A good run.

More from the Ricker archive. Just a fast sled, glimpsed on some afternoon about 80 years ago. Go!

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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Robert Wyatt (thanks.)

Musician Robert Wyatt cartoonified by Eric WaldemarWith a late start on playing keyboards, I’ll probably never master all the Chopin preludes or Sorabji’s Opus Clavicembalisticum, but there’s no need, since that ground is well covered. I encourage myself by thinking of Robert Wyatt, a drummer & singer (Soft Machine, Matching Mole, Hatfield & the North..) who turned toward keyboards and electronics quite late in life after falling from a window and losing the use of his legs. He proceeded to make some of the deepest, silliest music I know of, with a radically altered set of tools and options.

His sensitive intelligence and lack of pretension have served as touchpoints for me for 25 years or so, and all his records reward repeated listening. He is, at times, as cranky as me, yet I seek his musical company again and again. Initiates recognize the title of an early movie of mine, “Know Knit Knot,” as cadged from the Wyatt opus. If you’ve never heard him, start with Rock Bottom, or Ruth is Stranger than Richard, or Cuckooland, or Schleep, or Comicopera, or… Continue reading

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The Ricker Family: Bobsledding at Poland Spring in the ’30s

I’ve got an upholstered case with 16 reels of home movies from the Ricker Family, who started the Poland Spring water empire and anticipated today’s boutique water economy. Their mansion at Poland, Maine was an exclusive vacation spot for silent and early sound movie stars, politicians, and many other leading lights of the day. When the Rickers felt like going sledding, well, why not have the carpenters build a launch ramp and have a full-on bobsled run through the back field? This clip dates from roughly 1932. More movies of the Rickers and their guests at play in weeks to come. The footage includes horse racing on ice, explosions, and shots of the zillion-room mansion, which burned down in 1975. It must have been soon after this footage was shot that things took a downturn for the Rickers, and the family lost control of the property in the 30s (according to this site, which provides a brief history of the family and the resort.) Continue reading

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We like to scream and throw leaves.

Girl shouting as she throws autumn leaves.We just do. I’m not sure which one of us started it.

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Site design for West Side Books

Header for West Side Books' new website, site by Eric WaldemarWest Side Books is my favorite bookstore in Denver, so I’m thrilled to be trusted with redesigning and coding their website. There are still some bare spots as I post this, but a working version is up on the server at last.  I completely wiped out the old site, which had been patched together with tape by various people for years, and I’m working on creating a decent-looking centralized launch point for book searches, online transactions, and for the many special events they host, including appearances by prominent authors, musicians, gadflies, etc.  Thanks, Lois…

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Be very, very wary…

Vigilance_Winter_2010_cover_Eric_WaldemarHere’s the cover of Vigilance #7. I’m spending a lot of time making images for print and the web these days, and it’s time to start sharing a few. This one, strangely enough, began as an image of a patch of pavement in a shopping center parking lot, with seams of old tar making a pattern of lines.

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Posted in Design, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Space churns, Time tumbles.

"Far from Home" etching/monoprint- Forlorn man in spacesuit with wrench beside tree. Eric WaldemarAs if these images  in Odin-Odeon (September 2-October 8 at RMCAD) weren’t hard enough to decipher, here’s a movie that makes several of them into a squishy, churning mass. All of the prints in the movies are made on the same etched plate, though you might not be able to guess that at a glance by looking at them side by side. The etched tones on the plates create a pull toward certain shapes, gestures and patterns, and the animation takes advantage of that common thread.

"End of Empire" - Etching/Monoprint by Eric Waldemar If you haven’t seen the show yet, come by, and if you’re reading this before Friday, September 10th, come by between 5 and 8 for the opening reception. All the info you need about Odin-Odeon, as well as several images, directions, etc., can be found here (same link as above). Of course, get in touch if you have any questions or thoughts.

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Posted in Abstract Cinema, Cinema, Prints, Rude Gallery Exhibition Sept-Oct 2010 | 3 Comments

Odin & Yggdrasil: Previews of “Odin-Odeon” at RMCAD

A few new items as the exhibition at RMCAD approaches (reception on September 10th). If you’re not already aware of the blessed event, you’ll find all the info you need on this page, as well as several images.

On your left, a 2 minute trailer for the show, a strange reading of Odin’s time hanging upside down from the great tree, with moving abstraction made entirely from the etchings and monotypes that will appear in Odin-Odeon. There’s a video component to this exhibition, but it will be very different from this. You’ll see.

Also, here’s a preview of the show from Anselm Etting, who is very kind indeed:

Monoprint/Etching by Eric Waldemar: "The Reward of Discipline" from Odin-Odeon“At first, the etchings & monoprints in Eric Waldemar’s Odin-Odeon seem shamelessly archaic. A warm palette of earth tones and a concern with the rhythmic mystery of the agile brush reflect a long engagement with the drawings of Rembrandt, Hakuin and Homare Ikeda. Given time, these tiny images unfold in the mind, often with several simultaneous layers of imagery. They feel weighty at first glance, but after close attention, many are subtly hilarious, especially in combination with Waldemar’s wry, deadpan titles.
Then there are the movies, displayed on a tiny screen to force close attention. A dinosaur shuffles along in a cloud of dust. Etching/monotype by Eric Waldemar.These intricate rhythmic abstractions use this series of prints as source material, transforming their already ambiguous subject matter into a trembling, bewildering dream. Tiny jewels of abstract cinema, they also suggest an approach to the accompanying prints, to which the viewer returns with a fresh eye for close detail and half-hidden treasure. “

Gosh. Thanks. See you there, everyone, and if you’re too far away to make it, I’ll try to keep adding images to the Odin-Odeon page, so you can attend vicariously. Either way, thanks for having a look. Leave a comment on the site if you end up having a thought. Thanks.

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Posted in Abstract Cinema, Cinema, Exhibitions, Prints, Reviews, Rude Gallery Exhibition Sept-Oct 2010, Uncategorized | 2 Comments