On Irreverence In Paradise

Ashen Aspen, 1995

CMYK Offset Print on Vinyl, 7' x 7'

"Does this image slam Aspen for taking its pristine environment for granted? Have we become so twisted? If So, then hats off to the Commercial Core and Lodging Commission, advisors to the City Council, for funding public art that dares bite the hand that feeds it."

Art News, Aspen Magazine

Cell,1993

Snow, 8' x 8' x 8'

Team: Catherine Redfrin, Thomas Mooney

"At the Winterskol snow sculpture contest, Kurosh and his team built a huge HIV virus. It was quite beautiful and won second place in the judging. The irony was that the hole in the side of the snow sculpture was constantly full of children playing. Would you want your child playing with AIDS?"

Aspen Daily News

Damned if you Do, Damned if u Don't, 1991

CMYK Offset Print, 11". x 8.5"

"Kurosh is in search of that point where people begin to be outraged by an image or event. His layout for Rita Saint John in Destinations Magazine brought much attention. The genitals of the model were airbrushed smooth. The owners of the airlines found this obscene and did not want the ad to run again."

Jay Magidson, Aspen Daily News

F, 1996

Blue Masking Tape, 6" x 4"
Team: Thomas Mooney

"Art, I'll pass. That's the sentiment espoused by a less-than-vicious vandal who altered a sign over the entrance to the Aspen Art Museum using plastic blue tape. Museum employees awoke Thursday to find that someone had changed the sign to "Aspen Fart Museum." drawing chuckles from passers-by and staffers alike."

Kent Smith, Aspen Daily News

DADAA, 1990

Toilet Paper, B&W Xerox, Wire Hanger

Team:?

"Elvis may be dead, but Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali apparently are alive and in good humor in Aspen. The self-titled group DADAA, Dead Artists who Dislike Aspen Art, have claimed responsibility for the hoof-to-helmet draping of the massive artwork. After a successful career in painting, it seems that Picasso and Dali have taken up rhyming verse. "Prompt removal is suggested, for tacky Aspen art can no longer be ingested. So Consider this fair warning, Or we'll steal him piece by piece 'til he's missing one morning." , the note read."

Greg Trinker, Aspen Daily News

BBB, BB, 1992

Black Ink, Silkscreen on Cotton Tshirt

"ValaNejad's image came as a response to the scathing New York Times Article last month that slammed not only Aspen and the IDCA, but designers in general for losing the sense of social mission the Aspen conference once stood for."

Jane Wilson, Aspen Times

$ki Pa$$, 1994

CMYK Inkjet Print on Paper, Laminated, 4" x 2.5"

"Unlike counterfeit money, making a fake ski pass is not illegal. But when they are used it becomes a crime, and the Ski Company vigorously prosecutes."

David Bellack, Attorney, Aspen Ski Company

The Kneeler

The Kneeler; Delivery Device by Pamela Joseph with Kurosh ValaNejad
Sound by Liliana Mejia and Pamela Joseph, Enclosure by Stephen Hues

Multimedia, multi-sensory, interactive, stereoscopic installation

Delivery Device:  4’ wide x 5’ deep x 5’ high
Enclosure:  5” wide x 7” deep x 8’7” high

ARTIST STATEMENT by Pamela Joseph, 2006

As often with my work, separate parts come together over time to make a complete statement.

I have had a long-standing interest in women and their place in contemporary society, their power or lack of it, and their relationship to the world around them. Over the past few years, my work has also explored different religious issues, especially the Madonna. The Virgin Mary has been an intense attraction for me.  I was raised as a Catholic, and she was the ultimate symbol of feminine perfection.

I bought the kneeler in 2003.  I was drawn to its textures and sense of history.  At the time I had no idea how it would manifest in an artwork.

La Voce Dell'innocenza (2003) by Pamela Joseph
Watercolor, Gouache, and Ink on Paper, 20 x 14 in.
from The Adventures of Pussy Marshmallow, 2001-2003.

I painted the Pussy Madonna image as part of a series of comic book covers in 2003 while I was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome.  It was there that I became especially aware of the sympathetic juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane:  erotic scrims on buildings would be backdrops for provocative Bernini sculptures, or a Virgin Shrine enclosed in neon would be next to a suggestive movie poster.

Pussy Marshmallow is my alter ego, a woman who audaciously dares to break the rules in the game of the sexes.  Here she is reborn as the Savior Christ child, resting in the arms of the Virgin Mary while winged fairies soar and the putenesca (means 'whore' in Italian) burns in hell.

This stereo pair can be viewed in 3D by crossing your eyes
  RIGHT                                                     LEFT

I have worked with Kurosh ValaNejad on a wide range of projects since 1992.  Kurosh suggested turning the Pussy painting into a 3-D stereoscopic display.  He executed the separation of layers, producing the right eye image.  

Diagram for Mirror Box (a.k.a. Hyperviewer) and Light Box

Kurosh designed the lightbox and drew the diagram for the mirror box.  The intricate mirror box was fabricated by proportionally scaling a similar historic contraptions. I have always been fascinated with the idea of the phrase “They did it with mirrors”, the conflict and the indecision of what is real or merely illusion.  We engaged in our usual dialogue to further develop the piece.

The dialogue in the sound design is based on my personal experiences and memories. Sound artist Liliana Mejia took my words and wove them into a sound design of music, fire and wings. Her response to the color pink in the painting helped provoke the final score.

The Kneeler Enclosure (2006) by Stephen Hues
Wood frame, leather straps, 2-sided velvet curtain
 5ft. wide x 7ft. deep x 8ft. 8in. tall

Exhibit Advertising

WIRING DIAGRAM with ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS

The Kneeler requires outlets to support a Mac Mini computer,
a Subwoofer/Amplifier with 2 Speakers, a Light Box