Table of Contents

Nicole Ponsler

October 26, 2008

Packet #3

1. Table of Contents

2. Cover Letter

3. Journal Entries

4. Artwork sent as attachment, posted to: http://goddardf08.blogspot.com/, http://olgapainter.blogspot.com/

5. Reflection and Commentary

6. Bibliography

7. Posting of new work on http://goddardf08.blogspot.com/ for critique.

Cover Letter

Nicole Ponsler

October 26, 2008

Packet #3

I have been giving a great deal of thought to live painting performances this packet period. I have also been working on two new paintings as well as effigies of Bush and Cheney. I have been working with a community organizer responsible for an upcoming celebration (Nov. 1) that will incorporate both effigy burning and my first 2-3 hour live painting performance. I have set up my new studio in such a way that allows for Nate’s band to play while I do interpretive paintings. So far, I have only worked on the Bush effigy while they play, but the idea for future gatherings is for myself and others to create paintings that respond to the music. I just started reading Judith Butler’s Precarious Life as well as Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. However, my work for this packet has consisted largely of painting.

I have found the preliminary band/interpretive painting sessions to be most inspiring not only for me but for those in the band as well. My hope is that the same enthusiasm can be duplicated in a larger and more public setting. I am inspired by my paintings, although I certainly have my moments of wanting to burn them. At present, I am working on successful resolution of issues in my work, rather than abandoning them which has always been a problem in my practice.

I am feeling similarly inspired by the upcoming live painting performances. I am very anxious to experience the audience’s reaction to the process and imagery. I am looking forward especially to the second live painting installment to be held on election night. I would love to research any other artists you may know about who produce live paintings.

I would like you to address my paintings with the understanding that they are still very new. I have some particular questions regarding color in the balloon and roses and would like to hear your thoughts. Is the color too local? I am trying to pair down the intensity of my palette after reading Touched by Fire by Kay Jamison’s who suggests that people with manic disorders tend to use bright colors. I do not know what’s going on with the sky in this painting, so I would like to hear your thoughts on the background color.

Lastly, I just finished my application materials for an instructor’s position at the SRJC. Wish me luck!

10/13/08

I’ve been building effigies. I’m making a Bush and Cheney effigy for our “Odd Saints Ball” in Point Arena. I’m asking that community members write their thoughts on these past eight years on the effigies before we set them aflame. They are being constructed on large sheets of cardboard. I took a pic of Bush and Cheney and reduced the color, etc. in order to make it look like block prints. I transferred the reduced images onto cardboard that I painted black and white. The plan is to set them on fire the night of Nov. 1^st in the middle of HWY 1…we have few laws or ordinances that are observed here.

10/16/08

The following is an article I was asked to write for Business Lexington regarding the great mural debacle of 2008…It pretty much explains what happened. I had totally moved on when the reporter called a few days ago. Regarding your questions about the project in packet 2…no, there is no resolving this issue. LexArts is completely incapable of communicating, negotiating, or accepting responsibility for their incompetence.

I have no intention of applying for mural projects in the future. I have had two huge projects fall through this year after giving countless hours, unpaid. I am feeling very defeated in this department. My intention is to step back and reassess my intentions and expectations with regard to public art. I know that I do not want to spend my time dealing with crap like this…

I began the process of applying for the Lexington Outdoor Mural Project last March. Following successive missed deadlines on the part of LexArts, I was notified in July that I had been selected to be the muralist for the Southland Association. From that point on, all my communications with LexArts were with an intern. The intern promised that I would be receiving paid travel to Kentucky and that he would go about procuring and shipping the necessary sign board. I never heard back from the intern. I contacted him several times to no avail.

The next communication from LexArts came in the form of a contract. The project dates as stated in the contract were beginning August 1^st and continuing through October 15^th. The contract arrived late on August 29^th with no explanation. They did, however, mention that “time was of the essence” largely because LexArts had squandered six months spent in administrative limbo. The contract also failed to include the travel addendum. Finally, the contract stated that $3000 had been taken off of the top of each muralist’s budget to cover “documentation and publicity fees”. There was no mention of this in the original RFQ, interviews or in subsequent communications. Muralists were told up front that materials were to come out of the artists’ budgets, so why would they not divulge this added $3000 expenditure in the six months leading up to the submission of contracts? It was clear to me then that the Community Arts Manager had simply forgotten to set aside funds for this at the onset of the project and expected the artists to cover their mistake (a common and reoccurring theme in my dealings with LexArts).

When asked about these contract issues, I was offered a vague statement supposedly in support of their assertion that LexArts had the right to arbitrarily reduce mural funds at their whim. When asked why we received a contract 28 days after the project start date, I was told that I should’ve already been working on the mural with no contract, no money, no sign board and very little communication with LexArts. When I forwarded my email correspondence with the intern regarding his insistence that he procure the sign board for me, my concerns were met with silence. This burying of one’s head in the sand rather than communicating like professionals became commonplace in my dealings with LexArts. When I stated that I would not accept the $3000 deduction in pay, there was no room for negotiation. I was to either accept the previously undisclosed budgetary deduction, or quit the project. Because I take particular issue with an arts organization undervaluing artists, and because LexArts offered no room for negotiations, I was forced to step down.

Following this debacle, I wrote a detailed letter to the President and CEO of LexArts enumerating my concerns. I was assured that my experience was exceptional and that he was not aware of any of the problems that had arisen with regard to LOMP. I was told that this was his fault for placing too many responsibilities on the Community Arts Manager and that he would get to the bottom of the situation by finding documentation funds elsewhere. I never heard back from Jim.

In my years working as a muralist and youth mural coordinator, I have never encountered such an extraordinary lack of professionalism as I have with LexArts. Ignoring obvious issues when they require attention and resolution implies faulty administration. This pattern of denial and the inability to acknowledge and correct mistakes suggests that it is time for the Board of Directors to review their policies to determine if their organization is adequately meeting its stated mission.

10/19/08

I spent yesterday in the studio. I’m finally completely moved into the new space and absolutely loving it. Last night, Nate’s band came out to play in the new space for the first time. I was really energized and inspired by the music. I kept painting while they were playing and was reminded of your post regarding Mona Caron (which I’ve pretty much thought about non-stop since you forwarded it). My intention is to continue impromptu paintings in reaction to the music. I think this painting will be more abstract per your suggestion in response #2. Last night, I worked on the Fish Taco painting and on the Bush effigy while the band played. The Bush effigy looks appropriately evil. I was imagining painting large canvases behind the band during a yet-to-be planned party at the studio. I like the performance aspect, but I think I’m most interested in others witnessing the act of creation. This is a new direction in terms of my thinking about public art. I’m inspired and the band was inspired too…very cool.

10/20/08

I’m voting right now for President Obama. Why on earth do we have a proposition on the ballot forcing farms to allow animals to stretch their legs or touch the ground a certain amount of times per day? Reading that made my stomach turn. Are we so inhumane that we have to have legislation telling us how to treat animals? Ghandi said that “Societies can be judged by the manner in which they treat their animals”. If that’s the case, we are so screwed.

10/21/08

I met with the contractor regarding the pebblestone mosaic (PSM). He says infrastructure’s still a week and a half out. Rock collecting continues. I’ve been cutting sections of plywood to act as templates for sections of the mosaic.

Just finished reading about Mirror Neurons and how they relate to empathy. I’m waiting on Precious Life by Judith Butler in hopes of drawing some parallels between her research and that of current neuroscience. I have always been fascinated by the notion of why people do not relate to the plight of Iraqi, Pelestinian, Darfurian, etc. families. I’m hoping that some research into these matters clears some lingering questions I’ve had for at least these past (terrible) eight years.