I drive around that area a lot for work, and the building (next to Darcelle XV plaza and the Ritz) has seen a lot of activity for the last few months. Big cranes, cooling units, tons of server rack deliveries and other fragile looking stuff. Is the building hosting a datacenter or something?
I might kind of struggle to describe what I'm getting at, but there's clearly a type of song where the musicianship is elevated to an unnecessarily ridiculous degree, and the artists are clearly aware of that. Often it ends up being comedy songs, but I want to find ones that just sound like the musicians themselves are the ones being amused by what they're playing.
I guess as for examples, maybe
- "2econd 2ight 2eer", Will Wood
- "Dark Side", Tim Minchin
- "Stress", Jim's Big Ego
- "Taming the Dragon", Brad Mehldau
- "I Ordered a Taxi Driver Not a Taxidermy", Troldhaugen
[Hasselblad 500CM | Kodak Ektar 100 | 50mm]
Pardon me while I gush for a second.
I have always loved science fiction as a genre, so I am biased. My first foray into "books" outside of the ones I was assigned to read in school were works by Michael Crichton, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, and a few others of a similar ilk. Somehow, I skipped out on Kim Stanley Robinson. It wasn't until literally 2023 that I listened to his interview with NPR, and his appearance on Adam Conover's "Factually" podcast, that I discovered him. After a cursory google search (and no further information), I picked the most recommended book... and it literally changed my perspective on life.
I love how detailed and thought out *everything* is. From the story, to the geography, to the politics, to the way characters act and think and speak, it's blend of science fiction and literal science... I have rarely felt so intellectually engaged with the philosophical and sociopolitical discussions in a work of fiction. It's something I never knew I could get from a book!
I'm in the process of re-reading the series (albeit through audiobook, which is excellent) now, and I am *still* blown away by the depth and thoughtfulness and prescience a series from the 90's can have.
I have since read through all of KSR's other books (New York 2140 being a close second) and I wish I could find other authors as infatuated with details, specifics, big ideas, and philosophy as this. I wish I had discovered him back in high school, because this absolutely would have changed my life sooner.
I have taken a lot of photos in the decade I have lived here, and while I have some small prints for sale at local stores, my ambition has always been to present them as big statement pieces. I have a pretty unique panoramic film camera, and the biggest scans from that can be 9' wide and 3' tall without sacrificing print quality. I have about 12 images of landscapes around Oregon and Washington (some of them you can see in the attached image) so far, which I dream of being a full gallery of one-off glycée prints under acrylic.
I've inquired at local galleries, various corporate offices, and the Port of Portland. None of whom seem able to accommodate or interested in either the gallery or single images. (The airport has like a +5-year queue for art displays)
So, does anyone have any suggestions of places I haven't thought of yet?
I have some experience working *with* larger budget projects, as a small part in a whole, but I have never been responsible for proposing them. Say I want to make a gallery of massive (on the scale of 5 to 10 feet) prints that have a high enough resolution to see detail at that scale, or some unrealized idea that requires purchase of specialized equipment to achieve. Both have an upfront cost of $25,000 to move forward. Well beyond what I have raised selling prints by myself. But I know people do big-scale projects all the time. I am not famous or abnormally successful, so I don't have name recognition when approaching producers or investors. I rarely hear back from cold emails and have never received word about specific project grants. I am wary about applying for loans or otherwise taking on massive debt right now, since there is little chance I could afford to pay it back if the projects fail or sit stagnant.
Has anyone ever achieved funding for ambitious, expensive projects without having an inside connection? Where did you start?