The Morning After the Night Before

The holiday season is upon us, and the wintry nights are filled with festive opportunities to raise a glass of cheer. It's a story as familiar as Dickens' A Christmas Carol -- and as tragicomic as A Christmas Story: Chasing away the chill with hot toddies, sipping one or five too many glasses of eggnog... Perhaps you evince an admirably strong commitment to sampling each and every last seasonal beer -- 'tis the season, right? And you needed a tall glass of whiskey to wash down that mouthful of Aunt Edna's 100 proof rum cake.

Oh, dear. Sometimes the consequences of holiday spirit are more than a churning stomach and that foggy feeling... Somewhere between the White Elephant Gift Exchange and the cold, gray light of day, did you call to tell your ex how you feel about their (subpar) new paramour? Maybe you had to ring up everyone from work to tell them how much you love them -- you really, really love them.

The Telephone Room Gallery would like to help you through your recovery. Break out of your shame spiral and help Kristen Ramirez create her work for the Telephone Room's February 2010 show.
And remember, you're helping others when you tell Kristen how they drunkenly called you.

From Kristen:
DRUNK DIALING. I need your best drunk dialing story. Send a few words, send a five-paragraph essay, but do it now! You know you've got one.
I'll be showing work at the world's smallest and most adorable gallery in February 2010 (Tacoma's Telephone Room Gallery www.thetelephoneroom.blogspot.com). Inspiration shall come in the way of your drunk dialing anecdotes, to be inscribed in a sea of booze bottles.
Email me your juicy confessions now: ktramirez@hotmail.com. All stories will remain anonymous.

We're the best!

...at least that's what Seattle Magazine says. They noted the Telephone Room Gallery as the most artistic use of outdated architecture in their annual "Best of" issue (December 2009). Follow the link, or find it in print at a newsstand near you!

And as always, stay tuned for information on our upcoming exhibitions. We're featuring Elise Richman in January 2010. Say goodbye to the aughts and hello to the... tweens?

Blake Blogs.

For those of you who like to get your information from a primary source -- stop reading this! For the real Horse's Mouth about November Telephone Room Gallery artist Blake Haygood, check out his blog. What awaits you at www.blakehaygood.com/blog/? Our Mr. Haygood tells us, "I'll be posting images of my newest work, shows (mine and others) and a few random bits to keep it interesting."

Blake's work is on view at the Telephone Room Gallery until the end of November -- please email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com for an appointment. Come by for a gander before you're all groggy from that third slice of pumpkin pie.

Chickens Only

"Is You Is?" New Drawings by Blake Haygood, currently on view in the Telephone Room Gallery, borrows its title from the song "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?" by Louis Jordan (1908-1975). The show isn't about the song, but this post is about Louis Jordan.

Louis Jordan began performing with bands in the early 1930s, and by the time of his death in 1975, he had made a lasting impact upon American music. Described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as both "The Father of Rythym and Blues" and "The Grandfather of Rock and Roll." The "Hardest Working Man in Showbusiness" James Brown once said of Jordan, "He could sing, he could dance, he could play, he could act. He could do it all."

Sing, dance, play, act... That brings to mind another group of multi-talented performers. Here, performing one of Louis Jordan's classic numbers, "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"...



"Is You Is?" New Drawings by Blake Haygood is on view from November 4 - 30, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime -- email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Blake gets us into the Tiny Top Ten

Thanks Regina! Or is it thank you Blake!

www.artsjournal.com/anotherbb/2009/11/blake-haygood-in-the-telephone.html

"It 12.5 square feet, The Telephone Room in Tacoma is not the smallest gallery in the world but must be in the tiny top ten.

From its Web site:
It is located in a Dutch Colonial home in Tacoma and since 1930, its sole purpose has been to house a black rotary dial telephone. Until now...The Telephone Room is small, but its mission is big: to house artist-driven exhibits and programming. Big ideas in an intimate space.

Opening tomorrow night are Blake Haygood's new drawings under the collective title of Is You Is, in gouache and graphite on ragboard.

Haygood began as a printmaker and still paints in a modified printmaking style, incising form into wood panels and painting in layers through a process of erasure, laying on and partially wiping out. When he began painting earlier in the decade, acrylics in a mineral varnish woke up his weightless world.

Born in Athens, Ga., in 1966, he grew up in a smaller, more rural town nearby, spending a lot of time at his grandfather's farm bordered by woods. Untended, the farm had slid into disrepair. Beyond a barn with a caved-in roof and machinery rotting in the field was the woods, also strewn with broken machines.

A walk in the countryside meant a scramble over dumped refrigerators, cars and parts of cars, washing machines, buzz saws, bikes and bed posts. Wild grasses, mosses and tree saplings used the machinery as nurse logs, shooting up inside it and growing large enough to shoulder it aside or bury it.

Haygood's new work has moved beyond the semi-pastoral decay of the old South to explore more remote cosmologies. Inside them, densities of cut stone or wood linger on their blunt bases before pushing off into the air. His forms may be eroded, but his soft hues are always brand new. He is a master of the potent blank. He takes his cues from traditional Chinese landscape artists who created air, water and mountains largely by leaving them empty. Haygood's forms are lovely, but it's the colored air around them makes them matter.

Is You Is is half a line. Musically, it ends in a love song. Although Haygood uses the reference to mark a career turning point, no longer part-time painter and part-time art dealer but painter full-time, his paintings make the song their own. What is lost, ruined or left behind is desirable again in the redeeming space he makes for it. "
---Another Bouncing Ball: Regina Hackett takes her Art to Go, November 2, 2009, www.artsjournal.com/anotherbb.

The Telephone Room Gallery opening for "Is You Is?" New Drawings by Blake Haygood is Wednesday, November 4, 2009 from 6-9 pm and Blake will be in attendance.

"Is You Is?" New Drawings by Blake Haygood is on view from November 4 - 30, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Is You Is or Is You Ain't?

"The title of my show, "Is You Is," comes from the Louis Jordan (www.louisjordan.com) song "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (My Baby)." The question for me is not about my love life but about my career as an artist. After being a co-founder and co-owner of Platform Gallery in Seattle for 5 years, I began to ask myself, am I primarily a gallery owner or an artist? It became increasingly clear that I would need to make a choice and fully commit to one or the other. I left Platform at the end of July to focus on my art. Luckily for me the good people at the Telephone Room in Tacoma offered me a slot in their schedule. I'll be integrating my drawings of disintegrating/reforming mechanical/organic objects into the space. This is my first solo show with all new work since last showing at Platform in January 2005."
---Blake Haygood, www.blakehaygood.com


Blake Haygood, "Is You Is?", gouache and graphite on rag board, 2009.

The Telephone Room Gallery opening for "Is You Is?" New Drawings by Blake Haygood is Wednesday, November 4, 2009 from 6-9 pm and Blake will be in attendance.

"Is You Is?" New Drawings by Blake Haygood is on view from November 4 - 30, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

The End (of "Undead")

Some final images of the Undead show, a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers.

Consumption, control, attraction, repulsion... Capes. Fear. Lines of defense. Why do zombies and vampires continue to captivate our cultural imagination? Undead is artwork and writings that explore these fetid creatures of film, folklore and nightmares.

Featuring art by Jessica Balsam, Jessica Bender, Marc Dombrosky, Shannon Eakins, Matt Johnson, Lisa Kinoshita, Peter Lynch, Saya Moriyasu, Jennifer Peters, James Porter, Elise Richman, Julie Rivera, Chris Sharp, and Randy Wood.

As well as a folio including writing and art by Jessica Balsam, Marc Dombrosky, Bob Fingerman, Ben Paulson, Brooks Peck, and Brad Young. Contact thetelephoneroom@gmail.com for copies of the folio.

Undead at the Telephone Room Gallery, October 2009.

Undead at the Telephone Room Gallery, October 2009.

Randy Wood, Dogula. Papermache, wire, ink, marbles. 2009.

Randy Wood is a Seattle cartoonist/sculptor/painter. He is a member of the artist run gallery, SOIL, and teaches cartooning classes at Pratt and Gage Academy.
www.randywoodart.com

Julie Rivera, Untitled. Photograph. 2009.

Elise Richman, Wolf Man. Gouache on Illustation Board. 2009.

Elise Richman is a Tacoma based artist with an MFA from American University and a BFA in painting from the University of Washington.

James Ackerley Porter, TURNED. Charcoal/graphite/vinyl/collage. 2009.

Chris Sharp, Creep. Sign paint on sign board. 2009.

“Local award winning artist Chris Sharp is totally fine.” –Chris Sharp

Matt Johnson, Lestat the Elder: The Cleansing. Doily, crystal glass, dentures, water, Alka-Seltzer tablets. 2009. Price: Your soul or best offer.

www.mattjohnsonart.com

Lisa Kinoshita, NO HOST BAR. Sterling silver barbed wire, silver shark’s tooth (cast from fossilized tooth), leather. 2009.

www.lisakinoshita.com

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime -- email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Fearpump

Peter Lynch is a musician and sound designer in Seattle whose band "Library Science" fends off the zombie tendencies of lacklustre crowds at local rock shows with flashing lights and dancey beats.
www.libsci.com

"My brother just had twins and the baby monitor is a permanent fixture in whatever room he spends his time. I was going to do something with baby monitors, but ended up discovering the prenatal heart monitor while shopping for used baby monitors and thought that could be much more interesting.

'Fearpump' is a prenatal heart monitor linked to a postmortem soundtrack through the participant's heartbeat. The heartbeat is the first exposure we have to rhythm before we are even born. It may have been the catalyst for music to be invented. In this way, I hoped to make a thing where the heartbeat was somehow interacting with and mutating music.

The movie score I wrote is for a short film called 'El Borracho' which isn't released yet. It is a zombie film wherein the hero keeps his blood thin through alcoholism and saves himself from contagion."
—Peter Lynch


Peter Lynch, Fearpump [Your heartbeat mutates the score to "El Borracho", a zombie film]. Prenatal heart monitor, CD player, audio signal processors, excerpts from the score to "El Borracho" (2009, short film by Will Hoppins), headphones, red latex paint. 2009.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

The Making of Thriller

"Jessica's dad dubbed 'The Making of Thriller' on VHS when she was a kid, resulting in her viewing the documentary more times than she can count. What she and her brother loved most about Michael Jackson was his dancing. She never learned the full zombie dance from the Thriller video (though it is still one of her goals), but she and her brother once recreated the "Beat It" fight dance using toothpaste tubes trimmed to look like switchblades."
—Jessica Balsam

Jessica hopes to finish and publish her "Making of Thriller" graphic novel memoir in the next year.

Jessica Balsam, Page from an upcoming graphic novel on “The Making of Thriller,” ink on paper, 2009.

Jessica Balsam, The Funk of Forty Thousand Years, ink on paper, 2009.

Jessica Balsam is a Tacoma artist who wants the world to remember what Michael Jackson looks like as a zombie so we won't kill him when he comes back as one.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Walrus Island and His Unwanted Vampire Guests

"Much has been made lately about the life of the vampire as human. But there is the animal side to explore. Bats live in caves. But what do their animal neighbors think? For my piece I made Walrus Island and His Unwanted Vampire Guests. He's got this great island with a cave to hang out in and another one to look out from. But geez, two vampires decide to crash the upper cave. He's below looking annoyed. Mostly I liked to think how big his tusks are in relationship to their fangs.
Or you could think: Is the walrus also a vampire? Has he been bitten and that's why he now has big fangs?"
—Saya Moriyasu, www.sayamoriyasu.com


Saya Moriyasu, Walrus Island and His Unwanted Vampire Guests. Ceramic, glaze, light, wallpaper and glue (goop and hot melt). 6"x7"x7" (approximately). 2009. Courtesy of G. Gibson Gallery.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Chihuly Chupasangre

Seen in Tacoma, autumn, four or five years ago I think. If you know whence this came, please let us know.

"El Vampiro - Chihuly chupa el sangre de Tacoma"

translation: "The Vampire - Chihuly sucks the blood of Tacoma"

Undead Filmography

There are, of course, many many opinions on what movies you should be watching this month, so here's a few more recommendations.

31 Days of Zombie Movies:
www.projectionbooth.blogspot.com/2007/09/photo-sharing-and-video-hosting-at.html

Day 1: Dawn of the Dead (Zack Snyder, 2004)
Day 2: 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2003)
Day 3: Undead (Michael and Peter Spierig, 2003)
Day 4: Tombs of the Blind Dead and Return of the Blind Dead (Amando de Ossorio, 1971/1973)
Day 5: Homecoming (Joe Dante, 2005)
Day 6: The Return of the Living Dead (Dan O'Bannon, 1985)
Day 7: Land of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2005)
Day 8: Oasis of the Zombies (Jesus Franco, 1981)
Day 9: 28 Weeks Later (Juan Carlos Fresnallido, 2007)
Day 10: Revolt of the Zombies (Victor Halperin, 1936)
Day 11: Resident Evil (Paul W.S. Anderson, 2002)
Day 12: I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur, 1943)
Day 13: Zombi 2 (Lucio Fulci, 1979)
Day 14: King of the Zombies (Jean Yarbrough, 1941)
Day 15: White Zombie (Victor Halperin, 1932)
Day 16: Planet Terror (Robert Rodriguez, 2007)
Day 17: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1964)
Day 18: Braindead (Peter Jackson, 1992)
Day 19: They Came Back (Robin Campillo, 2004)
Day 20: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Alexander Witt, 2004)
Day 21: The Plague of the Zombies (John Gilling, 1966)
Day 22: Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon, 1985)
Day 23: Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
Day 24: The Dead Pit (Brett Leonard, 1989)
Day 25: The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi, 1981)
Day 26: The Serpent and the Rainbow (Wes Craven, 1988)
Day 27: Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (Jorge Grau, 1974)
Day 28: Evil Dead II (Sam Raimi, 1988)
Day 29: Day of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1985)
Day 30: Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978)
Day 31: Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)Closing Thoughts

Top 70 Vampire Movies of all Time:
www.snarkerati.com/movie-news/top-70-vampire-movies-of-all-time

1. Nosferatu (1922)
2. Dracula (1931)
3. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
4. Black Sunday (1960)
5. Martin (1977)
6. Horror of Dracula (1958)
7. Near Dark (1987)
8. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002)
9. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)
10. Cronos (1993)

The Best and Worst Vampire Movies:
www.cinematical.com/2009/08/06/the-best-and-worst-vampire-movies

A comprehensive "Vampire Filmography" from Washington State University:
www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/vampirefilms.html

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Zombify Yourself

It can happen to anyone really. So suddenly and often without any warning. And it's so permanent.

Not any more! Now at last, you can get that chic zombie look without permanently sacrificing your long-term ambitions. Think of the possibilities: high school grad, weddings, work ID photos, family reunion photos... zombify yourself and add your photo to the Telephone Room Gallery's facebook fans photos!
www.zombify-yourself.net
www.facebook.com/Telephone.Room.Gallery?v=photos


Zombified Ellen.


Zombified Marty and Quatchi.


Zombified Chica (at 7 weeks old).

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Zombie and Damsel at Wright Park

"In this moment, her memory lives on, captured in perpetual hope and terror of escaping or succumbing to the insatiable undead. Using photography as a starting point for every project has helped me zero in on beginning new work.

Zombie and Damsel at Wright Park is a contemporary Victorian Death/Photo Collage of digital prints on matte cardstock with a blank, gessoed canvas background. I chose the Tacoma local, W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory in Wright Park, as the backdrop of this Victorian era inspired piece. The conservatory is one of the few remaining Victorian style conservatories on the West Coast. The visual discourse of the zombie and damsel are in reverence of the Victorian Death photography style. Although one remains as the walking dead, the damsel may not be far behind. In this moment, her memory lives on, captured in perpetual hope and terror of escaping or succumbing to the insatiable undead."
–J.A. Peters.

Website coming soon! For the moment, please take a look at the artist's ever growing photographic library at: www.flickr.com/photos/jpeters/sets.


J.A. Peters, Zombie and Damsel at Wright Park. Digital prints on matte cardstock, gessoed canvas background. 2009.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

PLASMA

Marc Dombrosky lives and works with his wife Shannon Eakins in Las Vegas, and he is sensitive to sunlight.

http://marcdombrosky.blogspot.com/
http://battlebornlv.blogspot.com/


Marc Dombrosky, PLASMA. Embroidery on found envelope. 2009.

"I don't know if the writing on the envelope is a reminder for dropping off or picking up.

The envelope is from the Department of Social and Health Services.

It's also printed on recycled (resurrected?) paper, which probably had a prior life somewhere:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_recycling

And plasma? In Tacoma, you can donate here: www.cascadebloodcenters.org

Plasma is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_plasma

Tru Blood: www.trubeverage.com

Sleep all day, party all night, never grow old."
—Marc Dombrosky

Marc Dombrosky lives and works with his wife Shannon Eakins in Las Vegas. He has had solo exhibitions at Portland Art Museum and Platform Gallery Project Space, and his works have been shown at Tacoma Art Museum; Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA; Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA; d.e.n. contemporary, Los Angeles; PDX Contemporary, Fourteen30, and Gallery Homeland, Portland; Davidson Contemporary, SOIL Artist Collective, and the Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, as well as the traveling exhibition "Skirting the Line: Conceptual Drawing" (organized by DePauw University, Greencastle, IN). Upcoming projects include a solo exhibition at Platform Gallery (2010) and inclusion in the exhibition Traces, at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design in Raleigh, NC (2011). He is currently an adjunct professor at University of Nevada Las Vegas and holds an MFA from The Ohio State University. His projects are represented by Platform Gallery in Seattle.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

to baby strigoli, with love

"In Romanian mythology, Strigoi are the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. Some of the properties of the Strigoi include: the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the propensity to drain the vitality of victims via blood loss. They are most often associated with Vampires or Zombies.

If a person dies before they are married they are at risk of becoming a vampire. The corpse is wed to another unmarried person to prevent them returning from the grave but if this fails, Strigoi will return to have sexual intercourse with the spouse and will attack family members.

One remedy against Strigoi is to bury a bottle of whiskey with the corpse. The Vampire will drink it and not return home.

If the Strigoi can go undetected for seven years, it can travel to another country or place where another language is spoken and become human again. Once human, the Strigoi can marry and have kids, but they will all become vampires when they die."
—excerpted and summarized from Wikipedia by Jessica Bender.

http://cabinet713.blogspot.com/
http://jessicaabender.blogspot.com/

Jessica Bender, to baby strigoli, with love, felt, leather, found buttons, ring boxes, whiskey, "blood," 2009. For sale: $66.6

To learn more about strigoi, watch Across the Forest, a documentary by two American filmmakers who travel through Transylvania collecting stories from villagers about vampires, werewolves and forest spirits.

The Olympia Film Festival is also showing a movie about strigoi on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 10:15 pm. Check here for the most recent info: www.olympiafilmfestival.org/movies/strigoi.
"Forget everything you thought you knew about vampires. Strigoi is an intriguing glimpse of post-communist Romania deftly mixed with an ancient myth of wronged souls who return from the dead with enhanced appetites and a hunger for blood."

Jessica Bender lives in Gig Harbor, she wants to be a vampire.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Coffins... Coffins filled with earth

In the classic 1922 vampire horror movie, Nosferatu, the vampire Count Orlok travels with multiple coffins—some of which are filled with only dirt and one of which also contains Count Orlok. The Count's guest, Thomas Hutter, discovers in The Book of the Vampires that the source of a vampire's power is the soil in which he was buried.


Shannon Eakins, Coffins... Coffins filled with earth, Tacoma dirt, Las Vegas dirt, polymer clay, postage, 2009.

Shannon Eakins lives and attends school in Las Vegas where she is paler and much, much older than those around her.

http://shannoneakins.blogspot.com/
http://battlebornlv.blogspot.com/

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Cocktails for the Undead

The Vampire
(also known as Purple Haze)
1 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz black raspberry liqueur
cranberry juice

Pour the vodka and black raspberry liqueur into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice.

The Zombie
1 1/4 oz lemon juice
1 oz dark rum
3/4 oz orange juice
1/2 oz cherry brandy
1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz high-proof dark rum
2 dashes grenadine

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass with crushed ice.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Vampire Homework

Read this good and short (for The New Yorker) history of vampire literature. Discuss with your friends and colleagues. Send us your comments.


A 1928 advertisement for a play of Bram Stoker’s story.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Soundtrack to Your Life

If you've been searching for a soundtrack to your life lately, and if you fear zombies, then this might be the song for you:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6vnM9I7HIo

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

Survival Skills

Like any good guidance counsellor, the Telephone Room Gallery wants you to be prepared for life and art. And like any good guidance counsellor knows, the best way to be prepared is to take a multiple choice quiz. Take a good hard look at yourself and ask yourself What are your chances of surviving a Zombie Apocalypse? (It's a multiple choice quiz actually, not just a single question.)

Depending on your results from the above quiz, you will now probably need more information about how to defend yourself and how to create a zombie survival kit. If you're in a hurry, just add a weapon to your FEMA basic survival kit. If you want to survive, read on:

• everything zombies: www.zombiehub.com/zombie-survival-kit.html
• includes videos: www.zombiesurvivalwiki.com
• from a medical viewpoint: www.medicalsuppliesblog.com/2009/08/18/zombie-survival-kit-your-line-of-defense-against-zombies (dedicated to "discussing and comparing the best medical supplies and equipment")

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

There's a day for everything

What better day to start our month of Undead blog posts than World Zombie Day!?!
Yes, today, October 11, 2009, is World Zombie Day.
www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-ae.mo.zombies09oct09,0,415347.story


If you're like Heide, you should probably read the Wikipedia entries for vampires and zombies. Or maybe search the archives of The New Yorker (more on that later).

If you're like Marty and Ellen, supplementary reading on zombies and vampires won't be necessary.

Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

What's that ever-so-slowly shuffling its way toward you? It's the UNDEAD!

Undead: a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers opens this week at the Telephone Room Gallery!

You'll see new names along with some familiar TRG contributors, and we'll be distributing a special, very limited edition companion publication to the exhibition.

It all happens at the opening, this Wednesday from 5 - 9 pm, only at the Telephone Room Gallery!

But remember: beware The Vampire Lovers....



Undead is a group exhibition inspired by braineaters and bloodsuckers. On view from October 7 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—don't be scared, email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

14 Days of LEGO: Day 14

We made it!

The Telephone Room Gallery is celebrating the last of our 14-day LEGO blogging spectacular with some live blogging from the opening of our LEGO Show!

Thanks to everyone who has come by today. For those of you who haven't, here's what you're missing:


IT'S THE CLAWR! (created by Ellen Ito)

If you didn't make it tonight, remember that you can always email us to set up a private viewing appointment. The LEGO Show will be up through September 30, 2010.

14 Days of Lego: Days 12, 13

Here at the Telephone Room Gallery, we are very busy getting ready for the upcoming opening of our LEGO Show. So busy, in fact, that we never got the blog post up for Day 12 of our 14-day LEGO-related countdown!

As an apology for yesterdays omission, we've provided a double-dose of LEGO fun: the brick house and the outhouse. The first, a link sent in by an astute Telephone Room Gallery follower, is an immense building project being undertaken in the UK.



The second is a sneak-peak of one of the works from The Telephone Room's very own LEGO Show, part of a special series by Dan Creamer.



Come by tomorrow after 6 pm to see everything we've created, or to make something yourself! Remember, you can always email for directions or to set up an individual viewing appointment.

14 Days of LEGO: Day 11

Welcome LEGO and Telephone Room Gallery fans!

On Day 11, we'd like to direct you to the genius of one Michael Hickox. These LEGO recreations of classic arcade games reminded us here at the Telephone Room of some our earliest, fondest gaming experiences....specifically, our utter inability to play them with any skill whatsoever.

Take a look!



If you haven't had enough, here's the second installment:



Only three entries left, and that means three days until the opening. Hope to see you there!

14 Days of LEGO: Day 10

We are in the home stretch in the Telephone Room Gallery's 14 Days of LEGO blogging spectacular!

You can tell because we are resorting, just this once, to linking to a collection of amazing LEGO links assembled by someone else.



Any one of these items could be its own daily dose. Especially LEGO Han Solo. Consider this economy-sizing your LEGO fix.



We've made it to Day 10. If you'd like to go all the way back to where we began, click here to go back to Day 1. Only four days until our LEGO Show Opening!

14 Days of LEGO: Day 9

Your daily dose of LEGO continues on Day 9, better late than never...

Cake and Neave (formerly The Little Artists) use "an existing diverse range of artistic symbols and materials" in their work. And on this blog, you know what THAT means....

14 Days of Lego: Day 8

The Telephone Room honors LEGO, Ted Kennedy, and SPAM.

14 Days of LEGO: Day 7

Since we've had seven straight days of LEGO in all its glory and wonderment, we thought it was time to go back to where it all began: Denmark. No, really.


Today we pull back the curtains and show you what really goes into the making of this magical little brick.

Remember, Day 7 means the LEGO show is only a week away!

14 Days of LEGO: Day 6

Here on Day 6, we'd like to take a moment to appreciate the fans of The Telephone Room Gallery who have sent in their own favorite LEGO finds. In their honor, we're doing a two-for-one special today, featuring our favorite clips from our fans' favorite clips!

The LEGO Boat



Watch and learn why boats should be made from wood and steel. Skip ahead to 5:13 for something really special!


8-Bit Trip



This is just cool. Well, 8-Bit cool. LEGO 8-Bit cool.

They also liked this on Gizmodo. Notice that this only came out a few days ago. The whole world knows the Lego Show is coming!

Keep those posts coming, dear readers, and remember that the LEGO Show opens at The Telephone Room Gallery in only 8 days!

14 Days of LEGO: Day 5

Since yesterday was a day of rest, we'd best get back to work with the Telephone Room's 14 Days of LEGO!

Today we're featuring the artist Jan Vormann, whose Dispatchwork project has rebuilt cities across the Middle East and Europe with our favorite colorful little building block.


Here's an interesting interview with Vormann that provides some insight into his use of LEGO. Enjoy!

14 Days of LEGO: Day 4

Happy Sunday! Give us this day our daily LEGO.

14 Days of Lego: Day 3

On Day 3, we are featuring a fun post from the NYTimes Abstract City Blog. Christoph Niemann's "I LEGO N.Y." left two-thirds of our gallery wanting to go back there, and one-third wanting to make the trip for the first time.

If you'd like to see more of his work, you can go to Niemann's website.

Getting tired yet? We hope not. 11 more days until the opening for the LEGO Show!

14 Days of LEGO: Day 2

After starting out with our amps cranked to "11," you may be wondering what's next in The Telephone Room's 14 Days of LEGO.

Since we began Day 1 with a classic LEGO single, it only makes sense to showcase some album art on Day 2.

Once again, in LEGO.

The Telephone Room is proud to present to you this link, which will take you to a whole page full of classic album covers, recreated in our favorite medium.

14 Days of LEGO: Day 1

Next up at the Telephone Room Gallery, we're premiering a show dedicated to our favorite childhood (and let's face it, adulthood) plaything: the LEGO. Our LEGO SHOW is opening on September 2, and to raise awareness we're planning 14 days of LEGO on the TRG blog. Check back to the blog every 24 hours for a daily dose of LEGO goodness.

We're starting off with a classic, something that reveals the true power of LEGO.

Yes, it's Queen's 1975 magnum opus, Bohemian Rhapsody. In LEGO.

Bluebird by Charles Bukowski

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?

Listen to Charles Bukowski reading The Bluebird: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmWZOsVtqR0

The Bluebird by Jessica Bender is an homage in art to Bukowski and is titled after the poem, which is a favorite of Jessica's. The Bluebird by Jessica Bender is on view from August 5 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—please email us.

The Volcano Gods notice us

Alec Clayton writes nice things about Jessica Bender's art in The Weekly Volcano today.

"The Bluebird: Jessica Bender’s tribute to Charles Bukowski"
by Alec Clayton
August 13, 2009
www.weeklyvolcano.com/2009-08-13/visual-edge/4088

Dead Man in my House

Rosemary Ponnekanti wrote a very nice article about the Telephone Room Gallery and our Art + Ice + Beer event with Jeremy Mangan in The Tacoma News Tribune today:

"From small art gallery, big ideas"
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Rosemary Ponnekanti
www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/840897.html

Also published in the Seattle Times, "Tiny Tacoma art gallery makes big splash":
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2009708623_tinygallery23.html





Photos courtesy of the Tacoma News Tribune.

Celebrating Bukowski

Jessica Bender on The Bluebird, in her own words:

"The Bluebird is an installation inspired by and celebrating the life and work of Charles Bukowski, American poet and author, for his birthday August 16th.

The work is the culmination of a week-long residency at the Two Dot Spot in Two Dot, Montana. This remote town consists of a post office and a bar, which seemed the perfect setting to channel Bukowski energy, as he worked for the post office for some time and is known for his drinking habits. Bukowski made a series of paintings/drawings using whatever was on hand. Embracing this principle, much of the work is made from materials available in Two Dot, including excavated antelope bones and moths.

As an homage, the installation includes pieces of Bukowski’s text, including the show title 'The Bluebird,' an influential poem for this work."








Jessica Bender, The Bluebird (work in progress), mixed media, 2009. Photos courtesy the Telephone Room Gallery.

Jessica's blogs: www.cabinet713.blogspot.com and www.jessicaabender.blogspot.com
blog about Two Dot, Montana that has a bit about Jessica's artist-in-residency there: www.twodotspot.blogspot.com
Charles Bukowski website: www.bukowski.net

The Bluebird by Jessica Bender is on view from August 5 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—please email us.

Wild Kingdom

The Telephone Room Gallery chose the artist for the August 2009 City Arts Tacoma Curator's Eye. We chose Shannon Eakins who lived in Seattle and then Tacoma for the past 8 years or so, and recently moved to Las Vegas to pursue her MFA in sculpture. We miss her already.

Unfortunately, magazines have to edit their articles but we want to share with you the original article that we wrote...

Wild Kingdom
Shannon Eakins, Artist Selected by Martin Gengenbach, Ellen Ito and Heide Fernandez-Llamazares of the Telephone Room Gallery

Almost any city dweller has had an encounter with wildlife. The moment when you see a crow on the sidewalk, and you both stop short, eyes locked...is this a greeting? An acknowledgement? A silent challenge? What informs our interactions with wild animals? Do we want to tame them? Engage with them? Live among them undetected? Shannon Eakins' artwork reflects upon such moments of secret communication and explores our shared experiences with the Animal Kingdom.

While living in Tacoma for the past five years, Shannon has engaged with falcons, deer, and other animals of the Northwest. Her work doesn't simply depict animals-this is art that aims to be meaningful to animals and to beguile them: an exquisite, intricately embroidered falconry glove, an alluring installation of kinetic sculpture that mimics the sounds, sights and scents of deer mating rituals.

Shannon contemplates our shared urban environment and the animals that surround us but are not our pets. It is something we can all relate to: we've all had experiences with animals, either thrilling in the connection made ("and then it looked right at me") or not made ("and it didn't even see me").

"Dolphins may voluntarily swim with us (and have for decades, in the Bahamas), but what if I actually entice a whitetail deer into a gallery to participate in my installation, or what if that falcon actually comes when I call it? I want to see if animals can care about what I make. People seek something from wild animals even when they are not using them to fulfill a basic need. Could the same be said in reverse? I really want there to be a reason for this reciprocity and I want my work to explore that desire." --Shannon Eakins






I Made This for Us. 2008. Embroidered leather falconry glove, hood, and bronze whistle. Performance/documentation views. Dimensions variable. Photos courtesy of Shannon Eakins.

Shannon's blog: www.shannoneakins.blogspot.com

Eakins & Dombrosky: www.tacomafunmachine.blogspot.com and www.battlebornlv.blogspot.com

Shannon was a part of the Telephone Room Gallery's inaugural Hello! show (February 18 - April 30, 2009). The Telephone Room Gallery is always viewable by appointment at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

The Bluebird

The Bluebird by Jessica Bender is inspired by Charles Bukowski, and his poem My Telephone, for his birthday month.

More about Jessica Bender's art and Charles Bukowski:
www.cabinet713.blogspot.com
www.jessicaabender.blogspot.com
www.bukowski.net

The idea for Jessica Bender's show started with Bukowski's poem My Telephone, which made her think of the Telephone Room Gallery. Her installation piece is an homage to Bukowski involving bottles, bones, a pillow, and more. The Bluebird is another Bukowski poem that Jessica enjoys.

The Telephone Room Gallery will be hosting an open house for The Bluebird on Friday, August 7 from 5:00-9:00 pm. Please email us at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com for directions if you are interesting in visiting.

Jessica Bender, The Bluebird (work in progress), mixed media, 2009. Photos courtesy the Telephone Room Gallery.

The Bluebird by Jessica Bender is on view from August 5 - 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment almost anytime—please email us.

A Small Army of Buddhas

"The Badman is the first reductive sculpture I’ve ever made that wasn’t ice. I learned to carve ice mostly from Takeo Okamoto, a man whose generosity in teaching is matched only by his skill. But I also learned from a small army of Buddhas. One of our first clients at Okamoto Studio was a restaurant for whom we carved a life-sized seated Buddha six days a week. My first real contribution as a carver at Okamoto Studio was to make those figures. I was still a grad student at the time, so I would come in two days a week and cut three Buddhas a day. In all I carved well over 300, more likely 400. I liked to joke with the Okamotos that there actually was no restaurant, that they just loaded those Buddhas up in the van, drove to some vacant lot in Queens, and kicked them out the back – sort of a ‘Karate Kid’ type thing, and once I reached 1000 they’d finally let me carve something else, like a majestic winged unicorn or a gorilla wearing boxing gloves.

So if not for Takeo and the Buddhas, this painter would never have ventured into the 3D world of The Badman. Nor would we be carving ice mugs on Friday, a favorite at our summer BBQs at the ice studio. Hard to say if the best part is drinking the ice-cold suds or smashing the mug on the sidewalk once it springs a leak. You decide."
—Jeremy Mangan.

Copyright Okamoto Studio, 2009.

Jeremy Mangan, The Badman (detail), 2009. Photo courtesy The Telephone Room.

Join us for an evening featuring Jeremy Mangan's art + ice carving + beer on July 24, 2009. Please RSVP at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com.

The Badman by Jeremy Mangan is on view from June 17 - July 31, 2009 in the Telephone Room Gallery. Viewable by appointment—please email us. Don't be shy.