This is my old blog. Nothing to see here... just keep moving along... nothing to see here...

Go here now:
www.hapirumargin.blogspot.com

See you there.

My Latest Piece:


Faith of Our Fathers (working title) - 2006
Acrylic and oil on canvas mounted on panel

(click for larger view)

Eh-hem. Hm. Hm. Eh-eh-hem.*




*(Clearing my throat because I actually plan to start blogging again soon...)

My updated portfolio:

www.daapspace.daap.uc.edu/~parsletl

These two paintings were both done with only two colors (Burnt Sienna and Cerulean Blue), plus white.


Tim Parsley
Untitled - 2006
Oil on panel - 10"x16.5"










Tim Parsley
Untitled - 2006
Oil on panel - 45"x23.25"

Tim Parsley
The Self-Justification of Labor - 2006
Broom, wood - About as tall as a broom















Tim Parsley
No Rest For The Weary - 2006
Brooms, wood, dust - A little taller than a standard chair















Tim Parsley
Odd Sex - 2006
Broom, wood, rifle stock - about the size of a broom attached to a gun














Detail of Odd Sex












Detail of Odd Sex

Tim Parsley
Untitled - 2006
Oil on MDF
10.25"x10.25"

I'm watching Three Amigos tonight. I think this has to be one of the best movies ever made. A true classic.
Right now Chevy Chase just killed the invisible swordsman. Always makes me laugh.

These are a couple of new pieces for a series I'm doing exploring the significance of evangelistic tract art as it relates to the broader tradition of Christian art.






Tim Parsley
"Mind Bondage Spell" (2006)
Acrylic on mattboard
5"x7"









Tim Parsley
"The Choice Is Yours" (2006)
Acrylic on mattboard
11"x10"

Tim Parsley
"Church Body" (2006)
Wood (OSB) and Oil on panel
20"x14.5"x13"

Here's a recent piece that is in a show called "Insane in the Grain: an Exhibition of Wood Sculpture" at the 3330 Gallery (sponsored by UC).



Tim Parsley
"Surface Interior" (2006)
Wood (OSB and Maple) and Screws
Approx. 2'hx5'wx2'd

I didn't know there was a "tag" game happening until I was "it." So... here are some things about me:

Seven facts about me:
1. I have an irrational fear of sharks (although I did learn recently that bull sharks can live in fresh water)
2. I eat the items on my plate one-at-a-time, finishing one before moving to the next.
3. Tyra Banks produces great anger in me.
4. I don't break the speed limit like I used to (most of the time).
5. I draw naked people.
6. If you crease a piece of paper with your fingernails, it will shut me down.
7. I eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Seven of my favorite movies:
1. Anything by the Coen Brothers - especially Raising Arizona and Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
2. The Big Kahuna
3. Lord of the Rings
4. Pollock
5. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells
6. Les Miserables
7. Dead Poet's Society

Seven of my favorite artists:
1. Lucian Freud
2. Neo Rauch
3. Odd Nerdrum
4. Martin Puryear
5. Andy Goldsworthy
6. Kiki Smith
7. Mark Rothko

Seven of my favorite foods:
1. Orange chicken
2. Chimichangas
3. Hawaiian pizza
4. Oreos and milk
5. Lasagna
6. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (and milk)
7. Fruity Pebbles

Seven great life moments:
1. My wife and my first California anniversary - at Pismo, sunset...
2. Emma's birth
3. Aidan's birth
4. Finn's birth
5. That one night in San Diego with my bros...
6. An evening in Kinsale, Ireland with my wife
7. When I picked up my brushes again

Russ, you're it.

Lately I've been reading a book called "What We Want Is Free: Generosity and Exchange in Recent Art." It's a survey of a relatively new (past decade) approach to art-making involving giving away free goods or services, creating a temporary utopian community, and otherwise showing generosity to others. It has been referred to as "relational aesthetics," "social aesthetics," "social sculpture..." Some examples include:
- An artist who cooks an original Thai meal in the gallery for his guests.
- A free bus trip to the capital (Sweden) for some low-income residents of a rural community.
- Handing out paper plates in the community with an invite inscribed on them to a waffle-breakfast at the artist's home.
- A free-give-away of an artist's paintings (which otherwise had been sold to collectors for a good price).
- Skill exchange: meet the artist at a set time and trade a skill - you teach him one, he'll teach you one.
The "movement" of generosity-inspired art takes different forms and has it's geneology in conceptual art as well as performance and installation art. The art is not about a gallery or a specific artist-made object to present to the public. It is about the experience. It's about the dynamic relational interactions that take place when something is given away in a culture of consumeristic transactions. Artists are often about whatever is counter-cultural. What could be more counter-cultural today than generosity?

All of this is pretty fascinating to me since, as those of you who knew me in ministry know, I was a big fan of "give-stuff-away-free" approaches to community-impact. Obviously, these art-approaches are not about "loving people to Jesus." But I do wonder: Is the art-world developing a conscience? One artist was interviewed in the book and he believes that this new form has come in response to a world full of technology that encourages "half-relationships" through email and other "face-less" forms of communication. Recently my school hosted an artist who lectured on some of these themes. He challenged a room full of aspiring artists to "be about more than the gallery."

What good is art? That's what I'm wondering these days. What GOOD is art?

Untitled (Self-portrait) - 2006
Charcoal on paper - 18"x12"

Seeking - 2006
Oil on panel - 24"x24"

Afternoon Nap - 2006
Oil on wood - 12"x12"

If anyone out there is still checking in on this blog, sorry for the extreme delay between posts. I've posted some recent work. However, there's another option for viewing some of my recent pieces:

www.daapspace.daap.uc.edu/~parsletl

Untitled (self-portrait), 2005
Oil on paper, 11"x14"

Untitled (self-portrait), 2005
Oil on paper, 11"x14"

This was a deconstruction/reconstruction piece. Two standard household brooms were deconstructed and then reconstructed into abstract forms.

To Live Beyond Domesticity, 2005
Brooms

Some drawings from last quarters drawing class. (Click on image for larger view)


Charcoal on gray paper

Charcoal on mylar

Charcoal on paper

Charcoal on paper

The following images are of site specific sculptures using only found items at my local home depot. I have some more, but can't seem to upload them yet... I'll try to post them later.

This is from something I wrote a while back...

Where Would We Be Without Heretics?

Heretics are interesting people to think about. Are they good for our faith or bad? It seems, as we look through history, that in retrospect, we see them as good - that is, if their heresies become orthodox, which often they do. Much of what we stand upon today as "Truth" provided the timber for many burnings at the stake in the past.


And yet, if we lived in those ages, would we be applauding the heretics or encouraging their executioners? To say the least, heretics are risk-takers. They are spiritually brave. To stand in the face of not just the religious establishment, but most likely your own spiritual heritage and upbringing... that takes guts. To gather the courage to speak your unorthodoxy and wait to see whether history will honor you or chew you up and spit you out... that takes a kind of faith. Faith in what? God? Yourself? The system? Maybe all of the above.

I wonder if in our preaching, teaching, sharing, studying, protecting, and upholding of Truth, if we could all use a little heresy. I wonder if the seedbed of legalism is a lack of spiritual inquisitiveness - an unwillingness to question the sacred.

In some ways, maybe heresy is the ultimate expression of faith. Faith that Truth is strong enough to handle a little "push" now and then. Isn't a questioning of the sacred evidence of the reliability of Truth? That is, when I call the sacred onto the carpet, am I not trusting that Truth can "handle" my probing? And if the Truth cannot handle truthful wonder, is it really Truth?

Where would we be without our heretics? What would our faith look like today if certain spiritual pioneers were afraid to commit religious suicide?
(February, 2004)

Tim Parsley - Bowling Jesus (2005)
Acrylic, gold leaf, ink on canvas - 8.25"x8.25"

If Jesus were incarnate today, would he join a bowling league? If he did, would he bowl only strikes? Would all strikes take away from his humanity? Would gutter balls call into question his divinity?

What form would Jesus take in a culture of hyper-pluralistic subcultures? Would he come in the form of a suburbanite? Homeless person? Lawyer? Goth? Skater? Computer geek? Farmer? Jogger? Model train collector? Gear head?

In an entertainment culture, would Jesus play tennis? Go to movies? Have season tickets to the opera? Watch Law and Order?

In a domestic culture, would Jesus own a house? Condo? Rent/own? Water his lawn? Would we take him seriously if he didn't have a mailing address?

Would Jesus own a car or ride the bus? What kind of car?

Would Jesus be a guest on Larry King Live? Would he go to church? Would he stand up and interrupt the sermon telling us that the passage was talking about him? Would we allow him to stay in the service?

Has Jesus become "fashionable?" Is the relevant Jesus a good thing or a bad thing? Does his relevancy make him more or less credible? Are we becoming more like Jesus or is he becoming more like us?

New Suits - Oil on canvas
30"x40"

Forget - Oil on canvas
24"x18"

Green Purse - Oil on canvas
24.5"x30.5"

OK, here are some of my most recent works. These were completed this summer during a painting course. The theme was "self." They are as follows (in order of appearance): possessive self, narrative/symbolic self, spiritual self, and self as host. Up to this point I have been primarily an abstract painter. However, this summer I chose to focus entirely on figurative/representational/narrative work. It's been a challenge, but one that I believe is opening doors for future work. Please feel free to comment (and critique). Click on the image to get a larger picture if you want.

This one is about my desire to possess/provide a home for my children. At the same time, it is about "being" a home for them.

Home - Oil on panel (36"x48")

This one is a narrative about my time in church ministry.

Supporting the Leap - Oil on panel (48"x36")

This one explores my struggle with fundamentalism.

Distant Relations - Oil on canvas (30"X40")

This one is in response to discovering a cyst on the back of Aidan's brain.

Riding the Cyst - Oil on canvas (36"x36")