The Late Great Dash Snow, we shall miss you dearly!

Dash Snow (1981-2009)

To those of you who do not know who Dash Snow is, he was a New York based artist who's career was short lived due to a drug overdose. His art consisted of Polaroid photos of his party days, Dada'esk collages, obscure sculpture work, and silent films. However, his greatest contribution to the art world was his and fellow friend and artist, Dan Colen's instalation, "[Hampster] Nest".

He was born into a wealthy family, and took his life into the grungy city streets of New York, where he befriended fellow artists Dan Colen, Ryan McGinley, Nate Lowman, and other contemporaries. Dan, Ryan and Dash were considered "Warhol's Children". Spawning from the same life style and artistic integrity as Andy, they evolved and expanded what Warhol truely had foreseen in the contemporary art world. Dash's work was one of a kind! His early photography was like that of Nan Golden, documenting his life in a click of a shutter. He explained that him and his friends used to get 'wasted', and took Polaroids to remember their adventures the next day. His "Nest" installation was based off of his and Dan's hotel room excursions, where the two would turn on all the taps flooding the room, rip of hundreds of phone books, and drink and do drugs unil the two felt like they were hampsters. Dash truely did live his life on the edge!

When a friend of mine mentioned that he had passed away, I was disapointed. Disapointed because I never had the chance to view his work in person, knowing he was still alive (and perhaps having the chance to have met him). It was also disapointing because he had a baby girl last year or so, who he and his partner Jade named Secret Snow. Perhaps it is odd that I am mourning over a person I did not know personally, however I knew his art work and history. He interested me to no end, and perhaps I even looked up to him as a muse to my own work and life style. He was only 27 years old, and was only on the art scene for three to four years now.

For more information of Dash Snow, visit the following sites:

http://www.viceland.com/int/v11n5/htdocs/hamster.php?source=db

http://www.deitch.com/projects/sub.php?projId=219

http://tinyvices.com/dash_snow.html

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/dash_snow.htm

http://www.peresprojects.com/artist-works/dash-snow/0/

http://www.viceland.com/wp/2009/07/dash-snow-1981-2009/

http://nymag.com/arts/art/profiles/26288/

bare: A Rock Opera Set Designs

Along with the musical theatre project came an opportunity to design the set's Stainglass windows. The story takes place at a catholic school, and thus I was commissioned to design 4 Stainglass window panels.
The concept is very simple: The the first panel represents the fertile Madonna figure, who's diseased hands pray for forgiveness and for a purer world for her unborn child. The panel standing on the opposite end reflects the first Madonna, now with her child born, passes her affliction down to him. It is a conviction that I believe is true amongst our society and that of the catholic church, that we pass our beliefs/shortcomings of our disapproval to that which is out of the "ordinary", and thus continue to live as a "diseased" close-minded society. The two panels in the middle depict a torn Jesus Christ, who's crucified body watches over the garden of evil. On the first panel, we see two Adams (rather than an Adam and Eve), who are represented as the characters fromt he play. The one Adam (Peter) accepts the forbidden fruit of the tree of life from the serpant, while the other Adam (Jason) chastises the serpant. Altimatly, the two Adams' are banished from the garden, seen on the opposite panel.

The windows play upon both moral ideals, biblical tales, and messages from the story of 'bare'.

"The Etheral Mold, and the Dismisive Life" (bare: Rock Opera Stainglass Set Designs)
Mixed media on paper and Digital, 4 x 7 ft. each panel

bare: A Rock Opera Advertisments

Soon after graduating, I received a great opportunity to design and Illustrate for a musical theatre production of 'bare'. The story is of two young Catholic school boys who fall in love with each other. While the one boy, Peter, becomes increasingly aware of his love and sexuality, fights for his right to love the jock'ish and very masculine, Jason, and ultimately their love (like any classic love story) falls in the hands of tragedy.

It was my job to design the posters and mailers of the show, which the cast and myself pasted across Toronto's city streets and walls. I designed two different posters and mailers to acquiesce the public's approval of homosexuality and over all conservitism. Obviously the one poster is a bit more amorous than the other to which was amaimed to attracted a more specific audience.

This is an amazing show everyone. The cast is over whelmingly tallented. The show runs from July 17th - August 1st. You can by tickets at the following link: http://www.uofttix.ca/view.php?id=518 , or visit the website for more information: http://www.watersedgeproductions.net/ .

'bare' posters 1 and 2
Digital, 11 x 17"

'bare' mailers front and back
Digital, 4 x 6"