Look out, neighborhood. My Acoustic Research (AR) TSW-610 speakers are back in action and kicking serious sonic ass. These speakers sound so damn good! This set, and my AR receiver (also just refurbished), were part of the stereo system that was my high school graduation gift – way back in 1987. At last! Turntable and CD action are underway. My art studio stereo is now running at full speed. I’m excited! All systems go!
Wow. Today is my ten year anniversary. That’s right, I started this portfolio blog ten years ago today. I’ve made 1,235 posts in those ten years too. Kind of hard to believe.
Not much to add at the moment. I just wanted to acknowledge the big anniversary.
I’m buried under class preparation. This semester I am teaching three classes at Kennesaw State University, and two classes at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Yep, I’m gonna be busy as hell this semester. All good though, I love the teaching part of teaching.
Here’s to ten years!
Would’ve never remembered the anniversary if I didn’t leave a note for myself.
I walked around the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus the other day. I was there to fill out my new hire paperwork! I am very much looking forward to being an adjunct professor here next semester.
I’m still a Part-time Assistant Professor of Art at Kennesaw State University. Love it there too. However, full-time faculty positions are scarce and the amount of work adjunct professors receive is capped. Therefore, I had to double-dip in two states to increase my opportunities and income. It all became part of my master plan when Kelli and I moved to Chattanooga last year.
I haven’t been full-time faculty at SCAD since 2018. Yeah, it’s been a minute, but the lemons are finally starting to taste like lemonade.
Go UTC Mocs! Go KSU Owls!
I bought the house two doors down to keep as an investment property AND to use as my art studio!!! Throughout my professional life, I’ve managed to offset my mediocre income with wise real estate decisions. This was only possible because of the money I made from the sale of my loft in Atlanta. Thank you Atlanta Beltline! Hopefully this house is just the latest wise real estate decision. It should be, it really should. This might be the single greatest gift I have ever given myself. It’s not a gift, but I like to think of it as one because I am grateful.
Here’s how it went down. I needed a new workspace. Our new house is fantastic. I love it. However, there is zero space for an art studio. When searching for a home in Chattanooga, finding a house with enough space for an art studio was part of our plan. What we ended up doing was buy a house without space for an art studio but on a lot big enough to build one. Therefore, we planned to build something that would be part art studio and part shed to store our outdoor belongings.
I started sketching what I envisioned the structure to look like and reached out to a series of local contractors. I was having trouble getting interest because my job was too small for most building contractors. While in the middle of this process, I noticed a “For Sale” sign in the yard of the house two doors down from ours. I told Kelli about it, saying almost half-jokingly, that I should buy it. Buy that house instead building something on our property. She said it sounded like a great idea, and I should at least look into it. Look into it I did.
The price was right. I decided to make an offer! The house had been used as rental property for a number of years. It needed some fixing up if it was going to used as a primary residence. However, because it was going to be used as my art studio, it was basically ready to go as is. I’m oversimplifying the process, of course. Bottom line, I bought it. The house is now mine.
I’ve never had more than a spare bedroom for a studio. Now I have an entire two bedroom house for my art studio! I’m so psyched about that. Not only that, this place has a million dollar view and a ton of investment potential. You can see downtown Chattanooga from my front porch.
Add this to the list of major changes in 2021. Geez.
I’m thrilled. I have no regrets. Maybe I’ll rent out some of the space to share with another artist. I’m in no hurry to make a decision about that, and that feels good in itself. I love the fact that I can walk two doors down and be at work in my space. This is now and it’s also the future. As I mentioned earlier, this might be the single greatest gift I have ever given myself.
I’m sure I’ll post more about this at a later date. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of my new art studio, and the view!
We moved to Chattanooga with the intention of getting married. We just didn’t do things in the typical order. Well, we’re not typical people, so everything was just right.
Actually, Brett & Kelli did a few things! Told ya major life changes came often in 2021. Here’s a timeline of all the big stuff:
January 2021: Brett & Kelli are a couple, after being close friends for a few years.
May 2021: After months of discussion, they decide to move to Chattanooga. They buy a house in Chattanooga. Brett puts his loft on the market.
June 2021: Brett, Kelli, and Grace move to Chattanooga. Brett’s loft in Atlanta is sold.
September 2021: Brett & Kelli get engaged, making it official.
October 2021: Brett & Kelli get married at an intimate ceremony on the historic Walnut Street Bridge, located in downtown Chattanooga. Grace and the officiant were the only ones there. The day was ours and it was perfect.
How many of you are vacillating between feeling numb and full of rage with little to no buffer between the extremes??? My anxiety makes me revolve pretty damn fast on a normal day. These days it feels like mental whiplash.
The George W. Bush presidency made me upset enough to generate creative energy and be very productive. Trump, that asshole, is jamming me!!! That said, I keep fighting, kicking my own ass toward creative progress. The things I’m interested in most and have been making work about for years are still very real and present (cultural hypocrisy etc.). Unfortunately for me, Trump sucks all the air out of the room and my non-Trump ideas get buried. Therefore, I’m running with that at the moment. The numb rage of living through these days makes me make art specifically about this time.
Numb Rage – I’ll have to use that for a title of a new piece of art. Alright, here we go. Let it flow.
My neighborhood made national news.
Probably because I’m an artist, but my first instinct here is to think that the person behind it is not a racist at all. Instead, they’re making a subversive statement about racism itself and our visceral responses to it.
It made you look, it made you think. That my friends…is why art kicks ass, regardless of what your emotional reaction may be.
From My Curiosity Files: here is a list of the 100 most common surnames in the United States in 2020:
1 Smith, 2 Johnson, 3 Williams, 4 Brown, 5 Jones, 6 Miller, 7 Davis, 8 Garcia, 9 Rodriguez, 10 Wilson
11 Martinez, 12 Anderson, 13 Taylor, 14 Thomas, 15 Hernandez, 16 Moore, 17 Martin, 18 Jackson, 19 Thompson, 20 White
21 Lopez, 22 Lee, 23 Gonzalez, 24 Harris, 25 Clark, 26 Lewis, 27 Robinson, 28 Walker, 29 Perez, 30 Hall
31 Young, 32 Allen, 33 Sanchez, 34 Wright, 35 King, 36 Scott, 37 Green, 38 Baker, 39 Adams, 40 Nelson
41 Hill, 42 Ramirez, 43 Campbell, 44 Mitchell, 45 Roberts, 46 Carter, 47 Phillips, 48 Evans, 49 Turner, 50 Torres
51 Parker, 52 Collins, 53 Edwards, 54 Stewart, 55 Flores, 56 Morris, 57 Nguyen, 58 Murphy, 59 Rivera, 60 Cook
61 Rogers, 62 Morgan, 63 Peterson, 64 Cooper, 65 Reed, 66 Baliey, 67 Bell, 68 Gomez, 69 Kelly, 70 Howard
71 Ward, 72 Cox, 73 Diaz, 74 Richardson, 75 Wood, 76 Watson, 77 Brooks, 78 Bennett, 79 Gray, 80 James
81 Reyes, 82 Cruz, 83 Hughes, 84 Price, 85 Myers, 86 Long, 87 Foster, 88 Sanders, 89 Ross, 90 Morales
91 Powell, 92 Sullivan, 93 Russell, 94 Ortiz, 95 Jenkins, 96 Gutierrez, 97 Perry, 98 Butler, 99 Barnes, 100 Fisher
So tired of the “people don’t want to work” narrative. I’ve been hearing it my whole life from the mouths of people that are themselves overly entitled, small minded or simply unaware. It’s inaccurate when we’re in a time of prosperity and it’s irresponsibly ignorant in a time of crisis.
Listening to politicians and my fellow citizens say that “too much relief” may discourage people from working is fundamentally outrageous. The dignity of work is something of value to us all.
Besides, look around you. When have we ever lived in a world where a persons pay was equaled to the amount of work actually done to earn it or the true societal importance of their work?
Earlier this month John Baldessari passed away. In my opinion, one of the greatest artists of all time. Most definitely a BIG inspiration to me. One of the few that opened my eyes like no other. For that, he was always a favorite. Rest in conceptual peace, Mr. Baldessari.
Welcome to 2020. Clarity is here!
Not quite, but it is my biggest goal of the year. Find clarity in my life and walk toward it with greater focus and discipline. In many ways I am at a breaking point. I actually feel fine about most of it too. I feel I am at a pivotal moment in regard to many things in my life. My relationship with myself, my health and my identity itself are all sitting at the crossroads while I figure it out. Where to go? What to do? How to do it? I can feel the stress. Too often, I paralyze myself under the weight of the pressure. I need to recapture the fearlessness it took to pursue this life in the first place.
There I things within me I do want to break and rebuild. Let’s go 2020. Give me clarity. I am open.
Opening reception and artist talk tonight!
I am very happy to be back in the classroom. This week I started teaching at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, GA.
I will also soon be teaching art classes at the Fulton County Arts & Culture Centers. After more than a year of uncertainty, it’s finally been a good week in that area.
The evil within the collective mind of the trailer park Pharisees was on full display last night. Fasten your seatbelts and make sure you’re ready to vote. This kind of humanity (of lack of) needs to be excreted and flushed down the toilet.
Empathy is a defining characteristic of humanity. To have no empathy is to be subhuman.
There it is – all packed together for you in one image. Millions of words will be written about this one single image. History will always remember this photograph. So many visual symbols and metaphors for the downfall of America in one place. Good ol’ Honest Abe in a frame is the cherry on top of this golden toilet sundae.
That’s right, Donald J. Trump was sent to Washington to shake things up. This is America, 2019.
I’ve gotta get something off my chest.
Bill Donohue has made a career out of judging the behavior of others. He’s disgusted me for years. Once again he is defending the indefensible. The way this man defines degrees of abuse is morally repugnant.
Look, you can believe what you want in regard to your faith. However, no one should financially support the Catholic Church ever again. The Church needs to reform or die on the vine on their own. Support should only be shown with your thoughts and prayers, not your money.
I say this to you as someone that has been educated in Catholic schools (for 16 years). I say this as someone that has personally given a bit of money to the Church over the years. Never more, never again.
It’s Monday afternoon, July 16th. I’m working in my art studio trying to make progress on a new series of paintings. President Chump just completed his astonishingly disgraceful press conference with Vladimir Putin and I have decided I needed to immediately post about the subject.
As an artist, I am motivated and influenced by contemporary culture and our beliefs and relationships (and that includes politics). Therefore, the news, good or bad, can be inspirational. Unfortunately, this has become more difficult for me during the Donald Trump administration. This is true for a variety of reasons. It’s probably attrition more than anything, Trump is so fucking exhausting. That’s why I’m headed out for a walk after I complete this post. I need to reclaim a little of the energy sucked away from me by thinking about Captain Douchebag.
Because it just happened, I know this blogpost is more of a reaction than a response. Regardless, you can mark my words, this moment is a turning point. It will go down as one of the most embarrassing moments in our history. President Chump was tougher on the Democrats and the intelligence community in this press conference than he was on the Russians. It’s hard to put into words what we saw today. I’m wondering if we finally, finally, finally reached the beginning of the end.
John McCain, as we all know is living his final days. He had a lot to say about today. I disagree with McCain more than half of the time, so I do not automatically support anything he says. However, here he perfectly crystallizes the embarrassment happening right before our eyes. His words from today will be remembered and quoted for many, many years to come:
– – – – –
“Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.
“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.
“It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout – as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin’s regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.
“Coming close on the heels of President Trump’s bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain, today’s press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency. That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisors makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.
“No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are—a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.”
“We use that flag to sell mattresses and beer. We wear it as a swimsuit. We wrap our bald head in a bandana and stick it in our pants because we disrespect that flag everyday.”
These words from Dale Hansen (sportscaster and Vietnam veteran) echo the thought I’ve had for years on the subject of the American flag. The flag is not meant to be a product or a prop. That’s why I don’t wear anything meant to appropriate the American flag (that’s also why I don’t wear anything that appropriates military camouflage).
All this noise about kneeling or standing in the NFL is just the by product of another prop for a product. The teams were in the locker rooms during the anthem until eight years ago. In 2009, the NFL brought the players out for the anthem basically to be a prop for their product. It was a marketing strategy made in order to make the players (and the league) look more patriotic. The Department of Defense and the National Guard also payed the NFL for permission to stage on-field patriotic ceremonies to increase military recruitment.
Don’t be played by the sideshow. The first amendment IS first for a reason. Live and let kneel.
Tomi Lahren is a big deal these days. Propped up by her good looks, she’s become a popular voice for the alt-right people and young conservative millennial. I think this young woman (and I feel old for even typing those words) has a lot to learn. A lot to learn about history. A lot to learn about human nature. A lot to learn about life. A lot to learn about so many topics. It’s a shame, she’s bright but not smart enough to know what she doesn’t comprehend.
Find out for yourself. Watch this interview with Trevor Noah (of the Daily Show) in its entirety.
This week, I finished hanging up my second large scale artwork. Stay tuned. There will be more to see in the coming weeks.
That said, I am looking for volunteers to help me hang these really large works. I have tried alone and it’s too difficult. It’s just too large. Too many wrinkles.
If you’re in Atlanta and are interested in giving me a hand installing these, please let me know. You must be able to work after dark and willing to get messy.
Brett Callero: Visual Artist 