just so I could show you where I was.  (which was about 6000ft up on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Range).

  I drove back down the gravel road and several minutes later I reached Bridgeport.  It's a red-neck town from way back (gold miners and desert rats).  It hasn't changed much in the 20 years since I had last been there.  The only business I could find open was the bar where I quickly met 'Mr. No' and 'Mr. I Don't Have Time For You'.  I asked whether Buckeye Hot Springs still existed.  Mr. No said "It's up there alright but if you drive your truck up that road it ain't coming down till the snow melts".  Then I asked about Bodie.  Mr. No said that was off limits.  That someone was up there last week.  Caught a ride with someone else.  Apparently I have lost my skill at getting information out of red-necks.
    So I got in the truck, drove down to the cutoff for Bodie, went around two roadblocks and when I was a mile and a half away I found this sign with a was a big green locked gate that I couldn't drive around.

    While I was sitting there reading it and thinking about riding my mountain bike up the road a green 4 wheel drive pickup with a man and a woman in it drove up.  The woman jumped out and unlocked the gate.  While she was out of the truck I asked her if I could ride my bike up there to the site.  She said, 'You could if the park was open.  It closes at 3 everyday'.  Major disappointment number 2 for the day.  So I turned around and took a couple of landscape shots.  The sun was just getting low enough to make the snow iridescent.

       If I had gone ahead and broke the rules I would have had some backlit ghost town ruins to show you.  But as they say 'When your dreams turn to dust maybe it's time to vacuum'.
    So I drove down to Mono Lake.  It too has changed in since I'd last been there.  There was a lot more water in it than I remembered, obscuring the majority of the salt formations that make it amazing.

    I then drove to Bishop and checked the pricing on a few hotels.  The cheapest was way out of my price range.  Besides in the 20 years since I had been there it has changed dramatically.  They now cater to people who can afford to have cabins up there and go skiing during the winter.  In the spring they cater to those who play golf.  Cheapest hotel was over a hundred bucks.
     Lone Pine, with a population of 1000 and an all night howling wind turned out to be where I ended day two.  I am happy because I caught up on the blogging and the internet was pretty decent.  Stay tuned for day three which will be a trip through Death Valley and some ghost towns in Nevada.  Thanks for reading....  yona c. riel

day five... Jerome, AZ

     Many years ago when I was 15 yrs old I took my first 500 mile bike ride.  It was with American Youth Hostels and we rode from the rim of the Grand Canyon to Wickenburg AZ via HWY 89a.  It took us a week and the second to the last night we stayed in what was then a ghost town, complete with a haunted 'hotel'.  That is the first I'd ever heard of Jerome and I have had the fondest of memories ever since.  So now, 40 years later I had to go back.

   These days Jerome is a thriving tourist town, complete with overpriced shops and lots of things to spend your money on.  I went into several shops one of which was the Jerome Artist Coop. I talked at length with a 60ish woman who was a fiber artist.  There were several interesting pieces to photograph but I limited myself to just a few.  First is a painter...I really liked his work but I sent the card to someone without remembering to write down his name. 

     The next few pieces are assemblages, Jerome style...at least I got the name of the artist in the shot....

    I found the subject matter of the next painting, the Sunset Motel, on the road back to California... I wonder now just how many Sunset Motels there are in the US? 

    Here's the picture I took a few days later of a very old 'Sunset Motel' sign in a tiny town that I swear didn't have a name.. (more on that story later)...

    I am pretty sure this was the bldg we stayed in.  At the time it was vacant, no beds, no hotel, just a place to sleep.  We, all 15 of us, including myself (the youngest) and a 71 yr old guy (the oldest) put our sleeping bags out on the old wooden floor and we all slept together in the same big and supposedly haunted room. 

     My how things have changed.  It is now the Jerome Hotel and a spendy (over $100/night) place to stay.  After I figured out I could not afford to stay the night in Jerome I left a few hours later.  But on the way out I captured a few images that were of the old Jerome, the one I wanted to see.  I love whatever this stuff is lining the sidewalk.  Something about big rusty parts gets me every time..

       And here is a front yard on the way out of town with lots of very weird yard art... That's an old piano holding up a taller aspen branch playing a blue plastic guitar.  His girlfriend (or band mate) is a little more developed being plaster applied to a wire mesh figure and pretty close to looking like a woman (although weathered and somewhat deteriorated).

     Right up my alley.  And despite the tourist flavor of the strange contraption below I still thought it was pretty cool. 

    I left town via HWY89A and thought I would stop in Clarksdale and/or Cottonwood, but when I got there nothing perked my interest enough to stop.  Also after talking to a 60ish woman in the artist coop (who happened to be a fiber artist and who also told me about this great technique she was doing) I decided against going to Sedona because it would be even more touristy than Jerome.  So I turned off HWY 89a onto an even more remote road and that meant I had several opportunities to take photos as I drove down the mountain.  I still love driving steep mountain roads with hairpin turns every few miles just like the ones I used to seek out on my motorcycle.

    It also meant I got to Arcosanti in time for the 3pm tour.  I am going to post more about Arcosanti tomorrow but I will say what a fricken awesome place.  Here's a few teaser photos...

      Good nite you all and thanks for reading.  I LOVE to hear your comments as it keeps me connected to you and lets me know your reading.  If your really into it you can google Arcosanti and get an idea of what I am so excited about.