June 17: Untitled Collage with Chickens

This is not one of the good ones, and in fact I almost didn't keep it. I remember making it in the back building of the house at 57 Ozone Ave. in Venice, California. Amazing. The house is still there. I saw it on Google Earth, but there aren't any photos of it online. I'd just moved in with Bruce and his sister, and I was finding my place there, setting up a small art area for myself. The back house wasn't a house, but more like a tiny studio or basement. I can't quite picture all of the details any more. Mainly I remember that it backed onto the alley, and it didn't feel completely safe. But then, I didn't feel very safe, either, trying to get things back together after moving to Venice, feeling unaccountably nervous.

The collage itself is more an attempt to put something (anything) on paper. I had to find my stride again, and it seemed difficult. I was glad I got a few elements I liked - the ancient face, the chickens, a few lines and the blue. Now that I look at it, it the chickens aren't very well protected, but the soldiers really aren't harming them; the threat is actually whimsical in a way. But they are under observation, not quite private, not quite secure. And yet, in a way they may be being protected, too. The computer always seemed out of place and it's the only thing in color. The printing on that bit is bad. I don't know why I put it there. It's monitoring, recording. In the end, there's usually a reason. The dark orange bit at the top is old masking tape.

(Scanned and posted September 7, 2009)