Nilsen

Brooklyn

2011-06-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

I was in China so long I forgot how to spell Brooklyn. I went out to get reacquainted with what I like to call my big iron spell checker.

Sewer scroll

2010-06-22T21:11:00.001-07:00

Here is one of my Beijing covers mounted as a scroll.

Sewer cover detail

2010-06-21T07:27:00.001-07:00

One day I'll learn what all the chacters on the various sewer covers
around Beijing say. I think this one says "mix with Coke for good
Chinese joke".

Chinese sewer caps

2010-06-21T07:22:00.001-07:00

I broke down and did a few sewer covers over here. The Chinese text
was just too tempting.

Writting with water

2010-06-16T06:54:00.001-07:00

This is a great pass time of the Chinese calligrapher. Writting with
water. It evaporates and he starts all over. This is at the Temple of
Heaven in Beijing.

Crazy bridge

2010-06-16T06:32:00.001-07:00

Here is me in front of a crazy bridge. Later I swam in the water with
a bunch of crazier Chinese dudes. People gathered along the bridge to
watch figuring we'd get munched by leaches or a dragon but we didn't.
Very refreshing though.

The other banner

2010-06-07T08:00:00.001-07:00

One of the banners

2010-06-07T07:59:00.002-07:00

Poster

2010-06-07T07:59:00.001-07:00

Mike, the producer of my show holding the poster.

Flyer for show

2010-06-07T07:58:00.001-07:00

Well I'm all set. Artwork is hung. Here is the flyer for the show.

Passing through

2010-05-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Swinging Tiananmen Squate is in the background. The Mao wow factor.

Wall

2010-05-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a wall of several finished scrolls. I've got them all rolled
up now and I'm off to Xiamen to set up the big show!

Word field painting repost

2010-05-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Got into a web proxy that let's me navigate censored sights. Noticed
my word field painting didn't post right the other day. So here it is.

Double scroll

2010-05-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

Packing up for Xiamen today. Here is a double panel scroll I finished
a couple days ago.

Another

2010-05-23T07:14:00.001-07:00

After I painted flowers I started doing these wave paintings.

Flowers

2010-05-23T07:12:00.002-07:00

Loopy poem

2010-05-23T07:12:00.001-07:00

This is a contrast to the word field. A loose rendition of a poem I
wrote for turkey vultures.

Word Field Picture

2010-05-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is one of my word field pieces. It's a poem about peace that is based on a yogi's meditation on peace.

peace floods me and blizzards me

extreme weather of my peace freaks out the weatherman

peace reeks around me but for my culture it is a subtle perfume

peace runs through me in a race we all win

peace is an uzi and a semi-automatic pistol to my unprotected worry

peace is an arson casing my house of pain

peace is a spark expanding to all and even burns down the insurance company

peace burns water and smokes out mist and fills infinity until only those alive

are ones who breathe peace peace is blood keeping me alive and kills those who cut it

peace flows through bodies of beauty that radiate the single intention for peace to

grow and enter and embrace and be impregnated by peace

peace is a smell that no one wants to wash away

peace clings to body mind and memory

peace is the soul of dust and lost objects

peace is left after all else which incircles me like a tongue made of a

million tongues except that peace is a billion tongues

for each one of the million tongues of peace

Sent from my iPhone

Alternate email is:

Nilsen@NYCSewer.com

Poem

2010-05-12T09:53:00.001-07:00

This is number 1 in a new series of visualized poems. I'm going to
bring it into downtown Beijing in the morning to have it mounted as a
scroll.

Scroll Series (detail)

2010-05-05T22:55:00.001-07:00

Scroll Series

2010-05-05T22:54:00.001-07:00

This is one of my visual poems I created over here. The image is from
a drawing I made in New York before leaving. I used traditional
Chinese ink and paper and mounted the work as a scroll; typical for
Chinese calligraphic work.

Bomb disposal orb

2010-05-05T22:47:00.001-07:00

Better shot of the bomb disposal orb.

China Bomb Disposal

2010-05-05T05:50:00.001-07:00

To all my friends in New York City,
I'm thinking of you daily with regards to that dud car bomb and all.
Saw this on my way home on the Beijing subway; a bomb disposal can.
And it's got a real slick looking seal of Communist China on the front.

In China

2010-05-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

So I made it to China. Here I am on my first day seeing one of the
sights; The Temple of Heaven.

I have leaned that the google blogging software I use to update my
sight so easily is one of the things sensored here. So although I can
post, because it's done through email, I can't see it.

No problem, I'll just keep my sunglasses handy, and my secret spy hat.

My New Home

2010-04-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

For the next 2 months I'll be living here at Red Gate Gallery in
Beijing, China. Red Gate is a converted watchtower built during the
Ming Dynasty. I'll be updating this section of my website regularly so
come back soon!

Breast cancer awareness

2009-10-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here I am working on my breast cancer awareness painting. Dressed to
match even.

Sewer and subway

2009-10-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a new sewer and subway painting that I am going to make into a
scroll.

Central Park Bridge

2009-09-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

This is a painting of the cast iron design on a bridge in Central
Park. It's about 6 feet wide a 4ish tall. It is streched on an
unsquare frame to play off the lines at the top and bottom of the piece.

Sewer cover and subway grate

2009-09-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent composition being displayed on my stand at The
Metropolitan Museum of Art. The backround, as the title implies, is a
subway grate that I colored in randomly; a so it looks nice sort of
randomly.

Sewer 9-20-09

2009-09-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Painted some extra stuff on this one while set up in front of MoMA.

Songs of New York

2009-08-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a painting a spiced up with some song titles about the city I
love. 'Honk' is a pretty sort song as is 'taxi'.
Not sure how some of them go, but if you hum a few bars...

Poetry projection

2009-06-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

I gave a poetry reading a month ago where I read in front of a
projection of all the drafts of the poem over laid on top of each
other. This is a snapshot of the tansparent films I used.

Filling in subway grate

2009-05-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm working on one of my sewer/subway paintings here. It's pretty
relaxing work. And since most of my stuff is done outside on the
street it's nice to have something to work on on a rainy night like
tonight.

Primary colors

2009-03-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

The connection to a Mondrian influence is obvious here. But I'm trying
to be looser, and have a little fun. But I'd bet Mondrian had fun too.

Working in humidity

2009-03-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

Some times it gets so humid the paint won't dry fast enough for me to
put on the next layer. Here I have a canvas drapped over a trash can
to try to get some air circulaing around it.

Croton cover

2009-03-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

The Croton covers are some of the oldest in the city and were made for
the water supply that fed the Croton Aquaduct. This one is near
Riverside Drive. At the top of the picture you can see the sidewalk
and curb extending away from the canvas.

Long thin painting

2009-03-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

This started as an experiment with using gold leaf (look at the top of
the painting) but started looking nice as a long thin piece. I'm going
to stretch it soon and see how that looks.

WSNY in progress

2009-03-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a canvas that I am working on. It has been placed over the
manhole cover with the left side of the canvas in the street. The
yellow strip going up the side is the curb.

Subway grate

2009-03-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

This painting is part of a commission of 25 works for John Jay College
of Criminal Justice that I completed in spring of 2008. I color the
squares in after I take the rubbing of the subway grate.

First Post

2009-03-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

I took a year off to recharge. Although I have still been painting I
have not been out on the street selling and talking about art. I'm
posting this picture because it is a motif I'd like to explore more
this year; the sewer cover with the square subway grate.

The squares really compliment each other. One of the reasons I love
painting the NYC Sewer cover is because I like to play with the rhythm
in the little juxtaposed squares. The subway grate allows me to expand
the scope of the experiment.