70 Faces of Work

"There is a fine line between the pathological and the creative, between addiction and practice…Addiction consumes energy and leads to slavery. Practice generates energy and leads to freedom…Habits are addictive if that mysterious acceleration factor is present, when enough is never enough, and what was enough yesterday is not enough today." Stephen Nachmanovitch, Free Play

Early this Spring a Wofford student caught me working very late in the evening in my office. He suggested I go home. He said, "It is sad that you are setting such a terrible example for me, even though you think you are actually helping me by working too much."

I took the student's comments to heart and examined the topic further.

For the past 70 days, I have examined my personal tendency to devote too much time to work, creating a daily self-study. Each piece is roughly 9''x 12''. I have used a variety of media as I created them on paper, glass, canvas, and board. In these studies, I have logged all of the hours I have worked each day as well as any conflicts that arose between my work, my life, and my art. Click here to view thumbnails of the 70 Faces of Work.

Starting on May 6th, these pieces will each be entrusted to friends and family who I have neglected by my work habits. This durational performance piece is intended to begin to restore a more proper balance between my work, my art, and my life.

Bike Month!

What is happening in the windows?

Artists:

Alix Refshauge
Artist-In-Residence and Development Director for Hub-Bub

Hoondirt
Sculptor

Davies Reich
Middle School and Upper School Art at the Spartanburg Day School

Kris Neely
Director of the Success Initiative at Wofford College

To celebrate bike month, four artists have been invited to activate the windows of the building once held the Regional Museum of History. Alix Refshauge, Hoondirt, and Davies Reich are creating the centerpiece of the storefront triptych, creating an amusingly elegant Peter Max style spring scene drawing the imagination into the past and emerging future.

Kris Neely will continue his "Not so Spartan" experiments as the bookends to the Refshauge/Reich piece, anchoring their collaboration in the present day. One window will feature works created during Neely's Artist-In-Transit project, while the other will feature Neely creating new art works using only discarded bike parts in his transparent studio. Visitors are encouraged to stop by during the month of May to see these works, but the artists will be present on May 2 during the Steadman-Hawkins Classic. Friday, May 2, 2008 at Spring Fling from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Make Day Paintings

Pictures from the Transparent Studio

The Transparent Studio Launch

The Transparent Studio

The Palmetto Building at 100 E. Main Street

At the Make Day events today, I began the transparent studio project.
Stop by the windows to see what I painted today.

Thanks to Alix and the folks at Hub-Bub for a great event that drew so many people downtown.
Many thanks to Arielle and Rachel for their project that helped local artists to envision empty windows as art opportunities.

Most importantly, thanks to Tim Satterfield and Longleaf Development for continuing to provide spaces and opportunities for the artists in Spartanburg.

Why Not So Spartan?

“With all the economic gains of the twentieth century…the paradox is that we have less rather than more time for reflection and depth, friendship and intimacy, beauty and sensitivity, even common decency. These values seem incidental in the quest for more productivity, more material things, more wealth, more notoriety, more titles and prestige.” Anthony Ipsaro

Project Goals:
Spend more time making art
Foster meaningful community interactions
Make time to enjoy Downtown Spartanburg
Encourage others to do the same