Arnaldo Morales and his Mean Machines

How did he learn to engineer these devices? Is he an artist or an inventor? Does anyone buy this work? (other than the cia)
If you are lucky you may be granted an eye opening glimpse into the destructive side of life.
Sometimes you can look back and locate a specific moment in time when a singular event drastically altered the course you were traveling. Personaly i have had my share of these moments and fervently honor those who have had more. Violence exist in nature in the form of floods-fires-volcanic explosians, tidal waves, thunder storms, tornadoes, monsoons, hurricanes, earthquakes and probably more. The capacity in nature for amazing feats or destruction is limitless. They can't study lightening cause they can't measure the temp, earthquakes rarely give sufficient signs for us to brace ourselves. I have been thru earthquakes, forest fires, hurricanes and some pretty major lightening storms. All these taught me to respect life and relish the very ground I stand on.Morales seems to be a lucky man. He certainly tests his luck by pushing past his fear to get at a more noble truth about the world and people. Reminds me of a movie City of God where a young man becomes a photographer while surviving the desperate world of poverty and crime in the slums outside Rio.
Has Morales had other brushes with disaster? Does he look for trouble? What are people's reactions?
Morales and I share a taste for dangerous situations and volatile substances. I like him seek out situations that scare me into an increased awareness and enhanced perception of the world. I am surprised that he does not recieve a more adverse reaction from people. it is encouraging that people aren't as predictable as my bitterness sometimes tells me. Personally i thrive off the risk of destroying boundaries, rigid ideas and outmoded versons of what is possible and acceptable. Morales punctures the side of oursleves we deny and fear and he implants a very dangerous notion that we may be as strong a force as lightening or as deadly as a gun. He engages the alphabet of desire and envokes the opposing elements of our senses forcing us to fully expose our sensitive flesh to this jagged world.

Daniel Joseph Martinez

Is Martinez strictly politcaly motivated? Does his art put his life in danger? Is he a proud american?
Like other artists i've recently discovered M is consciously assaulting the psycheof his viewers. He challenges the established political system of ideas and methods. His art demands participatian and promotes a hands on democratic forum for exchange. I wonder if he feels less validated being denied his donation to school? If his intention was not acceptance but real change then he is probably thrilled. Sometimes not being praised is more flattering. Sometimes just stirring things up and creating movement is most desirable.
I wonder if there have ver been any negative reprecussions of Martinez's works? What will he risk for his work?
To me the arts is no longer about creating something aesthtically appealing but about inciting some kind of subversive disruption of the dominant paradigms in the world. M. wants to piss people off he wants to start heated dialogue about sappy political-correctness. He is not polite or considerate but he is extremely smart and effective. I see a posse of dynamic world shakers emerging from the hardest of lifestyles in the toughest of times. These self educated masterminds punctuate history scrawling deliberately disturbing messages loaded with controversy throughout our psyche landscapes insighting us to action.

Julian LaVerdiere the Conjurer

What is the artist's background? What does his studio look like? How does he engage his audience?
JL appears to be living the Jungian archetype of the magician or trickster. His remaking of the Faust myth further supports this as does his work with unconscious states and drive to reclaim and rewrite history.His creative process breathes life into his purpose and his constant creations. The work seems to keep itself alive and flowing. JL is not caught in the frantic scramble to "keep up" this allows him to redefine the time frame and the events,past and future. He acknowledges his predecessors and bulds on from their inventions and mishaps. I collect other peoples photos from thrift stores and yard sales because i feel that they are a personal part of history that too often is left out of mainstream. These snapshots are often of extreme personal significance to their creator. Jl encourages his viewers to discover and weave their own history.
What is his goal? Does he enjoy his process? Is he a threat to power structures?
The sunken ship in First Attempt speaks to me of the end of the water based Piscean Age and the onslaught of the forces of air in this Aquarian Age. The use of altered states of mind are also a component of this time as well as firece advances in info transfer and dissimination.JL embraces and invents technologies to suit his needs,like creating your own tools.Even though Jl has the drive to inspire thought and change he also has no attachment to a desired outcome. He honestly appears to want to inspire all people to affect growth and change in any and all directions at the same time even."The forest would be a very quiet place if only the birds with the most beautiful songs sang."
The goal of this man perhaps is to empower people so that history has many voices.I think he definately enjoys his timw devoted to art, and he most definately is a threat to those who wish to control others. as a true magician or sorceror would JL is adaptable to events and still keeps belief in healing and progress alive.

Scott Greiger

Where did scott get his inspiration? Is his art work meant to be interactive? Is he a religious person ?
I am refreshed to find that Greiger is so aware of his surroundings that he finds inspiration in details most peoplewouldn't even notice.I also enjoyed that he was so able to recognize patterns in the world and use those connections to create art that forces people to consider a world that is to eagerly accepted and rarely challenged. He does not seem to be afraid of offending people which allows him to communicate with much more honesty and directness. I love that he is from the south and has such an open mind to the state of world affairs. Did he get into trouble with Nike for coopting their logo ? Since he is a teacher I wonder if he encourages his students to be as responsive to their environment? I also wonder if he ever repeats his installations or if they only occur in one space and time. Also how would he feel about someone appropriating his art for their own uses?