ESL at the Fort

On the west side of where the original 'Fort Collins' parade grounds were located:

Reading and writing comprehension for ESL students are taught.

I couldn't help but notice this copy of an illustrated version of Franz Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' in the ESL library. I looked but did not find a copy of Don Marquis' 'Archy & Mehitabel' ; I would think that that would be a better title for someone's English as a second language attempt. However

Can anyone say 'Kafkaesque Illustrations'?

Those of you who may have come across a Mad Magazine once or twice in your life might recognize the work of Peter Kuper, who is responsible for the cartoon illustrations in 'SPY vs. SPY'.

"Gregor! Get Up! You're going to be late for work!"

I've got to get a copy for our guest bathroom. It takes only minutes to read and as Kafka himself once said, "A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us". Attaboy Franz!

There is a video selection as well!

I noticed right away that they have a copy of the 1968 American comedy film 'The Producers' written and directed by Mel Brooks. Hell, just thinking of Zero and Gene and Dick makes me laugh! Did you know that Dustin Hoffman was originally cast to play Franz Liebkind in the film? ... and one of the manuscripts that Max Bialystock dismissed as being 'Too good' was none other than Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis'?

FOCO-MOCA Simplexity

This month (and next) at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Fort Collins:

"Balancing Plasmas Generated by Magnetic Field Pressure"

Or something of that nature. It's part of the new exhibit at the FoCo-MoCa called "The Mind and All it Creates" by artist Todd Siler.

There's a "Lithium Blanket" in there somewhere!

"Whereas conventional solid plasma-facing materials for a magnetic fusion blanket’s first wall restrict maximum power density and require frequent replacement, a liquid has no crystal structure to be damaged by thermal stress or neutron bombardment. To advance objectives of higher power density and reduced maintenance, thick liquid flowing walls blanket concepts eliminate solid plasma-facing materials and instead present a liquid free-surface directly to the plasma with no intervening solid material. One thick liquid concept is the Electromagnetically Restrained (EMR) Lithium Blanket, in which an approximately one meter thick shell of liquid lithium metal almost completely surrounds a fusioning tokamak’s toroidal plasma discharge, absorbing plasma particles, neutrons and other radiations while breeding tritium and collecting high temperature heat for power generation."1

I believe "Lithium Blanket" would make a great name for a rock band. (It's also interesting that a guy named "Woolley" came up with the idea). Dr. Siler will be back in town for the next "First Friday" gallery walks to help answer some of my questions I should think.

1 Woolley, et al.

Extended coverage of FoCo-MoCa continues:

In the utility room of FoCo-MoCa

Levels and Hammers!

Just like I have at home. Apparently they don't use those Laser Picture Level gadgets to hang artwork.

Alley Art, Volume 1

UTILITY BOXES

Transformer Cabinet

There are seveal themes here and I would assume it's by the same artist. There is a certain 'blue aura' that suggests spirituality, religious emotion or perhaps latent schizophrenia. The enclosure hinges are painted to look like crayons that follows the theme above and is continued in the example below.

Communication Utility

From a distance it looked like a caterpiller; that is probably why I was drawn to it.

First Friday Gallery Walk

Bloco em Foco was playing on Oak Street Plaza, but at the Art Lab:

Northern Colorado Harpist - Mary Ellen Holmes

She was playing her harp at the Art Lab gallery which became part of Fort Collins' First Friday Gallery Walk.

As seen from the Art Lab front window.

If you want live music for your wedding, anniversary or whatever, and you might think a samba band may be a bit too loud, why not contact our friend Mary Ellen of Harp Accents.

Wall Art

At Brave New Wheel in Fort Collins:

It's a bicycle shop

but no bicycles are represented in the wall art.

At last count there were 17 specialty bike shops in town! I've only been to a few: There's Lee's of course, Pelotone, Road 34, The Cycologist and Spring Creek Recumbent. I did some riding this year already and it looks like the temps will be in the mid-50's next week so the snow will be gone!

One Love Art

It's at a 'headshop' in Loveland:

The Groovy Eye

Mushrooms, Elves, Gratefull dead

High Moon

One Love/People Get Ready - Bob Marley & The Wailers, 1977

Note 1: The music in the store source: vinyl records via a 'phonograph'.

Note 2: Nobody there (except me) was born before 1985.

Sex, Robots & Rock 'n Roll

I have a feeling we're not in Fort Collins anymore...

This is NOT on our theater list for the FoCo Newcomer's Club!

But if you find yourself panhandling on Natoma Street in San Francisco and need a little break from reality, you should check out this show.

The front door is just this.

Inside is a collection of musical instruments, servomechanisms, computers, Disney-On-Acid animatronics, surreal paintings, sculptures and

This guy.

The director of Omnicircus, Frank Garvey; His manifesto on Steps Toward a Culture of Liberation is a real trip but don't read it, come on down and see the show! Frank will personally clue you in when you get there.

The Paintings are part of the show.

I first met Frank about 40 years ago. He was a drummer and a painter from the "Hieronymus Bosch School of Erotic Derangement" or something of that sort.

Various sculptures on view

And of course, The Robots!

It's too bad that I gave away my robot collection before I moved to Fort Collins. I could have teamed up with Bill Swets and started a whole new art form in Colorado!

Junk Yard Parts on Stage

The robots interact with human performers and the theater patron as well.

and there are drums. Many drums!

Colorado Redman

Off of US 34 west of Loveland:

It's a wooden indian sculpture!

I was talking to BBQ Bob the other day and he noticed that I was carrying a camera so he asked what kind of pictures I liked to take. I said I took pictures for my blog called 'Roadside Mysteries'; about stuff I see on the roadside. He said I should go west on Eisenhower a few miles to the 'Big Indian Head'. "It's a real mystery" he said. It was also along the roadside.

A closer view of the head

Carved in 1979 by Peter Toth, this 37 foot high tribute to native Americans used to stand proud in the center of Loveland but now has been moved out of the way only to be noticed by those driving up to Estes Park if they happen to look to the right at the proper moment.

Note: Peter Toth has carved at least one indian head in all 50 states.

FOCO gone BLOCO

The group photo:

Maybe half of the group represented here

Some more lingering in the Art Lab....

The latest art is this wall art paint by numbers!

Metal & Ceramic Work

Latest project update:

Figure 1: The Magic Agogo Belt

A member of Fort Collins' Premier Samba band 'Bloco em Foco' showing the proper method for playing the Magic Agogo Belt using claves. The bells may also be struck with brass rods or wooden drumsticks depending on the timbre one wants to produce.

Figure 2: Magic Agogo Belt without shaker

The belt is made from 2 strips of 1/4 inch thick steel welded together. The current model has 3 Agogo bells, a shaker loop, and a utility stand for additional bells (A standard hammered cowbell is shown).

Figure 3: Magic Agogo Belt with Shaker

Additional holes in the belt are to accommodate extra bells that can be welded to the frame. Not shown is the cloth belt and neck strap.

...and in the home:
The fireplace, with it's brass finish and light colored ceramic tile was just so '90's. It had to go, so the old tile was painstakingly removed and new tile was added.

The new Fireplace!

Luckily we had a few bad weather days in a row, so it wasn't so bad.

CIIPE #16

It's the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition

(Earthquake Japan by Takashi Akiyama)

Featuring the works by artists from 28 countries

(Healthcare Coverage, by Luba Lukova)

with perspectives on political, social and cultural issues

(Beach, by Yuri Gulitov)

hosted by the Colorado State University Department of Art

(Save, by Sungil Hong)

At the University Center for the Arts until December 22.

(Tree, by Shino Suefusa)

If you go, you will discover that the laminated paper guide for the exhibit at the front desk is useless; but you can browse the online resource catalog for the shows since 1991.

Fort Collins Police break up Brazilian party

News at 11. But for now, let's look at some art:

Featured this week at the Art Lab

there are works on display

by graphics artist Nikki Arnell

As part of the merging of various arts per the concept of the Art Lab, the premier Fort Collins Samba band 'Bloco em Foco' also appeared for a short performance, much to the dismay of some of the other tenants in the building. The Fort Collins Police were called and some sort of new arrangement was made so that 'Bloco em Foco' could continue into the night.

Police visiting the Art Lab on Saturday

The official Fort Collins Police blotter recorded this as incident # 092830258 on 10/10/09 at 15:29. Location: 150 W. Mountain. Disposition: Necessary Action Taken.

So, this is the second time in two weeks that someone called the cops on 'Bloco em Foco'. Hopefully we will try again tonight at 6:00 pm and see what happens!

Le Laboratoire d'art

Currently at 140 W. Mountain Ave., Fort Collins

The Art Lab is an experimental art space!

They take empty store fronts and convert them into temporary artists' space so all the artistic folk in the area can make use of the facility (for FREE! ) until somebody decides to rent the space again! No! I'm not making this up! See here for details!

Got a computer animation you want to show? Show it here!

Got pictures of cats and lizards you want to share? Now's your chance!

...or rabbit and hare paintings

It's on display today!

Also invited: Musicians and live performers! Yes, apparently they are equal opportunity art space giver-awayers in that they will even agree to have an Afro-Brazilian Samba band use the facility for practice space. Stay tuned for that event. We may never get invited back!

The Road to Berthoud

In the town of Berthoud this weekend:

Berthoud's Roots

Acrylic painted fabric panels on concrete; 55' high by 35' wide; painted by Susan Dailey and Elenor Yates; It's on the grain elevator in downtown Berthoud.

Army ambulance for sale

Just some strange stuff on the roadside. It's next to Castle Oriental Rug Cleaning and Sales which is a fairly interesting place to visit if you ever stop in Berthoud.

Bloc em Foco was there!

Look! "Bloco em Foco" got top billing at the Wildfire Community Arts Center outdoor festival! Eiee! Beleza! We have some video of the event to be entered on another day!

Action Art!

Here we have Lisa Cameron

She's painting on steel panels

Both sides will be painted!

This is all part of the "Art in Action" exhibit going on until the end of September in Old Town. The panels will eventually be installed in the Montezuma Fuller Alley*

* Per Mayor Hutch:

WHEREAS the City Council has received a petition to assign the name "Montezuma Fuller Alley" to the ally between College Avenue and Remington Street, extending from Mountain Avenue to Mulberry Street; and

WHEREAS, the right and residents of the City will not be prejudiced or injured by the assignment of the name "Montezuma Fully Alley", to the alley.

Standing Stones, Part 2

There's a place North of town where you can see this:

Kinda "Stonehenge" like in appearance

It is real stone, but I'm not sure it's a valid "Henge" if you get my drift!

Not just because they have these Barney Rubble stone office chairs nearby

but from this angle it does look impressive. Even the CloneHenge blog gives it 7 Druids!

It's called the Rock Garden, and that it is.

Duncan Madog liked it.

Fest West, New

This weekend its:

We saw the Subdudes last night!

Yet another big music event. This year Melissa Etheridge will be performing along with 50 other bands, including a Samba band from Boulder! And it's all FREE!

Central Casting

It's an ancient process

and the end result is one of these.

So, why are there so many bronze sculptures in Loveland? Well, we went on a little trip to Loveland to find out!

This nice lady told us about wax chasing.

Buzz Lightyear about to be poured

This nice lady is metal chasing!

They gots toads!

Wolves, bears, and mountain bikes!

Jesus!

The secret: They do it in parts!

There are many steps to making a bronze statue. At this bronze casting shop (Art Castings of Colorado) they take an artist's work from a rubber mold and weeks or months later turn it into a huge bronze statue! The artist gets a call from the studio that the work is ready to be shipped... "It costs THAT much to ship to New York?"

Old Town Jazz weekend

While riding to Old Town this morning:

They are having a sidewalk sale.

They also have free live jazz music this weekend. This morning they had the FRCC Vocal Jazz Ensemble. I didn't take their picture because I reported on them on May 8th.

"Transcend"

Carved out of white marble by Collen Nyanhongo in 2007, this work of art was apparently placed in the wrong part of Old Town. It weighs 5 tons, and it annoys almost everyone who sees it. When asked what to do with it, one local wrote in "I need some fill for my driveway at my ranch in Texas". FoCo City Council has recommended it be moved to the corner of Mason and Maple.

This reminds me of the time I worked at Gould Electronics. The company bought a large (maybe 30 foot high) sculpture by Picasso called "The Bather". People driving along Golf road in Rolling Meadows, Illinois could see the sculpture and believed the work of art to be obscene. The company moved it about 100 yards behind some tall trees to make 'em happy... at a cost of 2 million clams!

Arrangements in Copper and Tin

More than just a bronze head of a cow poke...

or the signs near outhouse door...

The Benson Sculpture Park in Loveland has over 200 pieces of art

and many well known artists have their works on display.

Heralded as one of the finest outdoor juried exhibitions of three-dimensional artwork in the United States

the park features the work of sculptors from around the world.

It's a great place to have a picnic

and stroll around the grounds on a sunny afternoon.

It's pretty cool, but it's no Swetsville zoo!

Mantis vs Caterpillar

In October last year we visited Swetsville Zoo. Apparently the caterpillar eventually demolishes the mantis as the zoo must make way for the eventual 'progress' of the town of Timnath! They think the town will have a population increase of two orders of magnitude in the next 20 years! No more dinosaurs! No more Swetsville! If you haven't been, get there before they are all gone! (call first- they're in the phonebook)

Madonna and Child of Dog Slobber

At Joyce and Dan's house the other night:

The 'enhanced' image

The actual image

It has to be one of those miracle images you hear about! Joyce and Dan's Airedale dog 'Rocky' painted this picture on a window at their house using his nose! And maybe his tongue. Since this is Roadside Mysteries and not Roadside Miracles we normally would keep away from these kinds of things, but this looked pretty cool! The picture does not capture the full aesthetic sense of the work, epecially the way the sun light diffused though the dried mucus. You had to be there!

The Celestial Cafe

Take Tea and See...





All paintings at a tea company near Boulder.

The Soup

Someone left their can at the UCA:

It's a BIG CAN!

It's a SIGNED CAN!

Apparently Andy Warhol signed a can in Fort Collins

There could be a Universal Product Code (UPC) Bar Code on the back!

Not So! The Code 128 for the eight digits might look like this.

The UPC bar code system started in the US around 1973. The code at the time contained 12 digits, not 8. The actual UPC bar code number for Campbells tomato soup is 051000000118, so some artistic license could be expected, especially since bar codes were still considered new even in 1981.
Could the bar code on the can actually MEAN SOMETHING? Maybe. Just to be sure, I printed a copy of the back of the can and went to the local King Soopers grocery store to find out. I found a stock-person in the back of the store with a portable bar code scanner. He tried several times to scan the bar code (using auto discriminate mode) to no avail. So, the bar code on the can is either simply an artist's random pattern of lines or specific instructions for space aliens on how and when to attack. I may have to investigate further!

Art, Outside

No, it's not outsider art, but it IS outside!

The Grandmother Tree

Just go a little north of the East Drake Water Treatment Facility in Fort Collins. Of course, Roadside Mysteries will go to the ends of the earth (if not Larimer County) to find this stuff for you!

The Kingfisher Tor

It's an experimental sculpture for kingfishers to nest in.

Bird Island

This sculpture should be surrounded by water, but it's kind of dry in No. Colorado, you know.

Batbeast

Here, copper plumbing pipes make up this roost for bats!

The Blind!

When I first rode up to this structure, I thought it was a hobo camp! But no, it' actually a blind; People can lurk inside this structure and peer at wildlife! This is all part of a scheme of trans-species art and sculpture for wildlife created by environmental artist Lynne Hull. In September last year we met Ms. Hull at the Green Art and Climate Change seminar. Hmmm, Trans-Species Art; Lynne Hull invented it, maybe we will try to look for other examples in the future.

More Outsider Art

We like outsider art. Of course the prime example is the Swetsville Zoo. Here's another find:

This acid trip can be found on a wall inside a store in Fort Collins.

There is a theme to the art here.

With a parody of Da Vinci

or Grant Wood

They are all part of a collection that adorns the walls of Walrus Ice Cream in Fort Collins. There's a store in Greely too, but I don't know if there is any art on the walls.

Remember the snow sculptures in Breckenridge ? I found some pictures of the snow event in Chicago last weekend:

The one in the upper left is called 'Obaminable Snowman'. It was made by a group of high school students from Arlington Heights, Il.

Half-Assed Ranch!

Today we visit Meredith Hodges and her magnificent mules!

Here is Meredith coming down to greet us !

Here she is sweet-talking a donkey!
This ain't no ordinary ass. This is Little Jack Horner, the famous jumping donkey!

Here's a bronze statue of Meredith; attempting to jump over Jeanne?

...and Meredith standing next to a statue of Meredith on a jumping mule.

Here is the castle-like grooming barn. It was a quonset hut for sheep until the mid-1980's when Meredith moved to Colorado.

Meredith's house.

Meredith has published five children's books about Jasper the mule.

The eldest daughter of Peanut's creator Charles Schultz, Meredith is probably the number one person to see if you need to train your donkey or mule! Check out her website today! Your ass with thank you for it!

I never knew there was such a place.

Pyronia tithonus

Hidden in an alley in Fort Collins:

It's like this big bronze sculpture!

Hey, wait! It IS a Bronze sculpture!

And / or a real fancy lightning rod!

...with size EEEEEEEEEEEEE Feet!

In the back of this house?

You can't see it from the street! I was just biking in town and I took a shortcut through this alley and there it was! I'm sure this big guy could come down from his pedestal from time to time and water the plants in his back yard. That's what the garden hose is for. What about the other pedestal?

ZorroTM Satchel

What we could have purchased:

Instead we bough a new washer and dryer (Boring!)

It's interesting. Whenever we have a song in our head we can't get rid of, we turn to the lyrics of the Zorro^TM theme song:

Out of the night,
When the full moon is bright,
Comes the horseman known as Zorro.
This bold renegade
Carves a "Z" with his blade,
A "Z" that stands for Zorro.

Zorro, Zorro, the fox so cunning and free,
Zorro, Zorro, who makes the sign of the Z.

He is polite,
But the wicked take flight
When they catch the sight of Zorro.
He’s friend of the weak,
And the poor and the meek,
This very unique senor Zorro.

Zorro, Zorro, the fox so cunning and free,
Zorro, Zorro, who makes the sign of the Z.

Zorro, Zorro, Zorro, Zorro, Zorro.

It works every time!

Jacob's Escalator: Looking Back, Part 2

In memory of Surrational Images

Scott Mutter 1944 - 2008

I remember Scott Mutter. Back in the late 60's he would show his collection of movies at the Red Herring Coffeehouse. We were both into cinematography and liked to talk about the current technology; Those days it was non-digital !
He was a good friend and I would always try to find him and talk to him whenever I was in town.
He later became famous for his "Surrational Images"; I remember reading about him in the Chicago Tribune Magazine in the late 70's, and I was happy to see that he was finally being rewarded for his work. In 2006, while consulting at BP Amaco in Naperville, Illinois, I came across copies of his work on the walls in second floor of the research center. I hadn't thought of him for some time, so it was really neat to see his pictures on view in corporate America. Scott would have had a laugh over that!

A few more...

Of all the 150 metal lawn ornaments

I liked this one the most!

...not sure what he used for the head.

Most of his animals have oil pan craniums.

or weird birds like this one.

Unusual vehicles can be found out back.

... but there appears to be plenty of room on his front lawn for even more!

More of Bill's Back Yard

Outsider Art in Fort Collins:

Coined by Roger Cardinal in 1972, the term Outsider Art comes from 'Art Brute' or 'Raw Art'

It was meant to describe certain types of art created outside the boundaries of official culture.

Outsider Art does not have to be outside; nor does it have to be good.

French artist Jean Dubuffet described it as "Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses - where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere - are, because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of professions."

"After a certain familiarity with these flourishings of an exalted feverishness, lived so fully and so intensely by their authors, we cannot avoid the feeling that in relation to these works, cultural art in its entirety appears to be the game of a futile society, a fallacious parade."

It is art immune to the influences of culture

immune to being absorbed and assimilated.

Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane asylum inmates.

Why we have a Homeowner's Association

One of our 'neighbors', Mr. Bill Swets, was a farmer for many years. He used his amateur welding skills to fix or modify farm equipment, but over the years he became a little more wacky with his welding work. Starting in 1985, he started making metal sculptures and he hasn't stopped since. People who drove by his house would stop and take a look. The traffic jams along Harmony Road caused Bill to add a parking lot and give a name to his creations. He called it the Swetsville Zoo.

Bill Swets (from a news article 10 years ago)

Bill's front door to his zoo

Keg Head

Happy Buoy

Ratchet Bird

VW Spider?

WheelGator

Twin Headed Fuel Injected Flying Metalopagus

Green Art & Climate Change

At the Museum of Contemporary Art: The Magnolia Tapestry Project

Dr. Scott Denning, Atmospheric scientist

We were at the museum for a special show: Art, Science, Connect, Sustain
We saw various examples of environmental art projects presented by Lynne Hull, and two CSU specialists in environmental science (one of them was Dr. Denning pictured above).

More bike path sculpture

I went South on some of the bike paths in town. Here are some examples of the bike path sculpture art along the path.

I never saw this kind of stuff in Illinois, so it was unusual to me.

It's kind of neat actually!

We have some furniture in our new house! We purchased a bed for our master bedroom. The old bed will go into the guest room (when it gets here!) The movers say we might get delivery by Thursday, maybe. Don't bet on it!