Uncreated Light 1980-2008 By Steve Joy

Acclaimed artist, Steve Joy's, latest exhibit at the Joslyn is no short of stunning. Joy is described as "one of the most eloquent practitioners of art as a vehicle for conveying spirituality and the mysteries of the journey for self-understanding" according to the museum's provided information. Joy is an abstractionist that uses his artwork to create feelings rather than depict images. His use of color and geometry dominates the effectiveness of his art. Three paintings in particular stood out to me.
The first one is entitled Prairie Night (1987). The piece was separated into 4 black quadrants, and looked to me like 4 different views from one place in the dark. The top left corner had a faint rectangular image in the upper right hand corner that appeared to be a haystack or similar object in the distance. The top right hand corner had thick, bold white lines painted horizontally suggesting a nearby fence. The bottom left hand corner featured a waning moon-like shape, and the bottom right hand corner had a faint horizontal dark strip suggesting the texture of a crop in the dark. From far away only the left bottom left hand and the top right hand quadrants were visible. This painting made me feel secure and isolated, stars illuminating anything visible.
The next painting is entitled Knife/Rescue (2000). Up close the painting looked like a mutilated finger with gorgeous red 'blood' flowing from the 'finger'. It reminded me that pain is beauty with the incorporation of rich, gold and red tones. After making my rounds in the gallery, I spotted this painting again from about 100 feet away and it looked exactly like the silhouette of a Christian Louboutin shoe, complete with the red bottom. I got really excited and ran up to the painting again, but the 'bloody finger' remained.
My final favorite was a piece called Aquasparta (1998). This piece was separated into 3 panels with square gold or green leaves all on an entrancing aqua background. The aqua color in this piece drew me in like a bug towards neon. I wanted to drink the color, paint it on my body and take it with me.
Steve Joy has two photographs currently hanging in Aromas Coffeehouse at 11th and Jones... if you're lucky you might just find him there sipping a dry cappuccino with his girlfriend and her daughter.
Uncreated Light runs through October 5th 2008.

the Wack, Dope 90s

I have always had a sick love for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. I can even still recite some of their songs from The Case of Thorn Mansion and You're Invited to Mary Kate and Ashley's Birthday Party! Disgusting right, no what's disgusting is that I drove to Lincoln to see a movie where Mary Kate has a 3-scene stint as Union, a mushroom tripping, ecstasy radiating sex pot.
Set in 1994, Jonathan Levine's The Wackness is a story about the foggy existance of a pot-dealing teenager, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck), struggling with love and depression in the summer after his high school graduation.

Shapiro, constantly plugged into his walkman listening to Notorious B.I.G and the like, is suprisingly a loner considering his music taste and job title (all the pot dealers I knew in high school were extremely social people). Shapiro trades pot for time with his shrink, Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley), who tells him that all men need to have sex and encourages Shapiro to get laid.

Shapiro, who hasn't really had sex before but is "not a virgin!" desperately wants to get with his shrink's step-daughter, Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). When Stephanie's hot (Ray-Ban wearing) Asian boyfriend, Justin (Aaron Yoo), leaves for the summer she decides to humor Shapiro coaching him through their (his) pathetic attempts at making love, ditching him on Fire Island after Shapiro drops the Love bomb.
The Wackness was worth seeing just for the soundtrack and seeing MK on the big screen, but what fascinated me most was Stephanie's power in deciding when she was through with Shapiro. The stereotype is too often the reverse. It's truly a women's world, and it's about time.
Mary Kate would know.

they passed the test!!

Last summer it was espadrilles, this year the summer 'it' shoe (if you haven't noticed already) is the gladiator sandal. I was weary to buy into this trend because even though I really like the style of shoe and have sold them to several customers, I don't usually like items that last only a season. When Trocadero's DV gladiators went on sale I almost bit the bullet and bought a pair, but I held out and was rewarded when a pair of silver(!) DV gladiators were brought back for me from the WSA (World Shoe Association) shoe show in Las Vegas!

I put them on immediately last night when I got them and have been wearing them all day...they even passed the Old Market Test, (if I can walk the 9 blocks to work and be comfortable, then I can wear them all day.) I guess the true test will be if I can wear them all day tomorrow.

You can't tell from this picture but my right big toe nail is missing from a dance party I went to last Saturday night. Which reminds me of an advertisement that I saw in Vegas in May, it was so awesome I had to take a picture.

Dancing makes everybody feel better, especially in Vegas and while wearing close toe shoes.