Tabletop Zine | March 2012

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a r t i s t

thomson dryjanski

samuel sotelo-avila

hao ni

alli berry

cody rae knue

deborah boardman

aimee beaubien

alberto aguilar

eric may

cole don kelley

!"#$%&'()($'*"#$#!!

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!t a b l e t o p z i n e

m a r c h 2 0 1 2

i s s u e 0 0 1

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what’s your favorite thing hanging on your refrigtrator?

I keep my refrigerator bare. I’ve never been much of the nesting type.

on a scale 1-13, how happy are you and what does that number stand for?

13. Not because it is the top number, but rather if I have to explain its meaning, I’ll pick a number I like. 13 has a nice shape, it seems inclusive, kinda cuddly. A number I’d want to keep.

describe the worst thing you ever made:I once made Hawaiian Punch explode all over the ceiling when I was startled watching a zombie movie.

what’s your posion?I think it is a toss up between women and whiskey. In the end, they both get trumped by books. I’m sure these will change.

everlasting in!uences?Micah Yeager, all nighters, insomnia, morning sun light, frozen grass,

people watching, large bodies of water. It goes on.

t h o m s o n d r y j a n s k i

thomsondry.com

Untitled2012

Destroyed2011

Attempt At A Circle 2011

AC Unit 2012

Bush2011


A picture of my brother


9. Been better. Been Worse. 10 and over seemed too high. 7 and less too low.

describe the worst thing you ever made:

A bag

what’s your posion?

Women

everlasting in!uences?

Judd, Kitsch, Memory, Tragedies,Passion, Love, Form, Angst, Mexico, Ads, Industrial Materials, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Films, friends and colleagues, the suburbs, the Midwest.

s a m u e l s o t e l o - a v i l a

[email protected]

Bulls2012

Canel’s2012

Fruitbasket2012

Ellie2012

Ribbon2012

Ellie2012


me and my roommates do not believe in fridge art


9.5, I cant really complain about my current situation right now, things been good, and trying di!erent things out in my studio. But I do have this asshole pet cray"sh that keeps on attacking my other two cray"shes, he even castrated them, leaving them claw-less, so missing 3.5 on the scale is me wishing that i could "nd a way to dive into the "sh tank so i can punch that asshole cray"sh in the face. NATURE YOU SCARY.


#e worst thing i have ever made was this ceramic bust of a smoking hipster emerging from a cloud of smoke. #e whole thing is glazed in this milky white color. #is work was inspired by the act of smoking and my interactions with smokers. I dont know

what’s your posion?beautiful bitches in a bad neighborhood

everlasting in!uences?trying very hard to make sense of why people do what they do, and fail miserably.

h a o n i

haoishao.com

Inthingswetrust 2011

Wood, cast plastic, wax, sponge, glow in the dark paint

13Inx16Inx 36In

Cycle II 2010

Painted wood, steel, plaster, dirt, celluclay, rubber

72Inx30Inx9In

Progression 2012

Graphite, tape, chalkboard paint, and tracing paper on wood

14”x11”

Untitled2011Mixed media with reclaimed wood and metal.10" x 8" x 8"Collaboration E#ort with artist Kazuki Guzman. http://www.kazukiguzman.com


Last Halloween, my mother sent me a 12-inch magnet of Jack Skellington’s face. It is a great way to hide utility bills and other unfavorable bits of paper.


11. #e only thing right now that makes me sad are my memories of other places. I miss the mountains but I’m trying not to cling to things that are good or push away things that are bad. #ings just are, and I live a very fortunate life.


Oh jeez, just about everything I made in my second year of undergrad at SAIC. #at was the peak of my nature worship period. I was making all this heavy handed abstracted imagery of trees and the sun, trippy stu! radiating from central light sources. Like the light at the end of the tunnel, man. What made these things worse was the material choices, a lot of collaged paper and stucco-like e!ects made with modeling paste. My dad has a bunch of these hanging in his garage, I guess they look pretty fun in that context.

what’s your posion?Last night (it was February 8th) I spent about 35 minutes looking at pictures of alpacas on the internet. Stu! like that. Five min-utes of potentially useful research turns into emptyhandedly wondering where the time went. I think this problem is very technol-ogy-related.

everlasting in!uences?#e desert in southern Utah. Rumi. My father, the voracious mountain man. Hermann Hesse. Nina Katchadourian. Having to wear Catholic school uniforms for 12 years of my life, and then listening to Bob Dylan when I was "$een and thinking I was some sort of incendiary. It’s probably why I came to art school.

a l l i b e r r y

alliberry.tk

From the Days When my Elbow was Unreachable2011


Probably the $1,000 electric bill I received one summer. #e electricity company never came out to read the meter and just kept giving us monthly estimations. Luckily it got all worked out, so I didn’t have to pay it.


It’s really hard for me to land on a speci"c number, never could do these whole scale things. I think I’m too indecisive because I don’t know exactly which number means and each number changes per person. But since I just had a bunch of chocolate, I’d say I’m anywhere from 9 to 11, 13 being the happiest, and I’m not a 13 because I just ran out of chocolate.


I took ceramics in middle school and high school and made this tacky cartoon-like “sculpture” of a grey mouse/rat being stran-gled by two green snakes. It looks a little bit like 10 year old summer camp project. Need I say more? My mom loves it, of course, so now it sits in her garden.

what’s your posion?“Toddlers and Tiaras”, mint chocolate chip ice cream (only when it’s green), and a good ol’ margarita


Dorothea Lange Doug DuboisDamien HirstOld Western Movies

c o d y r a e k n u e

[email protected]

Untitled,2011

!e picture of the Virgin Mary my Grandma took 2011

!e picture of the Virgin Mary my Grandma took 2011 Grandma washing my hair

2011

“...well do you?"2011

Untitled2011

“...well do you?"2011


Nothing! sadly it’s not a magnetic surface


About 11. Having just been in India which was a very happy time (13 on your scale) and coming down a bit from that high.


I can’t pick out one worst thing. I know that when I force something or try to please someone else or pretend to be something I am not pretty much guarantees that the work does not turn out well.


Self doubt and overeating.


A partial list: Morandi, Guston, Manet, Van Gogh, Watteau, Bonnard, Agnes Martin, Giotto

d e b o r a h b o a r d m a n

deborahboardman.com

Studio # 18 Oil on canvas

20 x 28

Pattern 16 Gouache on paper

15 x 11


Feel free to barf but it is a tiny photo of my wedding kiss.


Happiness is accessible but numbers cannot measure the volatile environments of feelings.


Where do I start? I regularly practice making messes that aredi%cult to recuperate.

what’s your posion?If we are talking about booze it is hard to resist Templeton Rye and yummy Manhattans.

everlasting in!uences?Again, where do I start? I guess with my earliest memories of the inventive collages produced by my great-grandmother.

a i m e e b e a u b i e n

aimeebeaubien.com


A magnetic digital timer. I enjoy doing things under a time constraint. A time frame regulates, gives me focus and makes me more e%cient.


13!!! I am always excited to be alive. #ere is always something to tend to.


One thing that comes to mind is a performance with a group of elementary school students that was sort of a musi cal about the typical school day of a fourth grader. It was titled “I Really, Really Matter” and was performed at the Hyde Park Art Center in 2008.


Too much anything.


a l b e r t o a g u i l a r

albertoaguilar.org

OilBibleFatherCiceroMotherMexicoSpindleMy wifeRobocopMilkstone#e GiverMy childrenJorge Lucero#e SummerRondanini PietàOld PhotographsMy time in SpainEvery aspect of Jesus#e food I ate in ItalyRehearsing My Choir#e paintings of Picasso#e Diary of Anne Frank Brother Sun, Sister Moon#e voice of Frank Sinatra#e Passion of Joan of Arc#e late paintings of Titian#e work of Gabriel Orozco #e Songs of Daniel JohnstonIn the Aeroplane Over the Sea#e letters of Marcel Duchamp#e "nal testament of Rich Mullins#e early videos of William Wegman

Home Arrangements: Light Post

Home Arrangements: Near Sensitive Equipment

Home Arrangements: Hello Dear Face

Home Arrangements: No Room In

Home Arrangements: Units


A dreamy picture of Isak Applin and Carl Baratta hanging out and chatting in the courtyard with the Henry Moore next to the Art Institute. My mom clipped it for me from the Chicago Tribune a few years ago. It has sparkly light dancing across the image that I think captures the essence of that place really well and also some of the tendencies of the two artist’s paintings.


Let’s go with 13, I was born happy. I’m a super lucky dude. 13- hmm, that seems like a speci"c number to top out on, you came up with it, you tell me. Some say its magic, some say its unlucky. I would have picked whatever number is the highest regardless.


Oh jeez, just about everything I made in my second year of undergrad at SAIC. #at was the peak of my nature worship period. I was making all this heavy handed abstracted imagery of trees and the sun, trippy stu! radiating from central light sources. Like the light at the end of the tunnel, man. What made these things worse was the material choices, a lot of collaged paper and stucco-like e!ects made with modeling paste. My dad has a bunch of these hanging in his garage, I guess they look pretty fun in that context.


Chiles, pork, beer.


#e woods, nature in general, &ora and fauna. Music. #e aesthetics of the urban street.

e r i c m a y

ericchristophmay.com

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E to tha Z

2011Digital image printed on vinyl banner.

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“Street Market” 2011

Hand painted signs.

"E-Dogz" $is is a shot of the E-Dogz trailer set up for the "2011International Hotdog Forum"

conversation with cole don kelley

t t z: So do you want to introduce yourself?

c d k: My name is Cole Don Kelley. I am 22 years old. I’m a senior at School of the Art Institute studying photography.

t t z: Can you talk about anything that’s been in!uential from your past, maybe family situations, your sexual orientation, speci%c people?

c d k: Sexual orientation? I think sex has a lot to do with it because I think maybe art making is more like a physical representa-tion of libido. I was telling someone the other day I was hoping to take a lot of good pictures now before my sex drive runs out and I don’t want to pictures anymore. Because taking a picture of someone for me is kind of like exhibiting a sense of control over my feelings for them. Although I don’t think it’s that important to the viewer, but for me it is. At it’s best, it’s like a win-win situation. I get this sexual controlling drive out of taking pictures and the satisfaction of making a good picture. #e viewers can have their own emotional response to it that has nothing to do with my experience. But that depends on if it’s a good picture or not.

c o l e d o n k e l l e y

coledonkelley.com

- 2012

t t z: Can you tell me what you do in your photography?

c d k: Um, I take pictures of anything that I have a potential emotional response to. #at can even mean aesthetically, as well as an intense emotional bonding between people. I take pictures but recently I’m trying to become more awareof making good pictures instead of caring about what I’m taking a picture of.I use to want to be like Nan Goldin really bad, but now I’m just trying to take agood picture.

t t z: What do you expect from the viewer?

c d k: If I go to a museum or gallery, or if I look at someone’s website, I’d say about 95% of the time I don’t feel anything. So if someone looks at the picture and they feel something or they’ve been slightly changed through it, then it’s a complete and utterly success. Because I think that’s di%cult, at least for me.

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Mike’s Underwear2012

t t z: How has living alone a#ecting your working practice?

c d k: It has slowed it down dramatically. Living alone is like one of those most fucked up things you could possibly imagine. Without people, I experience a signi"cantly lessening drive to take pictures. Taking pictures is as much as a performance as anything else. I have no one to perform for but myself. It’s not a good place to be because being inside of your own apartment by yourself is like being inside of your own head by yourself. Being stuck inside your head is a terrible thing.

- 2012 -

t t z: What’s your process of editing. How do you distinguish what’s a good photo and what’s not?

c d k: It’s not the way I felt in the moment at all. Like I said I’m trying to take a good picture. Since I started when I was 16 years old, I’ve taken somewhere upwards to 10,000 pictures. I import them and go through every single one. You just kind of know as soon as you see it that it’s a good picture, because everything kind of works in a circle. I put it on the internet or show it to a friend and am like “Is this a good picture?” and usually they can say yes or no. It just sort of "lters down and down… its like a slow trickle until the past six years. I have like maybe 30 to 40 images that I like to show out of thousands that were taken. And some-times they get lost, along the way. #ere’s good ones in there, I know of it, but they are just gone now.

t t z: How important is to be involved with other artist and exposed to their practices?

c d k: Oh, it is so important. #e more and more I look at good and bad pictures, the more and more I can see what I think are good and bad pictures- and what other people think are good and bad pictures. I feel like I learn a hell of a lot looking at more pictures. Plus I love looking at good pictures just like anyone else does. It’s like getting o!. Its so great to go to someone’s website and see great images. It’s a really good feeling. It’s like hearing a really great song.

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- 2011 -

t t z: What’s your favorite thing on your refriderator?

c d k: #ere is nothing on my refrigerator but there’s a picture of Jamie Steele dressed in character that sits on top of it. She went to Walmart, or Kmart - something like that- to get pictures of herself done in character and its one of those gorgeous things. Its sits there propped up against my complete collection of Lord of #e Rings book series. It’s really great, I’m glad I got to share that.

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!t h a n k y o u

to the participating artist

to be considered for the next issue

email5 images at 300dpi maximum width/height size at14xin

image information that you %nd vitalcontact information (website, email)

t a b l e t o p z i n e @ g m a i l . c o m

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Tabletop Zine | March 2012