Jeff Chiplis

born: 29. 2. 1952 in Indianapolis, USA
graduate: Indiana University
address: 839 Jefferson Ave, 44113 Cleveland OH, USA
e-mail: jeffrychiplis@sbcglobal.net
http://agentofchaos.com/chiplis

fri. 23/7 go to the grocery store and pick up food supplies. have a bite before going to the studio. things are really feeling like home with piles of glass, tools and supplies. finish the "totem" piece. all bolted together. scope out the location for it but the wall belongs to the church so we need to ask them if we can hang on it...coming home late, walking up the hill by the hardware store when suddenly all three flower boxes from the second floor come crashing to the street in unison less than 10 meters in front of us. we all look at each other and laugh. strange this street with falling flower boxes. color of the evening: white
(color of the evening c.o.e. were neons that i left turned on in the studio at night so they could be viewed from the town square. the artist is in and he's working.) thurs. 29/7 "the neon installation in the four smallest rooms of the chateau at mikulov" has now become three rooms. we asked about the fourth little room and were told its private. the first of the three rooms, actually the second smallest, is the neon fire place. libor novotny, the assistant, and i move a majority of the glass tubes to the site and right away i break a long white arc. just the slightest touch to these stone castle walls is all it takes. so we build a little neon fire in the niche of the room. click, click. (photos) use a natural neon arc to define the curve of the space. click, click. then its on to the "two halves don't make a whole room". it is so named for the backsides of the two niches that occupy it. use red and blue semi-circles to describer the environment. add some more abstract shapes. click,click,click. then its on to what i call the "gas supply room" so-called because of the shut off valve therein. take photos of several different combinations of colors and shapes.
c.o.e.: natural neon orange.
this whole series and more can be seen at:
sat. 30/7 ...back to the studio to continue working on "the monument to the xi dilna international". a little table top sculpture using the letters from the former bank sign that was below the avedon office and an O i got in brno.
c.o.e.: yellow, yellow, green
mon. 9/8 cannot believe we are going into our final week here. everything and everyone have been terrific. ("super" in the local dialect). early to rise and jitka and i are off to vienna to see my friend viktor and pick up woody vasulka at the airport...drive back to mikulov, flash little blue books at the border and take woody to his place then head to the studio to do a little more work on "neon cocktail"
c.o.e.: cocktail of red, blue, orange, lite blue and white.

Jeff Chiplis

List of artists participating in MAS "dílna" in 1994–2010