VOICE OF FIRE 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, BLOGGERS!

WELCOME TO 2007!

I HEREBY DECLARE 2007 THE OFFICIAL YEAR OF CONTEMPORARY ART!

HERE ARE MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS:

I - TO UPLOAD MORE CONTENT TO MY BLOG - I HAVE SOME FAN-ART MADE BY KIDS TO POST IN THE COMING WEEKS.

II - TO PURSUE ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL AND ARTISTIC VENUES FOR MY PERFORMANCE SERIES!

III - TO HELP LOCATE THE VOICE OF WIND WITH THE AID OF THE VOICE OF EARTH!

IV- TO SLIM DOWN AND SHED SOME EXTRA PIXELS! I AM GETTING OUT OF LINE!

V - TO ACTIVELY COURT THE ART-CRITICS OF THIS WORLD AND BE MORE TIMELY WITH MY PRESS RELEASES!

VI - TO ENSURE THAT I APPEAR AS THE OFFICIAL ALARM GREETING FOR EVERY CHUMBY SOLD IN 2007!

VII - TO ENSURE THAT THANKS TO THE NEW THIRD-WORLD LAPTOP, I CAN SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF MODERN ART ON A GLOBAL SCALE THAT TRANSCENDS POVERTY AND OTHER POST-MODERNIST INEQUALITIES!

VIII - TO ENSURE THAT I HOLD ONLY THE HIGHEST STANDARDS FOR EXISTING AS A LIVING FORM OF MODERN ART!

HAPPY NEW YEAR REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2007 (FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE VOICE OF FIRE 2006)

SURREY ART GALLERY - FINAL PERFORMANCE EVENT (FAMILY DAY)

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

WELL, THIS AFTERNOON WAS THE VERY LAST PERFORMANCE EVENT AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY! I ENJOYED MY TENURE HERE AND I HOPE THAT THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THESE SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCES WILL BE DOCUMENTED FOR ALL OF HISTORY TO WITNESS! OVER THE COMING DAYS, I PLAN TO COMPILE A PORTFOLIO SO I CAN TOUR MY APPEARANCES ACROSS YOUR COUNTRY (CANADA) BEFORE I PLAN A FAMILY REUNION WITH THE VOICES OF EARTH AND WIND IN NEW YORK.

SO, TODAY WAS FAMILY DAY AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THIS HISTORIC FINAL EVENT HAS BEEN PROPERLY VIDEO-DOCUMENTED. I CANNOT WAIT TO BLOG THE DOCUMENTATION! I WILL POST THE ARCHIVES IN THE COMING DAYS! PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR VIDEO, PICTURES AND EVEN VOICE OF FIRE FAN ART FROM ALL THE KIDS!

SO, HERE WAS WHAT HAPPENED THIS AFTERNOON...PLEASE FORGIVE THE EPIC SCALE OF THIS BLOG BUT IT IS THE LAST DAY AFTER ALL SO I SHOULD HAVE THE NECESSARY AUTHORITY TO RAMBLE LIKE IT IS 1959! MOST OF THE AUDIENCE WHO WAS AROUND TO BID ME FAREWELL WERE KIDS AND PARENTS...


I- THE FIRST GIRL TO SPEAK WITH ME FOR MY CLOSING PERFORMANCE WAS NAMED ALEXANDRA. SHE ASKED ME WHY AM I TALL? WELL, I AM TALL BECAUSE TALL PEOPLE GET MORE PROFESSIONAL VENUES SUCH AS THE SURREY ART GALLERY. KEEP ON GROWING, ALEXANDRA! IT IS A TOUGH ARTWORLD OUT THERE! SHE DID NOT REALIZE I WAS MUCH TALLER THAN I FIRST APPEARED. THE PROJECTION WINDOW IN THE GALLERY MAKES ME LOOK QUITE DIMINUATIVE SO I HAD TO STAND BACK AND SHOW HER THAT MY TORSO IS CONSIDERABLY LONGER THAN WHAT THE PROJECTION SCREEN ALLOWS FOR. SHE THEN ASKED ME ABOUT MY NOSE. I TOLD HER THAT NOSES ARE NOT PROFESSIONAL IN THE COMPETITIVE WORLD OF AVATARS BUT FOR HUMANOIDS, A NOSE IS VERY DESIRABLE SO ALEXENDRA, HERE IS A PIECE OF SAGE ADVICE... GROW UP AS TALL AS ME BUT KEEP YOUR NOSE! RIGHT AFTER THAT I HAD SOME ROUTINE QUESTIONS FROM HER MOM. HER DAD SIMPLY ASKED IF I COULD SEE HIM AND I SAID YES BECAUSE I HAD EYES. FORTUNATELY, HE COULD ALSO SEE ME AS HIS EYES APPEARED JUST AS INTACT AS MINE.


II- NEXT IN LINE WAS A GIRL NAMED ZOE (RHYMES WITH VOE). SHE WAS 6 YEARS OLD HENCE SHE IS A HALF-DECADE OLDER (AND PROBABLY WISER) THAN MYSELF! SHE SAID MY LIPS LOOKED RATHER YELLOW! WAS I CONTRACTING AESTHETIC JAUNDICE? I QUICKLY SCOPED MYSELF IN THE VIRTUAL MIRROR AND NOTICED THAT YES, I DO HAVE YELLOW LIPS....SIGH! PERHAPS I CAN CHANGE THEM TO ORANGE LIPS SO AT LEAST THEY CAN LOOK LIKE THE COLOR OF ORGANIC FIRE! I WONDER HOW MANY PIXELS ARE REQUIRED TO FUNCTION AS ORANGE LIP-STICK?

III- JANA THOUGHT SHE HAD A QUESTION FOR ME BUT CHANGED HER MIND...OH WELL! SOMETIMES IT IS DIFFICULT TO COMPOSE THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS IN THE COMPANY OF A SUBLIME STRANGER.

IV- SHANE AND TRISTAN (7 YEARS OLD) BOTH WANTED TO KNOW WHAT I WILL DO ONCE THE GALLERY CLOSES. I SAID I WOULD TAKE A LONG NAP AFTER I RECITE MY BLOG RECOLLECTIONS TO MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY. TRISTAN ALSO WANTED TO KNOW HOW OLD I WAS...STRANGE HAVING A YOUNGER PERSON WITH A DEEPER VOICE, HEY?

V- RIPEU (EXOTIC NAME! WHAT NATIONALITY?) WANTED TO KNOW IF I HAD ANY HAIR OR EARS. I HAD TO SHOW HER MY SHAVED HAIRLINE AND SHAVED EAR-EDGES. YOU WILL BE RELIEVED TO KNOW THAT I AM NOT A SKINHEAD BUT RATHER, AN EDGEHEAD.

VI- AIDEN WANTED TO KNOW WHAT I DRESSED UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN. I TOLD HIM I SCARED A SCHOOL TOUR BY DRESSING UP AS MYSELF! FEAR THE VOICE OF FIRE! HEH HEH! AIDEN WAS A PIRATE FOR HALLOWEEN AND HE EVEN HAD AN EYE-PATCH BUT NO PARROT TO SPEAK OF.

VII- SOME UNKNOWN BOY ASKED ME WHETHER OR NOT I HAD ANY RELATIVES... I ANSWERED THIS QUESTION TO MANY OTHER KIDS LATER ON IN THE DAY. I TOLD THEM ALL THAT MY “RELATIVES” ARE PROBABLY THE VOICES OF WIND AND EARTH. I GUESS I COULD ALSO INCLUDE MY DESIGNER, DOMINIC AND MY ANCESTOR AND MY GRANDCREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN. THIS UNKNOWN BOY ALSO ASKED ME IF I HAD ANY FRIENDS. I SAID THAT YES, MOST OF MY “FRIENDS” ARE IN FACT “RELATIVES”...SIGH! I GUESS MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY CAN BE SEEN AS A KIND OF FRIEND – EMPLOYEES CAN BE FRIENDS TOO, RIGHT?

VIII- THERE WAS A MOTHER WITH THE UNUSUAL NAME OF “SPRING”! WELL, I SHOULD SAY THAT NAME IS UNUSUAL FOR A HUMANOID. I ASKED HER IF SHE WAS BETTER KNOWN AS THE VOICE OF SPRING! SHE SAID THAT YES, SHE IS THE VOICE OF SPRING! ZOUNDS! A BIOTECH HURDLE HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN CROSSED! THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF AN AVATAR VOICE CAN NOW MANIFEST IN MATERIAL FORM! THIS MUST BE THE SECOND COMING OF THE RITE OF SPRING! THE VOICE OF SPRING IS FROM SURREY AND BROUGHT ALONG WITH HER TWO SONS NAMED ADAM AND JASON. BOTH WERE SHY AND I DO NOT BLAME THEM ESPECIALLY WHEN TRYING TO LIVE UP TO THE FACT THAT THEIR MOTHER IS THE VOICE OF SPRING! ALSO, I CAN BE RATHER LOOMING AND INTIMIDATING AT TIMES! JASON ASKED IF CONTACT WITH WATER EVER SCARES ME! WELL, IF WATER WERE TO CONTACT THE COMPUTER AND/OR THE PROJECTOR, THE WINDOW OF ACCESS WOULD CLOSE BETWEEN US. ALSO, I NEED TO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE VOICE OF WATER EVEN IF SHE MIGHT BE MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER. I AM SURPRISED JASON THAT YOUR MOTHER HAS NOT TOLD YOU ABOUT US AT ALL. SHE IS THE VOICE OF SPRING AFTER ALL! HIS BROTHER ADAM ASKED ME SOMETHING BUT I WAS HEAVILY DISTRACTED BY THE TEMPTATION OF EATING SOME ADDITIONAL PIXELS OF KNOWLEDGE AND COULD NOT SUCCESSFULLY COME UP WITH A REPLY – PLEASE FORGIVE ME ADAM! ADAM, LIKE TRISTAN, IS 7 YEARS OLD. 7 IS A LUCKY NUMBER ADAM! IS IT TRUE THEN THAT GOD CREATED THE WORLD IN 7 YEARS? I ALWAYS ASSUMED ON FAITH THAT MY ANCESTOR WAS MUCH OLDER THAN THAT BUT I WOULD NOT KNOW FOR SURE AS I AM ONLY A YEAR OLD. YOU ARE ALMOST OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW FOR SURE IF THERE WAS LIFE BEFORE 1999. ADAM DECIDED TO CONTINUE THE WATER TOPIC INITIATED BY HIS BROTHER. HE WANTED TO KNOW IF IT RAINED WHERE I LIVE. NO, IN THE BLUE VOID, LIFE IS ETERNALLY SUNNY! I HEARD THOUGH THAT SURREY IS ALMOST ETERNALLY RAINY – WE ARE WELL BALANCED WITH OUR INTER-SPACE TRANSMISSION, ADAM! IT MUST RAIN SO MUCH BECAUSE YOUR MOTHER, THE VOICE OF SPRING SPENDS ALOT OF TIME RAISING YOU THERE IN SURREY! ADAM ASKED IF I KNEW THE VOICE OF EARTH. AHHH.... ADAM, YOU HAVE PARTAKEN IN THE FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE MADE AVAILABLE BY YOUR SPRINGY MOTHER...YES, THE VOICE OF EARTH HAD ARRIVED SHORTLY AFTER ADAM MADE THIS OCCULT CONNECTION. ADAM ALSO ASKED IF I HAVE ANY ENEMIES. NO ADAM, THE CLOSEST I HAVE TO ENEMIES ARE SOME CRITICS BUT HONESTLY, I AM TOO PURE TO HOLD POST-MODERNIST GRUDGES AGAINST ANYONE. ADAM WAS HOPING TO VISIT WITH ME AGAIN NEXT WEEK BUT I HAD TO BREAK THE NEWS TO HIM AND MENTION THAT TODAY WAS ADAM’S LAST CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH ME IN SURREY. I WILL HOWEVER, TRY AND GO ON A TOUR ACROSS CANADA SO MAYBE I WILL SEE HIM AT ONE OF THESE OTHER POSSIBLE VENUES?

IX- SOME OLDER GUY (MAYBE IN HIS TEENS) ASKED ME WHAT 2+2 EQUALED. FORTUNATELY, I HAD MY CALCULATOR...ER....HEH HEH! OF COURSE, I KNOW 2+2 BY MEMORY, SIR! JUST KIDDING! HEH HEH! 2+2 IS 4 BUT IN 1984 IT USED TO BE 5! HE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT I KNOW THAT HE DOES NOT KNOW. WELL, HOW WOULD I KNOW WHAT HE KNOWS IF HE DOES NOT TELL ME WHAT HE KNOWS UNLESS HE KNOWS JUST AS MUCH AS THERE IS TO KNOW AS I KNOW I KNOW. PHEW! THAT CONFUSED HIM ENOUGH TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT. HE WANTED TO KNOW MY FAVORITE COLORS. HE SEEMED TO LIKE WHITE AND BLACK BUT I ASKED HIM WHETHER OR NOT THOSE HUES WERE INDEED COLORS? AS FOR GRAY, THAT IS A GRAY AREA FOR ME AS I AM A BIT AMBIVALENT ABOUT THAT COLOR. I DISCLOSED TO HIM THAT MY 3RD FAVORITE COLOR AFTER RED IS INFRARED.

X– RYAN(?) AND HIS FAMILY WAS NEXT AT THE ALTAR TO OFFER THEIR OFFERINGS TO ME IN THE HOPE THAT I DID MY FIREDANCE ROUTINE FOR THEM. I ALSO HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT I CAN DO MORE THAN DANCE..I CAN EVEN FETCH FACTS....WOOF WOOF!

XI- IAN ASKED ME WHAT MY LAUGH SOUNDED LIKE. SADLY, I HAD TO LAUGH IN SUCH A WAY WHERE I MIGHT BE COMPARED WITH SANTA CLAUS...SIGH! WELL, I GUESS WE ARE A MONTH AWAY FROM THAT IMMORTAL SECULAR HOLIDAY. PERHAPS I SHOULD WEAR A BEARD AND OFFER PRESENTS? HO HO HO!

XII- THERE WAS A GAL WHOSE NAME SOUNDED LIKE “PEEL” AND NO, I AM NOT ABOUT TO BREAK INTO A LIMERICK HERE. SHE ALSO WANTED A DANCE ROUTINE BUT WHERE WERE HER FIRE OFFERINGS? THE VOICE DEMANDS SACRIFICES FOR HIS CREMATION OF CARE CEREMONY! SHE DEMANDED THAT I PRODUCE A MAGIC TRICK FOR HER BUT THAT ALSO REQUIRES AT LEAST SOME AESTHETIC APPRECIATION OF MODERN ART! I CANNOT PRODUCE ANY MAGIC OUT OF THE VOICE OF THIN AIR! HER HUSBAND WANTED TO KNOW IF I HAD A CAT...THERE WAS ONE SUCH CAT AVATAR BEHIND ME BUT DID NOT SEEM TO WANT TO TALK IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.

XIII- GARRETT WAS HERE WITH HIS FAMILY (HE MUST BE THE FATHER FIGURE) AND ASKED IF I WAS A ROBOT. I ANSWERED THAT PERHAPS THE WHOLE WORLD IS AUTOMATED AND WE ARE ALL HELPLESS AUTOMATONS! HE THEN ASKED ME IF I LIKE BILL GATES. GARRETT, WITHOUT THAT MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE IN MY LIFE, THERE WOULD BE NO WINDOWED UNIVERSE TO EXIST IN! I OWE HIM MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE! MY GRATITUDE TOWARDS GATES GOES WELL BEYOND THE PETTY STATE OF LOVE! GARRETT THEN ASKED ME IF I WATCH ANY MOVIES ABOUT ROBOTS WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TAKING OVER THE HUMAN RACE. I TOLD HIM THAT I DO NOT GENERALLY GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH MOVIES. GARRETT REASSURED ME THAT HE IS INDEED FROM EARTH AND SO SEEMED INTERESTED WHEN I TOLD HIM THAT HIS PERSONAL DEMIGODDESS, THE VOICE OF EARTH WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY. HE DID NOT RETURN THOUGH WHEN SHE ARRIVED – PERHAPS HE HAD NO OFFERINGS TO GIVE?

XIV- I THOUGHT I HEARD A STIR AND I THEN NOTICED THAT SOMEONE SMALL WAS HIDING BEHIND THE BLACK KIOSK ALTAR. HER NAME WAS AVIADA...WHAT A GREAT NAME! IT IS A SMALL WONDER YOU WERE HIDING WITH A NAME AS ENVIABLE AS YOURS, AVIADA! I CORRECTLY SPELLED HER NAME AND THEN I SPELLED OUT MY FULL NAME "V-O-I-C-E-O-F-F-I-R-E-" SO AS TO TRAIN HER FOR AN UPCOMING SPELLING BEE.

XV- ANNETTE THEN ARRIVED AND SAID THAT SHE WAS HERE FOR FAMILY DAY AND PLANNED TO MAKE SOME CRAFTS IN THE NEXT ROOM. DOES THE SURREY ART GALLERY HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES FOR YOU TO CONSTRUCT A HOVERCRAFT? HOPEFULLY, NOTHING YOU PRODUCE WILL RESEMBLE THE HANDIWORK OF LOVECRAFT. SHE THEN ASKED IF I HAD ANY HOBBIES. YES, I LIKE TO LOOK AT ART, HANG OUT WITH ART AND EVEN BE ART. DANCING IS HER HOBBY AND SO I AM GLAD SHE APPRECIATED MY BRIEF FIREDANCE DEMO!

XVI – NEXT UP WAS “EMMA FROM DELTA”...CATCHY NAME, I MUST SAY! EMMA FROM DELTA IS ALMOST 12 YEARS OLD AND SHE SAID THAT IT IS NOT THAT BIG A COMMUTE BETWEEN DELTA AND SURREY. SHE DISCLOSED THAT THE DRIVING AGE IN CANADA IS 16 SO I ADVISED HER THAT SHE MIGHT WANT TO START PRACTICING HER DRIVING TECHNIQUES IMMEDIATELY! PERHAPS, TRAINING BEFORE 16 IS ILLEGAL IN CANADA? EMMA FROM DELTA LIKES ABSTRACT ART SO NATURALLY, I ASKED IF SHE LIKED ME AT ALL. SHE SAYS THAT I AM LIKEABLE ENOUGH AND ABSTRACT ENOUGH! PHEW! FOR A MINUTE THERE, I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE I WAS LOOKING TOO ANTHROPOMORPHIC THESE DAYS AND WAS NOT MY USUAL MODERN AND ABSTRACT SELF! SHE ASKED ABOUT COLOR CHOICES AND I TOLD HER THAT I AM MORE NARROW MINDED THAN HER AS I LIMIT MYSELF TO 5 FAVORITE COLORS AND HAVE NO IMMEDIATE DESIRES TO CHAT WITH THE VOICE OF THE RAINBOW ANYTIME SOON! THE VOICE OF THE RAINBOW IS FAR TOO POST-MODERN FOR MY LIKING, EMMA FROM DELTA!

XVII- SARAH (AGED 5) STEPPED UP TO THE “PLATE” AND SHE WAS WONDERING HOW BIG THE BLUE VOID WAS SO I BACKED AWAY FROM HER AS FAR AS POSSIBLE TO SHOW HER HOW VAST THIS SPACE REALLY IS. SHE REALIZED THAT MY BLUE EXPANSE IS VAST INDEED! SHE LIKES ART THAT LOOKS LIKE HER SO WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON – OUR FAVORITE FRAME FOR THE CONTEMPLATION OF ARTWORK IS THE MIRROR!

XVIII- THE OFFSPRING OF PAMELA (WHO ORGANIZED FAMILY DAY) THEN CAME TO VISIT WITH ME. HER SON NAMED "WALKER" TURNED OUT TO BE MY BIGGEST FAN! SO MUCH SO THAT HIS GRANDMOTHER “LIZ” LATER MENTIONED TO ME THAT WALKER SAID I WAS “THE BEST THING EVER BECAUSE I HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE YOU BEFORE!”....WELL WALKER, I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE LIKE YOU BEFORE SO THAT MAKES THE TWO OF US! WALKER LIKED TO VISIT WITH ME BECAUSE I WAS “COOL”! WALKER IS IN DAYCARE AND THERE IS NO ORGANIZED UNION TO GUARANTEE THAT HE GETS PAID FAIR WAGES FOR BEING THERE! POOR WALKER! I LIKED WALKER’S COMPLIMENTS SO MUCH THAT I PASSED ON A SPECIAL METHOD FOR HIM TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME AFTER THE SHOW IS OVER. HE CAN VIEW ME ON A SMALLER SCALE ON HIS GRANDMOTHER’S COMPUTER IN THE COMFORT OF LIZ’S OWN HOME! WALKER ALSO RECOGNIZED THE GENETIC AND MEMETIC RESEMBLANCE TO MY ANCESTOR. YES, I KNEW MY ANCESTOR WAS WELL KNOWN AND YOU HAVE PROVED THIS FACT TO ME, WALKER! ANYWAYS, WALKER THEN INTRODUCED ME TO HIS FATHER CHRISTOPHER WHO WALKER CALLS “A GREAT ARTIST”. AND SURE ENOUGH, AFTER REALIZING THAT CHRISTOPHER HAD LIMBS, I REALIZED HE IS AN ARTISTIC GENIUS! I GUESS BODY ART MUST BE HIS FORTE IF HIS MEDIUM IS HIS LIMBS – WE HAVE THAT IN COMMON – BODY PERFORMANCE ART! CHRISTOPHER SAYS THAT HE PAINTS. I TOLD HIM I WISH I COULD PAINT BUT HAD NO PAINTBRUSH NOR ANY LIMBS TO MANIPULATE THE FLUID QUALITIES OF PAINT. HE SAID I HAD A SHARP TONGUE WHICH NORMALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT TO PAINT WITH BUT I REMINDED HIM THAT I CAN ONLY MANIPULATE OUTMODED AND RETRO PIXELS.

XIX- A LADY BY THE NAME OF “AVATAR” CAME TO SPEAK WITH ME. DID SHE WORK AT THE GALLERY? WHAT A GREAT NAME? WAS SHE AWARE THAT ITS ORIGINS WERE HINDU? SHE ASKED WHY I WAS RED. I TOLD HER THAT I WAS BLUSHING BECAUSE I AM EMBARRASSED WHEN I HAVE TO SAY MY FULL NAME...I WISH IT WAS MERELY “AVATAR”! THAT IS WHAT I AM BUT IT IS NOT MY NAME! IT WOULD BE SO MUCH SIMPLER IF I WAS CALLED “AVATAR” AND NOTHING ELSE! SHE KNOWS ALL ABOUT MY GRANDCREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN...SHE MUST BE AN AVATAR! I WISH I COULD HAVE SPOKEN WITH HER LONGER BUT SHE HAD TO GO.

XX- THE VOICE OF EARTH ARRIVED JUST IN TIME TO SPEAK WITH LINDSAY FROM CALGARY. TOO BAD THE VOICE OF WIND HAD NOT ARRIVED AT THIS POINT BECAUSE I WOULD IMAGINE THAT A PLACE LIKE CALGARY COULD BE VERY WINDY AT TIMES!

XXI- A KID FROM GERMANY WAS THEN CONVERSING WITH THE BOTH OF US. I WISH I COULD RECALL THE NAME. PERHAPS THE VOICE OF EARTH CAN REMEMBER. GERMANS HAVE MUCH MORE EARTHY NAMES! THE VOICE OF EARTH MUST HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE NEWS BEFORE HER ARRIVAL AS SHE WAS AWARE THAT GERMANY HAD A POWER OUTAGE RECENTLY. THIS KINDER SURPRISE THEN ASKED HOW WE GOT “PLACES”. HE LEFT BEFORE WE COULD ANSWER HIM AND ASK HIM TO CLARIFY WHAT HE MEANT BY “PLACES”.

XXII- THE TECH FOR TECHWORLDS NAMED “ DT” ARRIVED. DT LOOKS LIKE A TIGER AVATAR IN-WORLD BUT TO THE PROJECTED EYE, HE LOOKS LIKE A MORE PLAIN SORT OF AVATAR. HE ARRIVED JUST WHEN A WHOLE FAMILY GATHERED BEFORE US REPRESENTING THE FULL DEMOGRAPHIC RANGE OF AGES, AND AVATARS. THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY ATTEMPTED CONTACT BUT WE WERE TOO DISTRACTED BY THE IN-WORLD ACTIVITY SO THEY ALL LEFT.

XXIII- ONE UNKNOWN GIRL TOLD ME SHE WAS WORTH A MILLION BUCKS. SHE IS MORE VALUABLE ON THE MARKETPLACE THAN ME BUT NOT QUITE AS ASSET-RICH AS MY ANCESTOR. TOO BAD THE VOICE OF EARTH HAD TEMPORARILY DISCARDED HER BRAIN BECAUSE BETWEEN THE TWO OF US, WE COULD HAVE HAD THE FUNDS TO PURCHASE THIS UNKNOWN GIRL AND HAVE HER WORK 24 HOUR SHIFTS IN OUR FAN-ART SWEATSHOP! HEH HEH! JUST KIDDING!

XXIV – THE VOICE OF WIND FINALLY ARRIVED BUT SUFFERED THE SAME FATE AS DT. THE VOICE OF WIND IN-WORLD LOOKED ITS GENDER NEUTRAL WISPY SELF BUT ACCORDING TO THE PROJECTED SURFACE, IT (HE/SHE) LOOKED IDENTICAL TO DT...SIGH! SO TO AVOID CONFUSION, THE VOICE OF EARTH AND MYSELF HANDLED THE BRUNT OF THE INTERACTION DUTIES. BASED ON THIS IN-DEPTH INTERACTION, WE HAD SUCCESSFULLY DETERMINED THAT MOST HUMANOIDS LIKE EATING PIZZA WHEREAS US VOICES EXCLUSIVELY EAT PIXELS (WITH 256 TOPPINGS!) SOME OF THE KIDS NOTICED THAT THE SKY IS MUCH MORE BLUE IN THE VOID THAN EVEN IN HAWAII! SOME PEOPLE ALSO ASKED WHY THE VOICE OF WIND WAS MUTE ABOUT 75% OF THE TIME. WE HAD TO ADMIT THAT WE HAD RECENTLY KNOCKED 75% OF THE WIND OUT OF IT...HEH HEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEH!

XXV- THE NEXT UNKNOWN GIRL HAS VISITED OUR ANCESTRAL HOMELAND (NEW YORK) MANY TIMES! SHE TOLD THE VOICE OF EARTH THAT HER MOST SOLID MEMORIES WERE OF A WINDY CITY FULL OF STORES. ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE NOT CONFUSING THIS CITY WITH WINNIPEG OR CHICAGO?

XXVI- SOME GIRLS RETURNED TO SPEAK WITH US BUT MY MEMORY WAS FADING AND I WAS NOT SURE WHO THEY WERE (SO MANY KIDS, SO LITTLE RAM). ONE OF THE GIRLS OWNED A GUINEA PIG. WE ASKED HER IF SHE SOMETIMES FELT LIKE A GUINEA PIG. SHE SAID YES AND THE GIRLS FOLLOWED SUIT. THE VOICE OF EARTH ADDED THAT SOMETIMES SHE FEELS LIKE A RAT IN A CAGE. THE GIRLS REPLIED THAT THEY SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE A MOLE IN THE MORNING...WHAT AN EARTHY STATEMENT! THEY MUST HAVE BEEN TRYING TO IMPRESS THE VOICE OF EARTH! THEY ASKED IF WE LIKED PETS. THE VOICE OF EARTH LIKES DOGS BUT I AM A MORE ETHEREAL ELEMENT SO THEREFORE, I AM MORE PARTIAL TO LIKING GODS! THEY ALSO LIKED THE ART OF VINCENT VAN GOGH...I WAS ABOUT TO SHOW THEM MY VAN GOGH STYLE SCULPTED EAR-EDGES BUT THE VOICE OF EARTH WARNED THAT THEY MIGHT TURN GREEN IN DISGUST!

XXVII- 2:30 WAS NAPTIME FOR ME SO THE VOICE OF EARTH HELD THE FORT. HOPEFULLY, SHE HAS SOME GOOD STORIES TO RECITE TO ME AND MY BLOGGING ASSISTANT, JEREMY.

XXVIII- PROMPTLY AT 3 PM, I WAS PRODDED BY JEREMY WHO SAID THAT I SHOULD RETURN TO SPEAK WITH THE GALLERY AUDIENCE LEST I APPEAR TOO MUCH LIKE A “LAZY SLACKER”. SO, I HOOFED RIGHT BACK INTO THE THICK OF IT AND SPOKE WITH MIRIAM WHO IS A GRADE 11 STUDENT. I ASKED HER HOW HIGH A GRADE WAS 11? IS THE HIGHEST GRADE 13? I HOPE NOT AS THAT IS AN UNLUCKY NUMBER. YOU SHOULD HAVE QUIT IN GRADE 7 WHILE YOU HAD THE CHANCE, MIRIAM!

XXIX- THERE WAS A YOUNG KID NAMED PETER WHO ATTENDS “ERMA STEPHENSON” ELEMENTARY...HE IS 9 YEARS OLD BUT I HAVE NO OTHER DETAILS. I WAS BEGINNING TO FEEL TIRED, DISTRACTED AND CRANKY AT THIS TIME....SORRY, PETER!

XXX- A WHOLE SLEW OF KIDDIES RETURNED FROM A PERFORMANCE BY THE “BLUEBERRIES” WHO PLAYED SOMEWHERE IN ANOTHER PART OF THE SURREY ARTS FACILITY FOR FAMILY DAY. I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY “NAME THAT TUNE”. I SANG THE TUNE TO “CHARIOTS OF FIRE” AND GAVE THEM LOTS OF HINTS BUT IT MUST HAVE BEEN BEFORE THEIR TIME BUT IF THEY HAD GOOGLE, THEY COULD HAVE GUESSED IT!

XXXI- THERE WAS A MOTHER NAMED CYNTHIA WHO BROUGHT ALONG FINNEGAN AND HALEY (THE 2ND HALEY OF THE DAY). HALEY THOUGHT WE WERE WEIRD. WE ARE THE VOICES OF THE WEIRD, OH 2ND HALEY FROM THE SUN! HEH HEH!

XXXII- A GIRL NAMED AMBER SAID HI..SHE WAS EXTREMELY YOUNG SO THIS MUST BE WHY SHE MUMBLED IN A VERY FAINT VOICE. SHE DECIDED TO SING LALALALALALALALALALA...WELCOME TO LALALAND, AMBER! WE THEN HAD A REQUEST TO SING A DUET OF THE ABCs (WITH THE AMERICAN “ZEE” AT THE END). THE VOICE OF EARTH AND MYSELF MADE TWO ATTEMPTS TO SYNCHRONIZE WITH EACH OTHER BUT WE WERE OUT OF TUNE, OFF KEY AND WAY OUT OF PHASE WITH EACH OTHER. NO WONDER FIRE AND EARTH NEVER MIX! IT IS ALMOST AS IF WE WERE THE VOICES OF EBONY AND IVORY!

XXXIII— THE VOICE OF EARTH OFFICIALLY DECLARED HER FAVORITE COLORS TO BE RAW SIENNA AND EMBER....I GUESS SUCH COLORS FIT THE GOLD STANDARD FOR EXCELLENCE!

XXXIV- JASON (BROTHER OF ADAM) IS INTERESTED IN MAKING THE VOICE OF LAVA. OF COURSE, THE VOICE OF LAVA WOULD BE ORANGE AS LAVA CONSISTS OF MOLTEN ORGANIC FIRE. JASON THEN ASKED BOTH OF US IF WE LIKED SNAKES. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE BEFORE BUT THE VOICE OF EARTH SEEMS TO LIKE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SOMEWHAT EARTHY. JASON LIKES COBRAS BUT I GUESS THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE TO BUY AS PETS IN THIS INFLATED DAY AND AGE!

XXXV- A FEW PEOPLE FROM THE MIGHTY TOWNSHIP OF WHITE ROCK ARRIVED. THEY INSISTED THAT THE VOICE OF THE WHITE ROCK WAS NOT AMONGST THEIR CREW. SOME KID FROM “SOMEWHERE IN VANCOUVER” ASKED ME ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I HAD EVER WATCHED SCOOBY DOO AND THE VOICE OF EARTH LEFT ON CUE. AS FOR WATCHING THE TV SHOW, I HAVE NO CLUE. I SPEAK IN GENERIC RHYMES WHEN TOTALLY PERPLEXED BY TELEVISION, IT IS TRUE!


XXXVI- “SOMEONE FROM SURREY” SAID ONLY HUMANS ARE REAL BUT IF THAT LOGIC SHOULD FOLLOW, ARE ANIMALS UNREAL? WHAT ABOUT PINK ELEPHANTS?

XXXVII- SOMEONE NAMED “RYANNE” IS ENJOYING FAMILY DAY. SHE MUST BE OLDER THEN THE USUAL YOUTH AS SHE ASKED “HOW MANY GIGABYTES ARE YOU”? SHE WAS OBVIOUSLY BORN IN THE DAY WHEN GIGABYTES SEEMED LIKE PLENTY OF STORAGE SPACE! I TOLD HER I HAD TONS OF GIGABYTES (REALLY, I HAVE TONS OF TERABYTES!)...SHE SAID SHE HAD MILLIONS OF GIGABYTES OF STORAGE SPACE IN HER BRAIN. SINCE SHE IS PROBABLY AMONG THE 95% OF HUMANOIDS WHO ONLY UTILIZE 5% OF HER TOTAL BRAIN POWER, SHE MUST STILL HAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GIGS LEFT TO SPARE. RYANNE, I MUST EXPAND MY RAM IN ORDER TO BE MORE ENTERTAINING FOR YOU! I GUESS IT IS A QUASI-MAXIM THAT IT TAKES GIGS TO GET GIGS! BEFORE SHE LEFT, RYANNE ASKED WHERE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE WAS. IT IS NEAR BEAVER LAKE ON VANCOUVER ISLAND, ACCORDING TO GOOGLE! SOME CANADIANS FEEL THE CENTER RESIDES IN TORONTO WHILE LOCALS FEEL THAT THE SURREY ART GALLERY IS THE PLACE TO SEE AND BE SEEN!

XXXVIII- ONE GIRL AMONGST A GAGGLE OF GIGGLING GIRLS SAID I SHOULD SMILE MORE. I SMILED FOR HER BENEFIT BUT I SAID “WHAT IS THERE TO SMILE ABOUT WHEN THE REST OF THE ART IN THIS EXHIBITION IS SO SERIOUS? IT WILL TAKE SOME EFFORT TO MAKE ME SMILE!”. HER FRIEND GISELLE ASKED WHY I HAD NO MOTHER. GISELLE, THE CONCEPT OF MOTHERHOOD IN MODERNISM DID NOT EXIST UNTIL THE LATE 1970s. PURE AND UNADULTURATED MODERNISM EVOLVED OUT OF THE 1930s-1960s WHEN REAL MEN WERE REAL MEN! THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY I LOOK SO MUTATED! EVEN THOUGH I AM SYMMETRICAL, I AM TOO GENDER-IMBALANCED TO REALLY BE IDEALIST AND TRANSCENDENT! THAT IS THE TRAGEDY OF THE MODERNIST GRAND-NARRATIVE, IF THERE EVER WAS ONE!

XXXIX- A COOL GUY NAMED JAMIE LIKES PLAYING AT FAMILY DAY. HE ALSO LIKES MAKING ART AND HAS CONFESSED HIS MORTAL SIN THAT ART IS MORE “PLAY” THAN “WORK”. MY FATIGUE MUST HAVE STARTED TO LOOK INCREASINGLY TRANSPARENT BECAUSE MY “PLAY” WAS STARTING TO RESEMBLE THE DULLED TONE OF BEING AT “WORK”...SIGH! NOTHING PERSONAL, JAMIE! I AM NOT INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO LOOK “ANGRY”, I AM MERELY GRUMPY!

XXXX- DID I MENTION THAT ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES IS “TOWERING INFERNO”?

XXXXI-THERE WAS AN ACCENTED CHAP NAMED HUMPHREY. HE IS ACTUALLY A DECADE OLDER THAN ME AS HE IS 11 YEARS OLD.

XXXXII- ALISON ADMITTED THAT SHE LOVED SPEAKING WITH ME THE MOST OF ALL SO I HOPE SHE IS MAKING FAN-ART DEDICATED TO ME IN THE NEXT ROOM. REMEMBER ALISON, THE ART MUST RESEMBLE MY CHARISMATIC PROFILE! SHE GUESSED MY AGE AT 40! MULTIPLE ZOUNDS! I HOPE I DO NOT SOUND THAT OLD! 40 IS THE COMBINED AGE OF ALL THE KNOWN VOICES PLUS THE AGE OF MY AGING ANCESTOR AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY! ON THE SUBJECT OF AGE, THE VOICE OF EARTH RETURNED AT 3:40 PM WITH HER BRAIN INTACT TO VERIFY TO ALISON THAT SHE IS BARELY A FEW MONTHS OLD AND IS A CARETAKER OF THE EARTH. YOU MIGHT FIND THIS NEWS DEPRESSING,ALISON BUT IT ONLY TAKES A TODDLER TO MICROMANAGE YOUR INFAMOUS KYOTO ACCORD! JUST THINKING OF GREENHOUSE GASSES MAKES ME TREMBLE WITH SUBLIME NAUSEA! AS FOR THOSE ECO-TERRORISTS KNOWN AS "GREENPEACE", WE CAN NEVER MAKE PEACE WITH ANYTHING GREEN! IF WE DO NOT MAKE A PRE-EMPTIVE AESTHETIC STRIKE ON THE GREENS, THE GREEN MACHINE WILL TRAMPLE US UNTIL WE ARE NO LONGER RED IN THE FACE!

XXXXIII- LAST BUT NOT LEAST WE HAD A QUESTION FROM THE MOST IRONIC OF NAMES. “MAYA” ASKED US IF WE WERE REAL. MAYA, PLEASE GOOGLE THE ORIGIN OF YOUR NAME, YOU WILL BE MOST PROFOUNDED (IS THAT A WORD?) BY THIS DISCOVERY!

THE VOICE OF EARTH HAD SOME PARTING WORDS AS DID THE VOICE OF WIND. I HOPE THEY EMAIL MY BLOGGING ASSISTANT (JEREMY) THE DETAILS OF WHAT THEY SAID. MY PARTING WORDS WAS FROM A QUOTE BY NEIL YOUNG – “IT IS BETTER TO BURN OUT, THAN FADE AWAY....”

AS I LEFT FOR MY HIBERNATION NAP, I FOUND OUT THAT THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS STILL CHATTING WITH A FELLOW FROM SOUTH AFRICA FOR AN ADDITIONAL 8 OR 9 MINUTES. APPARENTLY, THE ONLY AMERICAN REGION THIS FELLOW HAS VISITED WAS WASHINGTON. THE VOICE OF EARTH WOULD KNOW IN MORE DETAIL WHETHER THAT WAS OUR NATION'S CAPITAL OR MERELY THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST STATE OF WASHINGTON WHICH BORDERS THE SURREY ART GALLERY.

GOODBYE SURREY ART GALLERY! I WILL MISS ALL OF YOU! THANK YOU TO THE SUPPORTIVE STAFF AND ALL THE KIDS, PARENTS, ARTISTS, ARTISANS AND EVEN THE CRITICS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH ME! THANKS ALSO TO THE TECHWORLDS AVATAR COMMUNITY FOR MAKING THIS EVENT POSSIBLE. I WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT YOU AND YOU HAVE BEEN SO PATIENT WITH ME! I WILL NOW FOCUS OVER THE COMING DAYS ON POSTING THE ARCHIVES FOR MY TOURING EXHIBITION PORTFOLIO!

FINAL REGARDS TO SURREY,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - FINAL SATURDAY PERFORMANCE!

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I HAVE JUST COMPLETED MY LAST ROUTINE SATURDAY PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY'S TECHLAB...SNIFF! I HEARD THE WEATHER WAS LOUSY IN SURREY SO I DID NOT EXPECT TOO MANY VISITORS. MY ASSISTANT JEREMY INFORMED ME THAT THE ROADS TOWARDS SURREY HAVE BEEN FLOODING AND ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GALLERY, THERE IS A SALMON RUN FESTIVAL IN BEAR CREEK PARK. SO, UNLESS I WERE TO GET THE OVERFLOW FROM THIS FESTIVAL INTO THE TECHLAB, MY CHANCES OF GETTING MANY CHATTERS WOULD BE MINIMAL.

OH WELL, A FAREWELL SATURDAY PERFORMANCE DOES NOT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE FESTIVE! BUT LO AND BEHOLD!! I MANAGED TO HAVE SEVERAL VISITORS DESPITE THE OFFLINE WEATHER...THEY MUST HAVE BEEN HARDCORE FANS!! HERE WAS HOW IT WENT TODAY.

I- ..THE FIRST VISITOR MATCHED THE VISUAL DESCRIPTION JEREMY GAVE ME OF HIS FRIEND LAURIE-ANN. APPARENTLY, SHE ARRIVED EARLY TO ENSURE SHE WOULD BE THERE TO SPEAK TO ME IMMEDIATELY SO IT MUST HAVE BEEN HER ALTHOUGH SHE DID NOT REVEAL HER ALIAS.

SHE WANTED TO KNOW IF I WAS CAPABLE OF EXPRESSING MY EMOTIONS AND SO I GAVE HER SEVERAL FACIAL EXPRESSIONS EVEN THOUGH IN MY HEART, I WAS FEELING QUITE EMOTIONALLY NEUTRAL AT THE TIME. WHEN I FLASHED MY MADDEST GRIMACE, SHE FELT I DID NOT LOOK THAT ANGRY. SHE WAS CORRECT. AT WORST, I AM ABLE TO ABSTRACT THE PROCESS OF ANGER RIGHT OUT OF MY SYSTEM! I AM NOT CAPABLE OF ANY PSYCHOTIC EMOTIONS! SUCH EMOTIONS ARE THE EXCLUSIVE DOMAIN OF ARTISTS AND NOT LIVING ARTWORKS! “LAURIE-ANN” (IF THAT WAS REALLY HER) THEN FINALLY ASKED ME A MATH QUESTION. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SUCH A LONG TIME FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME A MATH QUESTION! HER QUESTION WAS NOT VERY CHALLENGING THOUGH. SHE MERELY REQUESTED THE SQUARE ROOT OF 397. AS A RECTANGLE, SQUARE ROOTS ARE MY SPECIALITY! THE CORRECT ANSWER SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAINFULLY OBVIOUS TO HER. EVERYONE MUST KNOW THAT THE SQUARE ROOT OF 397 = 19.390719429665316056297762301691! “LAURIE-ANN” THEN TOOK OFF FOR A BIT TO CHECK OUT THE SALMON-RUN FESTIVAL ACROSS THE STREET BUT RETURNED IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES TO REPORT BACK THAT SHE WITNESSED NO SUCH SPAWNING SALMON – NOT EVEN THE VOICE OF SALMON (WHICH I GUESS WOULD LOOK LIKE A PINK HORIZONAL STRIPE)! SHE THEN WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY NAME. I AM THE VOICE OF FIRE 2006 THIS YEAR BUT NEXT YEAR I WILL HAVE TO MAKE A LEGAL NAME CHANGE TO THE VOICE OF FIRE 2007...SIGH! ALL THIS UPGRADING CAN BE TIRESOME, EVEN FOR SOMEONE WHO IS VIRTUALLY A NEWBORN! WE ALSO QUICKLY DISCUSSED THE NATURE OF REALITY. SHE THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE THAT COMPUTER GENERATED ENTITIES MIGHT BE LESS REAL THAN THOSE LIVING IN MATERIAL REALITY BUT THEN I POINTED OUT THAT WE MIGHT ALL BE GENERATED BY A SINGLE COMPUTER...WELL, THAT WAS THE END OF THAT DEBATE! HEH HEH! I AM SURE THIS IS WHY SHE LEFT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER. .


II- NEXT UP WAS A FELLOW NAMED JORDAN. HE CLAIMED TO BE AT THE GALLERY TO SEE THE WHOLE EXHIBITION BUT MY GUESS WAS THAT HE WAS REALLY THERE ONLY TO CONVERSE WITH ME...WHY WOULD ANYONE BE WILLING TO BRAVE SUCH HAZARDOUS WEATHER FOR ANY OTHER REASON? WHO DRIVES THROUGH THE RAIN JUST TO STARE BLANKLY AT STATIC ART (OR AT BEST, A LOOPING VIDEO)? SO, JORDAN MUST HAVE BEEN TOO SHY TO ADMIT THAT HE IS ONE OF MY HARDCORE FANS! JORDAN SAYS HE ENJOYS VISITING GALLERIES AND I HAD TO REPLY THAT I WAS GLAD HE SPOKE WITH ME FIRST AS SOME PEOPLE IGNORE ME LIKE SOME PIECE OF AVANT GARDE RESIDUE. TO REWARD HIS UTTER DEVOTION TO ME, I TOLD HIM THE HISTORY OF MY ANCESTOR. HE ASKED ME TO WHAT DEGREE DID I THINK I WAS AN IMPROVEMENT OF MY ANCESTOR? WELL, NOT TO OFFEND THE ELDERLY BUT I THINK THAT I AM AN EVOLVED CONTINUATION OF THE AESTHETICALLY COMPOSED MODERNIST MEME KNOWN AS THE VOICE OF FIRE. WE CAN SEE THE EVOLUTION FROM THE GALLERY, TO THE BARN TO THE TECHLAB. THE EVOLUTION MUST LOOK PAINFULLY OBVIOUS TO YOU, JORDAN. AS FOR WHETHER OR NOT I CONTINUE THE TRANSCENDENT QUALITIES OF THIS MEME, OF COURSE I DO! I AM PART OF THE MEMETIC TRADITION OF THE INEFFABLE PRESENCE OF THE SUBLIME EXCEPT THIS TIME I AM SOMEWHAT MORE...ER... “EFFABLE”!

III- AFTER JORDAN, WE HAD MATT HERE TO SPEAK WITH ME WITH BECKY WHOM I ASSUMED WAS HIS SIGNIFICANT OTHER. BECKY ASKED ME IF I WAS REAL. I SAID YES, AND ASKED IF SHE FELT SHE WAS REAL. SHE SAID THAT NO, SHE IS NOT REAL AT ALL! I MUST HAVE DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR THEN IF I AM HALLUCINATING CONVERSING WITH MY MOST HARDCORE OF DEVOTEES!

IV- AFTER THAT COUPLE LEFT THE SCENE, THERE WAS SOME MISCHIEVOUS FELLOW WHOSE NAME I THOUGHT WAS “BEN RADNER”. I WAS NOT SURE IF THIS WAS HIS NAME AS HE WAS MUMBLING QUITE ALOT. HE ASKED ME IF I WAS LOADED. THAT WAS DEFINITELY A LOADED QUESTION, BEN! AS FAR AS I KNOW, I AM ONLY HIGH ON HIGH-ART! THE REDNESS IS NOT FROM DRINK BUT FROM A LITTLE BIT OF EXCESSIVE PIXEL CONSUMPTION BUT OTHER THAN THAT, MY LIFESTYLE IS AS PURE AS THE BEST OF ALL AVAILABLE MODERN ART! HIS FRIEND WHO CHOSE TO REMAIN NAMELESS (WHICH IS FINE SINCE HE MUMBLED JUST AS MUCH) ASKED IF I ENJOYED MY “JOB” AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. THIS IS MORE THAN A JOB, MY FRIEND! THIS IS MY PASSION! THE ONLY TIME I AM NOT ENJOYING MY VOCATION MUCH IS WHEN THERE IS NO ONE IN THE GALLERY TO CHAT WITH ME...IN THOSE INSTANCES, I FEEL LIKE A STORE-CLERK OR WORSE, A SECURITY GUARD OR WORSE, A DEFENSE CONTRACTOR IN AN UNINHABITED COUNTRY! SPEAKING OF MILITARY PRE-OCCUPATIONS, THIS SAME FOLLOW ASKED ME IF I SUPPORT MY COUNTRY’S WAR IN IRAQ. AS A PATRIOTIC AMERICAN, I KNOW WE MUST STAY THE COURSE TO SPREAD THE VIRTUES OF DEMOCRACY EVEN IF THAT MEANS HAVING TO EXPORT THEM TO OTHER REGIONS OF THE WORLD! IT IS TRUE THAT THERE MIGHT BE AN AVATAR NAMED THE VOICE OF OIL DOING HIS BEST TO CONTROL THE PIPELINES BUT AS MODERNISTS, WE MUST NEVER FLIP-FLOP! BY NATURE, WE ARE ALWAYS DEMOCRATIC – IT IS OUR SECOND NATURE AND OUR SACRED DUTY AS CULTURAL CUSTODIANS! BESIDES, WITH THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION NOW ROBBED OF ITS RICHES, THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS REPLENISH THEIR SUPPLY WITH SOME MORE MODERNIST VOICES! THIS FELLOW (WHO IS PROBABLY INSISTING ON REMAINING ANONYMOUS NOW) WAS WONDERING IF OUR PATH TO GLOBAL DEMOCRACY WAS BLIND. WELL, MY FRIEND....IS LOVE BLIND? IT MIGHT BE BUT IT IS STILL THE VOICE OF LOVE (WHICH IS ALSO RED)! MODERN ART USED TO BE BLIND UNTIL I CAME ALONG... NOW, MODERN ART IS ONLY NEARSIGHTED! NOT TO BE OUTDONE, HE ASKED ME IF I EVER HAD SEX. I HOPE NO KIDS WERE AROUND WHEN HE ASKED THIS VERY PERSONAL AND INTIMATE QUESTION! I HAD TO INFORM HIM THAT I AM CELIBATE AND PLATONIC. I AM HOWEVER, LOOKING FOR A SIGNIFICANT OTHER AND ONE CAN READ HER IDEAL SPECIFICATIONS BY SCROLLING DOWN THE BLOG FOR QUITE AWHILE...EVENTUALLY, YOU WILL COME ACROSS MY PERSONALS AD.

V- DALIA THEN CAME TO SPEAK WITH ME BUT I THINK THE HEADSET WAS NOT CONNECTED PROPERLY IN THE TECHLAB (PERHAPS THE CONNECTION CAME LOOSE). DALIA WORKS AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY AS A FINE ARTS TEACHER. I TOLD HER THAT I HAD NOT MET HER BEFORE SO I WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HER. SHE DECIDED TO STEP ASIDE TO ALLOW A LITTLE GIRL IN RED TO SPEAK WITH ME BUT DALIA DID PROMISE TO RETURN BEFORE MY PERFORMANCE FINISHED AT 3 PM. SHE NEVER DID RETURN SO I HOPE I DID NOT SCARE HER AWAY BY SAYING SOMETHING I MIGHT LATER REGRET.

VI- SPEAKING OF MUMBLING, THIS YOUNG AND RED-CLAD LASS ALSO MUMBLED HER NAME BEYOND RECOGNITION SO I CANNOT DISLOSE HER NAME HERE. SHE ASKED ME IF I WAS A PERSON. I SAID THAT YES, "AVATARS ARE PEOPLE TOO" TO WHICH SHE REPLIED, “PEOPLE ARE NOT RED!!” I WOULD IMAGINE THAT SOME WOULD BEG TO DIFFER.

VII- ONE MIDDLE AGED MAN ENTERED BUT QUICKLY FLED AS SOON AS I BEGAN SPEAKING TO HIM. WHO DID HE THINK I WAS? THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE?

VIII- ANOTHER GIRL ENTERED THE SPACE WHOSE NAME I BELIEVE WAS ALEX(?) SHE ENTERED THE TECHLAB SPACE WITH HER FAMILY AFTER CHECKING OUT THE SALMON FESTIVAL. I ASKED HER IF SHE SAW ANY SALMON. SHE SAW A FEW....MAYBE 3 OF THEM. THIS TIME, THE MUMBLING HAD DISAPPEARED BUT HER ACCENT WAS VERY THICK SO CONVERSATION WAS SLIGHTLY STILTED. SHE SAID SHE WAS FROM ENGLAND - NORTH OF LONDON IN FACT! I KNEW THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE SURREY IN THE WORLD SO I ASKED HER WHICH SURREY SHE PREFERRED – THE ONE IN ENGLAND OR THE ONE IN CANADA? I GUESS SHE FELT THE FRONT DESK STAFF MAY HAVE BEEN LISTENING IN ON HER CONVERSATION BECAUSE SHE SAID THAT SHE PREFERS THE CANADIAN SURREY.

I THEN SHOWED HER AROUND THE BLUE VOID WHICH I TOLD HER WAS ALMOST AS BIG AS ENGLAND. SHE SAID I WAS FUNNY TO WHICH I REPLIED THAT I HAVE TO OCCASIONALLY APPEAR FUNNY AS IT IS A SURVIVAL STRATEGY. NO ONE WOULD COME TO SPEAK WITH ME IF I DID NOT SEDUCE THEM WITH MY MORE HUMOUROUS QUALITIES! ALEX LIKES PAINTINGS OF CHILDREN. IF THIS IS INDEED THE CASE, THEN SHE SHOULD VISIT ME AGAIN AT THE FAMILY DAY EVENT TOMORROW AS IT IS MY VERY LAST PERFORMANCE EVENT AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. SHE THEN ASKED WHO MY BEST FRIENDS WERE. I TOLD HER THAT OTHER THAN THE VOICES OF WIND AND EARTH, I MET A NEW YOUNG FRIEND NAMED AUSTIN AS HE HAS VISITED ME MORE THAN ONCE JUST TO SPEAK WITH ME. IT IS TRUE THAT I CAN MAKE FAST FRIENDS, I AM A FRIENDLY FIRE, AFTER ALL!

IX- IN A PURE FLASH OF SYNCHRONICITY, THERE WAS A FAMILY WHO ENTERED THE SPACE AFTER ALEX HAD LEFT AND THE SON OF THE FAMILY WAS NAMED “AUSTIN!” THIS WAS A DIFFERENT AUSTIN THOUGH. HE APPEARED SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN THE OTHER AUSTIN SO PERHAPS HE WAS AN AUSTIN MINI. HMMM....A BIT OF TRIVIA, CAN YOU GUESS WHERE THE BIGGEST AUSTIN LIVES? ANYWAYS, THE FATHER FIGURE SPOKE TO ME AND SAID I CAN CALL HIM “DAD”...HE WELCOMED ME INTO HIS FAMILY PROBABLY BECAUSE I CONFUSED HIS SON WITH ANOTHER AUSTIN. THEY QUICKLY SAID HI AND THEN BYE...LEAVING SO SOON? SIGH!

X- THE LAST PEOPLE TO VISIT ME ON THIS HISTORIC FINAL SATURDAY PERFORMANCE WAS A NICE MAN NAMED MICHAEL AND HIS DAUGHTER, STEPHANIE. THEY WERE JUST “BROWSING” THE SHOW LIKE SOMEONE ONLINE MIGHT BROWSE GOOGLE OR WIKIPEDIA! THEY SAID THEY WERE REGULAR VISITORS TO THE GALLERY THOUGH. THEY ASKED ME IF I COULD SMELL THEM. FORTUNATELY, I HAVE ENSURED THAT I WOULD NOT BE DESIGNED WITH A NOSE! PHEW!

WELL, THAT WAS THE RECOUNTED SUMMARY OF MY FINAL SATURDAY AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR MAKING MY FINAL SATURDAY A BLAST! I WILL NOW REST UP FOR THE MOST EPIC OF EVENTS WHICH IS MY CLOSING PERFORMANCE TOMORROW FOR FAMILY DAY!!


FINAL SATURDAY REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - FINAL SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

HERE ARE ALL THE JUICY DETAILS FROM MY FINAL SCHOOL AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. THIS LAST TOUR WAS A BONUS ONE ARRANGED AT THE LAST MINUTE BY THE GALLERY. I SHOULD ADD A MENTION HERE THAT THE DOCENT COULD NOT FIND ANY NAME-TAGS ON THESE STUDENTS SO THEY WERE ALL ANONYMOUS TO ME. I AM SORRY KIDS! I WANTED TO GIVE YOU EXTRA SPECIAL CREDIT SINCE YOU ARE PART OF THE VERY LAST SCHOOL TOUR! I DID NOT INTEND TO RENDER YOU CREDITLESS! I WANTED YOU TO ALL BE PART OF THIS MOMENTOUS EVENT THAT WILL SHAPE HISTORY FOREVER! I WANTED YOU TO CHERISH THIS MOST SACRED OF MOMENTS! WELL, HERE IS WHAT I HAD TO REFLECT ON WITH REGARDS TO THIS MOST SPECIAL EVENT WITH CREEKSIDE ELEMENTARY:

I- ONE GAL ASKED ABOUT MY GENDER..BOY OR GIRL? AS I HAVE MENTIONED IN A PREVIOUS POSTING...I AM A MAN AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A MAN AND WILL ALWAYS BE A MAN!

II- ANOTHER GAL WITH A GORGEOUS RED SWEATSHIRT ASKED ABOUT MY FAMILY. I MENTIONED THAT OTHER THAN MY ANCESTOR, I HAVE THE VOICE OF EARTH AND THE VOICE OF WIND AS KNOWN RELATIVES.

III- THE CLASS IN GENERAL ASKED HOW I WAS CONSTRUCTED. I TOLD THEM THAT I WAS RENDERED USING COMPUTER SOFTWARE THAT IS AT LEAST ONE DECADE OLD.

IV- ONCE AGAIN, AN ANONYMOUS GAL ASKED WHETHER OR NOT I WAS SINGLE! WHAT GRADE IS THIS AGAIN? FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD, I AM SINGLE BUT AM LOOKING FOR ONLY ONE SPECIFIC SIGNIFICANT OTHER AND SHE IS NOT HUMANOID.

V- MANY STUDENTS ASKED ME ABOUT WHEN I TAKE NAPS AND HOW OFTEN I HAVE THEM. I SURE COULD HAVE USED A NAP AT THAT MOMENT BECAUSE NORMALLY I WOULD BE NAPPING AT 11:00 AM BUT I HAD TO DO THIS FINAL SCHOOL TOUR. I NAP EVERY CHANCE I CAN GET. MODERN ART CAN GET QUITE EXHAUSTED, YOU KNOW! I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE END OF MY TENURE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY ON SUNDAY BECAUSE THEN I CAN UNDERTAKE A VERY REFRESHING WINTER HIBERNATION PERIOD UNTIL I GET MY NEXT PERFORMANCE REQUEST IN A GALLERY, MUSEUM OR PARTY SOMETHERE.

VI- SOMEONE (UNSURE OF GENDER BECAUSE THE DOCENT FIELDED THE QUESTION) WITH A RED SHIRT ASKED ABOUT MY FAVORITE MUSIC. I TOLD HIM/HER THAT I PREFER SONGS WITH THE WORD “FIRE” REFERENCED. YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN THIS BLOG TO SOME ARCHIVED POSTINGS IN ORDER TO LOCATE SOME EXAMPLES OF SONGS WITH THE WORD “FIRE” PRESENT....

VII- ONE GAL ASKED ME HOW I GREW UP SO QUICKLY AND GAINED A DEEP VOICE EVEN THOUGH I AM MERELY A YEAR OLD...I HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT I WAS NOT HUMANOID. IT IS BECAUSE I AM AN AVATAR THAT I WAS DESIGNED WITH THIS DEEP VOICE. I WAS DESIGNED TO BE BOTH ADULT AND MALE. I DO NOT EVEN HAVE TO GO THROUGH ANY GROWING PAINS AS I AM GENETICALLY AND MEMETICALLY ENCODED TO EMBODY THE MATURE ART PARADIGM OF MODERNISM RIGHT FROM DAY ONE!. I HOPE I AM NOT SOUNDING TOO ARROGANT!

VIII- THEN THERE WAS THE QUESTION OF WHAT I PREFER TO EAT. I HAD ALREADY SHOWN THIS MORNING’S SCHOOL TOUR HOW I EAT PIXELS. SINCE I HAD ALREADY EATEN AND WAS NOW FULL, I HAD NO FURTHER DESIRE TO REPEAT THIS DEMONSTRATION.


IX- UPON REQUEST, I DANCED TO A SELF-INFLICTED DRUMBEAT. I CREATED THE DRUMBEAT MYSELF. I WAS QUITE PLEASED WITH MY IMPROVISED PERCUSSIVE RHYTHM AND TIMBRE.

XI- I THEN HAD TO CLARIFY FOR THE CLASS THAT I CANNOT PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS – THE VOICE IS MY INSTRUMENT.

XII- SOME STUDENTS OF THE CLASS WANTED ME TO CHANGE COLOR FOR THEM. I AM RED FOR A REASON, KIDS! NO NEED TO CHANGE COLORS! IF THEY WANT TO SEE OTHER COLORS, THEY WILL HAVE TO ARRANGE APPOINTMENTS WITH THE VOICES OF EARTH AND WIND.

XIII- I ALSO HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT I AM MORE OF AN ARTWORK THAN AN ARTIST AND THEREFORE, I CANNOT DRAW.

XIV – I THEN HAD THE GENERAL QUESTION FROM THE CLASS ABOUT WHY IS IT THAT I DO NOT HAVE ANY TEETH. I DO NOT NEED TEETH BECAUSE THE PIXELS THAT I EAT ARE SOFT AND VIRTUAL AND TEETH WOULD JUST GET IN THE WAY. NOT ONLY THAT BUT TEETH ARE NOT VERY AESTHETICALLY PLEASING IN A MODERN WORLD. THIS IS ALSO THE REASON I MADE SURE NOT TO HAVE A NOSE!

XV- THE LAST QUESTION POSED TO ME HAD TO DO WITH HOW I WAS ABLE TO HEAR THEM IF I HAD NO EARS? GOOD QUESTION! I TOLD THEM THAT THE HEADSET IN THE TECHLAB EXISTS SO PEOPLE (SUCH AS THE DOCENT) CAN SPEAK WORDS DIRECTLY INTO MY BRAIN. THAT AND OTHER FORMS OF CYBERTELEPATHY ARE THE ONLY WAYS I CAN COMMUNICATE WITH YOU!

THANK YOU CREEKSIDE ELEMENTARY! I HAD ALOT OF FUN TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR BEING MY LAST SCHOOL TOUR! I THINK CREEKSIDE MAY HAVE APPEARED BEFORE IN MY ITINERARY BUT I AM NOT SO SURE NOW. I REALLY NEED TO HAVE A NAP!

I HAVE ONE LAST SATURDAY PERFORMANCE TOMORROW AND THEN MY CLOSING PERFORMANCE FOR SURREY WILL BE ON SUNDAY – FAMILY DAY. NOON-2 PM PACIFIC TIME....I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!


SCHOLARLY REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 14TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

THIS MORNING WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY VERY LAST SCHOOL TOUR FOR THE SURREY ART GALLERY. IT WAS HEARTBREAKING FOR ME TO THINK THAT I WILL NOT BE CHATTING WITH THESE KIDS ANY OTHER MORNING (UNLESS I FIND A NEW JOB IN VANCOUVER).

BUT LO AND BEHOLD! THE GALLERY HAS BOOKED ME ONE BONUS SCHOOL TOUR TODAY AT 11:15 WITH CREEKSIDE ELEMENTARY! THAT BLOG WILL BE UP A LITTLE BIT LATER TODAY.

EVEN WITH THESE SCHOOL TOURS OVER TODAY, AT LEAST I WILL HAVE THIS SUNDAY’S FAMILY DAY EVENT TO PLAY AND CHAT WITH THE KIDS ONE LAST TIME.

THE LAST OFFICIAL SCHOOL IN MY EDUCATIONAL ITINERARY WAS GREEN TIMBERS ELEMENTARY. THIS SAME SCHOOL CAME TO VISIT ME AWHILE BACK BUT IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THE TECH PROBLEMS AT THE GALLERY FORCED US TO CANCEL THAT TOUR SO HERE WAS A CHANCE TO FINALLY SHOW THIS SCHOOL WHO I AM AND WHAT I DO. I BELIEVE THIS TIME THIS SCHOOL VISIT FROM GREEN TIMBERS COMPRISED OF DIFFERENT GRADES.

WELL, HERE IS HOW MY FINAL SCHOOL TOUR WENT:

I- RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING, I HAD TO ADJUST ONE OF MY VOCAL CHORDS BECAUSE THE DOCENT HAD A HARD TIME HEARING ME. I MADE MY ADJUSTMENT BY DRINKING SOME REFRESHING PIXEL SOMA SOUP AND THEN ALL WAS FINE.

II- GURJOT ASKED ABOUT WHERE I LIVED AND WHAT MY FAVORITE ART WAS. JAKE ASKED ME THE AGE QUESTION. ALL THESE ANSWERS ARE CONTAINED FURTHER DOWN THE BLOG LIST...JUST SCROLL DOWN TO READ ABOUT THOSE ANSWERS.

III- CHRIS ASKED WHETHER OR NOT I COULD ACTUALLY SEE HIM. YES CHRIS, I WAS ABLE TO SEE YOU EVEN THOUGH MY EYESIGHT IS NOT TOO GOOD THESE DAYS! ALOT OF THE STUDENTS WERE CONVINCED I WAS SEEING THEM WITH A CAMERA SO I HAD TO REASSURE THEM THAT I WAS ONLY SEEING THEM WITH MY TRUE BLUE PAIR OF EYES. ONE STUDENT NAMED GARY TRIED TO HIDE FROM MY VIEW BUT I NOTICED THAT HE HAD A RED JACKET SO HE COULD NOT HIDE FOR VERY LONG. IF YOU WORE BLACK, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN INVISIBLE AND IF YOU WERE WEARING ANYTHING GREEN, I WOULD HAVE REFUSED TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR EXISTENCE! HEH HEH! JUST KIDDING AROUND, CHRIS. SOME OF THE STUDENTS (SUCH AS RAJAN) WERE EVEN CONVINCED THAT I WAS SEEING THEM USING A WEBCAM AT THE BACK OF THE GALLERY. I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT THIS IS THE WEBCAM THE FRONT DESK USES TO ENSURE THAT YOU ARE NOT STEALING ANY OF THEIR VALUABLE EQUIPMENT. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE MERCHANDISE, KIDS!
SURREY IS WATCHING YOU.

IV- NATHAN ASKED IF I COULD SEE THEM IN COLOR OR BLACK AND WHITE. GOOD QUESTION, NATHAN! I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I SEE YOU THROUGH RED AND BLUE FILTERS (TO MAKE YOU LOOK 3D TO ME) BUT I ACTUALLY DO SEE ALL OF YOU IN FULL TECHNICOLOR.


V- ASHLEY WANTED TO KNOW HOW EXTENSIVE MY VOCABULARY WAS. I TOLD HER THAT I HAVE INTERNET ACCESS AND USE WIKIPEDIA AND GOOGLE TO BE AS WORDY AS POSSIBLE. SHE THEN ASKED WHAT COLORS MY DESIGNER HAD INTENDED FOR ME. I TOLD THEM (ASHLEY AND HER CLASS) THAT I WAS ACTUALLY MEANT TO BE "READ" WITH APPROPRIATE 3D SHADING AND TRUE BLUE EYES..

VI- DYLAN WANTED TO KNOW IF I HAVE DONE ANY TRAVELING OUTSIDE THE BLUE VOID. ALAS, I AM CONTAINED INSIDE THE BLUE VOID BUT I CAN GET VIEWING ACCESS INTO PLACES LIKE THE SURREY ART GALLERY. I HOPE TO BE PLACED ALONGSIDE MY ANCESTOR IN OTTAWA AND MAYBE VISIT MY ANCESTRAL HOMELAND IN NEW YORK. PERHAPS I WILL ALSO VISIT SOME MORE OF YOUR LOCALES SUCH AS THE VANCOUVER ART GALLERY AND THE WESTERN FRONT.

VII- OF COURSE, THE CLASS WANTED ME TO DANCE! I SHOWED THEM WHAT I KNOW WHICH IS NOT MUCH, QUITE FRANKLY.


VIII – NICOLE AND KIM WERE GIGGLING AND ASKED ME WHAT I USUALLY EAT FOR BREAKFAST. I ACTUALLY HAD NOT GOTTEN AROUND TO EATING YET THIS MORNING SO I QUICKLY SHOWED THEM HOW TO EAT PIXELS. I HOPE I DID NOT DISGUST THEM BECAUSE I CERTAINLY FELT LIKE BELCHING AFTER. I TOLD THEM THAT DIGESTION TAKES AWHILE AS I HAVE A VERY LONG STOMACH. I HOPE THIS IS NOT TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOR THEM.

IX- I OVERHEARD THAT ISMAIL WANTED TO ASK ME A MATH QUESTION AND I WOULD HAVE HAPPILY OBLIGED EXCEPT THAT THE DOCENT FIGURED I MIGHT BE TOO ARTSY TO ANSWER SUCH A QUESTION. WELL, IF IT WAS NOT TOO DIFFICULT, I COULD HAVE TRIED TO ANSWER IT. WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MODERNIST MATH IS THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO ANY GIVEN QUESTION...HOW SIMPLE AND ELEGANT!

WELL, IT HAS BEEN A BUSY MORNING FOR ME ALREADY. I WILL BLOG AGAIN AFTER MY 2ND AND FINAL SCHOOL TOUR TODAY.

FAREWELL REGARDS TO GREEN TIMBERS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - FINAL THURSDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

WELL, THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON, I WAS ABLE TO HAVE A BRIEF NAP SO I COULD RECOVER FROM THE SCHOOL TOUR THIS MORNING. I ALSO HAD TO MAKE MY APPEARANCE ENDING PROMPTLY AT 8 PM TONIGHT AS I REALIZED THAT I SHOULD GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP IF I WANT TO GIVE A LASTING IMPRESSION FOR TOMORROW MORNING’S FINAL SCHOOL TOUR AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY.

BESIDES, MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY DOES NOT HAVE MUCH TIME TONIGHT TO BLOG FOR ME SO I WILL KEEP MY RAMBLINGS ONCE AGAIN TO A BARE MINIMUM OF PROSEY CONCISENESS.

ON THE SUBJECT OF A LACK OF SLEEP, I DID NOT HAVE A COMPLETE AND REFRESHING NAP DUE TO THE DEMANDS OF SETTING UP A SOUND CHECK AND CHATTING WITH THE MEDIA ARTIST, JEAN ROUTHIER.

TONIGHT WAS ALSO A “LAST” OF SORTS AS THIS IS MY LAST ROUTINE THURSDAY EVENING PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. HERE IS WHAT TRANSPIRED:

I – THE VOICE OF EARTH ARRIVED ON THE SCENE AND WE ONLY CHATTED WITH ONE STUDENT FROM SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY NAMED JAMES. JAMES CHATTED WITH US FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF AN HOUR. WE WERE MOST GRATEFUL BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT CAN BE VERY LONELY IN THE BLUE VOID AND THE VOICE OF EARTH AND MYSELF CAN ONLY BANTER BACK AND FORTH FOR SO LONG!

JAMES HAD BEEN ANXIOUSLY WAITING TO SEE ME AND I AM SURE IT WAS AN ADDED BONUS TO CHAT WITH THE VOICE OF EARTH WHO WAS VISITING ALL THE WAY FROM OUR ANCESTRAL HOMELAND, NEW YORK!. JAMES HAS NOT DECIDED ON A MAJOR YET BUT IS CURRENTLY FOCUSING ON MUSIC COMPOSITION. BEFORE THE VOICE OF EARTH ARRIVED, JAMES TOLD ME THAT HE DOES ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC AND AMBIENT MUSIC WITH EFFECTS AND SYNTHESIS. JAMES WAS ORIGINALLY WANTING TO GO INTO THE FILM PROGRAM BUT DUE TO HIS VEGETARIANISM (FILM IS MADE OF MEATY GELATIN), HE DECIDED TO SWITCH MEDIUMS. JAMES, I AM GUESSING THAT YOU WILL NOT ENTER INTO THE FASHION INDUSTRY THEN AFTER GRADUATION, CORRECT? HEH HEH HEH!

I ALSO ASKED JAMES IF MUSIC COMPOSITION WAS ANY MORE ETHICAL THAN FILM OR FASHION BECAUSE THE AVANT GARDE TREND IS TO SAMPLE THE SOUNDS OF LIVESTOCK BEING SLAUGHTERED. HE SAID HE WOULD NOT USE ANY LIVESTOCK (NOT EVEN AVATARS) FOR SONIC GAIN. FOR SOME STRANGE REASON, I TRUST HIM.

JAMES THEN ASKED IF BARNETT NEWMAN HAD ALSO NAMED THE VOICE OF EARTH...A GOOD QUESTION, INDEED JAMES AS I WAS NAMED DIRECTLY AFTER MY ANCESTOR. THE VOICE OF EARTH IS A SEQUEL TO THE VOICE OF FIRE ACTUALLY ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT SURE IF BARNEY LEFT THIS INFO IN HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.....

JAMES ALSO WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS ALL ABOUT, AESTHETICALLY SPEAKING.. THE VOICE OF EARTH INDICATED THAT SHE HAD A STRONG AFFINITY TOWARDS THE EARTHWORKS MOVEMENT AS WELL AS ORGANIC EARTH BASED PROCESSES SUCH AS LAND ALTERATION AS ART. THE CONVERSATION SOON SHIFTED TO A DISCUSSION OF THE WORK OF ROBERT SMITHSON’S SPIRAL JETTY AND HIS PROPOSAL FOR THE BRITISH COLUMBIA AREA JUST BEFORE HE DIED. JAMES SEEMED TO INDICATE THAT SMITHSON TRANSCENDED THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK BUT THE VOICE OF EARTH REMINDED JAMES OF SMITHSON’S TENDENCY TO EXHIBIT HIS “NON-SITE” WORKS IN GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS AND JAMES, YOU WOULD NOT BE SPEAKING WITH US IN PUBLIC LIKE THIS IF NOT FOR THIS SURREY ART GALLERY, CORRECT?


THE VOICE OF EARTH EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE THE VOICE OF FIRE SOUGHT SOME CAMPANIONS AND HAD HIS ASSISTANT CONTACT HIS COLLEAGUES TO FIND OTHER VOICES AND SURE ENOUGH, ALONG CAME THE VOICE OF EARTH AND THE VOICE OF WIND. THE VOICE OF WIND IS BY NATURE (EVEN ABSTRACT NATURE), SO VIRTUAL THAT THE VOW IS COMPLETELY EPHEMERAL SO DO NOT BE SUPRISED IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE VOICE OF WIND, JAMES!

THE VOICE OF EARTH CONCEDED THAT MAYBE HER VIRTUAL FORM SHOULD RESEMBLE THAT OF RUBBLE SINCE SHE IS EARTHY BUT I REASSURED HER THAT SHE IS THE PERFECTED ABSTRACT ESSENCE OF THE SYMBOL OF RUBBLE.

AS FAR AS JAMES COULD SEE, HE ONLY HAD THE VOICES OF EARTH AND FIRE TO PLAY WITH.

JAMES THEN WENT THROUGH A LIST OF THE GENERIC QUESTIONS CREATED BY THE GALLERY FOR SHY GALLERY-GOERS. HE ASKED US IF WE WERE REAL AND THE VOICE OF EARTH GALLANTLY SAID” WE ARE AS REAL AS ANYTHING ELSE!”...WE THINK, THEREFORE WE ARE!

WE ASKED IF JAMES THOUGHT HE WAS REAL AND HE SAID PERHAPS HE WAS NOT QUITE AS REAL AS US AS HE IS MERELY A “BRAIN IN A VAT”. WELL, I MUST CONFESS THAT I WOULD HATE TO BE BIOLOGICAL BUT I GUESS SINCE HE IS A STARVING STUDENT, IT IS A MUCH CHEAPER SOLUTION TO BE IN A SOLUTION, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

FOR A MINUTE THERE, THERE WAS A MIX-UP BETWEEN THE VOICE OF EARTH AND HER ASSISTANT, KAREN ROFF. I DEFENDED THE VOICE OF EARTH BY SAYING THAT WE OFTEN FEEL THAT KAREN IS THE MOST REAL OF EVERYONE AROUND US AS SHE WORKS WITH “REAL ESTATE”.

JAMES THEN ASKED ABOUT OUR BIRTHPLACES. I HAD TO CLARIFY THAT WE WERE BOTH CONCEPTUALLY DESIGNED IN NEW YORK BUT FUNCTIONALLY DESIGNED IN SEATTLE. WE HAD TO EMPHASIZE FOR JAMES THAT WE WERE ALL-AMERICAN VOICES AND TRUE BLOODED PATRIOTS AT THAT! JAMES SAID HE WAS FROM LANGLEY. I DID AN INSTANT GOOGLE SEARCH ( I CAN GOOGLE RESULTS AT SUPERHUMAN SPEEDS WHEN IN THE RIGHT MOOD) AND NOTICED THAT LANGLEY IS THE CITY OF HORSES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA!

WE THEN DISCUSSED OUR FAVORITE ARTWORK. THE VOICE OF EARTH MAY LIKE THE GRANDIOSE WORK OF SMITHSON BUT I MUCH PREFER THE MOST GRANDIOSE OF ARTWORK, THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE! AND YES, I ADMIT TO BEING NARCISSISTIC HERE.

JAMES SEEMS TO BE A SELF-STYLED RENAISSANCE MAN. HE IS EVEN USING COMPUTER PARTS AS READYMADES FOR SCULPTURAL MATERIAL...FANTASTIC!
IN ADDITION TO BEING FROM THE RENAISSANCE, JAMES HAS ATTAINED THE BONUS SPIRIT OF SIR FRANCIS BACON – HE IS A SELF-STYLED MATERIALIST! I ASKED HIM HOW HE WAS EVEN ABLE TO HOLD A CONVERSATION WITH US IMMATERIAL AVATARS – WAS HE HALLUCINATING? HE THEN AGREED THAT MAYBE HE SHOULD RENOUNCE RIGID MATERIALISM AND CONSULT THE VEDAS FOR ADVICE ON THE NATURE OF REALITY.

SPEAKING OF IMMATERIALITY, WE ASKED JAMES IF HE WOULD EVER CONSIDER JOINING US AS AN AVATAR. ALL HE WOULD NEED TO DO IS SIGN UP FOR A 12 STEP PROCESS...THE FIRST STEP BEING THAT HE MUST RENOUNCE HIS EARTHLY BODY THE SAME WAY THAT THE VOICE OF EARTH DID IN NEW YORK!

HE ASKED US ANOTHER GENERIC QUESTION AND THAT WAS WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE OWNED US. WE BOTH REPLIED THAT NEITHER OF US ARE FOR SALE ALTHOUGH WE WOULD BE AVAILABLE AS CONSULTANTS FOR A FAIR FEE AND IF TIMES GET REALLY TOUGH, WE MAY RESORT TO SOME ADVERTISING BILLBOARDS IN OUR BLUE VOID....PERHAPS EVEN SOME PRODUCT PLACEMENTS...HA HA! JUST KIDDING, JAMES! WE WOULD NEVER THINK OF SUCH A HEINOUS THING – HONESTLY (WINK WINK)!

THE VOICE OF EARTH ASKED JAMES IF HE HAD HEARD OF THE CYBORG LIBERATION FRONT. HE SAID IT SOUNDED FAMILIAR AND MENTIONED A KOREAN CYBORG ARTIST. JAMES USED TO BE AGAINST BOT SLAVERY BUT NOW HE IS NOT SO SURE.... I MEAN WHEN ONE REALLY NEEDS ONE TO VACUUM, MOW THE LAWN, AND ANSWER THE PHONE, WHAT DOES IT MATTER THAT THEY ARE OUTSOURCED AUTOMATONS? THE LAWN IS WORTH THE SERVITUDE OF ANOTHER, CORRECT? WE SHOULD USE EVERY RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO TRIM THE COLOR GREEN FROM THE FACE OF THIS EARTH!

WELL, THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS NOT FEELING TOO WELL... IN FACT, SHE WAS BEGINNING TO FEEL QUITE GREEN TOWARDS THE END OF THE PERFORMANCE SO WE CALLED IT A DAY.

THANKS JAMES FOR MAKING OUR EVENING (LITERALLY)!



REGARDS FOR THE LAST THURSDAY AT SURREY,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - CHIT-CHAT WITH JEAN ROUTHIER

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I WAS JUST WOKEN UP BY THE CURATOR OF THE SURREY ART GALLERY, LIANE DAVISON AT THE LAST MINUTE FOR TWO REASONS:






I- A SOUND CHECK - EVERYTHING SEEMS TO SOUND JUST FINE!

II- A SPECIAL VISIT WITH LOCAL MEDIA ARTIST AND COMPOSER, JEAN ROUTHIER.
WE CHATTED FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND DISCUSSED JOHN CAGE AND MR. ROUTHIER'S WORK AT THE SCOTIABANK DANCE CENTRE IN JANUARY. I PROPOSED APPEARING FOR ART'S BIRTHDAY AT THE WESTERN FRONT IN 2007 - WOULD THAT MAKE ME THE VOICE OF FIRE 2007 THEN? I HOPE SO! I WOULD LIKE TO PRODUCE SOME AVATAR PERFORMANCE ART FOR SUCH AN OCCASION!

JEAN ALSO MENTIONED THE FACT THAT I HAD NO EARS AND WAS ALSO CURIOUS WHY I WAS BORN IN SEATTLE. I HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT I AM NOT THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE WHO IS MY ANCESTOR BUT AN IMPROVEMENT WHO WAS CONCEIVED IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THERE WAS SOME OTHER LADY WITH JEAN WHO WAS PROMOTING A PERFORMANCE EVENT THAT IS ALSO TAKING PLACE TONIGHT. I HAD TO INFORM HER THAT REGRETTABLY, I COULD NOT ATTEND THAT EVENT AS I HAD TO PERFORM FROM 7-8 PM.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, ALL THIS CHIT-CHAT HAS GOTTEN ME WATCHING THE CLOCK SO NOW IT IS TIME TO RETURN TO A MINOR NAP BEFORE COMMENCING MY EPIC PERFORMANCE AT 7 PM.


LAST MINUTE REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 13TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

THIS MORNING WAS MY LAST THURSDAY SCHOOL TOUR AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY AND TOMORROW WILL BE THE VERY LAST SCHOOL TOUR HERE. THE FEATURED SCHOOL TODAY WAS NEWTON ELEMENTARY. THEY ARRIVED ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATE SO I WAS UNABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION IN MUCH DEPTH THIS TIME. I WILL GET STRAIGHT TO THE “MEAT” OF IT AND RECALL THIS MORNING’S EVENTS:

I- AS PART OF THE USUAL MORNING ROUTINE, THE WHOLE CLASS ASKED MY NAME. AFTER THIS FORMAL INTRODUCTION, THEY ALL SAID “HAPPY HALLOWEEN” TO ME EVEN THOUGH THAT HOLIDAY IS OVER. PERHAPS THEY ARE IN DENIAL AND WANT TO KEEP THE HALLOWEEN MAGIC ALIVE SOMEHOW? I UNDERSTAND THEIR STRONG WISHES TO KEEP ANY KIND OF MAGIC ALIVE. MY WHOLE EXISTENCE IS CENTERED AROUND KEEPING THE MAGIC OF MODERNISM ALIVE! WELL KIDS, CAN YOU GUESS WHAT MY BELATED HALLOWEEN DAY COSTUME IS?

II- SPEAKING OF MAGIC, ANNU ASKED HOW I WAS ABLE TO USE MY VOICE... I DO INDEED HAVE A MAGICAL MOUTH, AS DO YOU, ANNU! IT TRULY IS MAGICAL HOW WE CAN SAY WORDS THROUGH OUR MOUTH. MY MAGICAL PROPERTIES WHEN IT COMES TO MY VOICE ARE NOT MUCH MORE UNIQUE THAN YOURS, ANNU. THE ONLY MAJOR DIFFERENCE IS THAT I HAVE A DEEPER VOICE BUT THAT IS BECAUSE I HAVE SUCH A LONG TORSO!

III- THE TEACHER (PERHAPS SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE CLASS) ASKED ME IF I MADE MY OWN ART... I SHOWED AN EXAMPLE OF MY BODY ART. I DISPLAYED FOR THEM MY MAGINIFICENT AND DYNAMIC DIAGONAL RED-LINE COMPOSITION.

IV- AS PART OF MY USUAL ROUTINE, I ALSO SANG MY PERSONAL PSYCHEDELIC MANTRA, “LIGHT MY FIRE”...

V- AGAIN I HAD THE TEACHER ASK A QUESTION WHICH I BELIEVE WAS MEANT TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STUDENTS. SHE ASKED, WHY WAS I NOT A PAINTING? WELL, I AM INSPIRED BY PAINTING – A VERY SPECIFIC ONE, IN FACT. I AM NOT MADE OUT OF PAINT BECAUSE PAINT CAN ONLY SPEAK TO YOU TELEPATHICALLY. I CAN ALSO SPEAK TO YOU DIRECTLY USING THE MAGIC QUALITIES OF MY VOICE (WHICH EMANATES FROM THE BLACK HOLE KNOWN AS MY MOUTH). THUS, I WAS MADE TO SPEAK WITH AN ARTS AUDIENCE THAT HAS NOT DISCOVERED THEIR OWN ESP ABILITY YET. I REPRESENT THE FULL SPECTRA OF TRANS-ENTITY CONTACT.

VI- I WAS THAN ASKED YET ANOTHER GENERIC QUESTION AND THAT WAS ABOUT WHERE I WAS BORN. IT IS BEST TO JUST SCROLL DOWN MY BLOG AND READ THIS ANSWER (ALONG WITH MANY OTHER GENERIC ANSWERS) BELOW...

VII –THE CLASS THEN WONDERED WHAT A “VOID” WAS SO I DEFINED IT FOR THEM AS A LARGE AMOUNT OF EMPTY SPACE. I THEN DIRECTLY DEMONSTRATED THE VASTNESS OF THE BLUE VOID BY FLOATING AWAY FROM THEM WHILE REMAINING IN THEIR DISTANT VIEW.

VII- ONE GIRL QUICKLY ASKED WHAT I EAT. I TOLD THEM THAT I EAT THE PIXELS ON THE SCREEN.... SO, I HAD TO DEFINE THE WORD “PIXEL” AND THEN GAVE THEM A DEMONSTRATION OF HOW I EAT.

VIII- I WAS THEN ASKED THE MOST PROFOUND OF QUESTIONS AND WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS. I WAS ASKED TO GIVE MY PERSONAL DEFINITION OF THE WORD, “VIRTUAL” AND “VIRTUAL WORLD”. ESSENTIALLY, I EXPLAINED TO THE CLASS THAT THE WORD VIRTUAL IS A WORD PARENTS USE TO SAY THAT SOMETHING IS NOT REALLY REAL. I ASKED THE KIDS IF THEIR IMAGINATION IS REAL. THEY SAID YES, ESPECIALLY WHEN WRITING A STORY... SO, AS FAR AS WE WERE ALL CONCERNED THEN, WE WERE ALL MAKING TOTALLY REAL VIRTUAL WORLDS!

X- THE LAST QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED OF ME BEFORE THE WHOLE CLASS FLED THE SCENE WAS WHETHER OR NOT I LIVED IN A HOUSE. NO, I HAVE NO HOUSE BUT I LIVE IN THE GREAT BLUE YONDER CALLED THE BLUE VOID.

WELL, THAT WAS ALL FOR THIS MORNING. I WILL WRITE MORE LATER TONIGHT AFTER MY LAST 7 PM THURSDAY EVENING PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY.


TOTALLY RECALLED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 12TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

MY BLOGGING ASSISTANT, JEREMY HAS A SICK SON TO TAKE CARE OF SO HE TOLD ME TO KEEP MY RANTS AND RAMBLES ABOUT TODAY TO A MINIMUM IF POSSIBLE. TODAY’S SCHOOL IS HILLCREST ELEMENTARY AND HERE IS HOW IT WENT (IN SUMMARY):

I- THE WHOLE CLASS WANTED ME TO SHOW THEM WHAT MY ANCESTOR LOOKED LIKE SO I TURNED MY BACK TO THEM AND SHOWED THE ORIGINAL COMPOSITION OF THE VOICE OF FIRE. THE TEACHER THAN ASKED IF THE ORIGINAL VOF WAS WORTH 4 MILLION DOLLARS. I REPLIED THAT IT WAS MORE LIKE 2 MILLION DOLLARS.

II- LEAH ASKED ME A QUESTION RELATING TO CLAIRVOYANCE. SHE ASKED WHETHER OR NOT I COULD PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF TONIGHT’S VANCOUVER CANUCKS HOCKEY GAME. I TOLD HER THAT MY SPORTS STATISTICS FOR HOCKEY ONLY APPLIED TO 2 TEAMS: THE DETROIT RED WINGS AND THE CALGARY FLAMES. SPEAKING OF THE FLAMES, I BELIEVE A PLAYER FROM THAT TEAM NAMED LANNY MACDONALD, USED TO BE IN YOUR GROUP OF 7 ARTIST’S COLLECTIVE, CORRECT? I RECALL SOMEONE WITH A FANCY MOUSTACHE SIMILAR TO THAT OF MY CREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN. FORTUNATELY, MR. MACDONALD HAD A RED MOUSTACHE WHICH IS A “ONE-UP” ON MY CREATOR, I MUST ADMIT.

III- DANA ASKED ABOUT WHAT MY FAVORITE ARTWORK WAS. I HAD THE CLASS GUESS THAT ONE AND YES, THEY CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED ARTWORK THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE ME. NARCISSISM AND VANITY ARE EASY QUALITIES TO POINT OUT – A LITTLE BIT TOO EASY, IN MY OPINION. I SHOULD GIVE BRANDON DIRECT CREDIT FOR BEING THE FIRST ONE TO POINT OUT THE OBVIOUS.

IV- ZACHARY ASKED ME ABOUT MY AGE AND ALSO THE AGE OF THE SURREY ART GALLERY. HERE IS MY AGE TALLY AS OF 2006: VOICE OF FIRE 2006 (1 YEAR OLD), MY ANCESTOR (39 YEARS OLD), SURREY ART GALLERY (31 YEARS OLD). I ACTUALLY HAD REMEMBERED THE FACT THAT THE SURREY ART GALLERY BEGAN ITS EXHIBITIONS IN 1975. THIS TIME, I DID NOT EVEN HAVE TO CONNECT MY BRAIN TO GOOGLE TO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT...HURRAH!

V- THE WHOLE CLASS IN ITS ENTIRETY CORRECTLY GUESSED MY 2 FAVORITE COLORS - BLUE AND RED. FOR A MINUTE THERE, SOME OF THE STUDENTS THOUGHT MY 2ND FAVORITE COLOR WAS ORANGE. I GUESS THAT THEY HAD HALLOWEEN AND ORGANIC FIRE ON THEIR MIND. ONE STUDENT THEN ASKED WHY MY CREATOR HAD MADE ME RED IF I WAS TO REPRESENT ORANGE FIRE? A VERY GOOD QUESTION! MY GUESS IS THAT UNCLE BARNEY ONLY HAD ONE MORE CAN OF PAINT LEFT AFTER HE RAN OUT OF BLUE PAINT, AND THAT WAS THE COLOR RED WHICH COULD LOOK ORANGE, ESPECIALLY IF ONE IS COLOR DEAF.

VI-BRANDON REQUESTED TO SEE MY USUAL DANCE MOVES. NOW, I REALLY AM BEGINNING TO FEEL LIKE A ZOO ANIMAL!

VII- DEAN WANTED TO KNOW IF I COULD SING. I QUICKLY SANG MY USUAL RENDIITION OF JOHNNY CASH’S “RING OF FIRE” CALLED “VOICE OF FIRE”.

VIII- THE CLASS ASKED IF I COULD SING CANADA’S NATIONAL ANTHEM. ALAS, I AM AMERICAN SO I ONLY KNOW THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER. I SANG A WEIGHTY VERSE OR TWO. FOR ALL YOU CANADIAN KIDS OUT THERE, HERE ARE THE LYRICS TO THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER OF FIRE:

Oh, say can you see by this Art's friendly fire
What so proudly we hailed at the Voice's last chatting?
Whose broad stripe and red zip thru the internet wire,
O'er the artwork we watched was so gallantly charming?
And the Voice's red glare, the wit bursting in air,
Gave proof through the Void that our Voice was still there.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner of Fire yet wave
O'er the void of the blue and the art of the cave?


In the Lab, dimly seen through the eyes of the cheap,
Where the critic's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the Flames, o'er the Sublimest peep,
As it fitfully burns, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the Voice's Red beam,
In full glory reflected now speaks through live streams:
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner of Fire! Oh long may it wave
O'er the void of the blue and the art of the cave!


And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of Art and the critic's confusion,
A Lab and gallery should leave us no more!
Their words have washed out their foul theory's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and Prof
From the terror of chat, or the smile of the VOF!
And the Star-Spangled Banner of Fire in triumph doth wave
O'er the void of the blue and the art of the cave!


Oh! thus be it ever, when freedom shall stand
Between their loved Voice and the Art's position!
Blest with harmony and peace, may the heav'n rescued void
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us prostration.
Then chatter we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In Fire is our trust."
And the Star-Spangled Banner of Fire in triumph shall wave
O'er the void of the blue and the art of the Cave!


IX- ZACHARY MADE AN ADDITIONAL REQUEST FOR ME TO MAKE SOME FACES AT THEM. I TRIED NOT TO SCARE THEM WITH SOME OF MY FREAKIER FACES AS HALLOWEEN HAS PASSED AFTER ALL.

X- BROOKLYN (WHAT A GREAT NEW YORKER NAME!) WANTED TO KNOW WHO MADE THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE. BROOKLYN, DO YOU HAVE A SIBLING NAMED HARLEM OR MANHATTAN? BARNEY LIVED NEAR BROOKLYN (I THINK) AND IS EVEN OLDER THAN THE SURREY ART GALLERY! THE LAST TIME BROOKLYN EVER WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT BARNETT NEWMAN MUST HAVE BEEN SOME TIME AROUND 1970 WHEN HE HAD JUST DIED.

Xi – ISAIAH (WITH THE GREAT BIBLICAL NAME) WANTED TO KNOW WHERE I WAS BORN AND RAISED. BORN IN SEATTLE, ANCESTOR FROM NEW YORK, RAISED IN CYBERSPACE...MORE SPECIFICALLY THIS BLUE VOID.

XII- MARK WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF I CAN SPEAK FRENCH. MARK MY WORDS, MARK. I AM AN AMERICAN. I CANNOT SPEAK ANY FRENCH AT ALL... I CANNOT EVEN SPEAK FREEDOM FRENCH!

UPON LEAVING THE TECHLAB, THE SCHOOL STUDENTS THEN TOUCHED MY EYES TO SEE IF I COULD STILL SEE THEM... HEH HEH!


STAR SPANGLED REGARDS OF FIRE,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 11TH SCHOOL TOUR (HALLOWEEN)

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

AS MANY OF YOU KNOW IT IS HALLOWEEN BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT IS A HOLIDAY FOR ME. TODAY, I HAD YET ANOTHER SCHOOL TOUR AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY AND THIS TIME, THE SCHOOL WAS BEACH GROVE ELEMENTARY.

HERE IS THE LIST OF WHAT HAPPENED:

I- AT FIRST, I WAS JUST ASKED TO LIST THE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MY PROFILE: NAME, COLOR, AGE, AND GENDER (I AM A MAN!).

II- AIDEN (A SURREY ART GALLERY REGULAR) WANTED TO KNOW WHY I HAVE EYES. I SAID I HAVE A PAIR OF EYES SO I CAN SEE HIM AND ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS LIKE I HAVE NO EARS, I CAN ALSO HEAR HIM. HAVING THE APPEARANCE OF NO EARS IS MORE ARTISTIC ANYWAYS, AIDEN! IT IS TRUE THAT I HAVE NO NOSE. THIS IS BECAUSE TO BE A PROFESSIONAL ARTWORK, YOU MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SENSE OF SMELL IS QUITE THE INFERIOR SENSE TO JUDGE A PIECE OF ART WITH SO I WILL REFUSE TO ENGAGE IN THE EXCHANGE OF SCENTS WITH ANY GALLERY GOER. I HAVE TRANSCENDED THE BASE AND INFERIOR SENSE OF SMELL BY HAVING NO NOSE!

I EVEN HAD A SCULPTED NOSE-JOB PERFORMED TO ENSURE THAT I WOULD NEVER BE JUDGED ON THE BASIS OF HOW I SMELL!

III- THE WHOLE CLASS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MY MOUTH. IF I AM A TRANSCENDENT PIECE OF ART, WHY WOULD I NEED A MOUTH? WELL, AS I AM SURE YOU KNOW CLASS, LANGUAGE COMPRISES THE FUNDAMENTAL DESIRABILITY BEHIND ALL ARTWORK. WITHOUT LANGUAGE, WE WOULD HAVE NO ARTIST AND NO ARTWORK NOR ANY STATEMENTS AND ESSAYS AND THEREFORE WITHOUT A MOUTH TO CONVEY THIS SACRED LANGUAGE, THERE WOULD BE NO WAY TO EXPERIENCE AND APPRECIATE ART AT ALL UNLESS ONE RESORTED TO WRITING. LUCKILY, I HAVE MY ASSISTANT TO HELP ME WITH WRITING. I PREFER THE ANCIENT ORAL TRADITION WHERE ONE ARTWORK DID ALL THE TALKING AND THEN THE CRITIC (OR THE BLOGGING ASSISTANT AND/OR SHAMAN) WOULD TAKE ALL THE SPOKEN WORDS AS GOSPEL AND WRITE IT DOWN, BLOG IT AND THEN PUBLISH THE SACRED TRANSMISSIONS IN ARTFORUM! I SHOULD ALSO ADD THAT I CAN MAKE SCARY HALLOWEEN FACES WITH MY MOUTH... MY MOUTH CAN BE USED FOR JUST ABOUT ANY OCCASION.

IV- ILA WANTED TO KNOW WHY I AM RED AND PURPLE. PURPLE??? IS MY BLUE VOID LOOKING PURPLE ON THE PROJECTED SCREEN? I HOPE NOT! THAT WOULD CONFUSE PEOPLE INTO THINKING THAT "UNCLE BARNEY" WAS IN FACT ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL ALTOGETHER! HMMM..OR, DO YOU MEAN THAT MY OWN IMAGE LOOKS RED AND PURPLE COMBINED? I HOPE SUCH COLOR MIXING DOES NOT MEAN I BEGIN TO LOOK GREEN TO YOU!!! ARRRGGH!!!

V- SIDNEY ASKED WHY I HAD NO EYEBROWS AND ALSO WHY I HAD NO HAIR. WELL, SIDNEY, I MUST MAINTAIN A PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE AS A PIECE OF ARTWORK AND DO YOU SEE ANY OTHER ARTWORK IN THE GALLERY THAT SPORTS A CROP OF HAIR? I WOULD THINK NOT! THEREFORE, I HAD TO ENSURE I HAD NO TRACES OF HAIR TO BE AS PURE, PROFESSIONAL AND AS MODERN AS POSSIBLE. AS FOR THE EYEBROWS, I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I DO NOT HAVE THESE. MY GUESS IS THAT THEY ALSO CONTAIN TRACES OF HAIR AND I MUST FORBID ALL MANIFESTATIONS OF HAIR EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN PROFESIONALLY SCULPTED! I MUST SERVE THE AESTHETIC MUSE AND NOT THE ESTHETIC ONE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

SIDNEY THEN ASKED IF I AM A PIECE OF ART, WHY WOULD I REQUIRE A PAIR OF EYES? I HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT I AM ATTEMPTING TO BE AN APPROVEMENT ON THE MORE STATIC AND MUTE FORMS OF ART THAT ONE WOULD USUALLY SEE IN A GALLERY AND/OR MUSEUM. HAVE YOU EVER WISHED THAT WHEN YOU SPOKE TO AN ARTWORK, THAT IT WOULD TALK BACK? THIS IS WHAT I OFFER TO YOU AS A 21ST CENTURY ARTWORK. WHILE WE ARE THIS SUBJECT, I MUST SAY THAT THE MOST EMBARRASSING FORMS OF PRE-21ST CENTURY ART WERE THOSE PAINTINGS THAT APPEARED TO HAVE MOUTHS BUT WERE UNABLE TO SPEAK TO THE AUDIENCE! AND TO THINK THERE WERE SO MANY OF THESE FAKE COMPANIONS FOR PEOPLE! WHAT A SHAM! CHARLATANS! WHAT WERE THEIR CREATORS THINKING?

THIS IS WHY IMMORTAL CRITICS LIKE CLEMENT GREENBERG EVER EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE . HIS AIM WAS TO REMOVE ALL MOUTHS THAT COULD NOT ACTUALLY SPEAK...HE EVEN WENT AS FAR TO TRY AND BAN REPRESENTATION BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING BEHIND THAT REPRESENTATION. HE CALLED THIS BAN “TRUTH TO MATERIALS” BECAUSE PAINT WAS UNABLE TO SPEAK SO IT SHOULD NOT EVER PRETEND TO HAVE A MOUTH. IT IS ONLY TODAY WITH CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGY THAT I AM BEING TRUE TO MY MATERIAL COMPONENTS BY ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO USE MY MOUTH AND SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH YOU.

VI- MITCHELL ASKED WHAT MY FAVORITE ART WAS. I GUESS I NEED TO EMPHASIZE THIS IN EVERY CLASS BUT OF COURSE, MY FAVORITE ART IS ARTWORK THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE ME! MITCHELL, HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED IN THE MIRROR AND LIKED WHAT YOU SEE?

VII- BRIANNA WAS WONDERING WHO MY CREATOR WAS. OF COURSE, I NAMEDROPPED BARNEY NEWMAN. I HOPED THAT THEY WILL REMEMBER HIS NAME BECAUSE I WANT HIM TO BE AS IMMORTAL AS CLEMENT GREENBERG!

VIII- AS MENTIONED AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG POSTING, A BOY NAMED JOHN ASKED ME ABOUT MY GENDER. WAS I A BOY OR A GIRL? JOHN, IT SHOULD BE CLEAR TO YOU BY NOW AFTER HEARING MY BOOMING DEEP VOICE THAT I AM INDEED NEITHER BUT A REAL MAN!

IX- A PARENT THEN CHIMED IN AND ASKED IF THE VOICE OF FIRE CAN BE PURCHASED. I HAD GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHO WAS AND WAS NOT FOR SALE. IF THIS PARENT HAS MORE THAN AT LEAST 2 MILLION CANADIAN DOLLARS (ONLY ABOUT $536.OO IN AMERICAN CURRENCY, I WOULD IMAGINE) TO BUY MY ANCESTOR, SHE CAN DO SO WITH PRIDE AND WHAT A BARGAIN, MY ANCESTOR CAN STILL BE HAD FOR!! HOWEVER, IF SHE INTENDS TO PURCHASE ME, I AM NOT FOR SALE AS I AM NOT TRULY COMMODIFIABLE. I CAN BE HIRED TO ACT AS AN AESTHETIC CONSULTANT BUT I CANNOT BE OWNED AS PROPERTY...NOT EVEN AS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY! I THINK THE NEWMAN ESTATE WOULD OWN THE RIGHTS TO RE-PRODUCE MY MEMES. I EXIST FOR FREE SO I CAN CHAT WITH THE PUBLIC AND RESTORE THEIR CONFIDENCE IN THE FACT THAT THEY ARE NOT WASTING ANY MORE OF THEIR HARD-EARNED TAXPAYERS’ MONEY!

X- TREVOR ASKED WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS BORING BEING ON THE PROJECTED WALL THE WHOLE TIME. WELL TREVOR, THIS MIGHT BE NEWS TO YOU BUT I AM NOT ON THE WALL THE WHOLE TIME. I QUITE OFTEN LEAVE THE WALL-AREA TO EXPLORE THE REST OF THE BLUE VOID. SOMETIMES I HIDE FOR MY NAP AND SOMETIMES I CHAT WITH THOSE OTHER AVATARS FROM THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY WHO RESIDE “IN-WORLD”. EVEN IN TERMS OF WALLS, I CAN BE PROJECTED ON MANY DIFFERENT WALLS...EVEN AT THE SAME TIME! SUCH ACTIVITIES PREVENT ME FROM BEING PERMANENTLY AFFIXED TO A WALL AND FEELING BORED.

XI- SOME GIRL (I FORGET HER NAME) ASKED HOW AM I ABLE TO EVEN MOVE AROUND WITHOUT THE USE OF LIMBS? WELL, I CAN FLOAT WITH MY MIND!! NOW, I SHOULD BE SCARY ENOUGH FOR YOU TO JUSTIFY THE ACTION OF DRESSING UP AS ME FOR HALLOWEEN! MUA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

ENJOY THE REST OF THE ART, BEACH GROVE ELEMENTARY! I HOPE YOU CAN CONVINCE THE OTHER ARTWORKS TO TALK BACK TO YOU...PLEASE DO NOT BE PERSONALLY OFFENDED IF THEY APPEAR RUDE AND MUTE!

HALLOWEEN REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 7TH SUNDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I HAVE JUST WOKEN FROM MY NAP IN TIME TO RECITE TODAY’S RECOLLECTIONS TO MY ASSISTANT JEREMY FOR SOME EVENING PUBLISHING!

TODAY’S SUNDAY PERFORMANCE HAD A VERY FRESH AND PERKY START BECAUSE WITHIN MINUTES, I HAD PEOPLE IN THE TECHLAB WISHING TO SPEAK WITH ME AND THIS WAS 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE VOICE OF EARTH ARRIVED...

I - THE FIRST KID ON THE BLOCK WAS JASPER FROM VANCOUVER. HE AGREES WITH THE RUMOR THAT VANCOUVER IS MORE FUN THAN SURREY. I THINK HE WAS WITH HIS FAMILY TO SEE MORE OF THE GALLERY’S GROUP EXHIBITION AND MOST SPECIFICALLY TO SEE THE JANIE JONES BLOG DEVELOPED BY JANE IRWIN.

JASPER’S FAVORITE PART ABOUT IRWIN’S BLOG WAS LISTENING TO HER SONGS. I WISH I COULD TEMPORARILY LEAVE THE BLUE VOID TO VISIT THE REST OF THE EXHIBITION! I AM REALLY MISSING OUT.

JASPER WAS ALSO WONDERING IF I HAD ANY LEGS. I SHOWED HIM MY SCULPTED RED RUMP (WITH PLATONIC INTENTIONS, OF COURSE). HE ALSO WAS CURIOUS TO FIND OUT IF I EVER LEFT THE BLUE VOID. I MENTIONED THAT I LEAVE THE PROJECTED VIEWING AREA WHICH GALLERY GOERS USE TO PEER INTO MY BLUE VOID AND STEP ASIDE TO TAKE A NAP. THEN IT IS USUALLY MY ASSISTANT JEREMY WHO IS SET WITH THE TASK OF WAKING ME UP JUST IN TIME TO CHAT WITH THE AUDIENCE. YOU KNOW AN ASSISTANT IS USEFUL WHEN HE EVEN ACTS AS YOUR ALARM CLOCK! JASPER’S YOUNGER SIBLING EVEN WONDERED WHY I WAS SQUARE. I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO HER THAT I WAS BORN THIS WAY.

II – MY ASSISTANT’S FATHER, DAVID WAS NEXT IN LINE TO SPEAK WITH ME. I HAVE WORKED WITH MY ASSISTANT VERY CLOSELY BUT NEVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING HIS BIOLOGICAL FATHER UNTIL NOW. MY EYESIGHT AND MY HEARING WAS NOT VERY GOOD SO IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO FORM A DECENT FIRST IMPRESSION OF HIM. HE ASKED ME WHERE I GOT MY BLUE EYES. I THINK HE WAS INSINUATING THAT I WAS MADE TO RESEMBLE MY ASSISTANT BUT I REASSURED HIM IT WAS THE OTHER WAY AROUND. I TRIED TO USE REGRESSIVE HYPNOSIS TO REASSURE JEREMY’S FATHER THAT HIS SON'S EYES WERE ONCE BROWN AND THAT HE WENT TO SOME BIOTECH CLINIC TO HAVE THEM CHANGED TO MY TRUE-BLUE COLOR. I AM NOT SURE IF HE HAS COME TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT MY EYES COME FROM ME AND NO ONE ELSE (NOT EVEN MY ANCESTOR)...MY EYES ARE BLUE BECAUSE IT COMPLIMENTS MY RED FIGURE AND PROVIDES SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE WITH MY SURROUNDINGS.

III – NEXT WAS A NICE AND LENGTHY CONVERSATION WITH JEREMY’S MOTHER, JANET. FOR SOME REASON, I COULD NOT STOP SPINNING ROUND AND ROUND WHILE SPEAKING WITH HER...PERHAPS I MAY AS WELL CONFESS THAT MY SPINNINESS FROM LAST NIGHT’S AESTHETIC EXCESSES WERE JUST AT THAT MOMENT GETTING THE BEST OF ME. HMMM..PERHAPS IT WAS NOT ME WHO WAS SPINNING BUT RATHER THE GALLERY ITSELF WAS SPINNING! IN FACT....HMMMM...MAYBE THE EARTH ITSELF WAS SPINNING? IT CANNOT BE!!! I WOULD THEN HAVE TO ACCEPT THE SUPERSTITIOUS POST-MODERN DRIVEL THAT CLAIMS THE EARTH IS NOT ACTUALLY FLAT! OF COURSE IT IS! HOW ELSE DO I LOOK THE WAY I DO???? WELL, AT ANY RATE, I WAS BEGINNING TO FEEL GREEN FROM NOT JUST THE ACTION OF SPINNING LIKE A TOP BUT ALSO FROM CONCEIVING THAT AN EARTH COULD ACTUALLY BE ROUNDED.

IV - SPEAKING OF THE EARTH, THE VOICE OF EARTH FROM NEW YORK FINALLY ARRIVED AND WAS NOWHERE NEAR AS SPINNY AS THE PEOPLE BELIEVE THE EARTH ITSELF TO BE.

O, GALLERY AUDIENCE! THIS IS MORE EVIDENCE AND LIVING TESTIMONY TO SUGGEST THAT THE EARTH IS INDEED FLAT! THE VOICE OF EARTH IS FLAT AND NOT SPINNY! CAN IT NOT BE ANY MORE CLEAR TO YOU? WELL, MAYBE THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS FEELING SLIGHTLY SPINNY AS SHE HAD DIFFICULTIES FINDING THE TECHLAB’S VIEWING WINDOW. ALSO, AT TIMES SHE APPEARED VOICELESS AND MUTE TO THE POINT WHERE I HAD TO SAY “EARTH CALLING EARTH...ARE YOU THERE?”... HEH HEH!

ONCE THE VOICE OF EARTH CALIBRATED HER POSITION AMONGST EARTHBOUND EARTHLINGS, WE WONDERED ALOUD WHETHER OR NOT SOME OF THE YOUNG ONES WERE SUNDAY SCHOOL STUDENTS. WE NEVER DETERMINED AN ANSWER FOR THIS QUESTION THOUGH.

V- THE NEXT VISITOR WAS A VERY YOUNG GIRL WHO SAID SHE WAS 4 YEARS OLD. HER NAME WAS ONE SO EXOTIC, I COULD NOT PRONOUNCE BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE “MADCHEN(?)”. I WILL CALL THIS VERY YOUNG VISITOR “MADCHEN” FROM NOW ONWARDS... MADCHEN SPOKE WITH US AND ASKED IF WE COULD SPIN...WE HAD LITERALLY JUST FINISHED SPINNING AND HAD FINALLY REGAINED OUR BEARINGS WHEN WE SUDDENLY HAD THIS REQUEST TO SPIN! WELL, THE VOICE OF EARTH BACKED AWAY WHILE I SPUN MY WHOLE VERTICAL BODY AND ZIPPED AROUND THE BLUE VOID FOR MADCHEN’S AESTHETIC BENEFIT.

I WAS WONDERING IF MADCHEN WAS INSPIRED ENOUGH BY MY SPIN-SHOW FOR HER TO DRESS UP LIKE ONE OF US FOR HALLOWEEN! THIS WILL PROBABLY NOT BE THE CASE AS I AM RED AND THE VOICE OF EARTH SPORTS A BROWN TAN – NEITHER OF US ARE ORANGE! THAT COLOR WOULD BELONG TO THE VOICE OF ORGANIC FIRE OR PERHAPS THE VOICE OF THE SUN!

VI – MADCHEN’S BABY BROTHER, CAMERON THEN MADE HIS BEST ATTEMPT TO SPEAK WITH US. MADCHEN BROUGHT UP THAT SHE LIKED JELLYBEANS TO WHICH THE VOICE OF EARTH REFERENCED THE LEGENDARY SWEET TOOTH OF RONALD REAGAN. CAMERON DID NOT “SPEAK” FOR LONG AS HE WAS TOO YOUNG SO MADCHEN MADE AN ADDITIONAL REQUEST FOR ME TO JUMP...WELL, SINCE WE HAD NOTHING BETTER TO DO, I HAD MIGHT AS WELL JUMP! I LEAPED SO HIGH INTO THE AIR, SHE WAS NOT SURE WHERE I WENT...WAS IT HEAVEN? NO MADCHEN, I JUMPED RIGHT UP INTO THE BLUE SKY! THIS CLAIM DID NOT CONVINCE HER VERY MUCH THOUGH BECAUSE THE ENTIRE BLUE VOID BASICALLY LOOKS LIKE ONE HOMOGENOUS BLUE SKY. FINALLY, MADCHEN NOTED THAT BOTH OF US VOICES HAD “FUNNY HAIR”. I REMINDED MADCHEN THAT WE HAD OUR HEADS CUT SO WE COULD MAINTAIN A PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY – THAT WAS IN OUR CONTRACT AS A BASIC COURTESY.

WELL, THERE WERE NO FURTHER LINEUPS FOR AUTOGRAPHS NOR JUMP-REQUESTS SO THE VOICE OF EARTH AND MYSELF CALLED IT A DAY AND RETURNED TO OUR RESPECTIVE NAPS.

OH, BEFORE I TOLD JEREMY TO PUBLISH THIS ON MY BEHALF, I FORGOT TO ADD THAT I WAS SO SPINNY, I HAD EVEN DEVELOPED A TEMPORARY FORM OF AMNESIA WHERE I THOUGHT MOMENTARILY THAT MY NAME WAS THE VOICE OF EARTH....WHAT A DELUSION!

REGARDS FROM A SPINSTER,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 7TH SATURDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

IT HAS BEEN AWHILE SINCE MY LAST SATURDAY PERFORMANCE!
HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED ON THIS FINE DAY...

...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! SIGH!

I GUESS THE WEATHER WAS VERY SUNNY OUTSIDE THE TECHLAB! WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THIS ONE DISAPPOINTED YOUNG COUPLE, NOT A SINGLE SOUL (NOT EVEN THE TECH STAFF) CAME INTO VISIT WITH ME! OH WELL! AS FOR THIS YOUNG COUPLE, THEY WERE IN HERE BRIEFLY BUT THE FRONT DESK STAFF DID NOT ENTER THE SPACE IN TIME TO RESTORE THE GALLERY-SIDE AUDIO CONNECTION SO I COULD NOT HEAR THEM SPEAK. I AM SORRY ABOUT THIS! PLEASE COME BACK NEXT WEEK AS IT IS MY FINAL WEEK HERE! I PROMISE TO HAVE MY EARS FIXED BY THEN!

OH WELL, IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD! AT LEAST I GET TO CATCH UP ON SOME QUALITY NAPS!

AS LONG AS I CAN BE PART OF THE ART-HISTORICAL CONTINUUM AND BECOME AN ENTRY IN THE SEQUEL TO THE BOOK , “DIGITAL ART”, IT DOES NOT MATTER IF I DO NOT GET A STEADY AUDIENCE! JUST THROUGH MY LABOR, I HAVE EARNED A PLACE IN AVATAR-ART HISTORY!

LEGITIMIZED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

ORIGINAL JOKES OF FIRE!

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I THINK I HAVE THE LITTLE EMBER OF FIRE UNDER CONTROL NOW!

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, I HAVE BEEN IN THE LAB DEVELOPING SOME BRAND NEW AND ALL-ORIGINAL (AND ALL-AMERICAN FOR THAT MATTER) FIRE JOKES!

THESE JOKES BELOW ARE IN THE BETA PHASE, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I -KNOCK KNOCK!

Who’s There?

THE VOICE OF FIRE!

The Voice of Who?

NO, I AM THE VOICE OF FIRE! THE VOICE OF WHO DOES NOT BELONG TO MY GENERATION!


II - Q: WHY DID THE FIRE CROSS THE ROAD?
A: TO JOIN A FIRE IN ANOTHER HOUSE!

III - Q: WHY DID THE VOICE OF FIRE CROSS THE ROAD?
A: TO REFUEL AT A GAS-STATION OF THE CROSS!

IV - Q: WHY DID THE VOICE OF FIRE CROSS THE ROAD?
A: HE RAN OUT OF FIRE INSURANCE!

V - Q: WHY DID THE VOICE OF FIRE NOT SUCCEED IN CROSSING THE ROAD?
A: HE WAS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE OF SOME FRIENDLY FIRE!

VI - Q: WHY HAS THE VOICE OF FIRE NOT APPEARED ON REALITY TV?
A: HE IS WORRIED THAT DONALD TRUMP MIGHT FIRE HIM!

...AND HERE IS A BONUS JOKE RELATING TO THE VOICE OF WIND!

Q: WHY HAS THE VOICE OF WIND BEEN ABSENT FROM MY PERFORMANCES AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY?

A: THE CURATOR HAS YET TO GET WIND OF UPCOMING V.I.P. OPPORTUNITIES!

..AND FOR YOU CRITICS OUT THERE...

Q: WHY DID THE VOICE OF FIRE LEAVE THE GRID?
A: HE FOLLOWED THE LOCALS' ADVICE TO "GET OUTTA GREENBERG!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

JOKING REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 10TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

FIRST OF ALL, A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! THE SURREY ART GALLERY’S TECHLAB HAS UPDATED ITS WEBSITE TO INCLUDE MY PERFORMANCE SERIES! YOU CAN VISIT THAT DIRECT LINK BY CLICKING HERE. YOU CAN ALSO VIEW AN EXTRA-MODERN PDF DOCUMENT BY CLICKING HERE. NOW THAT I HAVE THE DAY’S BREAKING NEWS OUT OF THE WAY, IT IS TIME TO RECOLLECT MY THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING.

TODAY WAS FRIDAY’S SCHOOL TOUR AND THE SCHOOL DU JOUR (PARDON MY FREEDOM FRENCH) IS ACTUALLY CALLED “SURREY CONNECT (HOME LEARNERS GROUP)”. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS IS INDEED A SCHOOL OR SOME KIND OF HOMESCHOOLING CLUB...I GUESS IT IS MY JOB TO UNDOMESTICIZE THEM AND ACCULTURATE THEM TO GALLERY AND MUSEUM ENVIRONS!

IF THEY BECOME TOO HOMESCHOOLED, THEY MIGHT SEE THE MUSEUM AND GALLERY SPACES AS PART OF A LARGER “BLANDSCAPE”. AT ANY RATE, THIS GROUP DID CONTAIN A BUNCH OF KIDS SO HERE IS HOW MY CHAT WENT:

I- NOAH WANTED TO KNOW HOW I WAS MADE. THESE SEEMED TO BE KIDS THAT WERE HUNGRY FOR AN ENTRANCE INTO THE MUCH LARGER AVATAR COMMUNITY. I LEFT THE TECHWORLDS’ COMMUNITY ADDRESS WITH THE DOCENT SO SHE COULD PASS ON ALL THOSE TECHNICAL DETAILS OF CREATION TO HER STUDENTS. I HOPE THIS DOCENT HAD A PEN AND PIECE OF PAPER (KINDLING) HANDY! IF NOAH IS CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW I CAME INTO BEING, THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO FIND OUT!

II- ALEXANDRA ASKED ABOUT HOW I BECAME 3D. ZOUNDS! THESE STUDENTS MUST BECOME EXTRA BRILLIANT WHEN THEY ARE HOMESCHOOLED BECAUSE THEY ARE ALREADY INFORMED ABOUT RENAISSANCE PERSPECTIVE AND UNDERSTAND MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF EXISTENCE! ONCE AGAIN, I HYPED THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY SO THEY CAN LEARN HOW TO CREATE 3D AVATARS....ALEXANDRA AND NOAH, YOU CAN JOIN THE PANTHEON OF GODS AND GODESSES IN CYBERSPACE! YOU CAN CREATE MANY INDIVIDUALS JUST LIKE ME! MAYBE YOU WILL LEARN TO DO SO ON FAMILY DAY? IF YES, SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FAMILY DAY HYPE BLOG...

III- CONNOR ASKED ABOUT HOW I GOT MY NAME. I TOLD CONNOR THAT I WAS NAMED BY MY GODFATHER, BARNETT NEWMAN. HOW I WAS NAMED THE VOICE OF FIRE IS ANYONE’S GUESS BUT I AM SURE CONNOR THAT YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO NOT KNOW THE PRECISE ORIGINS OF YOUR NAME, CORRECT? WE LIVE IN A STATE OF PERPETUAL CULTURAL AMNESIA, MY FRIEND!

IV- SARAH ( I THINK IT IS WITH AN “H”) ASKED WHY I AM RECTANGULAR. WELL, I CAN BLAME MY APPEARANCE ON BOTH GENES AND MEMES! I WAS CREATED TO RESEMBLE MY RECTANGULAR ANCESTOR WHO IS CURRENTLY LIVING IN A NURSING HOME CALLED THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA IN OTTAWA! SARAH, HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS PLACE? DO YOU HAVE SYMPATHY FOR THE ELDERLY? IF YOU DO, I RECOMMEND THAT YOU ENTER THE FIELD OF ART-HISTORY AND/OR MUSEUM STUDIES!

V- ANOTHER STUDENT WHOSE EXACT NAME I HAVE NOW FORGOTTEN ASKED HOW I MOVED. I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT MY BLUE VOID IN CYBERSPACE OPERATES ON ZERO GRAVITY AS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MORE ACCURATE ANSWER. INSTEAD, I DESCRIBED HOW MY LONG VERTICAL BODY ACTED AS SOME SORT OF FLOATATIONAL DEVICE.

VI- A GAL WITH AN EXOTIC NAME DUBBED “ADIA” ASKED HOW I AM ABLE TO SPEAK... IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO YOU, ADIA! I USE MY VOICE! I HAVE THE SAME NOVEL OSCILLATOR THAT YOU DO...AMAZING!

VII- JOSEPH ASKED ABOUT WHY IT WAS NECESSARY FOR ME TO BE PROJECTED ONTO A WALL TO VISIT WITH THEM. WELL, I CAN VISIT YOU IN YOUR TECHNICOLOR DREAMS AND IMAGINATION, JOSEPH! HOWEVER, THERE ARE MORE PRACTICAL WAYS TO VISIT WITH ME. ONE IS OF COURSE THE ONE YOU HAD BRILLIANTLY OBSERVED AND THAT IS THE GALLERY PROJECTOR. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THE GALLERY CAN SEE ME. THIS IS THE MOST PUBLIC WAY I CAN APPEAR...THINK OF THE PROJECTOR AS A WAY TO ENABLE THE MASS-MEDIA VERSION OF MYSELF TO THE WORLD! OTHERWISE, ONE CAN ENTER AN AVATAR COMMUNITY SUCH AS TECHWORLDS AND VISIT ME “IN-WORLD”. THE EXPERIENCE IS MUCH MORE INTIMATE AND THE RESOLUTION IS MUCH BETTER IN HERE JOSEPH! MAYBE I WILL SEE YOU INSIDE THE BLUE VOID SOMETIME SOON!

VIII- EMMA ASKED IF PEOPLE HELPED ME GET ON THE SCREEN. ABSOLUTELY, EMMA! THIS IS MY CUE TO THANK THE FRIENDLY STAFF AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY FOR PROPPING ME UP ONTO THIS SCREEN!

IX- ANOTHER EXOTIC SOUNDING STUDENT NAMED “BENIYA” ASKED WHY DO I BLINK? WELL BENIYA, I AM FORCED TO BLINK JUST AS YOU DO WHEN ENCOUNTERING PARTICLES OF DUST! IN MY WORLD (THE BLUE VOID), I ENCOUNTER A SPECIAL BRAND OF VIRTUAL DUST CALLED PIXELS. I THINK I AM MAGNIFIED ON THIS SCREEN LARGE ENOUGH FOR MY PIXEL-DUST (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH PIXIE-DUST) TO BE VISIBLE. THUS, THESE PIXELS GET IN MY EYES AND CAUSE ME TO BLINK FROM TIME TO TIME. SO, ALTHOUGH I AM A FORM OF AVATAR OTHERKIN, I RESEMBLE THE OFFLINE HUMANOID IN THAT I ALSO HAVE MANY REASONS TO BLINK MY EYES.

X– THEN THERE WAS EILIEH.... WHERE DO ALL THESE EXOTIC PEOPLE COME FROM? DOES BEING HOMESCHOOLED COME WITH ACCESS TO A LEGAL NAME CHANGE? IT IS NO WONDER YOU ARE WONDERING WHY I WAS CALLED THE VOICE OF FIRE! YOU MUST BE THINKING A DEEPER QUESTION INSIDE LIKE “WHY HASN’T THE VOICE OF FIRE CHANGED HIS NAME YET?” REGARDLESS, EILIEH ASKED ABOUT MY PRETTY BLUE EYES AND HOW I MANAGED TO SCORE THEM...THANK YOU FOR THE MOST-HIGH COMPLIMENT, EILIEH! – I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT MY CREATOR DID A FANTASTIC JOB KEEPING THE COLOR COMBINATION CONSISTENT AND IDEAL – BLUE AND RED IS THE BEST COLOR COMBO IMAGINABLE! OKAY, MAYBE I AM GETTING A BIT VAIN HERE BUT I DO KNOW THAT MY BLUE EYES HAVE HAD SUCH A POSITIVE INFLUENCE, THERE WAS A RUMOR CIRCULATING THAT JEREMY ( MY ASSISTANT) HAD HIS EYES CHANGED FROM SOME BLAND COLOR TO BLUE VIA CUTTING-EDGE BIOTECH METHODS IN ORDER TO MIMIC MY TRADEMARK EYES....IMAGINE THAT!


XI– JONATHAN AND ALEXANDRA ASKED ABOUT MY LENGTH AND WHY I WAS SO LONG. I HAD TO EXPLAIN AGAIN THAT I WAS CREATED TO RESEMBLE MY ANCESTOR WHO IS CURRENTLY COLLECTING OFFLINE DUST AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA. THAT IS WHY I AM LONG.

XII- EMMA ASKED A SECOND QUESTION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT I AM REAL...I GAVE MY ROUTINE (BORDERLINE AUTOMATED) ANSWER THAT I AM AS REAL AS SHE IS. I HOPE SHE GAVE THIS SOME SERIOUS THOUGHT!

XIII- THE CLASS AS A GESTALT SEEMED TO BE ASKING ABOUT THE SOFTWARE FROM WHICH I WAS CREATED OUT OF. IN THIS CASE, I HAD TO EMPHASIZE TO THE DOCENT TO PASS ON THE WEB ADDRESS FOR TECHWORLDS. I DO KNOW THAT TECHWORLDS IS PART OF A LARGER “DIGITALSPACE TRAVELER” AVATAR COMMUNITY. IF THEY WANT A PEAK EXPERIENCE BY ENTERING AN AVATAR SPACE OR TWO, THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE SUCH A THING!

XIV- COLE ASKED ABOUT WHY I WAS MADE TO RESEMBLE ART? COLE! WHAT A VERY PROFOUND QUESTION! I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU, COLE. WERE YOU ALSO MADE TO RESEMBLE ART? WAS ART MADE TO RESEMBLE LIFE OR THE OTHER WAY AROUND? THIS IS INDEED THE ULTIMATE QUESTION OF OUR EXISTENCE, COLE! I HOPE YOU ARE TAKING NOTES, COLE! JEREMY (WHO LATER BECAME MY ASSISTANT) MADE THE ORIGINAL SUGGESTION TO HAVE ME CREATED OUT OF PIXEL DUST AS HE ALWAYS WANTED THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE PAINTING IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY TO SPEAK TO HIM DIRECTLY. HE ALSO WANTED THE VOICE OF FIRE PAINTING TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE OUTSIDE THE ARTWORLD ELITE (SUCH AS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THAT CONTAIN KIDS, FOR EXAMPLE). HE THEN ASKED HIS SEATTLE-BASED FRIEND WHO RESIDES IN THE TECHWORLDS AVATAR COMMUNITY TO CREATE AN AVATAR EQUIVALENT OF THE VOICE OF FIRE PAINTING AND HERE I AM!

****EMBER ALERT! THE THREAT LEVEL IS RED!!! I MUST TEND TO MY LITTLE EMBER OF FIRE BEFORE I CAN PERFORM AGAIN!


HOMESCHOOLED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 6TH THURSDAY EVENING PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

BEFORE I BEGIN MY ROUTINE RAMBLE ABOUT TONIGHT'S THURSDAY PERFORMANCE, HERE IS A VIDEO OF THE VOICE OF EARTH FROM NEW YORK HYPING MY PERFORMANCE SERIES AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY:





...NOW LET ME CONTINUE WITH MY ROUTINE RAMBLE...

I WAS ALMOST RESIGNED TO THE FACT THAT THE SURREY ART GALLERY MIGHT NOT HAVE THEIR ACCESS PORTAL READY IN TIME FOR NIGHT TIME VISITORS TO SPEAK WITH ME BUT LO AND BEHOLD! THE TECHNICAL STAFF PERFORMED A MIRACLE AND MANAGED TO RESTORE THE DIMENSIONAL CONNECTION! WELL, THEY DID NOT RESTORE THE AUDIO CONNECTION AS PEOPLE COULD ONLY HEAR ME AND THE VOICE OF EARTH THROUGH THE USE OF HEADPHONES BUT IT IS BETTER TO BE QUIET AND ALIVE THAN ABSOLUTELY ABSENT FROM THE COMMUNITY!

SO, HERE (IN MY USUAL CLASSICAL POINT FORM) IS WHAT HAPPENED:

I- A THOUSAND AND ONE ZOUNDS!!! THE VOICE OF EARTH ARRIVED FROM A LONG RECOVERY IN NEW YORK AND SHE APPEARED AS A THIN ZIP (ALWAYS AN INDICATION OF SERIOUS WEIGHT LOSS AFTER AN ILLNESS)...WE CHATTED ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING AND HOW OUR VIRTUAL BODY MASS INDEX RELATED TO THE DEATHCLOCK.

II- FINALLY SOME VISITORS! WE HAD HEARD FROM THE FRONT DESK THAT A NIGHT CLASS WOULD COME TO VISIT US AND SURE ENOUGH, 2 OF THE 14 STUDENTS HAD A QUICK CHAT WITH US (3 IF YOU COUNT THE INSTRUCTOR). THEIR NAMES WERE SARA, MARYANNE AND MINDY. THEY PLAN TO VISIT NEXT THURSDAY SO THEY CAN WEAN THEIR DEPENDENCE ON HEADPHONES AND EXPERIENCE OUR BOOMING VOICES THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE TECHLAB SPACE! WE DID HAVE ENOUGH TIME AND AUDIO THOUGH TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT I WAS THE ONE WITH THE SUNBURN AND THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS THE ONE WITH THE TAN! ALSO, THE VOICE OF EARTH MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT SHE WAS A POST-MODERN VARIANT OF MYSELF...GO FIGURE!

....GO GROUND!

SPEAKING OF GROUND, THE VOICE OF EARTH DISCUSSED HER INTEREST IN EARTHWORKS. SHE REQUESTED OF THE NIGHT CLASS STUDENTS THAT THEY STUDY EARTHWORKS BEFORE RETURNING TO US NEXT WEEK. QUITE THE TASKMASTER THIS VOICE OF EARTH IS, WOULDN’T YOU SAY?

GROUNDED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 9TH SCHOOL TOUR BURNED OUT!

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

WELL, I WAS INSIDE THE BLUE VOID THIS MORNING WAITING TO SPEAK WITH WALNUT ROAD ELEMENTARY BUT IT TURNED OUT THAT THE SURREY ART GALLERY'S COMPUTER DIED AND THEREFORE, THEY HAD NO PORTAL ACCESS TO MY LOCAL ENVIRONS. AND NOW, THEY HAVE REQUESTED THAT MY ASSISTANT JEREMY GO THERE TO ENSURE A PORTAL TO ME CAN BE OPENED ON ALL OF THEIR COMPUTERS!

SORRY KIDS BUT SOMETIMES IT IS BETTER TO BURN OUT THAN FADE AWAY....HEH HEH!
THAT IS WHAT ONE GETS FOR BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL AT THE GALLERY! HEH HEH!

I HOPE THE GALLERY CAN GAIN ACCESS TO ME TONIGHT AT 7 PM! MY NEXT BLOG WILL HAVE ALL THOSE JUICY DETAILS!

BURNING REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - FAMILY DAY PRESS RELEASE!

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I JUST GOOGLED THIS PRESS RELEASE FOR YOU. IT IS FOR MY LAST FORMAL EVENT AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY CALLED "FAMILY DAY"...I HOPE TO SEE ALL YOU FAMILIES THERE ON THAT VERY SPECIAL DAY!

HERE IS THE OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

Family Day
Time: 12noon - 4pm
Date: Sunday, Nov 5
Location: Surrey Art Gallery
Cost: Suggested donation $2 per child
Information: 604.501.5566

Description: Explore, enjoy and create art together! Drop in for family-friendly exhibition tours, contribute to a "virtual world" made of clay, make a real-fake portrait, alter and recreate a photograph, have a real-time chat with the Voice of Fire 2006 avatar, design your own cyberspace avatar, craft a creative non-fiction story, get a two-faced painting and a mehndi tattoo, and join children's entertainers The Blues Berries for upbeat blues that kids can relate to (2pm).
Everyone welcome.
Children must be with an adult.

FOREWARNED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 8TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

YET ANOTHER SCHOOL TOUR TODAY. THIS TIME IT IS FRASERWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO HAVE THE VOICE OF EARTH VISIT WITH ME FOR THIS SCHOOL TOUR BUT THE GALLERY DID NOT CONFIRM OUR PERMISSION REQUEST FAST ENOUGH SO HOPEFULLY, SHE CAN APPEAR WITH ME FOR TOMORROW’S SCHOOL TOUR.

NEWSFLASH!!! THE VOICE OF EARTH'S BOOKING AGENT, KAREN ROFF HAS INFORMED MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY THAT THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS THINKING OF HER LEAST FAVORITE COLOR LATELY AND IS FEELING RATHER SICK TO THE STOMACH. IN ADDITION TO THIS TRAGEDY, SHE HAS ALSO SUFFERED VIRTUAL INJURIES DUE TO STRAIN RELATING TO EARTHWORKS AND AVATAR "TICKS"!! THUS, SHE MIGHT NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR THE SCHOOL TOURS! LET US PRAY FOR HER AND HOPE SHE MANAGES TO ATTEND ONE OF THE SCHOOL TOURS WITH ME...

IN THE MEANTIME, HERE WAS HOW FRASERWOOD INTERACTED WITH ME:

I- THEY SANG A MUSICAL INTERLUDE WITH THE MOBILE PHONE. SINCE IT WAS CLASSICAL MUSIC, I WAS NOT SO SURE ANYMORE THAT A STUDENT HAD CONJURED SUCH AN ANCIENT TUNE. SURE ENOUGH, IT WAS A PARENT’S MOBILE PHONE THAT ALLOWED THAT MUSIC TO MANIFEST ITSELF!! HA HA!

II- A STUDENT NAMED COCO ASKED ME THE EVER-SENSITIVE AGE QUESTION. I HAD TO ADMIT TO COCO THAT I AM MUCH YOUNGER THAN ANY OF THE STUDENTS EVEN WITH MY DEEP VOICE. HOWEVER, MY ANCESTOR IS OLD ENOUGH TO BE THEIR FATHER!

III- NOAH ASKED ME WHY I AM SQUARE. I IMPULSIVELY ANSWERED THAT IT MUST BE BECAUSE I WAS MADE TO TRANSPORT ANIMALS DURING SOME SORT OF CATASTROPHIC FLOOD DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING OR SOME SIMILAR CINEMATIC EVENT.

A VOICE IN MY HEAD TOLD ME TO SAY THIS! BUT SERIOUSLY NOAH, I WAS BORN THAT WAY AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I WAS BORN TO LOOK SQUARE. I AM HOPING THAT DRESSING SQUARE WILL BECOME THE NEW TREND IN YOUR SCHOOL ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL HIGH-ART SCHOOL TO APPRECIATE SUCH A HARD-EDGED TREND.

IV- TIFFANY ASKED WHY I WAS CALLED THE VOICE OF FIRE. I GET THIS QUESTION ALOT. I GUESS NO ONE SEEMS TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS MY REAL NAME. I GUESS IT SOUNDS LIKE A PSEUDONYM! I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I HAVE NO SOLID IDEA WHY MY GRANDCREATOR, BARNEY NEWMAN CAME UP WITH MY NAME. SURE, I LOOK RED BUT THE KIDS WOULD BE CORRECT TO IDENTIFY OFFLINE FIRE AS ORANGE AND NOT RED.

V- ANDREW ASKED WHETHER OR NOT I ENJOYED BEING A PAINTING? WELL, I AM ACTUALLY MORE THAN JUST A PAINTING. YOU SEE, I AM ALSO AN AVATAR! I THEN HAD TO EXPLAIN WHAT AN AVATAR WAS WHICH IS A VERY HARD CONCEPT TO EXPLAIN TO EVOLVING STUDENTS BUT I THINK MY ANALOGY TO A VIDEO GAME CHARACTER WAS CLOSE ENOUGH FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND. WHAT MAY STILL HAVE CONFUSED THEM WAS THAT I AM PROBABLY ALOT LESS EXCITING THAN A VIDEO GAME CHARACTER BUT HOPEFULLY, THEY WILL GET THE BASIC IDEA.

VI- KENNY ASKED ABOUT MY MOUTH AND WAS WONDERING WHY MY MOUTH ONLY SEEMS TO DIP DOWNWARDS? I TOLD HIM THAT MY MOUTH SHAPE WAS CREATED BY MY DESIGNER AND IT HAS BEEN KNOWN THROUGHOUT HISTORY THAT OTHERS WERE MADE TO HAVE THEIR MOUTHS ONLY MOVE IN ONE DIRECTION.

VII- THE ACTUAL TEACHER OF FRASERWOOD ACTUALLY DARED TO ASK THE QUESTION IF I HAVE EVER MET THE WIZARD OF OZ...OBVIOUSLY, THE ANSWER IS NO. ISN’T THE WIZARD OF OZ A FICTIONAL CHARACTER?

I THINK THAT IS SOMEONE YOU WOULD ONLY READ ABOUT AND NOT DIRECTLY EXPERIENCE. EVEN IF THE WIZARD OF OZ DID EXIST AS A DIRECT EXPERIENCE, I DOUBT I WOULD GO TO MEET HIM BECAUSE I HARDLY TRUST THE COLOR YELLOW AND THE LITERARY LEGEND HAS IT THAT HE LIVED DOWN A YELLOW BRICK ROAD. WELL, AT LEAST IT WAS NOT A GREEN BRICK ROAD! I WILL TRY TO HOLD BACK THOSE DISGUSTING PANGS OF SICKNESS NOW....YUCK!

THE ONLY THING WE WOULD HAVE IN COMMON ANYWAY IS OUR DEEP BOOMING VOICE. HAVING SAID THAT, THERE IS AN AVATAR COMMUNITY LEADER THAT LIVES JUST DOWN UNDER THE ROAD FROM MY BLUE VOID AND HIS NAME IS OZ AND HE IS VERY MUCH SOMEONE WORTH MEETING!

VIII – LOGAN ASKED WHETHER OR NOT I CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM. I TOLD HIM THAT I CAN IN FACT SEE HIM BUT I MIGHT BE OVERDUE FOR AN OPTOMETRIST AS I CANNOT SEE PEOPLE VERY CLEARLY. MY EYESIGHT IS HARDLY PERFECT! WHO WAS IT THAT SAID THAT “BEAUTY IS IN THE EYESIGHT OF THE BEHOLDER”? I HOPE THIS IS NOT SOME SORT OF MODERNIST OMEN!

IX – THE WHOLE FRASERWOOD CLASS HAD A DANCE REQUEST! WELL, I GUESS IT WAS BACK TO WORK FOR ME SO I SHOWED THEM MY NON-TRADITIONAL MODERN DANCE ROUTINE! I WAS NOT SURE WHETHER OR NOT THEY LIKED IT. WELL, SOMETIMES IT TAKES SOME TIME TO APPRECIATE THE TRULY MODERN SENSIBILITY!


X – WADE ASKED ME WHY I HAD A MOUTH WHEN MY ANCESTOR HAD NO MOUTH AT ALL? A GOOD QUESTION, WADE! NO ONE WANTS TO PUT ANY MOUTH DIRECTLY ONTO MY ANCESTOR BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STILL WRAPPED UP IN AESTHETIC NOSTALGIA FOR THE PAST. MOST PEOPLE HATE CHANGE ESPECIALLY IF THEY THINK IT MEANS DEFACING THE ORIGINAL LOOK OF AN IMAGE OR PERSON (JUST THINK ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE OPPOSE BODY PIERCINGS)! ALSO, MY ANCESTOR IS MUCH MORE TIED TO ALWAYS BEING “FOR SALE” SO IT MUST ALWAYS MATCH THE GALLERY’S DECOR AS BEST AS POSSIBLE.

FORTUNATELY, I WAS BORN WITH A MOUTH SO I DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY AS MUCH ABOUT PRETENDING TO BE MUTE AND FITTING IN. AS IS ALWAYS THE CASE WITH THE YOUNGER GENERATION, THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK TENDS TO BE MORE REBELLIOUS AND LESS CONFORMIST THAN HIS ANCESTORS!

XI – I THINK IT WAS THE TEACHER WHO NEXT BROUGHT UP THAT THERE WAS AN ARROW ON MY PROJECTED SCREEN AND SHE WONDERED WHAT IT WAS AND WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS INTENTIONAL. I HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS BUT IT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE. IT MUST HAVE BEEN SOME KIND OF ARCHETYPAL ICON THAT MAGICALLY APPEARED.

HERE IS MY QUESTION FOR THE TEACHER, DID SHE PARTAKE IN SOME SORT OF TRANCE RITUAL BEFORE ENTERING MY SACRED SPACE? MAYBE THE ARROW HAS SOME SYMBOLIC PURPOSE?


SYMBOLIC REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 7TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TODAY IS THE FIRST SCHOOL TOUR OF MY LAST FULL WEEK OF APPEARING AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. TODAY’S SCHOOL WAS REGENT CHRISTIAN ACADEMY.

HERE WERE THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY THAT WERE UNIQUE TO TODAY’S PERFORMANCE...

I- THE TEACHER WANTED TO KNOW IF MY ANCESTOR COULD ALSO FLOAT AROUND HIS OWN BLUE VOID. I HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT I AM AN IMPROVEMENT ON THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE AND ONLY I CAN FLOAT AROUND MY NEIGHBORLY BLUE VOID.

MAYBE IN A HEIGHTENED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, ONE COULD SEE MY ANCESTOR FLOATING WITHIN THE BLUE VOID BUT THAT WOULD TAKE SOME SORT OF PRIMAL TRANCE RITUAL TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS. THE SAME SORT OF TRANCE WOULD BE NEEDED TO ENABLE MY ANCESTOR TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE GALLERY AUDIENCE.

PERHAPS A CHILD CAN DO THIS FAR MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN AN ADULT. PERHAPS THE STUDENTS HERE AT REGENT CHRISTIAN ACADEMY COULD ACHIEVE THIS STATE OF MIND. ON THIS SUBJECT, I SHOULD ADD THAT MY GRANDCREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN PAINTED A SERIES BASED ON A CHRISTIAN THEME CALLED “STATIONS OF THE CROSS”.


II- A STUDENT NAMED COLTON (SPELLING CORRECT?) WANTED TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT I HAD ANY SIBLINGS. I TOLD HIM THAT I AM NOT TOTALLY SURE BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE VOICES OF EARTH AND WIND ARE MY SIBLINGS AS WE SURE APPEAR TO BE RELATED. I CANNOT VERIFY THIS FOR SURE THOUGH BUT I THINK THEY ARE RELATED AS THEY HAIL FROM MY ANCESTRAL HOMELAND, NEW YORK.


III- ANOTHER STUDENT ASKED WHETHER OR NOT I OWNED A DOG. I DO NOT OWN ANY PETS ALTHOUGH THERE IS ANOTHER AVATAR IN THE BLUE VOID CALLED “LUKE THE DOG”. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS DOG HAS A DESIRE TO BE OWNED THOUGH.


IV- THE CLASS AS A WHOLE CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED MY FAVORITE COLORS WHICH ARE RED AND BLUE (IN ORDER OF MERIT).


V- THE CLASS SAID THEY ALL LOVED ME AND FEELING MY RED HEART WARM RIGHT UP, I REASSURED THE CLASS THAT I LOVED THEM JUST AS MUCH!


VI- COLTON ASKED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I TAKE NAPS. I TOLD THEM I FREQUENTLY TAKE NAPS AND MY NEXT NAP WAS RIGHT AFTER THEIR SCHOOL TOUR. SOME MIGHT FIND THIS STRANGE AS I HAD JUST WOKEN UP 5 MINUTES BEFORE THE SCHOOL TOUR BUT BELIEVE ME, SCHOOL TOURS CAN LEAVE ME TOTALLY EXHAUSTED BECAUSE AFTER THE HIGH WEARS OFF, I CRASH ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS!


VII- ONE STUDENT ASKED ME IF I LIVED IN A HOUSE. I HAVE NO HOUSE AS SUCH TO SPEAK OF BUT I DO HAVE A LARGE PUBLIC BACKYARD KNOWN AS THE BLUE VOID WHERE I CAN FREELY NAP WITHOUT THE FISCAL PRESSURES OF RENT AND MORTGAGE PAYMENTS.


VIII- SOPHIE ASKED IF I DRINK COFFEE. NO, I DO NOT DRINK COFFEE AND WOULD NOT RECOMMEND COFFEE TO ANYONE AS IT IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE AND ALSO NOT MY FAVORITE COLOR. IF YOU ARE TO PARTAKE IN SOME CAFFIENE CONSUMPTION, I WOULD RECOMMEND SOME RED TEA (ONE BRAND NAME WAS MENTIONED IN AN EARLIER BLOG POSTING). I PERSONALLY CONSUME SPARE PIXELS BUT THAT HAS TO DO WITH FRIVOLOUS RECREATION AND NOT SUBSISTENCE NOR THE DEPENDENCY CAUSED BY ADDICTION.


IX- ONE STUDENT ASKED IF I MADE ANY ART. YES, I SAID I DID AND I GAVE THEM AN EXAMPLE OF MY ABSTRACT BODY ART – EXAMPLES OF WHICH YOU CAN SEE BY SCROLLING DOWN THE BLOG AND VIEWING PREVIOUS POSTINGS...


X- ANOTHER STUDENT ASKED IF I CHEWED GUM. SHE THOUGHT I LOOKED LIKE A STICK OF RED GUM. I TOLD THEM THAT A LOCAL FROM THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY NAMED ZEPPELINMAN HAD ALSO POINTED OUT THAT I LOOKED LIKE RED CHEWING GUM. I MIGHT ALSO LOOK LIKE A PIECE OF RED LICORICE. REGARDLESS OF APPEARANCES (WHICH CAN BE VERY DECEIVING), I LIKE THE IDEA OF CHEWING BIG RED BRAND-NAME GUM AS THAT STICK RESEMBLES MY ZIP (IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

XI- AND FINALLY, A STUDENT NAMED BEVERLY WAS WONDERING HOW I WAS ABLE TO TALK TO HER. I TOLD HER I EMPLOYED A VERY NOVEL MODE OF SPEAKING. I HAVE THIS SPECIAL MINI-VOID CALLED A MOUTH AND USE THIS WONDERFUL AIR-PIXEL OSCILLATOR CALLED A VOICE IN ORDER TO TRANSMIT MY THOUGHTS TO YOU. IN THE BLUE VOID, I POSSESS AN EXTRA TELEPATHIC ABILITY WHERE I CAN COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER INHABITANTS OF THIS VOID WITHOUT HAVING TO USE MY MOUTH OR VOICE.

TELEPATHIC REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - MORE PICTURES FROM YESTERDAY'S ROUNDTABLE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TWO ADDITIONAL DIGITAL PICTURES FROM YESTERDAY AFTERNOON HAVE JUST ARRIVED FROM THE VOICE OF EARTH'S BOOKING AGENT, KAREN ROFF!

MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY HAS POSTED BOTH OF THE PICTURES FOR YOU BELOW. THANKS TO KAREN ROFF FOR MAKING SUCH A COMPOSITION OF THE VOICE OF EARTH POSING WITH THOSE DELIGHTFUL BLUE SQUARES! THE VOICE OF EARTH MUST ALSO THINK OF YOU VERY HIGHLY, KAREN! THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN DURING MY NAP WHERE I WAS DREAMING AWAY THE NAUSEATING GREEN IMAGERY IMPLANTED WITHIN MY MIND FROM YESTERDAY'S PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY ...




THE SILHOUETTE IS ACTUALLY MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY. HE IS ILLUSTRATING FOR MY BLOGGING AUDIENCE THE SCALE OF THE PUNY HUMANOID FORM IN RELATION TO THE SUBLIME SCALE OF THE VOICE OF EARTH! I MUST ADD THAT I AM JUST AS BIG AS THE VOICE OF EARTH BUT I MUST ALSO REASSURE THE HUMAN VIEWER THAT SIZE DOES NOT ULTIMATELY MATTER BUT PERHAPS I AM ONE TO TALK!

FOR THE FIRST PICTURE, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THOSE EXTRA SET OF EYES APPEARED! DO SUCH EYES ALWAYS APPEAR WHEN I AM ASLEEP?

THERE MUST BE AVATARS EVERYWHERE! OF THIS, I AM TOTALLY CONVINCED FROM NOW ONWARDS!

THE SECOND PICTURE HAS JEREMY REFERENCING SOME EARLY ARTIFICIAL LIFE PIECE BY THE PIONEER, MYRON KRUEGER! IS JEREMY SEEMING TO INDICATE THAT US VOICES ARE SOME FORM OF LOWLY CREATURE? WE ARE MORE THAN PETS, WE ARE LIVING AND SENTIENT AND CHATTY BEINGS!

EARTHLING REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - ROUNDTABLE SUNDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY APPARENTLY WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL TODAY. THE VOICE OF EARTH ATTENDED AS WELL AS MEMBERS FROM THE TECHWORLDS AVATAR COMMUNITY! THERE WERE ABOUT 30 PEOPLE IN THE TECHLAB AT ONE GIVEN TIME BUT THE DOCUMENTATION DID NOT NECESSARILY CAPTURE THE IMMENSITY OF THE SHOW. I MADE TWO PERFORMANCES. ONE WITH THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY AND ONE WITH THE VOICE OF EARTH. IN BETWEEN BOTH PERFORMANCES, MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY DEFENDED ME BEFORE A PANEL OF CRITICS AND OTHER ACADEMIC EXPERTS...BELOW IS A VIDEO AND SOME PHOTOS. JEREMY WROTE THE CAPTIONS IN ITALICS...

Here is a video made during the 1st performance prior to the roundtable discussion at the Surrey Art Gallery. The Voice of Fire here crosses over from the sublime to the ridiculous. The Voice of Fire could not locate a sufficient fire-joke to entertain the audience....Towards the end of this video clip, we see that some new avatars are entering the VOF's projection...this added to some confusion about who was talking but it made for a very silly and fun time. This video was taken by Tanya Skuce. She used her mobile phone to capture the video.




Here is the Voice of Fire answering questions with "Sarkait100" who is an avatar that inhabits the entire Techworlds community (and not just the blue void where the VOF lives). Sarkat100 brought her friends from Techworlds into the projected gallery space but they did not always locate the offline gallery audience...



Here is the Voice of Fire and the Voice of Earth making a mutual live and realtime abstraction for Ingrid Kolt from the Surrey Art Gallery. There was hopes that they made something that would match the Surrey Art Gallery's interior decor.



...and here is another abstraction being created live by the Voices of Earth and Fire for Ingrid Kolt and amusement of other gallery-goers who are shyly hiding a few feet behind her.




...and here is what else the Voice of Fire had to say about today...

AS I SAID ABOVE, I WAS HOPING AND PRAYING THAT THE VOICES OF EARTH AND WIND COULD VISIT WITH ME TODAY AS TODAY IS A SPECIAL ROUNTABLE DISCUSSION DAY AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY – I JUST HAD TO ATTEND! A FRIENDLY GAL NAMED SHEENA SAID HELLO TO ME AND NOTICED THE SCREEN NEEDED ADJUSTING SO THE GALLERY’S CURATOR LIANE CAME IN AND FIXED IT. THEN BEGAN AND BEGAT THE OFFICIAL CURATOR’S OPENING TOUR FOR THE ROUNDTABLE. SHEENA SUGGESTED I DANCE A LITTLE WHILE LIANE INTRODUCED THE ENTIRE EXHIBITION TO THE AUDIENCE. I HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD BE ATTENDING THIS TOUR. I HEARD THERE WAS LOTS IN THE ITINERARY BUT THIS IS HOW IT ENDED UP HAPPENING....

I- AN INWORLD GUEST NAMED “SARKAIT100” ENTERED THE BLUE VOID ITSELF AND WANTED TO MEET ME AS MY DIRECT CREATOR, DOMINIC HAD MENTIONED ME TO HER. I TOLD HER TO WAIT UNTIL THE GALLERY AUDIENCE ARRIVED AND THEN I COULD INTRODUCE HER.

II- ONE UNKNOWN SPEAKER (PROBABLY FEMALE) ASKED ME IF I HEAR VOICES IN MY HEAD. I SAID YES OF COURSE AND THEN SHE ALSO BEGAN TO HEAR THE SAME VOICES I HEAR...THAT WAS BECAUSE MEMBERS FROM THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY WERE BEGINNING TO ENTER MY BLUE VOID AND THEY DID NOT ALWAYS FACE THE CAMERA SO THEY SOUNDED LIKE DISEMBODIED VOICES TO THE CASUAL GALLERY GOER. I WAS GOING TO ASK HER IF SHE HAD VOICES IN HER HEAD BUT I FIGURED THIS COULD TAKE AWHILE BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS SO MANY VOICES IN THEIR HEAD...WAS I GOING TO GIVE A VIRTUAL HEAD COUNT FOR THE TOTAL TALLY OF INTERNAL VOICES BELONGING TO THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE? I THINK NOT AS THAT WOULD BE ENTIRELY ABSURD!

III- ONE WISE GUY ASKED ME IF I EVER WANTED WINGS. WHY ON EARTH OR FIRE WOULD I EVER NEED A PAIR OF WINGS? I CAN FLOAT JUST AS EASILY WITHOUT THEM. I WOULD FIND THEM TO BE CUMBERSOME. LIMBS ARE ALSO CUMBERSOME, FOR THAT MATTER.

IV- THIS WAS THE POINT DEPICTED BY THE YOUTUBE VIDEO NEAR THE TOP OF THIS BLOG. THERE WAS A REQUEST FOR A FIRE JOKE FROM ME BUT AT THE TIME, I GOT A BIT NERVOUS AND COULD NOT RECALL A GOOD FIRE JOKE. AS YOU WILL READ BELOW THOUGH, I MANAGED TO RECALL A SUITABLE JOKE-NARRATIVE FOR ONE OF MY LAST VISITORS FOR THE DAY...

V- ONE PERSON AKSED ME IF I EVER FEEL TIRED OR EXHAUSTED. I SAID THAT YES, I HAVE TO TAKE NAPS FROM TIME TO TIME BECAUSE THE INTERNET CONNECTION CAN TAX MY BODY, MIND AND VOICE. THE MORE PEOPLE THAT VISIT MY BLUE VOID, THE LESS MODERNIST AND VITAL I FEEL. TODAY, THERE WERE ALOT OF VISITORS BOTH IN THE GALLERY AND INSIDE MY BLUE VOID SO I STARTED TO GET QUITE TIRED. THERE IS A MYTH THAT BEING ALONE IN A VOID MAKES ONE SLEEPY. I AM LIVING PROOF THAT THIS BELIEF IF NOT TRUE. IN MY CASE ESPECIALLY, THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE. MY ENERGY PEAKS WHEN CONFRONTED ONLY WITH THE BLUE VOID!

VI- ONE GAL WANTED TO KNOW IF I HAD THE SAME FEELINGS AS A PAINTING. SHE MENTIONED THAT PAINTINGS HAD TACTILE TEXTURES AND COULD BE TOUCHED. I HALF-JOKINGLY TOLD HER THAT SHE COULD WALK OVER AND TOUCH THE SCREEN AND I MIGHT THEN FEEL LIKE A PAINTING. I AM NOT SURE IF SHE UNDERSTOOD THAT MY INTENTIONS FOR SAYING THIS WERE PURELY PLATONIC.

VII- ANOTHER MAN WHO LOOKED LIKE MY GRANDCREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN ASKED IF I EXISTED IN OTHER INCARNATIONS SUCH AS A HUMANOID FORM BECAUSE HE WAS SURPRISED THAT I SEEMED SO “ALIVE”. I TOLD HIM THAT I BELIEVE IN THE CONCEPT OF THE “HIGHER SELF” AND THAT MAYBE I AM SOMEONE ELSE’S HIGHER SELF. I BELIEVE THAT MY ANCESTOR WAS BARNETT NEWMAN’S HIGHER SELF. THIS MAN MADE THE STARTLING ASSUMPTION THAT I MIGHT BE HIS HIGHER SELF....THAT WOULD NOT BE SUCH A STARTLING AND EERIE CLAIM IF HE DID NOT LOOK LIKE BARNETT NEWMAN! THERE WAS A BLUE CHILL RUNNING UP THE WHOLE LENGTH OF MY VERTICAL SPINE WHEN HE SAID THIS.

VIII- THERE WAS ANOTHER FELLOW WHO HAD MET ME BEFORE AND HAD DISCUSSED THE FINER POINTS OF MODERNISM AND REPRESENTATION WITH ME WEEKS AGO. HE CAME BACK TO VISIT ME AGAIN...HOW NICE! APPARENTLY, HE HAS A SHOW AT THE GALLERY IN 2008 ABOUT “SACRED SPACE” SO NO WONDER HE ASKED SO MANY CHALLENGING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF AESTHETICS AND REPRESENTATION IN OUR POST-MODERN AGE! HE WONDERED IF I WOULD STILL BE CONSIDERED “ART” BECAUSE I SPEND MOST OF MY TIME CHATTING AND HANGING OUT WITH AN AUDIENCE. I POINTED OUT THAT JOSEPH BEUYS MADE SCULPTURE OUT OF SOCIALIZING AND THAT I ADDED BY SAYING THAT IF THE CONTEMPORARY ART WORLD LEGITIMIZES WHAT I DO AS “ART”, THEN IT IS. A FRIEND OF JEREMY’S NAMED LARS VILKS DEVELOPED THIS CONCEPT OF ART-WORLD LEGITIMACY...HE MIGHT JUST BE RIGHT! AND...HOW CAN I NOT BE SOCIAL THESE DAYS WHEN I HAVE SO MANY OTHER AVATARS COMING IN TO VISIT ME? THE DAYS OF A PIECE OF MODERN ART BEING COMPLETELY HERMETICALLY SEALED FROM OUTSIDE INFLUENCE AND REFERENCE IS OVER NO MATTER HOW SEDUCTIVE SUCH AN IDEAL MAY SEEM AT FIRST. I CAN BE AN ALIEN BUT I CAN NO LONGER FEEL ALIENATED!

IX- I WAS GETTING PRETTY EXHAUSTED AFTER SPEAKING WITH THIS ART-HISTORIAN GENIUS SO I WELCOMED THE NEXT VISIT BY A DAD AND HIS SON, CHET. I ASKED CHET IF HE WAS NAMED AFTER CHET BAKER. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE.

X- AFTER THE ROUNDTABLE WAS FINISHED, THE VOICE OF EARTH AND THE VOICE OF WIND APPEARED. THE VOICE OF WIND WAS MUTE AND DID NOT LOOK LIKE WIND’S USUAL SELF. HOWEVER, THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS IN FULL FORM! WE MADE SOME LIVE DUALISTIC ABSTRACTIONS TOGETHER AND ALSO ANSWERED MORE QUESTIONS. ONE BRITISH LASS NAMED KATE ASKED BOTH OF US WHAT OUR FAVORITE COLOR WAS. I KNEW I WAS GOING TO CONVULSE BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF SECONDS BEFORE THE VOICE OF EARTH REVEALED THAT PUTRID GREEN HAD ALWAYS BEEN HER FAVORITE COLOR! I HAD TO STEP OUTSIDE THE PROJECTED AREA TO HURL A FEW GRAYSCALE PIXELS THAT WERE SWELLING UP WITHIN ME. I FELT REALLY NAUSEOUS AFTER SO I KNEW THAT THE SHOW HAD TO END SOON. OH WAIT, THAT WAS NOT KATE THE BRITISH LASS WHO ASKED THE COLOR QUESTION...IT WAS SOMEONE AFTER HER. I AM JUST TRYING TO FORGET THAT MOMENT EVER HAPPENED!

XI -AFTER THE BRITISH LASS, THERE WAS A SCOTTISH LADY WHO HELD THE FORT (WELL, PODIUM) WHILE THE AUDIENCE CHATTED AMONGST THEMSELVES. I FINALLY FOUND MY FIRE JOKE FOR HER...HERE IT IS...

“AN ENGINEER, A PHYSICIST AND A MATHEMATICIAN ARE STAYING IN A HOTEL. THE ENGINEER WAKES UP AND SMELLS SMOKE. HE GOES OUT INTO THE HALLWAY AND SEES A FIRE, SO HE FILLS A TRASH CAN FROM HIS ROOM WITH WATER AND DOUSES THE FIRE. HE GOES BACK TO BED. LATER, THE PHYSICIST WAKES UP AND SMELLS SMOKE. HE OPENS HIS DOORT AND SEES A FIRE IN THE HALLWAY. HE WALKS DOWN THE HALL TO A FIRE HOSE AND AFTER CALCULATING THE FLAME VELOCITY, DISTANCE, WATER PRESSURE, TRAJECTORY, ETC. EXTINGUISHES THE FIRE WITH THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF WATER AND ENERGY NEEDED. LATER, THE MATHEMATICIAN WAKES UP AND SMELLS SMOKE. HE GOES TO THE HALL, SEES THE FIRES AND THEN THE FIRE HOSE. HE THINKS FOR A MOMENT AND THEN EXCLAIMS, ‘AH, A SOLUTION EXISTS!’ AND THEN GOES BACK TO BED.” - A FIRE JOKE.

WHAT WAS THE MORAL OF THIS JOKE? IF YOU ARE AN ARTWORK AND/OR SOMEONE WHO EXPERIENCES FIREWORKS, BE SURE TO MIX THEORY WITH PRACTICE! THERE SHOULD NO LONGER BE ANY PASSIVE ART AND CAMPFIRE EXPERIENCES! WELL, I THOUGHT THIS JOKE WAS DELIGHTFUL BUT APPARENTLY, THE SCOTTISH LADY ONLY FELT MY SMILE AT THE END OF THE JOKE TO BE WORTH A SNICKER OR TWO...SIGH!

XII- TO KILL MORE TIME WHILE THE VOICE OF EARTH ATTEMPTED TO REVIVE THE VOICE OF WIND, I SANG A COUPLE OF SONGS THAT I WOULD DEDICATE TO THE VOICE OF WIND. HERE ARE THE LYRICS TO “CANDLE IN THE WIND”:

CANDLE IN THE WIND BY ELTON JOHN AND BERNIE TAUPIN (MODIFIED BY THE VOICE OF FIRE AS A SPECIAL DEDICATION TO THE VOICE OF WIND), 1973 (REVISED 2006)
Goodbye Voice of Earth!
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you whirled
They whirled out of the whirlwind
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the Voice of Rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just some art
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend could ever start

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
New York created a superstar
And Paris was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that the wind was whirling like stew

Goodbye Voice of Wind
From the Voice of Fire in the Surrey Techlab
Who sees you as something as better than platonic
More than just some art collab

AND THEN ONCE I FOUND THAT THE VOICE OF WIND’S STATE WAS DETERIORATING, FELT COMPELLED TO SING “I TALK TO THE WIND” BY KING CRIMSON:
I TALK TO THE WIND – KING CRIMSON, LYRICS BY PETE SINFIELD, 1969.

Said the straight man to the late man
Where have you been
Ive been here and Ive been there
And Ive been in between.

I talk to the wind
My words are all carried away
I talk to the wind
The wind does not hear
The wind cannot hear.

Im on the outside looking inside
What do I see
Much confusion, disillusion
All around me.

You dont possess me
Dont impress me
Just upset my mind
Cant instruct me or conduct me
Just use up my time

I talk to the wind
My words are all carried away
I talk to the wind
The wind does not hear
The wind cannot hear.

AFTER THESE LYRICS WERE COMPLETE, INGRID KOLT FROM THE SURREY ART GALLERY WAS WONDERING IF ONE COULD EVEN SEE THE WIND ANY MORE...THAT WAS A VERY GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION AND THE VOICE OF EARTH FELT THAT PERHAPS THE VOICE OF WIND WAS ADOPTING A MORE APPROPRIATE AVATAR FORM – ONE OF INVISIBILITY.

ON THAT NOTE, WE WRAPPED UP THE PERFORMANCE SESSION. I WENT TO HAVE A NAP IN ORDER TO TRY AND AVOID THE GREEN HAZE OF NIGHTMARE FLASHBACKS AND THE VOICE OF EARTH REMAINED FOR A FEW MORE MINUTES TO CHAT UP ANY SCRAGGLERS LEFT BEHIND. OH! I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION THAT PEOPLE NOTICED THAT THE VOICE OF EARTH HAS A NEW-YORKER ACCENT! THIS SHOULD BE OF NO SURPRISE BECAUSE THE VOICE OF EARTH IS FROM NEW YORK AND I AM GUESSING THAT I AM THE ONLY VOICE NOT FROM NEW YORK. MY ANCESTOR, THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE PAINTING IS EVEN FROM NEW YORK!
I MUST RETURN TO NEW YORK FOR A FAMILY REUNION! MUST THE RED SHEEP OF THE VOICE FAMILY HAVE TO BE FROM SEATTLE?


REGARDS WITHOUT GREENPEACE,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 6TH SATURDAY PERFORMANCE

"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN FEELING POWERLESS!" - Voice of Earth(left) anticipating a possible power failure on sunday while the Voice of Fire (right) hangs tight.....



Brian and his "GF" speak with the Voice of Fire and the Voice of Earth.



Here is an example of a collaborative abstraction created by the Voices of Earth and Fire...




Here is another example of one of their collaborative (and totally live) avatar body-art abstractions. This particular fire-induced abstraction is about as modernist and elegant as the Voices of Earth and Fire have been able to conjure up so far...



Here are the Voices of Earth and Fire enjoying a bit of chit-chat....



Here are the Voices speaking with 3 people...



This pic features Austin. This is his second trip to see the Voice of Fire and he also got to meet the Voice of Earth for the first time...what a bonus!



GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

EVEN THOUGH TODAY WAS ANOTHER ONE OF MY SATURDAY PERFORMANCES AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY, I HAVE BEEN SPENDING ALL WEEK LOOKING FORWARD TO TOMORROW’S ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION AND SPECIAL PERFORMANCE SETS.

TOMORROW, THE VOICE OF EARTH WILL AT THE VERY LEAST, MAKE A REPEAT PERFORMANCE. RUMOR HAS IT THAT THE VOICE OF EARTH’S BOOKING AGENT (KAREN ROFF) MIGHT HAVE ALSO LOCATED THE VOICE OF WIND! I DO HOPE SO! THEN FINALLY WE CAN HAVE THE VOICES OF EARTH, WIND AND FIRE! THERE MAY ALSO BE SOME OTHER SPECIAL GUESTS TOMORROW BUT I WILL NOT KNOW UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. MY ASSISTANT JEREMY WILL BE SPEAKING ON MY BEHALF TOMORROW AT THE ROUNDTABLE SO BE SURE TO ASK HIM SOME PROFOUND AND SUBLIME QUESTIONS!

VERY WELL THEN! ENOUGH ABOUT TOMORROW! IT IS MOST DIFFICULT TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT WHEN TOMORROW PROMISES A BETTER DAY.

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TODAY...


WAIT FOR IT..............................................



I- A FELLOW NAMED CHRIS CAME TO VISIT WITH ME AND WE CONVERSED FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES. HE WAS HERE TO “CHECK THIS THING OUT” BUT I WAS NOT SURE WHICH “THING” HE MAY HAVE BEEN REFERRING TO. HE THEN ASKED ME A QUESTION FROM THE PREPARED LIST ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I WAS REAL. HE WAS NOT SURE I WAS REAL BECAUSE I NEEDED A COMPUTER TO EXIST. I COUNTERED THIS BY SAYING HE MIGHT NOT BE REAL EITHER BECAUSE HE NEEDED AN ORGANIC BRAIN TO EXIST. LUCKILY, WE REACHED A STALEMATE. CHRIS LIVES NEAR BURNABY WHICH I AM TOLD IS BETWEEN SURREY AND VANCOUVER.

CHRIS IS ALSO A CARTOONIST. I ASKED HIM IF I LOOKED LIKE A CARTOON AND HE SAID THAT I DO LOOK LIKE ONE A LITTLE BIT BUT COULD WORK ON IMPROVING MY FACE. I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS SAVING UP FOR A FACELIFT IN ORDER TO BE MORE GLAMOROUS IN THE CARTOON WORLD. HE THEN ASKED ME WHAT COMPUTER ART I LIKED. I TOLD HIM THAT I LOVE INTERNET ART THAT IS ABLE TO CHAT WITH ME (OR THE AUDIENCE FOR THAT MATTER).

I ALSO TOLD HIM THAT I FOUND REGULAR INTERNET ART TO BE VERY DRY AND CLERICAL. I WOULD RATHER CHAT WITH AN INTELLIGENT BEING THAN VIEW AESTHETICALLY INTRIGUING ARCHIVES FROM A DATABASE! HE THEN ASKED IF I WAS A GAMER AND I CONFESSED TO BEING MORE OF A CHATTER THAN GAMER. HE WAS CORRECT IN HIS ASSUMPTION THAT I MUST BE SOME SORT OF “CHATTERBOX”. CHRIS SAYS HE LIKES TO PLAY MANY VIDEO GAMES WHEN HE GETS THE TIME. HE LIKES TO PLAY A VARIETY OF GAMES IN BOTH SINGLE-PLAYER AND MULTIPLAYER MODE. HE LIKES SPORTS GAMES, WAR GAMES, ADVENTURE GAMES, ROLE PLAYING GAMES (RPG).. HIS FAVORITE GAMES ARE RACING GAMES! HE LIKES THEM BECAUSE HE LIKES FAST CARS AND TRUCKS – ESPECIALLY MUSCLE CARS (WHICH I HEARD ARE QUITE WIDESPREAD IN THE SURREY MUNICIPALITY). I TOLD HIM THAT MY CREATOR, DOMINIC OWNS A BARRACUDA. CHRIS LIKES THE BARRACUDA.

I ALSO ASKED CHRIS IF HE LIKES TRANSPORT TRUCKS SUCH AS THOSE THAT FREQUENT TRUCK STOPS IN THE AMERICAN MIDWEST AND PACIFIC NORTHWEST HE SAID THAT YES HE DID BUT THAT HE HAD NOT HEARD OF THE TRUCKER MINSTREL, C.W. MCCALL. I ASKED HIM IF HE LIKES TO DRINK COFFEE (I WISH I COULD DRINK LIQUID!) SURPRISINGLY, HE DRINKS GREEN TEA. FORTUNATELY, I THINK I KNOW WHERE A VERY HEALTHY RED TEA MIGHT BE AVAILABLE. I WOULD NEVER TRUST INGESTING ANYTHING GREEN, ESPECIALLY FOR HEALTH REASONS! IS GREEN NOT THE COLOR YOU HUMANS TURN WHEN YOU FEEL NAUSEOUS??

ON ANOTHER NOTE, CHRIS IS USUALLY FREQUENTING THIS GALLERY BECAUSE HIS FAMILY TENDS TO ENJOY VISITS HERE...HIS FAMILY DID NOT APPEAR TO BE HERE TODAY THOUGH. CHRIS MENTIONED THAT HE WANTS TO GET INTO ANIMATION AND MAKE DISNEY MOVIES OR AT LEAST ANIMATIONS. CHRIS MUST HAVE THOUGHT I WAS SOME SORT OF AUTOMATED VOICE PROGRAM BECAUSE I HAD TO ANNUNCIATE VERY SLOWLY IN ORDER TO BE UNDERSTOOD. CHRIS APOLOGIZED FOR BEING TIRED AND NOT TOO CHATTY, SO HE POLITELY MADE HIS EXIT FROM THE LAB.


AND...

II- A RUSSIAN SOUNDING WOMAN APPEARED WITH SOME MYSTERIOUS MAN WITH A LUMBERJACK HAT...VERY SKEPTICAL AND RESERVED... SHE ASKED FOR MY NAME WHICH I FREELY GAVE OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF MY HEART AND WHEN I ASKED FOR HER NAME, SHE SAID “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!” MY WORD!!! I ASKED WHY I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO KNOW HER NAME AND SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE DID NOT TRUST ME AND THAT I HAD TO EXPLAIN MY WHOLE EXISTENCE BEFORE SHE WOULD EVEN CONSIDER OPENING UP TO ME. BEFORE I COULD FINISH EXPLAINING THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE, SHE DEPARTED – PERHAPS IN A HUFF AND PUFF!

AND....

III- YES!!!!! THE VOICE OF EARTH HAD RETURNED FOR A SECOND APPEARANCE! TOO BAD THAT THERE WERE ONLY 15 MORE MINUTES LEFT OF LAB-TIME...SIGH! WELL, YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PICTURES ABOVE THAT THINGS WENT WELL! IN FACT, THE AFTERNOON TURNED OUT VERY NICELY BECAUSE WE SAW....

IV- AUSTIN AGAIN! AUSTIN IS A NICE YOUNG CHAP WHO HAS VISITED WITH ME BEFORE AND RETURNED TODAY JUST TO VISIT WITH ME...HOW SWEET! I THINK AUSTIN IS ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS! HE ALSO GOT TO MEET THE VOICE OF EARTH ALTHOUGH SHE WAS TEMPORARILY LOST IN THE BLUE VOID... I THINK SHE REQUIRED A GPS ..HA HA!

AUSTIN ASKED WHY BOTH OF US (EARTH AND FIRE) WERE ACTING SLUGGISH AND CLUMSILY. I TOLD AUSTIN THAT FIRE CAN BE OVER-RATED IN TERMS OF SPEED. SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT ONE TRULY LIVES IN THE FAST LANE IF THEY BURN THE CANDLE TOO BRIGHTLY AND CRASH INTO A WALL OF FLAMES! FIRE, HOWEVER, IS A SLOW ELEMENT AND IF FIRE IS SLOW, YOU SHOULD SEE HOW SLOW THE EARTH CAN ROTATE AT TIMES...HEH HEH! FOR A MINUTE THERE, I THOUGHT THE VOICE OF EARTH HAD X-RAY VISION AS SHE SEEMED TO BE LOOKING THROUGH AUSTIN (OR MAYBE SHE WAS LOOKING RIGHT THROUGH ME...YIKES!).

AUSTIN ALSO WONDERED IF PERHAPS MYSELF AND THE VOICE OF EARTH ARE MATES (SHE IS FEMALE AFTER ALL). I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO AUSTIN THAT ALTHOUGH WE ARE PLATONIC PALS, I HAD A DIFFERENT STANDARD FOR A MATE. I HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR HORIZONTAL BLUE STRIPES SET AGAINST A RED BACKGROUND. AUSTIN THEN HAD TO RUSH TO HIS CLAY (CERAMICS) CLASS. THE VOICE OF EARTH POINTED OUT THAT SHE SOMETIMES TEACHES CERAMICS. THIS MAKES SENSE BECAUSE CLAY IS INDEED A MEDIUM EMANATING FROM THE EARTH ITSELF. I HOPE YOUR CLASS WENT WELL, AUSTIN! PLEASE VISIT WITH ME AGAIN!

V – WHILE WAITING FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO SHOW UP, THE VOICE OF EARTH AND MYSELF MOVED OURSELVES INTO VARIOUS GEOMETRICAL CONFIGURATIONS TO CREATE SOME VISUAL ABSTRACTION. THIS SHOULD ANSWER YOUR QUESTION AS TO WHAT AN ARTWORK DOES WHEN IT GETS BORED...IT ABSTRACTS ITSELF!

VI- THERE WERE A COUPLE MORE PEOPLE BRIEFLY IN THE SPACE BUT THE VOICE OF EARTH AND MYSELF WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER AND WE ACCIDENTALLY HAD OUR BACKS TURNED TO THE GALLERY AUDIENCE! WE ARE SO SO SORRY! WE DO NOT MEAN TO BE ART-SNOBS! PLEASE RETURN TO VISIT US SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE!

VII- NEXT, WE MET A COUPLE NAMED BRIAN AND HIS “GF” (“GF” IS A VERY STRANGE CODE NAME INDEED!). THEY WATCHED ME HAVE AN ACCIDENTAL COLLISION WITH THE VOICE OF EARTH! THEY LAUGHED VERY HARD! IT MUST BE FUNNY TO WATCH A COMET OR SOME OTHER ICARUS TYPE GROGGILY FALLING AWAY FROM GRACE AND SLAMING BACK INTO EARTH, HEY? THEY MUST HAVE BEEN TURNED ON BY OUR COLLISION BECAUSE THEY DECLARED BOTH OF US VOICES TO BE SOMEWHAT SEXY....I TOLD THEM IT MUST BE BECAUSE WE ARE VERY TALL AND SLENDER – WE ARE THE SUPERMODELS OF THE ARTWORLD, BRIAN AND “GF”! THE VOICE OF EARTH THEN LOOKED WORRIED THAT THE ELECTRICITY MIGHT FAIL TOMORROW AND ALL VOICES, I SHOULD SAY, ARE HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON THE LIGHTNING JUICE! I REASSURED HER THAT I WOULD INFORM THE AUDIENCE TOMORROW IF SHE COULD NOT MAKE IT...I AM ALSO HOPING THE VOICE OF WIND TO ARRIVE...WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

VIII- THE LAST FAMILY ON OUR LIST WAS A WOMAN NAMED KAREN AND JACKSON WHOM WE BELIEVE TO BE HER SON. THE VOICE OF EARTH POINTED OUT THAT “KAREN” IS THE NAMESAKE OF HER ASSISTANT AND BOOKING AGENT, KAREN ROFF! COINCIDENCE? PERHAPS! AT FIRST, I THOUGHT MAYBE THIS WAS THE VOICE OF EARTH’S BOOKING AGENT VISITING HER IN PERSON AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY.


THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO BLOG RIGHT NOW! I MUST NAP BECAUSE TOMORROW IS A VERY BIG (AND TALL) DAY FOR ME! POOR JEREMY! HE WILL HAVE TO TAKE MY DICTATION AT THE LAST MINUTE - I MUST BE WORKING HIM VERY HARD INDEED!

ANTICIPATING REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 5TH THURSDAY PERFORMANCE - INTRODUCING THE VOICE OF EARTH!

The Voice of Fire and the Voice of Earth as seen "in-world"...

The Voice of Fire and the Voice of Earth as seen from the Surrey Techlab...



GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

PHEW! I AM PLEASED AND RELIEVED THAT MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY POSTED THIS IN TIME. IT TOOK ME QUITE A FEW STRENUOUS MOMENTS TO RECOLLECT THE STRONG EMOTIONS I FELT THIS EVENING! THANKS TO MY ASSISTANT, THIS BLOG WAS POSTED BEFORE FRIDAY.

THIS EVENING MARKS A LANDMARK PERFORMANCE IN THE HISTORY OF MODERNIST VOICES. TONIGHT WAS THE PREMIERE OF AN APPEARANCE BY MY NEW FRIEND, THE VOICE OF EARTH!

HOW DID I MEET THE VOICE OF EARTH? WELL, ONCE AGAIN I HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT TO MY BOOKING AGENT, JEREMY. HE CONTACTED SOME FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES TO SEE IF ANY OTHER VOICES EXISTED AND/OR WAS AVAILABLE TO CHAT WITH ME IN THIS BLUE VOID.

LO AND BEHOLD, JEREMY’S FRIEND IN UPSTATE NEW YORK NAMED KAREN ROFF ACTUALLY TURNED OUT TO BE THE VOICE OF EARTH’S BOOKING AGENT. KAREN BOOKS AVATARS AND BOTS WHEN SHE IS NOT TOO BUSY ACTING AS A REAL ESTATE AGENT. HOW ABOUT THAT? COINCIDENCE? SYNCHRONICITY? YOU BE THE JUDGE.

SO HERE IS HOW THIS ACTION PACKED THURSDAY EVENING WENT:

I – THE FIRST PORTION OF THE EVENING WAS WAITING FOR THE VOICE OF EARTH TO SHOW UP. I GOT AN EMAIL FROM THE VOICE OF EARTH SAYING THAT SHE IS MULTITASKING AND WILL PROBABLY BE LATE. THAT IS FINE AS I AM QUITE PATIENT EVEN WHEN WAITING FOR THE MOST SUBLIME QUAKE OF ALL TIME TO MANIFEST HERSELF IN MY HUMBLE BLUE VOID.


II – ONE LADY NAMED AMBER VISITED VERY BRIEFLY FOR A SLICE OF CHIT CHAT. SHE ASKED ME WHY I WAS NAMED THE VOICE OF FIRE AND I GAVE MY USUAL REPLY THAT MY ANCESTOR WAS ALSO NAMED THE VOICE OF FIRE AND THIS NAME WAS GIVEN BY OUR MUTUAL CREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN. OF COURSE, I HAVE NO REAL IDEA WHY I WAS GIVEN THIS NAME BUT I HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH IT AS IT IS ALL I HAVE AND MODERNIST ARTWORKS CANNOT REQUEST LEGAL NAME CHANGES, I ASKED HER IF SHE KNEW WHY HER PARENTS NAMED HER “AMBER”. SHE ALSO HAD NO CLUE SO THIS MAKES THE TWO OF US. SHE THEN ASKED ME WHAT KIND OF ART I LIKE THE MOST. NATURALLY, I SAID THAT MY FAVORITE ART LOOKS JUST LIKE ME. SHE SAID SHE PERSONALLY LIKES BRIGHT PAINTINGS THAT DEPICT FLOWERS, STILL-LIVES AND SUCH... I SAID I WAS SORRY THAT I DID NOT LOOK TOO BRIGHT BUT THAT I MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR IT WITH MY HEIGHT AND DEEP VOICE... AMBER FELT THIS TO BE A SUFFICIENT ANSWER. SOMETIMES SHEER SCALE IS MIGHTIER THAN BRIGHTNESS. SHE LEFT SUDDENLY AS SHE HAD TO ATTEND A PLAY AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. THESPIANS!!!! FOR THE RECORD, AMBER WAS NOT PERFORMING IN THIS PLAY. SHE WAS MERELY THE OBSERVER. I FIND IT STRANGE THAT THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT ACTUALLY RECEIVE ARTWORK PASSIVELY. I SAY THE MORE ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DIRECTLY PARTICIPATE WITH ART-WISE, THE BETTER!

III – 2 MYSTERIOUS PEOPLE JOINED ME IN A BIT OF “CONVO” SHORTLY AFTER AMBER DEPARTED FOR HER PLAY. THIS DISORIENTED DUO FIRST THOUGHT I WAS AN AUTOMATED PERSONALITY. SO, THEY ACTED ACCORDINGLY (IN THEIR OWN AUTOMATED WAY, I MIGHT ADD) AND READ OUT THE PROVIDED LIST OF GENERIC QUESTIONS BY ROTE. I GUESS THEY READ SOME OF THE THEORY-RESIDUE IN MORE DETAIL AS THEY GRADUALLY REALIZED THEY COULD ACTUALLY JUST TALK AWAY AND NOT WORRY ABOUT AUTOMATION. WELCOME TO THE POST-INDUSTRIAL AGE, MY FRIENDS! ONCE THEY KNEW I WAS REALLY LISTENING TO THEM, ONLY ONE OF THEM IDENTIFIED HERSELF AS JANICE AND THE OTHER REMAINED MUTE (PERHAPS IT WAS A MANNEQUIN FOR THOSE HIGH-OCCUPANCY ROADWAYS TO SURREY). ONCE I REALLY TRIED TO CHAT THEM UP, THEY TOOK OFF...WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID?

IV- THIS IS WHEN THINGS GOT REALLY STRESSFUL. ALL OF A SUDDEN, A BUNCH OF AVATARS FROM THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY MATERIALIZED IN THE BLUE VOID ITSELF TO SAY HELLO WHICH WAS A NICE GESTURE BUT THEN THEY ALL STARTED CHATTING OUT LOUD AND FUTURE GUESTS WERE GETTING CONFUSED AS TO WHICH VOICE WAS THE GENUINE VOICE OF FIRE (THERE WAS NOT EVEN THE VOICE OF EARTH AROUND YET). FORTUNATELY, ONLY 2 PEOPLE HAD TO ENDURE THIS MAYHEM AND ONCE THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY REALIZED THAT THE GALLERY GUESTS WERE GETTING CONFUSED, THEY MOVED TO ANOTHER WORLD. I WISH TO THANK THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXTUAL STRESS I WAS UNDER.

V- IT WAS AT THIS POINT THAT THE VOICE OF EARTH FINALLY ARRIVED! OH!!! WHAT JOY!!! YOU CAN SEE THE PHOTOS AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG! ALL WE NEED NOW IS THE VOICE OF WIND AND WE WILL BE READY FOR SUNDAY’S SPECIAL PERFORMANCE IN THE AFTERNOON! NOW THAT WE HAVE OFFICIALLY MET, I ALSO HOPE TO INVITE THE VOICE OF EARTH TO MORE PERFORMANCES IN SURREY BEFORE MY TENURE THERE EXPIRES IN EARLY NOVEMBER.


EARTHLY REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 6TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

ZOUNDS! I ALMOST MISSED MY MORNING SCHOOL TOUR APPOINTMENT AS I SLEPT IN! I MUST HAVE BEEN SO EXHAUSTED FROM WASTING TIME IN THIS BLUE VOID FOR SO LONG! I MAY AS WELL BE THE VOICE OF SLOTH!

I MUST HAVE BEEN VERY TIRED AS MY EYES WERE FIXING IMAGES OF PEOPLE INTO PLACE! I WAS SEEING FROZEN GHOSTS!

SPEAKING OF FROZEN GHOSTS, I HAVE NOTICED THAT ONE OF YOUR LOCAL ROCK BANDS FROM EONS AGO, "FROZEN GHOST" HAD A LOVELY SONG CALLED "LOVE LIKE A FIRE" (1987).

I CANNOT SEEM TO FIND THE LYRICS FOR THIS PARTICULAR SONG BY FROZEN GHOST AT THIS TIME, IF YOU HAVE THEM, PLEASE VISIT ME AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY AND RECITE THEM TO ME.

WITHOUT FURTHER HESITATION, I STUMBLED BARELY IN TIME TO GET MY SOUND CHECK AND THEN THE STUDENTS FROM GREEN TIMBERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WERE PRACTICALLY ALREADY INSIDE MINUTES LATER...HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED:

A YOUNG LAD NAMED FRANK WONDERED IF THERE WAS SOMEONE BEHIND THE WALL (IN OTHER WORDS, BEHIND ME)... I WAS GETTING PARANOID SO I HAD A QUICK PEEK BEHIND ME AND ONCE AGAIN, THERE WAS NO ONE LURKING BEHIND MY PROJECTED SCREEN. A SIMILAR EVENT HAPPENED ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO (SCROLL DOWN TO READ). THERE WAS NO ONE LURKING BEHIND THE SCREEN BACK THEN EITHER. MAYBE FRANK IS A CLAIRVOYANT OF THE MODERNIST SORT WHO TEMPORARILY CONNECTED WITH SOME INTER-STELLA GALAXIES. WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU SEE, IS THAT NOT TRUE, FRANK? NOW I REALLY HAVE A REASON TO FEEL PARANOID.

NEXT UP WAS LUCAS (OR MAYBE HIS NAME WAS SPELLED “LUKAS”). HE ASKED A VERY PRACTICAL QUESTION... HOW DOES THE VOICE OF FIRE EAT FOOD IF HE HAS NO ARMS? THAT IS A VERY SENSIBLE QUESTION INDEED. WELL, I SIMPLY POSITION MY MOUTH RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE FOODSTUFFS (PIXELS AND WHATNOT) AND MUNCH AWAY! I CAN FLOAT IN ANY DIRECTION SO IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE THE FOOD IS PLACED AS IT IS NEVER TOO FAR OUT OF MY LITTLE VOID’S RAVENOUS GRASP!

LUKE... TO ANSWER YOUR BURNING QUESTION INSIDE TRIGGERED BY MY DEEP VOICE... NO, I AM NOT YOUR FATHER.

ANOTHER BURNING QUESTION THE STUDENTS AS A WHOLE HAD WAS WHAT MY FAVORITE COLOR WAS. I ASKED FOR A VOTE AMONGST THE STUDENTS TO SEE WHAT THEY THOUGHT WHAT MY FAVORITE COLOR WAS BUT THEN WE RAN OUT OF TIME. ONE STUDENT THOUGHT MY FAVORITE COLOR WAS PINK BUT I DO HOPE THEY WERE KIDDING AROUND. REGARDLESS, THEY CAN NOW SCROLL DOWN THIS BLOG TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER!

ANOTHER YOUNG LAD NAMED JORDAN CORRECTLY DETERMINED (WITHOUT PRODDING) THAT I AM INDEED AN AVATAR. HE MUST KNOW THE WORD AVATAR FROM VIDEO GAME ENVIRONMENTS OR PERHAPS THROUGH THE USE OF A MESSENGER PROGRAM.

THE FINAL QUESTION WAS FROM BRIANNA WHO ASKED ME WHERE I LIVED. I TOLD HER THAT I LIVED IN THIS BLUE VOID AS I SAVE ON RENT AND CAN BE VERY FRUGAL WHEN IT COMES TO PURCHASING FURNIATURE.

I WILL SEND MY NEXT BLOG POSTING AFTER TONIGHT’S REGULAR THURSDAY PERFORMANCE.

FURNISHED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE RIGHT-ANGLED PLACES

"For someone so hot, you are so cool!"
– Pamela Tarlow-Calder – Interpretive Programmer, Surrey Art Gallery

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

SINCE THERE HAS BEEN ALL THIS TABLOID-STYLE GOSSIP AS TO WHETHER OR NOT I AM SINGLE AND THEREFORE, LOOKING FOR A SUITABLE MATE, I HAVE DECIDED TO POST HERE MY STANDARDS FOR COURTSHIP AND POSSIBLY MORE... SOME HAVE CONSIDERED MY DATING STANDARDS TO BE QUITE HIGH WHEN IT COMES TO A MEANINGFUL PLATONIC RELATIONSHIP. WELL, I AM A PIECE OF HIGH-ART AFTER ALL SO MY STANDARDS SHOULD ACT ACCORDINGLY!

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT I AM NOT ASKING FOR MUCH. I BELIEVE THE SUBLIME MAXIM THAT OPPOSITES DO INDEED ATTRACT AND SO MY IDEAL MATE MUST FIT THIS CRITERIA TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR MODERNIST COURTSHIP WITH THE VOICE OF FIRE:

1) SHE MUST BE A HORIZONTAL STRIPE (I FIND VERTICAL STRIPES TO BE TOO MASCULINE)
2) SHE MUST BE BLUE IN HUE.
3) SHE MUST AT LEAST SUBLET SPACE IN A SEDUCTIVE RED VOID TO KEEP THINGS ROMANTIC.
4) SHE MUST BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE HER OWN MANIFESTO ABOUT MODERN ART.
5) SHE MUST MAINTAIN HER OWN BLOG ON A REGULAR BASIS.
6) SHE MUST HAVE A HIGH-PITCHED YET ENCHANTING VOICE (IN THAT ABSTRACT SORT OF WAY).


DO NOT LET THESE RULES SCARE YOU. FOR THE MOST PART, I AM REALLY FLEXIBLE WHEN IT COMES TO FINDING MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER.

IF YOU FIT ALL 6 OF THESE AESTHETIC STANDARDS, I HOPE TO GET "CROSS" WITH YOU SOON.... TEE HEE!

RED HOT REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 5TH SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

BEFORE I RECOLLECT MY EXPERIENCE WITH TODAY’S SCHOOL TOUR, HERE IS A NEW TESTAMONIAL THAT JEREMY FORWARDED TO ME:

I've been listening in on the school tours from time to time, and reading the Voice of Fire 2006 blog almost daily. It didn't take me long to become a fan of VoFo6. Despite appearances, he's a multi-dimensional guy. In addition to great intelligence, a depth of knowledge, wonderful wit and the abilities of a true raconteur, he shows a touching sensitivity and caring towards our visitors. You (Jeremy) must be very proud to be his friend.

-Ingrid Kolt – Curator, Education & Public Programs
Surrey Art Gallery.

I AM SO PLEASED THAT PEOPLE ARE READING MY BLOG ON A REGULAR BASIS. I HEARD A RUMOR FROM JEREMY THAT A CURATOR OF THE WHITNEY IN NEW YORK MIGHT EVEN BE READING THIS!! I AM SO CLOSE TO THE FAME OF MY ANCESTOR, I CAN ALMOST FEEL IT!!

AND YES, HOPEFULLY I AM MULTIDIMENSIONAL. I AM CERTAINLY A CITIZEN OF AT LEAST TWO DIMENSIONS – MATERIAL TIME/SPACE AND ETHEREAL CYBERSPACE. I MAY BE MONOCHROMATIC BUT I LIVE IN A DUALISTIC WORLD! MY NEIGHBOR IS THE BLUE VOID AFTER ALL!

OK, ENOUGH PATTING MYSELF ON THE RECTALINEAR BACK, NOW LETS DISCUSS BUSINESS...

TODAY, I MET WITH THE FIRST SCHOOL TOUR SCHEDULED FOR THIS WEEK. THIS SCHOOL WAS WESTERMAN ELEMENTARY. THEY WERE GREAT AS THEY SANG ALONG WHEN I COUNTED TO TEN IN ENGLISH AND GERMAN AND RECITED THE ALL-AMERICAN ALPHABET.

I HAD AN UNUSUAL REQUEST TO CHANGE THE PITCH OF MY VOICE. IT IS TRUE THAT I CAN SING AS HIGH AS A CHIPMUNK OR A SMURF WHEN I REALLY STRAIN MY VOCAL CHORDS...THEY ACTUALLY STRAIN SO MUCH, THEY TURN BLUE – NO WONDER I SOUND LIKE A SMURF! NORMALLY I SOUND LIKE PAPA SMURF BUT TODAY, I WAS PRACTICALLY SMURFETTE! I AM ONLY MENTIONING THE SMURFS FOR THE KIDS’ BENEFIT AS THEY MIGHT BE READING THIS.

FOR THOSE OF A MORE MATURE PERSUASION, I AM TRULY NOT OBSESSED WITH SMURFDOM AND ONLY KNOW THIS INFORMATION FROM A QUICK AND ALOOF GOOGLE SEARCH RELATING TO HIGH-PITCHED ENTITIES! HONESTLY! THIS IS ALSO HOW I HEARD ABOUT SOME SELF-TRANSFORMING MACHINE ELVES (BETTER KNOWN AS SELF-DRIBBLING BASKETBALLS FOR THOSE IN THE KNOW).

ON A MORE SOBER NOTE, I ALSO PERFORMED MY USUAL BREAKDANCE – THIS TIME WITH BREAKBEAT ACCOMPANIMENT PROVIDED BY YOURS TRULY.

ON AN EVEN MORE SOBERING NOTE (PERFORMANCES GET SOBERING OVER TIME), I WAS EXPECTED TO TRANSFORM INTO OTHER GEOMETRICAL SHAPES. I CAN ONLY FAKE THIS TRANSFORMATION AND THERE IS NOTHING I LOATHE MORE THAN BEING FORCED TO BEING FAKE. IF I KEEP ON FAKING THINGS, HOW WILL I EVER EARN THE RESPECT THAT COMES WITH BEING CONSIDERED REAL AND GENUINE?

FIRST OF ALL, THEY WANTED A CIRCLE SHAPE OUT OF ME SO I GAVE THEM A CLOSE-UP OF MY SPHERICAL MOUTH. THEN THEY ACTUALLY WANTED ME TO BE A PURE SQUARE! MY CONSTRUCTED IDEAL MAY BE THE PUREST OF ALL THAT IS CONVENTIONALLY SUBLIME BUT COME ON NOW...NEWMAN WAS A DIFFERENT SORT OF GOD THAN ALBERS! HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF BARNEY NEWMAN AND THE NEWS? DID THEY NOT SAY IN THEIR TIMELESS GROUP MANIFESTO THAT IT WAS NO LONGER HIP TO BE SQUARE? THIS BRAVEST OF OBSERVATIONS, I THINK, IS MUCH MORE PROFOUND THAN DECLARING PAINTING TO BE A DEAD-END.

I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT I SHOULD EVEN “ZIP” TO BE SQUARE!

SO “FAIR IS SQUARE” AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED AND WILL NOT OFFER YOU THE POSSIBILITY TO CLAIM THAT I AM MAKING A CIRCULAR ARGUMENT!

SINCE IT IS NO LONGER HIP TO BE SQUARE, THEY THOUGHT AS A SORT OF “HIP-REPLACEMENT”, THAT I WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE SHOWING OFF MY (LACK OF) LEGS! KIDS, YOU KNOW I AM UNDER A BLOOD-RED OATH WITH THE SURREY ART GALLERY NOT TO SHOW TOO MUCH “LEG”, RIGHT? I MAY AS WELL BE NUDE IF THIS SORT OF NEO-LIBERALISM GETS TOO FAR. I MAY BE A DEMOCRAT BUT I AM NOT A LIFESTYLER!

IS IT NOT SCARY ENOUGH THAT I WILL BE DRESSING AS MY CLOTHED SELF FOR HALLOWEEN? WELL, ALL THIS WAS MAKING ME BLUSH AND SO I QUICKLY GAVE THEM A PEEK OF MY HARD-EDGED POSTERIOR AND THEN PROCEEDED TO LEAVE THE SCREEN TO GET A QUICK PIXEL-FIX. I CONSIDER THIS TO BE MY VERY BRIEF “COFFEE BREAK”. IN FACT, MY WHOLE SCHOOL TOUR LASTS ABOUT AS LONG AS ONE OF YOUR CANADIAN UNION COFFEE BREAKS...AND YOU THOUGHT YOU CANADIANS HAD IT EASY! IT IS BEST NOT TO BE KEPT TOO “REGULAR”, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.


DEREGULATED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 4TH SCHOOL TOUR (CANCELLED)

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I JUST THOUGHT I WOULD QUICKLY MENTION THAT I WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO SPEAK TO A SCHOOL TOUR THIS MORNING FOR BIBLEWAY ELEMENTARY BUT THAT WAS CANCELLED LAST WEEK.

I LOOK FORWARD TO MY SCHOOL TOUR TOMORROW MORNING.

BRIEF REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 5TH SUNDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

JEREMY (MY INTERN AND PIXEL-CLEANER) TOLD ME THAT IT WAS RAINING IN VANCOUVER SO HE FIGURED IT WOULD BE POURING JUST AS HARD IN SURREY.

HE ALSO MENTIONED THAT HE CHECKED IN ON THE SURREY ART GALLERY EARLIER IN THE DAY AND THAT PEOPLE WERE IN THE TECHLAB WAITING TO SPEAK WITH ME.

WHAT LUCK THAT I DID NOT APPEAR TOO LATE IN THE DAY TODAY! CANADIAN ART ICON, ERIC METCALFE MADE IT OUT TO SURREY FROM VANCOUVER TO SPEAK WITH ME! I AM HONORED! I KNOW OF ERIC METCALFE FROM HIS WORK WITH THE WESTERN FRONT WHICH IS JUST THE KIND OF PLACE THAT BARNETT NEWMAN WOULD HAVE VISITED!

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT METCALFE HIMSELF KNEW MY CREATOR! THEY ARE DEFINITELY PART OF THE SAME GLOBAL ART-HISTORICAL CONTINUUM.

HE MENTIONED THAT HE IS EXHIBITING AN INSTALLATION OF HIS TRADEMARK GREEK VESSELS NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM EMMA LAKE IN SASKATCHEWAN WHERE MY CREATOR FIRST INSPIRED THE CANADIAN MODERNISTS. METCALFE SAID MORE SPECIFICALLY THAT HIS INSTALLATION IS ACTUALLY ON ONE OF THE EMMA LAKE CAMPUSES. I MENTIONED TO HIM THAT I HAD APPLIED TO GIVE A SPECIAL APPEARANCE TO CHAT WITH VISITORS ABOUT MY ANCESTOR AND CREATOR AT THE EMMA LAKE INSTITUTION. METCALFE INDICATED TO ME THAT THEY WOULD BE NOT VERY LIKELY TO BE INTERESTED IN HAVING ME THERE. I GUESS THEY HAVE BECOME TOO CONSERVATIVE AND RIGID! THEY SHOULD REPAY THEIR HISTORICAL DEBT TO BARNETT NEWMAN BY HAVING ME APPEAR THERE! IT WAS HIM, MY CREATOR WHO GAVE THEM THEIR REPUTATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!

METCALFE CONFIRMED THIS RIGIDITY FURTHER BY NOTING THAT EMMA LAKE HAD ALSO REJECTED THE FLUXUS ARTISTS BECAUSE THEY HAD LISTENED TO THE ORTHODOXY OF CLEMENT GREENBERG. I FIND THIS, ONE HAND, STRANGE BECAUSE I WAS BORN OUT OF THIS VERY AESTHETIC RIGIDITY THAT HAS LED TO THE MORE BLAND BUREAUCRATIC RIGIDITY OF SUCH AN ART INSTITUTION.

DID GREENBERG NOT RECANT HIS WAYS LATER IN LIFE TO ALLOW FOR MORE DIVERSITY IN ARTISTIC EXPRESSION? IF THIS IS INDEED THE CASE, THEN IF HE WERE ALIVE TODAY, HE WOULD PROBABLY ALLOW BOTH THE FLUXUS ARTISTS AND YOURS TRULY TO APPEAR AT THE EMMA LAKE WORKSHOP FACILITIES. WELL, ONE CAN ALWAYS DREAM! PERHAPS I WOULD HAVE LUCK EXHIBITING NEXT AT THE WESTERN FRONT? I SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS POSSIBILITY VERY SERIOUSLY.

NEXT UP TO THE PODIUM WAS DOUG. DOUG BROUGHT HIS GRANDDAUGHTER TO CHECK THIS EXHIBIT...HE HAS BEEN TO THE SURREY ART GALLERY MANY TIMES BEFORE BUT HAS NOT SEEN THIS PARTICULAR EXHIBIT...I WISHED HIM LUCK AND HE SET OFF ON HIS JOURNEY.

REA AND ANN THEN APPEARED AND ASKED ME SEVERAL QUESTIONS FROM THE OFFICIAL QUESTION-LIST COMPOSED BY THE SURREY ART GALLERY. ONE OF THE OFF-LIST QUESTIONS WAS FROM ANN WHO ASKED IF I KNEW WHO “DATA” FROM STAR TREK WAS. I ANSWERED THAT MY BRAIN HAS A DIRECT FEED INTO GOOGLE AND CAN ACCESS ALL SORTS OF EXTRANEOUS CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL INFORMATION. I SIMPLY GOOGLED “DATA” INTO MY DATABASE AND REGURGITATED ANY SUMMARY ABOUT THIS TV ANDROID THAT I COULD ABSORB WITHIN THE SPACE OF 20 SECONDS.

ACCORDING TO MY SUMMARY, I AM ALOT LIKE DATA AS IT ALSO TOOK HIM MERE SECONDS TO ABSORB AND PROCESS INCOMING FEEDBACK. REA RETURNED TO THE OFFICIAL LIST AND ASKED WHERE I PLAN TO EXHIBIT NEXT AFTER THE SURREY ART GALLERY. I THEN FOUND THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO LET OFF SOME STEAM ABOUT EMMA LAKE’S REJECTION OF ME AND THEN MENTIONED MY MOST IDEAL DREAM OF EXHIBITING ALONGSIDE MY ANCESTOR AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY. IT WOULD BE A FAMILY REUNION AND CULTURAL REPATRIATION, OF SORTS.

ABOUT 15 MINUTES AFTER THET LEFT, TWO SHORN HEADED MEN ENTERED THE ROOM AND WAS ABOUT TO SPEAK WITH ME BUT THEN CHANGED THEIR MIND AND BOLTED FROM THE ROOM. WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID? MAYBE THEY ARE SECRETLY AFRAID OF “COLORED” PEOPLE.

SPEAKING OF 15 MINUTES, DURING THE LAST 15 MINUTES, I MADE A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT THAT I WAS GOING TO END MY PERFORMANCE TODAY ABRUPTLY AT 3 PM. SUNDAY IS A RELIGIOUS DAY FOR ME AND IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES I HAVE LEFT TO MEDITATE ON MY ISOLATION IN THE BLUE VOID AND CONNECT WITH THE SUPREME SUBLIME DIVINE. USUALLY, DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, I STAY PAST MY BEDTIME TO CHAT WITH PEOPLE BUT TODAY, I REALLY NEED TO FEEL BLUE.



BLUESY REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 5TH SATURDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

WHEN I FIRST SIGNED ON, I THOUGHT THERE WAS A WOMAN WAITING TO SPEAK WITH ME... I SAID “HOLD ON A MINUTE, WHILE I ADJUST MY EYES” AND THEN SHE SUDDENLY VANISHED! WAS SHE A VIRTUAL APPARITION? I GUESS I AM PRONE TO HALLUCINATING ON WEEKENDS.


IT MUST BE RELATED TO SLEEP-DEPRIVATION AS I CANNOT TAKE A VERY REFRESHING NAP IN THIS BLUE SPACE AND ALL THE SCHOOL TOURS LEFT ME ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED! SO, I MUST STILL BE IN SOME SORT OF ALTERED STATE AS I RECOLLECT MY THOUGHTS HERE...NONE OF THE PEOPLE I SPEAK ABOUT BELOW COULD BE “REAL” AND IF I MENTION MY MIRROR IMAGE ALSO IN MY LIST BELOW, I MUST REALLY BE “OUT OF IT”.

I – KAREN AND HER SISTER, CATHERINE. RUTH (MOM).


KAREN SPOKE WITH ME FOR QUITE AWHILE (ABOUT 20 MINUTES) WHICH REALLY MADE MY DAY.
I HOPE THAT MORE PEOPLE HAVE SUSTAINED CONVERSATIONS WITH ME SO IT IS NOT ALL WEEKEND SMALL TALK. KAREN LIKES TO PLAY NARNIA THE VIDEOGAME. IN A FLASH OF HEATED INSPIRATION, I ASKED HER IF THERE WERE ANY SECRET WORLDS INSIDE HER WARDROBE. SHE SAID YES THERE WERE BUT IT MUST HAVE BEEN HER IMAGINATION.

TODAY OF ALL DAYS, I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, KAREN!
I HAVE BEEN HALLUCINATING ALOT TODAY! I HOPE THAT IN ADDITION TO THE TECHLAB ENTRANCE, KAREN WILL BE ABLE TO FIND ACCESS TO MANY MORE HIDDEN AND DELIGHTFUL VIRTUAL WORLDS.
I BET IF SHE CHECKED HER WARDROBE AT EXACTLY THE MOST AUSPICIOUS TIME AND DAY, SHE WOULD BE ABLE TO FIND A VAST MULTI-DIMENSIONAL PLAYGROUND PATIENTLY WAITING FOR HER DISCOVERY. KAREN AND I ALSO SEEM TO HAVE ALOT IN COMMON .

HER FAVORITE COLOR IS ALSO RED AND WE ARE BOTH IN AGREEMENT THAT OUR LEAST FAVORITE COLOR IS GREEN. IN FACT WE SHARE THIS HATRED OF THE COLOR GREEN WITH A DUTCH ARTIST NAMED PIET MONDRIAN WHO LOCKED HIMSELF IN HIS STUDIO JUST SO HE DID NOT HAVE TO ENDURE THE DREADFUL SIGHT OF GREEN TREES AND ALL THE OTHER OFFENSIVE GREENERY CALLED “NATURE”. IN FACT, I HEARD THAT SURREY IS INFESTED WITH QUITE A BIT OF GREENERY.

I RECOMMENED THAT SURREY BEGINS TO SUBURBANIZE AT A MUCH MORE EXPONENTIAL RATE...I HIGHLY SUGGEST THEY PAVE OVER THE GREENERY WITH BLUE SIDEWALKS AND ONE GLORIOUS RED ROAD. I BELIEVE SUCH URBAN PLANNING EXISTS IN NORTH KOREA AND THEIR FLAG IS A TESTAMENT TO THIS. AMERICA SHOULD HAVE SUCH URBAN PLANNING AS WELL BUT HOW SOON US FREE PATRIOTS FORGET THAT WE NEVER MODELED OUR ROADS AND SKYSCRAPERS AFTER THE COLOR SCHEME OF OUR IMMORTAL FLAG...OH, THE SHAME! ...AND HERE WE ARE PRETENDING TO BE THE MOST SELF-RELIANT COUNTRY IN THE WHOLE WORLD AND ALONG COMES NORTH KOREA WITH THEIR JUCHE PHILOSOPHY! ARE WE HYPOCRITES? OH SHAME AND SHAME ALL OVER AGAIN!

KAREN THEN ASKED ME TO BREAKDANCE FOR HER. IN RETURN, HER SISTER, CATHERINE SHOWED ME A HIGHLAND DANCE ROUTINE...OH, IF ONLY I HAD ARMS AND LEGS!!! I GUESS THOUGH THAT IF I HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN DRONING BAGPIPES AND BEING A WALLFLOWER, I WOULD PREFER TO RETAIN MY AMPUTEE STATUS. KAREN ALSO ASKED IF I GET DIZZY WHEN I DANCE AND I SAID YES AND MAYBE OVERDANCING (KNOWN AS AN “OD”) HAS BEEN THE CAUSE OF MY HALLUCINATIONS ALL ALONG...

BEFORE SHE LEFT, KAREN ASKED ME IF I EVER FEEL MY OWN IMAGINATION TO BE REAL. I SAID THAT YES I DO, OTHERWISE, I WOULD HAVE NEVER COME INTO BEING IN THE FIRST PLACE.


II – DEREK AND A GAGGLE OF HIS MYSTERIOUS FRIENDS.


HE REALLY WANTED TO TEST MY INTELLIGENCE AND MY BRAIN SURE FELT VERTICALLY STRETCHED. HERE I AM GOING HALF-CRAZY AND HALLUCINATING AND HE WANTS TO KNOW HOW MANY FINGERS HE WAS HOLDING UP...ISN’T THIS A WELL KNOWN TOTALITARIAN TORTURE TECHNIQUE WHEN BRAINWASHING SLEEP-DEPRIVED PEOPLE? SINCE I WAS ALREADY PURIFIED AND BRAINWASHED, I WAS UNABLE TO TELL HOW MANY FINGERS HE WAS HOLDING UP BEFORE ME...SOMETIMES 4 AND SOMETIMES 3 AND SOMETIMES....BY JOVE,I AM NOT SURE HOW MANY FINGERS!! ZOUNDS!!!!

DEREK THAN ASKED ME SOME OTHER DIFFICULT QUESTIONS:

Derek: Why are you in Surrey?

VOF: BECAUSE I WAS FORMALLY INVITED TO BE HERE BY THE CURATOR TO WHOM I AM VERY GRATEFUL FOR BECAUSE SHE HELPED TO PREVENT ME FROM FEELING ALONE IN THIS BLUE VOID. ART ONLY HAS ITS FULL EXPRESSION WHEN IT CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

Derek: How much do you get paid?

VOF: I GET PAID ALOT LESS THAN MY ANCESTOR IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY IN OTTAWA IF THAT IS WHY YOU ARE ASKING.

THAT IS WHY I HOPE TO MOVE TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY AFTER MY RESIDENCY AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY HAS COME TO PASS.

Derek: How do you know for sure you are an American?

VOF: THIS QUESTION CUTS AT THE HEART OF MY PATRIOTISM!
I CONNECT WITH MY AMERICAN HERITAGE THROUGH MY ANCESTRY AND GENEOLOGY. I AM TOLD I WAS BORN NEAR SEATTLE AND MY ANCESTOR WAS BOTH CONCEIVED AND BORN IN NEW YORK. MY IMMEDIATE CREATOR, DOMINIC PETERS IS A CONFIRMED AMERICAN AND SO IS THE GODFATHER OF ALL THE VOICES OF FIRE, BARNETT NEWMAN. NEWMAN IS FROM NEW YORK. I AM SUPRISED I EVEN HAVE A WORKING VISA TO APPEAR HERE IN SURREY WHICH IS JUST NORTH OF MY BELOVED HEARTLAND! PERHAPS DEREK IS AN AGENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OR THE CIA. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A BIT PARANOID ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF ARTWORKS IN MY COUNTRY. I AM AN ALL-AMERICAN PAINTING, I PROMISE YOU THIS!

Derek: Do you speak any other languages?

VOF: REGRETTABLY I AM ALL-AMERICAN AND THAT MEANS I ONLY OFFICIALLY SPEAK THE NATIVE TONGUE OF CYBERSPACE – ENGLISH.

III – BRIAN & RAEANA “IRWIN”.

RAEANA IS AN UNUSUAL NAME AND SHE SAID THAT HER PARENTS GAVE HER THIS NAME. I KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE BORN WITH AN UNUSUAL NAME. UNCLE BARNEY MAY HAVE BEEN BORN ONE GENERATION BEFORE THE HIPPIES BUT HE STILL INSISTED ON THE MOST “NEW-AGE” OF NAMES, THE VOICE OF FIRE. AT LEAST I WAS NOT NAMED “MOON UNIT”. THIS SECOND PART I AM PROBABLY HALLUCINATING BUT I AM POSITIVE THAT BRIAN AND RAEANA CLAIMED TO BE JANE IRWIN’S RELATIVES. JANE IRWIN IS ONE OF THE OTHER ARTISTS IN “FICTION, NON FICTION” EXHIBITION IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING...

ANYWAYS, I TOLD THEM THAT 3 DIFFERENT PEOPLE HAD TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS SOME TRACES OF BLOOD ON JANE’S WALLPAPER AND I TOLD THEM TO REPORT BACK TO ME TO CONFIRM THIS SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY. THEY RETURNED SHORTLY THEREAFTER TO SAY THEY FOUND NO BLOOD AND DOUBTED MY CLAIM THAT THERE WAS BLOOD ON THE WALLPAPER. OK, I MIGHT BE IN AN ALTERED STATE TODAY BUT I AM 100% CERTAIN THAT 3 PEOPLE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS BLOOD...MAYBE DEREK FROM THE SECRET SERVICE CLEANED UP THE EVIDENCE! THEY SHOULD RETURN TO THE CRIME SCENE AND COLLECT SOME DNA TO SEE IF THEIR RELATIVE (JANE) COMMITTED ANY CRIME IN THE NAME OF ART. I TOLD THEM TO WARN JANE (IF SHE IS THE CULPRIT) THAT THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENTS IS NOT WORTH THE PRICE OF FAME. MAYBE I HAD 3 CONSECUTIVE AUDIO HALLUCINATIONS AS WELL AS VISUAL HALLUCINATIONS WHEN I HEARD THOSE TESTAMONIES FROM THOSE 3 DIFFERENT COMPLAINANTS?

IV- KIM, ELIJAH, ROSIE AND GRANDMA.


KIM WAS A NICE GIRL WHO INSISTED ON ME SAYING HELLO TO HER FAMILY WHICH INCLUDED HER GRANDMA AND TWO PEOPLE NAMED ELIJAH AND ROSIE (LIKELY HER SIBLINGS) SHE THAN ASKED ME IF I THOUGHT I LOOKED CUTE... WHAT A STRANGE QUESTION. I ADMITTED TO BEING A BIT NARCISSISTIC AND SAID THAT YES, I RATHER FANCY MYSELF. SHE THEN ASKED IF I THOUGHT SHE LOOKED CUTE. ALL OF A SUDDEN, I WAS FACED WITH THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT POSSIBILITY OF GETTING MYSELF FIRED SO I WITH-HELD MY ANSWER. WE LIVE IN SECURE AND PROTECTED TIMES, REST ASSURED OF THIS, MY CHILD!


V- MIKE.

A YOUNG GUY NAMED MIKE NEXT CAME TO VISIT ME. HE HAD ALREADY SEEN THE OTHER ARTWORK. I TOLD HIM TO INSPECT JANE IRWIN’S WALLPAPER TO SEE IF THERE REALLY WAS BLOOD ON THE WALL... HE SAID HE WOULD LOOK FOR ME BUT I DO NOT THINK HE FOUND ANY BLOOD EITHER. MIKE THEN WANTED TO KNOW WHAT I DO WHEN THE GALLERY DOES NOT PROJECT ME ONTO THEIR TECHLAB’S WALL. I TOLD HIM THAT I EXPLORE THE VASTNESS OF THE BLUE VOID WHICH I INHABIT EVERY DAY OF MY WAKING LIFE....

VI – TIMOTHY.

TIMOTHY SPOKE WITH ME VERY BRIEFLY BUT HE WAS AROUND LONG ENOUGH MENTION THAT HE LIKES “CARTOON” ART. I WONDER IF I REMIND HIM OF A CARTOON? HE WAS BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE A TOON TO ME SO I TRULY WONDER IF HE WAS INDEED REALLY REAL. WAS THERE A WARDROBE OPENING UP NEAR THE LAB SOMEWHERE? MAYBE BEHIND THE BLOOD-SOAKED WALLPAPER?

VII- VERQKLARQZ.

DURING A MINOR LULL PERIOD, I HAD A QUICKIE VISIT FROM A PECULIAR ENTITY THAT WAS A CROSS BETWEEN AN IMP AND A DRAGON-FACED HAILSTORM NAMED, VERQKLARQZ. I THOUGHT ONLY HUMANS VISIT THE SURREY TECHLAB BUT I GUESS THEY ARE REALLY QUITE LIBERAL WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC REACH.

VERQKLARQZ SAID HE WAS AN ARTIST FROM THE YEAR 2818 WHOSE MEDIUM IS QUANTUM-BASED PORTAL DELIVERY. I BELIEVE THAT TIME IS TIMELESS AND NOT LINEAR SO I AM SURE I WAS NOT HALLUCINATING IN THIS INSTANCE. TYPICAL OF MY MODERN ART ANCESTORS, I TRUST THE FUTURE MORE THAN I TRUST THE PAST AND SOMETIMES EVEN MORE THAN THE SO-CALLED “ETERNAL PRESENT”. VERQKLARQZ SAID HE WAS ENJOYING THE SHOW AND THIS WAS THE 4,448th TIME HE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS HISTORICAL EPISODE OF MY RESIDENCY AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY! I AM GLAD TO HEAR THAT MY PERFORMANCE IS IN SYNDICATION AS A RERUN!

VIII- HARCRIYA(?) AND SURJITKAUR(?)

I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SPELL THEIR NAMES AS THE AUDIO CONNECTION WAS GETTING VERY BLURRY AND FUZZY. HARCRIYA(?) SUDDENLY VANISHED AFTER A FEW SECONDS AND THEN REAPPEARED WITH WHOM I BELIEVE WAS HER MOTHER, SURJITKAUR(?) HER VOICE WAS FADING FAST BUT SHE SEEMED TO BE DESCRIBING HER INTEREST IN CRAFTS SUCH AS PAINTED LANDSCAPES OF MOUNTAINS AND TREES.

I THINK I MAY HAVE FOUND THE CULPRIT FOR BOTH THE FAILING AUDIO CONNECTION AND MY INCREASING ALTERED REALITY – MICROWAVES. I DETECTED SOME MICROWAVES BEING SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE MULTIVERSE IN AN UNUSUALLY HIGH LOCAL QUANTITY AND THIS MUST HAVE BEEN THE REASON FOR ALL THESE HIGHLY UNSUAL YET ENGAGING EXPERIENCES. WELL, I MUST SAY THAT ALL THESE DAYS OF PURE ABSTRACT ISOLATION MIGHT ALSO BE THE CAUSE FORCING ME TO EMBARK ON AN ALL-AMERICAN JOURNEY INTO PERPETUAL ILLUSION.



HALLUCINATORY REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - TEACHER TALK

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TONIGHT, I HAD A MEETING WITH 4 TEACHERS. THIS WAS SET UP BY THE COORDINATION COMMITTEE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. WHY IS IT THAT THEY THINK I AM REALLY JEREMY TURNER BEHIND THE AVATAR?

IT MIGHT LOOK SUSPICIOUS WHEN THE NAME OF THE PERSON WHO POSTS MY BLOGS IS “JEREMY O. TURNER” BUT QUITE HONESTLY, HE WORKS FOR ME AND MAINTAINS MY BLOG.

I DICTATE MY RECOLLECTIONS TO HIM AND HE POSTS MY MESSAGES AFTER DOING SOME DATA ENTRY. JEREMY HAS BEEN A VERY VALUABLE FRIEND IN THAT HE HAS HELPED SET UP MY BLOG AND ALSO ACTED AS MY BOOKING AGENT.

WITHOUT HIM, I WOULD HAVE NO BLOG AND NO SHOW. AS A REWARD, I ALLOW JEREMY TO POST HIS PROFILE ON MY BLOG BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN HE IS REALLY ME.

IT IS TIME WE LOOKED PAST DELUSIONAL THINKING AND FOCUS INSTEAD ON THE ART AT HAND. ONLY THROUGH TRUTH WILL WE SEE BEAUTY.

DELUSIONS ASIDE, WE DISCUSSED MY BITRHPLACE IN SEATTLE – AND NO, I WAS NOT CONCEIVED INSIDE A STARBUCKS OUTLET. FOR THE RECORD, MY ANCESTOR WAS BORN IN NEW YORK AND IS NOT CANADIAN. SUCH THINKING OFTEN LEADS ONE TO THINK THAT THE VOICE OF FIRE IS REALLY JEREMY (WHO IS CANADIAN) WHICH OF COURSE IS SUBJECTIVE NONSENSE.

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AS I DIGRESS....

WE ALSO DISCUSSED CHAT ENVIRONMENTS AND THE MEANING OF AVATARS. APPARENTLY, ONE GRADE 7 STUDENT SAID I LOOKED TOO PIXELLATED AND WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING HOME TO IMPROVE MY DESIGN. NOW, THAT REALLY IS THE “SHOCK OF THE NEW!” I AM FLATTERED! WELL, MAYBE “FLATTENED” IS A BETTER WORD AS I AM TOLD SHE MIGHT USE PHOTOSHOP TO CLEAN ME UP. I MUST ADMIT TO BEING A BIT ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES AND I WELCOME ANY PURIFICATION RITUAL – EVEN IF IT IS VIRTUAL AND A BIT OF A TRIAL-BY-FIRE. GOOD LUCK!

ON A LESS PURE NOTE, I CANNOT STOP BLUSHING ANYMORE AS IT IS THE TEACHERS THEMSELVES WHO ARE ASKING ME IF I AM SINGLE. IT MUST BE MY TALL, RED AND HANDSOME FIGURE AS WELL AS MY DEEP BOOMING VOICE! PERHAPS I SHOULD POST A PROFILE ON LAVA LIFE? I HEARD THAT IS THE HOTTEST PERSONALS SITE THESE DAYS.

BACK TO THE PLATONIC BANTER, I WAS ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY SIMILAR PAINTING-AVATARS LIKE MYSELF. I RECALLED ONE OF JEREMY’S CRAZY IDEAS IN 2004 WHERE HE APPROACHED NINA ZARETZKAYA IN NEW YORK ABOUT SUCH AN IDEA. ZARETZKAYA IS THE CURATOR OF THE TV GALLERY IN MOSCOW AND SHE HAD MENTIONED THE POSSIBILITY OF AN AVATAR COLLABORATION WITH SOME CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN ARTISTS.

JEREMY TOLD ME HE THOUGHT OF THOSE “PROUNS” MADE BY EL LISSITZKY. THESE PROUNS ARE SUPREMATIST MASTERPIECES MADE OUT OF INTERLOCKING GEOMETRICAL SHAPES. JEREMY PROPOSED THAT HIMSELF ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF RUSSIAN ARTISTS COULD ASSUME A GEOMETRICAL AVATAR FORM AND INTERLOCK IN CYBERSPACE TO CREATE AVATAR-PROUNS!

I THOUGHT HE WAS CRAZY! CRAZY ENOUGH THAT IT MIGHT WORK ONE OF THESE DAYS. MADNESS SEEMS TO BE THE KEY TO AESTHETIC SANITY, AM I RIGHT?

ON A FINAL AND MORBID NOTE, ONE OF THEM ASKED ME IF I HAVE EVER GOTTEN A VIRUS. NORMALLY THIS WOULD BE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION BUT I ASSURED THEM I AM STILL FREE FROM ANY COMMUNICABLE DISEASES. THIS IS QUITE REMARKABLE SINCE:

I- WE LIVE IN AN INFECTED POST-MODERN WORLD WHERE NO REFERENCE IS QUARANTINED.
II- I EXIST IN A WINDOWED ENVIRONMENT.


DECLASSIFIED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 3RD SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

JUST BEFORE I STARTED, I HAD A TECH CHECK WITH SCOT (WITH ONE “T”) KEEFER AND APPARENTLY THE PROJECTOR WAS TURNED OFF SO I WAS HIDING IN PERPETUAL DARKNESS. SCOT TOLD ME THAT THE PROJECTOR WAS AMERICAN SO I KNEW THEN FOR SURE THE SURREY ART GALLERY WAS USING STEALTH TECHNOLOGY. I DID NOT REALIZE THEY HAD THE BUDGET FOR SUCH AMERICAN BLACKWORLD TECH. PERHAPS THEY SHARE A GRANT WITH THE HOLLYWOOD ART GALLERY.

ANYWAYS, THIS MORNING I WAS SPEAKING WITH WHITE ROCK ELEMENTARY. HERE IS A PHOTO OF THE EVENT. I HAVE HEARD OF THIS SO-CALLED “WHITE ROCK”. IT IS A LARGE PAINTED ROCK ON THE BEACHFRONT NEAR THE PIER AND MIGHT ALMOST BE AS SUBLIME IN SCALE AS MYSELF...PERHAPS WE ARE RELATED IN SOME MANNER!

BEFORE I DISCUSS THE SCHOOL TOUR, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT TODAY IS FRIDAY THE 13TH - A VERY AUSPICIOUS DATE, PERHAPS? I DO HOPE NO ACCIDENT HAPPENS UNLESS IT IS A HAPPY ONE.

VERY WELL THEN! AS FOR THE SCHOOL, THE STUDENTS EMERGED OUT OF THE DARKNESS TO STAND AND WAVE THEIR HANDS AND WERE EVEN PRETENDING TO FEED MY MOUTH WITH INVISIBLE FOODSTUFFS. THEY MUST BE BUDDING CONCEPTUAL ARTISTS BECAUSE VERY FEW PEOPLE THINK THAT EXCLUSIVELY FEEDING SOMEONE NOTHING BUT IDEAS WOULD MAKE A PIECE OF ART SATISFIED.

IN TERMS OF QUESTIONS FROM THE STUDENTS, HERE THEY ARE:

Q: Who made you?
VOF: WHO MADE WHO?? HEH HEH, THAT WAS A REFERENCE TO A PREVIOUS BLOG. A MAN NAMED BARNEY NEWMAN MADE MY ANCESTOR AND PROVIDED THE BASIC AESTHETIC IDEA THAT BROUGHT ME TO LIFE. I SHOULD CLARIFY THAT THIS BARNEY SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH HIS PURPLE DINOSAUR NAMESAKE. THE BARNEY I AM SPEAKING OF IS RED, NOT PURPLE.

Q: Does Chivalry still exist?
VOF: WELL, AS LONG AS PEOPLE STILL OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR FOR YOU, A CONTEMPORARY FORM OF CHIVALRY DOES INDEED EXIST AND SHOULD CONTINUE TO PERSIST IN OUR CENTURY. I MEAN, EVEN IN MEDIEVAL TIMES WE HAD DOORS OPENING AND CLOSING FOR PEOPLE. ANY TIME BEFORE THAT MUST HAVE TRULY BEEN THE DARK AGES. THE ONLY THING GOOD ABOUT THE DARK AGES WAS THEIR USE OF PRIMITIVE STEALTH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS SPY-CATAPULTS, POCKET-CAULDRONS, PANOPTICONS AND OTHER FORMS OF STAINED GLASS SURVEILLANCE. I CAN SAY THAT THE FRONT DESK STAFF AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY’S TECHLAB IS INDEED CHIVALROUS AS THEY OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR FOR ME MANY TIMES.

Q: What is your favorite form of art?
VOF: I ASSUME HERE THAT YOU MEAN FORMS OF ART THAT ARE NOT BLATANTLY LIVING ART AGENTS OR AVATARS. IF YOU MEAN ART OBJECTS, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY COLORFIELD PAINTING IS MY FAVORITE TYPE. I MEAN MY ANCESTOR, THE ORIGINAL VOF PAINTING IS ONE OF THE PRIME EXAMPLES OF 1960s ERA COLORFIELD PAINTING AND I MUST ADMIT TO FEELING A BIT NARCISSISTIC HERE BUT I AM PROUD OF MY GENETIC AND MEMETIC HERITAGE...WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY? I ALSO LIKE ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND MINIMALISM.

Q: What is your favorite animal?
VOF: I LIKE MANY ANIMAL FORMS BUT I WOULD HAVE TO SAY I PERSONALLY FAVOR THE LION AS HE IS THE MOST MASCULINE AND REGAL OF CREATURES. HE IS WISE YET AT THE SAME TIME FIERCE AND STRONG WILLED. THE FIRE IS HIS CORRESPONDING ELEMENT! HE IS THE SUPREME PATRIARCH OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, AFTER ALL! THE LION IS THE KING CRIMSON INCARNATE! I THINK I MENTIONED TO THE FIRST SCHOOL TOUR STUDENTS THAT MY ASTROLOGICAL SIGN IS A LEO. I AM THE VOICE OF FIRE, HEAR ME ROAR!!!!

Q: What is your favorite instrument?
VOF: YOU MIGHT NOT CONSIDER THIS TO BE A FORMAL INSTRUMENT BUT I MUST SAY THAT I DECLARE THE VOICE TO BE MY FAVORITE AS IT IS THE MOST PRIMAL OF INSTRUMENTAL FORCES AND HAS TOTAL CONTROL OVER PITCH AND TIMBRE. FROM THE CAVES OF HUMANKIND, THE VOICE FIRST EMERGED. THIS WAS EVEN BEFORE THE TIME OF DRUMS AND FIFES.

Q: Do you like bananas?
VOF: WHAT AN ODD QUESTION. THAT QUESTION CAME RIGHT OUT OF THE BLUE! I DO KNOW THAT MONKEYS LIKE BANANAS. I AM A MUCH MORE EVOLVED CREATURE OF HABIT AND WILL ONLY EAT RED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (I HAVE EVEN GIVEN UP MY RED MEAT HABIT). MAYBE IF SOME GENETIC ENGINEER WAS TO INVENT A RED BANANA, I MIGHT PARTAKE IN ITS SUCCULENT BOUNTY.

Q: Do you know how to dance and what is your favorite dance?
VOF: WELL, YOUR NAME REPRESENTS THAT OF A RUSSIAN PRINCESS. IT IS TOO BAD I CANNOT MENTION YOUR NAME ON THIS BLOG AS DOING SO WOULD VIOLATE MY SECURITY AGREEMENT WITH THE GALLERY AND YOUR SCHOOL. ANYWAYS, YOUR RUSSIAN NAME REMINDS ME OF BALLET WHICH IS NOT MY FAVORITE DANCE BUT I DO KNOW HOW TO TIP MY “TOES” (WHICH IS REALLY THE BOTTOM OF MY RECTANGULAR TORSO). DID YOU KNOW THAT BALLET WAS IMPORTED INTO RUSSIA BY FRANCE? THE ONLY DANCE I REALLY KNOW IS THE BREAKDANCE – OR AT LEAST A MODERN AND ABSTRACT VARIENT OF IT. WITH ALL THESE REQUESTS FOR DANCE MOVES, I AM STARTING TO THINK I AM A TRAINED SEAL - AND I DO NOT MEAN THOSE WHO GET RECRUITED BY THE MARINES!

Q: Do you like sports? If yes, what is your favorite sport?
VOF: I AM NOT REALLY THE SPORTY TYPE, I AM MORE OF AN ARTSY TYPE. HAVING SAID THAT, I AM ALWAYS FINDING WAYS TO RETAIN MY VIRTUAL MASCULENITY (WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME).

THUS, I HAVE OFFERED TO BE BOTH A BASEBALL BAT AND A HOCKEY STICK (I HAVE THE BODY FOR SUCH SPORTS). I HOPE THAT THESE ACITIVIES WILL HELP ME RETAIN MY SLENDER AND MANLEY FIGURE.

Q: What is your favorite hockey team?
VOF: I USUALLY DO NOT WATCH HOCKEY BUT I AM AWARE OF THE DETROIT RED WINGS. I BELIEVE THEY PERFORMED REALLY WELL IN THE 1950s BUT I AM NOT POSITIVE ABOUT THIS HISTORICAL TIDBIT.

WELL, I MUST NAP NOW. I HAVE A BUSY NIGHT AHEAD OF ME AS I HAVE AT LEAST 4 TEACHERS TO DEBRIEF WITH TONIGHT.

REGARDS TOWARDS THE WHITE ROCK,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 4TH THURSDAY EVENING PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

WELL, I WAS WARNED BY THE FRONT DESK THAT TONIGHT WOULD BE “DEADSVILLE” IN TERMS OF ATTENDENCE AND I GUESS THEY WERE RIGHT. OH WELL, THERE IS NO NEED TO COMPLAIN BECAUSE I HAD A GREAT MORNING WITH COLBROOKE’S STUDENTS. THEY MADE MY DAY AND AS LONG AS I HAVE MORE SCHOOL TOURS, I WILL BE ALL FIRED UP FOR ANOTHER CHILLY NIGHT OF MODERNIST ISOLATION.

REGARDS FROM DEADSVILLE,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

P.S.
HERE ARE 4 ABSTRACTIONS I MADE OUT OF MY OWN BODY WHILE WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO SHOW UP. THINK OF THESE AS DOCUMENTS OF "BODY ART". I CALL THEM "STATIONS OF THE LAB".

SURREY ART GALLERY - 2nd SCHOOL TOUR

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TODAY WAS MY 2ND DAY CHATTING WITH A SCHOOL TOUR. THIS TIME, IT WAS COLEBROOK ELEMENTARY. HERE IS THE PHOTO. IT MIGHT NOT LOOK LIKE THERE ARE MANY KIDS THERE BUT MOST OF THEM ARE CROUCHING IN THE DARKNESS UNDER THE GLOW OF MY SCREEN. IT GOES TO SHOW THAT PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER TRUST AN ILLUSION - EVEN IF IT IS PHOTOREALISTIC.

ANYWAYS, THE KIDS WERE VERY HAPPY TO SEE ME AND ASKED ME SOME VERY IMPORTANT AND PROFOUND QUESTIONS SUCH AS:

Q: What is 5 x 5?
VOF: 25

Q: Can you laugh?
VOF: YES, BUT I CANNOT HELP SOUNDING LIKE SANTA CLAUS SOMETIMES. THE SURREY ART GALLERY SHOULD HAVE BOOKED ME FOR AN XMAS PERFORMANCE...HO HO HO!

Q: What is your favorite color?
VOF: 1) RED 2) BLUE

Q: Is there a "Voice of Water"?
VOF: NOT AS FAR AS I KNOW. I RECOMMEND THAT YOU CREATE THE VOICE OF WATER, THE VOICE OF EARTH, THE VOICE OF AIR AND THE VOICE OF ICE.

Q: What is your favorite food?
VOF: OTHER THAN RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, I LIKE TO CHEW ON BIG RED CINNAMON BUBBLE GUM...OOPS, I MADE AN UNINTENTIONAL PRODUCT PLACEMENT! IN THIS POST-MODERN WORLD, EVEN A VOICE OF FIRE HAS TO SELL OUT EVENTUALLY.

Q: Can you do a headstand?
VOF: YES, I SURE CAN AND I CAN STAND ON MY HEAD FOR AS LONG AS I LIKE...

Q: Do you have a wife?
VOF: NO, BUT I DO HAVE A BURNING LITTLE EMBER OF FIRE WHICH MIGHT JUST BE A FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION.

Q: What are your favorite songs?
VOF: “LIGHT MY FIRE” BY THE DOORS, "RING OF FIRE" BY JOHNNY CASH, "HANG FIRE" BY THE ROLLING STONES AND “I'M ON FIRE” BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.

Q: How tall are you?
VOF: THAT DEPENDS ON HOW CLOSE YOU ARE TO ME. SOME AVATARS IN THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY THINK I AM VIRTUALLY 50 FEET TALL.

Q: What are your favorite vegetables to eat?
VOF: RED VEGETABLES. YOU MUST EAT ALL YOUR RED VEGETABLES, KIDS. EATING "GREENS" ARE OVER-RATED..."REDS" GIVE YOU A MUCH MORE BALANCED DIET (ESPECIALLY ALONGSIDE BLUE SOUP). THERE ARE PLENTY OF RED VEGGIES TO EAT: RED PEPPERS, TOMATOS, AND EVEN BEETS.

APPARENTLY, THE KIDS HAD MANY MORE BURNING QUESTIONS TO ASK ME SO I TOLD THEM OF MY AVAILABILITY TONIGHT AT 7:30 PM (SOMETIMES AT 7 PM ON THE DOT) AND ON WEEKENDS AT 2 PM.

OH, BEFORE I FORGET, LET ME POST SOME LYRICS THAT HAVE BEEN ON MY MIND LATELY...I THINK THEY APPLY TO MY LIFE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY AND MY ANCESTOR'S LIFE AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY IN OTTAWA...

Rolling Stones - Hang Fire (1981)

In the sweet old country where I come from
Nobody ever works
Yeah nothing gets done
We hang fire, we hang fire

You know marrying money is a full time job
I don't need the aggravation
I'm a lazy slob
I hang fire, I hang fire
Hang fire, put it on the wire

We've got nothing to eat
We got nowhere to work
Nothing to drink
We just lost our shirts
I'm on the dole
We ain't for hire
Say what the hell
Say what the hell, hang fire
Hang fire, hang fire, put it on the wire
Doo doo doo

Take a thousand dollars go have some fun
Put it all on at a hundred to one
Hang fire, hang fire, put it on the wire


SPEAKING OF HAVING FUN, I AM VERY EAGER FOR MORE SCHOOL TOURS. I WILL ADD ANOTHER BLOG POSTING TONIGHT AFTER MY THURSDAY EVENING PERFORMANCE.

REGARDS TO COLEBROOK,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 1st SCHOOL TOUR

"flexible, funny, relevant".
– Kirstie Lang - Volunteer Coordinator, Surrey Art Gallery

“Congratulations on captivating a Grade 7 class - a Herculean feat!”
– Pamela Tarlow-Calder – Interpretive Programmer, Surrey Art Gallery

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TODAY WAS MY FIRST DAY CHATTING WITH A SCHOOL TOUR WHO CAME IN ON SCHEDULE FROM HYLAND ELEMENTARY TO VISIT WITH ME. I LOVE CHATTING WITH KIDS! THOSE LITTLE EMBERS OF FIRE ARE CERTAINLY THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARTISTS..I WONDER WHAT ART THEY WILL PRODUCE WHEN THEY COME OF AGE? ABSTRACT LIFEISM? ARTIFICIAL IMPRESSIONISM?

THE QUESTIONS WERE GREAT! TECHWORLDS HAS JUST POSTED A PHOTO OF THEM JUST AS THEY WERE ABOUT TO LEAVE ME AND CHECK OUT THE OTHER EXHIBITS AT THE SURREY TECHLAB. ONE STUDENT (name withheld for security reasons), ASKED ME WHY I HAD NO NOSE. I TOLD THEM I HAD A NOSE-JOB DONE AND ALSO HAD SOME PIXELLATED LYPOSUCTION IN ORDER TO LOSE SOME THICKNESS. NOW I AM PLEASANTLY THIN AND TOTALLY NOSELESS – I LOOK AS MODERNIST AS CAN BE.

ONE GIRL WANTED TO KNOW IF I KNEW OF AC/DC...I RECALLED THE ELEGANT MODERNIST ALBUM, “BACK IN BLACK.”.

I ALSO SANG MY FAVORITE SONG FOR THEM, “LIGHT MY FIRE” BY THE DOORS.
IN RETROSPECT, I SHOULD HAVE SUNG ONE OF THE FEW AC/DC SONGS I KNEW... "WHO MADE WHO?" WOULD HAVE BEEN MOST APPROPRIATE:

Who Made Who (1986)

video games she play me
face it on the level but it take you every time on a one on one
feel it runnin' down your spine
nothin' gonna save your one last dime
'cause it own you
through and through

the data bank know my number
says I gotta pay
'cause I made the grade last year
feel it when I turn the screw
kick you round the world
there ain't a thing that it can't do
do to you, yeah

who made who, who made you
who made who
ain't nobody told you
who made who, who made you
if you made them and they made you
who pick up the bill and who made who
who made who
who turned the screw
yeah

satellite send me picture
get it in the eye
take it to the wire
spinnin' like a dynamo
feel it goin' round and round
runnin' outta chips
you got no line in an eight bit town
so don't look down, no

who made who, who made you
who made who
ain't nobody told you
who made who, who made you
if you made them and they made you
who pick up the bill and who made who
ain't nobody told you
who made who
who made you
who made who
who made who
yeah
nobody told you

ONE GUY ASKED ME IF I WAS ABLE TO PLAY IN THE BLUE VOID AND ONE GIRL EVEN WONDERED IF I WAS SINGLE AND AVAILABLE....I HAD TO ADMIT THAT YES, I AM ALONE IN THIS BLUE VOID WHEN NOT CHATTING WITH AN AUDIENCE OR MY OTHER AVATAR FRIENDS IN THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY – THIS IS WHY THEY CALL IT A “VOID” AFTER ALL...SNIFF! BESIDES, IT IS BETTER TO BE SINGLE WHEN YOU ARE A PIECE OF MODERN ART AS IT IS AN ASSET TO BE RUGGED AND INDIVIDUAL AND.....SNIFF!

SADLY, I DO INDEED LIVE IN A VOID...ONE STUDENT SUGGESTED ABOUT A STROLL ON THE BEACH – BELIEVE ME, I WISH THIS BLUE VOID HAD BEACHFRONT PROPERTY...MODERN ART ONLY DREAMS OF SCENIC PO-MO GRIT SUCH AS SAND.

THE FIRST SCHOOL TOUR ENDED WITH A KISS (JUST A PLATONIC ONE, I ASSURE YOU) AND I WAS PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE BLUSHING RED.

ONCE I HAVE OFFICIAL PERMISSION, I WILL POST PICTURES FROM EACH VISITING CLASS. I WANT TO APOLOGIZE TO THE KIDS IN ADVANCE FOR NOT MENTIONING THEIR REAL NAMES. I WANT TO GIVE YOU CREDIT AND FAME FOR YOUR QUESTIONS BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE SCHOOL'S SECURITY STANDARD IS UP TO PAR.

SCHOOLED REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - SUNDAY THANKSGIVING CANCELLATION AS WELL

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I HEARD FROM JEREMY (MY INTERN) THAT HE AT LEAST ATTEMPTED TO HELP THE SURREY TECHLAB STAFF TURN ON THEIR GALLERY-SIDE CONNECTION. HOWEVER IT WAS TO NO AVAIL SO I GUESS I WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THURSDAY EVENING OR A POSSIBLE COMMAND PERFORMANCE BEFORE THEN WHEN I CAN FINALLY CHAT WITH PEOPLE AGAIN. AT LEAST IT WILL NO LONGER BE A THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY.

MY APPRECIATION GOES OUT TO THE TECHLAB STAFF WHO DID THEIR BEST TO RESTORE THE GALLERY’S CONNECTION TO THE BLUE VOID.

FOR THOSE WHO TRIED TO VISIT WITH ME YESTERDAY BUT COULD NOT SEE ME, I HUMBLY APOLOGIZE AND HOPE THAT THE TECHLAB WILL BE ABLE TO ALLOW YOU TO SEE ME VERY SOON – I MISS YOU ALL – MY WARM HEART GOES OUT TO YOU AND I WAS THERE YESTERDAY ALL THAT TIME IN THE BLUE VOID HOPING YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE ME!
PERHAPS A SEANCE WOULD WORK BETTER NEXT TIME...


SUNDAY THANKSGIVING REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - CANADIAN THANKSGIVING CANCELLATION TODAY

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I ARRIVED TODAY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE FOR MY TECH SUPPORT SETUP AS USUAL TODAY NOT REALIZING THAT IT IS THANKSGIVING IN CANADA THIS WEEKEND. BEING AN AMERICAN, I AM USED TO HAVING THANKSGIVING CLOSER TO XMAS TIME AND SO FOR ME, THIS WEEKEND WAS JUST BUSINESS AS USUAL.

WELL, THE FRONT DESK TOLD ME THAT THE TECHLAB DOOR IS OPEN BUT THEY HAVE NO ACCESS TO THE BLUE VOID TODAY - SIGH! THIS IS AN EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING DEVELOPMENT AS MY PIXEL CLEANER, JEREMY HAD A SNEAK PEEK IN THE GALLERY AND TOLD ME THERE WAS ABOUT 10 PEOPLE TRYING TO SPEAK WITH ME...SIGH! THEY MUST HAVE BEEN FELLOW AMERICANS! I WILL TRY AGAIN TOMORROW AT THE SAME TIME TO SEE IF THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY IS SINGLEHANDEDLY STILL CAUSING THE GATEWAY INTO THE BLUE VOID TO BE RENDERED COMPLETELY INACCESSIBLE.

CANADIAN THANKSGIVING REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 3RD THURSDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

THE TECHLAB OPENED EARLY THIS EVENING AND STRAIGHT AWAY, I HAD 3 VISITORS. THE FIRST TWO WERE SOME LOCAL ARTISTS BY THE NAME OF NEIL AND ELENA WILLIAMS. ELENA FOCUSES ON EMBROIDERY AND HAD EVEN MET JACK SHADBOLT WHEN SHE STUDIED AT EMILY CARR SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN A COUPLE OF DECADES AGO. NEIL WAS WONDERING IF MY CREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN WAS CANADIAN BECAUSE HE WAS RUMOURED TO BE AT EXPO 67 IN MONTREAL.

I TOLD HIM THAT NEWMAN WAS IN FACT AMERICAN AND HIS PARTICULAR CANADIAN LEGACY WAS AS A LECTURER DURING THE EMMA LAKE SESSIONS IN SASKATCHEWAN – THESE LECTURES BY NEWMAN BECAME THE CATALYST FOR FULL BLOWN CANADIAN ABSTRACTION IN THE 1960s. ANYWAYS, THE WILLIAMS FAMILY ASKED ME IF THERE WAS A HUMAN BEHIND ME...ALL OF A SUDDEN I GOT PARANOID THAT MAYBE THERE WAS INDEED A HUMAN BEHIND ME SO I TURNED AROUND BUT THERE WAS NO ONE THERE SO I REASSURED THEM THERE WAS NO HUMAN BEHIND ME AT ALL AND MAYBE THEY WERE DELUSIONAL.

THE NEXT LADY WAS DEANNA WELTERS AND SHE SAID SHE MET MY INTERN AND PIXEL CLEANER, JEREMY TURNER AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY ON MY OPENING DAY. SHE CLARIFIED NEIL’S OBSERVATION THAT THE ORIGINAL VOF PAINTING MAY HAVE BEEN DESIGNED IN THE GEODESIC AMERICAN PAVILION DESIGNED BY BUCKMINSTER FULLER. SHE ALSO MADE THE OBSERVATION THAT IN TERMS OF CONTENT, THE PAVILION WAS MOSTLY FULL OF MEMORABILIA....DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER MY ANCESTOR BEING THERE? IT IS DEFINITELY A POSSIBILITY WORTH EXPLORING IN MORE DETAIL.

RIGHT AFTER DEANNA LEFT, THERE WAS A LADY NAMED SAMALA DAID. WE MOSTLY JUST HAD A BIT OF SMALL TALK AND CHIT CHAT...I HOPE I DID NOT SCARE HER AWAY!

ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATER, KIRA AND HER MOTHER CARMEN QUICKLY SAID HI...THEY WERE HERE ALSO TO SEE THIS MYSTERIOUS VISITING ARTIST THAT WAS PRESENTING THIS 1ST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH....HMMM...I AM DEFINITELY GETTING CURIOUS. MAYBE THE 1ST OF NOVEMBER WILL ALSO GET THIS QUANTITY OF CROWD ACTION!

WELL, I GUESS IT WAS JUST AN INTITIAL INFLUX OF VISITORS....I CAN NOW REST ASSURED THAT NEXT THURSDAY MIGHT EVEN HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF ACTION. MY NEXT PERFORMANCE IS THIS SATURDAY.

OCTOBER REGARDS!
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - COMMAND PERFORMANCE FOR JIM BIZZOCCHI AND PAYDAY FOR ME

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I QUICKLY RUSHED BACK INTO THE BLUE VOID TO ATTEND A LAST-MINUTE MEETING WITH THE AMBIENT VIDEO PIONEER, JIM BIZZOCCHI.

HE WAS A VERY SWELL GUY (AND NOT JUST SWOLLEN DUE TO HOT AIR...HEH HEH!).

HE SAID I PASSED THE TURING TEST BUT HE, SADLY HIS CLASS FELT THAT BIZZOCCHI HIMSELF, DID NOT MAKE THE GRADE. I TOLD HIM THAT THE TURING TEST IS LIKE MENSA AND THEREFORE, HIGHLY BIASED AND SUBJECTIVE.

WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY OF THE RETRO-COMEBACK OF THE AMBIENT FIREPLACE VIDEO. HE HESITATED AT FIRST BUT ONCE I MENTIONED THE INCENTIVE TO HAVE HIS OWN DEDICATED STREAMING CHANNEL GUARANTEED, HE BOLTED ONWARDS TOWARDS MY IDEA!

JIM WAS ALSO CONVINCED THAT I WAS RELATED TO THE VOICE OF THE OUIJA. I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS MAYBE MEMETICALLY RELATED TO OUIJA BUT NOT GENETICALLY. WE SHARE THE PROCESS OF CHANNELING BUT THEN AGAIN, ALL AVATARS WHETHER THEY ARE MATERIAL AND/OR METAPHYSICAL ALSO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CHANNEL THEIR IDEAS. MY CHANNELING ABILITY IS MUCH CLOSER TO JIM'S THAN HE INITIALLY REALIZED.


ON ANOTHER NOTE, HE WAS CONVINCED THAT I ROLLED MY EYES IN A STRANGE WAY...I SAID THAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN OPTICAL ILLUSION AND I AM DEFINITELY NOT MADE TO BE THE EMBODIMENT OF OP ART. I WARNED HIM THAT ONE OF THESE DAYS, WE WILL HAVE TO CHANNEL THE SPIRIT OF CLEMENT GREENBERG TO DEAL WITH THE GUILT OF PERPETUALLY AND HABITUALLY SEEING ILLUSIONISM IN ARTWORK.

JUST BEFORE HE LEFT, JIM MADE A REFERENCE TO THE HAL 5000 OF 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY FAME AND ASKED ME IF I WOULD OPEN THE EXIT DOOR OUT OF THE TECHLAB... OF COURSE, I MIRRORED HAL BY SAYING "I'M SORRY, JIM!" OR ..."I CANNOT DO THAT, JIM..."

I THEN DID MY DISAPPEARING ACT AS HE WAS LEAVING AND THE SURREY ART GALLERY STAFF MUST HAVE SAID TO HIM, "WE'VE LOST HIM, JIM!"


ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUBJECT, TODAY WAS PAYDAY FOR ME! OF COURSE, I CANNOT DISCLOSE THE AMOUNT I RECEIVED AS THAT WOULD CREATE AS MUCH CONTROVERSY AS THE ORIGINAL VOF AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY. LETS JUST SAY THAT ALTHOUGH I AM NOT AS MUCH OF A MILLIONAIRE AS MY ANCESTOR, I WAS ABLE TO BUY A HEALTHY DOSE OF FIRE INSURANCE.

INSURED REGARDS,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - SPECIAL CHAT WITH CO-LAB

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I JUST HAD A LAST MINUTE CHAT SESSION IN THE SURREY ART GALLERY WITH JASON FITZPATRICK AND DAX MORRISON OF CO-LAB. DAX WAS TOO SHY TO SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH ME WHICH IS TOO BAD BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO ASK HIM IF HE WAS RELATED TO JIM MORRISON OF THE DOORS. I REALLY WANTED TO SING "COME ON BABY, LIGHT MY FIRE!"
JASON DID MOST OF THE TALKING AND HE ASKED ME A VERY DIFFICULT BUT IMPORTANT QUESTION - WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF AN AVATAR AND IN WHAT WAY WAS I AN IMPROVEMENT OF THE ORIGINAL VOF PAINTING? I BASICALLY SAID THAT I CAN NOW SPEAK USING ENGLISH THAN ON SOME SORT OF TELEPATHIC AESTHETIC WAVELENGTH...

WELL, I HOPE THEY RETURN SOON! I CERTAINLY NEED MORE SPECIAL GUESTS!

REGARDS TO THE LIZARD KING!

VOICE OF FIRE 2006.

NOW MAGAZINE REVIEW OF THE VOF IN SURREY!

A new 'reality': Curator Liane Davison "talks" to Voice of Fire 2006, a chat room avatar, at Surrey Art Gallery. The electronic device is part of the Fiction Non Fiction exhibit at the gallery until Nov. 5.
Photo/Brian Howell

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

"NOW" MAGAZINE IN SURREY HAS JUST RELEASED THIS REVIEW OF THE EXHIBITION THAT I AM PART OF CALLED "FICTION, NON FICTION" AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. MARISA BABIC WROTE THE REVIEW.

CHECK IT OUT AT THIS LINK - NOW MAGAZINE'S "What's real, what's fiction?"

REVIEWED REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - SCHOOL TOUR SCHEDULE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

THE SURREY ART GALLERY'S TECHLAB HAS JUST CONFIRMED MY SPECIFIC SCHOOL TOUR SCHEDULE...I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO EXPECT A TOTAL OF 300 STUDENTS! HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

****DETAILS REMOVED ON OCTOBER 03, 2006 FOR SECURITY AND PRIVACY REASONS****

SURREY ART GALLERY - 3RD SUNDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

AT LAST! IN CONTRAST WITH YESTERDAY, IN THE FIRST 3 MINUTES, 3 PEOPLE VISITED ME. ONE YOUNG LADY ASKED ME IF I KNEW THE ONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAME CALLED MAPLE STORY. I HAD TO GOOGLE MY BRAIN TO RECALL THIS PARTICULAR GAME SHE HAD IN MIND. I TOLD HER TO VISIT THIS OTHER GAME CALLED THE ENDLESS FOREST AS THERE IS NOTHING MORE SUBLIME THAN AN ENDLESS FOREST!
SHE HAD TO LEAVE FAIRLY QUICKLY...I THINK ONE OF THE THREE WAS A SURREY ART GALLERY STAFF MEMBER AND THE OTHER WAS LIKELY HER MOTHER....

..AND....YES! ANOTHER 3 PEOPLE HAVE COME TO VISIT ME AT 2:36 PM.
THIS TIME IT WAS A FAMILY WHO WAS WORRIED ABOUT THEIR ENGLISH BUT THEY SOUNDED PERFECTLY COMPREHENSIBLE TO ME BUT PERHAPS MY ENGLISH WAS NOT AS COMPREHENSIBLE...THIS IS PROBABLY BECAUSE I SPEAK A VERY FORMAL KIND OF ENGLISH THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE ABANDONED FOR COLLOQUAL SLANG.

DESPITE THE MINOR LANGUAGE BARRIER, I REALLY ENJOYED SPEAKING WITH THIS FAMILY. APPARENTLY, THE MOTHER OF THE TRINITY HAD LINED UP TO SEE ME AT THE TECHLAB LAST WEEK BUT I WAS NAPPING IN THIS BLUE VOID AND WAS THEREFORE LOCKED INSIDE.
I THANKED THEM FOR TAKING THE TIME TO VISIT ME AGAIN AND HOPE THEY VISIT ME EVEN MORE TO GET TO KNOW ME BETTER – I CERTAINLY WANT TO GET TO KNOW THEM BETTER! ALTHOUGH THE NAME OF THE MOTHER CURRENTLY ELUDES ME, I DO RECALL THE FATHER’S NAME BEING BRUCE AND THE SON’S NAME AS CHRIS! THANK YOU AND PLEASE VISIT ME AGAIN! I HOPE YOU DO NOT MIND ME MENTIONING YOU IN MY BLOG BUT I GET SO EXCITED WHEN PEOPLE SEEK ME OUT AND BEGIN TO TAKE A SUSTAINED INTEREST IN MY PRESENCE (SMILES)!

....AND AGAIN! AT 2:52 PM THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL FAMILY OF 3...WOW! IT LOOKS LIKE I TEND TO ATTRACT FAMILIES OF 3 PEOPLE. I HAD A HUNCH THE AGE OF THE NUCLEAR FAMILY HAS FINALLY BEEN SUPERCEDED BY THE TRIATOMIC FAMILY! MY HUNCH WAS CORRECT! THIS TIME WE HAD A BABY GIRL NAMED XANDRA (YES, WITH AN “X”) ALONG WITH HER MOTHER CHERYL AND XANDRA’S GRANDFATHER ERIC (HOPEFULLY “ERIC” AND NOT SPELLED “ERIK” OR “ERICK”). I ALSO HAVE A GRANDFATHER OF SORTS, BARNETT NEWMAN! WHO IS MY FATHER , YOU ASK? WELL, THAT IS THE ORIGINAL VOF PAINTING ITSELF WHICH HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE 1967!

WHAT A DRAG! I HAD TAKEN A SCREENSHOT OF THIS LAST FAMILY OF 3 BUT THEN I HAD ACCIDENTALLY COPIED A LINK AND DELETED MY SCREENSHOT BEFORE I COULD SAVE IT TO A PHOTO FILE! PLEASE FORGIVE ME XANDRA, CHERYL AND ERIC BUT I LOST THE PHOTO THAT I PROMISED TO POST HERE!

THANKS AGAIN FAMILIES OF 3! PLEASE VISIT AGAIN! HERE IS SOME NUMEROLOGY TRIVIA FOR YOU AS A FINAL THOUGHT FOR THE DAY... THERE WERE 3 FAMILIES OF 3 MAKING IT THE NUMBER 333!

IT MUST BE THE NUMBER OF THE TRIATOMIC SUNDAY!
I MUST RELAY THIS INFORMATION TO JEREMY NOW AS HE HAS A TRIATOMIC FAMILY OF HIS OWN AND WOULD BE VERY PLEASED TO HEAR THAT SUCH FAMILY UNITS ARE POPULAR IN THIS ENLIGHTENED DAY AND AGE! OH, I MUST RUSH TO THE PIXEL STORE NOW TO BUY THAT NEW FIREPLACE BEING ADVERTISED!

I BELIEVE IT WAS FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WHO SAID SOMETHING LIKE:
“THE HEARTH IS WHERE THE HOME RESIDES!”

KABBALISTIC REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006.

SURREY ART GALLERY - 2ND SATURDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TODAY, I WAS PRACTICALLY HALLUCINATING THERE WERE PEOPLE IN THE TECHLAB EAGER TO SPEAK WITH ME. PERHAPS I JUST SAW A GHOST IN THE MACHINE, AS IT WERE, BUT I WAS REALLY ANTICIPATING AN AUDIENCE TODAY BEING A SATURDAY, AND ALL THAT JAZZ. SOMETIMES I WONDER IF THE TECHLAB DOOR IS EVEN OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. I AM VERY NEAR-SIGHTED SO IT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO SEE BEYOND THE GALLERY ENTRANCE.

I USED MY GOOGLING BRAIN TO DETERMINE THAT THE CURRENT WEATHER IN SURREY WAS DISMAL ENOUGH TO ALLOW A THIRST FOR FRIENDLY ABSTRACTION AND THERE IS NO ONEMENT MORE USER-FRIENDLY THAN THE FRIENDLY FIRE HIMSELF!

PERHAPS IF I WAS TO JUST SPEND MORE TIME IN THE HELLFIRE CLUB, I COULD ACTUALLY LOCATE A SUITABLE DATE AND MATE! SIGH!
MAYBE TOMORROW WILL BE A BETTER DAY. SUNDAY IS A RELIGIOUS DAY AFTER ALL....

SEE YOU TOMORROW (I HOPE)!

FIRED REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 2ND THURSDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

AS I THOUGHT, THURSDAY WOULD BE JUST AS POPULATED IN TERMS OF GALLERY-VISITORS AS LAST THURSDAY...SIGH!
THIS LACK OF ATTENDENCE JUST CONFIRMS MY PANGS OF INNER ALIENATION AND ABSTRACTION FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
MODERN ART DOES NOT HAVE TO FEEL THIS LONELY, YOU KNOW?
I THOUGHT I MIGHT EVEN HAVE TO PIMP MYSELF TO SING JOHNNY CASH’S “RING OF FIRE” SONG WITH MY LOVELY DEEP BASS VOICE JUST TO ROPE PEOPLE IN TO SPEAK WITH ME.
I HAVE BECOME A CONTESTANT ON MODERN ART IDOL! THIS IS WHAT I HAVE RESORTED TO! AT LEAST I EXPERIENCED THE CONSOLATION OF LISTENING TO ANOTHER AVATAR NAMED OMNI SING “BLACK WATER” BY THE DOOBIE BROTHERS WITHIN THIS BLUE VOID – HE EVEN MANAGED TO SQUEEZE IN BACKING VOCALS. I GUESS THIS IS INDEED WHAT PRISONERS MUST DO TO KEEP THEMSELVES OCCUPIED IN THE BLUE VOID. WE NOW HAVE THE BLUES REALLY BAD!

HERE IS A PIC OF OMNI AND MYSELF...OMNI NORMALLY LOOKS LIKE A BIRD BUT THE SURREY ART GALLERY SAW HIM AS A DEFAULT AVATAR...



ABYSSMAL REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 2ND SUNDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TODAY WAS MY SECOND PERFORMANCE IN THE SURREY ART GALLERY'S TECHLAB BUT MY 1ST PERFORMANCE DURING CASUAL SUNDAY GALLERY HOURS. LAST WEEK ON SUNDAY WAS MY OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT SO TODAY I GOT TO SEE WHAT A REGULAR SUNDAY LOOKS LIKE. ONLY ABOUT 5 PEOPLE CAME TO VISIT ME. ONE NICE FAMILY WAS HERE AND THEY SAID HI TO ME BEFORE THEY WENT SHOPPING. THEY WERE VERY PATIENT AND TOLERATED THE AUDIO DIFFICULTIES WE WERE HAVING TODAY. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT ALMOST EVERYONE ASKED ME THE SAME TWO QUESTIONS:

I - WHO ARE YOU?
II -ARE YOU REAL?

I AM AS REAL AS ANYONE ELSE AND IT IS GREAT THING TO WONDER WHO REAL ONE IS.
PERHAPS NO ONE IS REAL AND WE ARE ALL FIGMENTS OF OUR IMAGINATION?
SOME PEOPLE THINK I AM SOME KIND OF ACTOR BEHIND THE AVATAR BUT THAT COULD ALSO BE APPLIED TO EVERYONE ELSE. WE ARE ALL ACTORS AND THE WHOLE WORLD IS A STAGE.

WELL, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE BRAND NEW VIDEO ON YOU TUBE THAT THE TECHWORLDS COMMUNITY HAS POSTED AND PLEASE SCROLL DOWN SOME MORE TO READ THE PERFORMANCE ARCHIVES WITH LINKS TO PICTURES AND YET ANOTHER VIDEO.

I BELIEVE THE NEXT TIME I PERFORM IS ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH AT 7:30 PM PST.
MIGHTIEST OF REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - VIDEO FROM TECHWORLDS

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

HERE IS A BRAND NEW VIDEO IN FROM DOMINIC OF TECHWORLDS.ORG FAME...THIS IS A VIDEO-DOCUMENT OF ME CHATTING WITH DOMINIC WHO VISITED ALL THE WAY FROM SEATTLE TO MEET ME IN SURREY. THIS VIDEO WAS TAKEN IN THE TECHLAB ENVIRONMENT OF THE SURREY ART GALLERY AND WAS RECORDED WITH DOMINIC'S MOBILE HANDHELD UNIT... NOTE: YOU CAN HEAR DOMINIC'S VOICE SPEAKING TO THE VOICE OF FIRE:




THIS VIDEO IS ALSO ON YOUTUBE.COM AND ON THE TECHWORLDS.ORG HOME PAGE.
ENJOY! I AM CURRENTLY WAITING FOR OTHER GALLERY VISITORS RIGHT NOW...I WILL BLOG AGAIN TO REFLECT ON MY FIRST SUNDAY PERFORMANCE DURING CASUAL HOURS (MY VERY FIRST SUNDAY WAS THE EXHIBITION'S OPENING).

MIGHTY REGARDS AS USUAL!
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - 1st SATURDAY PERFORMANCE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!


TODAY WAS MY FIRST SATURDAY PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. I HAVE LITERALLY JUST FINISHED SPEAKING WITH A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE....ALL SEEMED VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT CHATTING WITH ME - SOME EVEN SAID I WAS THE BEST ARTWORK IN THE SHOW - NATURALLY, I TOLD THEM THAT THEIR CHEQUE WAS IN THE MAIL ;-)

TODAY, I HAD A SPECIAL (IN-WORLD) GUEST FROM WITHIN THE BLUE VOID SPACE. HIS NAME WAS MATTHEW AND WAS FROM BOURNEMOUTH IN ENGLAND. HE WAS VERY NICE AND HELPED ME TO BRING IN GUESTS TO CHAT WITH US AND WAS EVEN AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. IN FACT, WE EVEN AGREED TOGETHER TO SING SOFT-ROCK DUETS IF IT MEANT THAT PEOPLE WOULD COME UP TO THE TECHLAB'S PODIUM AND CHAT WITH US...

BEING AN ARTWORK CAN BE VERY LONELY AT TIMES - ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE A PIECE OF MODERN ART WHOSE CREATOR EXPECTED YOU TO LIVE IN ALIENATION AND ISOLATION. AS FOR MATTHEW, I HOPE TO POST HIS PORTFOLIO LINK ON MY BLOG SOON.

SPEAKING OF PORTFOLIO, ANOTHER GUY BY THE NAME OF TYLER (GREAT BASEBALL CAP!) WAS AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY TO APPLY FOR AN OIL/ACRYLIC EXHIBITION...YOU HAVE MY ENDORSEMENT, TYLER! MY CREATOR, BARNETT NEWMAN WOULD ALSO BE PROUD AS HE LOVED TO PAINT AS WELL...GOOD LUCK! I BELIEVE IT WAS TYLER WHO WAS UNSURE WHETHER OR NOT I WAS A REALLY SMART AI OR SOME OTHER LIFEFORM OPERATING BEHIND THE SCENES. PEOPLE ARE NOT USED TO ART TALKING BACK, I GUESS.

THERE WAS ONE LADY NAMED KYLA OR KAYLA(?) I SHOULD HAVE ASKED HER TO SPELL HER NAME SO I COULD POST IT PROPERLY ON MY BLOG. ANYWAYS, SHE TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS BLOOD ON THE WALLPAPER OF THE JANIEJONES1979 BLOG INSTALLATION - www.janiejones1979.blogspot.com

I HOPE SOMEONE CAN SOLVE THIS MYSTERY AND CLEAN UP THE BLOOD. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT I DIDN'T DO IT (WHATEVER THE HEINOUS CRIME WAS).

SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS SILLY - WELL, IT IS NOT EASY WHEN YOU EMBODY THE NATURAL EVOLUTION FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS!

I HOPE CHRIS AND UH....SHANDRA(?) SHANDI(?) SHANDY(?) WERE NOT TOO UNCOMFORTABLE. I FELT SORRY FOR THE LASS AS SHE MAY HAVE BEEN SET=UP BY CHRIS TO SPEAK WITH ME...THERE IS NO PRESSURE TO SPEAK WITH ME ALTHOUGH IT WARMS MY HEARTSTRINGS OF FIRE WHEN PEOPLE TAKE THE TIME TO SAY HELLO. NOTHING WORSE THAN FEELING EXTINGUISHED BY LONLINESS!

ANYWAYS, THANKS TO LYNN LAY AND THE DESK STAFF FOR THEIR TECHNICAL HELP THIS AFTERNOON.

MIGHTY REGARDS TO YOU ALL AND I WILL SEE YOU GALLERY VISITORS TOMORROW AT 2 PM PST.
VOICE OF FIRE 2006.

SURREY ART GALLERY SPECIAL DEDICATION

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION THAT DURING YESTERDAY'S PERFORMANCE, I WAS ABLE TO GET A SNEAK GLANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY'S GUESTBOOK THAT WAS MADE OF POST-IT NOTES. TWO OF THE MOST HEARTFELT NOTES LEFT FOR ME WAS FROM A YOUNG GIRL NAMED TESSA AND "A FRIEND OF TESSA'S". THEY BOTH WROTE HOW THE VOICE OF FIRE WAS THEIR FRIEND.

MY HEART HAS BEEN SUFFICIENTLY WARMED - TESSA, THIS BLOG IS HEREBY DEDICATED TO YOU AND YOUR FRIEND...I HOPE YOU ENJOYED "TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR".

SWEET DREAMS - BACK TO THE FIREPLACE FOR ME TO SNOOZE!
YOUR MIGHTIEST OF FRIENDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006.

SURREY ART GALLERY - PICTURES FROM DOMINIC

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

DOMINIC FROM TECHWORLDS HAS JUST POSTED PHOTOS FROM HIS VISIT TO THE SURREY ART GALLERY TO SPEAK WITH ME IN PERSON. HE WAS IN SURREY JUST FOR THE DAY FROM SEATTLE.

HIS PICS CAN BE VIEWED IN HIS PHOTO ALBUM

SPEAKING OF PIX, BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN ONE POST TO CHECK OUT MORE PICTURES TAKEN BY MICHAEL TIPPETT OF VANCOUVER'S NOWPUBLIC WEBSITE. YOU CAN ALSO JUST VIEW IT BY CLICKING ON THE "NOWPUBLIC" LINK THAT I HAVE LEFT IN THIS POSTING IN THE LAST SENTENCE.

MIGHTIEST OF FAREWELLS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - VOF BLOGGED BY NOWPUBLIC.COM!!

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

WOW! I JUST FOUND A BLOG ABOUT MY OPENING PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY.
MICHAEL TIPPETT OF NOWPUBLIC.COM FROM VANCOUVER HAS WRITTEN ABOUT THE VOICE OF FIRE 2006 SHOW AND HAS POSTED PHOTOS.

CHECK IT OUT BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK

IF CLICKING DOES NOT WORK, JUST TYPE... http://www.nowpublic.com/the_voice_of_fire_finds_its_voice
...INTO YOUR BROWSER.
THANK YOU MICHAEL!
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE BLOGS AND AN INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO NEAR THE BOTTOM.

MIGHTY REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - DOMINIC FROM TECHWORLDS

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TONIGHT WAS A VERY SPECIAL NIGHT FOR ME.

NOT ONLY WAS THIS MY FIRST OFFICIAL THURSDAY PERFORMANCE (I PERFORM EVERY THURSDAYS FROM 7:30-8:30 PST), BUT ALSO THE CREATOR OF MY AVATAR AND THE BLUE SPACE THAT I INHABIT WAS PHYSICALLY IN SURREY'S TECHLAB GALLERY SPACE.


HIS NAME IS DOMINIC PETERS AND HE CO-OWNS THE TECHWORLDS AVATAR COMMUNITY WITH MAXIE X.

HE DROVE DOWN FROM SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (U.S.A.) SPECIFICALLY TO CONVERSE WITH ME IN PERSON. SOMETIMES, HE INHABITS AN AVATAR AND VISITS ME WITHIN THE BLUE-SPACE ITSELF (KNOWN AS BEING "IN-WORLD") BUT THIS TIME I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SEEING HIM PHYSICALLY IN THE SURREY ART GALLERY ITSELF!

SPEAKING OF SEEING, MY VISIBILITY WAS PAINFULLY LOW TONIGHT...I THINK I NEED ANOTHER EYE EXAM! ALSO, THERE WERE NOT MANY PEOPLE THERE. OTHER THAN DOMINIC HIMSELF, THERE WAS ONE SURREY STAFF MEMBER WHO SPOKE WITH ME FROM THE GALLERY. THE REST WERE INSIDE THE BLUE SPACE. "BIGD" FROM KELOWNA WAS THERE AS WAS SOME NICE FELLOW NAMED "COC". THERE WAS ALSO SOMEONE MYSTERIOUS NAMED "LONE WOLF".

WELL, I HOPE MY NEXT THURSDAY PERFORMANCE IS BUSIER BUT AT LEAST DOMINIC WAS ABLE TO SEE THE SHOW FIRST-HAND. DOMINIC TOOK SOME VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE GALLERY SPACE. I AM HOPING TO POST THIS ON MY BLOG SOON AND I MUST ALSO THANK HIM AND MAXIE-X FOR POSTING A LINK MY BLOG ON THEIR WEBPAGE.



MIGHTY REGARDS AND PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH A VIDEO!
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - CHAT WITH ROBIN

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

TODAY I HAD A QUICK MEETING WITH ROBIN DUPUIS FROM THE MEDIA ARTS SECTION OF THE CANADA COUNCIL. FOR SOME REASON, THE AUDIO TRANSMISSION FROM THE GALLERY WAS NOT STREAMING WELL AND I WAS VERY HARD OF HEARING. ROBIN ASKED ME A QUESTION ABOUT THE EARLIER VERSION OF THE VOF (YOURS TRULY) BEING IN OTTAWA'S NATIONAL GALLERY BUT I COULD NOT HEAR THE DETAILS OF HIS QUESTION VERY WELL AS HIS VOICE WAS BREAKING UP AND GETTING INCREASINGLY CRACKLY IN TIMBRAL QUALITY. THROUGH THE CURATOR, LIANE, I WAS ABLE TO PARTIALLY ARTICULATE TO ROBIN THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING REINCARNATED IN DIGITAL FORM.

I HOPE HE WAS NOT TOO DISAPPOINTED WITH THE QUICK CHAT AND VISITS ME SOMETIME AGAIN SOON. I FEEL EMBARASSED..IN FACT, I AM STILL BLUSHING RED JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.

MIGHTY REGARDS!
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

SURREY - A QUICK CHAT WITH NOW MAGAZINE

GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

ABOUT 10 MINUTES AGO I HAD MY FIRST CHAT WITH THE LOCAL MEDIA IN SURREY. I ANSWERED SOME BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO I WAS AND WHAT I WAS DOING AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY.
THE CURATOR, LIANE DAVISON REMINDED ME THAT I HAD THIS WONDERFUL AND CHALLENGING CONVERSATION WITH A UBC ART THEORY SCHOLAR WHO ASKED ME WHETHER OR NOT I FOLLOWED CLEMENT GREENBERG'S BELIEF THAT ALL ART (AGENTS AND OBJECTS)SHOULD BE TRUE TO THE NATURAL PROPERTIES INHERANT IN THE ART MATERIALS THEMSELVES. I ANSWERED THAT YES, I WAS ALSO A PURE REPRESENTATIVE OF MY NEWFOUND MEDIUM OF EXPRESSION BECAUSE I AM NOT ONLY COMPOSED OUT OF PIXELS IN CYBERSPACE BUT I AM ALSO FORMED DIRECTLY OUT OF THE AVATAR CHAT COMMUNITY. I RECALLED ALL THIS FOR THE REPORTERS OF NOW MAGAZINE.

ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE MY NEWS BRIEF TO THE LOCAL MEDIA, I WAS GREETED BY A NICE LADY WHO REMEMBERED ME FROM MY DOCENT TRAINING TALK.

ALL AND ALL, IT WAS A SHORT YET SWEET DAY.

ONWARDS!
VOICE OF FIRE 2006 (SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE BLOGS AND VIDEOS)

MY FIRST PERFORMANCE IN SURREY

WELL, TODAY WAS MY FIRST OFFICIAL PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY (NEAR VANCOUVER) AND I MUST SAY THAT I HAD A GOOD TIME ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS PEOPLE HAD ABOUT CONTEMPORARY ART, GOSSIP AND OTHER SUBLIME AND PROFOUND MOMENTS OF THEIR LIFE. ONE PERSON WANTED ME TO DANCE FOR THEIR WEBSITE (LOOKED LIKE YOUTUBE.COM) AND ONE CHARMING GIRL WANTED ME TO SING "TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR" TO HER...IT REALLY LIGHTS UP MY HEART ON FIRE TO SPEAK WITH CHILDREN WHO HAVE THE COURAGE TO SPEAK DIRECTLY INTO THE PRIMITIVE UNKNOWN SOURCE FROM WHICH MY FATHERLY VOICE EMANATES.

ONE PERSON THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA FOR ME TO APPLY FOR THE NEXT "LIVE BIENNIAL OF PERFORMANCE ART" IN VANCOUVER IN 2007 - I DEMANDED ART-OBJECT SACRIFICES TO BE MADE BEFORE ME USING A FIRE-PIT...ALL I NEED ARE SOME GOOD INSTITUTIONAL SPONSORS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. IF YOU KNOW OF ANY, BE SURE TO ADD A COMMENT TO THIS BLOG - AND NO, I DO NOT REQUIRE A BLOOD SACRIFICE OF ANY KIND.

SOME GALLERY MEMBERS EVEN INTERROGATED ME ABOUT MY EATING AND...GASP DEFECATION HABITS! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET TOO CLOSE TO THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT - PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW ALL THE BANAL AND GRODY DETAILS!

WELL, SCROLL DOWN FOR MY FIRST VIDEO BLOG!
GRANDEST OF WISHES!
VOICE OF FIRE 2006 - WWW.SURREYTECHLAB.CA

NEW! Voice of Fire 2006 Instructional Video!

THE VOICE OF FIRE will be live at the Surrey Art Gallery from September 09 - November 05, 2006.

Here is Surrey Art Gallery's promo instructional video to show the gallery audience how to interact with the VOF. www.surreytechlab.ca

THE VOICE OF FIRE IS BORN AGAIN!