Animozaiques, coucher de soleil, photos,

My recent works have delved into the stages of interpersonal relationships. These nuances in human experience are rarely acknowledged on a macro level. From the genetic tendencies behind attraction to the cultural drive of the dating ritual, a biological and psychological bond drives these relationships. My works explore these nuances through mixed media and digital imagery.

Vector Trio is a project designed to explore freedom and possibility in three voices, contextualized by cultural disharmony. Improvisation, looped dreamscapes, jagged bursts of noise, floating meditations, and street rhythms mark this music.

Vector Trio is:
Scott Forrey, trumpets, loops, and electronics
Gary Rouzer, NS bass cello, loops, and electronics
Marshall Hughey, drums and landscape percussion

Sole Survivors is a contemporary portrait of one American woman and three immigrants who put their lives on the line to seek and realize not only the American Dream, but their own, more personal and deeply-felt dreams of freedom.

Life and death issues are closely counterposed in a dramatic, inspiring mini-saga of tender visions and painful, sharp-edged realism. Political expression and repression, marriage and divorce, even humor (touching, Chaplinesque humor and pathos) take center stage in Vest's solo performance.

Sole Survivors is based on extensive interviews Michelle conducted with documented and undocumented workers.

These four paintings are part of the Personal Landscapes Series. Look closely and you can see.

Victor/Victoria is a glam trash 80s cover band mixing gender-bending and sexually comical performances with a variety of 80s tunes from Journey and Madonna to Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy.

Live Music to accompany poetry and paint performances.

Clay/earth is where we emerge. I love clay because, as with life, there is always something new to learn, some nuance to explore, a beckoning avenue opening up that was never there before. I love clay because some days you can do everything wrong and something marvelous appears, and some days you can do everything according to spec and nothing works – so you’re on your own, and learn to name that “freedom.” Clay, by its very nature, encourages playfulness, living in the moment, and - when you hear that pop in the kiln - letting go. When I work with clay all that exists is energy, which wants expression, and me, acting as conduit.

Renee Shaw, AKA Vj Poppins, is a video installation and live video performance artist.
As a video performer, Vj Poppins responds to an audible beat embracing the phenomenon of synaesthesia. Drawing from a large archive of footage, Vj Poppins manipulates video output through live, spontaneous editing. Like a DJ,
she scratches through multiple layers of moving images searching for that perfect mix. The visuals have no hierarchy-there is no beginning, middle or end. Vj Poppins constantly rummages for visual juxtapositions that create non-linear narratives.

Vj Poppins believes identity is a mix. Identity is a mix of visuals, narratives, genders, complex codes, data, races, commercial and institutional information. She presents identity as a series of audio/visual loops and samples that gets mixed and remixed constantly and spontaneously. The audio /visual content is a constant negotiation of past, present, and future remixes.

Vj Poppins is interested in the intersections of cultural synchronism between personal and communal narratives, identity, and experiences. Their performance is an attempt to synthesize a community of diverse interests and enthusiasms in this canonical and hierarchical world in which cultures are meshed. She borrows from everywhere trying to form new adjacencies, claiming new mixes and forging new identities that are not fixed.
The output is an audio/visual cornucopia of personal narratives, musical loops and multiple layers of digital video.

I'm a self taught photographer and my primary medium is digital infrared black and white.

Using mediums such as china marker, oil bar and oil based paint pens along with oil paint on canvas, paper or aluminum, my work represents the day, current affairs, conversations and events. I do not usually directly plan any painting or drawing making work tortuous at times. Being conscious of every square inch of surface, I have a situation in mind and become anxious to see the result. Representational images are derived from clip art or actual objects. The activity of drawing is important: it is a conduit between situation and surface. The process is my way of making what I experience more concrete. Formal elements such as color are often intuitive. It comes from somewhere.

The Hydrant series is about my experience with internet dating. Each hydrant represents a different person I have met on a dating web site. The titles of the paintings correspond to the catchy handles that people identify themselves with until they are ready to reveal their real names. If I couldn’t remember the handle of one of the men I had met, I assigned one based on my impression of them. Just as there is sure to be a hydrant on every corner, there always seemed to be a steady stream of people to meet on the web. I would stop using the web dating services for months and when I went back, there was always someone new to meet. Some of my e-dating relationships never got past a couple of emails or a phone call but each one left a unique impression - so each hydrant in my paintings has a different look and story.

The Margins series is a group of work representing themes of marginalization and isolation using outlined images from space travel such as astronauts in full gear, satellites and rockets. The absurdities of situations, inherent or intended, are constantly mysterious to me.

i was born in belrose, queens. my family and i moved to the suburbs, (jersey)half an hour from nyc. i moved to dc to attend an arts college. i was diagnosed with epilepsy and paranoid schizophrenia within a few months of each other, all while in my senior year. for me adjusting to everything included in having this illness it seemed easy for me to except.not for everyone else. much of my work is about family, memories and living with my illness.