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On the Set – Juicy Fruit

Andrew — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:28:12 +0000

We’ve nearly finished the set build for the new JMGC video for “Juicy Fruit”. This has certainly been the most intense set build ive been ivolved with. We shoot in 3 weeks. Stay tuned for production stills.

Art Show!

Andrew — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:41:48 +0000

My exhibition, Demigods, opens tonight at Tracey Gallery in downtown Portland. I’ll be showing new and old silkscreens as well as a laser-cut wood piece. The show will be hanging all july.

TLE Birthday Party Silk Screen

Andrew — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:47:23 +0000

This print was made for the 4th annual Tender Loving Empire birthday party. It’s a month old now but still one of my favorite prints ive done to date.

The Odd Ballroom

Andrew — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 04:23:15 +0000

The Odd Ballroom is a short 3D animated film created by myself and a group other other students at James Madison University. The production began in 2006 and ran until 2008 when the final original soundtrack was applied.

The Odd Ballroom takes viewers into the twisted realm of a half-rate circus freak show and into the tormented mind of the man behind it all, the janitor. After a night plagued by disasters the maliciously envious antagonist finds his own place in the spotlight.

A PDX MAS 2010

Andrew — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:06:37 +0000

Welp, It’s here. Paul Laxer did it again. Over the last few weeks he’s been wranglin’ and scrapin’ in these homemade holiday-themed jams from some of Portland’s most talented musicians. Everyone represented on this 23 song compilation took it upon themselves to donate their time and energy towards this not-for-profit collection of wintery goodness. If you’re looking for some brand new versions and switched around perspectives on your favorite holiday classics (as well as a few original tunes) then look no further. This year features Christmassy renditions by notable Portland staples Typhoon, Yeah Great Fine, Aan, Alan Singley, Oh Captain My Captain, and members from Y La Bamba too! Oh yeah, don’t forget to gander at the track by Royal (me! i covered mariah carey!).

The whole things available for listen and free downloading here.

Royal – All I Want For Christmas is You
Download audio file (18.%20Royal%20-%20All%20I%20Want%20for%20Christmas%20Is%20You.mp3)

King Friday ft. Jake Hershman – Hanukkah oh Hanukkah
Download audio file (22.%20King%20Friday%20feat.%20Jake%20Hershman%20-%20Hanukkah%20oh%20Hanukkah.mp3)

Andrew 2.0

Andrew — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:46:06 +0000

Got this. Now I’m a professional?

Gots Me a New Lens

Andrew — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 04:42:06 +0000

Bought this. Now I’m a professional.

Monstrous Media Gets a Face Lift

Andrew — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:30:10 +0000

BYE! That’s right, say Good-bye to the old MM and hello to the 2011 makeover. I spent a long time conceptualizing how the new site would flow and made some decent changes, I think. Most importantly, I’ve added the “Look at this” column. Here I will continue to feature new shit that I’ve done as a way to keep this site functional as a portfolio site. Also, now in the sidebar under the “Yer Sayin It” section, you can see the most recent comments made on any given item. This way you can see where the conversation is and jump right to it. I’ll be doing some maintenance to this area in the future to make it a bit more functional.
There is still a lot of work to be done. In the future I’d like to add a section for my photography and a functional set of out-going links. I’d be happy to take suggestions on what could be improved so feel free to comment away.
I promise to pay more attention to MM as a whole in the new year; get her back on track. Much love. Stay Tuned!

The Kingdom of Cambodia

Andrew — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:49:00 +0000

The last three weeks were spent deep within the heart of Kampuchea, formerly known as the Angkor Empire, currently known as Cambodia. I was fortunate enough to be invited for a visit by one of the finest people on earth, Alexandra E. Robbins, currently director of a supplementary school for underprivileged Khmer youth called Aziza’s Place, located in Phnom Penh.

Ali was gracious enough to take immense amounts of time off from her demanding job to show me around and ween me slowly into to the mayhem that Southeast Asia can appear to be. Above is Sambo, a resident elephant that lives at the foot of Wat Phnom, a small hilltop pagoda located in central Phnom Penh. Elephants are a rarity outside of the tourist heavy areas where onlookers can often hand-feed the animals bananas or go for a quick ride by paying a nominal fee. We met Sambo within the first few days of my visit.

After not too long Ali let go of my bicycle seat and set me loose in a few of Phnom Penh’s street markets. Often these markets will occupy entire city blocks and can be smelled a few blocks away as well. The selling of all things imaginable takes place here. From raw meats to pirated software to secondhand clothing to motorcycle parts, you can find just about anything you need in these markets if you can handle the heat and the stench. This woman was poised to slice while attending to her fly-ridden beef cuts in her business hammock.

One afternoon we took off on or bicycles to cross the Mekong river by ferry to see what we could find on the side opposite the city. It’s amazing how quickly Cambodia becomes rural when you venture a few kilometers away. We were met by dirt roads and bamboo huts, awkward stares and the unabated shouts of “hello!” from local children prodding us white folks to see if they could get a reactionary “hello” in response. A few random turns down skinny roads and we stumbled on some beautiful pagodas riddled with curious monks. Above is a naga and a dry-brushed lion/dragon capping the banister of one of these pagodas.

Being involved with a super cool NGO means you have lots of super cool NGO buddies; as is the case with Ali. Both Ali and I were invited to join her friend who works for Engineers Without Borders on a business trip out to the countryside. Engineers Without Borders works with a Khmer community that has built a floating village along the banks of a large lake in central Cambodia. The houses are designed to shift locations as the lake swells and recedes during the wet and dry seasons, but the houses themelves can often be shotty and unstable. The inhabitants use the lake as their livelihood; fishing and bathing in the lake as well as pooping and peeing in it. Engineers Without Borders has begun to implement latrines to help rectify this last fact and we went along to talk to the new latrine owners to gauge overall effectiveness in the first stages of this project.

Since the village is entirely floating the only way to get around is one boats like the one pictured here. We were ferried around to about five households to interrogate the residents. The response to the new way of going number 1 and number 2 was overwhelmingly positive. While this may be true, the unfortunate fact is that the actual use of the toilets isn’t the problem, it’s trying to explain to the community why they actually need to stop shitting in the lake that feeds them that is the true obstacle. The girls in the background here were attending a floating school and laughing at my beard as we passed.

To satisfy my lust for coastline, Ali took me southwards to get in some beach time. After spending one night in the coastal town of Kep we hopped on a little ferry to the Southeast Asian paradise called Rabbit Island. Here we laid suspended in hammocks dining on fresh seafood and coconut milkshakes for the better portion of a day. It broke my heart to leave this postcard behind but we had some temples to see.

After a 11 hour bumpy bus ride north we arrived in Siem Reap, a lovely green touristy town and portal to the ancient temples of the Angkor city complex. We took 3 days to explore the entire complex by bike. This allowed us to take full advantage of the Cambodia approach to the conservation of relics, which is that there is none. You have free reign to do as you wish in these epically beautiful ancient temples, which for me meant pretending to be Indiana Jones hanging out with Laura Croft in the Shrine of the Golden Monkey. This is one of the four gateways that leads into Angkor Thom being guarded by an obese monkey.

Getting lost in these mazes was truly unique. I mean, you could go anywhere, climb on anything and just freak out. Although this is generally a densely touristed area we did well at avoiding the crowds and sticking to some of the less frequented temples which often held secrets like this amazing doorway being swallowed by the root system of this tree. This whole experience was something else, like some real Legends of the Hidden Temple shit.

After a week of pure travel we had to book it back to Phnom Penh so Ali could get some things done and I could decompress. My last touristy visit was to Toul Sleng, the notorious torture prison operated by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970′s. This haunting building is situated right in the center of Phnom Penh still surrounded by shops and residences as well as a tangled net of barbed wire. The interactivity at Toul Sleng is very Cambodian, similar to Angkor City, very hands on. You are free to walk in and out of the torture cells, handle the shackles and torture instruments and gaze into the eyes of the mutilated victims sparsely pictured throughout the halls. Cambodia’s history is fucked. If you don’t know anything about it, look into it. It’ll blow your mind.

On a lighter note here’s a hilarious example of a failed translation effort. To put it in context this sign is advertising a “Dr. Fish” massage which essentially entails putting your feet in a tank of flesh eating fish who nibble the dead skin off of your extremities. The sign claims that the Dr. Fish massage is better than a “people massage”… and only 8 metres away!

Obviously, this post relfects just a small fraction of my trip. Cambodia blew my mind. From seeing situations so destitute and poverty so extreme that my brain couldn’t have even conjured up the reality I was witnessing to being deeply immersed in a culture so radically different to anything I’m used to I think I can confidently say that I’ve received a healthy dose of the brainfuck I was after. My whistle is wet and I will be back.

Oh, and I scored some really awesome Khmer psyche rock from the late 60′s.. check it out.

Ros Sereysothea – Brokenhearted
Download audio file (01 – Ros Sereysothea – Brokenhearted Woman.mp3)

Pan Ron – Why Follow Me
Download audio file (03 – Pan Ron – Why Follow Me.mp3)

ATTN: Portland. THE TAINT is Coming

Andrew — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:39:00 +0000

Oi! Dear indie movie hungry awesomeness lovers, check it out: My friend’s friend’s friend has been working on this delightfully sloppy sillyfest thriller for the last god knows when and is now making festival circuits with it. As awesomeness has it, it’ll be screening at the Portland Underground Film Festival on June 13th. It only cost a puny six bucks and the director will be there. You can tell him Baylen Forcier made you go if you’re unsatisfied for some ungodly reason… I mean, watch the teaser. Times and tickets here.