The Patriot Acts

Please view the blog below to see images from the multimedia exhibition The Patriot Acts.

http://www.thepatriotacts.blogspot.com/

In God We Trust (Novus Ordo Seclorum, A New Order of the Ages)
2012, acrylic on 60 dollars, 35” x 25” 

Video Installations

Please view more detailed documentation of these video installations and other video pieces at:

http://www.videosculptures.blogspot.com

  RGB

    2006, metal, vellum, wood, paint, glue, 

    video projectors, DVD players, 8' x 6' x 5'

  The Forest, the River and the City 

   2007, vellum, wood, paint, glue, 

   video projectors, DVD players, 8' x 6' x 6’

Installations and Sculptures

Tetrahedrons, 2009, wood and nails, 13 m x 3 m x 6 m

An installation made of 500 meters of wood that aggressively filled the space with two sizes of tetrahedrons. These tetrahedrons were placed on each other and the architecture to create a traversable and complex environment. Viewers were allowed to navigate their way through the piece and ascend the stairs to the balcony to view the piece from above.

      

Tetrahedrons, 2009, wood and nails, 13 m x 3 m x 6 m    

5 – 6 – 4, 2007, wood and hardware, 3 m x 3 m x 2 m

This piece references and simultaneously subverts architecture in its unstable and unbalanced appearance and 

quick construction with cheap and simple materials.

one, 2007, ink on paper, wooden frame, hardware, dimensions variable

I took the word “one” and found its synonyms from the Encarta World English Thesaurus. I then found the synonyms for those four words and continued the exponentially growing process of finding synonyms until I had five generations of words with approximately 1300 words total. In addition, I presented a history of the written word "one," as it develops through calligraphy, typewritten text to handwritten post-it notes. The synonyms literally evolve through each generation as they are presented down the wall.  

The words are written, printed and typed from the top of the wall to the bottom in the following media. The first row is the word “one” hand written in calligraphy, the second row has four words printed using a printing press, the third row is typed with a typewriter, the fourth row is typed with a computer and the last row is hand written on post-it notes. Calligraphy was a beautiful and time consuming process, the privilege of an elite, educated few. Each subsequent generation of text presented on the wall took less time and energy to produce, allowing for the faster circulation of ideas. The exception is the post-it notes, which return to the process of hand written text and aren’t usually used to publicize new ideas.

 

  

Train Piece, 2005, toy train set, electronics, dirt, 6” x 15’ x 60”

A motion detector was placed outside by the train tracks that run adjacent to the building. As the train passed it would set into motion the toy train in the gallery, which used to be the entrance area for the obsolete train station. There was also a live microphone placed by the train tracks connected to the speakers in the gallery, so when a train went by it would bring the train noise into the gallery. The rocks and dirt are from the train tracks and form a protective barrier around the piece. 

Chain Reaction, 2005, Mixed media, 12’ x 20’ x 5’

Chain Reaction, 2005, Mixed media, 12’ x 20’ x 5’

The piece has four bicycles connected to each other; one wheel to the next.  I had intended these bicycles to power a Super 8mm projector, however due to technical issues it did not function as I intended. I therefore decided to make it a performance piece, awarding trophies to those who rode for the longest and shortest times. As the piece was used it would break necessitating constant repair during its exhibition. It was also very noisy and entertaining to watch people get involved in this absurd competition.

y=-x/tanq + r/sinq, 2005, yarn, tacks, wood, metal, 8’ x 14’7” x 18’8”

The title is an equation for each line that can be adjusted depending upon the angle associated with that line and the radius of the circle created by all the tangents. x and y are dependent upon the position of the pattern relative to the walls in the space. In this piece the radius is 18” and the angle between successive tangents is 4 degrees to make a total of 90 pieces of yarn. From above this geometric pattern can be clearly observed. The trapezoidal architecture of the space causes the sculpture to make pyramidal volumes. For a smooth color transition, the colors are arranged with the neighboring colors in the following manner (each letter represents a different color):  
AA B A BB C B CC D C, etc.

y=-x/tanq + r/sinq, 2005, yarn, tacks, wood, metal, 8’ x 14’7” x 18’8”

y=-x/tanq + r/sinq, 2005, yarn, tacks, wood, metal, 8’ x 14’7” x 18’8”

A view from above.

y=-x/tanq + r/sinq, 2005, yarn, tacks, wood, metal

plus

Convergence, 2005, rubber roofing material, metal, paint, 8’ x 14’7” x 18’8”

The metal base has the same diameter as the diameter in y=-x/tanq + r/sinq  to create a dialogue between the two pieces. 

The second stage of the installation.

Photographs

Please view more photographs at:

http://mattihavensphotography.blogspot.com/

Screen Prints

Please view more screen prints:

http://mattihavensprints.blogspot.com/

Drawings and Paintings

Fish
2011, pen, pencil and ink on paper, 11.5” x 9”    

Python
2011, pen, marker and colored pencil on paper, 11.5” x 9”    

Squirrel
2011, pen, pencil, colored pencil and ink on paper, 9” x 11.5”    

The paintings below were shown as a group of paintings for a solo show at Entropia Gallery in Wroclaw, Poland.

Patterns, geometry and equations are the basis of Series. In Series (Red) it is the Fibonacci series that expands to the edge of the frame.

Continuous patterns without variation are rather lifeless and uninspired but with some irregularity or interruption in the patterns they are more organic and animated. This painting series seeks to contrast geometric patterns with random drips and splashes of color.

Series (Green)
2008, acrylic on wood, 105 cm x 105 cm    

Series (Red)
2008, acrylic on wood, 229 cm x 105 cm    

Series (Yellow)
2008, acrylic on wood, 105 cm x 105 cm    

Series (Blue)
2008, acrylic on wood, 210 cm x 105 cm    

Videos and Performances

Passengers, 2012, Color Video, 1 minute 48 seconds

A documentation of a performance in a local fast food restaurant along with subtitles telling the story of an ill-fated flight. 

The One Minute Walking Tours Presents; Wrocław, Poland, 2008, Color Video, 1 minute

Experiencing a walking tour of a city can now by accomplished in a minute. Why spend more time than you need to?

Waterboarding, 2008, Color Video, 1 minute 25 seconds

Torture is a ridiculous, cruel and terrifying act, which is a form of punishment rather than a dependable method of extracting information. The questions posed to the victim in this piece range from the trivial to the political and religious.

Fish Jump Rope, 2007, Color Video,  46 seconds

For display I would have this video loop continually so as to continue the torture interminably. The children's singing and making sport of the suffering of the fish mocks the viewer's feelings of compassion towards the tormented creature. 

 

                                                                                                                                      Simon, 2006, Color Video, 5 minutes 50 seconds

Simon is a magic show/vaudeville type performance in the style of silent movies. At first the audience is acknowledged but then ignored, as it becomes an increasingly humorous and sinister conflict between man and fish. As is it becomes obvious that the fish will not cooperate positive encouragement is used and degenerates in to wicked punishment.

Conversations: Conversation with a Lizard, 2006, Color Video, 5 minutes 40 seconds

Conversations: Conversation with a Lizard is a farcical piece about talk shows using a lizard that "speaks" with subtitles. The increasingly humorous and politically incorrect conversation addresses a broad range of topics. The interview starts in a civilly mannered classy PBS like fireside chat and ends in a chaotic Jerry Springer like fight to the death.

 

Insultorium, 2006, Color Video, 8 minutes

This relentless and in your (my) face documentation of a performance was both violent and ridiculous. It was a collaborative effort where I asked my classmates to insult me and throw tomatoes at me.

Vis-à-vis, 2005, Color Video, 2 minutes 20 seconds

I made this piece by recording my head slowly moving in different directions. Then I projected this on my girlfriend’s head and gave her verbal instructions to match her movements to my heads movements. I excluded the verbal instructions because they were unnecessary and distracting.

Pen and Penne, 2005, Color Video, 1 minute

This short, humorous piece deals with physical intimacy and the awkwardness present in this act. The speed of the piece makes the act more urgent and desperate, while the title is a play on words referencing various languages.