Sane Artworks is undergoing a Metamorphsis...

Hey everybody!

Sane Artworks is undergoing a metamorphsis into something super great... keep up with what I've been up to in the meantime at my active e-zine LOCAL TROLLEY


This message was long over do... I fully intended to stay regular, ahem current with my art blog portion of my schitzo schism that took place all the way back in February... Essentially, I wanted to separate the things I was enjoying and reviewing of others from the my own creative endeavors my own... I've been delaying my updated art site for too many dumb reasons to list.

Who ever has taken the time to check out the Sane Artworks Blog I really appreciate your curiosity about the Sane world!! Keep Your Eyes Peeled because this site is not going away and it will have all the new info you need to keep up with my antics!!!

Big Big Thanks!!

SXSW tears down, scene for next year

The rapid growth of SXSW media expo is pushing its limits as cutting edge experience. Like all great perennial events there comes a point of cliche and possible sell out. I came across an interesting piece by tech industry entreprenuer Mark Suster questioning reasons to go to SXSW, as if SXSW is an abomination of a former experience. I'm willing to bet it is.

Without question there is fun to be had and quality performances. Local Trolley e-pub[lication] looks at unsung West Coast rapper Aceyalone.

Leah Smithson, splashing in the Bay Area

Clearly not new to art Leah Smithson's work is getting notice and praise. Later this month Smithson's will exhibit her art in Hotel Des Arts in San Francisco, CA.

From the sidewalk to the stage, Riverwest: A Rhapsody!

What happens when you stop thinking in terms of good and evil, and deal with what is... Riverwest is a neighborhood in Milwaukee, and now there is a play about it... Riverwest: A Rhapsody!

Keeping it local, Riverwest Currents Benefit

Riverwest Currents is the neighborhood monthly paper in Riverwest. The 6th annual Riverwest Follies supported its continued circulation. You can always count on some craziness in Riverwest, but mellow works fine too.

August Wilson production brings more than the Blues

August Wilson published 10 plays during his heralded writing career. One of them, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom currently being produced by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

MIlwaukee's Downtown is Dark but not Drab...

To be a class A city, Milwaukee's Downtown completely fills Sunday nights with silence. This past weekend I tried to capture the stillness. Milwaukee streets softly illuminated by gentle street lanterns.

Picture Milwaukee, Downtown City Scapes on Local Trolley

People's Books Co-op Home to Creative Conservation

Plastic shopping bags can be put to work... The hosts of the People's Books Co-op "Do It Together" showed me how.

Local Trolley Goes Material

New York artist Chakaia Booker defies waste through On Site: Chakai Booker at the Milwaukee Art Museum. On to Local Trolley Blog now...

Latest From Local Trolley: Funk Baby

Local Trolley is the new home of Sane Artworks adventure related posts.

Check it out: Funk, e'Lectrick Warbabies do it, to it

Gallery Night Milwaukee: Green Gallery, Patricia Terry, Berkeley and other splashes

The winter edition of Gallery Night in Milwaukee took place Friday and Saturday this past weekend. I took the A.V. Club's lead on a couple of art exploits seen on Friday night, but ended up off the the trod path and left one destination on my to do list.

The Green Gallery is somewhere I've wanted to check out for a while. I heard of this space a couple of years ago, recognizing the name of creative mind Michelle Grabner in a promotional piece for the Green Gallery's second installation Silverpoint Drawings with Guest Mobile. Keeping with Milwaukee's good fortune, several classes of privileged but angsty local teenagers (myself included, more angsty than privileged), among others I'm sure, felt edified by her instruction and her work.

A Person of Color: a mostly orange exhibition is currently on display at the Green Gallery. It features a host of artists, mostly spry, hip, and trained with their works of mixed mediums staking out floor space and wall art hung low to make you exert some effort to take a gander. Aggressively, which I guess reflects the color swatches of orange employed here, several of the current pieces take deliberate stabs at your sensibilities in overtly self-indulgent to fast approaching borderline cliche ways (making it quite possible that cliche is the new cool this spring).

At Cuvee Black Art made a seldom witnessed mainstream appearance in Milwaukee, expressed through several collages, paintings, and illustrations authored by Evelyn Patricia Terry, a founder of Milwaukee's art presence. Best known for her paintings and printmaking, Terry's Gallery Night work included a series of illustrations carrying wisdom laden captions. Words offered ranged from the philosophical "Opposites attract, but likes stay together" to the practical "I have much work to do". The didactic intent of the Black Arts legacy resonated the gathering.

Art showed up in musical form at Bayview's Sugar Maple as the cooperative Milwaukee Area Composers and Artists (MAC&A) filled the sound stage with a couple Master's thesis jazz compositions featuring brass favorites tenor and baritone saxophone, trumpet, and lesser seen instrument the marimba. Instigated by local musician Steve Gallum, the set featured work by composition peers Blake Manning, and Mike Neumeyer. Ears out for these guys. Their scoring of original works with pen on parchment tinted paper and impromptu is well done; neither often shared with the public in an informal setting, both suitably hosted by Sugar Maple's indy jazz inspired confines.

Speaking of jazz, a free benefit (donations accepted) for the legendary Berkeley Fudge will take place at 7:30p this Friday January 28, 2011, at The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Berkeley recently suffered a health setback and the arts community is doing their part to recognize his contributions to the Milwaukee scene. Berkeley resident musician at the Jazz Estate, he was on the bill in the summer 2009 and I missed him unfortunately.

I missed out on Studio 420b exhibitions that featured artists Leslie Peckham, Lindsey Marx, Steven Ruiz, Fred Kames and several others. Judging from previous work, this camp of artist should also be added to your watch list.

Gallery Night in Milwaukee comes around again with spring this time, April 15 and 16th 2011.

Borgs and Ugly Sweaters

"So there was this cool cat with an autotunes guitar who went to the bar to tune his guitar... the bar tender asks if he wants a tune-a-sandwich..." If you walked in at this moment of the performance with a blindfold on you might have thought a stand up comedian voiced a futile introduction to a terrible joke. If, hypothetically, you were thinking that, with a blind fold on, you would have been wrong.

I stay tuned to 'MSE no matter the play format, and I keep hearing about this band Sleeping in the Aviary. A friend of mine during the same time period keeps hounding me about this show at the Borg Ward, for over a month she's been raving. Well, yesterday I happened to be at this place and these cool cats are tuning their guitars, and you probably can't guess who they are.

Drawing a crowd of anti-scenesters, bad sweater-wearers, beat up chucks, broken-in skull caps, some onlookers that could have been extras in Deliverance, and good old average southsiders of with their customary above average good sportsmanship, Sleeping in the Aviary mid-lined a small independent show of deadpan spaz rock brute force.

Tuning done a riff breaks out: a chorus of drum, guitar, bass, and accordion reminiscent of a 50's sock hop ditty ode, but that damn accordion is making the music so randomly today that the toe tapping of the spectators soon turns knee bopping. Next song, a little less 50's with a little more DIY alternative, and torsos start getting in the action. Before the set starts my girlfriend sees a friend of hers and his friend claims he has nothing bad to say about this band. A first time listener, I can't say that I do either. Even luckier for me my first time is live.

Midway through the show the moppy haired band member stalls by picking up where he left off earlier, "So this guy at the bar, wanted to tune his autotune guitar, was going to get something from the guy at the bar, uh... what did he get?... [pause]... [pause]... he got nothing...[crowd laughter]." His punch-line delivery, an effort to disguise a bubble machine controversy from going public, didn't keep the slow-train-wreck-like "story" of spending too much on the bubble machine that doesn't work from happening anyway. Meanwhile, the accordion player managed a wardrobe change into a 1992 Shaq Diesel Orlando Magic jersey and suddenly brandishes a saw to be chorded with a cello bow.

Bubbles spraying lightly into the crowd initially provide ambiance for a crowd member who counts the band back in for the next song. Since lightly spraying bubbles at the wall is no fun, bubbles are cranked up and aimed into the center of the light mass of town folk. The majority of said bubbles are landing on a fairly large fellow you would not expect at show of this sort on a prime Magic: The Gathering card game night. Heads on loose necks are now joining the rest of their bodies on most of the Borg clan. Even the those of southside-patented least affect are noticeably enjoying the show, although still lacking movement or affect.

Fun is contagious. This axiom proves true for Sleeping in the Aviary: a bright and motley clothed bunch who are barely mumbling one minute and screaming manically the next; a pretty sick musical ensemble (in the previous metaphorical way, which is far less sold out than in the old school snow boarder slang sense). You have to be entertaining if you get bored enough to think up a band name like Sleeping in the Aviary. I heard they might be playing in Mini-soda soon. Go see, they really don't suck that bad.

Post Summer Posts: Public Service Art

This past summer in Milwaukee, a mother smothered her child while "co-sleeping" or in other words sleeping with the baby in the bed. In response, a public art exhibition served as a public announcement to raise awareness of the precarious nature of "co-sleeping" with infants.



The issue has social implications, as it is thought that those impoverished may be more inclined to "co-sleep" in the absence of the ability to afford a crib for their child. The tea party local news station Fox 6 also published a story citing that breast fed babies (or their parent) sleep different as to make "co-sleeping" safe. Individual characteristics could possibly be of consequence; apparently the mother had done this before.


Unfortunately, this tragedy has happened several times in Milwaukee recently, as in barely a year apart.


















The art display comprised of multiple mattresses set in a tripod formation was staged on the boulevards cleaving West Capital Drive starting at the intersection with Sherman Boulevard, ending at Fon Du Lac Avenue. For those not familiar with the area that is roughly seven blocks.

Summer Soltice Season Reprise: Pitbull Show Recap

Is it June, I mean July 19th already? I have gotten the most out of the summer outdoor (and indoor) concert / fest season while it has lasted. I was not going to post this a month later but I am anyway. It's worth sharing. I think I am still recovering from the damn Pitbull show, and I think his web managers are too. They have only posted one story since the show at Summerfest on June 28th. The show in Milwaukee was extra live, and I have seen a lot of shows in my day. Here's the recap...


Pitbull barks hard and bites harder

If it wasn't obvious what the Pitbull show was all about, something is very wrong with your cognition of body language. I was packed in tighter where I was standing than the cornucopia of glutes on stage that were stuffed into spandex thong singlets and sequined Carnaval showgirl costumes. I'll give you a hint, at fifteen rows back and ten feet off of the seating area, I could barely see the top of Pitbull's shaved dome. Did it really matter?

A true testament to a music artist’s pull is the turnout they draw on an off-night like Monday. Seriously, any day, any time, except Sunday morning, Mr. 305 could have shut the Brew down. 3/5 parts honeymoon for his latest album Rebelution, 1/5 part ode to his fans, 1/5 part charging the air with lust because he can, Pitbull early on broke into Triumph, a single-worthy anthem from his newest joint. Fans were feeling it, but they responded most to the hard tracks like Calle Ocho, Hotel Room Service and WATAGATAPITUSBERRY.

While people were loosing their minds jumping up to the song KRAZY, bouncing, popping, shaking, and thrusting without millimeters separating appendages and supplely cleaved muscle groups, Pitbull was saturating his marquee skinny tuxedo, the first of which was some kind of blackish-purple, which quickly liquefied into deep violet from repeated end-to-end gallops of the stage, weaving between booty dancers and hype-men alike that were donning head dresses of mohawked multi-colored feathers; some standing on hydraulic stilts giving them the Jar Jar Binks gait.

A set break ensued. At the crowd’s impatient beckoning, in the nick of time, Pitbull emerged through the stage lighting, starting this round in a perfectly good white tux before spitting classic cuts like Go Girl, Mentirosa, and neos like Shut It Down. Mr. 305 had intentions of mongering perspiration like that Axe commercial, as he gyrated dangerously parallel to the stage apron, caring little for the condition of his ankles, Achilles tendons or cumber bun.

Without warning there was a planned power outage, and Pitbull disappeared, only to come back on cue with the rest of his entertainment squad. What happened next can only be described as utterly ridiculous. Pitbull unleashes a cover of the LMFAO ditty Shots, and the secret to world peace is revealed, as every person in sight went absolutely AWOL, jumping in unison like newly freed South Africans.

The show mercifully ended, no one could even scream for another encore. Groups and solo exhibitionists all-the-way to the main promenade, with bloodthirsty gazes, refused to stop dancing: swaying their hips, hands waving and mouths screeching. Last I looked, from the back of the Harley area, the front areas of the stands(it had become an entity unto itself) still overflowing unfurled a Mexican flag, stubbornly cheered and pulsated in the glare of the illuminating flood lights. For all I know the party is still going on. Even Pitbull had to admit Milwaukee is KRAZY. Dale!

Soltice Season Part 1: Summerfest Shows - Public Enemy

Summerfest is the biggest thing going, in the world they say. The Milwaukee masses come together and do what they can to forget about the winter that past and the one that's coming.

I covered the PE concerts as a guest writer on MKE Wired.

Finally I'm back in the sphere... follow the link Public Enemy Wrap: Not out of the cross hairs yet.

I must break you...

There are all these t-shirts I have personally wanted forever and now with my new found love of t-shirt making, it's happening. This is not threadless style where everybody has to like it. No I'm a dictator!

This is the first in series I plan to do of unsung movie moments. Most people don't know who this is... but the die hard (that's not a hint) corny action movie buffs will appreciate this one. What? You didn't know that is Ivan Drago from Rocky IV!! This is the actual still from the moment he utters the greatest on screen threat ever... "I must break you..."

45 minute Patterns Excercise

If you look through my school notebooks, binders and books throughout the years you'll see just about as many doodles, sketches and scribbles as notes. I've always been into street art style letter graphics. Every now and then I pick a few letters to string together in some graffiti style sketches. As my adopted artist name, Sane now appears on many of my free-time free-hands.

Wild Style is an intricate selection of colors, shapes, lines and shadows used in graffiti to produce visually stimulating pieces of art. It's like a dialect of written English, an self-taught cursive sort of speak, very much a cipher. Think tagger = padawan learner and graph artist piecing Wild Style = Jedi. I've been playing around with a archaic version of Wild Style more focused on using shapes and colors to obscure the text.

Here is the first



Wild Style is also the title of the landmark Hip - Hop culture film released in 1982. It chronicles a story of a graffiti artists named Zoro in turn of the 80's New York. Many have heard the title track of Wild Style as the intro to the seminal Nas album Illmatic but never caught that the sample was from Wild Style. It definitely serves equally as good a purpose introducing one of the most awe-striking 40 minutes of hip - hop you will ever hear. If you follow the link to the movie's website they actually have the clip from the opening scene posted with the Nas sample (navigate to the movie tab and its the third clip). This movie is also good for a interlude sample used by the Beastie Boys on Check Your Head proceeding the Maestro. The influence this movie had on other hip - hop artists doesn't stop there. I'll let you do some homework on your own.





When you watch this movie don't blame me for wanting to jump fences and climb steel girders.

Here 45 (technically 90) minute exercise number second (hint: relax your eyes). The point of this one was to draw all the interlocking empty z-shapes first and then fill them in. I'll do some time-lapse beginning, middle, end picts next time.

Really? Brew - Tang Clan

Wu - Tang Clan karaoke y'all. This past Saturday night at this spot called the Highbury in Bay View these local Milwaukee Hip - Hop heathens, using the moniker Brew - Tang Clan, played the Wu- Tang instrumentals for eager Wu - Imposters to bring the vocals to. One catch separated the real from the faulty... no lyrics on teleprompters. It was a nice touch for weeding out johnny come new Wu - enthusiasts.

Mostly ODB verses were recited... Shimmy Shimmy Ya and the Wu Forever track where ODB is screaming about sh*tting on lawns and rap souffle where requested. There was a notable rendition of the Raekwon overclassic Knuckleheadz that reminded that when you listen to that album you become invincible.

I was harassing the host to get the Liquid Swords track Duel of the Iron Mic and he came through. The DJ had to dig through the internet for that beat. I had to take my turn ripping a track. I only had the first verse down but people were definitely feeling it like the track just came out. Just goes to show some classic take time to mature. The host Dana Coppafeel actually turned out to be pretty cool. He's got his own music out and its worth of listen if your into indy Hip - Hop.

Next time it goes down I'm going to have an arsenal ready.

Go Carting

So you ever wonder what happened to those old shopping carts with the instructions on the kid seat? Well I was helping a friend move and low and behold in the basement of her building was this shopping cart with the most absurd illustrations how to use the shopping cart with child in tow. Being the stickler for blatantly obvious opportunities to ridicule such non-sense I took it upon myself to... ahhem... elaborate...

before...

and after...

Some day young children everywhere will thank me for enriching their lives with another cynical t-shirt.

If only their parents were as Sane as I!!!

Gallery Night Milwaukee: Endangered Concern

All around Milwaukee you can see physical changes taking place, clean-cut mixed-use developments, fragrant plantings in the boulevards. The streets are even getting paved after ten years of neglect. Some of that same rejuvenating energy is being released on the social scene too. Gallery Night is not a new invention and it's nice to see creative outlets taking root in Milwaukee.

One of my favorite displays of the night hung not from a wall of Art Asia, but from the shoulder of a stern-looking fellow who looked like a typical renegade with a Harley parked outside. Stereotypes in place, alligator would be expected to cover his feet. Instead one rested gently cradled on his forearm and bicep. Everyone has to have a cause.

The caretaker of the endangered Chinese Alligator had the kind of leeriness emitting from those that think satellite surveillance is being taken of them. Apparently he has been battling the animal rights activist, the extreme ones that do not believe anyone should own pets (especially if they are alligators). Those pretentious fun-suckers! Personally, I am all for docile 45 lbs, 18 year old alligators chilling on Gallery Night with their masters. Wait a minute... this must be one of only several handfuls of Chinese alligators left on the planet.

Everything was red. Not Commy red but deep visceral blood red. This relic of a beast fit in perfectly with the ambiance of Art Asia, a trading post of Chinese gifts, furniture, and artifacts. Minus the crowd hovering around reptilian and owner, you may not have noticed the gator's presence. It was a serene creature, an expression opposite to the one given by the typical bewitching "alligator smile". The constant glance of this creature lacked menace unlike its relatives, looking almost relieved to feel protected by and outside force other than it's own wild instinct. I am usually harsh on exotic animal owners, but I think I can let this one slide. My super-cool friend Miranda and I both ended up donating 5 bucks to the cause.

Gallery Night is a quarterly event, which I think would make the next one scheduled for late November.