4/28/08

LAST DAY OF CLASS!

I am glad this class is over- but I am going to miss it- it's like no other class Ive had, and I probably wont have again. I definately think the people made the class- such a great mix of personalities together with all different experiences and knowledge. But today we finished presenting our site specific projects. Joey's was so funny- I mean the concept wasnt with the eskomos dying out and everything, but it was almost like he was making fun of Scarlett Craafland's work. The photography was quite good as well. Arutyan's video was quite interesting I had no idea about the Armanian Genocide. And using his site as Youtube- so different, and smart. I would love to do a piece that I want people to see on virtual space. But i dont know if I feel that strong about anything. Ryan did urban sprawl which I thought was a great concept, but I think the piece would have been more understood on a larger scale, because after all it is happening all over the world- I cant believe that Charlotte is only going to have I believe 3% green space left- it's going to turn into Manhattan. That is why I do not want to live here in the future.

4/23/08

Today we presented projects- I presented mine-I always go last and we never really get to talk about mine. But I guess thats ok. Anyways, I loved Ray's of course- shes always so creative with her concept and her execution. And then there's Drake's piece- my FAVORITE- everyone always shuns sex- and we can look at cruesome horror films with torture and gore- but sex is looked down upon. Such a create phenomenon to pick for this project- simply genious. I completely agree sex is looked down upon becuase of all of the christian values, but christians have sex- its how babys are born- and it should be embraced not pushed away. Its also such a fun topic to talk about- everyone enjoys sex, they just dont want to admit it.

4/21/08

In class we viewed some contemporary artists- that where quite out of the ordinary. Malena compared alot of the artist's work with greek mythology in which I had never heard before. I really enjoyed Jenny Saville's large scale paintings they remind me alot of Will Puckett's work with the expressive paint strokes and color schemes. Mark Quinn probably the first contemporary artist that I had remembered his name- my teacher at Virginia Tech had to me about his work. That blood head was so out of the ordinary it just stuck in my head- who knows what will stick with me next year.

4/16/08

Today we had a guest speaker: Barbara Schreiber. Her work was EXTREMELY interesting as well as her personality- she reminded me of my Mary Kay lady who i used to work for-open minded, fun, and hilarious. Her work was funny- which you seldomly see in artists- most are sad and depressing. She described her current work as "irritable little paintings about the obsurdity of daily life. Loved her paperdoll like Happy Penis (ithink) and Miss Titty. It reminded me of something my girlfriends would get me at a bachlorette party or something. One thing she told me was that galleries take 50%! I had no idea- thats ridiculous I mean I could understand it was like an extremely detailed installation that took alot of work to put up- but for a painting - all they did was hang it- its just ridiculous- it just turns me off about being an artist.

4/14/08

We talked about Project 3 today. Malena showed us examples of site specific work. I thought my Time project was site specific- should have saved it for this one. I loved Scarlett Craafland's work. It was almost biblical - her naked body against nature- but we don't consider naked women with nature anymore- naked women are considered sexual, provacative, and in some ways sinful. But I consider the naked body as parts of nature, like Adam and Eve. Also, we looked at Andy Goldsworthy's work which was more obviously nature vs. nature. I would love to do something like that- but i dont think i would have the patience. In his videos he didnt explain what his work meant to him- I really wish he would have- it sure is aesthetically pleasing, but what does it mean?

4/9/08

Today we went to Will Puckett's house- I LOVED this field trip- it was such a pleasure to see how artist's live- it was such a personal experience- ok I do have to say that it smelled like straight up pot when we walked in there - but I figure most artists do some sort of drugs- But Will's work was very developed. He has his own style- and its so apparent in everyone of his paintings- like if I walked by a picture he did I would immediately recognize it as his work. I loved his house too- the kitchen was adorable- it was so vintage. The color schemes in his paintings are so expressive and help create a mood in all of his work. I liked how he didnt tell us at first that the mural that he did represented each one of the stores there because I didnt realize it until halfway looking through it. I guess you could say that is kind of "selling out" yourself, but hey if he wanted to do it thats all that matter and it looks amazing. He did have a freedom and thought more commercially then personally- which is fine, but i wouldnt want to get stuck doing work like that.

4/4/08

Today we talked about the Piss Christ piece. I personally didnt really find that piece offensive, and I am a Christian. I guess I am just too open minded- I mean I talk about everything with anyone- But 15,000 for this I mean yes the photography is very aesthetically pleasing, but I think that the reason that people sometimes pay so much money for art is becuase it is so controversial. I mean picture it you have the Piss Christ piece in your living room- everyone knows about it- and will be very impressed that you own such a famous piece of art- just like the starving dog artist. The reason he did that was because he wanted people to make a big deal out of it. I think that Andres Serrano wanted the same thing- hey it worked right?

4/2/07

We presented project 2 in class today.I thought people did a really good job on grasping concept in their projects. David's was most interesting to me- I still dont really get it- I know that its about how television changes the world. So many elements in his piece were not explained- which I like because that leaves it up for your own interpretation- at first I thought it has something to do with identity and childhood. Drake's piece was also really cool. He was telling me about his concept- 2 classes ago and i told him to look up this band that i know Handsome Boy Modeling School becuase they do this one song that has a hiphop beat to a famous Beethoven song, "Rock and Roll." It's actually really good- I figured if liked mixing beats he might like this group- its abunch of artists like Linkin Park, Deftones, Jay-Z, Wutang Clan, Jack Johnson, and many more.

3/17/08

So today we went to the McColl Center for their new exhibit: Phantasmagoria. I really liked this exhibit- it was so interactive and entertaining. So many of the pieces were interesting to me. I loved the piece with the motion sensored lights and the shadows projected on the wall- the electric engineering in that piece was very impressive- i dont understnad anything to do with wiring or motion sensing - it's like a foreign language to me. I didnt like the piece where you had to go in that room and it looked like their was an avalanche coming towards you- I just didnt think that the form of presnetation was very effective- it wasnt believable.

3/10/08

For class today we watched a video on Theo Jansen work is very site specific. Most of his sculptures it seems involve coastal land. After viewing some of Julie Taymor's work I wanted to work with the beach because I go there all the time. My parents have a condo at Ocean Isle Beach. I have probably spent 1/5 of life at the beach. It is mu second home- and Im really into doing pieces that reflects personal experiences. But the beach is so cliche'. Maybe sometime in the future I will learn how to do a landscape without being boring

2/25/08

Since I was absent today Im am doing a magazine article. I chose an article from Art Forum Magazine- which showcases (in pictures) contempary artists work. I got this from their website so Im not sure what volume it is. But the artist that I choose was Ugo Mulas. His work is intrigueing to me because he caputures moments in art history (the past 3 decades). Its funny to think of an artist taking photographs of artists and then making that art. But the reason this article cuaght my eye is because well first I love black and white photographs and 2 Andy Warhol, one of the creators of contemporary art is in it, also Edie Sedgwick which I know is an Ameican actress that had roles in many of his movies. The photograph was taken in 1964 in the era of pop art.

2/20/08

In class today we watched a video on Janine Antoni from the Artist 21 series. Her piece with the chocolate and soap was amazing- I believe it was called Lick and LAther! It showed how she washed the soap mold of her face to wear it down to depict her self image. She used very out of the ordinary methods to construst her piece in which in the end changed the interpretation of her work as well as become the title. Her rope construction I felt was a rather personal piece. I mean she had piece of a hammock thatt she swang on- i dont believe than anyone could really interpret this piece the same way that Antoni does, but does that weaken the piece? I dont think so- I hope to do a personal piece like that one day and display it publically. My all time favorite video was the "Touch" video where she learned how to walk on a tight rope in oder to film her touching the horizon on the ocean- I mean how would think of this stuff- it's not only visually appealing, but masterfully constructed. She is a new inspiration!
We also broke off into small groups and discussed our projects- which was especially interesting because usually in thoughs situations Im the last to talk about my work- but i found myself speaking alot- maybe too much. I think that these projects are going to be very personal- I mean it is an identity project so I guess it has to be...

2/18/08

Today in class we had a guest speaker, Elizabeth Alexander, who reminded me so much of my friend kelly with her curly brown hair and the way she described thing- its like they could have been twins- shes an art major as well. But really enjoyed her presentation- I love how she let her Grandmothers house influence her work so much. I like the piece that she worked on in New Zealand the most it was very aesthetically appealing and your like "what is that?" I think she said there was like a piano or something in there- crazy! I dont know if the drawers in her pieces were necessary because you really cant even tell they are there unless she tells you. I took a quote from her that I completely agreed with,"I don't wanna pay 30,000 a year to learn how to paint- I wanna do something I never thought I could do." Thats eactly how I felt at Virginia Tech- that they weren't letting people open their reative minds and do things out of the ordinary.

2/13/08

We watched the Tony Orsler video in class today. I believe I have seen his work about 5 years ago at a contemporary art museum in Winston Salem. The video was very creepy at first and through watching it I jsut wanted it to be over! I wanted to hear what his interpretation of this piece was it was like almost like a disturbance inside me that would be calmed until I found out what his motivation was. It reminded me of childhood and all the negative things that surrounded my childhood. We also watched a video on Oliver Herring- which in my opinion was mildy entertaining- i just didnt like is work particularly. But there is one thing that stood out that he said, "Much more people are more playful, and creative than we have time to express." I completely agree with this statement and am guilty of it myself.

2/6/08

Today we went to the Museum of Craft and Design. Ok so first of all I had a HELL of a time getting there- I parked at the McColl Center (for free) cuz I didnt know about free parking, had to walk in the rain 4 blocks- anywho! I really enjoyed the museum I have been there before, I went in I think 11th grade with my art class. The installation in the lobby of the glass piece is something that I remember, and also remebered that really cool desk that I think was orange, and the swiveling bench that Drake wrote(which I thought was pretty funny). This month they had the "fibers" exhibit- which I think of is very interesting because dealing with fibers is so meticulous and I dont think I would have the patience to do it. For instace just looking at that piece with the "quilt ofsteel" and all those found objects on the fist floor in front of the stairs just made me cringe, but at the same time admire the artist- who knows how long it took them to construct that piece. Also another piece that stood out to me was the wedding dress, I mean tell me that any women would love that! I think she did this on purpose but far away it just looks like a light pink dress but up close it has all those funny quotes and common thoughts of a bride before the big day. Vey appealing and funny! "I want to sleep wth the best man." and my favorite " I dont want my cousin in the wedding because she'll ruin my pictures." ahah

1/30/08

In the begining of class today we talked about how artists are the makers of meaning in which we do through subject matter, form, etc. But I believe that we make meaning not for just use but for everyone- when I am working on a piece I already know how I want to interpret it and usually do so. But someone else might think of something completely different, but does that make my art unsuccessful? But maybe becuase we use for example dark colors in a painting does that mean that it is a gloomy, sad, and depressing piece? Why can't black mean happy? I think we need some new interpretations of this world.

1/28/08

Today we presented our Material's Invention project. Man I felt really bad- mine was awful in my opinion, thank goodness this isnt graded- Im mean a fork- how creative is that? NOT. I really liked Ray's hers was very well thought out. And I love the photgraph quality it remeinds me of a movie that I saw at a film festival one time- it was a long time ago- but I remember that it reminded me of the beauty of being alone- and I interpretted her like that as well. I thought Drakes was very visually appealing when I first saw it, maybe it's because I love food and it had alot of that in it. Although the food in his project didnt look very appetizing. My favorite thing aobut his piece was the koolaid coming of the table in a line. Who thinks of that? It was really interesting it gave the pciture depth. I really liked it!

1/16/08

We went to the McColl Center, which is prob one of the neatest places I've ever been! Until this class I had no idea that art residencies even existed! The whole concept of staying somewhere were they provide you with a studio to work with and you get to display your work is like a 2fer! The exhibit they had at the museum was a tribute to women in the textile industry. The first room we entered has many embroidaries- that were quite beautiful. I particularly like one with the stitching, " I had to hide my successes in the dresser drawer." I like this one becuase it not only applies to the history of the textile industry, but to every industry in which women were looked at as just workers of the lowest placement. Many of the embroideries had bold statements like that. The McColl center was one of the first places that I have been to that I have actually really interpretted the artists' work, it was pretty easy becuase many of the pieces had many bold statements. Such as the Misconception Labeling Installation, so simple and yet so genuis. The woman working there mentioned that we could volunteer for opening receptions I definately want to do that.

1/23/08

Today we had a guest speaker in class. I always love when we have guest speakers becuase it's always more interesting and much more inspiring. Mary had many different intrepretations of her work than I did. For most of her work I interpretted childhood- for some reason being scared of death reminds of me of a child. I guess I was scared alot as a kid- maybe her work scared me. She was very interested because she was talking aobut ghosts as though they were real. The afterlife is still something Im not sure of and it fastinates me to meet someone who does,

2/27/08

Wasn't in class today


Art in America June/June 2005
"Taiwan's New Bunker Museum"

This museum was founded by a artist we viewed in class recently, Cai Guo- Qiang. This museum he created is meant to represent the bunkers created for Kinmen to prevent invasion of Taiwan. Cai msut have been greatly affected by the wars going on. In the video I remember it said that he was a soldier. The museum have a very interesting interior, resembling mud on the walls, and very small windows. I can only imagine how being a soldier would afffect your artwork. He is most famous for his gun powder works- His work is alot like mine. He takes his personal experiences and shows them in different ways to the public.