SHARK CAGE FROM CHICAGO SHOW
Here's
what SEEMEN are up to these day 7/28/04
Go see a movie!! going to the polls is as easy as going to the multiplex ask Michael Moore http://michaelmoore.com/index_main.php GREAT PICS OF FALL 2003 SHEW http://www.freewisdom.org/gallery/2003-10-24-seemen 6/25/04 Saturday July 3rd, 2004 with the Butthole Surfers' INDUSTRIAL BAND THE JACK OFFICERS and the Austin texas robotics group and a bunch of other acts!! at 357 Blue Star Arts Complex San Antone, Tx. yee hawww!!!!! see full press release: http://www.seemen.org/booking.html 6/8/04 YAY! President Reagan finally died! He helped kill my brother Andrew by never speaking the word AIDS or addressing the issue until like 7 years into the crisis, what a BIGOT. It was always rumored his ballet dancing son was gay, they hated each other, as did all of his children, so that must have had something to do with it. He was senile when he took office, and a blundering fool, kept in the dark by his fiendish handlers and was in an even DARKER black hole of darkness and senility when he left office. here's what that pariah did while he was in office: http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=7817 Reagan enhanced the role of the Republican Party as the primary vehicle for the sale of influence to corporate decision-makers eager to undermine the national government, the only institution powerful enough to confront global commercial interests seeking to evade environmental, labor, and other standards of conduct. By evicerating public authority, bankrupting the public treasury, and projecting a sunny personality to deflect the critical evaluation of his actual job performance, Bush continues the tradition Reagan began. 6/4/04 Well what happened? did shows at the coachella music festival, http://www.coachella.com/main.html it was ok, too hot 106degrees, the promoters treated all of the artists like shit, i did see some really good bands, at least. did a fundraiser for my friends' new warehouse, helped the BIKE RODEO with one of their shows hanging out with KRISTA a lot. my computer crashed and i lost everything, i mean everything, the book i was half finished with, 7 years of notes, press, letters, proposals, the whole foundation. I can't even imagine starting over. my new(used) digital camera crashed My leg got infected bad, i have been in and out of the hospital for 3 days, finally went to emergency and got hooked up to an IV, it seems better, but still hurts. i lost my glasses, here come the medical bills. 5/27/04 A very absurd breach of civil rights, and attempt to stifle art, an attack on artistic freedom. sheer ignorance and a Colossal waste of money. Please help if you can, becuase, well, we are probably next. http://www.caedefensefund.org/ 4/14/04 we now have a tribe!! thanx karen, sign yerself up and get BUSY!!! http://www.tribe.net/tribe/servlet/template/pub,TribeCard.vm/tribeName/seemen 3/27/04 I am working on a bunch of stuff these days, cleaning out the warehouse, incredible 9 years of junk and dirt, i have run out of space and filled this place up. .Sadly cannabalising some old machines and robots for space, building shelves, throwing out stuff. Working really hard on endless political activism stuff, specifically art shows this SEPTEMEBER 11, 2004 until at least Noverber 2, 2004 the day of the presidential election, it is going good and i am trying to get everyone to do art about the election and free speach and funding for the arts and a whole host of other issues. more on that later. This is a no-brainer and every artist is responsible to speak out, this is not the time to be meek or silent! and i am starting to write a how-to book on kinetic art and robotics, my style. i have been told it takes 2-4 years to write and publish something, i may just self publish a simpler manual first, we'll see won't we. anybody checked GET YOUR WAR ON lately? http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html 3/21/04 lots of new videos! 3/16/04 here is an amazing article on fear, terror, and real cuases of death and what you should realy be afraid of: A RUN ON TERROR The rising cost of fear itself Posted on Thursday, March 4, 2004. Originally from Harper's Magazine, March 2004. By Luke Mitchell. http://www.harpers.org/ARunOnTerror.html 2/10/04 I am in an Art Fair The Armory Show, New York, N.Y. March 11 - 15 2004 , go see my small machine, it is in the JACK HANLEY BOOTH! yee HAW! Shit, this is where MARCEL DUCHAMP got famous!!! 2/24/04 umm, hey! i am in a show in Lucerne Switzerland. the show is entitled "minifesto", it is opening next week in the city of lucerne. in the kuntspanorama which is run by stephan witmer my small walking machine is there, it delivers drinks like a good robot. 2/19/03 Damn, Sarah Jacobson is dead Hackett benefit went swell http://www.madagascarinstitute.com/ http://www.monkeyview.net/id/4/shows/hackett_benefit/index.vhtml Jack show rocked http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/jack/index.vhtml ODEON Show was good! i don't know when i first met sarah, she just appeared on my map in sf in the early 90's we always gabbed and made time for each other, both of us being notorious drunks, we musta seen something alike in each other, then one day she was moving away, i was bummed, but, so many pass thru sf, we kept in touch and we wouild hang out EVERY time i went to nyc, 3 times in the past year alone, she so wanted to come back to SF and see the old gang, she said it every time. i stayed with sarah for a week in nyc this past fall on one of my trips there for a show, she was so rad, putting up with me in her cramped apt. talking about being underground underapreicated artists, the endless struggle, tryin to figure out how to help each other, up late every night yakkin about the old days, old friends, both of us teaching now, both of us tryin to be more sober... she was such an inspiration, really at peace with herself now tho i am stoked i knew the WILD-ASS sarah too. she was so damn punk rock! we worked very much the same, bookin our own gigs, at any expense, we were trading zen quotes and inspiration stuff the last night i stayed with her, i read her this one, A CLARITY HAPPENS WHEN YOU REALIZE THE ART DOESN'T CAUSE THE SUFFERING, IT GOES HAND IN HAND WITH IT, THE ART NECCESSITATES THE SUFFERING TO BE WILLING TO SUFFER FOR YOUR ART IS ONE THING, BUT TO REALIZE THE CREATION NECESSITATES MY SUFFERING, IT GETS MYSTICAL, SOLVES THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. , and she asked me to re-read it a 2nd time, she paused and says in a whisper fuck yeah kal she was always coming to my shows, so positive a couple of times this last fall despite being in pain. shit i didn't even know she was sick with cancer. what an amazing women, going on and on about my work and how it was the most amazing experience for her to operate one of my machines, the world is a little dimmer now. i am so sad..... i now have someone to remember as i try and keep making art that is important, an inspiration to channel thru hence she may live on by her inspiring me and my work love to you sarah more on Sarah: http://www.sarahjacobson.com/ http://www.indiewire.com/rememberingsarah/ http://amazingforums.com/forum2/SARAHJACOB/ http://www.indiewire.com/people/people_040218sarah.html http://www.theavclub.com/avclub3316/bonusfeature23316.html http://www.kulture-void.com/ecg/jacobson.html Sat, Feb. 14 the big 5th anual SEEMEN VD DAY SHOW at the Odeon here in SF A LIVE PERFORMANCE With THE BIG MACHINES and ROBOTS by SEEMEN At the ODEON BAR Saturday February 14, 2004 $6.00 admission 10pm-2am 3223 Mission Street @ Valencia San Francisco, California AND! A SUPER LOVELY SEXY VD DAY PERFORMANCE with SPARKLEMOTION! audiences are encouraged to Interact and operate their machines and robots. You get to run a machine that can kill you. IT'S FUN! !!!ATTEND AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! Neither SEEMEN nor any of it's members shall be held responsible or liable for any LOSS, DAMAGE, OR INJURY arising from any activity organized, sponsored or promoted by SEEMEN or the presenting organization anywhere in the universe, forever. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR GROSS NEGLIGENCE AND ENDANGERMENT TO YOUR SAFETY! !!!ATTEND AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! Friday feb. 13 Party/fundraiser for Chris hackett and madagascar Institute at SOMARTS in SF I am running a piece and showin videos and who knows what else! 1/21/03 i have an art show coming up: Kal Spelletich Machines, Robots and Videos OPENING FRIDAY NIGHT FEB. 6, 6-8 PM with BEER-DJ RAGI DA LAWYER-DANGER FREE! the show lasts from: February 6 – February 28, 2004 AT: Jack Hanley Gallery 395 Valencia Street @15th Street San Francisco, CA 415.522.1623 http://www.jackhanley.com these pieces are based on interactivity and audience participation. Most are prototypes for 20’-40’ tall public sculptures. Some of the pieces in this exhibition are about: The Fourth Dimension Sound 15, 000 Volt Kisses Whirling Dervishes Alchemy Time Travel Polygraph Tests Valentines day Love Sex Machine Sex Robots that respond to your emotions and Bio-morphic Inputs Machines With Emotions 1/5/03 A short documenterary on the SEEMEN is playing at this film festival in Park City, UTAH. It will be playing twice. 1/17 3.30pm and 1/20 also at 3.30 at the address below. http://www.freedomcinemafestival.com/ and at this here INDY film festival in SF 3 SCREENINGS http://www.sfindie.com/ Frday 2/6/04 -5PM Roxie Sat. 2/7 -12 PM Women's Building Sat. 2/14 -2:30 PM Oakland Metro -2nd & Broadway 12/19/03 helped a lot with Bill Daniels' installation down at the center for the Arts, it looks great and Bill rocks!! A NOAH'S ARK!! it is up for a few weeks http://laughingsquid.org/squidlist/calendar/?event=5642&day=18&month=12&year=2003 if you have a San Francisco Library card you CAN GET IN FOR FREE THERE, anytime, SOME sorta deal with the library, but they don't advertise it cuz they are, ahh, weird shall we say. 12/9/03 election day here in SF, a fantastic friend, MATT GONZALEZ is running against a corpeorate swine, and Matt is in the green party and a very humane artist truly representing the people in my community, we shall see how we do against the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, BILL CLINTON, AL GORE, jessee jackson??!! A WAR CHEST of millions, and being outspent 11 to 1, this is such a noble beqautiful fight, win or lose it has been a great slap in the face of the REPUBLICRATS! and, my class at SF State is finishing up and our student show is there this thurs the 11th, 12-3 pm in the ART BUILDING on campus, c'mon by and see the machines and robots!! Sunday Nov. 16, '03 helped with two fundraisers sunday, 1st San Francisco Liberation Radio had all of their equipment ripped off by the feds, tho the airwaves are public property, somehow the FEDS they are threatened by a tiny micro station, i ran a couple of machines on the street (hugging machine and a apir of monster snappy jaws you talked to and the jaws snapped back) in front of SPANGANGA as they had a garage sale, it was a blast, AND 2nd: had my second MATT GONZALEZ mayoral fundraiser gig at my place! it was a blast and a LOT got achieved, thanx to my chefs and all those who helped, you know who you are! 11/8/03 Helped Chicken John with his fundraiser to get his warehouse legal last night, it was a blast., Helping/volunteering with the Matt Gonzalez Mayoral Race here in SF, a lot, it is really exciting someone GREEN and cool may get elected to our devestated city! And have been teaching Robotics and Electronics all semester at SF State, which is a blast and Very rewarding, and working on THE GYROSCOPE, gave a speach on building housing/communities/workspaces as the buildingblocks to the SF Housing Commission (it takes 10,000 artists touiling away to get the one in the Museum of Modern Art and there is no reason the city needs to fight these 9,999 who are just as good and just as valid), hangin with my sis who is very sick, and may collaborate with Chris Johanson again, and Bill Daniels and Craig Balwin's film, may look for another teaching gig, Trying to get my documentation together froms years gone by and another FULL show here in the city IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS! THINKIN Sat. Nov. 22, '03 ºº–º•º¶•∞§£¢¡£∞•¶ª≠º≠≠–ª•ºº¶ª¶•∞¶§∞¢™£¡™¡¢∞∞£§§¢¶∞•ª¶ºª–ª≠≠–≠–º≠–≠≠≠––ºªª•¶§•§∞¶§£∞¢¢™¡¢¢£∞¶•ªºª–º–≠≠≠ª 10/24/03 pics. from shew http://www.goodcindy.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=seemen&page=1 http://www.freewisdom.org/gallery/2003-10-24-seemen Date: Fri Sep 12, 2003 NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Johnny Cash (news), a towering musical figure whose rough, unsteady voice championed the downtrodden and reached across generations with songs like "Ring of Fire," "I Walk the Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues," died Friday. He was 71. Cash, known as "The Man in Black," died at 3 a.m. EDT in Baptist Hospital of complications from diabetes that resulted in respiratory failure, said his manager, Lou Robin. In his songs, Cash crafted a persona as a dignified, resilient voice for the common man — but there was always a dark edge. One of the most haunting couplets in popular music comes from "Folsom Prison Blues," which went to No. 4 on the country charts in 1956: "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die." His deeply lined face fit well with his voice, which was limited in range but used to great effect to sing about prisoners, heartaches and tales of everyday life. As news of his death spread, other musicians praised Cash for his independent, rebellious streak that made him a powerful influence in country, rock, folk and gospel music. Cash had been released from the hospital Wednesday after a two-week stay for treatment of an unspecified stomach ailment. The illness caused him to miss last month's MTV awards, where his "Hurt" — a cover of the Nine Inch Nails song — won for cinematography. He had battled a disease of the nervous system, autonomic neuropathy, and pneumonia in recent years. His second wife, singer June Carter Cash, who co-wrote Cash's hit "Ring of Fire," died in May. "I know that the angels will sing today and heaven is a better place with the addition of Johnny Cash," said country singer George Jones, a longtime Cash friend. "I'm sure he is happier now that he is with his beloved June." Singer Dolly Parton said, "Johnny Cash has only passed into the greater light. He will never, ever die. He will only become more important in this industry as time goes by." Cash wrote much of his own material and was among the first to record the hippy songs of Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson. Cash said in his self-titled 1997 autobiography that he tried to speak for "voices that were ignored or even suppressed in the entertainment media, not to mention the political and educational establishments." His career spanned generations, with each finding something of value in his simple records, many of which used his trademark rockabilly rhythm. Cash was a peer of Elvis Presley when he began recording in Memphis in the 1950s, and he scored hits like "Cry! Cry! Cry!" during that era. He had a longtime friendship and recorded with Dylan, who has cited Cash as a major influence. June Carter Cash, who partnered with him in hits such as "Jackson," and daughter Rosanne Cash also were successful singers. The late 1960s and '70s were Cash's peak commercial years, and he was host of his own ABC variety show from 1969-71. In later years, he was part of the Highwayman supergroup with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kristofferson. In the 1990s, Cash found a new artistic life recording with rock-rap producer Rick Rubin on the label American Recordings. He was back on the charts in 2002 with the album "American IV: The Man Comes Around." In his 1971 hit "Man in Black," Cash said his black clothing symbolized the world's downtrodden people. Cash had been "The Man in Black" since he joined the Grand Ole Opry at age 25. "Everybody was wearing rhinestones, all those sparkle clothes and cowboy boots," he said in 1986. "I decided to wear a black shirt and pants and see if I could get by with it. I did and I've worn black clothes ever since." John R. Cash was born Feb. 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Ark., one of seven children. When he was 12, his 14-year-old brother and hero, Jack, died after an accident while sawing oak trees into fence posts. The tragedy had a lasting impact on Cash, and he later pointed to it as a possible reason his music was frequently melancholy. He worked as a custodian and enlisted in the Air Force, learning guitar while stationed in Germany, before launching his music career after his 1954 discharge. "All through the Air Force, I was so lonely for those three years," Cash told The Associated Press during a 1996 interview. "If I couldn't have sung all those old country songs, I don't think I could have made it." Cash launched his career in Memphis, performing on radio station KWEM. He auditioned with Sun Records, ultimately recording the single "Hey Porter," which became a hit. Sun Records also launched the careers of Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and others. Cash recorded theme albums celebrating the railroads and the Old West, and decrying the mistreatment of American Indians. Two of his most popular albums were recorded live at prisons. Along the way he notched 14 No. 1 country music hits. Because of Cash's frequent performances in prisons and his rowdy lifestyle early in his career, many people wrongly thought he had served prison time. He never did, though he battled addiction to pills on and off and received a suspended jail sentence in 1965 on a misdemeanor narcotics charge in Texas. He blamed fame for his vulnerability to drug addiction. "When I was a kid, I always knew I'd sing on the radio someday. I never thought about fame until it started happening to me," he said in 1988. "Then it was hard to handle. That's why I turned to pills." He credited June Carter Cash, whom he married in 1968, with helping him stay off drugs, though he had several relapses over the years and was treated at the Betty Ford Center in California in 1984. Together, June Carter and Cash had one child, John Carter Cash. He is a musician and producer. Singer Rosanne Cash is Johnny Cash's daughter from his first marriage, to Vivian Liberto. Their other three children were Kathleen, Cindy and Tara. They divorced in 1966. In March 1998, Cash made headlines when his California-based record company, American Recordings, took out an advertisement in the music trade magazine Billboard, celebrating Cash's 1998 Grammy for best country album for "Unchained." The ad showed a young, enraged-looking Cash making an obscene gesture to sarcastically illustrate his thanks to country radio stations and "the country music establishment in Nashville," which he felt had unfairly cast him aside. Jennings, a close friend, once said of Cash: "He's been like a brother to me. He's one of the greatest people in the world." Cash once credited his mother, Carrie Rivers Cash, with encouraging him to pursue a singing career. "My mother told me to keep on singing, and that kept me working through the cotton fields. She said God has his hand on you. You'll be singing for the world someday." Cash lived in Hendersonville, Tenn., just outside of Nashville. He also had a home in Jamaica. 9/4/03 The show at BLASTHAUS http://www.blasthaus.com/ was fantastic, it was killer seeing Christian Ristow and being in a show with him again after all of these years, There was a line down the block most of the night to get in, I ran the MONKEY ON YOUR BACK all night, with a LOT of help from the spectacular JONATHAN FOOTE! He rocked and did all of the hacking for the piece and the interface boards, he has allowed my work to go way off into the stratosphere technically. I gave away a shitload of beer and people mastered the interfaces of the monkey superbly well, what a blast, Support this gallery, the only one dedicated to art and technology and taking risks with intense machine art. The show is up until Oct. 4 2003. Yeah. Just got off the phone for like the 30th time with some bozos representing the DISCOVERY CHANNEL http://www.discovery.com/ What idiots, They called and called and came over and interviewed and went to my shows and on and on and ate up a ton of time and wanted to do do a special on me but, but, but, we can’t shoot the actual work because of liability, then I said gimmee a camera and we will do it, but they were still scared, so I said to use some footage we already have, still scared, then I suggested I shoot it myself with my own camera, I would borrow one somewhere, but they are run by lawyers. The entire time thry were terrified and scared and confused, Which is excellent, That is the job of art to do, Actually quite easy to do to a bunch of corporate yuppies, Until they finally talked themselves out of it, Truly pathetic people, mealy mouthed scardy cats, worried about what the rube at the next tier up is going to say, These clowns couldn’t videotape a kitten playing with a ball of yarn without 40 meetings, written proposals and 40 people scamming a salary from it, but nothing for the kitty, no way, that would be a “conflict of interest” bureaucracy at its worse. The weird thing is all of these leaches are on payroll eating up my time while I am not getting a cent, it reminds me of when I used to have Lollapalooza stalking me year after year eating up my time for proposals and budgets, but never coming thru or paying. Scum I feel all dirty, Thank god I saw THE SEX PISTOLS LAST NIGHT! http://www.sex-pistols.net/main.html What a fantastic show, With kids of all ages enjoying ANARCHY 8/26/03 pics from BLASTHAUS show last week http://karenmarcelo.org/rx/ http://laughingsquid.org/pix/2003_08/art_of_machines/ http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030901&s=scheer0826 Nice observation by Maribeth Back: http://xenia.media.mit.edu/~mbb/ O v e r v i e w :Machines are, in theory, designed to be efficient, convenient, non-intrusive. They blend into our environments seamlessly as non-threatening and often aesthetically pleasing tools. Machines are everywhere: a ubiquitous part of the enhanced environment. Some are autonomous, while others are tightly coupled with the human body: prosthetics, communication devices, even jewelry. This gentle encroachment, combined with ongoing research toward machine sentience, forces us to consider machines outside the context of mere tools. They are part of our social, emotional, artistic, and even spiritual context.California has been ground zero for extreme machine art and robot performance. The combination of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, plus a technically skilled volunteer pool, plus decommissioned military bases and piles of discarded equipment, has created a fertile breeding ground for a virulent mechanical 'arts and crafts' scene with a hacker ethic. Emerging technologies such as augmented reality, increasingly versatile and robust sensors and actuators, computer vision, artificial life, and virtual reality are appropriated and subverted by these artists in order to experiment with alternative scenarios for extreme human-machine interaction. 6/23/03-7/21/03 back from nyc, for the 3rd time these past 8 months, kinda gettin over it there, the show went well, i was surrounded by cameras and people the whole time, kinda felt like i was in a fishbowl. the MONKEY ON YOUR BACK was a big hit, i was in a big group show, the first couple of hours with the public demonstrating it was a bit taxing, really straight white people, mid-to upper class, hmmm, then i started to feel more subversive and turning all of these unsuspecting people onto my weird work, you could tell, it just kinda tweaked some people, it got to be really fun, but tiring, i kept thinking of duchamp at a paris science exposition, it was in like the 1930's, trying to market his optical illusion invention, later in the day more hipsters and freaks started showing up. the other pieces were, well, ok, lots of people just starting out in the field of robotics/kinetic art, which was evident by their work, the usual "sound/music" pieces and drawing machines, very Tinguelyesque/1950's-60's, that's the kind of work you do when you are starting out, but gadz, these horrible "music" pieces were blaring through the space for 4 days, the same monotonous sounds over and over, it was torture, it made me pretty loopy. i started to make a game out of it, trying to develop their melodies, adding my own dynamics and refrains,,,,,,,,,,,,, ghees, well, those folks are in the kindergarden of the field, kinda like when you start painting and you go to abstract expressionism at the beginning. Who knows where it will take them! hopefully beyond that scene, that is the price of being in a group show, Ryan checked out the show before it opened and was helping me and looked at everything and said "everyone else is coming from computers and are now building robots, YOU are coming from robots and are now incorporating computers!" it makes a big difference in the work, i had the only piece that can reach out and grab you, give you a visceral experience. kind of a shame as i was hoping for a dash of inspiration, funny, everyone was so WELL, AHH, RESERVED and TAME! This is what happens when you work on cars before you even have a licsense and your dad has a construction company AND YOU CAN BUILD A HOUSE FROM HEAD TO TOE BY THE TIME YOU ARE SIXTEEN, and the word art is never EVER spoken at your dinner table, more like talk of demolition derbies. the space couldn't figure out what kind of compressor to rent, it was hilarious, so i go to the tool rental place and good 'ole boy the NY construction dudes there, they were gonna rent us a giant tow behind for like 6 jack-hammers at once! i got the show people to buy their own compressor for a fraction of the rental price/headaches of running this giant thing and feeding it diesel all week and figuring out the airline breakdown from a jack-hammer line in those botique hardware stores in ny! then i spent a whole day fixing the other air power pieces at the show, i really don't think they could have gotten their pieces running, i don't know what they were expecting or thought! weird. i was so happy with the monkey tho, i had never run it in public, so when the first few people who wore it/operated it my heart was in my throat! really. no injuries, a woman came back the 2nd day and showed me this bruise on her shoulder and was snipping at me but she was just pranking me and bruised herself the same day, i had a lot of people came back a 2nd time, really supportive, peeps came by who have been to my shows all over the states for years, remember that show in Cleveland in 1998? they would say, i would usually remember. weren't you in Austin in 1996? yes. a woman came by and said she was reviewing the show for (artforum i think she said) and wanted to ask the same 4 questions i had been asked 4000 times already and i pointed to my statement/description on the wall and said all of the info is there, she sniffed, her nose went in the air and she huffed off, that was funny and made me chuckle the rest of the trip! BRIDGET WHALEN saved my ass and showed up every day with coffee and snacks and support and i couldn't have done it without her, fer sure! i do adore her. i am so lucky, what an angel. one of the best comments was by this guy who came by a couple of times and how he liked my scene/work station with my tools and stuff all over and chairs and food and people and how i was lending out tools to everyone, that was the best art for him. i hung out with lots of the usual NYC possee, sarah, Ryan, carlo, NELSON and HEATHER, and a few newbies. nyc is kind of sad, such a shell of its former self, SOHO is like one giant lipstick emporium, chelsea is one giant mall for shit to hang over your couch in your fake loft, or you live in a cave, perched on a concrete hill, millions of cave dwellers!! that is what i like about san francisco so much- there is no art market here, the MOMA here is a joke, no one shows in galleries so you make art in a different way! people go to NY or LA to make it, you would be a fool to come to SF to make it, hence the art here is so much better and honest and less corrupt, poor dears out there. evry single thing is about money in NY, there are no more homeless there, tons of yuppies, so weird, all about "making it" and conformity and trends, it is sad to see something as special and spiritual as art reduced to a commodity. Only NY could do that to something so fine. meanwhile i can't wait to show the MonKEYonYOUr baCK here in SF along with the FLIGHT SIMULATOR which is really truly done now, and am working on a gyroscope and hopefuly i will get the teaching gig at SF State this fall which is the best "job" i have ever had, ever. love, kal ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 6/23/03 YAY! MONKEY ON MY BACK PHOTOS!! http://www.monkeyview.net/id/3/2003/kal/index.vhtml ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6/2/03 This is just how pathetic our country has become, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/26/MN227953.DTL&type=news they are arresting my friends. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5/18/03 ran the ring of fire at jay's friends party last nite, it was insanely intense in this tiny basement room,,,,,,,,, ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5/13/03 Our Friend Rhonda passd away this week, she OD'd, from heroin, May her wild-ass crazy beautiful soul rest in peace. What an amazing woman she was, she lived in detroit and made our visit there a couple of years back absolutely spectacular, who ever the fuck is pushing that shit on our people needs to be stopped. It is sucking the soul out of the people, it is impossibly addictive, and we lose friends, colleages and loved ones every year, wether they die or not, we lose them once they are on that shit, or any white powder, They are rendered useless, please, please, if you know of this stuff in your scene SPEAK OUT! If you don't who will?? The government will only incarcerate and exaccerbate the problem. and, my oldest sister was diagnosed with a relapse of cancer, in a really bad way, life is so overwhelming sometimes, it is hard to comprehend.... NYC 5/03
Talk at columbia went real well, smart peeps there, very
good
question/answer session. all in all the people at office ops sucked and didn't
know
what they were doing and put a damper on the show, oh well, next time.
last night my friend Timothy North passed away, 4/18/03
ok, maybe a couple of gigs in Austin Tx. in June, off to NYC next week for a talk and demo of the walker
triggered by an EKG and voice activator! AND another NYC gig in July WENT TO PEDRO'S HUT IN THE MENDOCINO WOODS, I LUV IT UP
THERE. just back
from the LA shows. and 4/3/03 3/27/03 OK, time for boycotting BIG businesses, McDonalds,
any chain store,
locally owned or not, they are SATAN 3/24/03 The smug self righteous bastards at the
Academy Awards
who booed Michael Moore for his anti-corporate war message at tonight's
ceremony
should be at least boycotted. All this while people are getting their
eyes
popped out on the corners by the LAPD? What a bunch of self
congratulatory
whining subhumans these actors are. Their message to the world is
America
doesn't care about your suffering. We only care about our shitty golden
statue.
I wish they could all live in Baghdad. It makes me sick to be an
American. 3/23/03 There were endless surreal moments, one of the oddest was thousands yuppies standing in endless lines for the grand opening of the New Asian Fart Museum for several days during the protests, so, thousands of protestors heckling passive clean-cut overdressed yups in their sheeply line snaking around the block. What is wrong with this picture? Art "lovers" who don't protest and spend WAY to much money on "clothes". In a mere 2 years the US administration has upon the
people of America the
contempt and distrust of the rest of the world. Many hundreds of
thousands
of people demonstrated against THIS IS WHAT A POLICE STATE LOOKS LIKE, COMING TO A
SMALL TOWN NEAR YOU! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 3/20/03 I was constantly running into commrades, forming cells,
everyone
looking out for each other, than losing each other in the throngs only
to
run into others in mere minutes. Helicopters, everywhere, They came from all sides swinging their batons into us
yelling for us to
move, which was stupid since they surrounded us on all sides . A couple officers decided to beat many of us after
they
had pushed us down to the ground,Ya know, they aren't so tough, they
aren't
even that strong, you can grab their batons, the beating stops, you can
shove
them, their fellow pigs don't like this and will smack you, it isn't
like
they are super-humans or anything, but really they are a bunch of
pussies
hiding behind all of their equipment and badge. They are sadists living
out
their violent fantasies, probably from childhood, we are planning on
filing
charges. I am sore as hell, i feel like i was in a car wreck. It
is like a giant party sometimes, people drinking, smoking, dancing,
anarchy.
My friends have a new squat nearby, it is full of people, free food,
everyone
telling stories, very celebratory! Everyone keep the faith, this is about love, not the
hate our coup de'tat "government" is putting on. 3/19/03 our retarded "government", who stole
the election, are
endangering each and every American by their petty, violent and greedy
actions..
They talk of homeland security and they provoke the entire world. No
wonder
people want to shut down the US. We are baby-kilers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ ************************************************** 3/4-11/03 I went to Mexico for a week, heres some pics. and look for my adopted dog http://homepage.mac.com/dispepsi66/PhotoAlbum6.html pictures from latest 2003-02-28
show and
2 films that are MUST SEES:
POWER AND TERROR BY NOAM CHOMSKY AND 2/10-17/03
What a week A bunch of people saw this woman storm out DRAGGING HER
MALE FRIEND when
i talked about women gettin all bizzee when they interact with the
pieces. pics from dorkbot talk/demo: get to the protest sunday here in sf or
today, sat.
everywhere else!
http://sf.indymedia.org/features/antiwar/#1137 The planners of this war, as Ralph Nader has forcefully said, are chicken hawks, that is, hawks who are too cowardly to do any fighting themselves. Wolfowitz, Perle, Bush, Cheney and others of that entirely civilian group were to a man in strong favour of the Vietnam War, yet each of them got a deferment based on privilege, and therefore never fought or so much as even served in the armed forces. Their belligerence is therefore morally repugnant and, in the literal sense, anti-democratic in the extreme! VOTE TO IMPEACH BUSH 2/3/03 tell the
warmonger violent creep what you think, they are telling you! very nice page with some new vids. from NYC & Mike
Connor 1/15/02 hell-oo all< -
GET YER WAR ON - TOP 10 12/02 12/3/02 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I contributed a tabletop piece to
an AIDS fundraiser, V i s u a l A i d ' s B I G D E A
L. #1 arthit of the week, some jackass dumped a very large dumptruck load of bricks in our street, it is hilarious, it looks like an Art Provera piece, it blocks 3/4 of the street, Fred Rinne comes by, i get him to help me shove some of the bricks over to block the WHOLE STEET, hell, if it is going to be there it may as well block all of the traffic! people have to turn around in the middle of the block, it is kinda third world, here in San Francisco. Fred is amazing, !FRED RINNE! what a mind, he has all of these brilliant theories on the elections, on bombing, on life. He was in this incredible band called the BRINGDOWNZ I stopped
off at ryan’s
first I am so
excited, this is
what I live for Theres the
40’ diameter
RAINBOW multi armed swastika on the wall behind it, it looks GREAT, and
there's still more to add to it Theres a
jovial crew there
workin, I only know chris, !
chris johanson! Nothing
looks near done,
it is late Monday night, the opening is sat night Shit seems
whack, We need to
build a 30’ by
40’ earth/dome, actually a 2/3 dome It is still exciting, weird, out of SF where I know where everything is, where I can get stuff I need. Patrolling the streets for obtanium, it is still freezing, even the New Yarkers are complaining! Finally at
the end of the
night I hook up the boat, I keep joking this is Chris’ BEST WORKSHOP EVER. my heart
sinks I start
moving linkages
around I get there
early in the
am, I work
frantically, It starts to
slowly do more
circles around the globe, Meanwhile
everyone shifts
over to the other dome, and the sculptures and the paintings The boat
needs a counter
weight, better wheels. SUPERJAY
shows up There is now
a steady stream
of collectors coming through It is funny
We drink
coffee Carlo
Mccormick comes by Everyone on
the the crew
is incredible Chris is
introducing me
to everyone, the collectors and whatnot as his great artist friend from
SF who makes amazing kinetic sculptures that move I haven’t gone more than 6 blocks in any direction from the gallery but for the first night when I brought a stray cat I named THOR into Albert Guitjens and Mike O’connor’s place, HACKETTS old place, I have stayed there a lot over the years, They have a
new cat, It is fri. I
have done everything
I can do to the boat now, PEOPLE ARE
FUNNY Theres a
million little
details Sat. comes,
and there's
still a bit to do, I SPLIT FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF BEFORE THE OPENING TO JUST GET AWAY I COME BACK
AND THERES A
CROWD OUT FRONT ALREADY I HANG
OUTSIDE FOR A BIT The door opens, i slip in, shit, I am misty eyed, I hug Chris and I whisper to him I am so proud of him, he has made it on his own terms, I helped get
him his first
show in SF 10 years, ago, tingles go up and down my spine The punk
bands start They are
phenomenal I am back
home see ya at DIETCH PROJECTS, 76 Grand St. on Sat. night 8 PM on....... #1 hit of the week: The new dark
ages for our
petty greedy dumbed down sold out falsely democratic America. QBOX Presents
Art That
Moves II At: CELL
Space Artists: Rania Ho, Jesse Jackson, Frank Garvey and OmniCircus, Donna Keiko Ozawa, Shirley Shor, Jonathan Foote, Kal Spelletich, Kimberlee Koym, Steve Lambert, Tom McCall, Alex Killough and Will Eccleston, Jonathan Foote, Jojo LaPlume and David Morely are but a small sample of the artists that tickle, shock, annoy, illuminate and engage through the charming and sometimes disturbing interactivity of their art. PLUS, there will be an enticing assemblage of other artists in the machine medium from all over the Bay Area. Hosted by QBOX, as part of the first annual San Francisco Mechanical, Kinetic and Electronic Arts Festival. A series of
events throughout
the Bay Area bringing together divergent organizations working to
support
the performing arts, art and technology, youth arts, mechanical,
kinetic,
electronic art and more. http://www.stanford.edu/~pererik/propane%20rain.html ART THAT MOVES A month long gallery exhibition focused on Mechanical, Kinetic and Electronic Art. The show will be held at the Crucible Steel Gallery at CELLspace and will be open to the public for free for the month Show runs
October 9th
30th For more
information on
the artists and this show take a look at the UPCOMING SECTION of the
web
site. TOP 13 !CRITICAL MASS! 2 parties in the junkyard chris johannsen megan carrie class @ sf state DOLLY PARTON'S NEW ALBUM rejected for 4th and final grant I applied for this year Extra Action marching band steve earle bike rodeo FIGHT THE RIGHT WING WAR MACHINE CONSUMERIST POWERS{Bush stole the "election"} San Francisco summer worked all
day with Chris
Johansen on his show at Deitch in NYC, it opens on Sat, Nov. 2. 2002.
We
have a spinning Galleon. we had our annual 9/11 BB-Q it was fullfilling Ryan dropped in on his way back to NYC http://www.madagascarinstitute.com/ !NYC! as did SPEED !Timothy "SPEED" Levitch! I DID A
LECTURE FOR THE
ROBOTICS CLASS OF THE ONE AND ONLY MATT HECKERT !MATT
HECKERTT! OH, Unlike the
robots you see
on TV, SEEMEN's machines let you feel the tension of pneumatic joints
and
cylinders, the rumble, heat, percussion and ignition of pyrotechnics
and
hear the whir of electric motors as you ponder the flesh of your own
mortality.
Their shows come only occasionally, and often are staged at obscure
locations
with minimal notice. There, in groups of 60 or 70,
spectators-participants
are required to sign releases before being hustled into a warehouse
where
they meet and mix with the macabre devices created by Kal Spelletich
and
his band of fellow machine artists. SEEMEN shows allow the audience to
operate their devices like the LEVITATOR: you attach a respiration
sensor
to your chest, and as you breathe it lifts you 5' in the air with an
inhale,
to regain terra firma all you must do is to remember to exhale. All the
while a halo of fire pulses over your head with your breathing. Shows
typically
cost $10.00 and are found via the groups website !SEEMEN! or through the Laughingsquid
list In the fall Spelletich will teach a robotics class at San
Francisco
State. oh lookie, I'm in th New Yawk Times! http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/06/movies/06BURN.html?ex=1032311847&ei=1&en=210a1ad8ad71d4cf click here http://www.kimmymccann.com After a spate of weird copyright infringements/people stealing/sharing my my art/images i repost this as a renminder: SEEMEN Copyright Notice The overall site structure and compilation is Copyright © 1997-2002 SEEMEN, Kal Spelletich & Laughing Squid All rights reserved. The art, photography, illustration, writing and creative content of this web site is individually copyrighted by the original creators. Usage rights have been granted for this publication only. No other usage is permitted without express written consent of the authors. Permission is hereby granted to link to any HTML page within this site. Permission is not granted to link or "inline" individual graphics; prior written consent is required. (It is preferred that you link to the HTML page containing the graphic you are referring to.) If featuring this site in a magazine or TV show, please reference "http://www.laughingsquid.com/" QUIT STEALING FROM BROKE ARTISTS!STEAL FROM GIANT FACELESS EVILE CORPORATIONS. Working with
Chris Johansen
on an installation to go up at Deitch Projects in NYC in Nov. Looks fun.
Everyone is
busy with BM,
and I AM NOT, and that feels good. and: and we, here
at KALTEK have
always worked from the simple idea that: Xian is in town to do a show at CANDLESTICK! http://christianristow.com/ 10 of his crew stayin here, madddhouse>>>>>>>>> the FLIGHT SIMULATOR IS COMING ALONG, I am scheduled to teach a class at SF State this fall. "they
started tearing up[
our al;ley, bummer http://www.odeonbar.com/originalindex.html and here for the 4th which was transcendent. We made some friends, we made some enemies. My brother Nick and his band BLOWN TO BITS showed up. We shot MORTARS off of our chests. It rained fireworks down on us like so much hail. I ran the HARLEYDAVIDSON THROAT SINGAS http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/very_interactice_pieces/OATSINGERS.vhtml Then the
next morning up
to Point Arena and the phenomenal PEDRO was epic as usual. Such a
unique
brilliant setting in a cove on the Pacific Ocean to do it all over
again,
sitting right under their professional fireworks this time, Jericho
setting
off bottle rockets into the crowd with his Cyclecide's "Homeland
Security
Bike. the Extra
Action Marching
band was everywhere this past week too, we bombed them, they bombed us,
a crazy romp in the jungle. March, March, March!! freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances Special show:
July 4th,
2002 Point Arena
performances/parade 2 kids attended anSF show,they were siblings a year or 2 apart, I let them each run the KUNG-FU ARM with a movement sensor that is activated by them doing karate chops in front of the sensor, they broke 2by 4's and bricks, they were so into it and saved the wood and brick pieces as momentos. LA was cool,
FLASH-O-MATIC
kicked me down a VERY BEAT UP trailer that Andy Blackwood and I
rehabbed. http://karenmarcelo.org/seemen/indexvid.html this is cool, i am published in LEONARDO, a Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology, which is published by the MIT Press. whoah! http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/gallery/burningman/spelletich.html 2 shows to-nightr here in SF ANNND LOOKS
LIKE I AM DOING
2 SHOWS IN LA ON JUNE 14 & 15! I APPLIED FOR 4 GRANTS THESE PAST 4 MONTHS, I HAVE BEEN TURNED DOWN FOR all 4 OF THEM. GHEES. IT IS HARD TO BUMP UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL I WANT TO GO TO, WITH MORE ELABORATE AND SOPHISTICATED INPUTS HENCE MORE ELABORATE AND SOPHISTICATED OUTPUTS. WITHOUT SOME INFUSION OF OR DONATIONS OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING/HARDWARE/CASH. ANY OUT THERE? DAMN GRANTS TOOK FOREVER TO WRITE. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME, I WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF JUST WORKING ALONG AT MY SLOW PACE. NOW I AM BEHIND EVEN THERE, AHH WELL, IT IS A REMINDER OF HOW FAR OFF THE RADAR I AM........... I GUESS. BURNING MAN DONATED A FORK LIFT TO ME SO I HAVE BEEN CLEANING THE SHOP, I HAVE SEVERAL NEW PIECES FINISHED, http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/mikefmjrcom/thoeryorg02.vhtml WORKING ON A "FLIGHT SIMULATOR" A CONTINUATION OF MY EXPERIMENTS WITH FLIGHT, WHEIGHTLESSNESS AND SOARING. SPRING IS HERE AND THE GARDEN IS ROCKIN, LOTS OF SHOW OFFERS FROM ALL OVER AND AM CONTEMPLATING A US TOUR THIS SUMMER, IF THE #'S CAN WORK, SEVERAL LAME OFFERS, {SORRY COACHELLA BUT NO FIRE = BORING SHOW}. SAN FRANCISCO HAS BEEN FUN AFTER SOME TIME SPENT IN THE SOUTH, LOTS HAPPENING IN THE SCENE, LOTS OF ENERGY HERE AGAIN NOW THAT THE YUPPIES HAVE BEEN PARTIALLY AND MOMENTARILY PUT IN CHECK. FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT. SAN FRANCISCO'S MUSEE MECHANIQUE, AN ABSOLUTELY CHARMING MECHANISED (ANTIQUE ROBOTIC) MUSEUM OVERLOOKING THE PACIFIC OCEAN {I GO THERE MORE THAN THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART}IS THREATEND WITH EVICTION! PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/musee/ last batch of shows were killer, tanx to all who came out. Jay, EB, Jimmy and Sara, the film crew from Stanford, Peter Weiss, Rudy Rucker, Isabella, GEEKBOY AND MY ROOMATES ALL HELPED SO DAMN-HELL MUCH, THANKS ESPECIALLY TO THEM. working on a trip to europe for all of this summer! go Jaap !! there were these 2 kids who came to one of the shows, they were hilarious, asking questions about every piece and volunteering every time too! so damn funny, every one thought they were plants. I could be so smart. The girl was quite knowledgeable in science and had been to the show before, she would explain things to her (brother?) i think he was. adorable. still working on new inputs to trigger the machines, plodding away at a valve that can open and close in small increments via a biomorphic input, and mebbe a lecture in upstate NY in April. lecturing at SONY down in San Joser on thurs. for my friend Karen Marcello, for the hell of it, not for SONY. doin my taxes. puttering in the garden, spamming some art-fag chat room see: http://www.artforum.com/talkback/id=1190 so sensitive those art hags are, how shall we say...lame. building some more smalls, that wanna be BIG. VOTED TODAY. SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME trying TO FEND OFF THE DEVELOPERS MOVING INTO THE HOOD. FINISHED UP a documenterary video compilation of about 6 or 7 years' worth of shows. goin to flash night at chickens bar, http://www.odeonbar.com/originalindex.html, where my WHISKEY POURING MACHINE IS IN EFFECT ON THE BAR, ASK FOR it. 2 Saturdays ago we had an open house for our building so I opened my door and people streamed in & out all day. Was in a show at my neighbors space CYCLONE, last thurs., Ran the drinkin machines at the ODEON on sat. This past
weekend was in: it all felt good. spent a phenomenal week w/Melinda in Nawlins. http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/mindamaccom/index.vhtml Can u say GODDESS?? I CAN class here from denmark tomorrow, runnin someting at Chickens bar next weekend http://www.odeonbar.com/originalindex.html 2 group shows here in the building this next week http://islaiscreek.org/ phone ringin off the hook emails galore, can hardly keep up, lifes epic journey, i loove it! http://www.islaiscreek.org/illinoisbridgeallstuff/IllinoisBridgeGuestbook/messages.html A LANDMARK
SHOW LIKE NONE
EVER HELD IN THE WORLD. NO SHIT. AND ALL FOR A VERY VERY GOOD CAUSE.
Sat. January 19th 2002,
8pm at SomArts Admission is $10-25 sliding scale. A raffle will be held
with some amazing prizes by: p o u n e h WORKING A FUNDRAISER FOR AMY MILLER ON JAN. 19. 2001 AT SOMARTS HERE IN SF. SHE WAS HURT IN A FALL AT AN ART SHOW, LIFE,,,,, Hoping to do
"something"
at Mardi Gras this year, making some prototypes for some GIANT public
sculptures
which will probably never get built, workin on new inputs galore, and
well, surfin to:
http://www.monkeyview.net/ SHITHELL YES!!!! INFORMATION ABOUT MY HOOD, IT'S FANTASTIC ENVIRONMENT AND SOME OF OUR WOES.......... i got a truck, so i am mobile again and am going to try and get some gigs around the country. NEW VIDEOS AT: http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/vidoes/ THANX TO JARID FOR VIDEO CLIPS JARID@WELL.COM NEW PICS.
FROM 12/7/01 SHEW: RAN THE respirator LAST NIGHT AT THE mad science fair ALWAYS AMAZING THAT THING IS.......... http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/new/index.vhtml thanks to everyone who helped, i am on my way to getting a truck......... January-December 2001 August-December 2000 June-July 2000 April-May 2000 January-March 2000 December 1999 |
| Neither
SEEMEN or the presenting organization nor any of it's members shall be
held responsible or liable for any LOSS, DAMAGE, OR INJURY arising from
any activity organized, sponsored or promoted by SEEMEN or the
presenting
organization.
|