Eric – I’ve decided we are going to win Powerball.

          We should have the billion dollars.

          We can move to PR and save every dog there.

          Then summer in the Berkshires and save dogs there.

          And keep a loft in Bushwick and throw big parties.

          And build our own pavilion in Venice.

          Then wonder what happened to all that money 10 years 

          later.

          But look back and smile from our Section 8 on McGrath

          highway.

          And then we’ll spend our ss checks on lottery tickets

          because god will smile on us twice.

          Pennies from heaven…..

Anna–When is the Powerball drawing?

           It will be a very good 10 years with that money.

           We can have that H&G show help us buy one of our

           houses and call it Performance Art, which of course it is.

           And a house by a river outside of Prague.

           And now that I am thinking, we will need a private

           plane so that our dogs can have an easy flight with us

           as we jet back and forth.

           With our logo painted big on the outside.

           Like the Rolling Stones.

Eric -   It’s going to be a great 9 years.

Anna- I can hardly wait. When do we play?

           And the Cuban dogs need our help too. If this takes us

           down to 8 years I am OK with it.

           Because we will win again.

           And if not, we will always have our ss checks, right?

“I am heading to Cuba on September 30^th for an 18 days artist residency at the Bustamante Studio in Havana. I will be sending regular updates for The Biennial Project to post on their website.

First a little about me, Cuba, and my connection to the Biennial Project.

I am a sculptor and installation artist out of Oakland, CA. I use repurposed materials in all of my art. My typical day includes hunting for material at local flea markets and estate sales. I exhibit regularly in the Bay Area, and have exhibited around the US as well as in South America and Europe. You can see my work at: www.clintimboden.com

Cuba provides me with the opportunity to find new materials for making art and to exhibit that art in completely new venues.

Ever since president Obama relaxed travel to Cuba, I have wanted to go and see Cuba before it changes. Through a conversation with a long-time friend and artist, I found out that her daughter (a really nice painter www.erinparish.com ) is married to a Cuban and has a connection to a contemporary gallery in Havana. Many phone calls, text messages and emails later, I was able to arrange this residency. It all happened within two months. There is hope that this residency will become an opportunity open to other artists.

My connection with The Biennial Project goes back to 2012 when I found a call for entry about getting work seen during the Art Venice Biennale in 2013. I figured this was worth the entry fee and entered and ended up winning the grand prize.

[Text from The Biennial Project’s review of Clint’s work: “As good red-blooded Americans, we were first seduced by his gorgeous series of resin-based pieces titled Colors of War. Luscious, candy-colored, lethal. Perfection. Can we get fries with with that?” Read more of our review here:

Grand Prize Winner of The 2013 ArtVenice Biennale]

So started my relationship with Anna and the rest of the crew there. For a couple years I’d read about their antics, travels and other adventures when an email would pop up in my inbox from them. I kept them on my radar and one day I got an email asking if anyone wanted to go with them to the Biennale in Venice next spring. Figuring that these insane artists would be fun to see art with, I jumped at the opportunity. But, I had to back out because of a conflict with my son’s wedding. What is a father to do, art or family? This time family won out. But this recent contact with Anna turned into a phone call and I talked to her about my upcoming trip to Cuba, and she asked me to scope out the art scene. Told her about the next Biennale in Havana in 2018 and of course she was interested in seeing it they could have the Biennial Project on the road south. So I have a few of missions while in Havana:

• Scope out galleries for my work
• Make connections with people connected to the Biennial in hopes of being asked to participate, and
• See if there’s a place for the Biennial Project in Cuba.

Check in later for updates on my trip!”

You probably know The Biennial Project as the cutting edge conceptual art collective the is forever turning the art world on it’s pointy little head. But in addition to our groundbreaking post-modern satirical work….

XXOO,

The Biennial Project

So the other night we had perhaps one too many at one of the Glittering Art Soirees that are mandatory this time of year, and got to chatting with artist friends about the Roadshow Biennial Marfa that The Biennial Project is hosting this coming April.

One of our co-conspirators, who had had, if we are to be entirely honest, perhaps two too many, suggested that we should ask our favorite art critic Jerry Saltz to jury the show with us.

At the time this sounded like just the most daring and Biennial Project thing to do, so we agreed with said co-conspirator that he should chat the old boy up and see if he was game.

I want to – but I am so so so busy these days.

NYM is stopping publishing weekly and going bi-weekly; means MORE on-line writing for me; Whitney Biennial is March, etc., etc.

I am poor; you are poor: Bad match.

You don’t have enough to pay me. I can’t work for less than I charge – which is WAY more than you have.

I LOVE being asked; your lives there are so so much bigger than mine here.

I truly envy you all for these lives lived in art…

Thank you; I am honored to have been asked,

Really.

Sigh,

Jerry

OK Biennial Project friends, If you can find us a more generous rejection letter, we will print it in our blog - but we know you can't because such a thing would be outside the realm of human possibility.

Other than the general niceness, there are three things worth pointing out about this response:

Jerry Saltz thinks we're poor. Is it that obvious? Maybe we should stop cutting our own hair to save money. But more importantly,

Jerry Saltz thinks we're artists. How many times have we tried to explain this to you?  Take THAT, painters of fruit - we told you so!

Jerry Saltz thinks we're much bigger than him. OK, now we're just melting in a warm pool of wonderful.  LADADADADADA! LADADADADADA!

While we still have visions of invites to major biennials dancing in our heads, and definitely plan to achieve our goal of becoming super famous in the coming year, until then, this will do nicely. And they say there is no Santa Clause!

Now, be well-behaved children and go follow the good Mr. Saltz on face-book and wherever else you find him, so that you can enjoy his refreshing take on art and the art world - and don't forget to tell him The Biennial Project sent you!

(US with Jerry outside the Whitney Biennial Preview Party last year.)