Rob Funderburk, Third Coast Short Docs Challenge: Book Odds

October 2, 2010

After work on Friday, Liz and I headed over to the Chicago Urban Art Society, and attended Book Odds – a collaboration between Third Coast and The Books.

Contributors to the short docs had to work within set paramters: 3 minutes in length, and each piece had to include 2 of 8 samples provided by The Books. There were a wide range of pieces, and Julie ended up receiving 140+ submissions!

We arrived a little late. Quick shot of the crowd, as we were sitting down.

A little dark, but that’s Rob in the background. On the mic are Alison Cuddy and Julie Shapiro.

Another guest doodler (who was working during all the audio) was Corrine Mucha.

Closer to the end of the event.

Rob, during the last short doc being played.

During the audio, guests were also invited to draw along. Folks posted up their doodles on the back wall, after the show… and these will remain here, through October. Audio will be available, and the space will be open for folks to come in, listen to the docs, and contribute their own drawings.

This is something that caught my eye.

Rob’s finished piece. As Liz and I went up to get a closer look, we met up with Gretchen and remarked how awed we were by Rob. The man has so many diverse styles (and he’s good at all of them).

Detail based off of Katie Mingle’s piece.

Another detail.

Detail based off of Frances Willick’s piece about hermaphroditic slug sex.

Corrine Mucha’s finished piece.

Detail based off of Alix Blair’s incredibly moving piece about her grandmother.

Four of the samples, which you can hear here.

I lucked out and caught Rob returning to his drawing after the show was over. He started to add a bit more, and I switched on the camera and caught about a minute of him doing touch-ups. The whole time, I don’t even think he noticed me… he was just lost in what he was doing.

This is silly, but I was drawn to this series of wires and plugs, which powered the lights above the artists and also powered the sound board for the whole event.

If you missed out on this event, you should really check out the Book Odds Repository. All of the 140 submissions are included, and available for you to hear online. They’re all 3 minutes each, and the style/range is pretty impressive. Cool, cool concept.

Funny thing! As we were on our way out, I met the roommate of Kate McGroarty! She recognized me, and came over to say hi. We chatted a bit, and talked about how strange and surreal the whole experience has been so far.

Chicago I know is a big city. But it’s still in the Midwest, and moments like these… make it feel like a much smaller place. It feels good.