Nanu Nanu

2010-12-11T23:44:00.003-06:00

Updates for Nanu Nanu will be few and far between. Well maybe not, but we will see how things go. I am switching over to tumblr, but may still continue to use this account for photography and writing.

My new tumblr account will feature less substantial work I create. This includes small drawings, material experimentation, sketches, and works in progress.

http://www.bonusmaterials.tumblr.com/

Now that my semester is over I can focus on getting my website up and running.

http://www.michaelnannery.com/

2010-12-07T11:56:00.001-06:00

2010-12-04T18:38:00.001-06:00

In an alternate universe all snowflakes are the same.

2010-11-27T17:40:00.000-06:00

2010-11-21T21:37:00.001-06:00

All states of matter and perception operate simultaneously as ethereal and grounded. Fine art has become a way for me to challenge my own person perceptions of reality as well as those of my audience. It is possible to reprocess a definite substance via an unrelated medium and render it insignificant. Additionally, the opposite is achievable. Using particular methods and processes, the visual and mental challenges I compose state the question: Is an everyday encounter a definite truth or merely an automated perception?

As an artist, I intend to offer new perspectives on existing subjects. Thus, the work I create functions as a transformer for both the immaculate and the obsolete. I create first-hand experiences of altered subjects to challenge the viewer’s dependable memory of said subject. By introducing tropes with which my audience will be familiar, I can establish a relatable equation for them. After such a connection is created, the viewer is invited to question the authenticity of the art objects I create and define the work’s relationship to their personal perspectives. Essentially, I use the art object as a metaphor for the malleability of reality.

Printmaking is an ideal medium for me to communicate my ideas. There is a strong conceptual value that is embedded within its origins and functionality. I am intrigued by the possibility of engraining a physical surface with an element of visual communication. The printmaking process offers a substantial accumulation of information. Likewise, it becomes a way of presenting tangible content to my viewers. The print itself serves as a container for my ideas.

2010-11-19T23:56:00.007-06:00

The Sky is Falling (but I guess it always has been...), Monotype on Drywall. 2010

Present states of reality are as real or fake as we choose them to be. The intangible can fluctuate and occupy a fabricated actuality with a subtle shift in perception.

2010-11-19T23:52:00.004-06:00

Just finished documenting a ton of new work for the website + graduate school applications. But here is some really old work I found while rummaging through old files. Most are 1.5-2 yrs old.

2010-11-16T18:57:00.000-06:00

2010-11-10T19:37:00.000-06:00

2010-11-01T22:40:00.002-05:00

2010-11-01T22:37:00.003-05:00

Invisible Borders

2010-10-24T18:05:00.002-05:00

2010-10-17T19:15:00.005-05:00

The report of an event is more powerful than its concrete existence.

Found shapes/Emplaced resonance

2010-10-11T18:10:00.006-05:00

2010-10-08T10:58:00.002-05:00

http://outpostsfromthematerialworld.blogspot.com/2010/10/its-thought.html

Another review of "It's a Thought" by Charles Fox.
Check out more of his writing on his personal blog Outposts From the Material World and Indianapolis contemorary visual arts site On the Cusp.

2010-10-05T15:48:00.003-05:00

If it is in a frame is it art?

The act of framing something automatically instills it with a particular sense of worth. A simple piece of wood solidifies something that meanders leasurely along the line of fine art and absurdity. With this in mind, when a framed artwork is taken outside of the gallery setting, home, or critique room does it still function as art?

The following works were installed on concrete walls in an urban environment. As their application is more closely tied to street art, what sort of value do these works possess? By engaging the public audience in such a direct manner, they must consider whether these works are truly art or merely garbage hung from a wall.

2010-10-02T14:32:00.012-05:00

Images from Wake Press & Gallery's open house plus the Fountain Square Art Parade.

2010-09-27T12:59:00.003-05:00

Peter Halley, Human Nature, 2001. Acrylic, Day-Glo Acrylic, Pearlescent Acrylic, Metal Acrylic, and Rol-a-Tex on Canvas. 88"x72".

Peter Halley, Emoticon, 2001. Acrylic, Metal Acrylic, and Rol-a-Tex on canvas. 66"x54"

2010-09-27T11:50:00.001-05:00

Excited about this.

2010-09-23T12:33:00.002-05:00

In progress...

2010-09-22T23:34:00.000-05:00

2010-09-20T13:30:00.004-05:00

Some work I've been digging lately by Maya Hayuk.

Guitar Parts, 2008. Screenprint.
The Universe II, 2009. Acrylic on Panel.

2010-09-17T10:28:00.010-05:00

I will be here giving demos and selling stuff, so come hang out.

Adam Wollenberg

Myself

Sydney Webb

Marx Shoemaker

Collaborative Work: "Put Me in Coach!"

2010-09-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

From Nuvo:

Review: it's a thought: a collaborative drawing project by Adam Wollenberk, Marx Shoemaker, Michael Nannery and Sydney Webb

by Dan Grossman

Four stars

Wake Press and Gallery. Put these four Herron students in a room for four days with paper and mixed media and you get "Put me in Coach." This collaborative drawing on paper, in black & white, almost spans the length of the Wake gallery wall. It's zany and abstract and it engages the eye and the imagination and its title serves as sort of metaphor for what these Herron students and alums are doing in the Wake space across from the burgeoning Murphy Art Center. "We're all printmakers," says gallery owner Sydney Webb, who graduated Herron this year. "That's how we met. That's how we know each other... Drawing is such a primary source for us." So they decided to get down to brass tacks in a 96-hour art binge. In addition to the aforementioned collaborative drawing, each artist composed during this time a solo work that was included in this show. Marx Shoemaker's "Preservatives" is, in his words, "an attempt to describe the way an object inhabits space."Taking charcoal to paper, Shoemaker created a highly textured, multi-shaded visual meditation on a plastic bag that conjures up the most mundane of objects as something multidimensional and interesting. Through Sept. 24

2010-09-12T18:22:00.005-05:00

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK include but are not limited to: oil spills, fuzzy stuff, an airplane, predictable photography, celebrity Austin Radcliffe, fun shapes, and grimy windows.

2010-09-07T21:12:00.002-05:00

BIG BOOM.

2010-09-05T11:58:00.001-05:00

2010-09-05T11:51:00.004-05:00

2010-09-05T11:47:00.001-05:00

2010-09-01T21:41:00.007-05:00

2010-08-22T22:11:00.005-05:00

Collaboration with Marx Shoemaker. Ink pulled onto 22"x30" Rives BFK paper.

These works on paper mimic and pay homage to the overlooked color test pull-down strips done by printmakers around the world.

2010-08-20T22:29:00.009-05:00

Various, from NJ/PA over the week.

2010-08-17T18:03:00.000-05:00

from American Splendor

2010-08-06T12:02:00.008-05:00

A drawing and some writings as a manifesto I did for one of my classes. You can check out what some other people from my class did here: A Critical Approach to Art

Anyways, check out my work tonight at Urban Element II and Space Camp (in the Murphy Building).

MICHAEL NANNERY

Lonewolf, Ink on Paper, 2010.

Adrawing,asitsitsonasurface,istypicallyconsideredanimage.

Imagescanbeproliferatedovermanydifferentmedia,suchasth

einternet,print,ortelevision.Thoughtheconnectionsincrease

manifold,aparticularqualityoftheartworkislost.Thepiececea

sestoexistinphysicalformwithintheviewer’smindandbecom

esmerelyanimage.Ibelieveaphysicalartwork(suchasasculpt

ure,painting,ordrawing)carriesmorepotentialwhenseenasan

objectratherthananimage.Subtletiesdrasticallyaltertheviewe

r’sexperienceoftheartwork;thesemayinvolvebutarenotlimite

dtophysicaldimensionality,reflexivity,andpresentation.Myd

rawing,asinglecontinuouslinecoveringanentiresheetofblack

paper,cannotbefullyexperiencedthroughanimagehostedonan

internetwebsite.Ittakesthefirstpersonscrutinyofahumanbeing

fortheimagetounfoldintotheobjectthatittrulyis.Withinthecon

temporaryartoftoday,itisimportantforartworktobecreatedwh

ichchallengestheviewer.Itmustaddressitselfasapieceofartthr

oughmethodormediaandattempttomakesomeformofcontact

withtheviewerinordertoberelevant.Myworkseekstopushtheb

oundaryofsuchexperience;itallowstheviewerstodecideforthe

mselves’whethertheartworkIhavecreatedorthematerialsandc

onceptsitisderivedfromareworththeirreflection.

Ingrid Calame’s series of Indianapolis Motor Speedway tracings are an example of contemporary artwork that engages its surroundings. The drawings consist of traced marks from race vehicles on the track. They are then spliced together into a larger composition. Through the act of transcribing the movements, Calame has created a piece that is relevant to Indianapolis culture. Even the medium is considered; it is the very same enamel paint that is used on the signs and cars that occupy the track. The drawing serves as repurposing of these elements, which may be ordinarily overlooked by racing fans. It serves as visually stimulating reflection of a thing that
makes the city great.

Ingrid Calame, #258 Drawing (Tracings from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the LA River), enamel paint on aluminum, 2007. Indianapolis Museum of Art.

This light-based sculptural piece confronts the viewer with an optical illusion. Though it is composed of a single convex circle, it has the appearance of a much more complex piece. The shadows from the lights create an ethereal impression. Upon viewing the piece up close, the viewer sees the reality of the artwork. Irwin’s sculpture occupies two visual planes: reality and illusion. This connection between the tangible and intangible causes my to question the forms and relationships an artwork may share with a particular viewer. An artwork, as perceived by the viewer, has the opportunity to modulate into limitless possibilities. This transforming process may be physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual. The subjectivity in question opens new doors to how an artwork may be experienced.

Robert Irwin, Untitled, lacquer on cast acrylic and tungsten lights, 1968-1969, Indianapolis Museum of Art.

2010-08-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

Collaborative effort between Austin Radcliffe and myself.

2010-08-01T16:13:00.003-05:00

Stuff from the studio:

2010-08-01T12:19:00.000-05:00

To land's end...

2010-07-23T14:07:00.004-05:00

Here's what I'm doing this coming First Friday:

Show features one piece from Marx Shoemaker (printmaker), Mark Boston (furniture designer), and myself. Thematically, the three pieces are manifestations of human experience in physical form.

AND:

DONALD JUDD on ICE: A Street Performance
August 6th, 3:30p-6:30p
Virginia Avenue, outside the Murphy Building in Fountain Square.

A performance on the street, and an exercise in seriality. Collaboration with Kurt Nettleton.

AND:

NEW AND OLD PRINTS
Urban Element II
415 N. Alabama St.
Work hangs 7/16-8/16
Reception: August 6th, 8p-10p

Also featuring collage work by Samuel E. Vazquez

It'll be busy night for me. Come check out what I've been working on for the last couple months and hang out with me.

2010-07-23T14:01:00.001-05:00

2010-07-23T13:26:00.001-05:00

MS Paint will always be cool.

2010-07-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

2010-07-19T13:13:00.002-05:00

Another cool album cover: Ólafur Arnalds - "...and they have escaped the weight of darkness."

Equally as good music video from the mentioned album:

Ólafur Arnalds - Hægt, kemur ljósið

2010-07-18T14:51:00.000-05:00

Transparent background texture for business cards I am making.

2010-07-15T12:51:00.001-05:00

Looking forward to this.

2010-07-14T16:47:00.001-05:00

How to draw the longest possible continuous non-intersecting line within a page.

2010-07-12T13:42:00.001-05:00

2010-07-09T14:03:00.000-05:00

101 posts thus far.

2010-07-06T11:19:00.001-05:00

Lawrence Weiner, A Line Drawn From the First Star at Dusk to the Last Star at Dawn. Wall Painting.

2010-07-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

2010-07-05T16:41:00.003-05:00

2010-07-01T13:34:00.001-05:00

Distant Lights (This Will Follow You Home), Mezzotint.

2010-06-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

2010-06-29T15:20:00.000-05:00

Pull down strip of the day.

T-Shirt Sale

2010-06-26T17:44:00.004-05:00

I got a flat tire this week, so I made a bunch of T-shirts to sell so I can pay the bills. All shirts cost $10. I can make the shirts in more sizes, I just printed them on what I had lying around. All shirts are Hanes comfort fit.

Reprint of an earlier design in white ink. Sizes: S
White V-neck with tiny line patterns. Sizes: M
Just in time for 4th of July. Sizes: S, M, L, XL
Wolf Shirt. Sizes: S, M, L

2010-06-25T11:57:00.001-05:00

In the creation of visual memory, brief segments of time and space are woven together as one's thoughts and feelings meander through said dimensions of information. We are left with a solidarity of such an impression, regardless of its extensive fringes.

2010-06-22T22:09:00.004-05:00

2010-06-21T12:15:00.001-05:00

Ad Reinhardt, Untitled Painting, Oil on Canvas, 1960-1961.

2010-06-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

2010-06-15T15:03:00.000-05:00

2010-06-11T22:45:00.005-05:00

These three shapes pieces reference the idea of a window. Not only is a window an object on the wall, it is a portal through which one can experience distance and space. The window itself acts a physical entity within a space. The quadrilateral shapes of the frames reference windows as rectangular openings viewed from a skewed perspective. The banded images within the frame represent fragments of time and space; over a great enough time period, a window presents a multitude of images to a viewer. A glossy layer of shellac sits on the surface of the prints unifying the separate moments into a single concept. These pieces address the considerable magnitude of such potential atmospheres and objects.
Detail of Single-Lite (Bright Blue), Lithograph and Shellac.
Detail of Window Allusion, Etching and Shellac.
Detail of The Shutters Go On For Miles, Lithograph and Shellac.

2010-06-10T12:10:00.003-05:00

Litho stone with sharpie on it. I meant to print it for an installation but the image didn't come up. I think it looks cool though.

2010-06-09T10:03:00.005-05:00

Here is a new monotype I made last night. I will be doing 2D prints for the next little while so I can approach my 3D work from a new perspective when I start working that way again.
Besides spacial issues, I am also very interested in surface qualities. This print has spray paint and rolled ink over the surface of the monotype.

My show comes down in two weeks (see it if you haven't already), and I will be documenting just about everything I have for my website. Hopefully that will be up in a month.

2010-06-07T11:30:00.012-05:00

I had my show this last Friday. It went very well. Everything turned out how I wanted and I got to talk to a lot of people about my work. I'll have some pictures up later this week of the space, but here are some of local folk band, Accordions, who played that evening. Be sure you check them out next Saturday afternoon (6/12) at the Harrison Center for the Arts. They will be playing at the Independent Music and Art Festival for free, so you have no excuse not to go.

Part of an installation titled The Black Elevator (Mowing the Lawn at Night).

At the Woodruff Place sale somebody had tons of stuffed animals.
Awesome pinecone!
Somebody's dog trying to lick my camera
Abandoned building.

2010-06-01T14:14:00.000-05:00

Hammock - Mono No Aware

Found this today while waiting for woodshop to open. Quite nice.

2010-05-31T11:22:00.002-05:00

John Hillers, Covered Walkway in Pueblo, Dog on Steps of Adobe House Nearby, 1879

2010-05-30T18:03:00.001-05:00

Johnnytwentythree - A Minute's Warning

I promise to stop only posting music videos and pictures of rockets after my show is done.

2010-05-21T10:09:00.003-05:00

Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy

2010-05-18T11:20:00.002-05:00

Just ordered these yesterday.

2010-05-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

2010-05-14T15:19:00.002-05:00

Some new stuff I've been making. Too bad the lighting is bad in these pictures. I think these pieces hit on a lot more of the issues I have been concerned with recently, so I am excited about them.

2010-05-09T17:07:00.001-05:00

Coming to an Indianapolis near you...

2010-05-06T23:03:00.000-05:00

ROCKETS ARE AWESOME.

2010-05-03T13:43:00.004-05:00

2010-05-01T17:42:00.003-05:00

2010-04-30T15:53:00.001-05:00

2010-04-30T13:19:00.000-05:00

2010-04-29T10:28:00.008-05:00

2010-04-27T11:34:00.000-05:00

Mark Rothko

2010-04-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

It Rained a Solid Glassy Rain, and it Never Stopped. Drypoint

2010-04-24T11:54:00.001-05:00

Make it Home Before the Sun Rises, 8-Layer Photo Lithograph of MS Paint drawing.

2010-04-23T22:27:00.004-05:00

Burial - Fostercare

2010-04-16T10:29:00.007-05:00

Lucien M. Turner (1848-1909), a member of the Army Signal Corps, collected natural history and ethnological specimens for the United States National Museum. From 1874 to 1877, he was a meteorological observer for the Signal Service at St. Michael, Alaska. He also trained voluntary observers for the Service in the Aleutians from 1878 to 1881. In 1882, Turner was sent to Fort Chimo, Labrador, as an observer and remained there until he returned to Washington in 1884. At each of his duty stations, Turner made extensive collections and sent them to the Smithsonian. (1)

I've always wondered why artists in my generation have some sort of need to copy the trends of mainstream art today. There is something more to be found within the vast expanses of accessible media. I continue to see a blandness within the work of these artists who merely skim from the top of a reservoir of knowledge and understanding.

Within a month or so, I will be launching a website. This purpose of this blog will shift from a collection of my work to a showcase of my creative processes, thoughts, observations, and theories.

(1) Smithsonian Institution Archive, "Record Unit 7192. Lucien M. Turner Papers, circa 1882-1884"

2010-04-05T15:40:00.003-05:00

UPCOMING EXHIBITION INFO:

The Horizon Becomes You

Installation and Print Media by Michael J. Nannery

Reception June 4th, 2010

1058 Virginia Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46203

Located Across from the Murphy Art Center

More info coming soon...

2010-04-04T14:05:00.006-05:00

I printed a bunch of shirts in sizes S, M, L, and XL. I am selling them for $7 each or $11 if I have to ship it to you. More shirts will be made focusing on optical illusions and other visual phenomena.
Here are some shoes I bought and drew on yesterday.
This is my friend's cat, Uno. I watched him for about a week.
He was a mad dog.

2010-04-02T11:27:00.001-05:00

2010-03-31T19:46:00.003-05:00

This weekend I'm frittering my money away on T-shirt screen printing materials. I think I will either make a cartoony image or some optical thing. I'll probably sell them for $6 or $7, but it depends where I get my shirts from. Let me know if you're interested, I'll have some pics up later in the weekend.

2010-03-29T18:59:00.003-05:00

Reinterpreting garbage into art.

I'm trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff. Let me know if you want to buy anything for pretty much nothing.

2010-03-29T18:48:00.002-05:00

Nine 22"x30" prints. In this series, I tried to remember an experience and translate it in visual l form onto paper. Each time I created the image, I started with no outside references but my memory.

2010-03-28T15:29:00.002-05:00

2010-03-26T03:45:00.007-05:00

A new installation underneath some stairs at Herron.

I began by printing a large photo litho plate in several different colors. The prints were cut into rectangles and attached to the wall. I chose this location due to its spacial qualities. Upon entering the space, the viewer is confronted by a life-sized field of colors. The texture of the print resembles pixelated wood or bark. That gave me the idea to try to create an installation that is reminiscent of a forest in terms of feeling. Within this context, this piece gives a sense of separation from the rest of the world. Similarly to a forest, it is a public area which anyone could occupy, yet there is still a feeling of isolation.
Marx looking at it.
The colors were arranged to give the image an unfocused quality. The prints are overlapped like shingles or pieces of bark.
The image was created using the MS paint scribble method shown several posts earlier. I still have the plate and would like to do a large print with it soon.

2010-03-22T20:53:00.004-05:00

Stayin' up late the next couple weeks.

2010-03-16T00:22:00.006-05:00

Colors of the day.

This is kind of old, but for some reason I never photographed it. It is a stone lithograph made of probably 14 or 15 layers. I printed an edition of 19, since it is part of a portfolio. The other artists in the portfolio are various Herron students and faculty.

In other news, I am Odlow?

2010-03-13T15:15:00.002-06:00

Imagery I am very excited about. Created in MS Paint by holding down the mouse button and scribbling for 10 minutes without letting go.

2010-03-12T22:33:00.007-06:00

Spring Break 2010 began on a high note for me. This Friday was one of the best days in a long time. For the second half of my print class, we went to the print room of the IMA and the Curator of Printmaking, Marty Krause, showed us a bunch of amazing prints. One of which was a Whistler etching that is one of my all-time favorite prints. After the talk was over, a few of us stuck around and talked to Marty for a while longer. He showed us where they keep all the prints in storage.

I then asked him to show us the coolest portfolio he had. We got to see an unbelievable mint condition Marc Chagall portfolio of lithographs. They were the brightest pieces of art I have ever seen in my life. I did not know they had rediculous color in 1949!!!

I also walked around the museum since I hadn't been there in a while. If you live in the Indy area you have to go. They have amazing art there and it's free. I wasn't allowed to take pics of stuff on the contemporary floor, which sucked since they they had a bunch of cool new work, but here's some other stuff:
Giant Sol Lewitt wall painting. The man was a genius!

The (relatively) new light installation by Robert Irwin.
They were repainting one of galleries, but I thought this half painted wall was one of the most interesting things I saw that day. Especially how the light reflected off the white onto the adjacent wall.
And of course the best part about the IMA is how slippery the metal footcatcher on the escalator is. You can put your foot or heel on it and let it slide all the way down. It is amazing!

Later that night, I got to see an amazing thrash metal show with my best friend and his dad. Exodus, Testament, and Megadeth were playing at the Murat. When I was about 16, Megadeth was my favorite band, so needless to say, I had a lot of fun.
This is Testament playing, they were so much fun to watch.
Megadeth was on their 20th anniversary "Rust In Peace" tour. This is one of my very favorite albums and it was incredible to experience it live from start to finish. This was the loudest show I've ever been to. I am still a little deaf from it, hahaha.

2010-03-09T14:22:00.002-06:00

Cool shape that I made Jessy take a picture of.
Dark room creeper.

2010-03-08T10:18:00.001-06:00

Part of an upcoming installation.

2010-03-08T00:05:00.004-06:00

Well here are a few more prints. They are all a couple weeks old or more so I have more new stuff I am behind on posting. Not having the internet makes this hard.

Two prints dealing with the relationship between the text and the image.

There are qualities about both that I really like, so it is hard for me to pick my favorite. If there is one thing that can be recognized it is that the images' function changes drastically between the two. I'm into that.

I approached this monotype almost as a painting. At times ink was rolled directly onto the paper itself. The image was even modulated by hand directly on its surface. At what point does it change from a print into another form of media?

The paper is entirely saturated with ink. Without a doubt, this is the physically heaviest print I have made.

2010-03-04T19:33:00.000-06:00

Swatch collage feat. Marx Shoemaker.

2010-03-02T21:25:00.002-06:00

I always find it interesting when the imagery from a non-objective sketch comes from a manifestation from a random experience. In this case, I realized halfway through the drawing that it was the window blinds in my apartment. Sometimes I fall asleep on the couch and wake up in the morning to the bright light coming from behind the window blinds. I will look at it for a couple minutes before I get up.

I will probably interpret this in print format soon.

2010-02-27T23:03:00.007-06:00

I have a ton of new work that I need to document. These photos look pretty bad. I should start scanning my work.

This was an inkjet print of a group of photos I put together. I printed an etching layer overtop of it.
Lithograph with xerox transfers.
Black on black. Just a big etching on a big piece of paper.

More stuff soon. I'm in a hurry so this is all I can post now.