Thomas Arthur Schaefer
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Thursday, January 26, 2006

It's Time To Enjoy

Well this is unplaned. I have the day off. Why? Well I took it. Why did I take it? Well, because I have a major water leak in my kitchen pantry that has totally screwed my wood floors and turned the drywall to mush. Yup... ohh well. So I'm gonna be sitting around today first waiting for the plumber, then the builders, then... well who knows who else. People lots of people that I need to let in and need to let out.


So I'm sitting here watching the Today Show (strange thing) and the story "Can Heartbreak Kill You?" - yes!!! 20% of all heartattacks are caused by stess related causes. So you can die of a broken heart. It's a real medical thing called Broken Heart Syndrome. Damn!! Negative emotions do impact the heart health. So strange enough... happy thoughts will keep it health.
This story is spooky... I'm stressed a lot and not that happy... well at times. Hmmmm... Guess I need to just think really positivly about things.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

He Never Listens

Hung out with Steph this evening and watched Project Runway. Actually we watched a lot of it... 3 episodes. Good stuff as always... can't wait for next weeks elimination.

I shoot more tabletop photography again tonight. It seems like I'm never gonna finish shooting all my work. Ouch!! 10 years worth of materials is a huge task... but I'm making some head-way. So far I've shot about 300 works... more and more to go.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Guilt Is An Insidious And Eternal Psychic Toxin

Albert Oehlen Speaks About Martin Kippenberger
"He's an extremely good businessman but his business is making art. He doesn't make it as business, business for him is to make as much as possible. And money as much as possible too, but it doesn't have the logic of making money it has the logic of making art. This logic is making more is better than making less.
He doesn't think that life is art and everything he puts out is good. He really works on it but he works so extremely much that it looks like everything is art. His selection process is 100 times greater than other people's. He can do it because that's what he's doing all day long, he's collecting all day long."

Monday, January 23, 2006

If I Not Meant Nor Drink Nor Slumber

Bit of a slow weekend... lot's of rain. Most of it was spent photographing my work on a seamless white backdrop again. Not that interesting I know, but something that has been long overdue. Everything is getting shot large format and after I clean them up in Photoshop, I'll be achieving them away and adding more portions to the website. The main bulk of what was shot this past weekend was my experimental books that were created in 1997 & 1998. I'm considering adding a video portion for these pieces on the website. It's very time-consumming to put an image of every page from them onto the site. I think a video of the books being handled will work just as well.

Tonight I will begin upgrading my website to FLASH 8. This will allow me to add video portions to the site much easier than before — something I didn't even want to attempt in FLASH 7. It will also take care of the font issues I've been having, as far as legibility goes. I will probably update the site this weekend. It will then run only on Flash Player 8.

I'm also going to try and get the Graphic Design section added to the site... I've had some potential clients asking to see that type of work. unfortunately for me... it's just another lengthy section to start working on.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Saturday, January 21, 2006

It Is Better To Starve Than Play Trumpet On High

Updated website today. VERSION 1.0.1

Shooting photographs again this afternoon —
small paintings & non 2D correspondences

Hung out at El Myr this evening... strange... not to much talking... I chalk-it-up to the weather, grey and drizzlin'. Everyone seemed really out of it. Actually changed my eating habits there as well... still eating steak sans the burrito... have gone the quesadilla route instead for now. Delicious!!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

The Papuan Vailala Madness of 1919

"Press on: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." — Calvin Coolidge



Cargo Cult
Cargo cults are usually revivalist, and in some cases messianic and millenarian, movements found among certain peoples indigenous to Oceania. The word cargo refers to foreign goods possessed by Europeans; cult adherents believe that such goods belong to themselves and that, with the help of ancestral spirits, the goods can be returned to them through magico-religious means. Some cult prophets promise that the arrival of cargo will herald a period of prosperity and well-being.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The Library Company of Philadelphia

I too grew up a dilettante tinkerer, an artist-in-the-basement.


"I've never felt that I had to put out work that I actually liked, just because it's out there doesn't mean that I have to stand behind it. A lot of it's experimental, spontaneous. It's about knocking about in the studio and bumping into things." — Richard Prince


"Force Shits Upon Reason's Back"

this will spearhead my internal revolution
we learn not to make our moves too hastily
you can't be one or the other
part of the game

... this is marked as part of the Franklin

extend beyond christ's church
care not a fig
doing good among men
civic duty supports personal gain

... this is Franklins cread

the standards of conflict and interest
pretty natural
improving the postal service
faster faster

... an archetype of the american capitalist Franklin

the faster the news
household name
electricity
american prometheus

- Thomas Arthur Schaefer

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Looming With Suppressed Power Over Casually Crossed Legs

"After 40 or 50 years a picture dies, because its freshness disappears. I think a picture dies after a few years like the man who painted it. Afterwards it’s called the history of art." — Marcel Duchamp



Spent last evening trying to shoot my work on a white seamless. But to my suprise the camera I was using just can't get the details in focus... Kanka thinks it's the lens that I'm using. This evening I'm gonna try shooting again with a different camera from Kanka and a much better lens. There are a few hundred works that need to be photographed in large format/high resolution. So this process will probably take me most of the week once I get the photos finally going.

In other news type things: The web site is coming along very well and I should have the first major release up within the next week or so. I'm just weeding out some bugs and fixing the preloading. I want to get it up soon because the version that I have up right now is just a clunky-place-holder.... but I had to get something up by the 1st... that was my goal.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Small Monochrome Permissions



As is the usual so far this year, I worked on the next version of the site last night. Getting close to a new release... the proper release. Got some good advice and edited some content... much better now. More work tonight.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Fueled With Candy And Bubble Gum

MAILING TRANSFERRAL
January 5, 2006
—————
BARKER - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
BEDARD - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
BONANNO - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
BURNS - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
BUTTREY - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
CHAVARRIA - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
CORDERO - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
GIBB - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
KANKA - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
KUTZBACH - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
LINTON - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
LUDWIG - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
MANGLE - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
MEDLEY - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
MEISTER - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
MOODY - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
NEWMAN - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
NEWTON & GEIER - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
NOBLE - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
PEARSON - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
SCHAEFER - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
SCHAEFER - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
SEARCY - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
SEILER - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
STATTS - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
STOUT - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
SYLVESTER - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
VICTORE - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
VINSON - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
WEISS - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)
YORK - Fifty Fivers (postcard/pin)

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

White Riot... Take One

I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED IT.... PREGNANT HUH!? WOW!!



Yep my year long subscription to the Nationial Enquirer has arrived. Thats 52 issues... wow juicy gossip every week... I can't take it. Did you know that "I was a food addict — now I'm 155lbs lighter!' ... yeah thats a good one. What do you need to know this week, well here we go!

CHERRYLIPPED.COM GOSSIP EXCLUSIVES

Britney Storms Out On Kevin
Desperate Jessica to Be A Housewife!
Vince Reunites Jen And Her Mom
Tom And Katie Hit The Big Apple


and... The Enquirer caught Brad getting a public tongue-lashing from Angelina outside an L.A. grocery store. Now that's a really hot piece of the know isn't it.

Monday, January 02, 2006

With Easy Pouring Opening

Spending this entire evening working on the web site and I plan on staying up as long as I'll hold out. I'm nearing completion on the 'Correspondence' section. This is the biggest so far, with over 10 sections and about 500 pieces to deal with... but it's fronts, backs and sometimes the insides of pieces too, so there are over 1,000 individual images in this section alone. It's been a very time consuming process building this section out. Once it is complete other sections should begin to open throughout the rest of the month. I plan to launch the newest version of the site on January 9th.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

8 Ball Prediction: Not So Good



Launched the real website last night with no problems... other than last minute details and such. 'Suppositions' has taken on a new look. I'll be changing the HTML of the blog layout this month... it's gonna look a lot nicer.

I was up pretty late last night. Out at a party with Steph... crazy zanny kids. Had a good time, but some relaxation is in order. So just taking it easy today... gonna watch some films and have a drink. It is the New Year after all. I'm gonna do some online testing of the site and then do some more work on it later this evening. Adding a finished large section very soon.