art talk

visited the walker art center here in minneapolis last night to hear a lecture given by jo jackson, chris johanson, and with some help from their adorable little dog raisin moccasin miotis.

(above: jackson/below: johanson)

they did a great job. the talk was less about processes of their art -- they actually shyed away from those heavy discussions -- and was more about living life as artists together and what it means. they did show some of their collaborative pieces and were very humorous about the whole thing.

quotable quotes:

"i don't like goals. i don't really have goals." -- chris johanson, when asked about what their long-term goals are as artisits. he followed this up by explaining that he likes things the way they are now and simply wants to continue the way things have been. i liked this. i realized i don't like goals either. i think they get in the way of doing NOW. daily goals are ok. like right now my only goal is to get rid of my coffee maker that keeps making this really irritating cracking sound all morning, every morning. just me and the coffee maker. it's driving me nuts.

"you just do your thing, and that is winning." -- jo jackson, in explaining the diverse community at adobe books in s.f., the place they both say they really came from. she told a story about a schizophrenic vietnam vet that influenced the value system they still have today. he fed the pigeons all over the city every day and even the cockroaches around the bookstore. that was his job, along with putting out a daily "newspaper" that was an intelligent and articulate reporting of things he had experienced in the war like the revelation of jesus christ and other schizophrenic-like subject matter. but that's what he did. that was his thing and he was good at it. he did it every day. it didn't matter that it wasn't important to anyone else. their message: just do YOUR thing and you win. i liked that, too.

they have an art show tomorrow, may 3, 6-11pm at art of this gallery (3506 nicollet ave. minneapolis) it's called conclusions on boundaries. they're also featured in the beautiful losers documentary, directed by aaron rose.
xo