With all the going back and forth in time it’s always good to remember the present, the gift that keeps on giving.
Merry Christmas from all the toys at “Hello I Must Be Going” Aloha! (it’s still there!)
Category Archives: COLLAGES
00330309
The Bogota series, The Arab ponders here, studying the collage section of the blog. Half series, half not, the complexity of the photo-novels weighing in again. Since Boos, collages have depended on its now enormous (ponderous?) storyline. That was 2015. This is 2022. A long time for collages to serve another master and not themselves as completed, self contained art works, or at least self contained art series. Bogota changed all that. Bogota never had its own gallery, although I tried to make a unified sense of the whole. Didn’t work, except, a bit, for inclusive series Bogota Proper, as I call it, and, more recently — in the last year and a 1/2 or so — Picturetown, another Canadian based series like Boos before it, notably enough. But even Picturetown was different: separate it from the attached photo-novel, 24 in a series of, presently, 32, and the meaning is severely diluted, maybe irreparably damaged. Yet I still do create individual collages here and there in the continuing process. This, I assume, will continue…
Looking back on it, audio-visual synchronicities, another kind of collage, go hand in hand with the 2d, more “regular” ones. What one might call the first true movie collage of the bunch, “Billfork” back in 2004, was created in the same year as the 1st 2d collage series in Greenup. Then, on the other side, Boos was created about the same time as the last audio-visual collages I made in 2015-2016.
Just moving down the blog headers to Reality — Reality, pheh, what a concept! — I’ve hiked almost every day since I retired March 1. I’ve included some RL photos in the blog recently, but I want to do more of that. It’s all going to a place where I concoct one of those woodsy art happenings again, like with Bigfoot-Chesterton also from 2015-2016, another of those seeming last-of-its-kind phenomenon. Truth is, I think that audio-visual synching will return, albeit in a very different and unexpected form. Collage series will continue, perhaps separating out from virtual reality again and relying more on themselves alone for meaning. Writing is very important, but art also will go on.
And I’ll probably try my hand at an actual novel sometime, sans pictures. The setting may very well be Oz.
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0033, 0309, Bigfoot+, Blue Mountain, carrcasses, City Park, collages 2d, Country Park, County Park, Nautilus, North, Oz, Rooster's Peninsula
00310416
Armed with more knowledge of a startling nature, really, I drove past the house with the white Robert’s son sitting sadly on the porch still, mouth agape, and with a lack of friends. I think back to how I got here, got to this point in time. Three letters floated before me, spinning actually, like around a common axis or center. R… B… T. All found under the fingernails of victims.
Leland Palmer burst through the front door of the Sheriff’s office, holding the same central or axial picture in front of him — partially obscuring his face — and saying he *knew* this man, who was a neighbor of his grandfather when he was growing up and who use to flick matches at him.
He believed his named was Robertson. Investigating Agent Cooper then exclaims to Twin Peaks sheriff Harry Truman standing with him before the blackboard: “Robert. Robertson. That’s what the letters are spelling. Hawk, get up to Pearl Lakes, find out who was in that other house.” But it was all a dead end, a misdirection possibly manufactured by BOB, who is the same as Robert’s son, also according to Cooper. The Son is the Sun. And that’s where we have to head next as front turns to back, ow ow ow. Painful past.
Halloween Tree. Lashings. You reach around to feel but realize your arm is bent back.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0031, 0416, Iowa, Lunch, David, Mountain Lake^, Omega^^
The missing triangle piece.
Turns out Karl was his invention all along.
Different cartoon character, same results.
Survival beyond the watermelon.
“I’ll spill everything,” said Karl to Mrs. Ordinary in her not-so-ordinary hometown of Chapel Vile after the mountainous hike with her aunt to rendezvous with the Ant. “Whaddaya want to know?”
“Thanks for meeting with me. I wasn’t sure — you were my friend still — after last time.”
“Of course I am. Old old water under the bridge. Us *cores* gotta stick together, eh? he he.” He slapped his flabby side to reinforce the healing aspect.
“Yes,” sip. But she couldn’t get the bloodlust scene out of her head.
A broken rib to end, but, like them apparently, it cleaned up nicely. The observing 88’s helped a lot with their prompt calling of the ambulance and police, good custodians both.
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0031, 0212, Carrcass-00, Corsica, ENIGMA, Nautilus, Northwest^, Wild West
Thoughts: Chesterton, Etc.
“It’s obvious that the Chesterton happening would take root when we were watching “6 Feet Under”, Carrcassonnee.”
Carr.:
I am here. Yes, the second Chesterton in Indiana, and the only remaining one in the US as a whole. Hole? Anyway, it indicates this yes. Good.
bb:
I watched the synch featuring “6 Feet Under” today, Carrcassonnee. Do you know the one?
Carr.:
Yes. I am Carrcassonnee.
bb:
Great. I enjoyed it, as usual. Probably watched it 30-40 times now. It’s one of the most complicated I’ve been able to tape. Over 90 tiles within.
Carr.:
I am here.
bb:
But looking from the outside, without prior knowledge and understanding of the structure, it could be confusing.
Carr.:
Yes. Don’t blame others.
bb:
Is Bigfoot around in Bigfoot? Had to ask.
Carr.:
They are keeping a [certain] distance.
bb:
Where’s Hucka D. in all this?
Carr.:
Hucka D. is more behind the scenes[ now]. (pause)
bb:
Is it because of the establishment of Collagesity as a permanent installation?
Carr.:
In part. We need for you to talk to someone a little more solid. Me.
bb:
Claire Fisher is at the beginning and the end of the synch. Alpha and omega. And it’s one tile, broken in two. The first shows her death at age 101, I believe. The second continues the journey to the city where she can truly begin her career as an artist, a photographer perhaps. She is the frame. The construction barrels above Chesterton are her.
Carr.:
Fishers, yes. Clare Fisherburg. I dig it, as Chester would say.
Chester:
Dig it!
bb:
Then there’s one several tile[s] within the synch that shows her mother, Ruth Fisher. She has just allowed Bill Murray to enter her house in the tile before, and then in the next she takes the place of Murray, stating she doesn’t need to come in — Arthur’s room. She’s rented a video. She doesn’t have [Murray’s] flowers in her hand any longer. Flowers to video. It’s “Silent Running” which stars Bruce Dern, featured in a recent carrcass Carrcassonnee.
Carr.:
Carr-11. I know.
bb:
[About] Nebraska. Then we have Ruth again in 2 other tiles just after this. It’s kind of a weak spot of the sync as a whole.
Carr.:
We’re talking about Waits 4 No 1. Not Carr-11.
bb:
Yes. Anyway, she and Arthur watch the film, and we tune in, in the synch, when they are almost done and are watching the ending credits. This cuts to a porn film after we return to Whose Line is it Anyway, with Ryan attempting to demonstrate how a Sperm Bank ATM works to Colin.
Carr.:
Funny. But, yes, it is cut.
bb:
Both Arthur and Ruth are very embarrassed that the porn thing is on TV when the video is cut off. Then we head to Dune.
Carr.:
I am Dune.
bb:
I wonder if a new synch could feature Silent Running?
Carr.:
2010.
Filed under Bigfoot+, Blue Mountain, Carrcass Artists
Tigers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishers,_Indiana
Fishers is a city located in Fall Creek and Delaware Townships, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, with a population of 76,794, according to the 2010 census. A suburb of Indianapolis, Fishers has grown rapidly in recent decades: about 350 people lived there in 1963, 2,000 in 1980, and only 7,200 as recently as 1990. In 2011, Fishers was named the number one city for families by The Learning Channel and was selected as a Green Community by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.[6] The city was named the safest in the nation by CQ Press for 2011-2012[7] and 2012-2013.[8] In 2010, Fishers was ranked eighth in the best places to live according to Money magazine,[9] America’s best affordable suburb by BusinessWeek,[10] and the eleventh best place to move in the country by Forbes.[6] Fishers was also ranked the 24th best place to live in America by Money magazine in 2005,[11] 33rd in 2006,[12] 10th in 2008, and 12th in 2012.[13]
The 2000 census reported the population of Fishers at almost 38,000.[25] With the town’s affordable homes, growing economy, and proximity to the booming city of Indianapolis and Interstate 69 the growth in Fishers was tremendous. In 2003 the town of Fishers requested a special census from the U.S. Census Bureau to accurately measure the rapid population growth since 2000.[18] This census would put the town’s population at 52,390, which is a 38 percent increase from the 2000 census.[18] Since then much of the government’s resources have been devoted to building parks, maintaining roads, and managing the rapid growth of the town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Feet_Under_(TV_series)
Six Feet Under is an American drama television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It premiered on the premium cable network HBO in the United States on June 3, 2001 and ended on August 21, 2005, spanning five seasons and 63 episodes. The show was produced by Actual Size Films and The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio, and was shot on location in Los Angeles and in Hollywood studios. The show depicts members of the Fisher family, who run their funeral home in Los Angeles, and their friends and lovers. The series traces these characters’ lives over the course of five years. The ensemble drama stars Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Mathew St. Patrick, and Rachel Griffiths as the show’s seven central characters.
Six Feet Under received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing and acting, and consistently drew high ratings for the HBO network. Regarded by many as one of the greatest TV series of all time, it has since been included on TIME magazine’s “All-TIME 100 TV Shows”,[1] as well as Empire magazine’s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” list.[2] It has also been described as having one of the finest series finales in the history of television.[3] It won numerous awards, including nine Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Peabody Award.
Filed under Bigfoot+, Blue Mountain, Carrcass Artists
Year in Review
The long Xmas break is coming to a close. I *love* being off from work, but I guess most people at this point in time could say that. According to Forbes at least 2 out of 3 Americans dislike their jobs. Still there are worse options, like unemployment, like living in a town I really don’t like (I do still like Blue Mountain quite a lot, just not as much as in earlier years). And I can see the finish line of my job now — 5 more years or so, perhaps 6. And that’s it.
As I’ve probably already written about here, I am very pleased with the progress on Sunklands, which is now a blog wrapped up in a legitimate web site (still bakerbloch.com for now). I see the blog as sort of a volcano of ideas, spewing forth strings of energy. I might have just finished up a round of Collagesity style fiction, for example. Before that I was heavy into the interpretation of the Boos collage series. Before that, the focus was on physically making the collages of that series. And so on back down the line. But sitting behind the blog are also several other projects I don’t talk about as much. The Sunklands site now seems to center around the collage art of me, baker b. But running in the background all the time in low hum mode is the maps research. It predates the digital collages, it predates audiovisual synching: for over 30 years now I’ve been working on this one project, trying to figure out how to put it in some sort of published form. And despite at least one valiant attempt, I’m still not there. Probably in about 10 years time I’ll release a version of the research but with the understanding that new editions will be forthcoming. I look forward to retirement for time to focus on that very important life project as well. The hybrid “Map Synching Feeling” from last year is a nod in this direction.
So let’s just break it down into categories:
Collages:
Very pleased, once more, with progress on collage work. 2 10 work series came in the first half of the year, and then the 30 piece Boos series happened in November and December. If I can keep doing 2 or 3 series a year like that for the rest of my life I’ll be pretty happy. It’s very very important to allow time for 2d digital collage making. It’s become my bread and butter, along with overall blog development.
And I have to add here that collage *interpretation* worked out well this year too. My interpretation of the Boos series might be my best writing yet in that vein. I also worked quite hard on the Stonethrow series interpretation in May, but that was only 10 collages as opposed to the 30 in Boos.
Audiovisual Synching:
Another type of collage in my mind, and one that keeps chugging along, although not at the hot pace of 2004-2007, or even 2013, another big synching year for me. But they still come. Carrcass-12 was formed this year in September. I still need to tape it, but I seemingly have all the elements in place now to do so. In a way, *this* is the center, and 2d collages just emerged from it instead of visa versa. But, really, the two go hand in hand in a bigger picture.
One thing I don’t worry about, at least presently, is making any money off of these collage creations. Setting that on the backburner has allowed me more freedom to experiment. For example, I’m always examining the idea of a work of art as self contained vs. being part of a series of at least 10 works. Obviously to the general (buying) public the former would be more understandable and probably more desirable to exhibit on their own. But without the flow of ideas behind the work, collages seem hollow and more insubstantial and, eventually perhaps, even dispensable. It’s a large topic. And this goes along with the needed interpretation of said series, adding depth. It’s almost two sides of one thing: like the moon, collages have a light side (surfacely viewable; contained) and a dark side (hidden meaning; boundless). To explore both, for me, is to better see the whole.
Virtual Reality:
This year, probably for the first time in my Second Life involvement, I’ve kept together a virtual town for *a whole year*. That’s quite an accomplishment in and of itself. But, viewed in another way, maybe it’s a non-accomplishment, because I’m always going back and forth whether to sell the land at the first of the month, or even abandon it. Witness the “move” to Nautilus continent and the Mysten sim this past summer. Witness the more recent Nautilus City rentals. Just last week Spongeberg Resident decided not to destroy the town in January and shift everything over to that island city. And I’m well aware that Second Life will not last forever, and that if I retain a virtual presence it will soon have to come through some kind of other platform. But I haven’t found that platform yet, and so my involvement with Second Life and virtual town making there persists. I’m thinking that the name Collagesity might be carried over into a post Second Life existence. I just like the name.
Art (Toy/Junk) Happenings:
One for this year: Bigfoot. Another big success story. Taking place on the western edge of the Blue Mountain Urban Landscape, October’s Bigfoot art happening forms a great synthesis of junk, toys, and marble races, my best effort yet in that direction and a template of sort for all happenings to follow. Where is it headed? I’m not sure, but the happenings have become an indispensable part of my art now. They are also entwined with woodsy exploration. So let’s go to that next…
Hiking/Exploring:
The weather has been super nice in November and December this year, allowing me considerably more hikes that usual for the time period. I have a backlog of photos to upload to the blog, actually, involving several more extensions of the Blue Mountain Landscape beyond Bigfoot (and Rediscovery). But Bigfoot is the big find of the year since it is attached to the successful happening. And the Blue Mountain Urban Landscape itself, taking a focus away from nearby Frank and Herman Parks. Too much stress, I feel, has been laid upon the latter to carry forth my art happenings, with Whitehead Crossing at the center of that quandry. More on that in a post to come. But Whitehead X-ing keeps being developed in its own way, and, as it seems to be turning out, in a *different* direction than the art happenings. Very important point there.
Sunklands Blog:
It keeps keeping on! I’m one of those that took to blogging like a duck to water. I can’t see that coming to a halt anytime soon. It also acts as or subs for a personal/ work journal. I sometimes talk through life problems via the blog’s various characters. I find refuge in a virtual village when the outside world becomes either physically or emotionally harsh. I weather the storm there and blog about it. I always seem to emerge a stronger person, and better because of the challenge. Thank you Sunklands!
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0001, Bigfoot+, Blue Mountain, carrcasses, collages 2d, Frank Park, Herman Park, Heterocera, Lower Austra^, MAPS, Nautilus, Nautilus City^, Rubi^, Whitehead Crossing
Uncle Meatwad Won
1st 27 or so minutes of what we eventually saw:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sk1rf2df5mflb34/VTS_01_1.VOB?dl=0
—–
Afterwards we reconvened at Carrcassonnee’s gazebo to discuss the viewing. Spongeberg wanted to see the first part again to take notes, so Furry Karl and I walked around town some more. Carrcassonnee simply teleported back to her position in the gazebo. I knew it was ultra important that I correctly sell what I would consider the true status of “Uncle Meatwad”. To save the town. To save my reputation as an artist. So the questions began…
“I have made a short list of matches now,” began Spongeberg Resident. “What I saw was 15 minutes of what could be considered random pieces of music, dominated by John Lennon.”
“We call him Lemon here in virtual-land, Spongeberg,” I tried to joke.
“But I also know,” continued Spongeberg, “that this is all real in some way, some fashion… because of ‘Shiny Hare’.”
“Because of ‘Shiny Hare’, yes,” I reinforced. This was about our walk in Frank Park around the Bunny Trail. We talked of “Shiny Hare”. I convinced Spongeberg, his real life counterpart, about the legitimacy of “Shiny Hare”.
“This is an earlier work,” stated Spongeberg.
“Yes,” I said. “From 2007.”
“And it is a double itself.”
“Yes,” I said again. “Twin to [delete name]. I made “Uncle Meatwad” public for a brief period because [delete name] sits hidden behind it, protecting.”
“This is the tajitu,” chips in Furry Karl.
“Yes, I guess it is,” I said, “like the interview with the other Karl, Karl. The trapped Wheeler is [delete name]. The exposed white side of the tajitu is “Uncle Meatwad”. But in another way, “Uncle Meatwad” is trapped, like the Wheeler. Can you help me free him?”
Spongeberg jotted down some more notes. Carrcassonnee was staring at him with her one, big eye.
“Carrcassonnee,” I asked, “What is your opinion? How do I free “Uncle Meatwad” and save the village?”
“Me,” she answered simply.
—–
Spongeberg then says the “Egypt” cue is where it starts to really kick in or “sync”, as he put it. He understood the magic, once more. “Shiny Hare” style magic. “And”, he said, “you work backwards from there to understand the first part. which mirrors the 3rd.”
“Yes,” I said.
“Then the middle part, the last one, is where it all goes down… the hole.”
“Absolutely.” Had I just saved Collagesity?
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0001, Carrcass-00, Carrcass-10, Heterocera, Rubi^
3rd Audience
It was a busier night for Carrcassonnee. Spongeberg saw the telltale lemon burning in the bowl outside the gazebo on his way to examine Shiny Hare. He took advantage of the being’s presence. He still had some issues.
I, baker b., was not privy to the actual conversation, but I heard what happened second-hand through Furry Karl, who was also on his way to see the new town tower when he spied Spongeberg within the temple and sneaked around the back to listen. I immediately reprimanded him for doing so, but I was also oh so ever curious about what they talked about. So when Furry Karl spilled some of the beans, I made a cup of instant coffee in place of a real one. What could I do? I was the one actually in charge of the town, I felt. These were *my* creations. I of course didn’t tell Furry Karl this. I remembered how he used to just say “Merry Fucking Summer, have a beer”, and so on. Merry Fall, Merry Easter, Merry this and that. What changed? Does he have memory of those muter times? Anyway, to the spilled beans and improvised coffee making…
“Spongeberg still desires to kill the town,” says Karl to me as we enter the palm grove of Collagesity East. “The Hare statue didn’t change his mind.” We both look up. It was towering above us. “It’s a *tower*,” I want to say to Karl.
“I know the taijitu,” he then says, surprising me. “I know of Uncle Meatwad. Things have changed. I am not mute because I have shifted somewhat. Just now, actually. That memory just locked into place. Funny.”
I looked at Furry Karl. His *double* was *in* Uncle Meatwad. “Show me Uncle Meatwad”, he almost demanded. “We can go up to Collagesity to view it. Where the Church of the Red Door is.”
Spongeberg and Carrcassonnee talked about “Uncle Meatwad” most of the time, as it turned out. Me (Baker Bloch), Baker Blinker, Hucka Doobie, and Uncle Meatwad and Shakenstein and such.
“What happened?” Spongeberg asked cooly (says Karl). I imagined Carrcassonnee’s eye rolling upwards.
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0001, Carrcass-00, Heterocera, Rubi^
Sunklands 