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the reception for my first solo exhibit was a couple weeks ago in the TSU’s Center Gallery at cal state fullerton. the intimate show is by no means a pretty one, but it’s my hope to provoke thought and interact with the viewer. the show is titled, “one word is worth at least a thousand images” and it’s a small representation of my writing as well as the Cut-Up allowing a multitude of interpretations to come from them. no one owns words, so we use them freely, rearranging them to form our own ideals. when you think “pink” and i think “pink” there are most likely different images associated at that moment. the main idea for the show is that the viewer can create their own image, making it the largest exhibit of images in history per square foot. :)

there was a good show of friends and family and i’m confident that it got everyone thinking. for better. for whatever. but thinking, nonetheless. here are some pics from january 22 along with a little explanation for those who i couldn’t talk with personally:

perhaps this was the most interesting part of the show. the dreamachine – an art piece designed to view with your eyes closed. in my research of the cut-up literary style and it’s process, i stumbled upon this invention from one of my largest influences, brion gysin. i made my own stroboscopic light to demonstrate what he was innovating in the 60’s. my contraption is made of a world map. the idea that the visions induced by the machine are international with no ethnic borders. it also symbolizes a world like no other as i’ve cut through existing masses of land and water (countries and oceans, etc…) making completely unique places like, “nited state” and “hern ocean.”

we put these “inspiration” words on the table with a sharpie and encouraged everyone to write their own. i had no idea that they would actually write over and modify the existing words. to me, it couldn’t get more perfect than that. this was a testament that the show got people thinking. here are a couple of my faves:

the “X” boxes on the glass are blank image boxes. they’re on the glass over the words, so as the viewer reads the words they insert their own image. symbolically  of course. it was a way to creatively use the space, put words in a gallery setting, and break the world record for most images in a gallery – all at the same time. :)

there are 1,746 words in the exhibit (yes, i counted) and if one word is worth at least a thoudand images, you can only imagine the image possibilities. far more possibilities than people who will see this exhibit. and technically it’s a thought that can be permutated forever. above is a poster with one word (woman) with nearly a thousand representations of the word. imagine all the women in the world are defined by one graphic as well. also above (to the right) is my artist statement for this show broken up pointing out the anatomy of it’s layout. this represents the similar layout between a poem and a design layout. afterall, graphic design is the poetry of communication and poetry is the graphic design of literature.

above is a display of a traditional cut-up poem i wrote from an a piece of prose i wrote. poetry is very much design with the control of line breaks and placement of language. we use it everyday. i use it every time i write. above (to the right) is my first dreamachine, but the poor old record player’s motor burnt out, so now it sits stationary.

a little on the cut-up and why i’m so fascinated with it. and an ode to Antony Hitchin whom encouraged and influenced the world of brion gysin.

“ultralight” and “matchbook”

we are natural waste polluting the earth. we come from where we are, meet at the green recycling ideals, then head out and do our best to keep our planet safe and evangelize the “go green” concept, promoting better ways to use materials. i’ve come to terms that human life is inevitably wasteful and the best way to go green is to draw it’s complimentary color, red, and eliminate me which in turn uses no materials. emo, right?

101 types of poetry in a “this is a test” graphic.

how did my eyes get blue?

“material” and “author of salvation”

marinara sauce and ash.

“life” and the things we revolve it around.

“elements” using nature for self-reflection.

“epiphanies” a series of short poems.

this is the guestbook, a book already illustrated and written, encouraging the visitors to write over the words that exist in the book. and again, i sense the opening of minds, as everyone’s comments were continuations of the exiting type, making it that much more interesting. thanks to all who came out. and to those who didn’t, thanks for making it this far in this super long blog.

if you visit the show in person (up til february 19th), give yourself a clear head and some time to sit an read for a few. it’s not one of those cruise-through pretty-picture exhibits.

also, very soon i will post the poems that were used in the show at brianprince.com/blog because i know it’s not possible to read them here.