On Sunday November 20th, 2011 there was an artist collaboration between John Knowles and Daniel Rothbart at Daniels home in Bushwick Brooklyn. The alchemical experiment is part of the Meditation / Mediation series that Daniel Rothbart has been doing for several years. Artists from different mediums positioned themselves into the collaborators mindset and put forth their creative intent into these 15 bowls.

The underlying theme of the visual set that I put together has a couple thematic layers. First is the concept of the ability of the human imagination to manifest ideas to become a reality. With positive thinking and the willingness to give you can make anything happen. It falls in alignment with the desire to dream and make your dreams a reality.

The next phase has to do with success and the road ahead. With patterns and ideas of growth and new discoveries, I open the doors to the next series of opportunities. To look forward and drive messages out into the world is my objective. New project. New potential. New heights of glory and achievement.  If the experiment has done its course, the right people will begin to offer their expertise in a similar direction along the journey.
It was exciting to conceptualize this collaboration as I have been following Daniels work and collaborations with other artists for years. I look forward to our next collaboration which I hope happens sooner rather than later.

I will be making a series of limited edition prints of the projection work that I am doing. If you are interested, just ask and I can keep you in the loop.

You can follow my real time activity through Panman Mixtapes or my Pancity Twitter account.
Reach out and let me know what you think.

Panman

Jo Nelson, A Vermont Studio Center Artist
August 2011
Can a rope pull a raft with cargo from one side of the river to the other? On an early morning in late August, Jo Nelson and I tested the idea with a platform raft and a couple of apples. Jo, a Sunny Side Queens based artist, has an eye for the creative ingenuity when looking at the problem. Her goal was to have a raft be pulled by the current across the Gihon river and back. We successfully documented and achieved one diagonal pass. I imagine in a tactful river cross as such in a boat or raft, would need two rigs set up to achieve the back and fourth objective.

It was a pleasure working with Jo and meeting such wonderful artists at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson Vermont.

Please comment, share and engage!

So after a while of the same in the 125 window display, I’m switching it up and bringing in a sculpture piece from Vermont studio center artist Harlan Mack. I met Harlan this summer during my August artist residency at the VSC, and believe he is great.

The 125 window Gallery, on 47th street is New York’s smallest art gallery… Or at least that’s my claim. I am very excited to introduce Harlan Mack to the New York art scene. I’m sure that you will enjoy his work.
Come check-in on foursquare and follow me @pancity for updates on the space. Let me know what you think!

Cheers
Panman.

In an effort to stimulate a collector’s mentality, we at the Roger Smith have initiated, under the motivation and guidance of James Knowles, an art collectors program.

Over coffee at Lily’s, with myself, Danika Druttman and James Knowles, we tossed around the idea of building a young collectors art program. To be honest the idea might have been in circulation for sometime (you never know where the origin of these things comes from). Whether we came up with it or it had been a rolling stone, nothing is new, just rearranged…

Anyway, out of his wallet he pulls two crisp $100 bills and presents them to the both of us.

The objective is to build a body of work with the intent of capturing and stimulating a collector’s imagination. For a long time our efforts have been focused on the subject and perspective of the artist and their motivations. This new initiative takes into account the mind and eye of the collector, the stories and perspectives of the people who purchase works of art.

Sent into the summer months with an idea, we now revisit the concept with newly acquired works of art. After spending a couple weeks at the Vermont Studio Center, I returned to New York with two works from a fellow artist in residence, Ester Hasskamp.

As I canvassed her studio during the open studio visit, my eye was drawn to a small black piece of paper with a threaded outline of a blue moon and its rays. Without receiving a formal title from the artist, I call it “Blue Moon & Ray”.

The second work that caught my attention was a gravestone rubbing with the name Alice. This stimulated a funny memory that involves my sister Phoebe. Phoebe and I went to support the new Bier Garden that had just opened in our neighborhood. There was a live band that was playing one of those songs similar to “Sweet Caroline” where a full crowded bar participate in the chorus… This song, which neither of us had ever heard, has burned itself into my memory as a bar room classic and will always stimulate the question, “Who the fuck is Alice?”

“Who the fuck is Alice?”

As we begin to build our collectors’ portfolios we have a confidence that our decisions have the potential to appreciate in value with each contribution. The stories that motivate the purchase and relationships that we build with the artist become long-lasting.

This is just the beginning.

As we grow this collection, we embrace artists and collectors alike to participate. As the collector has his/her own identity and personality, so will the collection. I have created my own personal blog that will follow my contributions to the overall collection and will also be providing updates to Roger Smith Life as the project grows.

Not to make it too much of a competition, but I am interested to see what Danika brings to the table.

Cheerio.

Be well,
John Knowles
a.k.a Panman

Follow @pancity on twitter.
Other related links
My100artcollection.tumblr.com
Panmanmixtapes.tumblr.com

I have been experimenting with the Mirroring filter in final cut for a while now and have just recently had a breakthrough. Often in life we are advised to not over do it. Forget what you have learned. In this new series of Mirroring tests, I apply the mirror function over and over, creating unique shapes and color outlines. It goes beyond the colidascope effect that is so often associated with mirroring. The potential for a new aesthetic is inspiring. Symbols seem to emerge and burn their intention in the viewers psyche. The original footage though it is not recognizable, transfers its mood and stylistic intent as the image drifts in and out of form.

Panman Mixtape no 77
There is much more to come.

Cheers to a renewal of the creative inspiration.

Panman

Visit and follow ?http://www.panmanmixtapes.tumblr.com?
Related Links
Panman Mixtape no. 76
The Sounds of Stone!

I came across this in list in one of my notebooks and think it is worth sharing with you. Anything is possible in your future! Here is a guide to making it happen.

Have a great week!

Panman

1. Believe you can.

2. Create the environment.

3. Have the right associations.

4. Expose yourself to whats new!

5. Plan for the day.

6. Become Valuable.

7. Have the answers your prospects and customers need.

8. Recognize opportunity.

9. Take advantage of opportunity.

10. Take responsibility.

11. Take action.

12. Make mistakes.

13. Be willing to take risks.

14. Keep your eyes on the prize.

15. Balance yourself.

16. Invest, don’t spend!

17. Stick with it until you win!

18. Develop and maintain a positive attitude.

19. Help your friends.

20. Share and start again!

So I am involved with this QR code Hunt brought to you by Ford and “The International Office” as part of the Ford Focus outreach during Internet week and I wanted to keep you all in the loop as to what is happening.

You may need to catch up but I recommend that you play the game. You have to register here and take a picture of these QR codes to play the game. If you have been participating up to this point you will have been at the Metropolitan Pavilion Internet Week HQ and will have taken these pictures on location. If you collect all five QR codes you have the possibility of winning two tickets to the Webby’s and a stay at the Roger Smith Hotel on June 13, 2011. Ford will be providing transportation to the event.

Lucky for you I am willing to share my images with you so that you can participate even if you are not here for Internet week New York, or can’t make it to the Internet Week HQ each day. So sign up and make it happen!
QR Code day 1
QR Code day 2
QR Code day 3
QR Code day 4
QR Code day 5

My objective with this is to increase awareness of what Ford is doing and encourage you to participate in this social media campaign. I am one of five who are helping in this effort. Others who are participating are Damien Basil, (@DB) The Roger Smith Hotel (@RShotel), Meghan Asha (@Meghan) and Gregory Littley (@Littleylittley).  I was encouraged to be involved by the affiliation and personalities involved. Gregory Littley of “The International Office” is doing innovative things and I’m glad that he asked me to be a part of it.

Please share this around and engage in the game. I am @pancity. Be sure to follow my progress and engage in the hunt!
http://fordfocushunt.com/
http://rogersmithlife.com
http://panmanproductions.com

After roughly a year of persistence, a display window has been installed as an improvement to the façade of 125 E. 47 street in midtown manhattan.

It is a victory!

With the brilliant efforts and determination, this window brings new life and value to our community. If there was a blockage it has been cleaned up and opened. A stronger sense of pride has been renewed to the block.

It did not take very long for sculptor James Knowles to put his mark on the window, with tetrahedrons reaching out from the building.

Where the full coat of black paint it is a new space. I want to thank everyone who made it happen specifically my mother Sue2 for her help in making sure things happened.

I thank you all for making this happen and I will celebrate into the weekend!

What do you think should go in the space? At this point I’m open for suggestions. Leading the list is at taxidermy mountain goat. Another question is, what should we call the space? Again, I am open for suggestions.

Happy memorial day weekend! May it be brilliant.

Panman

A conversation that I had with Nick Hifrin about the letter “i” has inspired me on a tangent.  Nick, a New York artist who has been collaborating with our own Marlo Brown, was explaining to me about his creative organizational tactics with the letter “I” to represent a symbol of a connector.  He has been extracting “i”s from newspapers and using them to represent a point of connection as he builds larger systems for his music and art performances.  He understands the principals of connections by building systems.

I love the logic and representation of the letter “i” as it stands out in the Roger Smith Hotel letters.  As i look to connect systems and simulate the Roger Smith Hotel as a connectors network, “i” really like the metaphor.

Lets start building some connections.

If you fancy yourself a connector post a response letting me know how you connect your networks to the world.

Making further “Connections”, I am hosting an Art competition here @RShotel. I am awarding $100 to the most artistic “i” connector image that is submitted to me here on this blog. Anyone who submits will receive a $100 Rogersreward, and be part of the connector “i” series at the Roger Smith Hotel.

Simply take a picture of your “i” and send it to me in a tweet with the hashtag #makingconnections with @pancity & @rshotel. Also be sure to post a link here on the blog to be included.

Let the world know you are a connector.

Thanks for reading! Please comment, share and engage.

We haven’t done a Follow Friday in a while and I feel it is time to re-introduce the notion to our audience.

My top 3 people to follow from SXSW are as follows.

1. “Dog Bless You!”, Charlie Annenberg

Our first five minutes in the convention center in Austin, John Birdsong and I collided into Charlie Annenberg, who was immediately on point with a plan of action to help in the Japan Earthquake relief.

A message from Charlie Annenberg, founder of explore.org and Dog Bless You:

“The mission of explore.org is to champion the self less acts of others, to create a portal into the soul of humanity and to inspire life long learning. The most important thing for me is to create a portal into the soul. What is the easiest way to do this? Through dogs – they see our soul like no other. That is why as we build dog bless you, I believe that its mission should be to “champion the selfless acts of animals.”

Please feel free to share your stories about how your dog uplifts the human spirit.

Dog Bless You.

Charlie and Lucky

http://facebook.com/exploredogs

2. David Meerman Scott connected us to an network of interesting minds and influences. Of these we engaged with Renee Alexander of Unisef, Tim Washer of Cisco, John Jantsch of Ducktape Marketing and Aliza Sherman from the Social Media capital of the world, Toke Alaska to name a few. Both Tim and David were “In search of the outrageous” in Austin TX.

3. Paula Moore and Massive CIA

The transitional days between the Interactive and the Music is when all the magic happens at SXSW. As people were leaving after a week of the Interactive and Film portion, the music festival was just getting underway. Arriving into the city there is an energy of excitement. Being the last day in Austin, I left John and Adam to get some emails done at the Driskle hotel. I went strait to the second floor back patio where a couple of hip entertainment executives we setting up meetings and interviews. I politely asked if I could share the space and soon sat down next to them and began to tell them about the interactions between Roger Smith and Ben Franklin. #Rogersrewards.

Paula Moore turned to me and asked if I wanted to go out with her and her business partner Ralf Cavallaro… What else could I say. Not knowing at the time that I was hanging out with one of the Top Talent Scouts in the music industry, Paula introduced me to an amazing network. The connections made that night, have helped drive and inspire a new wave of professional and personal relationships. Founder of Massive Creative Intelligence Agency, Paula is a trip. Powerful and important, as she is a professional connector.

SXSW: The spies with Golden Ears

Through Paula I me Rev. David Ciancio of Yeah! Management who runs the the Social Media Rewards programs for Thrilllist. Rev’s energy and drive is going to bring wild excitement to the Pop up Marketing madness that is going around. I look forward to working with him in the future.

The common thread that connects Charlie, David and Paula is the fact that they are natural connectors. Great people of course with amazing sense of people in the room. Always interesting to follow.

Till next week.

If you like my list please RT #FF Dog Bless You and Charlie Annenberg, @DMScott, @Paula_Moore, @MassiveCIA SXSW 2011 @RShotel Follow Friday Pick!

Please leave a comment and connect with us to be part of our @RShotel culture.

Thanks,

John