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Joel Ferree

@ferreejoel

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I am so proud to be a Lacma Art and Technology artist. The All Impossible Deeds 2014-2025 catalogue is amazing!!!
Thankyou @lacma and @ferreejoel @blondetjoseluis @dhakadiana by @ferreejoel

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5 months ago

Latergram: 🚀American Artist: The Monophobic Response documents a meticulously crafted yet poetically altered re-creation of a pivotal 1936 static rocket engine test that initiated the United States’ venture into space travel. Inspired by Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 novel Parable of the Sower, which unfolds in the imagined dystopic year of 2024, American Artist performed and filmed The Monophobic Response in the Mojave Desert in the summer of 2024. Artist’s interpretation involved an actual rocket engine test fire in a desolate Californian landscape, creating eerie juxtapositions between Butler’s prescient visions and our troubling realities. Drawing parallels between Butler’s fictive 2024 U.S. presidential race led by an anti-space demagogue and the impending real-world election, this installation weaves together thought-provoking takes on our collective liberation and the concept of our shared “Destiny.” ✨

The Monophobic Response will reconvene in November 2024 with an exhibition at LACMA. The presentation will be staged with artifacts from the rocket test, including the authentic replica of the 1936 rocket engine, a film, and related artwork. Additionally, the installation will be accompanied by a public program where key thought leaders will respond to the project’s themes.

The Monophobic Response is co-shaped by Ayana Jamieson, Adam Kleinman, and Chester Toye in collaboration with LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab.

The project is the continuation of a multi-year cycle of ongoing work entitled Shaper of God by American Artist that braids together threads from Butler’s novels, life, and the experiences of African-diasporic communities in Los Angeles. The Monophobic Response continues to delve into how these and other communities are impacted by and reconcile with the colonial desires of those in power, as depicted through the alternate timeline of Artist’s rocket test and its presentation in L.A.
@a_____rtist @ayanajamieson @ferreejoel @lacma @pstinla @reactionresearchsociety 📸 @a_____rtist @ayanajamieson & 🙋🏻‍♂️ by @ferreejoel

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2 years ago

I was introduced to Miles Davis at Mattee's dad's house. It must have been 1989 or 90, because we were still skating everywhere and bumming smokes and listening to Eric B. and Rakim. We were in the living room and Mattee put on Kind of Blue. I remember hearing the first minute and a half of "So What" and something clicking and the lights switching on to a new world. "Who is this? What's it..." Mattee patiently answered my questions without much to do. I quickly realized that he existed in this new world, that he was not, at all, concerned with the commonplace. He was too busy trying to get all of us to be in that world with him. You could ask him for the time and might get Wu-Tang or Walt Whitman in response.

Everything was an adventure. A snow covered alleyway, a drugstore, a parking curb, a city sidewalk, a thrift store mannequin. He could breath magic into anything.. I am just starting to realize how much I see the world differently because of him.

He was sometimes sullen (aren't we all?), but was always kind and generous in spirit. He was fearless in a way so few of us are; if you were in a bad place, he'd wade right in there and sit with you quietly.. He was part Zen monk, part Thelonious Monk, with a little Totoro and Pooh Bear thrown in. He was a good friend.

Behind a camera, he was a prolific force. His eye was sharp and his empathy so palpable, it always put his subjects at ease. Complete strangers would open up to him. Children gravitated towards him. You can see it in his images.

During his stint in New York, people sometimes thought we were brothers and I usually didn't tell them otherwise. It certainly felt like that at times. Late nights, mirth in the streets, and sad, faded schleps with the MTA. 20 years went by with their ups and downs, but that courageous and imaginative world of his always remained open. It sustained, and continues to sustain, many of us.

That his life was taken by COVID seems absurd to me, and I will never get over it. But no pandemic, tidal wave, or meteor strike could take out this brave and kind spirit that we are left to carry on with. I'll see you on the Catbus my dear friend.

#mattlingenfelter
#catbus by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

Two rare plant zingers I was lucky enough to see last summer -both of which have the CNPS Rare Plant Rank 1B.2 (rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere).

Davidson's Bush-Mallow (Malacothamnus davidsonii) is endemic to California (it only grows here and nowhere else). Aside from its purple inflorescence, it blends in with chaparral. I only noticed it when a friend pointed it out one morning on a fire road in the western San Gabriels.

Lemon Lily (Lilium parryi) smells incredible. The first time I saw it, I stood there sniffing it deliriously while a group of elderly backpackers quietly came up behind me and paused to see if I was alright. As the name implies, the fragrance is lemony but not in the usual cleaning product kind of way. This true lily is found only in a few mountain ranges in southern California and also in Arizona and Mexico. The specimens pictured here were growing in the path of the Bobcat Fire. As repeated wildfire is a listed threat to the species, this population may be in jeopardy. Hang on to the ones you love!

On Tongva land

#malacothamnusdavidsonii
#liliumparryi by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

Pandemic Botany Road Trip Pt. 2

On the road from LA to Indiana we encountered many surprises. I honestly didn’t expect things to be very exciting after we crossed the Rocky Mountains, but the Oklahoma panhandle ended up being one of my favorite places. The roadside botany was rich with Prickly Poppies, Milkweeds, and Blazingstar. Every hour or so, we’d encounter one of the many abandoned rest areas found along our route. There would usually be a rickety picnic table and a structure that, at one time, passed for a shelter.

Occasionally, we’d pull over at one of these and get out and stretch and I would have a few minutes to look at wildflowers. Those few minutes were always intense, trying to take it all in. Thunderstorms were forecast and the sky was a moody wash of color and gray.

1. & 2. Bractless Blazingstar (Mentzelia nuda)

3. Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) with a Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus)

4. Shelter

5. Mood

On Kiowa/Comanche/Apache Land.

#mentzelianuda
#asclepiasviridiflora by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

Pandemic Road Trip Botany Pt. 1

Last summer we drove from California to Indiana to see family. Traveling cross-country in midsummer with a four year old during a pandemic has its highs and lows. It’s more like traveling to outer space, given all of the precautions one must take to do it safely. That said, the wildflowers of the southern Rockies were a draw and we’d be going through at peak season.

I’d heard rumors about the floral abundance of the region. Descriptions so rich they made the “mountain” scene from the Sound of Music look like Julie Andrews was simply staggering around an abandoned strip mall parking lot full of Kudzu vine and Cheat-grass. It more or less lived up to that (sorry, Julie), with the sub-alpine species stealing the show.

Subalpine Species:

1.) Parry's Gentian (Gentiana parryi)
2.) Sierra Larkspur (Delphinium glaucum)
3.) Blue Columbine (Aquilegia coerulea)
4.) Queen's Crown (Rhodiola rhodantha) with Corn Lilies (Veratrum californicum) in the background

Other Supporting Actors:

5.) Columbian Monkshood (Aconitum columbianum)
6.) Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium)
7.) Richardson's Geranium (Geranium richardsonii)
8.) Velvety Goldenrod (Solidago velutina) with nectar-feeding Police Car Moths (Gnophaela vermiculata)
9.) Mountain grandeur

#gentianaparryi #delphiniumglaucum #aquilegiacoerulea #rhodiolarhodantha #aconitumcolumbianum #chamaenerionangustifolium #geraniumrichardsonii #solidagovelutina taken in Williams Lake by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

A few of the fire followers of the San Gabriel Mountains.

These plants like it hot, as in they either appear only after fire or are much more abundant after it. Fire is part of the natural ecology of the region, and many plants have adapted to or even come to depend on it.

The specimens featured here were in the #bobcatfire zone in Angeles National Forest. Come next spring, they will be back with a vengeance.

1.) Showy Penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis

2.) Scarlet Larkspur (Delphinium Cardinale)

3.) Giant-flowered phacelia (Phacelia grandiflora)

On Tongva land

#phaceliagrandiflora #delphiniumcardinale #penstemonspectabilis by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

At first glance, Giant Blazingstar (Mentzelia laevicaulis) looks like something from another planet, or maybe just the wrong side of the tracks. It thrives where seemingly few plants will grow, -on disturbed or rocky soil and is conspicuous with its height, bright yellow color, and freakish appearance.

Mentzelia is one of my favorite genera and is a prime candidate for roadside botany. This was in July at about 7000’ right off the side of CA-2 near Little Jimmy Springs above Azusa, CA. I nearly spit out my burrito when I saw it.

On Tongva land.
#mentzelialaevicaulis by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

Variable Checkerspots (Euphydryas chalcedona) in various stages of metamorphosis.

Last summer these butterflies were a common sight in the front range of Angeles National forest, perhaps because of the ubiquitous presence of Sticky Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus), which their larvae feed on. The adults on the other hand, eat nothing but nectar and are seen here binging on California Buckwheat (Eriogonum Fasciculatum) this past June. Their chrysalis is easy to recognize when walking near their host plants.

On Tongva land

#euphydryaschalcedona by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

If you find yourself dreading family holiday get togethers, consider the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus):

-These birds live in family groups called “clans,” which could have up to 15 or 16 members.

-They are polygynandrous. In other words, any breeding female clan member can mate with any breeding male clan member.

-Although they are not monogamous, they do commit to the clan and help raise each other’s young. They are, in a sense, married to the clan.

-Before they go to bed at night, clan members vacate their nest cavity and perform imitation sex acts with one another, with all gender and breeding boundaries dissapearing.

-Adult offspring stay in their parents’ nest and help raise the next generation. Eventually they will leave when a neighboring clan has an opening.

-In California, you will find them pretty much wherever there are Live Oak trees, whose acorns are one of their principal food sources.

-They are hoarders. They store acorns in nearby dead trees and telephone poles, which are referred to as “granaries.” They spend a lot of time shuffling these acorns around.

-Their family structure has evolutionary underpinnings. It is believed that this complex social behavior is an adaptation for a species living in a limited range. The clan members work together to protect their territory and food sources.

-Occasionally clans will battle for a granary if one clan has a perceived weakness. This is a battle royale.

-Secrets of the Oak Woodlands by Kate Marianchild has more juicy details on these amazing creatures.

Photo: Acorn Woodpeckers outside of their nest, which also serves as a granary.

On Tongva land.

#melanerpesformicivorus taken in Pasadena, California by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

Wildflowers growing out of granitic road-cuts on Angeles Crest Highway (HWY-2), May of 2020.

Popular with those who overindulge on the Fast and Furious franchise, the road is littered with broken glass, crushed Red Bull cans, empty prescription containers, pee bottles, and the occasional sex toy. It also has some of the best wildflowers come springtime. The air is an odd mix of Black Sage, exhaust, Whitebark Chaparral (kind of like lilac), spent brake pads, California Sagebrush, and cologne. Spring, what a time to be alive!

1.) Castilleja affinis

2.) Broadleaf Lupine (Lupinus latifolius)

3.) Canyon Live-Forever (Dudleya cymosa)

4.) Black Sage (Salvia mellifera)

5.) Prickly Phlox (Linanthus californicus)

6.) Southern Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus longiflorus)

7.) Bluehead Gilia (Gilia capitata)

On Tongva land. #castillejaaffinis #lupinuslatifolius #dudleyacymosa #salviamellifera #linanthuscalifornicus #diplacuslongiflorus #giliacapitata by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago

Lynx rufus doing their best #caspardavidfriedrich

Bobcats have been hunted extensively but are resilient and still abundant in Southern California. They’ve had better luck than their Mountain Lion cousins. Their Eurasian ancestors came to Southern California via the Bering Land Bridge around 2.6 million years ago and they have been here ever since.

On Tongva land
#Lynxrufus by @ferreejoel

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6 years ago