Kayce Bayer

the Soft Shop II in NYC

kayce — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:28:40 +0000

Good Stuff House just returned from New York City, where we installed a souvenir version of the Soft Shop at the Verge Art Fair in Greenwich Village. We got a couple teeny web mentions on ArtInfo.com:

...Still, a conversation between two visitors couldn't help but catch my attention: "Do you ever notice that the only difference between an 'independent' or 'alternative' fair and the 'major' institutions," one asked his friend, "is that the 'independent' guys are always broke?"

For better or for worse, the man had a point. Formally, the smoothly mapped-off plains of color in acrylic paintings by Japanese artist Tsutomu Nunokawa could be confused pretty easily with oil paintings I saw by American artist Andrew Masullo at the Whitney this past March. The fort made of quilts and cushions made by Chicago's Good Stuff House (artists Kayce Bayer and Chris Lin) seemed like a riff on the late Mike Kelley, highlighted in an underwhelming homage in the Whitney. I'm just as sure that Esmerelda Kosmatopoulos's giant inflated canvas glove, titled "Palm Authority," could fit in pretty much anywhere, no matter how glitzy or drab. The point is this: This work looks like contemporary art, as good as bad as any other contemporary art, but not meaningfully alternative enough, perhaps, to feel really underground — which is what a fair like this needs to spotlight to best serve its purpose.

Although a critique of the Fair itself and the concept of "alternative," it's nice to share a sentence with a Mike Kelley reference. Full article here.

Also, we were included in the Slideshow for "Best of Frieze Week"--alongside some very big names in art!

More photos to come.

Cooking with Friends

kayce — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:16:45 +0000

Finally, we put it all together. We gave Stacey and Ryan a 4-disc set on April 28th. Just wanted to share these with all of you, too. Chris and I enjoyed spending time with you, and eating your goods! Thanks for being a part of this!
~Kayce

Barrett's Homemade Pizza + Butternut Squash Soup:

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Edra's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake:

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Jefferson's Chicken 4.5, Ginger-Maple Sweet Potatoes, + Bulgar Wheat Salad

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Diego's Sunday Breakfast: Omelette + Pancakes

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Kayce's Pasta Puttanesca + Simple Salad

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Patrick + Rebecca's Vegan Bean Tacos

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Corinne's Roasted Potatoes and Sautéed Kale

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Deborah's Homemade Apple Pie

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Kathy's Chunky Vegan Chili over Home Fries, Salad with Parisian Vinaigrette, + Chocolate Tofu Pie

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Chris's Ma Po Tofu + Stir-fried Bok Choy

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logo animation: a study

kayce — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:53:33 +0000

I made this as a sample for my Motion Graphics class.

The Great Fire is kindling!

kayce — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:49:53 +0000

The script is in its final draft, the art and music teams are busy, curious performers have been sharing their ideas, and we are beginning to set the final dates for the tour. Keep up with all the details on the Traveling Truck Show project here: http://travelingtruckshow.org/

a lil’ mention of SHoP

kayce — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:58:08 +0000

A nice article about the "This House is not a Home" show @ SHoP (with a teensy-tiny mention about the Soft Shop) and the "Living by Example" exhibit @ NEIU (that included a few of our friends): http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-29/entertainment/ct-ent-0301-living-by-design-review-20120229_1_art-collection-home-and-art-art-chicago

the Soft Shop rebuilt

kayce — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:17:26 +0000

Chris and I rebuilt the Soft Shop last month as part of "This House is Not a Home" Exhibition at the Southside Hub of Production (SHoP). As part of the opening event last night, we hosted a folk song sing-along in the space. Visitors actually sang along with us. It was great!

The Shop was shared by a wide-ranging audience. For the first couple of hours, it was mostly inhabited by kids and their parents--plopping on pillows or reading a Curious George book that somehow ended up in the space. Towards 8:30pm and thereafter, cool young folk and adults (I would guess college age-ish) were hanging out, singing and chatting.

The Great Fire logo

kayce — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:58:17 +0000

Proposals are out for our Great Fire Project. Here's an illustration I made for it:

More about the project here: travelingtruckshow.org

“Machine” gets a blurb

kayce — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 05:44:56 +0000

"...Inside the hollowed-out space, six different design companies share workshop and production space, with a short platform in the middle showcasing the recent design works of the resident companies. Besides a brief flirtation with zakrose’s attractive sideboard made, according to the materials, of “reclaimed cedar siding, powder coated steel and mdf,” we manage to keep our focus on sniffing out the art objects. Waving off the thought bubbles imaging this attractive piece of furniture in our cramped apartment spaces, we manage to locate Kayce Bayer and Chris Lin’s “Machine,” a clever reproduction of what approximates a drill press, made entirely of cardboard. It’s tucked neatly in between all of the workshop’s tabletop gear and industrial tool-and-die, audacious in its labor-intensive meticulousness and site-specific virtuosity of mimicked design integration. At first glance it looks real, and we pass back and forth in front of it two or three times before noticing...."

~Michael Workman, from his longer article about 2 art-filled weekends: http://blogs.artinfo.com/truestories/2011/09/24/yesterdays-gone-chicago%E2%80%99s-dual-weekend-fall-opener/

Chicago readin’ illustration

kayce — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:36:29 +0000

This is my entry for the Chicago Public Library design contest:

From September 26 - October 2, you can vote for your favorite entries here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/notwhatyouthink/

soundtrack

kayce — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:00:07 +0000

Working on some solo songs for lil' animation projects. Here's an old song, new recording:

Boom by kayceb