First Paintings of 2010 & New Essays on Live Art/Music

> Imagery (full gallery here)

custom ukulele case

2009 01 04 - 07 Studio
opaque pens on fabric
signed 11"x17" prints available ($20)

My second custom instrument case, this one for my own new ukulele. A very loose map of the platonic cosmos, with the squirming organic world below and the harmonic perfection of luminous number above. A closer look at the background-to-foreground layout, though, shows the clear night sky behind the writhing fern-tentacles – in other words, the deepest and shallowest layers of the painting are right next to one another. Call it a visual pun on the ukulele's strange tuning, which puts high and low strings side by side. Or let it be a statement on finding the divine not in transcendental realms, but by looking "through" our own asymmetrical bodies.

This painting is dedicated to my ukulele, with whom many lovely world-encircling nondual anthems will soon be written...

Jewels
2009 01 08,09,10 - Hodi's Half Note & Studio
(Chris Berry Trio w/ Michael Kang)
20"x30" – opaque pens on masonite
original available
signed 11"17" prints also available ($20)

For some reason, rendering my photograph of this painting dimmed its hallucinatory neon color scheme. And it definitely is one of the most over-the-top images that ever squoze through me – appropriate, considering I started it on my 26th birthday, on a live-painting-adventure-slash-gift-to-myself. For how many people have told me my work reminds them of various psychedelic mindspaces, I don't usually see it...but after sitting down with it for a few days and going absolutely NUTS on detail work, I definitely understand. That first layer is made of two three-iteration gold fractals, and the little dots around the eight-pointed stars – if you click on the pic for a detailed view – they sometimes move like the blinking lights on a marquee. Mad props to Chris Berry Trio and Michael Kang, by the way, for providing a feel-good soundtrack to this piece's formative hours.

This painting is dedicated to Chris Berry, who can not only rock the mbira like a champion but also (and more importantly) gets down into the crowd to sing for part of every show – because he studied music in Africa, where they don't have our ludicrous boundary between "musicians" and "the rest of us."

> Writing
"Best Seat In The House" (H+ Magazine) – I speculate on what the live music experience might look like in five years, given radical advances in telepresencing technology. Psychic prescience, or ignorant nonsense? You decide – plenty of space in the comments for thoughtful discussion.

"Live Art Is Nonsense" (D/Visible Magazine) – Part five in my series on painting while dancing, in which I argue that the term "live art" is utterly useless because all art is alive...and then explain what really sets so-called "live art" apart from everything else.

"Review: EOTO's Fire The Lazers!!!" (Colorado Music Board) – The only even-handed review in existence of improvised-live-electronic duo EOTO's new album. Not exactly unbiased, but equivocal...and thorough.

> Upcoming Gigs
By no means a comprehensive list, but here are the high-quality gigs coming up soon. Check out the facebook invites and hopefully I'll see you out there:

2009.1.14 – Solo Acoustic Set @ Avery Brewing Company, 5:00 - 7:30 PM, Boulder CO
A race between their great beer and my shredding to see which will melt your face first. I got this booked at the last minute and apologize for getting notice out so late...if you miss it, hit me up and I'll send you the recordings!

2009.1.16 – Live Art @ ELEV8, BMOCA, Boulder CO
CoLab West is taking over the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art to put on a real rager...open bar, music by Fresh2Death & members of Elephant Revival, live painting by me and Patrick Beery, open bar, open bar...tell them I sent you at the door and your $10 ticket magically becomes a $5 ticket.

2009.1.22&23 – Live Art @ Mimosa/Eskmo/Samples, New Orleans & Lake Charles LA
They're flying me out as billed eye candy for these two delicious nights in the Bayou...if you know anybody out that way, raise the alarms!

2009.1.30 – Live Art @ Sound-Mind Crystallize, Denver CO
This is going to be an amazing event with two psy-trance stages, plenty of installation art, and a beautiful winter theme. New venue in Denver.

2009.2.18 – Solo Acoustic Set @ The New Quixotes (formerly Owsley's), The Mile High Luau, Denver CO
Reprise performance with the wonderful Mile High Sound Movement for this wonderful Hawai'i-themed evening of diverse music including everything from instrumental jazz to hip hop live electronica.

> Press
I'm featured Colorado Music Buzz's January "Up-and-Coming" section. A flattering, if frustratingly nonspecific, article...there's little of substance about my actual work, but author Charlotte Fritz kindly says of me and my music: "Show me someone who believes they have an original idea, and I will invite them to meet Michael Garfield."