Kim Jones
1. What got him into the arts as a career choice?
2. Why is he so fascinated with the alter ego?
3. Does he incorporate humans into all of his work?
It’s weird seeing an artist whose main focus is own his alter ego called mudman because just the other day a student did his identity piece on his alter ego. Funny, I’ve never even thought of my own alter ego, I’ve never even thought or knew or believed I had one. Who knows, maybe everyone does have one.
So, it’s pretty wicked that he uses himself as the artform, the final product. Talk about a dedicated artist. HE covers himself with mud and imposes physical strain on himself, and all for the cause of art. Obsession or dedication? I think a little of both. But when you consider his past, the polio and time spent in Vietnam, mudman becomes to make a little more sense, become more clear. These two times in his life are a combination that make up mudman. Everyone who knows anything about the Vietnam war knows it was one of Americas worst wars, losing a lot of soldiers. The soldiers that did live were to live hard, stressful lives after, dealing with horrible nightmares and memories of the war.
It’s also impressive how he becomes mudman for a whole day and walks around in urban areas. This provides as an interesting contrast between materials, nature vs. urban. What a contrast. Also, considering his past, mudman begins to become an appropriate alter ego for Jones. That is quite a switch from the military to an artist. Talk about a transformation.
I really am not aware about his choosing as an artist straight out of the military and he is so fascinated with his alter ego because as a child, he was coped up in the house due to polio and the vivid growth of his lonely imagination combined with future traumatizing experiences later combined to give him mudman. And he actually started as a painter then got into sculpture but rather than traditional sculptures he chose to use his body.
1. What is his purpose in walking around public as mudman, does it have a meaning?
2. Why does he choose to put his body through some form of suffering and abuse?
3. Why exactly did he switch from becoming a painter to a sculptor?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Scott Grieger
1. What is his connection to the military, if any?
2. How has he struggled as an artist?
3. Does he have his own studio?
I wish I could be inspired by everyday, random traditions and what not like him. I think it’s neat how he transforms these experiences into artwork. His inspirations are so simple that most people wouldn’t even think twice before considering such things as artistic inspiration, more would consider it trash. A nike shoe box? Awesome.
He makes a very good point, most of our lives are reflected throught the choices of a single individual, we have very few choices as individuals. Swooshtika!! That is frickin awesome! What a cool idea to combine such two powerful symbols and make another image. Corporations vs. dictatorial government, there is some correlation yes. “I make circles out of bar graphs” haha, this guy is crazy creative. Once again, his installation of this swooshtika’s gave their meaning even more emphasis. And now he incorporates religion into the swooshtika’s through the use of fabric. Talk about one artist who does his research and one who keeps up with politics. Political artists have always intrigued me.
Now there’s Dharmy!! I must admit, I love his play on words. I can completely connect with his when talking about the distand boom and sounds of the military world. I have always lived near or even next to, or IN a military base, so I have grown used to such sounds and disturbances. It was interesting how he connected the two, Dharma and army. I love how he incorporated all of these different, opposite ideas that contrast eachother extremely, and combined them into one installation. Most would not think this would be successful, but he pulled it off.
As for answering my three questions, his connection to the military was that he lived next to a base in the middle of no where and he was frequently disturbed. He claimed that his main struggle is actually making his thoughts, concepts, come to life, making, creating them. And of course he has a studio, why wouldn’t he.
1. Would have ever or has he ever done a piece that focused on one issue, instead of combing two issues into one piece?
2. Do you think back now and wish that you had done something different with your life?
3. Where do you prefer to live, in the wild or in a metropolitan area?
1. What is his connection to the military, if any?
2. How has he struggled as an artist?
3. Does he have his own studio?
I wish I could be inspired by everyday, random traditions and what not like him. I think it’s neat how he transforms these experiences into artwork. His inspirations are so simple that most people wouldn’t even think twice before considering such things as artistic inspiration, more would consider it trash. A nike shoe box? Awesome.
He makes a very good point, most of our lives are reflected throught the choices of a single individual, we have very few choices as individuals. Swooshtika!! That is frickin awesome! What a cool idea to combine such two powerful symbols and make another image. Corporations vs. dictatorial government, there is some correlation yes. “I make circles out of bar graphs” haha, this guy is crazy creative. Once again, his installation of this swooshtika’s gave their meaning even more emphasis. And now he incorporates religion into the swooshtika’s through the use of fabric. Talk about one artist who does his research and one who keeps up with politics. Political artists have always intrigued me.
Now there’s Dharmy!! I must admit, I love his play on words. I can completely connect with his when talking about the distand boom and sounds of the military world. I have always lived near or even next to, or IN a military base, so I have grown used to such sounds and disturbances. It was interesting how he connected the two, Dharma and army. I love how he incorporated all of these different, opposite ideas that contrast eachother extremely, and combined them into one installation. Most would not think this would be successful, but he pulled it off.
As for answering my three questions, his connection to the military was that he lived next to a base in the middle of no where and he was frequently disturbed. He claimed that his main struggle is actually making his thoughts, concepts, come to life, making, creating them. And of course he has a studio, why wouldn’t he.
1. Would have ever or has he ever done a piece that focused on one issue, instead of combing two issues into one piece?
2. Do you think back now and wish that you had done something different with your life?
3. Where do you prefer to live, in the wild or in a metropolitan area?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
accumulation: week 7
so I have asked my friends roommates for buttons and I arranged them below.
I like all the different types of buttons out there. Every piece of clothing has a different button. I think that's cool, buttons are similar to humans, each one is unique almost. Some have 2, 3, 4, or more holes and a wide range of colors. I think collecting them has been fun so far.
Im going to florida for spring break so i plan on asking a bunch of people for buttons. Hopefully by next week my collection will have at least doubled.
That'd be awesooommmme
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
HANDOUTS GALORE
The Art World Expands
It's true, if you compare art from the past to contemporary art, it sure has taken on a different route. Well, more less expanded on their original, simple route. Nowadays, virtually anything is considered art. Anyone can make art, some would argue that you don't even need any talent, just the process in which you create it can make a great piece of artwork, of even simply the concept behind it. ARtists come from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures and use almost any mediums that they can get their hands on, and I mean ANYTHING. Things that most individuals would never even dream of being considered art materials. Forget the traditional forms of medium, paint, pencils, charcoal, clay, etc, now its anything and everything. Artists need to learn to expand their creativity if they want to succeed in the art world.
And succeeding in todays society is almost like a popularity contest, who knows the most people, makes the most money, has the most galleries, the biggest fan base. Of course, that is not the case with all people, but for most, yes. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because humans presently are into materialistic things and we live commercial lives. It's just the kind of people we are, we were taught and raised to be this we. Some can blame the government, media, whatever, we can't help it.
Artist want to get their name out there, make themselves known so that more people will buy their work. Contemporary art has also caused controversy recently, such as in the 1980's when what society referred to as unethical individuals started to get their names known as artists.
Also, with the ever changing and evolving world of technology, we saw a new art form arise, that of graphics and design. Even photography has evolved. The computer has allowed artists to expand their art pieces, to add on to their wide range of media used, to explore more options to creating art, to broaden their horizon. Advertising has been affected the most by such inventions. Graphic design has allowed virtually everyone to be exposed to artwork, EVERYONE because such forms of art is EVERYWHERE, it's omnipresent. You can not walk outside and not see any examples. That's what I want to be a graphic designer/photographer, because everyone can see it.
Sometimes it's hard to wrap my head around the wide world of art, im just now beginning to understand how comprehensive and large it is, how individuals use and manipulate concepts, ideas, materials, all in the name of art. it's inspiring. it's exhilarating. it makes me excited and scared for teh future all at once. I can't wait to get out there and meet as many artists as i can and get an much experience as i can.
It's true, if you compare art from the past to contemporary art, it sure has taken on a different route. Well, more less expanded on their original, simple route. Nowadays, virtually anything is considered art. Anyone can make art, some would argue that you don't even need any talent, just the process in which you create it can make a great piece of artwork, of even simply the concept behind it. ARtists come from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures and use almost any mediums that they can get their hands on, and I mean ANYTHING. Things that most individuals would never even dream of being considered art materials. Forget the traditional forms of medium, paint, pencils, charcoal, clay, etc, now its anything and everything. Artists need to learn to expand their creativity if they want to succeed in the art world.
And succeeding in todays society is almost like a popularity contest, who knows the most people, makes the most money, has the most galleries, the biggest fan base. Of course, that is not the case with all people, but for most, yes. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because humans presently are into materialistic things and we live commercial lives. It's just the kind of people we are, we were taught and raised to be this we. Some can blame the government, media, whatever, we can't help it.
Artist want to get their name out there, make themselves known so that more people will buy their work. Contemporary art has also caused controversy recently, such as in the 1980's when what society referred to as unethical individuals started to get their names known as artists.
Also, with the ever changing and evolving world of technology, we saw a new art form arise, that of graphics and design. Even photography has evolved. The computer has allowed artists to expand their art pieces, to add on to their wide range of media used, to explore more options to creating art, to broaden their horizon. Advertising has been affected the most by such inventions. Graphic design has allowed virtually everyone to be exposed to artwork, EVERYONE because such forms of art is EVERYWHERE, it's omnipresent. You can not walk outside and not see any examples. That's what I want to be a graphic designer/photographer, because everyone can see it.
Sometimes it's hard to wrap my head around the wide world of art, im just now beginning to understand how comprehensive and large it is, how individuals use and manipulate concepts, ideas, materials, all in the name of art. it's inspiring. it's exhilarating. it makes me excited and scared for teh future all at once. I can't wait to get out there and meet as many artists as i can and get an much experience as i can.
The story it tells
“Meaning can never be finite or stable”
What a relief to hear that! Trying to interpret an artist’s work has always frustrated me. I always feel that if I interpret a piece different from others, them my interpretation is wrong. I guess not.
Signification. I always wondered what exactly that meant when concerning a piece of work. Once again I am reminded that the way a piece is displayed is CRITICAL! That is just something that I would have never even considered putting much thought into before.
Denotation vs. Connotation. I liked the example they used in trying to explain the differences. Before, I would have never associated these two words with artwork. One is visual, the other, interpreted. “Subject matter is denotative (visual) and content is connotative (interpretive). That really helps me understand the difference. I wasn’t aware of the difference to be honest.
I can relate to the loaded message. Generally, in my experiences with critiques, everyone feels that they must nice to the person being critiqued, that they should say only positive comments, talk about the good and ignore the flaws. Often, if a piece of work was bad, I noticed students (including myself) making up things they like about the piece. I personally don’t feel like it’s my place to negate someone’s artwork. It’s alright when the professor gives negative comments though because they are meant to be critical and help the student improve.
Often times during critiques, when I first see the finished piece and I generally don’t think it’s that great but then after hearing the person talk about it and their interpretation of their work I begin to like it more. I always enjoy artwork more after knowing what and how much it means to the artist. That personal quality makes it much more enjoyable for me. Also, I do agree that some artwork is just so visually stimulating and overwhelming that we are too concerned with the visuals to even care about the meaning behind it. However, in some cases, artwork has no meaning, it’s just meant to be visually pleasing. That’s why I get so confused when looking at artwork sometimes. It’s so hard to tell, especially now-a-days when art is just so open and one could do anything!
It was also something else to consider when thinking about the meaning changing depending on who tells the story. These are all just things that I have never considered. Artwork is so open and vast! Neat example between the power and powerless.
NUDITY! So many questions go into nudity, so many different meanings and interpretations. Hell, that’s the way it is with all artwork. I, personally, have never drawn a nude figure or done a nude scene of any kind. Haha. But, I would like to do model drawings. I remember studying art history and the persistence of nudity and its affiliation with beauty. However, in ancient times, it was the nude male body that exemplified perfection and beauty. It wasn’t until recent that female nudity began to become more common.
“Meaning can never be finite or stable”
What a relief to hear that! Trying to interpret an artist’s work has always frustrated me. I always feel that if I interpret a piece different from others, them my interpretation is wrong. I guess not.
Signification. I always wondered what exactly that meant when concerning a piece of work. Once again I am reminded that the way a piece is displayed is CRITICAL! That is just something that I would have never even considered putting much thought into before.
Denotation vs. Connotation. I liked the example they used in trying to explain the differences. Before, I would have never associated these two words with artwork. One is visual, the other, interpreted. “Subject matter is denotative (visual) and content is connotative (interpretive). That really helps me understand the difference. I wasn’t aware of the difference to be honest.
I can relate to the loaded message. Generally, in my experiences with critiques, everyone feels that they must nice to the person being critiqued, that they should say only positive comments, talk about the good and ignore the flaws. Often, if a piece of work was bad, I noticed students (including myself) making up things they like about the piece. I personally don’t feel like it’s my place to negate someone’s artwork. It’s alright when the professor gives negative comments though because they are meant to be critical and help the student improve.
Often times during critiques, when I first see the finished piece and I generally don’t think it’s that great but then after hearing the person talk about it and their interpretation of their work I begin to like it more. I always enjoy artwork more after knowing what and how much it means to the artist. That personal quality makes it much more enjoyable for me. Also, I do agree that some artwork is just so visually stimulating and overwhelming that we are too concerned with the visuals to even care about the meaning behind it. However, in some cases, artwork has no meaning, it’s just meant to be visually pleasing. That’s why I get so confused when looking at artwork sometimes. It’s so hard to tell, especially now-a-days when art is just so open and one could do anything!
It was also something else to consider when thinking about the meaning changing depending on who tells the story. These are all just things that I have never considered. Artwork is so open and vast! Neat example between the power and powerless.
NUDITY! So many questions go into nudity, so many different meanings and interpretations. Hell, that’s the way it is with all artwork. I, personally, have never drawn a nude figure or done a nude scene of any kind. Haha. But, I would like to do model drawings. I remember studying art history and the persistence of nudity and its affiliation with beauty. However, in ancient times, it was the nude male body that exemplified perfection and beauty. It wasn’t until recent that female nudity began to become more common.
An incomplete manifesto for growth
“Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow”
What a quote. The choices we make affect our future. We can’t blame the outcome of our life on anyone but ourselves.
I honestly don’t even know what to say on this handout. I think all the points that the author makes are self explanatory and I agree with all of them. They make me not as stressed about my future as an artist. Yes I know that it will be tough to make a living, but reading all of this advice, I don’t know, it gave me a bit of hope, it acted as a white light, trying to guide me but I’m hesitant to follow.
I dunno, all of this advice was just uplifting. Such as to play and how only individuals who feel confident and have a firm grasp on their lives will be capable of playing. I WANT TO PLAY. I want to be able to feel like I have control. The whole handout was bout growth. Growth and an artist, but mainly growth as an individual. I also like how he pointed out that creativity needs no help from technology and devices. Even though I want to major in graphic design and its virtually all done on the computer, I still think its important to hear that.
I also liked how he encourages, repeatedly, to mimic and copy other artists. Steal their ideas. This tip I also hear often from Malena. And the more I hear it, the more I believe it and want to follow their advice. Appropriation! I want to expose myself to as many artists as possibly. I want to soak up so much information and artwork and techniques that I burst into euphoria. I don’t know…I just want to learn more. Once again, the importance of repetition is enforced. Im starting to realize that a lot that Malena told us in class is coming up in this handout. She knows what she’s talking about.
All the advise given is simple, concise, yet so very helpful and inspring. Study. Drift. Capture. Collaborate. Stay up late! (I got that down pat at least!)
Im gonna keep this handout around and refer back to it from time to time and when I just need a little push, some guidance.
“Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow”
What a quote. The choices we make affect our future. We can’t blame the outcome of our life on anyone but ourselves.
I honestly don’t even know what to say on this handout. I think all the points that the author makes are self explanatory and I agree with all of them. They make me not as stressed about my future as an artist. Yes I know that it will be tough to make a living, but reading all of this advice, I don’t know, it gave me a bit of hope, it acted as a white light, trying to guide me but I’m hesitant to follow.
I dunno, all of this advice was just uplifting. Such as to play and how only individuals who feel confident and have a firm grasp on their lives will be capable of playing. I WANT TO PLAY. I want to be able to feel like I have control. The whole handout was bout growth. Growth and an artist, but mainly growth as an individual. I also like how he pointed out that creativity needs no help from technology and devices. Even though I want to major in graphic design and its virtually all done on the computer, I still think its important to hear that.
I also liked how he encourages, repeatedly, to mimic and copy other artists. Steal their ideas. This tip I also hear often from Malena. And the more I hear it, the more I believe it and want to follow their advice. Appropriation! I want to expose myself to as many artists as possibly. I want to soak up so much information and artwork and techniques that I burst into euphoria. I don’t know…I just want to learn more. Once again, the importance of repetition is enforced. Im starting to realize that a lot that Malena told us in class is coming up in this handout. She knows what she’s talking about.
All the advise given is simple, concise, yet so very helpful and inspring. Study. Drift. Capture. Collaborate. Stay up late! (I got that down pat at least!)
Im gonna keep this handout around and refer back to it from time to time and when I just need a little push, some guidance.
“the happiest day of my life”
Woooooah, talk about obsession. Michael Landy is one brave and dedicated artist. The concept is, im not gonna lie, very cool and the meaning behind it can be interpreted into so many ways. I for one could never, EVER, bring up the courage to go through with such a project. The idea and thought is unimaginable to me, I would be crushed, I would feel as if I had nothing left. But then again, to have everything taken away from you would let you be placed into the shoes of individuals who have lost everything, but the only difference (and a vital difference) between these unwilling families and Landy was that Landy choose to do this to himself.
To what, prove a point to himself?
You can never really tell an artists thoughts and meaning behind their work completely. He claims it wasn’t a criticism to consumerism and I don’t believe it was either. He was just trying to dig into his being and learn more about his identity and boy, I bet ANYONE would learn a lot about themselves if they personally destroyed every belonging they ever had. I don’t have the will power or the heart to destroy anything. I have enough trouble throwing things away, no matter how useless, I mean for god’s sakes I keep ALL OF MY RECIEPTS, all of them. I don’t know why really, I just cant bring myself to throw them away.
I think it would be interesting to see how he lived his life after the big destruction. Did he breakdown? Was he lost without his belongings? (Like I would be) It said that it was the happiest day of his life….really? I mean, he did choose to do this to himself so maybe the process really did help him and relieve him of his discomforts about his inner self. I wonder what all he learned about himself.
I personally think that I, like a lot of other Americans, am driven by consumerism. I love shopping and almost every belonging I own, no matter how trivial, I find special and important to myself. No, I don’t think that my belonging essentially make up the person I am, the people that mean the world to me do mainly, but my belongings act as frosting to my life, if you will.
They all have meaning to me.
Also, it was funny, or rather...ironic reading this article today because they mentioned how they broke down all of his belongings to the bare materials and just today in class we saw a piece where a student broke down a washer and dryer . I thought that was interesting how those two related.
Woooooah, talk about obsession. Michael Landy is one brave and dedicated artist. The concept is, im not gonna lie, very cool and the meaning behind it can be interpreted into so many ways. I for one could never, EVER, bring up the courage to go through with such a project. The idea and thought is unimaginable to me, I would be crushed, I would feel as if I had nothing left. But then again, to have everything taken away from you would let you be placed into the shoes of individuals who have lost everything, but the only difference (and a vital difference) between these unwilling families and Landy was that Landy choose to do this to himself.
To what, prove a point to himself?
You can never really tell an artists thoughts and meaning behind their work completely. He claims it wasn’t a criticism to consumerism and I don’t believe it was either. He was just trying to dig into his being and learn more about his identity and boy, I bet ANYONE would learn a lot about themselves if they personally destroyed every belonging they ever had. I don’t have the will power or the heart to destroy anything. I have enough trouble throwing things away, no matter how useless, I mean for god’s sakes I keep ALL OF MY RECIEPTS, all of them. I don’t know why really, I just cant bring myself to throw them away.
I think it would be interesting to see how he lived his life after the big destruction. Did he breakdown? Was he lost without his belongings? (Like I would be) It said that it was the happiest day of his life….really? I mean, he did choose to do this to himself so maybe the process really did help him and relieve him of his discomforts about his inner self. I wonder what all he learned about himself.
I personally think that I, like a lot of other Americans, am driven by consumerism. I love shopping and almost every belonging I own, no matter how trivial, I find special and important to myself. No, I don’t think that my belonging essentially make up the person I am, the people that mean the world to me do mainly, but my belongings act as frosting to my life, if you will.
They all have meaning to me.
Also, it was funny, or rather...ironic reading this article today because they mentioned how they broke down all of his belongings to the bare materials and just today in class we saw a piece where a student broke down a washer and dryer . I thought that was interesting how those two related.
must step outside my comfort zone.
the more i'm in concepts class, the more I realize how i'm too stubborn and hesitant to step outside of my comfort zone/boundaries. i just cant get used to no boundaries, no limits, it's too overwhelming. This whoooole semester has opened my eyes and made me realize just what a sheltered world i've been living in and how sheltered my thoughts and perspectives on all things art related really were.
Today in class, after seeing everyone else's presentations, I was trying to think of a way i could make my identity project better.
I want to do it all over now!
I probably will over spring break. Of course I say that now, but I know myself better and I know I wont give school a second thought. But I am going to possibly think of other alternatives for my identity project. I want it to be less literal, as in less straight forward. I think thats my problem, I take all the assignments too literally, its almost like i'm incapable of stretching the rules and working outside the box.
Furthermore, to speak more of how I lack motivation to do school work, I have yet to start on the text and handout commentaries due friday. WTH?! I suuuuuuck...
So, that's what im gonna do now, and possibly go and ask more people for buttons.
awesome.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
project presentations
We got through a little over half the classes identity projects, and as always it was neat seeing how everyone interpreted both the directions and everyone else's projects. After i presented mine and heard what people had to say I already found myself wanting to change it almost completely. Like prof. Malena suggested, I wish I had gone with my first instinct and surrounded the manequin with a lot of random food.
But oh well, now I know to go over the limits/boundaries, take risks! Choices mean everything aparently. I also wish that I had put the manequin thing out in the middle of campus like someone had said. That would have changed the meaning almost completely and made it even more intense and...just better.
Everyone's projects were interesting also. It was cool learning different things about people and why they are the way they are today.
But oh well, now I know to go over the limits/boundaries, take risks! Choices mean everything aparently. I also wish that I had put the manequin thing out in the middle of campus like someone had said. That would have changed the meaning almost completely and made it even more intense and...just better.
Everyone's projects were interesting also. It was cool learning different things about people and why they are the way they are today.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
False Accusations = Insecurity
Identity Project
Dimension: 1.5 feet by 1 feet
Material: Miniature Manequin man, food, wire, paper, tissue paper
I did my identity project on something that happened to me back in 7th grade. I was in P.E. class running when my teacher stopped and asked me if I was bulimic.Now, I ahve always been really skinny but never relaly thought much of it...until that point. After that I became really self conscious about my weight and then proceeded to try and gain a couple pounds. From then on I found myself eating, and eating and eating. I have never had any eating disorder, I've just always had super fast metabolism and to this day I still struggle to gain weight. Fortunately, I don't worry and stress about my self image as much as I did back then. I have come to accept the way my body works. Anyways, back then I had a hard time coping with such issues and was always insecure.
So my piece is of a little art figure manequin in the running position and I have it vomitting to signify the fake assumption. Instead of puking food, words relating to self image, insecurity, and weight issues are pouring out of the manequins mouth. I have the head wrapped in red tissue paper to symbolize bashfulness and feeling the need to want to hide myself from everyone. The food scattered around is mean tto symbolize the large amounts of food that I would eat daily in a feeble attempt to gain weight to assuage such false accusations. I have the shadow visible behind the manequin to symbolize how this self image issue of weight seems to follow me.
So my piece is of a little art figure manequin in the running position and I have it vomitting to signify the fake assumption. Instead of puking food, words relating to self image, insecurity, and weight issues are pouring out of the manequins mouth. I have the head wrapped in red tissue paper to symbolize bashfulness and feeling the need to want to hide myself from everyone. The food scattered around is mean tto symbolize the large amounts of food that I would eat daily in a feeble attempt to gain weight to assuage such false accusations. I have the shadow visible behind the manequin to symbolize how this self image issue of weight seems to follow me.
Friday, February 22, 2008
accumulation: week 6
I have gathered a few more buttons from asking more of my friends so my collection has expanded a little bit. I am thinking about making a collage of some sort, maybe a picture out of my array of buttons. I don't know yet, it sounds like an option.
I need more ideas!
I need more ideas!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
brainstorming
So yesterday in class we brainstormed for our identity project. I am struggling to find the materials i need, well, that I WANT for my project. I really really REALLY would like to get a hold of a skeleton because I think that would be perfect for my project. But, most likely, it will not happen so im starting to brainstorm on what other ways i can make my project successful and portray the same meaning without the skeleton.
oh goodness. we also watched a video on the artist that likes to use her body to make her artwork, i cant quite remember her name. she said how she struggled with self image issues and how she incorporated that concept into her work. I could not wrap my finger around why she has these struggles because she was pretty. her artwork really was interesting though. I always enjoy artwork more when I know the back story, or rather meaning behind the piece.
but thats just me.
oh goodness. we also watched a video on the artist that likes to use her body to make her artwork, i cant quite remember her name. she said how she struggled with self image issues and how she incorporated that concept into her work. I could not wrap my finger around why she has these struggles because she was pretty. her artwork really was interesting though. I always enjoy artwork more when I know the back story, or rather meaning behind the piece.
but thats just me.
visiting artist
The visiting artist we had that day was actually really cool. She had awesome pieces of work! I foudn myself thinking that if I had the money then I would totally buy some of her artwork, especially some of her mirrors and benches....they were pretty amazing.
She was relaly out there but as always, it's very helpful to hear of an artists struggle and journey in person, it gives us a head up of what's to come. But it also gives me some hope that I won't be as poor as I always worry I will be.
I honestly wish I could paint like her though, she was amazing at it. I went to the art store the next day and found myself wanting to buy supplies to make so woodwork! I never even thought of woodwork as an art possibility. Art can be anything nowadays and that concept has yet to sink in.
i got a loooong way to go..
She was relaly out there but as always, it's very helpful to hear of an artists struggle and journey in person, it gives us a head up of what's to come. But it also gives me some hope that I won't be as poor as I always worry I will be.
I honestly wish I could paint like her though, she was amazing at it. I went to the art store the next day and found myself wanting to buy supplies to make so woodwork! I never even thought of woodwork as an art possibility. Art can be anything nowadays and that concept has yet to sink in.
i got a loooong way to go..
Monday, February 18, 2008
repetition & play.
If I learned anything from class last wednesday, it was repetition and play. We looked and discussed a couple of artist's work. One of them worked on a piece for 10 years dedicated to his friends suicide. That is obsessive and dedication side by side. The project was repetitive and we discussed how certain repetitive acts are capable of bringing one to a sense of euphoria...orgasm? in a sense i guess. I thought it was interesting. Other acts include runners high, drugs, sex, meditation and other crazy things that individuals have come up with to reach such a state of ecstasy.
crazy stuff.
I also appreciated how the same artist stressed the importance of "play" into his work. It was a relief to hear someone indicate the importance of playing and not having to work so seriously all the time, to enjoy yourself in the process.
thank you crazy artist.
We also brainstormed ideas for our project and listening to her come up with some crazy ellaborate solution to a students idea actually got me somewhat excited about working with the project. Now i just have to come up with an abiding image. There are several im considering, i just dont know which one would lead to a better outcome.
hmmm....
crazy stuff.
I also appreciated how the same artist stressed the importance of "play" into his work. It was a relief to hear someone indicate the importance of playing and not having to work so seriously all the time, to enjoy yourself in the process.
thank you crazy artist.
We also brainstormed ideas for our project and listening to her come up with some crazy ellaborate solution to a students idea actually got me somewhat excited about working with the project. Now i just have to come up with an abiding image. There are several im considering, i just dont know which one would lead to a better outcome.
hmmm....
Friday, February 15, 2008
Accumulation: Week 5
I have collected some buttons from my roommates and friends, but not enough. I still have no idea what i am going to make out of all the buttons for the next project. Everytime I find a stray button on the ground I get excited. Since I haven't collected as many buttons as I would have liked to by this point im considering going around and asking strangers for buttons. I wonder how that would go over.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
exposure
so, i have no idea what went down in class yesterday but I can guess that that conversing about the museum was done, or even the last presentations of the material invention project. Hopefully not though since I haven't presented mine yet. I started brainstorming for Project number 1 and stopped at the 5 mental reoccuring images. I found that part a lot harder to come up with that I had initially thought. What's even more frustrating is that it's from one of those incidents that we must branch off for our invention.
greeeeaaat.
I also realized that I must get started on teh text and handout commentaries because god knows how long those will take, probably days and days of reading and typing, reading and typed, etc, blah blah bleh.....
i must stop this procrastinating.
greeeeaaat.
I also realized that I must get started on teh text and handout commentaries because god knows how long those will take, probably days and days of reading and typing, reading and typed, etc, blah blah bleh.....
i must stop this procrastinating.
forreal
and i need to start exposing myself more to the contemporary art world, malena is insisting that its essential to our education and growth as an artist and the more i think about it, the more it makes sense.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Accumulation: Week 4
This week I went home to Florida and asked my mom if she had any buttons that I could use for a project. Turns out that she used to collect buttons as well and she gave me a small bottle full of buttons. She told me she had more lying around but since they just moved into the house she couldn't find them. Hopefully she will have them by spring break.
Speaking of collecting buttons, at the Mint Museum of craft and design, I happened to see a piece that used buttons and ribbons, only that, for their artwork. I personally wasn't too fond of it, but it did give me a few ideas on what I can do for my final project. Nothing has yet been set in stone, however.
Speaking of collecting buttons, at the Mint Museum of craft and design, I happened to see a piece that used buttons and ribbons, only that, for their artwork. I personally wasn't too fond of it, but it did give me a few ideas on what I can do for my final project. Nothing has yet been set in stone, however.
Mint Museum of Craft and Design
This past thursday we went to the Mint Museum of Craft and Design. I must say that I found that museum a lot more interesting than the McColl Center. Thework was much more fascinating, caught my attention quicker and for longer spans of time. I found that the longer you stare at a piece of artwork, the more you notice, and the more it starts to make sense. At least that's what I found during this visit to the museum. I would like to go back to this exhibit because our tour guide only focused on certain pieces, and due to the time crunch, we were rushed. It was amazing some of the ways fabris was used and manipulated to make artwork.
hellz yeah.
once again, sheltered.
the art world is much more complex than I had initally, well, EVER thought.
I also noticed that pieces that looked simple initially, usually took hours and hours of work to accomplish the faux look of simplicity. One piece that sticks out was the wedding dress covered in negative quotes pertaining to weddings. The irony was genius and really told a lot about the artist. I thought it was neat. Once again the idea and practice of installation was drilled into my head about it's urgency, importance. I think it's begininning to sink in.
hellz yeah.
once again, sheltered.
the art world is much more complex than I had initally, well, EVER thought.
I also noticed that pieces that looked simple initially, usually took hours and hours of work to accomplish the faux look of simplicity. One piece that sticks out was the wedding dress covered in negative quotes pertaining to weddings. The irony was genius and really told a lot about the artist. I thought it was neat. Once again the idea and practice of installation was drilled into my head about it's urgency, importance. I think it's begininning to sink in.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
accumulation: week 3
blah blah blah, I need to start collecting more buttons. I did manage to collect some that broke off of my clothes in the dryer, but that is about as far as I got. I got no pictures this week that aren't much different from the previous weeks. I suck, I know.
give me time!
give me time!
interpretation.
Last wednesday in class we had to get in groups of three and interpret different pieces of artwork. It was very eye-opening realizing how others will interpret a piece of artwork differently from how I were to interpret it. It's neat seeing how modern artists can use basically any material they would like for their artwork. I never realized this until this class. I also learned how the way in which you exhibit your work also says a lot about a piece and to most artists, is part of the piece. Installation, apparently, is very VERY important. whodduthunkit? Not me.
Anyways, this class opens my eyes to a lot about the art world in general. A lot that I would have never given a second thought to. blah blah blah, i have to collect more buttons.
Sometimes I think that I have lived a rather sheltered life, considering I was in Japan for so long.
goodness.
Anyways, this class opens my eyes to a lot about the art world in general. A lot that I would have never given a second thought to. blah blah blah, i have to collect more buttons.
Sometimes I think that I have lived a rather sheltered life, considering I was in Japan for so long.
goodness.
update.
We looked through most of the classes material inventions and it was really interesting seeing how the rest of the class interpreted the project. I thought the video technique was really creative, especially how that person managed to include all of the materials, really neat.
I thought it was clever how she told us the day it was due that the project would not be graded as a project grade, hehe, sneaky sneaky. I have yet to present mine and Im pretty anxious about it too.
It was difficult having to put all of the 20 different objects together to create something completely different.
Oh well, I tried my best.
This post is for last monday's class, it's a tad late.
I thought it was clever how she told us the day it was due that the project would not be graded as a project grade, hehe, sneaky sneaky. I have yet to present mine and Im pretty anxious about it too.
It was difficult having to put all of the 20 different objects together to create something completely different.
Oh well, I tried my best.
This post is for last monday's class, it's a tad late.
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