Nomadic Fungi: Germination to Propagation

In the honored tradition of State Fair sideshow barkers ...

Step right up and see giant fungi eat cars right before your very eyes! These remarkable oddities of nature will thrill and chill you with their voracious appetite for automobiles. See the future of our civilization disappear as these mutated mushrooms eat car after car after car. Will anything stop these carnivore fungi before it's too late? Are we doomed to return to the days of horse drawn wagons? Is your car at this very moment being infiltrated by this sly predator?  Or is your car already being consumed from the inside?

The Nomadic Fungi Institute is thrilled to present:

Nomadic Fungi: Germination to Propagation

Nomadic Fungi are a mutated species that have functionally adapted to feed on automobiles. They have the capacity to infiltrate cars and extract nutrients directly from them by rapidly biodegrading materials made from oil, plastic and synthetic rubber. These voracious fungi constitute a serious threat to our nation’s transportation system and ultimately to the American way of life. This exhibition at the Texas Discovery Gardens brings together the most comprehensive collection of information currently available about the growth and propagation of nomadic fungi.

For the full Press Release and photographs please visit the NFI Press Page

Press Release - Image Library

Opening Saturday Aug 11th 1:00- 4:00pm.

Runs from Aug 11th - Oct. 28th, 2018.

Texas Discovery Gardens

Fair Park

3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
Dallas TX. 75210

214-428-7476

Roadside Snacks Opens at the Art Car Museum

As part of their twenty year anniversary celebration, the Art Car Museum has asked NFI to install a new exhibition in their gallery. Below is the press release:

The Nomadic Fungi Institute presents, Roadside Snacks, a survey of eyewitness accounts and laboratory tests pertaining to the proliferation of nomadic fungi. The Nomadic Fungi Institute is a pseudoscience based "Institution" established to investigate and document sightings of giant mushrooms growing on automobiles.

NFI also conducts laboratory experiments to ascertain the probability and rate at which these parasitic fungi will spread and inevitably impact the American transportation system. Dr. Brad Ford Smith founded the Nomadic Fungi Institute in 2013 and has been fastidiously pursuing all leads pertaining to these mutated fungi.

Drop by and find out if you should be concerned about that knocking under your hood.

For more information on the exhibition visit the World Of Nomadic Fungi

Opens June 3rd
Runs from June 3rd -  November 23rd 2018

Art Car Museum
140 Heights BLVD
Houston Tx. 77007

713-861-5526

Nomadic Fungi Lab Samples Develope Red Dots

The Nomadic Fungi Institute was very honored to have two NFI Lab Samples on display with Ro2 Art at this years Dallas Art Fair. The two samples were fresh from the NFI incubator, and
still damp with the pure spring water we use to sterilize all our lab samples with.

With the Dallas Art Fair drawing in thousands of people, these two NFI lab samples was set to receive a lot of exposure. The NFI hot line started ringing Friday afternoon with people saying there were red dots on the wall next to the lab samples. Of course the NFI staff was very alarmed. Had something gone wrong with our sterilization process and the nomadic spores found the latex wall paint irresistible. With a quick call to Jordan at Ro2 Art we were informed that the red dots were actually sold stickers!

Nomadic Fungi Institute Now Represented at Ro2 Art

the Nomadic Fungi Institute is very happy to announce that Ro2 Art in Dallas Texas has asked to represent the Institute.

Consumed By A Nomadic Fungus

Over the last year I have slowly shifted my focus over to developing the Nomadic Fungi Institute. This has become a very personal project for me. One that I am enjoying and learning from. It has opened up doors to new experiences and new areas of personal growth. Just what you would expect when working around mutated fungi that feed on various automobile components.

So my BFS Art Blog will be put on the shelf. It has been fun and rewarding to write this blog which I started on my first trip to the Yucatan on December 28, 2007. I do hope you will all follow me over to The World Of Nomadic Fungi. There are things developing there that are quite extraordinary.

Here are the various links to the Nomadic Fungi Institute:

The World Of Nomadic Fungi
Nomadic Fungi Institute on Facebook
Nomadic_Fungi on Instagram

And of course you can always follow me on:

Brad Ford Smith on Facebook
Brad Ford Smith Pics on Instagram

I'll see you on the streets and in the galleries,
Brad

Blame The Lag Time On The Mushrooms

Being a long time blog reader and blogger I have read this sad phrase a number of times Sorry so long between posts... It's usually the last post you ever see on that blog.

Well, here I am writing that phrase in a way that looks like a commentary on blogging. But in fact it has been a long time, and I do feel bad about the long lag time. I have over a dozen posts waiting as drafts. Some just needing a good proofreading before posting.

So what has me so distracted? Well, about a year ago I started working with the Nomadic Fungi Institute as their archivist. I know, a hopeless dyslexic as an archivist? Just shows how desperate they are for any kind of help.

Anyway, I have become more involved with NFI than I would have ever thought. There is so much work to be done, and it seems the more that gets done the more there is to do. But I do believe strongly in what NFI is working towards so all the time and effort feels good. It feels important.

NFI has a blog that I hope you will visit. It is filled with photos, lab reports and even a few interviews. If you read any posts with lots of grammatical mayhem then you'll know its one I wrote.

There is also an NFI Facebook page and an Istagram feed. Here are the links to each.

www.WorldOfNomadicFungi.com
Nomadic Fungi Institute Facebook
Nomadic Fungi Institute Instagram

Okay, let me get back to proofreading...
Brad

An Introduction To The World Of Nomadic Fungi

Dr B.F. Smith PhD

A few weeks ago I was hiking around Dinosaur Valley State Park, enjoying the cool weather and comparing my shoe size with those of various dinosaurs. Around lunch time as I sat on the river bank, a group of Webelos Scouts walked by being led by a tour guide. But this wasn't your normal park ranger, this man was dressed in a charcoal gray, pin stripped, wool suit, with matching fedora. His gray beard and horn rimmed glasses gave him the air of someone of knowledge. I couldn't help but easdrop on his lecture...

He rambled on about the size and weight of the various dinosaurs, and their eventual extension. That's when he slipped off topic and began to talk about the eventual extension of the human race, and how  Nomadic Fungi were sure to play a big part in our demise. The kids started to get a bit freaked out. I was like WTF is he talking about!?

Later in the day, after having my fill of dinosaur tracks, mosquitoes and chiggers, I headed back to the car. As I was tossing my backpack and muddy shoes in the trunk I noticed the wool suited tour guide was unlocking the car next to me.

I just had to ask, What was that killer fungus thing all about?

He introduced himself as Dr. B.F. Smith PhD. He's the director of the Nomadic Fungi Institute, and that the "killer fungus" is a modern mutation known as Nomadic Fungi. It is a parasitic fungus that attaches itself to automobiles and feeds upon the various components. The spores of this fungus are spread on the wind, and if not addressed this fungus has the capacity of decimating the transportation network that our society is built upon.

...Two weeks later, I 've started my new job as the "Archivist" at the Nomadic Fungi Institute.

Odd Jobs At The Nomadic Fungi Institute

As the archivist at the Nomadic Fungi Institute my duties have turned out to be much more complex than just putting old news paper clipping into folders and putting the folders into file cabinets. For example, the NFI just launched their new NFI logo. To mark the occasion we hand printed a limited edition of NFI artists trading cards. Fifteen of these we sent to the Art.Science.Gallery event Art/Science Trading Cards. The remaining cards will be given out at up coming art events, while others will be used as thank you gifts to new NFI members.

Better wash the ink off my hands before going back to stuffing news paper clipping into files and sticking files into filing cabinets.

5 Preparations For A Successful Studio Visit

As you can see from the photograph, there are a lot of projects underway in the studio, which is great. It's like a cozy cave of self indulgence. But for the uninitiated visiter it's visual chaos, bordering on a  hoarder's hovel.

This week I have a studio visits lined up with Heyd Fontenot from CentralTrak. I personally reached out to him, asking if he would come by my studio to look at a few art projects. The focus of this visit will be on the World Of Nomadic Fungi, a joint project I'm doing with the Nomadic Fungi Institute.

Inviting someone to visit your studio is not to be taken lightly. You are asking them to go out of their way and spend their time indulging your need to have someone look at your artwork. You also have to keep in mind that your time with them is limited, somewhere between 1 and no longer than 2 hours. So, part of presenting yourself as a professional artist means having the artwork and the topics of discussion organized.

As a lot of you know, I spent last year cruising around on the Queasy Tugboat. This visit with Heyd is the first conversation I have had about my artwork with a respected art professional in quite sometime. I'll admit I'm having some anxiety and loosing a little sleep. To combat the jitters I made the following To Do List for myself:

1. Select/edit the artwork I want to focus on. Arrange it so that the visitor can see it without too much competing visual clutter. It should be mainly finished work, but a few works in progress mixed in is a good thing. The finished work is after all my product, what I will be showing to the public. And the works in progress show that I have new and exciting things coming up soon.

2. Decide what are the important topics I want to discuss. I am well aware that once I get started talking I can ramble on and on about art, art concepts, artists and the art world in general, and never get around to talking about MY artwork. So make a list that I can refer back to if/when we get too far off topic.

3. Next, I invited this person because they have skills and talents that are relative to what I am doing in the studio. So, create another list, this one focusing on their special skills and experiences. Make sure to incorporate this list into relative questions; You have experience working with alternative exhibit spaces, How do you approach people/businesses about setting up an exhibit in their space?

4. Talking is dry work, and listing sometimes requires a cool beverage to make things easier to swallow. Think about a gallery opening without wine and cheese. People simply don't linger when their hands are empty. Make sure there are beverages to offer;  wine, beer, lemonade, sparkling water.

5. Lastly, burn a CD with an up to date CV and good images of my artwork. Don't forget to give it to him before he leaves!

Well, looks like I have everything covered. I should sleep like a baby tonight.... Wait a minute,  I haven't even started cleaning up the studio!