Check out my ArtSlant profile for other images of works currently not shown!!!!

http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/269277-jason-dawes

updates to my website thingy!

I've made some changes to my weebly site in lieu of the new direction of my work!

www.jawes.weebly.com

Transduction: Eight As One closing reception

A bit late since this show is closing on Saturday night, but it was an amazing show with tons of talented artists.  The MFA program at Cal State San Bernardino is definitely starting to evolve into what I hope remains a relevant and forward thinking MFA program.  The faculty, The facility, and the cost of this program are well worth checking out. This school is a diamond in the rough!!!!

Response to: Satellite Art: An Interview with Nam June Paik

Social Practice Art?

Made in LA response

Here is my response to the Made In LA 2011 class reading...

Connie Samaras: Tales of Tomorrow

Text and _____blank_____ response

Trilateral MFA Candidate Show

That time of year again. The Trilateral MFA show at the Da Gallery in Pomona is this Saturday April 13th!  6-10pm.

Response to: Chagoya and Gonzalez Asco and the politics of revulsion

Trilateral Exchange

Come check out my show! There is a closing reception on April 25th.

The "Rolls" of Razors

For the most part the majority of men, unless your really lucky and hairless, have to shave their face. I am someone who has to shave every morning if i want to keep a clean appearance. Do I do it? No. Of course not. The fast pace world we live in doesn't allow for such niceties. I don't even have five minutes to shave my face anymore! My problem is that I have allowed other things to take precedence over taking care of myself. All this will be changing though...
I recently purchased a Rolls Razor. This is an amazing piece of apparatus! Here is a quick history: "The eponymous product was a sophisticated safety-razor which came in a metal box designed to allow the blade to be stropped against the lid and thus was not disposable, but unlike the straight razor it incorporated a safety guard and its size was closer to the early Gillette double blade disposable razor." They lost their allure as the Gillette company created the more modern disposable razor we know today.
I try to be a responsible citizen and human and found the idea of a razor that can be stroped and honed and self-contained in its own shiny box as a great way to slow things down, enjoy my daily routine, and be "green" all in one sharp swipe! I also purchased a badger hair brush, shaving bowl, and disc of shaving soap. Now where is that bottle of Aqua Velva i had ten years ago?
I go through about a disposable razor a week. It could go longer but my course face dulls those cheapies pretty quick. I am now a fairly dedicated cyclist and find myself removing more and more hair away from my body which is using up more and more disposables. I hope that this Rolls is my ticket to getiing away from such waste and holding on to some really interesting pieces of not only history but practicality as well.

Summer musings...

As summer comes and goes a lot was unaccomplished and my to do list looks long and unending. Although I feel I can be a bit hard on myself. I shot a fair amount and work took up a good chunk of my time but what was done was much like my steak from the other night: well done! I am going through some of what i shot that hasn't made the cut for my own work but I don't want to float in limbo either: you will see some shots in the next few posts from the Tour of California at Baldy, some random street shots,etc. So bear with me while I edit some of the new work. Check out Peleton magazine if your into cycling. Well even if your not...

Vegas baby. Vegas! Sort of...

These shots are from Fremont Street during Punk Rock Bowling 2011.These are some frames that didn't make the cut for me. But i still find these images interesting even if a bit mundane.
The vast differences between "vegas" and "old vegas" are oceans apart. I do find comfort in hubs like Fremont street or Reno because of the unadulterated attitude and lifestyle that comes with these types of places. Characters abound you feel like an extra in Fear and Loathing or maybe Kalifornia. A sense that time freezes and you cant quite decide if its 1985 or 2011.
I will tell you that I hug these places with open arms and a tight squeeze like a hug you give to an old friend you haven't seen in a long time. Where places like Las Vegas get the awkward handshake of an old classmate you found on Facebook who wants to meet at a Starbucks and "catch up." All in one gargantuan lapse of good judgement you tell yourself, "this was a bad idea". That's a little of what i get from these images...

A New New Leaf

Ha. So now that i haven't posted in almost a year, back to back posts baby. I find the summer a time for love,loss, and hastiness. I watch the sands in the hourglass continue to slip through the gap and days and weeks whizz by and elude me. As a "working artist" that has to "work" summer time is the catch-all time of the year when all those ideas written down in that little black mole-skin notepad can go from fantasy to reality.
Although the reality of it is that there is never enough time. Bills,life,wife, bbq's,family,friends,work,work,weekend,shit,shower,shave,....you get the point.

I live vicariously through my younger and more talented friends. Hungry and eager and ready to leap head first into the hipster shark tank that is the L.A. photo scene, only to come to the surface unscathed with stories to tell. Which ultimately leads me to my long drawn out point. Watching contemporary artists (really contemporary, people in their twenties and thirties: I'm not talking about Terry Richardson,La Chapelle, Wolfgang,etc.) coming up in the Art world is amazing,exciting, and inspiring. I see the trend that a fair amount of them both male and female are coming out of the skate, youth, punk scene. Being part of all of that growing up and still part of it (even if it is part-time) I feel inspired that my time will come like so many of us making artwork only to have it live under our beds unmounted waiting for a show or a break. To those still waiting make it happen for yourself and keep on keeping on.
Bob Flowers deflowers the powers that be...It's nice to have friends in high places oh and low places too...
Thanks for keeping me hungry even when i thought I was full.

Go to camerabag.tv and watch scott pommier and the rest actually. This is an amazing website! They have a good mix of contemporary and seasoned veterans here for all those that are still thirsty.
http://camerabag.tv/scottpommier

new Life Blood!

Wow has it really been almost a year. Anyway I have had my lil website thingy up (http://bonafidephotog.weebly.com/) so its been slow to get stuff on the blog. Always making work though. Going to graduate school and need to stay on the grind! Here is some new work to keep things moving forward. Still continuing my self-portrait work along with some street stuff coming soon...Enjoy!

Stop your Whining!

Ok...Today i talked to someone from my past and he asked me what i was up to. I answered, "I am working at a college and that I was making work." He said, "You have a job, why are you making work?" I thought to myself that my job is not my life. I make work because that is my life, my therapy, my process. I obviously am not making money off of my photography, (although i wish i could make a living from it!) but i make my artwork anyway. I don't compromise my beliefs, my work, or what i put out for anyone. I could probably crap out a bunch of photo stuff and collage stuff that would sell to people but thats just not me...I am torn between wanting to make a living and continue to make my Art my way! I am a bad self promoter, I am not always the most sociable person off the bat, and I don't always want to play ball. So here i sit in limbo wanting to have my cake and eat it too...

Can't Stop,Wont Stop!

Here are more from the dancin machine project, enjoy! Playlist: MIA,LCD Soundsystem,SantiGold,Hot Chip, Daft Punk...and on and on till the break of dawn...

Identity

An abundance of my work is based on the ideas of identity,role reversal,and "the self portrait", and the exploration of the self. I noticed as i scanned in this roll of film I had grease on my finger and quickly cleaned my negative. I then thought isn't this exactly what an artist does, adds his/her "thumbprint" to their particular medium...

Keeps It Movin'

It's humorous sometimes when you decide to do something and you are not sure why. I cannot explain it to people, family,friends,or even people who are informed about my artwork why I am doing my Dancin' Machine project. " What the hell are you doin that for?" That is the usual reaction. There are times when you just need to flesh things out and see how it plays out. When the dust settles and all is said and done I hope that there is some resolve in the work. For now though, I find it equal parts ridiculous and therapeutic. That is about all I can ask for in my artwork!