Jim Bloom
Jimbloomsmalllifevideoandwallhangings
An unorthodox interview with artist Jim Bloom by angie valetutto
Jim Bloom, an outsider artist currently living in Philadelphia, is a prolific painter who is currently focusing on writing. Given the standard inquiry into Jim’s life, these are a few details that have been published:
Bloom attended Temple University in 1988 intending to study film, but left after his introductory year. From childhood on, Bloom has been making visual art that is directly related to his own experiences, as well as his interests in film, story-telling, and the visual languages of his culture. Influences include artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel, and Red Grooms, who Bloom says impacted him early on with a sense freedom and boldness of expression which he extends to his own vision and work. -Outsider Folk Art Gallery
Bloom…documents an all too common sense of personal and occasionally not so pleasant interaction among people that work, live or deal with each other under normal circumstances. Utilizing somewhat impoverished materials, his paintings and collages are choice mixtures of cardboard, house paint, discarded movie posters, crayons and charcoal. -Ron Schira / Jim Bloom: stories of wit and irony, Raw Vision Magazine, #75
Bloom says he wants to make artistic images that function like television; to capture the eye and quickly convey a message or feeling that will leave a lasting impact on the viewer. -Outsider Folk Art Gallery
But if you look for information about Jim on his webiste, you will find that his bio only states, “Jim Bloom was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1968.” In the “About Me” section of his blog, Jim shares that his occupation is: “time traveler, translator, inventor”. Jim is rather elusive about sharing details about himself. When I inquired with Jim about the interview, he shared with me:
for the time being I live in philly Pa.but soon hope to trek back to Ca.... for the past months I have been focused writing.... which might be better than an interview.as in many ways it’s all right there. it’s jimbloomsmalllifevideoandwallhangings
I encourage all readers to read Jim’s blog, as well as search out his artwork. Jim, as a painter, has a keen insight into the oddities of our daily human interactions. He incorporates his observations into figurative paintings that often incorporate text. Jim blends his desires as a writer into his paintings. When talking about his writings, which are his current artistic focus, Jim says this:
while it is not really art.
it is about ..
what might happen to an artist considered
a liability
or.
a “degerate artist”
I take these fears very very seriously
.the “story” concerns corrections of such
people
by mentors
using New Ways of communication.
Jim weaves a curious tale through his blog that is, according to him, somewhat autobiographic. His writings are as intriguing as his paintings. Jim captures his unique perspective equally well from paint and cardboard, to words and even video. Fascinated by his mysteriousness, I wanted to delve into the world of inquiry about him, his work, and his process. Jim shared with me that:
i would be very interested what a writer and performers thinks of it.truly since the topics covered in “the blog”
are so very much on my mind.
what I have written there.
has more to do with anything I would say in an interview.
I hope i am not being or sounding too...uh...out there. or difficult.but it was writ-
ten to somehow be a warning.
in this reguard I am invested in it being read.
With that, I dove head first into Jim’s blog. In a search for experiencing Jim’s view of life, clues into his art and to discover his warning, I fell quickly and deeply into his world. Here are a few selections:
Saturday, September 15, 2012
it was like an AA meeting.
but in someone’s swanky home.
Valerie was near the piano ,she spoke like she was on a stage ,like she was used to talking like she was on a stage,”
selective scanning and Extremely Low frequency Transmission. it sounds scary doesn’t it” she asked the group,most of whom were either in development or were members of The New Way”
,she stood perfectly straight ,and serious like there should have been a microphone in front of her.According to Valerie words like microwave and frequency turned people off especially when it concerned their brains and nervous systems,People in the room giggled.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Words don’t really matter. Someone made them all up. the more we think in words the less we can tune into vibrations, That’s why Gary Rainy took the time to record his neurals. so we can all go where he has. all feel what he has.
When a Proxy does well ,when you think for the team.when you aren’t in trospect your mentor rewards you with a brain computer interface of Gary Rainey’s Top key.IF you were introspect or disrespectful to your elders and mentors you get a down key of Gary Rainey’s neurals.A down key makes you feel sad and agitated but it makes you regard your own key you are putting into the Enway and graphing towards your mentors. Mostly I am on a mid key, just Rainy’s workaday neural patterns”
“And this works for you?”I asked, “ being on someone else’s
Key? someone else’s frequency?”
“Isn’t that what people pray for. to feel Jesus in their brain and soul?” or look at it this way, how is it any different than taking Prozac or Xanex?”
“Well i can tell you one thing Gary Rainy isn’t Jesus. And I doubt very much Jesus would have downloaded his karmic “wave’ directly into someone’s brain”
He poured syrup on his pancakes and I swear he held my hand .and said “But wouldn’t it have been amazing if he had?”
My exploration into the world of jimbloomsmalllifevideoandwallhangings lead me to reach out again to Jim, expressing my interest in his writings and a curiousness for which pieces tell the tale of his life most directly. Jim responded to me:
I was a bit afraid my reply seemed a bit tinfoil hattish.
the problem is people who write about
things such as.
intraneura interface.or more specifically “voice to skull” techno.or fMRI that can
read neural configurations
has been bakcshelved to “loony”
they are not just trying this stuff out on mice or monkeys.
in fact much of the ‘protocal” is based on schizophrenia.
as some of the intent of this innovation is to drive a person mad.in a non lethal
way of course.(some of the “volunteers/subjectsare refered to as targeted
individuals..guinie pigs) there are too many.
there lives are inevitably destroyed.
many kill themselves.or are institutionalized.as they are in fact hearing voices.
the targeted individuals are also intimidated ...
Jim continued on in his response to explain his purpose behind his blog as:
as for the blog.
i think i wrote it not so much for entertainment
as a safe way to present and represent these themes
and also
as some kind of visible safety.....protection
for as the fictional Valerie Prentis would say
“a trillion dollar industry means bizness”
and if your bad for bizness u might become the bizness of people you might prefer you never meet”
He further explained a few of the details that are regularly discussed in his blog, such as, what Jim refers to as “New Way” or “New Stuff”:
and that since one’s mind is now shared.
(the movie BraINSTORM 1980 SUMS this well)
and stored
one can easiy be manipulated
as a gang stalking mentally would purposely use
one’s thoughts memories and personal biography to trigger reactions
for instance if your grandmother always wore a polka dot dress.
suddenly the “theme” of the day
would be polka dots
strangely on several outtings you see women who REMIND you of grandma. in
this same dress,
or perhaps
more triggering a perfume.
I would like to conclude this unorthodox interview of Jim Bloom by sharing one final piece of Jim’s writing, an excerpt from January 7, 2012:
I have been told I will be monitored like this the rest of my life.
it’s part of my release.
if I had known
I would have just done my timethey often work in pairs or 3s
there are shifts
.
bet they even thought this would be a pretty far out job
workin with inmates at first i thought they were doing it
to make upright citzens
no.just information on like how some brain parts work.
how one reacts to things like startle response
degredation
confusion
hopeless situations
and simulated insanity…
i see the shrink
he knows I’m part of “the process”
but on my chart says in deep red letters I’m schizophrenic.
funny I wasn’t before the procedure.I had to sign a waiver.
to participate in a new therapy.study
and my sentence would be reduced 2/3s“i need some pills I said”
“why do you feel you need some pills he asked”
“because “the process” is driving me fucking crazy.
