...
ARTLIFE
I paint, create performance art, produce artcars, cut steel, sculpt with clay and have been actively exhibiting my artwork in galleries since 1980... have been an art's educator since 1987, ran a great art gallery for nearly 10 years, play music for over 50 years, occasionally performing with a few Estonian musical projects and Dj as much as possible... have been performing spoken word since 1981 and act in film and TV and model when I can. love doing voice over work and perform with one of the greatest Circuses on the planet...
In these digital times:
My work may be considered to be ''old school / hands-on'' or ANALOG, when compared to the ''high-tech / digitized / ephemeral / technological-based'' approaches to art and art-making that are currently inundating the artworld and everyday consciousness...
People have been saying ''god is dead, art is dead, painting is dead'' for decades, if not since the invention of photography in 1837. I think the non-digital / hands on / plastic arts are just as vital, valid and relevant today, perhaps even more as the Art Institutions clamor to embrace the newest ''flavor of the month / jump on the art band wagon'' tech-new-logy that may only further alienate individuals from each other. Like the text on this page or any language, any artform has potential for meaningful communication when used by the right heads, hearts and hands. It's nice to get your hands dirty with some hard and sweaty honest work ...
In Studio VIDEO INTERVIEW FROM NOVEMBER 2016, OHTULEHT, Tallinn, Estonia.
(Click on Link Below)
www.ohtuleht.ee/770489/ohtulehe-video-valismaalased-eestis-tulekahjus-kodu-kaotanud-ameeriklane-punuspesakalamajja?utm_source=facebook
PERFORMANCE ARTWORKS
ARTLIFE
I paint, create performance art, produce artcars, cut steel, sculpt with clay and have been actively exhibiting my artwork in galleries since 1980... have been an art's educator since 1987, ran a great art gallery for nearly 10 years, play music for over 50 years, occasionally performing with a few Estonian musical projects and Dj as much as possible... have been performing spoken word since 1981 and act in film and TV and model when I can. love doing voice over work and perform with one of the greatest Circuses on the planet...
In these digital times:
My work may be considered to be ''old school / hands-on'' or ANALOG, when compared to the ''high-tech / digitized / ephemeral / technological-based'' approaches to art and art-making that are currently inundating the artworld and everyday consciousness...
People have been saying ''god is dead, art is dead, painting is dead'' for decades, if not since the invention of photography in 1837. I think the non-digital / hands on / plastic arts are just as vital, valid and relevant today, perhaps even more as the Art Institutions clamor to embrace the newest ''flavor of the month / jump on the art band wagon'' tech-new-logy that may only further alienate individuals from each other. Like the text on this page or any language, any artform has potential for meaningful communication when used by the right heads, hearts and hands. It's nice to get your hands dirty with some hard and sweaty honest work ...
In Studio VIDEO INTERVIEW FROM NOVEMBER 2016, OHTULEHT, Tallinn, Estonia.
(Click on Link Below)
www.ohtuleht.ee/770489/ohtulehe-video-valismaalased-eestis-tulekahjus-kodu-kaotanud-ameeriklane-punuspesakalamajja?utm_source=facebook
PERFORMANCE ARTWORKS
MY APPROACH TO PERFORMANCE ART
I discovered performance art in the late 70's while studying art in Sacramento. Professor Phil Hitchcock who performed at the legendary Richard Demarco Gallery in Edinburgh, in the 60’s along with his contemporaries: Joseph Beuys, Marina Abramovic and many others... spoke to me and showed me photos of installations he had worked on with Joseph Beuys in the EU during the 60's.... Later I took a performance class with him and devoured everything I could on the subject; books, video documentation and began creating performances of my own... I continued to make performance work throughout the decades sometimes sporadically and other times with more of a focus on the frequency that I perform. Professor John FitzGibbons also played a key role in my performance education by introducing me to Allan Kaprow and his works and allowing me to perform in a couple of his now legendary performance re-creations of myths featuring such noted artists as Allan Kaprow, Judy Chicago, Stephen Kaltenbach, Ellen Van Fleet and many others. (please see video below)
Beginning in the early 2000's I've been performing at Festivals, galleries, Museums, Artist Communities and venues in New York City, Brooklyn, London and Brighton; Paris, San Lys, Toulouse, Marseilles and Sete in France; Seoul and Nowon in South Korea; Barcelona and Sabadell in Spain; Berlin and Cologne in Germany; San Francisco and Miami; Ystad and Malmo in Sweden; Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Pori, Vaasa, Kankaanpaa Sodankyla , Petrasaari, Oulu, Saksmaaki and Imatra in Finland; Tromso, La Footen, Budo, Trondheim in Norway, Tallinn, Parnu, Tartu, Viljandi, Paide, Happsalu, Hiiuma and South Estonia, Alytus, Klaipėda and Kaunas in Lithuania, Riga and Valke in Latvia, San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, Davis, Stockton in California and the Black Rock Desert...
Through my associations and collaborations with various International Performance Artist Groups I've been fortunate to establish many important relationships with a global Community of talented artists.
One of the main focuses of my performance art is to involve the audience in the performance..... I remember being in Malmo years ago, watching a very nice durational performance piece. I was leaning up against a wall, standing next to a friend, when I realized and commented to my colleague: “Oh, this is our job as audience members; to be stuck to the wall; like flies on fly paper....” It was a rather unsettling realization that changed and challenged me to rethink and act out more in my performance work in order to get the audience to move and become more actively involved…..
I have been doing 3 ACTION performances for quite a while now. One of my professors told me that Jasper Johns said you have to do something, then change it, then change it again.... So I applied this idea
to my performance works... traditional writing approach: INTRO, BODY, CONCLUSION.... you are free to have the end at the beginning if it makes you feel better... 'sup to you.
I have invented several performance vehicles that engage the audience in my works... For me there is nothing more beautiful, well perhaps a few things, then to open the performance up to them, stand back and watch their actions... they always deliver the goods. The audience can be contributors if that is what the work is about.
For me it is one aspect of my work. They are free to participate or not, how much they want to and in what way they want, within the format that I provide. If they want to expand it out of the confines.... GREAT!!!!
I perceive the audience similar to Duchamp's ready mades... I bring them into the perfomance, set them up on the pedestal (context) and they are always beautiful and fun, everytime.... if they want to be.
Having attended many international performance art festivals, I do on occasion enjoy sitting to watch a performance from a chair, but I always appreciate having the choice to move around rather than always being confronted and confined with the standard SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP format this is always provided at 99% of the festivals.
I not only use my own nervous anxious energy in my schemes and actions, but also include the audience's nervous energy. This creates a mood and tension that is palpable, beautiful, and alive and for me and everyone there it is group kundalini that raises everybody's energy everytime.
The performances are always choreographed to the particular space....
INTERVIEW IN DUBAI'S HYPE MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2015
A 2008 Interview on Korean National TV's, ''HEART TO HEART,'' Television Program
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2ZHHD7ejoM&feature=youtu.be
Video Document I shot of the historic performance art piece: ''The Triumph of Flora,'' created by Art Historian John FitzGibbon, featuring artists Allan Kaprow, Judy Chicago, Ellen Van Fleet and many other regional artists from the late 70's Sacramento art scene. Unknown and great sax player, ''Death'' and ''Mercury'' characters. The resolution of the image is not so great, at best, but still enjoyable to see... I played some electronic music I created in app. 1980 for the conquest over Death scene. Shot on black and white reel to reel tape; the available technology at the time. Took place app.Summer of 1980 at John's property in Pilot Hill, California. Never released until now... All rights (C) Steve Vanoni, 2019.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH7gqP10Y_c
A 2008 Interview on Korean National TV's, ''HEART TO HEART,'' Television Program
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2ZHHD7ejoM&feature=youtu.be
Video Document I shot of the historic performance art piece: ''The Triumph of Flora,'' created by Art Historian John FitzGibbon, featuring artists Allan Kaprow, Judy Chicago, Ellen Van Fleet and many other regional artists from the late 70's Sacramento art scene. Unknown and great sax player, ''Death'' and ''Mercury'' characters. The resolution of the image is not so great, at best, but still enjoyable to see... I played some electronic music I created in app. 1980 for the conquest over Death scene. Shot on black and white reel to reel tape; the available technology at the time. Took place app.Summer of 1980 at John's property in Pilot Hill, California. Never released until now... All rights (C) Steve Vanoni, 2019.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH7gqP10Y_c
SOME PAINTINGS
Some notes on my paintings....
My paintings evolved from years of working with paint; wet color.
The images I use emerge from the environment that I live in:
philosophically, regionally, culturally, from references to art and local
history and to the time that I live in. The visual vocabulary/vernacular
that I have developed over the last 30 years speaks of the same.
I spent most of my adult life in Sacramento, California, where I
completed my art studies and developed my art style. It was there that
I found the train image and contemplated what it meant to be an American
artist, and one living in the still very much ''WILD WEST...'' I used to live
in a large warehouse complex known as the Stucco Factory in the early 80's.
It was located next to the train tracks and when I would open my door,
the train would sometimes be rolling by. I try to create art that I love and if it
misses the mark, then it hurts me to look at it. If I create a painting that I didn't
like, I would put it out on the tracks as my offering to the 500,000 ton black snake...
One of my friends Jeff, was the train's engineer at the time and told me as long as it
didn't derail the train everything was fine.... shortly after that we would bring
to the tracks; couches, tvs and other societal left overs just to watch the train
demolish things. Eventually the image of the train became a part of my language.
Other series: the lips, the windowheads, the Al - One series, I will write about
at another time. I don't feel the need to explain everything about my work,
I can, but a little mystery is always good and the paintings either work standing
by themselves, without me, or they don't.
I remember when I was still in grad school around 1980, one of my fellow
students said that my work had a sense of humor and I was a bit taken a back
and surprised by her comment. I was after all, a very serious creator. After
thinking and considering her statement, trying to be objective about what she
said, I realized that yes, perhaps she was right and that having a sense of humor
in your art is not necessarily a bad thing. As far as the seriousness or humor in
art goes I realized long ago that art can and should be about everything; from
the joys of life to the horrors of war... and beyond... and should communicate
any ideas or feelings that are possible to experience within or without the human
condition. As long as the art is great it really doesn't matter if it's funny or dead
serious....
The painter Clifford Still made the statement that,
''ART IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH...''
when I was young I used to think that it was a bit over dramatic of a statement
and that he should loosen up a bit and have a better sense of humor about
the whole thing.... but yes, that was his perception and if you look at the
size of his paintings and the physical work that it must have taken to produce
his large canvases, it is a bit easier to understand where he was coming from.
Not to mention; what a useless phrase, I am mentioning it afterall.... to
keep working on his paintings year after year..... and for what? Personally I
don't like his work but I surely admire his intention, his individual style and
continuing effort throughout his life.
I am sure he was a hell of a lot more successful in his ''mid-career,''
''emerging'' phase then I presently am in my ART CAREER.....
Heck, I've been merging into my emerging phase for perhaps a couple of
decades.....and it's definitely an irony that perhaps one of the high marks of my
ART CAREER was in October of '96. The last time I had the pleasure to meet
and show Leo Castelli a few of my paintings... He said, ''beautiful....'' when
I rolled out the first one.... The last thing he told me when I left his office, and I
knew it would be the last time I saw him, he was already in his 80's then... was,
''make sure you let me know how you do...'' Leo was one prince of a guy...
The first time I met him in '86 he introduced me to Tony Shafrazi, yes
we butted heads a few times.... I showed him perhaps 70 works, many
large pieces that I had brought with me.... it was pure adrenalin-filled
drama.... Diego Cortez came out of the room and it only became more rediculous....
Back to some notes on my formative years; I used to be and still am very
much interested in Eastern Philosophy and have been a practitioner of it's
different philosphies: Zen, Buddhisim, the Tao, The I Ching, as well as the
Ancient Chinese text: ''The Mustard Seed Garden book of painting.''
They were and still continue to be instrumental for me in developing my
''approach'' to life and painting. Having Lived on the US West Coast most of my life,
the Eastern sensibility is perhaps more predominant, then in other parts
of the New World and had a great impact on my-maliable-self, the 50's Beat
Generation and many artists who live in the American West. When combined
with the punk aesthetic that emerged from the late 70's and other pre-post
modern-ilk, one is free to create and journey in the variety of conceptual and
stylistic platitudes that continuously evolve and are worn thin on the sleeves
every decade.
Over the past years of living in countries out of the US, I always remain
open to the different light, the cultural and political history of the region and am
receptive to new symbols and imagery that I might employ in my artworks.
I continue to look and try to discover new techniques, imagery and possibly
materials that I can incorporate with my work.
I do not believe in writing about my painting. I think/feel that
expecting an artist to write about his paintings would be similar to expecting
a writer to paint images about his works, but in an effort to be better
understood by people interested in the work, it is nice if an artist can share
some of his/her thoughts on what their artistic intentions are.
The work continues to evolve in new and exciting ways... and I don't feel the need to create one
million masterpieces.... a few is just great or a few hundred....
ARTCARS
My paintings evolved from years of working with paint; wet color.
The images I use emerge from the environment that I live in:
philosophically, regionally, culturally, from references to art and local
history and to the time that I live in. The visual vocabulary/vernacular
that I have developed over the last 30 years speaks of the same.
I spent most of my adult life in Sacramento, California, where I
completed my art studies and developed my art style. It was there that
I found the train image and contemplated what it meant to be an American
artist, and one living in the still very much ''WILD WEST...'' I used to live
in a large warehouse complex known as the Stucco Factory in the early 80's.
It was located next to the train tracks and when I would open my door,
the train would sometimes be rolling by. I try to create art that I love and if it
misses the mark, then it hurts me to look at it. If I create a painting that I didn't
like, I would put it out on the tracks as my offering to the 500,000 ton black snake...
One of my friends Jeff, was the train's engineer at the time and told me as long as it
didn't derail the train everything was fine.... shortly after that we would bring
to the tracks; couches, tvs and other societal left overs just to watch the train
demolish things. Eventually the image of the train became a part of my language.
Other series: the lips, the windowheads, the Al - One series, I will write about
at another time. I don't feel the need to explain everything about my work,
I can, but a little mystery is always good and the paintings either work standing
by themselves, without me, or they don't.
I remember when I was still in grad school around 1980, one of my fellow
students said that my work had a sense of humor and I was a bit taken a back
and surprised by her comment. I was after all, a very serious creator. After
thinking and considering her statement, trying to be objective about what she
said, I realized that yes, perhaps she was right and that having a sense of humor
in your art is not necessarily a bad thing. As far as the seriousness or humor in
art goes I realized long ago that art can and should be about everything; from
the joys of life to the horrors of war... and beyond... and should communicate
any ideas or feelings that are possible to experience within or without the human
condition. As long as the art is great it really doesn't matter if it's funny or dead
serious....
The painter Clifford Still made the statement that,
''ART IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH...''
when I was young I used to think that it was a bit over dramatic of a statement
and that he should loosen up a bit and have a better sense of humor about
the whole thing.... but yes, that was his perception and if you look at the
size of his paintings and the physical work that it must have taken to produce
his large canvases, it is a bit easier to understand where he was coming from.
Not to mention; what a useless phrase, I am mentioning it afterall.... to
keep working on his paintings year after year..... and for what? Personally I
don't like his work but I surely admire his intention, his individual style and
continuing effort throughout his life.
I am sure he was a hell of a lot more successful in his ''mid-career,''
''emerging'' phase then I presently am in my ART CAREER.....
Heck, I've been merging into my emerging phase for perhaps a couple of
decades.....and it's definitely an irony that perhaps one of the high marks of my
ART CAREER was in October of '96. The last time I had the pleasure to meet
and show Leo Castelli a few of my paintings... He said, ''beautiful....'' when
I rolled out the first one.... The last thing he told me when I left his office, and I
knew it would be the last time I saw him, he was already in his 80's then... was,
''make sure you let me know how you do...'' Leo was one prince of a guy...
The first time I met him in '86 he introduced me to Tony Shafrazi, yes
we butted heads a few times.... I showed him perhaps 70 works, many
large pieces that I had brought with me.... it was pure adrenalin-filled
drama.... Diego Cortez came out of the room and it only became more rediculous....
Back to some notes on my formative years; I used to be and still am very
much interested in Eastern Philosophy and have been a practitioner of it's
different philosphies: Zen, Buddhisim, the Tao, The I Ching, as well as the
Ancient Chinese text: ''The Mustard Seed Garden book of painting.''
They were and still continue to be instrumental for me in developing my
''approach'' to life and painting. Having Lived on the US West Coast most of my life,
the Eastern sensibility is perhaps more predominant, then in other parts
of the New World and had a great impact on my-maliable-self, the 50's Beat
Generation and many artists who live in the American West. When combined
with the punk aesthetic that emerged from the late 70's and other pre-post
modern-ilk, one is free to create and journey in the variety of conceptual and
stylistic platitudes that continuously evolve and are worn thin on the sleeves
every decade.
Over the past years of living in countries out of the US, I always remain
open to the different light, the cultural and political history of the region and am
receptive to new symbols and imagery that I might employ in my artworks.
I continue to look and try to discover new techniques, imagery and possibly
materials that I can incorporate with my work.
I do not believe in writing about my painting. I think/feel that
expecting an artist to write about his paintings would be similar to expecting
a writer to paint images about his works, but in an effort to be better
understood by people interested in the work, it is nice if an artist can share
some of his/her thoughts on what their artistic intentions are.
The work continues to evolve in new and exciting ways... and I don't feel the need to create one
million masterpieces.... a few is just great or a few hundred....
ARTCARS
I have collaborated on and created more artcars than anyone on the planet, thanks to the help of various art organizations that I work with globally… In 2013 I collaborated with artist Ken Siebert to create the "Flower Vato" Art car for the "SLOBALL" Artcar project in Tallinn, Estonia.. I created the first artcar in Germany in May of 2011 for the HUNGER INTERNATIONALES PERFORMANCE ART FESTIVAL in Berlin. I returned to Seoul, South Korea to create my 2nd Korean artcar for the Nowon International Performance Festival 2011…I returned to Seoul, South Korea in 2012 to create another one for the Korean Performance Art Spirit's Korean Experimental Art Festival in the Fall of 2012... While there I traveled to Jeju Island and created another one for the Tamna International Art Camp. In November of 2011 I conducted a 2 week workshop with student artists from the Kankaanpaa Arts Academy in creating the first artcar in Finland…. In 2008 I was invited to collaborate with groups of artists and created artcars both in Estonia and South Korea. In my past hometown in Northern California I collaborated with a great group of artists from the HORSECOW Arts Community on creating two artcars.
''G - RAND - OM CHAMP - AGNE - ION PERFORMANCE PHOTOS...''
This is a series of photos that I collected from the past few years from my
''G-RAND-OM CHAMPION PERFORMANCES.'' I always enjoy looking at the
expressions on peoples faces... I am an expert ''popper'' and almost always pop atleast
one bottle in every performance. I am very accurate with my aim of the bubbly and
have sprayed on tight stages between expensive lighting systems, in close proximity
to people who are dressed in their finest attire, as well as sprayed it on my friends when
it's hot outside and seemed like the right thing to do.
I recently made an unsuccessful attempt to get sponsorship from champagne companies,
it was worth a shot/pop..... If any of you happen to have any images of pops from past
performances please send them my way and I will include them in the slide show.... Grazi!!!!
I'm always looking to add to the collection.
Performance VIDEO LINKS:
Art Blast 1, Gallery Horse Cow, 2004, Sacramento, CA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDi1p6yLDRM
HORSE COW BOMBADEER PERFORMANCE ART'S "SPAGHETTI SPLATTER!!!" 2005, Sacramento, CA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpITcEN6tUo
Circus Show at The Bitchin Space, HORSECOW BOMBADIERS Perform at the Bitchin Space, 2007,
Sacramento, CA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ino59HHpRFo
welcome to america, Gallery Horse Cow hosts Gallery SOTODO, 2006, Sacramento, CA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mq4H3EXhSk
HORSECOW BOMBADIERS @ Natsoulas Gallery, 2007, Davis, California
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDbnY4x_cEc
TOUR DE SODENKYLA / MIDNIGHT SUN FILM FESTIVAL 2013, Sodenkyla, Finland, July
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nty6ly7az30
MADE IN ESTONIA MARATON 2013 - lühivormide festival: Steve Vanoni "3 Actions for a Better Estonia;"
http://vimeo.com/63384490
KANKAANPAA Taedeokoulos Artcar Workshop and Event Video by Erkki Pirtola, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgGbqP5cqqQ
Actions 2 & 3 from "3 Actions in Turku Performance," part of the LA BAS Biennial Performance
Festival, Helsinki, FI. April 28th, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1umSOzJ7dw .
This is part of a solo performances at the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts “2nd International Performance Art Festival” in Davis, California, December 10th, 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqTQM3EiPEQ .
These are some scenes from one of my performances in Berlin during the Summer of 2010; unfortunately, some scenes from the performance are not available:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOzl9eRvUMQ .
This is a video from a collaborative performance with NONGRATA in Berlin during the summer of 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTLH1pmcTo .
This is from a collaborative performance with NONGRATA and OPEN SPACE in Barcelona during the summer of 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WftPJzZ2JPo .
This is from a performance at a young people’s art school in Lithuania during the summer of 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HucoaQD5esQ.
This is from a collaborative street performance featuring GOGO TRASH, GALLERY SOTODO, NONGRATA, OPEN SPACE, HORSECOW and KOPAS at the MYFEST in Berlin on May 1st, 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIyAc7JxLAw.
This is from a collaborative performance with Performance Art Groups PROTOPLAY, NONGRATA and HORSECOW in London during the Spring of 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ts0szCAqts.
Video from ''MADE IN ESTONIA'' Performance Festival 2017, ''3 Actions for a more Gay and Muslim Estonia,''
Kanudi Gildi Saal, Tallinn, March, 2017:
vimeo.com/209191688
HORSECOW BOMBADIER PERFORMANCE, DAVIS, CA. 2007
FRIENDS WITH ARTWORKS
THIS IS AN ONGOING COLLECTION OF PHOTOS THAT I WILL CONTINUE TO ADD TO AS MY FRIENDS SEND IMAGES....
2010 Article by the One and Only Erkki Pirtola in Helsinki's VOIMA Magazine....
2010 Article by the One and Only Erkki Pirtola in Helsinki's VOIMA Magazine....