Tetris on the Brain

I was invited to show at the second annual 8-Bit art show at Family Affair this year. I did a collab piece with Delton Demarest last year that set the bar high for us as individual participants this time around... Because my solo show at DVSN West was only 2 weeks ago, I wasn't sure how much time I had to devote to a concept, but I knew I wanted to elaborate on the brick patterns I already created. At first my heart was set on making a dimensional Super Mario Bros brick/block, but I couldn't decide on which version to use. Then after floating around on the web I found photos of an awesome Tetris Art installation in Sydney, Australia called "One More Go One More Go". Seeing that gave me new inspiration, and although my piece would be created on a smaller scale, the spatial possibilities of the shapes from Tetris became more intriguing.

"One More Go One More Go"  photo: ellabarclay.com

I have been collecting metal remnants and things from my friends and while walking around in odd places, so all of the material I used the fabricate my Tetris block (tetrimino) was free. The shape I chose could be considered an "s" or a "z" shape, depending on the way it's displayed. I gave the piece full xyz dimensionality so it looks like a cage or skeleton, it begins to create additional geometric images than what would normally be there if it was just flat, I enjoy angles and geometry. Over the course of 10 hours of cutting and polishing and welding, I created "Anatomy", its just under 2ft tall and will make a nice piece for someone's home in the future... It will be on display at Family Affair (denver) for the rest of the month, 2049 Larimer St.

There is a very informative Wiki about the origin of Tetris, it's worth a read!

Thanks!

Photo by Steve Pamlenyi

My show was last night at DVSN West, and I am pretty happy with everything I put on display! It sounds weird but only because I've never shown art like this before... I had mounting complications with my neon pieces, but everyone was excited about my new dimensional works. (**For folks out there that plan on showing art in a space, make sure you know how you're allowed to hang work in advance, so you can plan accordingly!). I really appreciate everyone that was able to make it to the opening, I think everyone had a fun time!

Me

The Westword did a blog post prior to my show, that was really nice, and thanks to Amber Taufen for the write up. Here's the link if you would like to read it: http://blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2012/09/harrison_nealey_on_beauty_is_d.php

Steve Pamlenyi

That guy, Alexi High, once again changed the whole vibe of my pieces by making the time to help me by cutting parts on the flatbed CNC router at his work... I know it was my concept, but that's worthless sometimes without someone else's expertise! I raise my glass to you

Alan Bader

I did two late night photo sessions with my friend, Alan Bader, we produced a nice set of photo prints of the neon pieces and series of used mops (graffiti markers). I'll eventually add those for sale on my art page, by the end of October I assume. I think Alan did a supreme job working outside of his normal photography settings and his ability to adapt and shoot was captured in the photos he chose to print. He is actually getting close to starting his own business called Omni Creative Development, doing professional product design and product photography from his residence in North Denver. He is currently an employee at Omerica Organic, where he operates CNC machinery and takes photographs of the organic wood jewelry and accessories the company produces. I have to show a lot of love and gratitude to Alan and I hope he does well moving forward with his solo endeavor. Thanks!

Steve Pamlenyi

Thanks to Matt Feeney (Magnet Mafia) for bringing those trick silicone baking molds for a sweet set of fridge magnets. Sorry you missed the opener but we'll hit it up soon!

Thanks to Joel DeJong and Todd McMurry of DVSN West for giving me a show in their boutique and I hope they enjoy the art as much as I do... Sell some pieces fellas!

I want to thank my girlfriend and my son for putting up with my late night sessions of working on all of the pieces and parts of this show. Thanks to the rest of my friends and family that encouraged me and offered their support. And thanks to my studio mates, Dan Castillo and Delton Demarest for making sure I succeeded on my mission with this show...

For those that want to see the work, it will be on display until the end of October. Have a good weekend everyone!

Pass it on!

Here's the flyer for my show at DVSN West...  It's a little late in the month, but I'm still pushing.  DJ Musa will be playing records and if all goes well I'll have an afterparty celebration at Black Shirt Brewing.  I look forward to seeing folks there, any repost/shares of this flyer are appreciated!

Please RSVP on Facebook if you are attending...  Special things will come of it!

Score!

Remember when I mentioned I was working on a concept for a public art piece in Denver? Well I just heard back from my partner Brian (@Monolith Fabrication Studio) that our concept won! I'm not quite sure when we will begin fabrication, but I would hope to start in the next few months...

The piece will be installed in front of a parking lot where headlight glare is a concern. The client wanted to solve the issue from an artistic approach; functional, pleasing to look at, recognizable. Our concept is a 60ft long wall that produces a low-fi animation (similar concept as a zeotrope) when driving by, and a static image when one stands still. Here's a few photos of the 1:5.6 scale concept:

^^^Detail of the business branding portion of the wall. Vector files were made to scale of the wall for pricing out our materials and also to laser-cut a bunch matboard to make a physical mockup... Lasers are fun btw!

^^^This is scaled down dramatically from what the real wall will be, but it's still 11ft long and tricky to move around. Shown here with red matboard to simulate rusted steel.

^^^Video cameras on skateboards... If I ever get it edited, I'll post it.

I wanted to thank all of my friends that encouraged me during this last month of agony figuring out the inner workings and research for this project... There's a lot more to this idea than I had originally imagined, but now it's one step closer to reality! Good job Brian!