"It's Getting Light"

Woke up in a funny mood this morning, I guess. Immediately thought of this idea for a poster and went for it. Now I'm kinda thinking, "Huh?" but whatever.I'm posting it anyway. Tell me, does it make any sense to you? Julie, my partner in crime here, really likes it (even though it doesn't feature her new work). She and I were sharing some braintime last night, just going back and forth with title ideas and she came up with this: "It's Getting Light". It's a weird title for a show, i know, but I still really like it. It suggests a sort of optimism, which I like, and it's ambiguous in just the right way and... just kind of oblique and unexpected. So that's what we're calling it: "It's Getting Light."

As to the gimmick... I guess I was thinking that I definitely wanted to do a poster for our show but that you don't usually advertise an art exhibition that way, you know? Usually you do the postcard or the catalogue. You do posters for rock 'n' roll shows usually but, of course, we aren't musicians, so that's where that all got started.

I also must've had that Chicks On Speed song on the brain, "We Don't Play Guitars!" Have you ever heard that one? It's great - clever and funny. You should check it out.

Anyway, I was also remembering a conversation I'd had with my buddy, Trey, who is a musician, and he was going on about how the only reason these bars book bands is just to sell beer - it's never anything to do with a love of music and free expression, it always only about a good ring at the end of the night. So I was thinking, "no, you're not going to get any kind of a rehearsed performance out of us on the 15th. The immediacy and excitement of a live rock show is not something you should expect. But a super-big bonus at this event is that this particular gallery really knows how to handle the hospitality issue. The food gets catered by Sasha's Wine Bar, and I think it's usually pretty good. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty much always too late to the openings to know for sure. The chow's usually gone before I get there, which i guess is a good sign. But the best part is that the Hoffmans and LaChances stock good, locally brewed, Schlafly beer in the bottle, and the red wine they serve actually isn't too bad. We've all had the crappy art-wine experience, but this isn't that at all. And, again, they don't charge for it. Now, to my mind, that should go without saying. But I've noticed a number of galleries with a cash bar lately. I went to an opening at the new Abstrakt Space in Benton Park and ended up paying seven bucks for red wine in a plastic cup. Seven!! That, my friends, is just utter nonsense! Those people need to reassess their priorities, if you ask me.

Anyway, I'm sorry. I'm ranting, aren't I? I'll stop. Just please be aware that at our show it's a nice, warm atmosphere... good, chummy feelings all around... lots of interesting things to talk about and plenty of fascinating people with whom to discuss them AND, if you are thusly inclined, you will leave with a nice, warm buzz and a little red on your cheeks.

Oh, and the art'll be good, too... but no guitars.