Man Bartlett, “#UsNotMe,” 2011

“Starting right now, I’d like to hear about your celebrity desires. Are there any you secretly wish you were? If you were forced, who would you be? Who would you make out with? Do you ever find yourself guiltily (or not) checking TMZ? Or are there pop culture icons you want to see buried in obscurity? Hung from the rafters of public dissent? Burned in the—you get the point. E.g., how do you feel about Lady Gaga, Snooki, Bieber, LiLo, Rebecca Black, Kreayshawn or old school like Brad & Angelina? I want to hear about them all. Musicians, movie stars, television personalities — really anyone that appears to be famous on a pop-cultural level. What are your personal thoughts on them? Tweet using the hashtag #UsNotMe. This Saturday from 7pm to 9:30pm, I will analyze your desires within the guise of one of my Absurd characters.”

Man Bartlett was born in Philadelphia in 1981. An interdisciplinary artist, he currently lives and works in New York City. manbartlett.com,
@manbartlett

@t_h_e_y

For the duration of this exhibition, overheard and otherwise witnessed accounts of what t_h_e_y did will be tweeted @t_h_e_y. The twitter.com/t_h_e_y feed will start to characterize the anonymous mass that is t_h_e_y, yet in the process reveal more about what actions we do not want to take ownership over, than what t_h_e_y actually do.

T_h_e_y are everywhere and have been for all times. Largely defined in contrast to the more inclusive ‘we,’ t_h_e_y in turn have been the opposition and the allies, the perpetrators and the victims, the individuals and the masses — but always remained the others. T_h_e_y have done everything we never did, and will continue to do so.

Logan Sebastian Beck, “Status Update” (The Artist; March 4, 2011, 10:40 a.m.) & “Update to Status Update” (Unknown; March 5, 2011, 2:03 a.m.), Off-site plastic cup installation on Woodhead St. Bridge at Highway 59, $300

“The statement, written with plastic cups on a chain link fence on a bridge over a busy freeway, “I will not make any more boring status updates,” is intended as a Facebook-era echo of John Baldessari’s, “I will not make any more boring art,” which he famously had art students write repeatedly on a gallery’s walls. The banal statement becomes increasingly absurd when read in relation to its placement over the busy freeway. This super-public forum moves the private thought into the realm of the supreme proclamation, much in the way Facebook asks its users to update other users with answers to the now-familiar question, “What’s on your mind?” The intervention was altered by unknown members of the public to read, “I will not make any more status updates,” and later, “I will not make any more” (undocumented).

Logan Sebastian Beck is a sculptor and photographer based in Houston, TX. You can find more of his work at loganbeck.com.

Brian Piana, “I’m Not,” 2011; “RGB and Sometimes Y: March 14, 2011, 10:55 a.m. CST (For Japan)”

 “The RGB and Sometimes Y series is derived by searching Twitter’s public timeline for instances of the words “red,” “green,” “blue,” and “yellow.” Found instances of these terms are then converted into vertical bars of their corresponding color in real time to create unique, time-stamped compositions. The red circle in “RGB and Sometimes Y: March 14, 2011, 10:55am CST (For Japan)” was added in a response to artist Takashi Murakami’s call for creating and tweeting art in support of the victims from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. For more, please visit RGBandSometimesY.com.”

Bexar, “Self Portraits,” 2010

“These videos are from my continuing ‘Self Portrait’ series. I explore the differences and similarities of my persona vs. identity by putting myself on view as subject and object. This body of work explores the force we put on ourselves, to placate and adjust to societal norms of acceptable behavior. Whether these norms are self-imposed or socially forced is a fine line.”

Bexar is a native Houstonian and an award-winning, self-taught artist. He is concerned with the contrast of dislocation and belonging, the visible and the invisible, ephemeral and eternal, and how technologies construe and form opposing ways of seeing. He is curious about the way our brains decipher what we are viewing and the way the senses interpret and manage to formulate visual information. Twitter: @ibexar; Youtube: xbexar & ibexar; bexar.com

Brian Piana, “I’m Not,” 2011

“’I’m Not’ parses through Twitter’s public timeline, presenting an ongoing feed of tweets containing that specific phrase in real time. Developed as a response to this show’s theme, ‘I’m Not’ looks at how people define themselves by exclusion; that is to say, by what they aren’t doing, aren’t feeling, aren’t being labelled as, etc. ‘I’m Not’ can be viewed online at thecollectiveme.com/not.

Brian Piana is a visual artist who uses the Internet as source material for his prints, paintings, sculpture and online pieces. He has exhibited locally at FotoFest, Lawndale Art Center and Art League Houston, and has also had work shown at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Diane Farris Gallery in Vancouver, ArtLies.org and Rhizome.org. Brian is a co-director of Skydive Art Space in Montrose, and he is a professor in Art and Visual Communications at San Jacinto College, South Campus.

Damien Hirst, “artizzzts,” 2010

“The artist is replaced by a virtual character and artistic action is replaced by the act of playing a computer game. At that point the artistic statement becomes having fun (playing a computer game). Art becomes, ultimately, POP.”

Damien Hirst is a non-profit artist from Slovenia. He says about his work, “My intention is to demystify everything that was mystified in the name of art. Art is a religion and I am an atheist. My goal is the appropriation of art as an intellectual interpretation to reverse the process of applying artistic value to objects and concepts. I am not just doing art. I am doing art by doing art.” Twitter: @hirstdamien; www.damienhirst.si

Jonatan Lopez, “#godmethough.html,” 2011

Through “#godmethough.html,” Jonatan Lopez embeds and posts himself as #god (an energy that powers all programs), allowing for humanity to click and download every part of his vulnerable body.

Jonatan Lopez is an interdisciplinary artist. Through his work he examines issues of debate within the realms of religion, sexuality, politics and science, employing self analysis, statistical and empirical observation. His works often become surveys and social experiments that question mainstream views and encourage valuable community discussion. Jonatan has exhibited in numerous venues in Texas, from traditional spaces such as Bayou City Art Festival, to alternative spaces like Project Row Houses and DiverseWorks. He currently lives in the Houston Heights with his partner and their three Labrador dogs. jonatanlopez.com

Melinda Ainsworth, “Feed (Fragments),” 2006-2011

 “Social media is, to me, about connection. People find echoes of who they are and feel connected, and reach out for it. Busy lives stay linked, and seemingly disparate groups talk about the same interests and experiences. I specifically tried to reflect the ways people use Facebook to communicate, and catch a bit of what that means.”

 Melinda is a Houston-based artist whose work focuses on the autobiographical. A graduate of the University of Houston with a degree in painting and a minor in English, she believes the specific captures the universal, and often uses a multiplicity of information in her work.

Douglas Cason As Zepeda, “Pink Walls and Vag Sign,” 2010; “Blue Bikini Bottoms, Counting Crows T-Shirt and Partial Rust on Sink,” 2010; “Polka Dot Bra and Headband with Hello Kitty Purse,” 2009

“The notion of ‘You don’t know me’ equates to simple anonymity. Anonymity affords a sense of protection, and feeling protected provides an individual with a virtual playground allowing for a meaningful release. The release may be as simple as making a comment that would otherwise be embarrassing in a conventional interaction, or as complex as an outlet for sexual fantasies. Certain release-seekers photograph themselves in the mirror or with their own extended arm striking seductive poses in scant clothing.  These studies in particular are the focus of my Zepeda paintings.”

“born in ft worth. moved to austin. found Zepeda there. moved to houston. was welcomed there. moving to brenham. Zepeda is coming with me. you should drop by. dougcason.com; doug@dougcason.com; 713.478.7928”

Ray Ogar, “Errors Uploading Me: How Tumblr Broke Maps of My GPS,” 2010, $20 ea.

“This work explores how the Internet sometimes misinterprets who we are. In this case, when plotting my GPS data (and position) from my cell phone in Googlemaps or on other map programs, I capture the image that Google captures of me. I then upload the image onto other sites. But sometimes these images upload incorrectly, break or glitch. These are glitched maps of where I live and drive. They represent me more in their broken state than when working.”

“When not creating simulated environments from the leftover cuttings of collaged images, I bleed my dreams over into music making, lyric writing and the creation of designer novels. I teach, but just as much constantly learn new software and methods of art-making nearly ever day.” A selection of Ogar’s current social media handles: Ray Ogar, minkdebt, shapethrower, the rap shrew, dot wreck, hwidr, cetapath, whitegraph, cichli, dael, demo, demogirl

@CorpzFlowrLois, “Lois,” 2010, $18,575,000 

“Andy showed me how to silkscreen when I was between roles and living at the factory while my house in Malibu was finishing construction. Anyway, it was a pretty dark time in my life (I was on a lot of PCP), but it’s good to know that at least some beauty came out of it.”

@CorpzFlowrLois is a 24/7 diva. Having stolen the spotlight of the Houston cultural arena in the summer of 2010, Lois is now summering in Basel, Switzerland. She lists Veuve Clicquot, Miracle-Gro and memories of Sumatra as her primary inspirations. When not sipping espresso (no Splenda) in the VIP section of international art fairs, Lois can be found basking in the penthouse greenhouse of the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Twitter Paid $6 or Less for Crowdsourced ‘Birdie’ Graphic