Kyle Dreier - Mr. Critical

Ever since I was a boy I’ve had a certain affinity for Whataburgers. I can remember my mom saying those ever welcome words of “you wanna get a Whataburger?”

The love continued through high school and college and now well into adulthood. But this is where my story takes a dark turn.

In 1998 Amy and I moved to Tennessee where if you were to ask where to find a Whataburger you’d likely get a response of “A what-a-what?”

While my obsession for Whataburger pales in comparison to Wayne Geyer’s, I do, when given the opportunity, go a little out of my way to rekindle my Whataburger taste buds.

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This past weekend I kept an eagle eye on the roadside as I headed down to Florida. Apparently Alabama is more worthy of not just one, but multiple Whataburger locations. I stopped at one of them, just 2.5 hours south of my home.

- Kyle Dreier

Well, it’s my weekly Wednesday Night Out and my bud Jeff McMahon says there’s a friend of his playing some of her work “in the round.” Even though I’m somewhat hep to the local music biz jargon I had to make a joke about the artists singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” in rounds, to which Jeff quickly said that they also do “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.”

Anyone that lives in Nashville knows that The Bluebird Cafe is the paramount place to go to hear artists and writers. Wednesday night was my first time to cross the threshold of this landmark here in town.

For nearly 10 years now I’ve driven by this place and have created what turns out to be a romanticized image of what this venue is beyond the understated facade. Once inside my first impression was “This looks like it used to be a Japanese restaurant.”

The place was filled with friends, supporters of the artists and I assume some music business executives or wannabe’s. Not much, if any, pretension – which is nice. This venue was pretty much just an intimate (shoulder to shoulder … “is there a fire marshal in the house?”) relaxed environment … at least for the audience. The artists commented on how it can be a little intimidating to play without all the lights, stage, tech that goes with big venues.

The event was an “ASCAP Presents: In The Round with …” and they had four artists/writers. For my taste I was really struck by the talent of Kelleigh Bannen and Meghan Kabir. All four were far more talented than I could ever hope to be but the style of these two really caught my ear.

Kelleigh Bannen had a style and tone that reminded me of Patty Griffin. Meghan Kabir made me think of Fleming and John. It was fun hearing their voices and enjoy them in a pure and unproduced environment.

I’ll never bill myself as a music critique but I certainly know what I like and do have an appreciation for people’s talents.

- Kyle Dreier (Mr. Critical)

I’m the kind of guy that has to just stop and unplug most days. In my single days when I was working as Art Director for American Way magazine I lived less than one mile from work and I had no TV. I totally missed the entire OJ Simpson ordeal.

So, what did I do without a TV? I ran a bunch. I Rollerbladded more. I’d hop in the car and dart off to a local park and skate for an hour or two. I was in good shape. That was sixteen years ago.

So what about today? Lately I’ve found myself channel surfing through stupid stuff on TV. We don’t have cable … not that it’d be any better.

“Enough!” I say.

Thanks to my pal and fellow Steve Martin fan, Jeff McMahon, I started the year off reading the Steve Martin autobiography. Good read, especially for anyone who has followed him since his first album or before.

Now, I’m on the self imposed one-book-per-month plan.

January: Steve Martin autobiography
February: Financial Peace - Dave Ramsey
March: My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
April: Boundaries - Townsend/Cloud

The rest of the year is still up for grabs, but so far, I’ve already read more than I have in the past 5 years.

- Kyle Dreier (less vegetated)

Today I felt a little like Nicéphore Niépce as I shot photos from the top of a building on Main Street in downtown Franklin, Tennessee. My camera? A beautifully crafted 65mm f/130 pinhole camera made of walnut by Dennis Wilder.

This is such a contrast to my “normal” shooting with digital SLRs … and I LOVE the serendipity that this old technique allows. Digital is fast, immediate, highly controlled … where this is slow, clunky and far less control … all good therapy for me.

My first Polaroid pulled from my new pinhole camera. Niépce would be proud.

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One of my favorite Polaroid shots from my afternoon on the roof in 30 degree weather. The exposure time on this was about 6 seconds … as I counted in my head … one Mississippi, two Mississippi. Oh, and the shutter? … my finger.
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What next? Who knows, but one thing’s for sure, I’m having fun.

- Kyle Dreier

Another fun job. I continue to enjoy shooting interiors, particularly when the subject of these shoots is so cooperative … sitting still and just looking pretty.

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Ok, maybe this last one isn’t really an “interior” but I treated it as such with lighting and styling.

-Kyle Dreier

Last night was the show opening for Johnny Rogers and me. I love Johnny’s work. I was moderately pleased with my work.

Here’s how it looked prior to me loading it up and taking it to the Nashville Art House.

See all eight pieces here: http://www.dreier.com/kyle/fine_art/

-Kyle

Well, I was there … catching the action of the 2007 ING NYC Marathon. What a fun time! I shot from sun-up to sun-down … actually before sun-up and after sun-down.

What a day. I walked about 6 to 8 miles and captured many aspects along the route. Thanks to the subway system that allowed me to walk then jump ahead 5 or so miles at a time then emerge from the subway for a new view. I was on Staton Island, Brooklyn, Queens and finally at Central Park.

I was there on assignment for the Tug McGraw Foundation. See my link below to look at the results from the entire shoot.

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There’s much more to this story. The Tug McGraw Foundation raised over $250k for brain cancer research. I was privileged to be a part of their weekend and team. See the entire shoot here.

- Kyle

I’m nearly done preparing for an opening this weekend. I think art is more fun without the “show” … but that’s my own baggage. See my statement below.
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The messy process.

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Some neat things happen in the mess.

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The mystery of curious feet that found the paint. I still don’t know which child this was.

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The fun of trial and error.

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Forced into some calculation but resisting along the way.

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Artist Statement ~ December 4, 2007

I love the quote from Walt Disney “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

For me, I have to shut up, shut out and start doing. But, there’s a constant struggle for me – so often I feel that when I start a “fine art” project it’s as if someone handed me a musical instrument I don’t know how to play and put me up on stage in front of a critical audience.

I go ahead and try to play as best I can but have to close my eyes on my imaginary audience and forget they are there. I have to work at making my art for me, not to perform, but to let out whatever unresolved creative energy or muse is in me.

I don’t paint to decorate. I paint to purge my creative tank. What comes out isn’t always pretty. If someone wants pretty “sofa-art” for their living room then Pottery Barn is better suited than I. So often I bemoan that I ever started a project, but I eventually come to some resolve as I push forward despite my desire to turn it in to firewood.

While my attitude ebbs and flows I persist and take the hesitant step to allow others to see what results were produced … despite the aesthetic value, or lack thereof. I wonder what God thinks.

- Kyle