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Gallery Show – 風雷暴 / Fujin Raijin Exhibition @ Gallery G2

September 29, 2009 in Art, Art show, News | Add your comment

風雷暴 / Fujin Raijin Exhibition @ Gallery G2, Ginza, Tokyo opens Thursday October 1 - October 6, 2009

Like the ebony and ivory keys on a piano; like checks and balances; like peanut butter and jelly, Fujin and Raijin complete each other. The Japanese Gods of Wind and Thunder (respectively), they are nearly always pictured together, riding on the darkening clouds of an oncoming storm. Raijin bangs his thunder-drums and hurls lightning at humans and their defenseless bellybuttons. Fujin, like his breezy Greek coworker Aeolus, hauls the raging winds around in a sac and sends them screaming down to earth. They’ve spent uncountable eons together, ravaging the world with storms and typhoons.

One has to wonder, though, about their relationship. After all, it can’t be easy spending so much time together. Particularly when they are both such strong, distinct personalities. I don’t think it’s an accident that artists often depict them in the midst of a spat.

Modern artists’ stormy relationship with these two demonic looking gods is the theme of Gallery G2’s 風雷暴 / Fujin Raijin Exhibition starting this Thursday in Ginza. I’ll be showing a piece or two myself…which is why I’m gonna cut this short so I can get back to work.

I plan on being in the gallery on the opening day (Oct. 1st), at least until the lack of sleep catches up to me, and on a few hours on Sunday Oct. 4th. And I’ll be at the American Comics show at Gallery Kopis in Kiyosumi Shirakawa on Saturday Oct. 3rd from around 3pm until it closes at 5pm. Drop me a line to get times closer to the dates!

Here are the details:

Name: 風雷暴 / Fujin Raijin Exhibition

dates: Oct. 1 (Thurs) to Oct 6th (Tue) 2009

Times: 12pm to 7pm (Last Day: Closes at 4pm)

place: Gallery G2; located in Ginza, just around the corner from Melsa (メルサ）.
Tel: 03-3567-1555
gallery website: right here.
MAP

日付: ２００９年10月1日（木）〜１０月6日（火）
時間: １２時〜１９時 / 最終日は１6時まで
住所: Gallery G2 東京都中央区銀座２丁目８−２　日紫１F
電話: 03-3567-1555

Gallery Show – American Comics Exhibition 2009 ~Superheroes~

September 21, 2009 in Art, Art show, News | 2 comments

American Comics Exhibition 2009 ~Superheroes~ @ Gallery Kopis, Kiyosumishirakawa, Tokyo opens Sunday September 27 - October 3, 2009

Guess who’s back?! (hint: it’s me!)

Yes, I am again at one with the world electronical. Like just about every superhero ever (with the current exception of Bruce Wayne, who is still extremely deceased-ish… today) my computer has slapped away the grasping fingers of death to return triumphant to the realm of the animated. And boy, have I got some catching up to do.

First on my list, I am proud to announce my participation in the American Comics Exhibition 2009 ~Superheroes~ / アメリカン・コミックス展２００９〜スーパーヒーローズ〜 .

Organized by my good friend Patrick Washburn, 14 American and Japanese artists have created original work based on a “Superhero” theme. The artists range from those who work in the field of comics to painters to some guy who makes art out of nothing but paper. I expect some very cool, original takes on the theme.

the details:
Name: American Comics Exhibition 2009 ~Superheroes~
           アメリカン・コミックス展２００９〜スーパーヒーローズ〜

Official Website: All the Information You Need is Here!

dates: Sept. 27 (Sun) to Oct 3rd (Sat) 2009 (closed Tuesday the 29th)

Times: 11am to 7pm (First Day: Opens at 1pm; Last Day: Closes at 5pm)

place: Gallery Kopis; located less than a minute from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa St. exit            A3.
Tel: 03-5639-2381
gallery website: right here.

日付: ２００９年９月２７日（日）〜１０月３日（土）
時間: １１時〜１９時 / 火曜日休み / 初日開場は１３時〜 / 最終日は１７時まで
場所: 清澄白川駅から４５秒にあるギャラリー・コピス。
住所: ギャラリー コピス 〒１３５−００２１東京都江東区白河１−２−１２　１F
電話: 03-5639-2381

The Perils of Digital Dependence

September 15, 2009 in News | 2 comments

Electric Narwhal Original cut paper Art by Patrick GannonCatastrophic hard drive failure is exactly as fun as it sounds. Which is to say, no fun at all. Especially when it hits two times in under a year.

Yes, it’s been a little quiet around these parts lately. A deceased computer will do that to a blog. A year ago, when my iMac’s hard drive shuffled off this mortal coil the first time, it had the decency to make horrible electronic gasping sounds, ticks, and shivers for over a month before it gave up it’s digital ghost. This time around, it was a sneakier process. A video I was watching started to stutter without warning. Then, that curs-ed spinning beachball popped up everytime I tried to do something. Everything still worked, just really, really slowly.

So, I went through the usual routine of cleaning things up and running repair programs. They all said everything was okay. Except it obviously wasn’t. Just to make sure, I decided to perform a long-overdue backup of the whole machine. And that’s when everything went to pieces. See, to do a complete backup, one must first erase one’s old backup.

See where this is going? A word to the wise: When you’re machine starts being weird, don’t erase your old backup. Luckily, I was able to copy almost all my important files. One by one. Took me three days. And I still lost one scan of a piece of art. And my whole iTunes collection (thank goodness I burned that to disk a little while back).

Anyway, two important announcements come from this techno-tragedy.

1. My computer is in the shop, and should be back in my (somewhat more impoverished) hands by the end of the week. It’ll take a little while to get things up and running. And probably a long while to get everything back the way it was. Until then, my computer-related activities will remain cramped.

2. Please backup your computers, especially those of you with weak hearts. Since it’s almost impossible to end our dependence on our silicon masters, we might as well make it harder for them to dangle us at their mercy. For my Mac-toting friends, I recommend a little app called SuperDuper. Being able to make a bootable carbon copy of your computer is a blessing, and it saved my bacon last time this happened. Actually, if I hadn’t been such a cheapskate and just shelled out the thirty bucks to get the full software, it would have saved me this time too. Guess what I’m doing the day I get my machine back?

Feeling Social 2: Radical Social Stationery

September 7, 2009 in News | 1 comment

Giant RSS button cut paper art by Patrick GannonThe Facebook button was looking so lonely and forlorn and whining like a lost little puppy, I just had to make him some friends. ‘Cuz, y’know, he just wants to be social. yeah…

Anyway, the salmon-colored button with the Katakana “Pa” (パ) on it leads to the Japanese pseudo-version of this blog. It’s not a direct translation. In fact, it’s not a translation at all. My indefatigable wife uses it to write about life with an American cut-paper artist in Japan (that’s me). I have the sneaking suspicion she spends most of her time writing about the many silly things I do, but that’s okay. I certainly give her ample subject matter, so as long as she occasionally talks about my work it’s all good.

You probably won’t have much use for that icon, but you might be able to use the cut paper RSS button. If you like it, feel free to grab it and use it on your own blog or website. Many sizes are posted below.

Please don’t link directly to these buttons. To save them for your own use, right click on the item, then choose Save Picture/Image As… or just drag to your desktop if you’re using a mac.
rss button 60px    rss button 48px    rss button24px    rss button 16px

Feeling Social

August 17, 2009 in News | 4 comments

Giant Facebook button cut paper art by Patrick GannonSo, I finally caved. Oh, I’ve been on Facebook for ages now keeping tabs on my friends back in the US and around the world. But I’ve finally gone and made a fan page. It’s just one more way for folks to stay abreast of what I’m doing. Although if you judge from my recent blogging, that might not seem like alot (apologies all round!).

If you’re active on Facebook, or just a little curious, click the little “f” icon over there to the right and bask in the glory of the social internet.

Which brings me to my next thought! I’m re-jiggering my blog navigation a little! I hope to add a few more icons to that lonely blue “f” over the next week or three. And since all of the social website buttons around the web are so slick and shiny, I’ve decided to make my own. Out of paper. Yeah, I’m the only guy in the world with a facebook button on his desk. And since I’m such a nice guy, I thought I would offer those buttons to you. You can grab the different sizes posted below.

Please don’t link directly to these buttons. To save them for your own use, right click on the item, then choose Save Picture/Image As… or just drag to your desktop if you’re using a mac.
facebook button 60px    facebook button 48px    facebook button24px    facebook button 16px

And just so you don’t think I’m a total slacker McFly, here’s a WIP of a little something I’m doing for a friend. Enjoy!

Lava Roid sketch for cut paper art by Patrick Gannon

Slow Summertime at the Cocotte Cafe

July 26, 2009 in Art, Art show, News | 1 comment

Patrick Gannon's cut paper art at Cocotte Cafe, Iidabashi, Tokyo August 1 - 31, 2009
Not far from the station in Iidabashi lies a quaint little coffee place named Cocotte Cafe. It’s a cozy little joint, decorated in clean white and warm wood, and each month they display the work of a different artist or craftsperson. I’ve been invited to show my work there next month, and will be decorating the walls with a selection of bright and summery images. There might even be a couple new things (depending on how quick I work this week!), along with postcards, prints, and eco-bags for sale.

I plan on hanging around on Saturday, August first, at least until the owner kicks me out. If you’re thinking about visiting and you would like to chat, drop me a line and I’ll do my best to hop on over and share a cup of joe.

The details:

Name: Cocotte Cafe, Iidabashi

dates: August 1 – August 31, 2009

place: Cocotte Cafe
東京都新宿区津久戸町3-12
ＪＲ中央線飯田橋駅　東口　徒歩7分　
地下鉄飯田橋駅　B1番出口　徒歩5分　
都営大江戸線飯田橋駅　徒歩5分　

website: right here.
map: find your way.

Guinea-pigs Wanted

July 22, 2009 in Art, News | 3 comments

Sigh, I’d been so good putting up new work all this past month. Sadly, I have to break my streak this week. And on top of that, I need to ask all y’all a teensy tiny favor! The nerve of me!

The Contact Page over on the main site has just been updated! Yay! If you mosey on over and take a gander, you’ll notice that it’s slimmed down and simplified.

OK, the favor: Please hop on over to the Contact Page and send me a message. I need to test how it works with the email addresses of people who aren’t me. If you run into any problems, please hop back over here and leave me a comment to that effect. Thank you, and a BIG internet hug to everyone who sends me mail.

There’s also a bunch of new stuff under the hood that’s supposed to ward off the wicked spam and make all of our lives easier. Maybe neatest of all is the anti-spam question at the bottom. You’ll notice I made it a little more universal for the international audience. The previous question was “What color is the sky?”, the answer being “blue”. Funny thing is, most of my Japanese contacts didn’t have much trouble with that. It was the native english speakers, especially artists. They kept looking out the window and writing in the color of the current weather conditions. I suspect there’s an interesting conversation here, about the subjectivity of the artists’ mind, even in the face of purely objective technology.

So, why haven’t I posted new work this week? Here’s one reason:

Back structure of cut paper art by Patrick Gannon WIP Read the rest of this entry »

Chatting with Build/Make/Craft/Bake

July 15, 2009 in Art, News | Add your comment

Build Make Craft Bake interview of Patrick Gannon - logoWendy over at Build/Make/Craft/Bake was kind enough to sit down with me (at our separate computers on opposite sides of the pacific expanse) and chat for a couple minutes about my work, my process, creativity and art in general. The interview is online right now and, I think, a pretty interesting read. Even though there’s precious little baking going on in my studio. Head on over for a quick read.

While you’re at it, check out the rest of the blog, which is all about how we make stuff.

New In the Shop – Laughing Shark Prints!

July 12, 2009 in Art, Illustration, Japan, News | 2 comments

2 New Prints by Patrick Gannon
I am ecstatic to announce that two of my most requested pieces are now available as open edition prints: We All Laugh Together and The Golden Sea, It Has Teeth. I was shocked to see that it’s been over a year since I came out with new prints but what can I say… I was making new art! In any case, these Gicleés are available immediately for order in the online shop. All Gicleés are printed on A4-size Deep PV fine art paper.

Flexibility is always nice, and everybody likes options. So we’ve re-jiggered the store to allow new options for buying sets of prints. Now, you can choose between a set of your favorite three prints or a set of the five you love the bestest. That’s right, now you can get the prints you’re dying for and save a little money doing it. Want to paper your bedroom walls in golden sharks? This is your chance.

I’m already working at getting a few more images ready for the future, so I promise you won’t have to wait another year for new cut paper prints. Got any suggestions? Let me know!

Check it out now in the shop!

Gallery Show – Battle Royal @ Gallery 1988 SF (updated)

June 24, 2009 in Art, Art show, News | 1 comment

Battle Royal @ Gallery 1988 San Francisco opens Friday June 26 - July 18, 2009

update: The preview of the artwork is online now!

Every time I read the name of this show, I can’t help thinking about Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: Ten artists enter, one artist leaves!.

Or Japan’s Battle Royale, wherein a class of high school kids “wins” a lottery and are dropped off on an island (in the inland sea near, I believe, where I used to live), issued a random weapon, and directed to drastically reduce the number of yearbook signatures they’ll be getting. If this is the case, I think I have a good chance of being Last Man Standing. Knife beats paintbrush any day of the week.

Although I can’t promise thrilling Bloodsport, I can guarantee eye-popping art of the highest order. I mean, just look at the nine guys I’m privileged to share the walls with. The real fight should be among the visitors, trying to snatch up the latest chunks of mind-boggling somewhat surreal brilliance.

Sadly, I shall miss the show. I used up all my bat-shark repellant and can no longer make the swim across the pacific. Also, I cannot really swim. But I hope you can make your way down to San Francisco to bask in the glow of unfettered imagination.

Speaking of “Battle Royale” check this out. Julian Callos, also in this show, did this amazing piece a little while back.

Oh: “There can be only one“.

the details:
Name: Battle Royal

opening reception: Friday June 26, 2009 7pm~10pm

dates: Friday, June 26 to July 18, 2009 (the gallery is closed on Sundays and Mondays)

place: 1173 Sutter St. San Francisco, CA 94109
Tel: 415-409-1376
gallery website: right here.

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