JOYENGINE: cause sharing is cool

Our studio mate and regular collaborator, Joseph Shaeffer just wrapped up his contribution to the SOFT&FURRY™ exhibition at the Plastic Chapel.  Gotta say it’s one of my personal faves.  Joe spent a couple days clamping and aligning GROOND on the mill, machining out some recessed little nooks and crannies and integrating a number of custom accouterments.  His backpack (not visible in the photo) is frikin’ amazing!!!

Over the weekend we finished makin’ our 100th member of the S&F™ family.  The studio got pretty torn up, and out of respect for Joe and Chris (our studio mates - that have been super chill while we made a massive mess) we spent some time cleaning, and in so doing organized all the materials we used to mold and cast our not so soft and furry friends.  Here’s pretty much everything you’d need to hand-cast a whole bunch of urethane toys and a shot of the studio relatively cleaned up.

On August 4th,1920, Russian artist Naum Gabo celebrated his 30th birthday by composing the Constructivist Manifesto to announce the first ever exhibition of Constructivist art. The open-air exhibit took place the following day on Tverskoie Blvd. in the heart of Moscow. 5000 copies of the Manifesto were posted throughout Moscow after being approved by the regional propaganda minister, who changed the heading from “Constructivist Manifesto” to “Realist Manifesto” due to local political reasons. Today the document is referred to as the “Realist Manifesto” by art historians. Very few of the original posters for the exhibit currently exist. From that first exhibit, through modern times, Constructivist art continues to have an enormous influence on the visual arts, in particular, graphic design and sculpture.

To celebrate the 88th anniversary of this seminal event in art history we’re having a Constructivist Arty-Party! Come the join the C13/JoyEngine crew along with Studio Joseph Shaeffer for some drinks, music……and maybe even some art for you to ponder.

VANATTA SPACE

1971 8TH STREET

BOULDER

80302

Our buddy, Denver art super hero, Jason Thielke is in the midst of building a new studio.  We got to see a few sneak peaks over the weekend and it looks like construction is coming along nicely.  We can’t wait to see where Jason takes his work with a little more space to let his mind roam.  it’s rumored that Jason has a new website in the works… Hopefully more on that soon.

And, continuing on the studio tip… we’ve been workin’ on a little arty spot of our own just down the street from our current studio.  We moved in with our pal, Joseph Shaeffer a few months back, but have yet to really get settled.  With a handful of art projects happening (Yay!) we’re gonna be in the studio a great deal more in the coming months (sorry Joe - you’ll be ok…).   Hopefully, we’ll get the place all dialed in and drop some pics soon.

Yep.  We’re doin’ it.  SBD and I.  Ridin’ fixed gears to Lefavor’s to celebrate our independence - from oil, or something like that…  This may be my last blog post.  So, Happy 4th!!!  If we make it… we’ll be meetin’ up with Alex and Mr. Shaeffer and takin’ in 7 cities worth of fireworks from Scot’s roooftop deck, Hopefully… droppin’ in on DJ Z Trip, hittin’ up Shitty’s show at The Shoppe, poppin’ in on Andenken, kickin’ Saturday at the “Super Fresh Block Party” - and gettin’ all arty with Lefavor and friends. Independence Day… hmm…

Joseph Shaeffer certainly lived up to his reputation as one of Colorado’s leading contemporary artists with his recent opening at Denver’s Artyard Sculpture Gallery.  The show was hung beautifully and the work consistenly striking.  Stop by Artyard at at 1251 South Pearl to catch a glimpse before the show comes down.

Joseph Shaeffer’s solo show CONFRONT/(A)VOID is tonight and we got a little more info on the prints that will be available. There will be a series of 24″x 30″ giclees on 300lb Summer Set velvet archival paper (top). The print is an edition of 50 and is $255 for just the print and $450 float mounted. There is also a 16″x 20″ print (edition of 20) laser etched into acrylic (bottom), those will run you $400. Both prints will be available at the show and afterwards you can contact Joseph Shaeffer to place an order.

Joseph Shaeffer will be presenting new work entitled CONFRONT/(A)VOID this Friday, May 23rd at Artyard Sculpture Gallery at 1251 South Pearl in downtown Denver, CO. This will be Joseph’s 3rd opening/installation at Artyard and in my opinion his best to date. Shaeffer has a knack for pushing the blurry lines bounding contemporary art, and in so doing exposing and addressing emotions and ideas rarely confronted. Joseph’s current body of work began with explorations into the void, predominantly working with cut paper. It has since evolved into various media, including paintings on canvas, laser-cut acrylic etchings, a series of prints, and an array of installations utilizing extensive mill and machine work. The body of work is stunning, consistent, and rooted in strong emotion. In an era where it’s easy to make art and pawn it off as fresh, current and hip with minimal thought and typically even less process, Shaeffer breaks the mold and raises the bar.

Joseph Shaeffer will be having a solo show May 23rd at Artyard Contemporary Sculpture. We share a studio space with Joseph and have watched the show come together piece by piece. The most fasinating part was watching Joe put together the installation - a huge, 6 ringed void made of over 50,000 zip ties. We managed to get a quick photo while the piece was test hanging in the studio. This hardly does it justice, but you can get the general idea. The body of work all surrounds the notion of voids and ranges from paintings, cut paper pieces to sculpture.

We just added a few new desktops to the DOWNLOADS are of the site.  Check ‘em out.  Grab one and mix it up.  They’re free!   New artwork by JoyEngine + cypher13 x Tee & Cakes, Joseph Shaeffer, and Kristian Kluver.  Enjoy!!!

Good art usually has something to say, while great art always has something significant to say. In a given space that is filled with a cacophony of voices vying to be heard over one another, all relevance is lost. Such was my experience while attending Art L.A. this past weekend. In my opinion, art needs proper space in which to be experienced, not stifled in a 10′x20′ box while competing for the attention of the masses. I will say however, that the amount of work to be taken in was impressive, you just needed to block out a lot of spacial and auditory distractions in order to appreciate it.

Of all the things I saw at Art L.A., the most profound was the way Bortolami Gallery chose to use their exhibitor space. Crammed inside was a crushed subway car, nothing else. For me, this was a narrative on the whole art fair experience I was taking in, a literal train wreck. Unfortunately we live in an era where art has become product and is marketed as such. Now more than ever art is accepted and sought after because if there is one thing society understands, it’s brand identity and it seems the majority of art being produced right now is generated towards this particular paradigm. So the next time you attend an “art” event at a venue that tends to use the art as vehicle for marketing and selling something else, do yourself a favor and make up for it by visiting an institution that exists for the purpose of showing art in a space that lets it be heard.

While most of the exhibitors had their faces buried in their MacBooks and became annoyed that you had distracted them by coming into their space, the girls from Reena Spaulings Fine Art were really engaging. Carrisa and Emily are the same ladies who showed the “Die Collector Scum” painting at Art Basel, Miami and their irreverence to the contemporary art world is funny as well as refreshing. Thanks you two for hanging out with me and making me (black on black) laugh. I hope to visit you in NY soon!

One last thing. If you’re the girl from Zurich that sat outside and had a smoke with me and talked for awhile, call me. You are quite amazing!!!

Joseph Shaeffer, our good friend and long time collaborator is the newest addition to the JoyEngine Contributors panel. Joe is a contemporary artist who frequents a wide variety of mediums and technologies. Joe brings a very forward and unique design perspective to his friends and we love him for it. He’ll now be bringing that same perspective to the site. We’re super psyched to have Joe involved. We can’t wait to be inspired by both the imagery he chooses to display and the commentary that is certain to accompany it.