Change you can believe in, or something like that

Over the holidays you'll see a big difference in the site & the project.

OK, so it's been a while. First, apologies to Mark Vincent Houston and Storm Tharp, who have interview footage on my desk waiting to be edited. I promise to get there as soon as I can.

Since the last post, lots has happened and there's lots about to happen around here.  Like:

-I left my dayjob to focus on projects like this one.

-I've been seriously immersed in learning the technologies and languages that will make this web project better.

-I've been working as a freelance web developer and have been making 2D work in my studio.

-I've given serious though to how to make muster a sustainable endeavor, considering the various logistical and financial boundaries, which are pretty significant.

-I'm overhauling the way that heyartistgetinterviewed.com and mustermagazine.com work, both in the web interface and in the general procedures.  It'll be a big shift for the interviewers, all of whom are volunteering their time. Here's what will be different:

The way things work now, artists fill out a form that gets sent to me. I try to keep up with the incoming requests and job them out to interviewers based on their availability. I usually just send things out first come, first served.  Then, I transcribe, edit, post and tag the interview.  No, this hasn't really worked all that well, because lots depends on one person keeping up with a whole slew of things.

Instead, I'm working on an online way for interviewers to browse submissions, and take on the interviews they're most interested in.  Along with that will be a way for artists to keep tabs on what's going on with their submission and what to expect. 

Since a lot will be based on that submission, it puts a little more pressure on the artist end to put together a candid, thorough submission. Also, out of necessity, all interviews will be conducted online, unless an interview makes other arrangements.  It's really the only way to keep up with things, and though I think face-to-face interaction is really important, that decision will ultimately be up to the interviewer.

Also, I'm considering whether the resulting interview really needs to be stored here.  Even in the short time since this project started, it seems like the paradigm regarding online content has shifted pretty dramatically.  You no longer expect that everything you read at a site is hosted there. It means more to me to get the print reproduction permission than first dibs on online content, anyway.

Look for this to begin happening before New Years. 

July meetup: Blue and Gold Tavern

We're going to try to set a regular time for our meetups. Tentatively, it'll be the first Wednesday of the month at 7pm.

Hope you can come to the July meetup.  If you've never been, it's a perfect way to connect names and faces and ask any questions, find out more about plans, and get a free drink. This meetup, we'll make and discuss summer plans, talk about the print magazine schedule, and answer any questions.

Also, we're going to set a regular time & place for meetups, which will be held monthly.Tentatively, it'll be the first Wednesday of the month. If Wednesdays will always be bad, please let me know.

RSVP here.

*upcoming changes to the site*

Here's a short list of what's going to happen here over the next couple weeks.

We're working on a migration in our software [from Plone 2.5.3 to 3.1.x] and simultaneously are working on a redesign.

Redesign, again?  We're going to be clarifying ways people can add things to the project, and will make the process of sending in files and things much simpler.

We're also going to reorganize and clarify some sections to make room for new projects, including art-map.com and 1000 words (more info to come).  We're also going to be integrating more closely with our pages at a couple other sites, including Facebook, Myspace and blip.tv.

To top it off, we've been sketching and retooling some things to freshen up and improve the overall look of the site.

Stay tuned!

Myspace and Facebook crossposting set up

After only a little hunting, we've installed RSS readers at our Facebook & Myspace pages to feed muster blog updates

It's two different plugins.

On Facebook, it's just configuring the standard Notes app to read the RSS feed from this blog.

On Myspace, you have to add an app called RSS Reader.

The setup is the same for each.  Just enter in the RSS feed URL (for this blog it's http://www.mustermagazine.com/blog/RSS2) and it pulls in all the post headlines and descriptions.

You can see it at our respective profiles: Myspace and Facebook.

New interviews with Jee Yun Lee, more

In case you haven't noticed, we've been adding and updating new interviews

A couple new interviews are up.  First, there's Stella Lee's interview with Korean-born, NYC-raised painter/printmaker Jee Yun Lee.  Jee Yun and Stella talk about recent chrysanthemum prints and how they work for Jee Yun as a metaphor for immigrant experience.

Also, Stella's interview with Jamison Sarteschi is up.  Actually, it's been up for a bit, but it hasn't yet been announced in a blog post.

Rounding out the trio is my interview with Ethan Ham.  Ethan talks about code, generative art and the web as content.

Check these out at the magazine page.