the SEE by Kenn Munk (+ the Evolution of & a Custom from Surface Zero)
Between the 3rd of April to the 29th 2009 - Kenn Munk will be having an exhibition in Århus, Denmark (With a private viewing at 4pm on April 3rd). Titled "The See" - do keep a look out for a trio of screen prints (designed by Kenn - and produced in an edition of 10 per design) - available both on-site and online [HERE] - an image of which is shown directly below:
Kenn mentions on his website: "The See is an ongoing project dealing with tourism and an alternative version of shintoism. The purpose of this project is mainly research - I am the guidebook author traveling The See, looking for the best sights and trying to get to the soul of The See." ~ [More about The See here]
An eventual conceptual-precursor to "The See" [flickr-set] - was a project dubbed "Surface Zero" - in which Kenn explores the evolution of his thought and creation process. TRE had an opportunity for a glimpse of said-process in early 2009 (which promptly fell into a perceptual-gap in the time/space continuum). CLICK THRU to find out the creature called "The Naiiad", and about a custom-Droplet called "Staring Blankly out of Space" ...
MARCH 2009
FIRSTLY: A Disclaimer & An Apology To Kenn Munk001 > Responses I had in reaction to Kenn's process has since been swallowed up by the hungry-void of thy cyber-life. (Any resolution lies in Kenn's inbox). But perhaps they need not exist, for tis not my thought processes you folks are interested in.
002 > My sincere apologies for the lapse, Kenn. Perhaps I too am in dire need of visiting The See.
JANUARY 2009
KENN: I'm working on a large project called Surface Zero - the primary purpose of which is to push myself in new directions (at the moment I'm trying to get into a stained glass workshop) and I am trying out new things, things where I don't feel at home. I taught architecture for one measly semester last spring and it ruined me, since then I'm thinking about buildings, spaces, structures and light in a new way, then I took a week long walk in the woods and that too changed me. These things and others have lead me to Surface Zero.
WHAT-IS: Surface Zero is a project about shinto, tourism and to some extend western mythology - except it's not mythology. For those not familiar with Shinto, one of the main aspects is that everything has a soul, something I realised to be true while in the woods. Shinto talks about spirits in nature, but it doesn't stop there - computers have souls too, roads, cars and houses too and this is what Surface Zero is about: the very point where the soul of a thing shines through.
WHERE: I will be having a small show in Denmark in April and it will deal with one specific aspect or creature of Surface Zero called The Naiiad. The Naiiad are nymphs or muses of applied superficial beauty. They look like young women sticking their heads out of the Surface and they are hollow; they are the colour of your car or the picture on your credit card. I'm working on these in various media and as a test I did this custom Droplet called "Staring Blankly out of Space" - it's a simple thing and I actually just wanted to send you the pictures, but apparently I just babbled on about Surface Zero.
"Staring Blankly out of Space" is a kosmonaut sticking his head out of space and looking back at us and the idea came from some of the extra material on the Alien3 dvd where one of the early ideas was that of a wooden planet with an atmosphere so shallow that you could stick your head out through it and literally be in space.
I'm working on a lot of collages for the Naiiad exhibition and I incorporated that into this little one, I know it's not much of a custom, but since I so rarely make any now I figured I'd send you it.
My approach to this one was a lot messier than usual - I wanted to do the vinyl version of a sketch. Also, some of the areas of the helmet are left smooth (spraypainted) and some have been roughed up with brushstrokes.
FEBRUARY 2009:
KENN: "These are the 160 basic "The See" logos made up of two parts, technically you can combine the type parts, if you slap two together you'll have 1280 different logos, but in reality a lot of them wouldn't really work, so I'll largely stick with the 160 basic ones for the moment." [via]
