The above photo was taken prior to celebration at around 2:30am and is of Rick’s brother James and Dad, Big Rick, silhouetted against the overhead garage light wrapping brisket to place in smokers in preparation for a 14 hour smoking. Keep in mind one half a brisket’s final cooked weight was just over 3 pounds and they prepared six for the next days festivities. The image was captured after an hour or so of riding shotgun, with Big Rick driving, in Peppie (or maybe Pepe, the family’s 3 seater miniature 4×4 dump truck) across their and adjacent acreage with beers in hand, a long barrel six shooter revolver holstered on my hip, and James seated with a semi automatic assault rifle in center. We attempted but were unsuccessful to find anything of consequence to blast so the bride and groom were safe to sleep through the night (sorry Robin we went anyway). I learned quickly that center was the best seat after my teeth were forcefully brushed by a tree branch as we became lost on the neighbors property and attempted to drive through some tight Texas scrub. A few minutes before that, on Rick’s property, we became stuck going up what seemed like a 45 degree embankment. It is actually pretty difficult to walk up with out falling and busting your knees. Big Rick told James to go out on the hood to balance the weight so the front tires could grab solid ground. He handed me the rifle as he climbed out over the front of the dash board. After about three tries of rolling back and gunning it to no avail James said it might help if we all started bouncing up and down. So, there we were in the middle of the night pitch black all around (besides the piercing lights on the 4×4) hooting, hollering, laughing, and bouncing our way up a steep incline. Damn, what a fun night!

Project description:

Having recently reread (at least part of it) Gregory Bateson’s essay “Style, Grace and Information in Primitive Art” and considering his central question: In what form is information about psychic integration contained or coded in the work of art? I was lead though internal processes to considering Martin Buber’s I & Thou. I admit this could be a completely wrong interpretation or a backward 2 and ½ somersaults with 2 and ½ twists in the piked position onto a logical level considered a schizo-logic leap by some, but trust me the intent is positive. Maybe I think of a better way to say it later. As a subjective experience I believe that psychic integration in art is based on one’s ability to realize the relation of self and others causes self is others. Leading to the recognition of self and others as equally inclusive and exclusive events and the realization of such relationships as one in the same was made concrete in my mind through the practical use of a guiding principle of Neuro-Linguistic Programming: perception is projection and vice versa. Basically what is out there is what is in here. In recent works I have applied these ideas and integrated them into my mode of production (e. g. “I Like the Swedish Artist John Rasimus” in this piece the title was added as text to a work by John Rasimus). I am deliberately choosing to celebrate others accomplishments, lives, and purposes through privileges I have been afforded because my friends are important to me.

In this particular project titled “The Texas Celebration”, photos taken at a post wedding reception/party will be paired with accompanying descriptive text and will serve as a tertiary timeline for a 1 + 1 = 3 event that of friends Rick and Meredith entering a union of matrimony.