John Orth

New Work,
by
John Orth

graphite,
latex, on chipboard....

New work, by
John Orth
of Holopaw...
take a listen to Holopaw!


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"I took a step towards the dark,
the dark took a step towards me.
All holes. No Glory...
the cherry glow,
only rubies reflecting in the early snow."


-Holopaw...



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go here for more...

A project in 6 parts. "objects in/around the home"

John Orth, of Holopaw.

Part 5 and 6 . Pink Flamingo and Cypress Knees
see all parts here...

5. Pink Flamingo

I was certain I never needed a pink flamingo in the yard.
But this particular flamingo with its sun beaten pink paint accented with dripping black enamel and a splinted neck that makes it seem as weary as the joke it has become, made me think otherwise.

6. Cypress Knees

The cypress knees are props left over from a video my boyfriend shot last summer. The action has me and our friend Jeff McMullen, clad in black wetsuits, wandering the tangled woods of Central Florida in search of each other. The shoot had us wading into icy springfed ponds on moonless nights. The roar of cicadas, tree frogs and a 50 amp generator filled the air.
The long drives back into town tested the limits of "too much whisky"
and too many sad Will Oldham songs.

"In a desolate wintery snowscape, there is evidence of an injury, provoking a slow transmutation that passes from the aggressor to the wounded."

This is a video created for John's band, Holopaw. (All in the middle of an especially sweltering Florida summer.) The song is "Curious" from their second album
Quit +/or Fight on Subpop Records.

(via alan calpe)

for more about john, holopaw, or his boyfriend's work, go there!
-go to john's site here.
-go to holopaw here.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- John Orth, of Holopaw -- -- -- -- -- --

A project in 6 parts. "objects in/around the home"

John Orth, of Holopaw.

Part 4. Leis and flower rings, oh my!
see all parts here...

4. Leis

Up until a few years ago an original Indian River Fruit Stand still stood on A1A in St. Augustine, Florida. It was an open air souvenir shop that had spindly palm trees growing through holes cut in the orange and white aluminum awning that fringed the building.

My friend Alison and I visited the shop each time she was in town for the holidays. To our amazement, much of the original stock was still on the shelves.

Our purchases over the years included hand painted coconut shell banks, lucite dolphins embedded with shells and glitter, a postcard that read "Sweating my ass off in Florida" and a set of pink and white plastic leis.

"Oh, so many boys, so many boys, so many boys,
so many antlers to be tossed off.
Oh, so many pearls, so many pearls, so many pearls,
so many pearls to be polished off.

It's all over, all over, all over, my lovely little twist.
It's all over, all over, all over.
Your face is a mess."

- Holopaw
"Little Stallion with a Glass Jaw"

for more about john, holopaw, or his boyfriend's work, go there!
-go to john's site here.
-go to holopaw here.
-go to alan calpe's site here.

A project in 6 parts. "objects in/around the home"

John Orth, of Holopaw.

Part 3. The Silver Snowflakes.

3. Silver Snowflakes

"On tropical summer days I close myself into my front room.
The walls are painted a cool, aquarium blue.
The staghorn fern hung outside the window diffuses the sunlight into shades of shadowy green.
I listen to a pulse lulling mix that might include
Arthur Russell or Blossom Dearie
and watch the silver wire snowflakes hung in front of the window unit whirl."








"Snowflakes whip past my ears...
singing songs with glass-pitched choruses (like singing saws, with cobra hips)
rushing in with stinging kisses.
I see you through the igloo glass... your mittens on the bedside table.
You lose your grip on locquats. They fall into the snow.
These little embers."

- lyrics to "igloo glass"
by holopaw..

for more about john, holopaw, or his boyfriend's work, go there!
-go to john's site here.
-go to holopaw here.
-go to alan calpe's site here.

A project in 6 parts. "objects in/around the home"

John Orth, of Holopaw.

Part 2. The Rabbit

2. Rabbit

I have a small collection of concrete lawn ornaments, half of which I keep inside.
The rabbit is my favorite. He sits atop a cabinet in my bathroom.
His pink, marbled eyes have an intensity that seem to imply the unknown trauma that left him with two wire, cartoon tracings where his ears had once been.

"Tonight let them be what they will never truly be.
Don't call them out as barn swallows
but 'terror on the wing'.
Let me be what I will always be.

I took a step towards the dark,
the dark took a step towards me.
All holes. No Glory...
the cherry glow,
only rubies reflecting in the early snow."

-"oh glory" by holopaw

for more about john, holopaw, or his boyfriend's work, go there!
-go to john's site here.
-go to holopaw here.
-go to alan calpe's site here.

A project in 6 parts. "objects in/around the home"

.

John Orth,
of Holopaw.

Part 1.
Birds.

1. Birds

I found these artificial birds in at a thrift store near my house.
30 or so birds of all colors and persuasions were piled together in a gallon size freezer bag. Despite their tattered feathers and pitted foam, their eyes have a lively,
black lacquer shine that makes them seem hopeful.
I tried separating out favorites for display but ended up pinning the whole lot,
freezer bag and all to my office wall. It suits them best.

for more about john, holopaw, or his boyfriend's work, go there!
-go to john's site here.
-go to holopaw here.
-go to alan calpe's site here.

tomm: the rabbit.

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.

Coveted Objects

"all holes
no glory!"

florida style....

John Orth, of Holopaw,
one of my favorite vocalist, has
delivered me gorgeous images of coveted objects around
his 1920's Gainesville, Florida home.

I'll be posting these images, along with statements and stories.
by John over the next few days. I'm honored
he has contributed to YHBHS, and I eagerly await Holopaw's
return to Los Angeles.


Their latest album, "Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness." has been
on constant rotation in my home for months.
Listen to excerpts here!








"Oh, Glory is motivated by desires thwarted and passions unrequited,
and Orth's practiced quaver conveys an appropriate urgency and renders these songs as breathless inner monologues."

via pitchfork here...






Until then,
go to John Orth is the Hobbyist, here!
and go to Holopaw's site here!












image above
via mike taylor & jessica strang,
via "the retelling."
go here to see more images
inspired by Holopaw's latest album,







"Cup my hands to the headphones,
close my eyes, hold my breath,
lean across the table,
over the tundra into the night...
to hear your ticks and pings,
shifting in your seat,
bristling of your beard,
scuffling of your feet under the table,
your swallows, your measured songbird sips."

The Last Transmission (Honeybee)