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A tip of my blog's hat to Jamie-Lee Josselyn, who traveled to Cherry Hill, NJ this weekend and feasted on a one-pound cheeseburger. Not satisfied with the mere combination of meat, bun and cheese, the Jossinator topped it with lettuce and mushrooms -- and a ketchup smiley face.

I was honored to be in attendance for this fantastic feast feat. If you'd like to see photos of the carnage, click on the photo above, or here.

If you're anything like, um, my collaborator, you may be tired of hearing about our art project "Gasp." Of course, I haven't blogged about it since January, so I'm not a total freak.

Barring some gallery stumbling upon this web site and absolutely loving the project, we're done with it. Given the tremendous interest in the project (from those who attended our show to those who expressed an interest in it on the web), I thought a fitting end would be to give it an online home. Given the project's debt to technological culture, leaving it off the web seemed downright silly.

So, click on the photo above, or right here. You can view the bare bones online gallery that I created for the project. I crafted it much like the show itself -- you can breeze through it at a distance, or click through to view an extremely large image of the piece. After hanging the work at Laracy Gallery West, I was impressed at how it looked at different distances. I like to think, despite my limited HTML knowledge, that this online gallery approaches a similar experience.

If you see anything wrong, please do leave a comment. Otherwise, enjoy!

Since I know you are all absolutely rabid for "Gasp" news, here's a little nugget of information: Jamie-Lee and I donated three pieces to the 5th Annual Emerging Artists and Emerging Leaders Art Auction.

We are not Emerging Artists, nor Emerging Leaders, so you'll likely find our stuff near the bathroom.  Or perhaps in the bathroom.  But it looks like a nice event, so if you want to admire "Gasp" and bid on art better than "Gasp," you should stop by: Friday, February 8th, 7 pm, Paul Peck Alumni Center at Drexel University.  All proceeds will benefit the Arts Administration graduate students at Drexel.

Above center is proud papa Seth D. Laracy, curator of Laracy Gallery West, which hosted the debut of "Gasp," the art project I worked on with my collaborator, Jamie-Lee Josselyn. You may have heard about it already.

The event was a smashing success, and we hope to show the work again soon. Jamie-Lee and I are pictured above with Seth. I hope I don't need to identify who is who. You can view a set of photos from the evening by clicking the photo above, or here.

The event was held on December 14th. My apologies for not posting sooner -- as you can imagine, it was quite a busy month.

I promise: this is the last time I'll pimp "Gasp."¹

The show is tonight at Laracy Gallery West (212 South 43rd Street, 2nd Floor), beginning at 7 pm. All work will be available for purchase. There will be a reception. If you still need to be sold, here is the artists' statement we will be providing this evening:

Remember, a line cannot exist alone; it always brings a companion along. Do remember that one line does nothing; it is only in relation to another that it creates a volume. – Henri Matisse

“Gasp” is a commentary on the vicissitudes of communication, the American workplace and humor in the midst of the technological culture of the twenty-first century. We began “Gasp” in early September 2007 during a typical work day at the Kelly Writers House. We had no idea the project would extend beyond that day itself – and continues to expand even beyond this exhibition. Beginning with sheer verbiage, perhaps a result of our inspiration, love of the organized, archivable dross of the everyday – the everyhour! – and admitted distractibility, “Gasp” gained momentum rapidly. The very existence of the collaboration for us has become a place to stand, a kind of (virtual) linguistic thatch.

At the heart of this project is our appreciation of humanity, of how people come together regardless of logistical misgivings and language and technology’s inevitable, unavoidable insufficiency. It is our hope that “Gasp” will cross the very lines in which it exists and evoke in its viewers an utter as breathtaking as the title itself.

¹
Until we show it again, of course.

Many of you have viewed (and perhaps enjoyed?) the few selections of "GASP" -- the art project I have been working on with Jamie-Lee Josselyn -- that I posted on this very site. I'd like to now inform you that these works will be collected for an exhibit -- and available for purchase. This is a one-night-only sort of deal. If you're interested in attending, contact me for details.

If so, have a look at "Gasp #40," yet another installment in the Jamie-Lee Josselyn/John Carroll art collaboration.

Some additional "Gasp" news: a kind friend has offered to display the series and host a reception.  There will be more details to come once all of this is straightened out.

Fear not, "Gasp" fans. The latest installment of my collaboration with Jamie-Lee Josselyn is now available:

"Gasp #31"

The "Gasp" train chugs along: you can now view "Gasp #38."

You can now view "Gasp #45."  As you may recall, "Gasp" is an series of pieces by myself and Jamie-Lee Josselyn.