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2012-01-22 12:04 I stand here before you with a clarity of purpose so transparent, that it falls just short of lead. Of purpose, I find that I am rarely certain, still I am driven, knowing only that these things must be done. It is as innate, and yet unknown to my conscious being, as the red and white cells that populate my blood. "Why art?" they ask, concerned, fearful, dubious. Is it mental illness? Obsession? Is he a pervert? Was he not loved enough by his mother? The answer is as incomprehensible to them, as their question is to me. "Why art?" "Why breathe?" I respond. an answer that is both wholly inadequate and unerringly exact. Art is my breath. Sometimes calm and restorative. More often ragged and and frothed with rage... Or urgent, and hot, and full of lust. But also, sometimes, shallow and forgotten. And if it is withheld, or by some force, taken from me, I fear... No, I know for certain, I will perish. 2011-12-12 13:01 Calling my artwork 'porn' will not dissuade me, nor will telling me that I'm going to Hell. One argument is irrelevant, the other imaginary. 2011-09-09 11:05 
It was September 2006, five years after terrorists toppled the World Trade Center towers. In the preceding year, I had become acutely aware that fear was not only a tool of our adversaries, but also a tool used by our own leaders to inspire compliance. The Bush administration had developed a nasty habit of invoking 9/11 whenever they needed to build support. The tragedy, the fall of the towers, and the 2,977 killed that day, were trotted out like the monster in a bad zombie flick... keeping us on the edges of our collectives seats, never able to truly relax or feel safe. In response, I created this: the Zombie World Trade Center. The open wounds on the towers are accurate, representing the initial damage cause by the impact of American Flight 11 and United Flight 175. My intent was not to mock or belittle those who lost their lives that day, but to bring to light the absurdity of using this (or any other) tragedy as a political tool. Now, ten years past, our politicians have moved on to other boogie-men. Always remember: when a politician invokes fear, or reminds you to be afraid; you are witness to an overt act of manipulation... 2011-06-03 13:42 Attempting to balance art and work as separate entities is a zero sum game. You will forever sacrifice one and resent the other. #FuckPlanB 2011-05-23 10:41 Pursue the art that challenges your sensibilities, the ideas that frighten you out of your comfort zone. All other paths lead to mediocrity. 2011-05-04 08:28 The formal role of philosopher is all but missing from our culture. It is up to us, the artists, to fill that void and speak truth to power. 2011-04-26 00:54 I thoroughly enjoyed watching Ben Folds, Amanda Fucking Palmer, Neil Gaiman, and Damian Kulash attempt to crank out 8 new songs tonight. I've had the live stream up on my second monitor all evening/night while working/coding/painting/attempting to get my shit together. Somewhere along the line, I forgot how much joy I find in the push/pull of collaborative art making, and magic that can happen when a supremely talented group of people throw their efforts behind an impossible task. In the end, they managed 6 songs in 12 hours. Absolutely impressive. Listening to the final playback now... watching Neil and Amanda alternately nod off. :) So much awesome. The entire thing should be up on Bandcamp by Tuesday night: http://music.amandapalmer.net/ g'night 2010-01-06 17:07 Haven't been around the interwebs very much lately. Life has been oscillating between terribly exciting and terribly terrible for the last few months. Attempting to remain sane, attempting to make art, attempting to tread water. My apologies if I have seemed distracted (or even absent). I had an opportunity to shoot my friend Brooke the other day. While I no longer consider myself a photographer, I will still gladly pull out the camera gear to shoot photos for a friend, especially one who is willing to collaborate and bring some of their own energy to the table. Here is some of what we came up with:     More on my portfolio site here: http://larryholdaway.com/photography/brooke-chains/ The shoot started out rather silly and campy, but as we neared the end, and we had already covered all of the shots she needed, we started to riff on the use of the chains (which I had brought along purely as an after-thought). Out of that, something dark and uncomfortable evolved, a meditation on the horrible depths that love/obsession can drag one into. The photos we intended to shoot turned out fine, and worked great for the client, but as I was editing, I kept coming back to these images instead. There is an uneasy undercurrent in ... 2009-09-08 02:42  Did an impromptu shoot tonight, and ended up with a new self portrait. Oh vodka... the things you make me do. LOL.
2009-08-11 23:24 This was our Monday night. It was cathartic, to say the least. |
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Larry P. Holdaway
Larry P. Holdaway