artist statement

here's sherrie levine's (1980):
"Since the door was only half closed, I got a jumbled view of my mother and father on the bed, one on top of the other. Mortified, hurt, horror struck, I had the hateful sensation of having placed myself blindly and completely in untrustworthy hands. Instinctively and without effort, I divided myself, so to speak, into two persons, of whom one, the real, the genuine one, continued on her own account, while the other, a successful imitation of the first, was delegated to have relations with the world. My first self remains at a distance, impassive, ironical, and watching."

personally, i believe she's too invested in creating a self through her own sex. but, we can only navigate the world through that which we know. thoughts?

'my very own'pictures and artist statement to come soon? who knows.

addendum: remember when i asked if christians can be hip? well they aren't mutually exclusive.

blessed are the romantics,
derek.

New ways of being human.

Today is my day off from school. I am currently reading: "Dancing Prophets, Musical Experience in Tumbuka Healing", for my anthropology class, Communitas. We study the spontaneous and ecstatic eruptions of communal living that provide a space outside of structured society.

Updates since the last I've written on ye blog: I'm on the tail end of my education at the University of Virginia and am bitter that other majors don't have to have final shows. Studio Art majors are required to display their art, and as a DMP [Distinguished Majors Project] I wrote a thesis on top of that. Anyway, my show is up April 5-9, at Ruffin Gallery. If you want to check out some awesome photographs: http://www.tillmans.co.uk [Wolfgang Tillmans] and www.ryanmcginley.com [Ryan McGinley].

On Power and the Body: First of all, if you go to the University of Virginia, and you want to get your mind blown daily... take a class with George Mentore. Second of all -- "we participate in our own subjugation to the state," read some Foucault, re-read it, think about it.

Check this: http://www.vbs.tv/, specifically the piece on the Northern Pacific Gyre. It's a plastic fantastic world and not in a very good way.

peace out... but not literally,
D-Rock.

cari nash goes to the marshall islands

allison came from new orleans to surprise cari. i came up from charlottesville to visit my fam and hang out with the old gang. it was classic and i am so glad that it happened.

my new favorite person to hang out with when drunk: james.
we got trashed with cari's parents (cheryl is the greatest) and reminisced about old times and caught up on new times we've had alone. it's a little sad that i don't know what it feels like to be part of the work force... but on the other hand i'm happy i have time to figure out what i'm going to do with my future.

chad, james, and i went to the gym. i ran six and a half miles. intense.
when i got home... i had the hilarious opportunity to watch my brother follow along with an exercise video. you should try it. it brings the lols.

its also pretty funny that you have to apply to be a part of lookbook.nu, that makes me laugh.

harry potter! woo,
derek cooper.

i don't even love you.

i don't ever want to see you! (my new jam!)

everybody should just be like the kitty kat.

spider sex violent but effective.

today, i learned to drive.
thank you vicky for being such a kind and patient teacher.

it's about time i learned how to.

also, on the bbc they had this article about spiders that make gashes in the females abdomen and inject semen directly into their ovaries. smart spiders. that's how i would do it.

rain is great,
derek.

p.s. last weekend my group show opened at the bridge pai, this picture was taken of me, unknowingly.
(Photograph courtesy of Billy Hunt)

funny story:

remember how i was bitching about the new urban outfitters store?
well i work there now. begrudgingly.

i've always been a hypocrite i guess. like when I said I would update this at least every once in a while. i don't. it's also not a street style blog. because they are getting way too much hype these days. i also don't think i have the time and patience.

things that have been going on lately in world:
iran: the government is trying to stop all iranians living in iran from twittering (tweeting?) what is really going on. i've bee asked to change my location to tehran, iran to make it harder for the government to stop the tweeters (?)

honduras: hooray! ignorance. ok i understand that there was a 'military coup' and we know how much the democratic world hates those even if they are trying to get rid of a president who is going against the constitution. oh man... america hates coups but love dictators. they sure did in the 60s-80s...

mj: sad times. i've been watching dead like me lately and just watched this episode that asked the question why is it that humans give value to some lives over others? and followed with the statement that, maybe its just easier for us to show collective sorrow for people we don't know personally. well anyway, i'm not necessarily going to give mj a candlelight vigil but i will be sad. (The rest of us get the vigil of the stars -- how beautiful is that?)

vaccine for rabies: awesome!

finally i pose the question: can christians be hip?

regards,
derek.

alternate 7

i bought two pairs of vintage boots and two pairs of tom's downtown today... lol, recession.
they are making an urban downtown at the old hardware store, now every 'unique' person is going to look the same. i can't wait until all the 'different' people are wearing the same thing. They'll probably start lying about how they bought it thrifting.

so urban,
derek.