video

It's been awhile once again. Life gets in the way as we all know. I have a lead which will potentially grant me access to areas of the sandhills which would otherwise be impossible. I hope to find out more this afternoon. In the category of serendipity, I find myself with an extra week of vacation which I have to use before December. So my exploratory expedition to NE is more and more a reality. I will be catching up this week and next.

For those who only follow me here, I thought it prudent to present a video I made last summer. There was a building here in my town that was undergoing renovation and expansion, and I sought and was granted access to the site during this phase. I installed 11 paintings, brought in a photographer and videographer, and we made this short film. There is an accompanying book which documents the process and features excerpts from my previous blog, Machinations of a Distracted Mind, which I recently ended. You can view this film on my website as well, so please visit christopherrico.com

The Forest and the Sea: An Art Exhibit by Christopher Rico from Justin Metcalfe on Vimeo.

setbacks and breakthroughs

starkweather, (in progress), 72" x 60", oil and acrylic on canvas, Rico 2009-2010

It's been a while since I posted. Things have been slow moving, at times discouraging but then peppered with small hopes. I did not get the Bemis residency this time out, but plan to re-apply. I've gotten some contact information for another artist in NE and hope to initiate contact soon. In the studio, I found an abandoned canvas from last year and began to work on it again. Pictured above, and still in progress, this work begins to approach what I envision for the Nebraska Paintings. I will be starting work on multiple, smaller canvases hopefully at the end of the month or early May. I plan to continue this exploration by working on several paintings simultaneously.

I hope to get to New Orleans possibly at the end of this month. It has been many years since I was in the Big Easy.

No solid plans to visit Nebraska in the immediate future. I still hope to get out during the summer.

March Update

Things are moving slowly, but not without encouraging signs. In truth, this has gone back burner for the past month, but I am back and pushing on. I've had some positive correspondence from the state and will be following up with more letters and a couple of formal proposals.

The literature and history of the region are fascinating and I look forward to getting out there for a few days and just wandering.

Thanks to those who have contacted me so far and I look forward to hearing from more. The comments are enabled on this blog and I welcome all, and that includes "anonymous".

epic

Things move forward. The Bemis application is in. I have friends working on contacts in the local and federal government and hopefully some correspondences can arise out of that. I am reading and researching about the Great Plains and as I do so it is nearly impossible to have any meaningful discussion about the area that does not include environmental concerns. I know there are people for whom the word "environment" causes a knee-jerk response, but what I am finding is that this is a very serious and very much shared concern across political lines. If anything, the differences arise from questions of "how" not questions of "if" or "should." This is an unforgiving land. It demands respect, as settlers in the area have found out for hundreds of years.

As is the case here in SC, I find that hunters are often some of the greatest champions of the environment. I know this upsets some of my friends, but my own interaction with people who hunt has proven this again and again. There are always the few that tarnish the reputation/perception of the many (as is the case with artists too), but I think most hunters have tremendous respect for the land and its creatures. In the Plains, hunters and hunter organizations have helped to save massive areas of natural habitat.

So I think this is part of what I'm after. If I can see into another world, perhaps I can help people who might not think they care, see into the world of art. Though I see that a particular style of painting is very popular in the area, perhaps by getting my boots on the ground and having conversations with people, they can understand and appreciate what I do and maybe even entertain what less representational painting has to say. When we let go of our assumptions, very often we are introduced to new worlds. To quote Holly Golightly, "the time to make your mind about people is never."

The photo above (via Wikicommons) shows a wall cloud. I first saw one of these in Wyoming, and they are both terrifying and beautiful. Literally giant walls of weather pushing across the plains at speeds that are amazing. People say that if they can make it in New York, they can make it anywhere. I feel that people who can live on the plains might give them a run for their money, but to be fair it is apples and oranges. I spent the last two years of high school in Kansas and my recollections of the winters there stay in my mind.

I think art can have a similar effect on people as this kind of epic weather and environmental conditions. I am striving for that at least.

All that Money wants

The search for funding continues. The world of grants is so overwhelming and it takes hours and hours to even isolate ones which are relevant. What's interesting about this so far is I've had to write letters (anyone remember those?), as some of the organizations don't have public websites.

I'm so far undaunted. This is a mission.

The paintings are changing in my mind, and I find this very interesting. New ideas are presenting themselves. I get paid tomorrow and can get the Bemis application submitted before the deadline. I have some more reference books coming my way this week and hopefully I can sit at the computer for a few hours tonight looking for more funding.

Captain Nebraska

Perhaps it is inevitable that along this journey I would encounter the writer Roger Welsch. Curling up with "My Nebraska" over the weekend was thoroughly enjoyable, if also a bit daunting.

Again and again the issue of scale comes into play. Though I have an understanding of the West that most here do not, when I am reminded of the vastness of it I find myself a bit overwhelmed. It is increasingly clear that, while residencies in Omaha and/or Lincoln would certainly be beneficial, they are a long, long way from the parts of the state I really want to see and largely impractical as bases for operation during short visits.

I knew from conception that these trips would involve a lot of driving. I don't mind that. The extent and distances are nonetheless surprising.

I think the good news is that the paintings should be big, so in that way I am going in with an honest attempt to present what I see with integrity. The adventure is only beginning.

This week is about more research. I plan to devote most of the nights this week to grant searches and other sources of funding. A little here, a little there.

Welcome

Welcome to the blog of the Nebraska Project. I am a visual artist, primarily a painter and you can view the abstract of this project on my website.

I'm starting this blog for several reasons. Obviously, I wanted to create interest around my project. Secondly, I wanted to hopefully create both a forum and a community from which to develop the project in a public way and hopefully in a way that will be part of the eventual project itself.

So what is "The Nebraska Project"?

Last year, I conceived of a series of very large paintings based on the Great Plains. Bruce Springsteen's legendary album "Nebraska" was on the iPod a lot and I was remembering a couple of trips I had taken through the area by car between 2000 and 2001. The holidays set in and other priorities and works came about, but as the year began this idea wouldn't leave me alone. How, I asked, can I make these paintings? What will they look like? Where the heck will they be housed/exhibited? What am I trying to do as I do them?

That final question really sent me. It's one thing to make paintings in my studio, but as this idea began to take shape I realized that I wanted to expand my own ideas about art-making and the social role of the artist-citizen. I feel it is important to engage an audience with these works, not only as completed paintings but also as part of the process of getting them made. I decided that I wanted to go to Nebraska and meet people and walk the land and try to come away with more than just a tourist impression for some landscape paintings.

The more this idea goes forward, the more important public involvement/contact is becoming. It is my hope to engage in a few Town Hall meetings, both for the purpose of getting to know the local people as well as for them to get to know me. I'm sure there are questions: "Why would an artist travel 1600 miles to make a bunch of big paintings?", "What's the point?", "Am I supposed to get something?" and on and on.

I'm beginning a series of video logs, which may or may not appear on this blog as things move forward. I've contacted the wonderful people at the Great Plains Art Museum, who have been very helpful and supportive thus far. I'm looking through grants and residencies to try and fund both my travels as well as the execution of the works themselves.

What I want from this blog is your input. I want to hear from you and hopefully your questions will help me formulate my own objectives more clearly. Though most would consider me an abstract painter, I want to make very clear that I intend to push a lot of conventions with these works and I hope, in the end, that people will take them at face value and relevant to their own experiences and involvement with this project.