Crossing
the Line
Gallery Submission Rod Malay
Letter of Intent
Harold
Rosenberg said,"... what goes on the canvas was not a picture but an
event...each artist must undertake to invent himself, a lifelong act of
creation that constitutes the essential content of the artist work".
Well, for over 40 years, I have unwittingly or
instinctively practiced that ubiquitous artistic wisdom, starting in 1980 with
my monolithic serigraph series exhibition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia,
AGNS
In 1987, I
went national, across Canada with the travelling art installation, NO
FURTHER COMMENT. Fundamentally, at
that point, my art journey broke with classical ‘tradition’ and crossed the
line, venturing into challenging, edgy art “events” (photos attached in
image selection). Essentially, NFC was a walk-through exhibit,
symbolically representing a military tank, depicting a journey through life, “from
conception to the cow”. Loaded with metaphors... sculptures: there was an oversized
superman with a large cape; there were children, engaged in sex play curiosity;
and there were large humanoid-like rats, watching garbage on television; and heroic
sports figures, captured in a media moment; there were life-size cut-out people
in a crowd, looking like a ghost scene, with dimmed lights over head watching a
game, like chess, with human body parts, made in ceramic; There was a grave
scene with three large coffins, an ear, a mouth, an eye; and an assembly line followed
with grey figures; finally there was a large Holstein cow flopped on a park
bench with its utters hanging out. That journey was a walkway through the 45
foot interior, on a twisted pathway, that seemed more like 100 feet in length.
The visitors should have felt the
experience. When people first entered "the Tank, they stepped into the
womb, during conception, with a gigantic penis in the creation of a human baby.
All of the
sculptures were made of various materials: fibreglass, ceramic, plumber's piping,
newspapers, and most predominantly, paper mache. Canada Council for the arts,
which provided some funding for the exhibit, called Malay, ”The Master of Paper Mache". The
sculptures were impressive, standing above visitor’s heads, in the 10ft
ceiling. The interior of the exhibit measured 12ft x 10ft x 45ft, intimidating
in some locations, "obscene" for some, complaining to the authorities, who came to
investigate, but left without charges... except for that negative event, the
public surprised me. Their openness, their engagement in questions and
curiosity with some debate and book comments, taught me a mind altering
realization about the public... treat them with respect and their minds are
wide open. The exhibit was real, tactile, embracing and edgy. The public
emboldened me, invigorated me from that day forward and the exhibit was a rewarding,
successful
investment, purchased by a Toronto patron, for his art farm.
Ironically, the Ontario Science Centre evicted the exhibit from their site after
the first day, saying, “It is poor quality work”? Toronto was an interesting
town.
The Tank NFC received substantial media coverage
across Canada, radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, including MacLean's Magazine. 30,000 visitors went through the
exhibit. The public message... no
subject is taboo and that it is the entrenched, institutionalized myth
makers generating the “time- honored” rituals of fear.
Guess I
could have rested my laurels on that NFC
event. But art was in my bones... I was just getting started.
GALLERIE UNPLUGGED became a trademark for my arts creations: paintings, sculptures,
videos, movies, theatrics and readings (poetry, stories, and songs}, music.
Putting all that together, I rented a
live theatre stage and presented the production: INSIDE THE METAPHORIC MAN
2014.
Now, an introduction to my submission...
On the
gallery walls, floors, hanging from ceilings, art in every direction, storytelling
from the lectern, art from the mixed phases of my life. There will be abstract,
realism, conceptual, word text, writings, poetry, songs, digital projections
and video events. In it all, an event will unfold. The works presented in this
submission are examples of what I have created over the years. Mixing it all
together, it is a life’s event, an innovative, contemporary art exhibit, aiming
at paralleling the psychological complexities of modern life.
Between now
and when you approve (?) my application, there will be new works to consider.
All the works can stand on their own, as simply an eccentric art show of recent
works, but my plan obviously brings much more to the exhibition. During the gallery
stay, days or weeks, I will visit most every day to do some readings and
discussions on the content of the various events. Late night art readings will
be offered also as a mature entertainment event, crossing new boundaries in my
art. Of course, if you invite me into your grand house, I will design an
exceptional floor plan, in harmony with the space provided. The media will be
invited to a pre-opening showing for interviews, with the objective of
generating public interest and visitor numbers, surpassing the NFC 30,000 achievement.
Artist Statement
Sentient
Psychology feeds my mind with new art ideas daily, which explains the many
boundaries I have crossed over the years and continue even today. Multimedia
journeys are very natural for me and never know what medium, what event comes
next. Sentient psychology takes us back to the birth of cellular life, a level
of memory born in every one of the trillion of cells in the human body. We
should never run out of ideas or be frustrated, by the "professionals",
calling on the unconscious mind, cognitive psychology, modern psycho
therapeutic solutions that touch only the superficial levels of the mind.
Survival of the cell is always dependent on memory... instinct. Dreams cannot be analyzed. We simply
need to be inspired by them, and not rely on psychologist to put them into labelled
boxes, lay them on our marble mantle while driving us insane. Art freedom,
listening to and acting on the sentient messages is the reason I am not insane
today.
“The question is then: how do things stand with psychoanalysis?
Although Freud presented his discovery as a Copernican revolution, the
fundamental premise of the cognitive science is that psychoanalysis remains a
‘Ptolemization’ of classical psychology, failing to abandon its most basic premises” Zizek And this ideology spreads, globally, as we
are faced with profound and pressing social demands on infinitesimal levels.
This is
where I stand today, declaring a divergence from classical creative premises
against sentient psychology. My art is not meant for gallery walls, though
those walls are meant for public places. So how do we make it work in your
gallery... an embracing challenge!
Creating
"events" connects me with humanity, art for the streets, "my
gallery", teaching me the joys and tragedies in the global society, which
is clearly evident in the art samples submissions. The stories are original,
true and often painfully real. A woman, cried, standing at the painting "WOMAN'S
DAY: Lost Highway USA”... she bought a print on the way out.
Progressive
ideas are ageless. My creative styles knows no boundaries and goes from
traditional to modern genre, from paintings to sculptures, from poetry to
theatrical productions, film and videos and on to street performance theatre...
ever unshakably, “Crossing the line”.
My art is
social events. In the beginning it was simply landscape paintings, in a John
Turner style, wall art, and then passed through the impressionists, Picasso and
to a marriage of the "masters" and contemporary style. There is no
"then and now" for me, the "events" are timeless.
We have got
to stop being afraid of things. My art is loaded with messages and humour. We
have got to challenge the 'Keepers' and their messages of fear, but we
miss the point about "the one-tenth of one percent"... the Keepers,
promoters of fear... they also are afraid, of the same monster that we all fear...
Death! All their wealth will not save them. I do not attack them; rather, I
attack my own rooted fears. All of the Keeper's money will not save me,
though they constructed the temples of fear, as if that would save them, as if
my fear of their instruments of torture would save them.
I have
taken a therapeutic journey across many borders, psychologically and in art
styles, content events, abandonment of fear that have cleared my mind from
ritualistic, patriarchal blocks... delving into their language of fear and
terminology... "This is my body, I died for you". I violated that; The sacred chalice, I
violated that; The raising of Lazarus , I violated that; The finger
of God giving life to Man, I violated that; All of that...
the name of Christianity... in my mind, the most profound "Keeper of
fear, though different in these times... different names... the same power
structures... global dictators, shutting us down, into the muck of silence with
their covert, authoritarian, global surveillance weapons, which leads me to my
next art event: The Ant Race 1021.
I was
angry. I was afraid... I violated them all with the written word, with oil
paintings, sculptures, videos, books, poetry, songs, theatre and set myself
free, saved my life... then,
anxiety, waiting for the God Keeper Dictator to strike me dead... it never
happened! A lot of this and more is in my video below: "Inside the
Metaphoric Man" where I also I violated the fabricated, artificial
"Singularity"... another of the Keeper's weapons of
fear. My art is all open for debate, on stage, in public, in this submission.
Putting it all together in your gallery will be an exciting, work of art in
itself...it is NFC 1987 modernized, contemporized, with real events,
digitized mixes. It is an investment for artist and gallery.
Hopefully, you will give us a chance, cross the line and do not fear the Keepers,
who also need release from their prisons... and contribute to the advancement of
civilization together and save this planet for the generations to come!
Curriculum Vitae Rod Malay
2016 -2020 Creating a two piece contemporary art
series "The Ant Race
sub-title:
Catastrophic denial of realism in the human race
Developed the Master's
Series, oil, presently on-going
Created: Grace In Motion sculpture
Published book: Narcissistic Socialists
2015 A
Sad Man video completed, 9 Sept
2015
Created
the sculpture: A Sad Man
Chicken wire, burlap and Plaster of Paris.
Writing a book: Wensiff’s Lover
As part of a “Little Books series” from
The Primitive Artist
2014 Inside
The Metaphoric Man video
Presented to five Film and Video Festivals in Canada
And USA, North American road tour
Created a blog: www.shakethedevilofftour.blogspot.com
About 40 blog chapters with titles like: The Malai
Chronicles, Capitalism vs.
Mythicism, Behind God’s
Mask, Real Men Don’t Eat Kisch , Back to Ego and Other Boxes and so on and so forth…
2010 Five
month solo tour of North America for:
Writing, visual art, video documentaries,
Photography, music, poetry
Jasper Bog World Bank
video
Presented at stage production of: Inside The Metaphoric
Man and presented to five Film and Video Festivals in
Canada and USA
In The Dog House Now Film Presented at the
Dawson Film Festival
2007 - 2009 Designed and constructed the Nile
House
3 story , residential/commercial
Guitar lessons
and song writing
Collaborated with Lithuanian artist
Created glass ceiling
sculpture: Absolutely but Not
.
Absolute
Installed on terrace ceiling of the Nile House, affectionally
labelled
"The BOOB House"
1990's - 2000's Designed and constructed environmental
sustainable strawbale
residential housing.'' often referred to as "sculptured"
homes.
1975 - 1980's Abandoned all previous pursuits, to
become a "starving artist".
Focus
solely on fine arts... Theatre production, Finge Fastival.
Created/performed: Cowboy from Shangri La
Wrote poetry/presented at local venues
.
Designed and constructed a
travelling art installation
:
NO FURTHER
COMMENT. Toured across Canada in an 18 Wheeler
30,000 visitors, substantial national media coverage
Designed Ceorfanhus, massive concrete structure, depicting
The human journey, received UNESCO endorsement
Designed, manufactured the Ped-l-on, two seater pedal
vehicle for inner city transportation.
Studied "Trends Theory" at TUNS school of architecture
Studied Lithography, NSCAD
Squash Time Film Presented at the Atlantic Film
Festival
The Martins and The Coys Film Presented at the
Stage production of : The Forties Follies
1969 - 1970 Opened Graphic Design business in
Montreal, Canada
Published book on inner
city sign systems
1962 - 1969 NSCAD... Graduated, diploma in graphic
design
Famous
Artists Schools, USA, graduated in fine art painting,
Correspondence program
Images and Support Material
1
Inside The Metaphoric Man video 1:09:16
2
3
No Further Comment (NFC)
4 NFC
5 NFC
6 NFC
7 NFC
8 NFC
9 NFC
10 NFC
11 NFC Ottawa
12 Woman's Day Lost Highway USA
13 Georgia's Ladder
14 Ritual Detention
15 CEO
16 Galleria Unplugged
17 Joan
18 ANA at Galleria Unplugged and AGNS Plaze
19 A Sad Man
20
21
22
23 River Woman
24 Potrait
25 Undercover
26 Streets
27 Crowded Nest 28 Rock of Ages
29 The Cowboy from Shangri-la
30
31 The Nile...Rod Malay artist. designer, architect, builder
Glass ceiling created by Rod and Agne
32 Malay's journey around North America
33 Work in progress
34 Pissed self portrait
35 Winter 1971 oil
36 Behind God"s Mask self-portrait
37 Body Language
Current works ... mixing the "masters series" generating new Masters
38 Salvator Mundi + Starry Night 2018 Malay+da Vinci + Van Gogh
39 Persistent Memory with Sir Isaac Newton 2018 Malay + Dali + Huen
40 Mona Lisa, Diana and Callisto 2019 Malay + daVinci + Pierre
Ok Jurors
All of the
above submissions are totally my creations. One might coin it. “a gold mine” of
art stored in my studio waiting in anticipation for that moment, a public
gallery exhibition. Grab some popcorn, check out my blog and view the video
above, Inside the Metaphoric Man, it
will provide you with a further perspective on my style and passion as an
artist. My task of putting together this gallery exhibition will be a work of
art. What will come out of this creative task cannot be anticipated. It will be
shedding old skins, crossing new lines, while emerging in a new unexpected
shape... to draw thousands of visitors to your gallery.... it is an investment
in a new art form. Dare I suggest, Slavoj Zizek might call it a “Copernican
revolution” as that is how I anticipate the psychological depth in the proposed
process?
The video
also contains one of my guitar songs, with photo, about a lost woman I met on a
Texas highway. I think you will empathize with her, Meisha.
Between now
and when my submission is approved, (?) I will take a break from the “master’s
series” after finishing Freud/Picasso and most importantly, will start on the intriguing
contemporary event series, “The Ant Race
1021”, enforced on me by the global brinkmanship with the catastrophic denial of reality... in
the wealth of reality. Given the urgency of this challenge and my advancing
age, I will get at this latest series, within a couple of months
Well
anyway... gotta go and move the capo around the fret a bit... see if it will
help my singin’ voice...?
All the
best in yer dilibert-ations!
Rod Malay
rod_malay@hotmail.com 902
830 8187 (out of country 'til June 2020) 954 290 3832
www.shakethedevilofftour.blogspot.com
www.shakethedevilofftour.blogspot.com
