: : pxldan : :

In February, I posted a review comparing the art policies (federal support and arts education) of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I thought it would be nice to revisit the issue with Obama and McCain. However, the McCain art policy would seem to be quite simple - no art. It would actually be more accurate to say the John McCain has an Anti-Arts Policy.

I wrote of Obama's Art advocacy: "As the author of two books, Barack Obama is no stranger to creative expression. His public stance on the arts has been to stress the importance of Arts Educations in terms of the importance that creativity has in the math and science skills needed to fuel the nations future. So in addition to an increased in funding for the NEA, as president, Obama has vowed to Expand Public/Private Partnerships Between Schools and Arts Organizations which would increase resources for the U.S. Department of Education’s Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants. He has also promised to create an Artist Corps; young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities -- again linking arts curriculum to improved test scores."

Solid huh. You can download Obama's official Arts Policy Platform here: "A Platform In Support Of The Arts"

On the opposite end of the creative spectrum is John McCain who makes it quite clear that he would prefer to eliminate all federal funding for the arts. In 1999, McCain voted with, among others, Sens. Robert Smith, Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, Sam Brownback and John Ashcroft for the Smith-Ashcroft amendment. The amendment sought to cut all funding for the NEA from that year’s budget.

As for McCain's official policy on Art's education? Nada. The McCain/Palin website doesn't seem to address the subject. To be fair, McCain has been quoted as saying ”I have opposed federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts because I believe it is not proper to use tax dollars for what many Americans feel are the obscene and inappropriate projects this organization has supported. I support providing federal block grants to the states for arts education and artistic endeavors pursued by state and local authorities, while assuring that federal tax dollars are not spent on obscene or offensive material.”

So while McCain opposes the NEA he does indicate a basic level of arts education as long as it's not offensive or obscene. However defining offensive within art education is a slippery topic. See example #1 and more recently example #2. This runs along the same lines as school libraries - who decides what's appropriate? I am quite certain the the level of art that I want my child exposed to is much more 'expansive' that other parents may feel comfortable with.

The candidates records on the arts are not going to define the election but I believe that arts and arts education are an important part of our society's well-being and a crucial aspect of our future financial strength. The importance of the arts education (music, visual, performing, etc) and creative development in general cannot be underestimated. No matter the industry, politicians included, creativity is a competitive advantage. Is it another educational advantage that our country is willing to cede to other nations?

BTW - In August of 2008, The Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC released their congressional arts report card. It was nice to note that Colorado's standing has improved from the last time I reviewed the report in 2006. 2 A's 2 B's and 3 F's (2006: 1 A, 1 B, 2 D's and 3 F's) thanks to a one Dem (John Salazar) coming round and one less Republican. What does remains the same is that each F sits next to a Republican. 

9 years ago my wife surprised me with a shiny, orange Francis! Francis! for my birthday. Coffee connoisseurs panned the model for it's substandard pump, aluminum boiler and non standard collar. But I loved-loved my Italian built Francis! Francis! I prefer jump starting my day quickly by using e.s.e pods rather than grinding whole beans. Again, coffee geeks have turned their collective noses up on espresso coffee pods but - whatever. Francis! Francis! is a beautifully designed and simple to use machine at a time when the only commercially available alternative was the black plastic Krups models from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Every morning I was greeted by the "Francis" (Designer Luca Trazzi's Daughter) sticking her tongue out at me as I enjoyed the surprisingly satisfying toggle switching experience. Last year the temperature gauge went out so I would just wait till I heard the boiler turn off before I pulled the shot. However, this week the pump died mid pull. - sniff.

So now I have a decision to make. Buy another Francis! Francis! X1 or shop around. The new X1's have upgraded the pump pressure and added a brass collar.  However, I don't like the new 'icons' under the toggles and the price is $900 (We don't have the disposable income we had in out twenties - I blame bush). I'm eyeing the BMW designed, 15-bar Starbucks Sirena machine which for $399 is an affordable alternative - but lacks the inspirational design of the Francis. However, I am really leaning towards the Ascaso "Dream". This machine is built in Spain, has a 16 bar Pump, nice lines and sells for $749. Not a huge savings over the Francis but perhaps enough for me to justify the purchase?

I spent this last weekend in Pueblo for Fiesta Day at the Colorado State Fair. Last year was the first year I had attended the fiesta and thankfully I was invited to participate in an art show for the event again. The show was organized by Ed and Charlene Simms and participating artists included Jerry Jaramillo, Carlos Fresquez, Evelyn Martinez and Pueblo's Doug Candelaria.

In addition to the parade and a multitude of acts around the fairgrounds we also checked out the Celebracion De Los Charro. The event featured Colorado's Charros de Las Delicias accompanied by Mariachi Vasquez. However, big draw of the event was the horsemanship and rope work of Tomás Garcilazo. The only regrettable part of the weekend was eating fried fair food for every meal - churros, fry bread and a deep fried snickers bar. This was the first time I had tried the snickers (last year i did the twinkie) - not impressed. My father tried the cheesecake - not bad.

I'll post some more photos when I have a chance.

A friend in Seattle sent me the this short bit about one journalist impression of Denverites while visiting for the DNC. I'm sure not all visitors have been as pleasant. BTW - one of my big pet peeves is guests, to any location, complaining about that location to their hosts - how rude.

"Life expectancy has to be higher here in Denver. Everyone is lean and fit and looks like they just finished mountain biking, are on their way to yoga class, and might end the day with a run."

"The other striking thing about the city is the number of dogs. There must be a city ordinance requiring all residents to own at least one dog. I'm not talking roving bands of stray dogs here, just everyone on the street with a leash in hand, and dogs that look very accustomed to hanging out in coffee shops, chilling in the shade of sidewalk cafes, and in general being part of the life of the city."

David Kurtz, Dog Town U.S.A. - Talking Points Memo

Americans for the Arts Action Fund co-hosted an educational forum at the Democratic National Convention in Denver today in partnership with NAMM, the International Music Products Association. The event was held at the Museo de las Americas to discuss the future of the arts and arts education in America. The forum was part of ArtsVote 2008, a national initiative designed to promote the arts during the presidential election.

Moderated by Richard Riley, Former U.S. Secretary of Education and Former Governor of South Carolina the panel featured Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz, President, U.S. Conference of Mayor, Philanthropist Sheila C. Johnson, Musician John Legend and, previously unannounced, Congresswoman Louise McIntosh Slaughter.

This video has some of the highlights from the event - my favorite of which was the recollections of Congresswoman Louise McIntosh Slaughter involving the major budget cuts the NEA experienced during the Reagan administration. She closes with an inspirational concept "Children that create will not destroy"

Artist Jerry Vigil just sent me an email about his new book Day of the Dead Crafts: More Than 24 Projects that Celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Jerry is a MosaicGlobe member and a very active artist in the Denver area. The book looks great and the timing is perfect. With Dia de los Muertos right around the corner (November 1st and 2nd), it's time to start thinking about those little Calaveritas. Read more about Jerry in a profile we did of him a couple of years back and be sure to visit his website. Jerry will be at the Tattered Cover Bookstore on Tuesday October 14th but if you're not in the area or can't wait to get your copy (like me) head over to amazon for a good deal - even if they did misspell the title.

I have an art opening in a few hours so I probably should not have started any new projects for the day but I have been putting this off long enough. I decided to drop the spitbubbles moniker from my site and go with pxldan which I use nearly everywhere else. Well that means broken images throughout the entire site. For the time being I'm going to close down all the sections until I get all the images fixed. I'll concentrate on the blogs first - which is the largetst section and hoepfully I'll get the whole thing updated over the weekend.

I just spent the better part of a Saturday evening (now Sunday morning) optimizing all the images of my artwork over at DannyVigil.com. I pulled down all the art from last year and this year and brightened them up a bit. For some reason they all seemed rather muted. See the rooster posted last week compared to the one on the other site. My palette tends to be muted but not that dreary. I am also realizing that I do not have a gift for naming my work. The all tend to be a very generic names: cup, dog, man on bench, etc. The painting here seems to want a introspective, inspirational title but all I can come up with is; flag, girl with flag or flag girl. Also, earlier today it hit me  - some of these paintings need to be ready to hang next weekend and have yet to be varnished. There goes Sunday.

Perhaps, I forget the flag and go with "Red Boots". 

Typically the daddy-to-be does not get to participate in the pre-birthing festivities - for good reason I'm sure. However, us aging lads made our own pregnancy pact and that merits special guest status at our own non-shower. What do you buy a dad-to-be? Honestly, when asked, I drew a blank. Like I have any idea.

Anyway, this invitation is super awesome so I thought I'd post it. Much love to the Wera Family for reminding future dads that we always have a place to hangout on the weekend!

I am finally getting around to photographing the new artwork. The paintings at the next show will most likely be wet :)

 

 

Just wrapping up a series of upgrades to MosaicGlobe and thankfully the system did not come crashing down. This is the first major revision that the mosglo code has gotten in a long time and it should set the stage to a number of new features we've been wanting to get to.  JRay has also included the ability to add Google Analytics code in each site for detailed tracking!

With years of figurative drawing classes in school, painting sessions at the arts league, and life study sessions with colleagues in the studio, come stacks and stacks of visual studies in charcoal, pencil, watercolor and oil. Each depicting a model whose curves and color the artists may know better than their own skin.

Those who haven't spent an afternoon analyzing a nude figure perched on a stool in a room full of people may not realize how little of them you actually consciously see. When your so busy scrutinizing over each minute curve, cast shadows and lost lines you often fail to appreciate the work a good model can accomplish. I recall my favorites as pros in their ability to strike and hold fascinating poses. A good model understands the instructional role of their "position".

Today's Seattle Post Intelligencer published an insightful article showcasing the work of one such model, Robert Treat. Robert has been modeling for 27 years. You can imagine the hundreds-of-thousands of drawings featuring his likeness done by hundreds of students and artists sitting among their stacks of life drawings all across the state.

I have a family reunion and Father's Day to deal with this weekend so I am not sure if I am going to be able to swing by this years Summer Art Market - but I intend to try and sneak it in if I can. Although Summer doesn't officially drop until the 20th -the Art Students' League of Denver is hosting their annual Summer Art Market this weekend (June 14 - 15th, 10-5 each day). There will be music, food, heat and tons of terrific art - really, like about 150 booths of creativity!

If your a collector, you know that this is the place to buy awesome works of art from up and coming artists for a percentage of their future value. But if your looking for some affordable artwork to brighten up your walls, this is the best place to find that perfect piece - and who knows, you may find an artist (or artists) whom you would like to start collecting from.

It's been my experience that the hardcore collectors show up early Saturday. Sunday afternoon tends to be a tad bit slower if you want to avoid the crowds. However, if it's particularly hot weekend you may be dealing with some frazzled artists ready to cut some good discounts on their remaining work (I know I let some pieces go for a song at the end of the last event I participated in).  If you go (and you should) get in early before the pavement heats up and check out my good friend Jen Caskin's  etchings. She is sharing her tent with a number of printmakers.

 

Location:
2nd and Grant St in Denver (2 blocks East of Broadway, near the Mayan theater)
Sat June 14 and Sun June 15 (Yes, Father's Day - Buy dad some art)
10:00am to 5:00pm each day

 

P.S. Let's support our local artists. If I see one more framed mall poster from pier one imports on a wall i'm going to puke.

Do you love power point presentations? Who doesn't? Want to share your presentations ala youtube? Then slideshare is the site for you!

When my friends Dan and Deb were pregnant I wrote a haiku to celebrate the occasion. Now that my wife is pregnant, Deb has done the same. Thanks

Pregnancy is weird
Mommy's belly grows, she glows
But her brain will shrink

The original version of this bill (defeated in 2006) was designed to allow non-profit and educational institutions (i.e. museums and libraries) to use images without the risk of being sued in situations where they could not find the owner of the copyrights. The U.S. Copyright Office defines "orphan work" as "copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or even impossible to locate". In an attempt to resolve this "orphan" issue, new versions of the bill have resurfaced:

"Congress is revisiting the longstanding problem of orphan works. These are books, films, photographs, music, and other creative works that cannot be reused by scholars and archivists because they are unable to find the works’ owners. Those who make use of the material risk incurring penalties for copyright infringement."
Excerpt: Andrea Foster, Legislation to Ease Problem of Orphan Works Is Introduced in Congress, Wired Campus, April 25, 2008.

While the bill has good intentions, and attempts to address valid concerns - the details have alarmed artists because it would allow anyone to legally use (and resell) creative works without license, monetary compensation or legal recourse for the creator.

Current copyright laws assume the artists has ownership. You created it. You signed it. You own the rights to it. No need to put a copyright mark on it - it's yours. No organization can display or resell prints of your work unless that organization has contractually licensed reproduction rights from the owner (The Artist). Should someone decide to swipe your creative work - you have the law on your side. At least for now.

If the Orphan Works Act were to pass, any organization could legally pinch and resell an artists work. If caught, they would only have to claim that they performed a “due diligent search” and were unable to find the copyright owner; therefore the art was considered "orphaned". In this case, a "diligent search" may be nothing more than an online post somewhere. Kind of like a "found cat" flyer posted on a light post nowhere near the owner.

Also, according to the bill, the penalty for being caught using images without the permission of the owner would be "reasonable compensation". What "reasonable compensation" is would be determined would be by the infringer. It would seem the fairest way to resolve the issue would be to let the lawyers work it out but, here's the punch-line, the copyright owner can not seek damages and legal fees. That's right, it would be nearly impossible for the vast majority of independent artists to pursue infringement lawsuits.

So what's an Artist to do? It would be up to the artists to prevent infringement by registering their artwork with an arts registry (according to the bill: a non-governmental databases of copyrighted works). So how would we do that? No Idea. See, these registries don't exist.

If these registries do come into existence they would be run by for-profit corporations, meaning the artist would be paying  to protect their own work. I personally create well over 100 paintings per year, not to mention all the photos, sketches, illustrations, graphics and general design work. That's going to take a considerable amount of time to "register" and add additional expenses to an already difficult business.

It's important to note that these are initial drafts submitted to congress and will go through a number of changes as it moves through the process. It will be interesting to see if it makes it to a vote... 

To honor the success of Denver's oldest continually operating artist co-op dedicated to promoting the art and culture of Chicano/Latino art, a month long showcase titled, " Return of the Corn Mothers: A 30 year celebration of CHAC" will begin festivities with a free Cinco de Mayo/ First Friday concert by nationally renown L.A. based musician Martin Espino from the band Mexika, a blessing ceremony by Aztec Kapuli Huehueteotl and a meet and greet with the shows featured artist , free food, and spectacular art show on May 2nd from 6-9 p.m. at the CHAC gallery.

The theme of the show is based on the Pueblo mythology of the Corn Mothers who were said to have sung in the essence of all creation including the sacred Katchinas of the South West. The shows content is said to be one of the most unique exhibitions to come to Denver. The focal point of the showcase is a photo journalist exhibition of women from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas who have earned accolades for their community activism and creative endeavors. This photo display was the recipient of the prestigious 2007/08 Rocky Mountain Women's Institute fellowship award and will begin a year long tour with the premier at CHAC. Todd Pierson the shows photographer is considered one of Colorado's most skilled portrait artist and has spared no expense in putting together a stunning show, said shows curator Renee Fajardo.

[ Link to full article ]

A while back I created a new MosaicGlobe website to store and organize my grandfather's photographs (click here). In the process I was able to collect a number of articles and interesting background information. Mostly from my Uncle who has taken a very active interest in our family tree. A couple of years back I had the chance to visit to the small town where my grandfather was born. A small coal mining community just west of Trinadad, CO. near the New Mexico border. I need to put those pictures up as well. This summer I am hoping to make the trip back as I have been told there is a small graveyard in the area where a number of family members were buried. Anyway, the site is of interest to the family and I still have a lot of pictures I need to restore and add to the site - but it's been a blast to create and there's some nice pics of my dad as a child : ).

 

Also, for Christmas this year I created a cool hardcover photobook using the software from Blurb.com. It came out pretty nice despite a few mispelled words (that's why I hate print). You can view the preview at http://www.blurb.com/user/dannyvigil. At the time the software for the Mac was really buggy and I had to relaunch often. However, I haven't tried the latest version so hopefully it's more stable. A big thanks to Wendy at wazobirdstudio.com for the idea with her fascinating MosaicGlobe family website schwabik.mosaicglobe.com.

I was reading that a rare Pablo Picasso watercolor done when the artist was in his early twenties was sold at auction yesterday. The painting "Etreinte" (Embrace), shows a nude Picasso entwined in an intimate embrace with his then girlfriend Louise Lenoir, known as Odette.

I am fond of reminding my cousins that show an interest in art that Pablo Picasso was a Ruiz (My mother's maiden name). His father was a Ruiz but professionally, he used his mothers name. Perhaps he was a mama's boy. As a young artist, Picasso's work had a profound impact on how I viewed and understood art (My cat, Pablocito, is a nod to the artists influence).

In addition to being the most recognized and celebrated artist of our time he would also seem to be the most quoted.  So I thought I would post some of my favorite Picasso quotes along with why I believe that he is so admired among young artists - or at least me.

1. The Natural Talent - Like many artists, Picasso showed a knack for the arts at a young age, but under the guidance of his father, an academic art instructor, he developed the fundamentals required to truly excel as an artist. The most popular legend of his youth was his fathers vowing to give up painting upon seeing his child reworking one of his own unfinished sketches in a manner that was better than his own.

"When I was their age I could draw like Raphael, but it took me a lifetime to learn to draw like them."

2. The Lifestyle - Picasso's art is autobiographical. Today, a romanticized bohemian life is idealized in the mind of a young artist and Paris in the early 1900's was the epitome of artistic decadence and the advant-garde. This is the period that gave birth to Picasso's emotional, blue period. A somber analysis of poverty and instability marked by the suicide of his close friend and studio mate in 1901.

"One must act in painting as in life, directly."

3. The Bravado - In his lifetime, Picasso developed a series of ever-changing artistic styles that challenged the traditional conventions of the art world. He was also generally considered to be dominating and egotistical. It is this artistic bravado along with the masculine iconography employed in his work and the fact that he maintained a number of mistresses in addition to the occasional wife that lends to his allure of "Machismo" among young artists.

"Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don't start measuring her limbs."

4. The Prolific Creativity -  Although he is best known for his cubist work, he has worked in a wide variety of styles and in many mediums: paintings, drawings, sculpture, theater and costume designs, ceramics, lithographs and etchings. I have always been partial to the neoclassical (the Olga years) period myself; but no matter the period, Picasso was amazingly prolific.

"Whenever I wanted to say something, I said it the way I believed I should. Different themes inevitably require different methods of expression. This does not imply either evolution or progress; it is a matter of following the idea one wants to express and the way in which one wants to express it."

5. The Fame - Choosing to study art is a risky decision most often equated with the tragic and tortured artist mystique. A young artist needs to believe that there is an audience that can appreciate the work. In his life time Picasso was a celebrity with street cred. In his later years, he was earning millions, and, upon his death, left an estate estimated at $1.1 billion, assuring his position as the richest artist who ever lived.

“I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money.”

In Virginia, a local newspaper "The Virginian-Pilot" sponsored an art contest at the Chrysler Museum with a $1,000 prize, called The Virginian-Pilot Student Gallery. After the top winners were selected by the judges, the newspaper's publisher, Bruce Bradley, decided to reject their decision because he felt the art was inappropriate.

"While it’s true we don’t specifically address this in the rules and regulations, the concern I had was to have a 17-year-old girl do a self-portrait of herself in the nude,” Bradley said. “I thought that was inappropriate for the contest."

According to the paper's description of the first place work by Nancy "Beth" Reid she "is crouching, with most of her private parts hidden, except for a small portion of her backside". There is no photo of the art because the publisher decided to censor that as well. There is however a photo of the second place work by Jasmine Childs; a ceramic torso depicting a nude pregnant torso.

A student of art history understands the role of the human form and would agree that Childs' sculpture is reminiscent of the some of the earliest female forms such as the "Woman from Willendorf" estimated to have been created over 25,000 years ago.

Both of these students have been excepted to Virginia Commonwealth University and plan to study art. How can our communities teach art appreciation (and awareness of all aspects of art) and at the same time punish students for their self-expression? Is it the job of the media to decide what topics are considered appropriate?

The publisher has agreed that the rules and regulations did not address these boundaries - which suggests that the judges were given the freedom to select the work based on artistic merit and that the rejection was based on nothing more than the publishers prudishness. If you going to put up the prize money - and your idea of acceptable art is rather narrow, than you had best judge the "The Bruce Bradley Student Gallery"  show yourself.

In response, the more creative-minded members of the community that felt the paper's actions were unethical have begun raising funds to replace the prize money denied to the rightful winner.

Mac likes to boasts that the Mac operating system is "safer" than a PC. This is true to the extent that most virus are constructed to attack Microsoft systems. This makes me feel a little safer sifting through all those payload emails that pour into my inbox every day. But other than the fact that there are less viruses written for a Mac, is the Mac really inherently safer? Apparently not. This years Vancouver based hackfest (CanFestWest) PWN to OWN contest resulted in a really poor showing for the latest Mac system. Hackers were tasked with gaining entry to a designated file on each computer. The first to do so got to keep the computer (thus the OWN part of PWN to OWN) and some cash money. The Mac in question was an updated MacBook Air and it went down in two minutes thanks to a vulnerable Safari browser. It took two days to crack the Microsoft PC (a super tiny Fujitsu U810 ) running Vista SP1.  A third party app, Adobe's flash, was the weak link for the PC. So is there a really secure OS out there. After three days of hacking a Sony VAIO laptop running the free Linux OS - Ubuntu 7.10 was the last book standing. 

Starting April 1st Google Adwords will be enforcing a long standing policy which requires that the url displayed on an ad must actually be the url that the link leads to. Fake display urls are commonly used by advertisers trying to 'own' the search results page. This allowed them to have several ads on the results page that all looked like different sites - but in fact, all lead to the same site. It seems that advertisers can still use a redirect for tracking as long as the end destination is the same (link -> trackingpage -> destination). This will effect advertisers that use vanity urls and will hopefully lessen those the use misleading urls in an attempt to attract visitors. This will also make ad testing more difficult. Testing two ads won't be an issue but a-b testing of a landing page for conversions will need to be more 'creative'. I personally think your going to see advertisers using iFrames to get around some of these 'landing page' issues

Most advertisers won't be seriously affected by this change. I 'm going to let our ads run through the first to see how they are disabled. But will most likely have to make some changes..

The Chicano Humanities and Arts Council will be celebrating 30 years next month with the "La Familia 30th Anniversary" show. Artist Yoko Ono has contributed a limited edition iPod Touch inscribed with the phrase "Imagine Peace" and signed "Love, Yoko," along with a signed postcard picturing her and John Lennon's 1969 Montreal 'Bed-in' and a letter of authenticity from the Lennon-Ono estate Studio One in New York City. The donation will be auctioned during the event to help CHAC's community outreach programs.

CHAC, which was formed in 1978 by a group of visual and performing artists as a venue to explore visual and performance art and promote and preserve the Chicano/Latino culture through the expression of the arts.

The La Familia show will run April 2 to 26, with an opening reception April 4 as part of the First Friday Art Walk in the ArtDistrict on Santa Fe.

For more information or to make a donation visit the CHAC's MosaicGlobe website and read the article from this morning's Rocky Mountain News.

There was a time when I had more time. I am sneaking in a couple hours of play time online. I created a twitter account cause jray says it's cool. We'll see how that goes. I can't post to a blog with any regularity, how am I going to post those most mundane moments of my day. working....coffee...squirrels screwing outside my window...hour long phone call. I set up a  Technorati Profile. Which explains the link, and i spent a little time reviewing the iPhone SDK and Adobe Flex/Air. Two more things I don't have the time to get into. I watched some podcasts. One of which informed me that Mr. motivational himself Tony Robbins is launching a social network. Thankfully the target market is the GenX (me) crowd and up. I don't know if this is it but PeopleJam is a new social network with a purpose, and it's not jam made out of people. The stated purpose is "to create a new type of online community for the 60 million Americans interested in "purposeful living" and personal development". That sounds too motivational for me, but I cannot ignore such a well crafted sales pitch and . . . I joined. My interests are: Eating more healthy food, Better quality family time and eliminating debt. Upon joining I was encouraged to seek out new buddies so that "by forming a direct connection with them, they can become a great influence in your life." Unfortunately, I don't have time to seek out a 'life coach' this evening. If anyone wants to be my PeopleJam buddy, motivator or see my photo, I can be found here, hoping to find meaning among virtual friends.

This collection of custom Playmobil characters are really over the top. Kill Bill, Kiss, Clockwork Orange plus super geeky superheroes, star trek and lord of the rings casts. Aside from a pale king of pop I personally like Jesus Christ and the KFC Colonel.

I have been meaning to finish and post this review all week but until now haven't had an opportunity. I'm in New Orleans where today is a pleasant 65 degrees, 70 tomorrow! I have had nothing but fried food since arriving. bluh. so while recovering from a Mother's po-boy:

Last Saturday was the opening day of "Inspiring Impressionism" at the Denver Art Museum. This coincided nicely with my wife's birthday so what better reason to go. Impressionism is a sure way to draw people into a museum; but this show, which was organized by the Museum rather than a touring exhibit, was slightly different. Alongside a number of great paintings (albiet not significant ones) by impressionist heavyweights such as Manet, Degas, Monet, Cassatt and Renoir are the works of Old Master's that may have inspired the impressionist movement - Titian, El Greco, Velázquez, etc. Although it is fascinating to learn how Dutch Masters and Academy Trained Europeans may have influenced the Impressionists, with these paintings mingling, it is even more startling to see what a drastic departure Impressionism was from the past. Isolated, it is easy to forget that Impressionist were quite shocking in their day. As the first real 'Modern Art' critics tended to agree that the work was rather ugly and when held next to the realism of a Velázquez you may re-examine the concept of beauty in art. Of the impressionists paintings in the show, I most enjoyed seeing the work of Camille Pissaro, the 'Father of Impressionism' and American Mary Cassatt (image: "Mrs. Duffee Seated on a Striped Sofa"). The connections made between these two periods are enjoyable to see and drives home an important point for any student of art: There is no better way to understand and learn from a master than to what they do and go from there.

A while back I had written a post about public art in Denver in response to Loveland's excellent public arts program and their response to the Kristen Kokkin sculpture called "Triangle". The post "The most reviled object in the local art world" looked at some of the more controversial public sculptures around town. Well now there's a new one to add to the list. Last night I was driving to the airport after dark to pick up a friend and was greeted by a 32 foot demon horse rearing above a hill overlooking Pena Blvd. where visitors turned to approach the airport. The sculpture is dramatically lit from below hinting at it's icy blue, zombie corpse skin. But most offsetting is the illuminated red eyes. It really is offsetting. Not the omen that jittery would be fliers are hoping to see. I had forgotten all about the Jimenez sculture and wasn't aware it was even delivered. The Artist is (was) the well know sculptor Luis Jimenez. The work was contracted by the airport when it opened in 1995 and was already controversial because it was already 11 years late and ran way over budget. The artist was originally to be paid $300,000 and the project resulted in a lawsuit when the city demanded delivery. But here's the kicker - While resuming work on the mustang ( I believe in his New Mexico studio?) the piece actually fell on the artist, killing him by severing an artery. So is this to become the Legacy piece. In the light of a post 9/11 world, the emotions stirred by the juxtaposition of this sculpture outside of Denver International Airport is probably not what the artist intended. But it should be the most popular airport come Halloween. (photo from Denver Post article where there are also some grumpy forum posts.)

I am about to walk away from the desk, get a cup of coffee and start my morning over after experiencing the most unintuitive, frustrating slap-in-the-face online customer experience. I am planning to add an additional TV but have satellite in two rooms already. I just want the local channels but I'm thinking maybe i'll get a basic cable channel install instead of a new HD antenna. So I go to the comcast site...where I am not allowed to view pricing without putting in an address. I can understand the local issues there. But I still can't see prices because it recognizes my address as a current subscriber (internet) and I have to log in.

- - I edited out the entire process here because it was a pointless rant. Needless to say it took me around 15 minutes just to log in. - -

 I log in - - - Still No Prices. As a loyal customer I am offered "special" bundles. Which for cable ranges between $54 - $120 month. I click on the Shop, See All Products link. But I don't get to see all the products. I am escorted back to the items i am "allowed" to buy. I then see a little link that says 'See Channel Lineup". There I see an option called "Basic". Ah Ha - this is what i want. The locals,  some news, a couple of multi cultural's and if I want some drama, there's the Hallmark Channel.

But still no pricing. So I break down and call where after a short wait I am told it's 16 bucks. Thanks, was that so hard.

Anyway, my point here is a company's website is an extension of the brand. At any point where a customer interacts with the company is an opportunity to build trust and loyalty. Most companies seem to know this, yet certain companies seem to stumble with this concept every time. Denver based US West was more often than not referred to as US Worst, and now Qworst after the Qwest buyout. Thanks to competition such a VOIP, many users don't have to use Qwest any longer. Business owners strive to create passionate users. These are the people that loyally buy only from you; your coffee, your shoes, your services, etc. Aside from the expected technical glitches, Comcast's services are not all that bad. That part of the brand experience equation works. It's the customer service touch point that hurts. You know your doing something seriously wrong when you have inspired a legion of current and ex-customers that are passionate about hating your company. What company inspires headlines like "Horrible Service Reps, Terrible Phone Service and Less Than Appealing Prices. That's Right, It's Comcast" or "Comcast Tech Bullies Customer for Cash, Breaks His Hard Drive, Drills Huge Holes In Walls And Baseboards" in fact just google "comcast sucks" for 89,000 sites citing a shared experience of poor service.

And now there's 89,001