You know what listeners, talking with Sarah, I see now in retrospect that the ‘intimacy’ of the evening helped in achieving what I original wanted for the event. All the artists and members of the audience interacted on a personal level; making connections, giving and receiving positive feedback, resulting in an air of camaraderie. And really, more than art, Blind Date is about people. And getting them to band together. So, I want to thank you all; the hardcore fans, the artists, and those who ever now and again check in.
To kick off this second chapter in the book of Blind Date is Alexander Rickel ( if you happened to be at the anniversary party, you got to experience a bit of what makes this artistic individual so special.)
At times, it’s hard to draw the line between Alex Rickel and the persona of WG Rickel. The concept of CEU, the sculptures, and the illustrations just add to the mythos surrounding this alter ego. Alex’s work is a fully immersive experience, even if it’s only for himself. I get more drawn into it with the more I learn. He is currently working with his brother to express the origin story in a graphic novel.
His main forte is sculpture. They tend to look like Sci-fi found art, the pieces from a technology of a fictional past. The sculptures’ lack functionality but serve a much greater symbolic purpose. Themes hit on subjects like human connections, communication, and just the curiosity of how things work (this is a horrible understatement, I’m sure.) Regardless of the concept involved, the one constant in his work is the aims to invoke thought in the audience. Get the gears in your head moving.
To hear him explain it more fully, click the player below or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.
You can learn more by also going to wgrickel.info.
Blind Date 