LIGHT AND DARK

People talk a lot about the light in Marfa, and it is wonderful.  It's the kind of light that fills your room in the morning, inviting you outside where the sky is a shade of blue you've never seen before.  Lately, though, I've been appreciating shadows even more than light.  I walked the Dixon Ranch trail this morning, and the sun was rising over my right shoulder.  I kept pace with my shadow the length of the trail, watching it cross other shadows of long grass bending west.

And so, a quick meditation on light and dark, from photos taken around town and in the store--I love the hidden "M" stamped on the wall. Enjoy, Mirthlings!
-Claire for Mirth

MEMORY/MAMMORY

Mirth is currently exhibiting paintings by Marfa-based artist, Biff Bolen. Since meeting Bolen, I have become fond of his process and work--most recently, one obnoxiously large canvas, covered in oil and silicon entitled, Memory/Mammory, 2013. Measuring eighty-four by seventy-two inches, Memory/Mammory demands attention if not affection and perhaps sheer amusement. 

An unwieldy, streaky, gestural green blob--dripping with painterly excrement--sits on top of and behind a calming gray-white background. The green blob is adorned with two asymmetrical spheres for eyes that float above a watermelon mouth, all colored black. In between, two relatively small diagonal strokes form a nose. Initially, the awkward shape of the green blob, its expression and visceral matter evoke fear and disgust from the viewer. The ominous character of the painting is further haunted but strangely lightened by a gooey, bulbous, translucent silicon smiley face--playfully placed atop the green blob. Meanwhile, a third figure extends from the top right corner of the green blob to join the viewer in glaring at the juxtaposition of a gloomy green blob championed by a smile. 

Bolen explicates that he utilizes layers of painted imagery to better understand the shift wireless search engines have forced on today's culture. He inquires,"...are we becoming more comfortable translating image into words or are we loosing the ability to interpret and connect with imagery? What does the search engine have in common with the brain? is it possible for me to be completely random?" Bolen believes that "as the Internet pushes more towards [a] Freudian theory of humanity, the artist should push back against it, looking further for the illogical, and therefore the real humanity." 

As technology advances towards a 'human' logarithm, the computer and the brain may inform one another or perhaps, the artist in all of us will breach the connective membrane as Bolen has wih Memory/Mammory--an image that stains the memory and demonstrates humanity's supreme ability to reconcile complementary opposites. 

-Jessica for Mirth

MANUALS

Yesterday morning, a dear friend dropped in to visit me at Mirth. While she was here, we looked over the instruction manual for the Japanese mandolin. We both found the manual to be particularly engaging for its pictures, character and multiple languages.  As stated above, 'manual's powers combined would mean instructions for how to work something with your hands. 

Thick manuals that accompany large household items, cameras and such are often overwhelming. I would rather an object's utility be apparent, but as we graced the folded instruction pages for the Japanese Mandolin, I indulged in the idea of a personal human manual. 

At age 25, nothing is apparent. Every day seems to bring a life lesson, a f**k up or a desire to unf**k something up. If my internal manual were a material object, it would be covered in edits and slashed with red ink. The process is frustrating and sort of beautiful. The beauty lies in the concept of humans' shared experience and the frustration, perhaps, because we are ultimately individuals, independent of others and quite literally alone (sans manual) with our personal challenges and triumphs. 

I prefer to have a confidant by my side, a sidekick, a soundboard, a partner in crime and witness to my life--even in the hard times...especially in the hard times! Despite my fervor for companionship, guidance and love and in regards to my detestation of hardships, I am, nevertheless, perfectly capable of navigating uncertainty and manually maneuvering my way into the light. 

This is to say that the Japanese Mandolin needs a pair of hands to cut the vegetables. 

-Jessica for Mirth