Hans Godo Frabel Lecture

I know this wasn't one of the VCU Artist lectures, but since I missed one, I attended
an outside local lecture, not affiliated with VCU to make up for it.

Hans Godo Frabel

Questions:
1) Focusing on glass sculptures and figurines, where is the primary source of display for your work?

2) Do you keep a theme to your sculptures, or is it on an individual basis?


Lecture Response:

The most interesting quote from the lecture wasn't really a "quote," but an explanation. I really enjoyed hearing about how Frabel embosses his trademarks on the bottom of his sculptures. He separates his work into categories and signs the bottom based on which category the work falls into. His sculptures made in his studio are embossed with an "FS" meaning "Frabel Stdio" while the unique Frabel sculptures that he makes as limited editions are marked with a "GF" on the bottom meaning Godo Frabel. I enjoyed the unique way of signing his work.

Three words:
Fantastical, Whimsical, Detailed.


The most interesting thing I found out about the artist was the recent honor that was attached to his name. In September 2009, President Obama called attention to Frabel's name when he gave Frabel "Glass Tree" sculptures to 34 world leaders.

The answer to my first question was answered. Frabel enjoys incorporating his work into existing scenery. The exhibit he talked to us about that is his current ongoing on at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens is the prime example. He has sculptures around and throughout the gardens whether on specific display or blending in with actual plants.

The series of sculptures I enjoyed the most were the "Longfellow" sculptures. They still fell into the whimsical and delicate style that Frabel uses, but took on more of an editorial side. These pieces about gravity and balance were the most moving to me.

Overall, this lecture was very different than the photography lectures and I'm glad I went.

Artist Post #11

Artist Post #11

November 14, 2010

Natasha Duwin


Relation: The piece I want to feature of this artist is called "Shedding the Shadows." She uses discarded clothing from a homeless shelter to create sculpture. This piece is very relateable to what I would like to do. She uses clothing from a particular homeless shelter to create a woven sculpture of inter-connectivity to show that through hard work and introspection, beauty can be achieved. She takes the clothes, washes and cuts them, and has public "rope making" sessions before weaving the ropes. She also displays in a public space so the public is always involved in the process. All of this relates to my work: using the public, displaying in public, and speaking to a vital issue.


Bio: Duwin was raised in Buenos Aires and has lived in New York, Toyko, and Miami. She uses her work primarily to explore feminine concepts and uses feminine art forms (weaving, sewing, knitting) to reinforce this concept. Her current work focuses on birth, reproduction, portraits, and postcards.


Quotes:
"The materials that I use surround me, and call to me to be used--they are scraps of fabric and thread and vegetable dyes, as well as the words and snippets of conversation that engulf me as I navigate the world."

"Most of my work pulls the viewer in, to observe it as close as possible, with the ultimate aim of spiriting the viewer within it."

Source for both: "Miami Photo." Natasha Duwin. N.p., 23 May 2008. Web. 14 Nov 2010. .


Links:
Artist Website
Gallery Rep
Interview

VMFA

Images submitted to VMFA:
4 pieces from my Location Series
4 pieces from my most recent HDR series


Turned in to the VMFA on Thursday November 11, 2010.

Idea Post #9

Idea Post #9

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Sculpture-in-the-Round


"I really don't have a theme when I start a sculpture. The rock guides me to the final sculpture. I think that is true for many creative sculpture artists."
Jimmy Carl Black
Carl Black, Jimmy. Interview. Sculpture Quote. Web. 10 Nov 2010. .

"Painting and sculpture are very archaic forms. It's the only thing left in our industrial society where an individual alone can make something with not just his own hands, but brains, imagination, heart maybe."
Philip Guston
Guston, Philip. Interview. Sculpture Quote. Web. 10 Nov 2010. .

Marquand, Allan. A Text-Book of the History of Sculpture. Print. This book is pretty much exactly how it sounds. It is useful for anything related to the history of sculpture. It spends a great deal of the book discussing the true "sculpture-in-the-round" from greek and roman art times. This book walks you through all the important elements of sculpture.

I've recently been investigating sculpture-in-the-round because of my interest in rock paintings, rock art, and rock sculptures. I have also been looking into sculpture for some possible ideas for my chalk drawing photos. I am hoping that researching different kinds of sculpture in the round will help me get inspired for the next phase of my project. When suggesting formal product shot images to the class of proposed rock drawings, they encouraged me to rethink things. Now, I am more confused than ever and looking for inspiration in other places, such as sculpture.

Simon Tarr Questions/Response

Simon Tarr Artist Lecture
Questions: November 8, 2010

1) Is it important to you to use alternative types of technology and imagery (like in FUD) to alter the view of the audience?

2) Do you tend to use sarcasm and humor as reoccurring theme, like in Growing up Luke, or are films like this supposed to be taken seriously? Is there a further meaning in your films like this or does this just speak to childhood, fun, and humor?


Response

Quotes:

"I discovered early on that I am more of a hunter-gatherer of a filmmaker." (I think this quote really speaks to the way Simon Tarr makes artwork. He typically uses found footage or what he calls "castoff" footage and pieces it back together in a way that seems fitting for a particular project. So calling himself a hunter-gatherer is fairly accurate.)

"You guys are like my academic grandchildren."

"This may or may not be hardcore pornography- just throwin that out there."

"You don't wanna reuse 3-D glasses; that's how you get pink eye. I, however, have my own flip-ups."


Three words: Experimental, found-footage, and color.


The most interesting thing I discovered about this artist was the unexpected element of performance. I knew Simon Tarr was a video artist, and even after the announcement that he would be making a performance, I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen. I think the fact that he found out how to create a film that could be altered and manipulated on the spot was really fascinating. I really enjoyed the fact that he could shorten, lengthen, and rearrange the film as need be for the specific audience he was performing for.

Simon Tarr didn't discuss the film I had questioned him about (Growing Up Luke) but he did show the film FUD. He talked about how he made the film, with security camera footage on two different channels, and described to us the fact that he could alter the colors based on the different footage.

I found Tarr's remmake and "undit" of the Nanook of the North film. I enjoyed his explanation about his position similar to the directors as staging a film that is supposed to be a documentary. Also, aesthetically I enjoyed this film because of the interesting and unusual imagery. The fact that he was putting it together on the spot and the imagery was so unusual was really interesting.

Artist Post #10

Artist Post #10

November 8, 2010

Lee Walton


Relation: Lee Walton just completed a public art project about a month ago called, "Momentary Performances.” In different locations around Atlanta, Georgia, Vinyl text was installed in public areas everyday for a month. He would use a certain location each day of the week (a market on Mondays, a University building on Tuesdays, etc.) This simple action was used to formalize people’s everyday actions. It was used to amplify an everyday action so that daily occurrences became celebrated events in order to “blur the line between real-life and theater.” I feel like this work relates to my work because of it’s installation in a public area where the viewers reaction makes part of the piece, and also because it uses text in outdoor locations. Also, the public directly influenced the outcome of these installations, because the text was made up on the spot to speak about a person nearby at that moment.

Video documentation of this project is here.


Artist Biography:
Lee Walton calls himself an experimentalist (a term which I've come to love by the way.) His work exists in many mediums such as video games, drawings, videos, web-based performances, etc. Most of his projects are independently funded by specific groups and most of his projects serve a very specific purpose. Walton holds an MFA in visual arts from the California College of the Arts and he is now a professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. In addition to teaching, he gives lectures frequently around the country.


Quotes:
"I have found it more useful or meaningful to integrate art into my life rather than separate it."

"Ironically, art is thought to be the most free form of creativity, yet is a constant battle of liberation."

Source for both: Walton, Lee. In the Conversation: Art Talk Outside the Cube. Interview by Joseph Del Pesco. 16 Sep 2006. Print. 7 Nov 2010. .

Links:
Gallery Rep
Website
Interview

Graduate Schools

When I began looking into graduate schools, I decided that I wanted to apply for a masters in advertising instead of photography. I did a lot of research at the schools I was applying to, to make sure this was allowed. Although allowed at UF, you really have to prove yourself and why they should chose you over someone with an advertising bachelors. I am excited for the chance to prove myself to these schools, the chance for a fresh start at a new place. The University of Florida MBA program would be a great fit for me. My sister recently signed with the UF swim team, and that sparked my initial interest in the school. I began researching all of their MBA programs and found out that the Advertising Master’s at UF is actually rated second in the nation for advertising! The more research I did on the program and the school itself, the more excited I got about it. The program looks unique because of the strong school spirit of the gators mixed with the superior academics will make it a very exciting place to attend school.

Highlighting the work of a student and a professor will be a little different for me, considering I am not dealing with photographers anymore, but I will still feature one of each. Mike Weigold was a professor of advertising at the University of Florida since 1989 and during a successful advertising career. In addition, he has written dissertations about science communications and the media messages about science. He completed an interdisciplinary social science journal with a special issue on understanding the public communication of science and technology. Recently, Weigold was honored with the title of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs and Enrollment Management, in addition to his responsibilities as a professor in the department of advertising.

Highlighting the work of a student, is again, difficult considering they have no artwork to show. The current graduate studies student I am featuring's name is Anabell Iglesias. She is a Fullbright Fellow from El Salvador who entered through a Mass Communications program. Her work while at the University of Florida has dealt with various applications of international communications. Her thesis is titled “A Media Relations Application of Social Media for Public Relations and Corporate Communications in Latin America.” She has also received two awards, “Outstanding International Student Award” by the University of Florida as well as a “Certificate of Outstanding Academic Achievement” by the University of Florida’s International Center.

The next graduate school I looked into was the University of Texas at Austin. What really attracted me to this graduate program, besides it’s high ranking as an advertising graduate school and it’s overwhelming community, was the way they walk you through the program. When researching grad schools, it seemed like a lot of them gave you some guidelines and through you out there to complete the work and come back to them when you were at a finishing point. University of Texas has specific guides to help you through the process (example: GradGuide) as well as ample amounts of campus services that are always on stand by for questions and overall guidance. The feel of this school is a good-natured and friendly atmosphere and that mixed with their exceptional advertising reputation made this a unique choice for me.

Kathleen Mabley is the director of communications for graduate studies at the University of Texas. She is a professor of classes in the graduate program, but also has hands on experience considering she handles the brand and marketing for the school. She focuses on public relations and creating publications and online resources to support the graduate community. She is the primary relationship developer between key internal and external bodies throughout the University and she plays a big role in the fund-raising efforts as well.

Manny Gonzalez is a current graduate student who is running the GSA, Graduate Student Assembly this year. This is a governing boy for the University of Texas’ graduate students where the students running it are elected from the 12,000 graduate students attending. This is one of the organizations that drew me into this school, and Gonzalez is one of the students that reports the findings to the Vice-Provost and the Dean of Graduate Studies. These meetings discuss health insurance for graduate students, housing, current dilemmas they are facing, the goals of the year, etc. For 2010-2011, Gonzalez has been trying to educate state legislators about the importance of supporting higher education with more funds. While collaborating with other state and national organizations, Manny is trying to raise awareness for this problem.

Idea Post #8

Idea Post #8

November 4, 2010

Interview


Quotes:

"I accepted the interviews and encounters that had to be held with the media, but I would have preferred to work in peace."
Naguib Mahfouz
Source: Naguib, Mahfouz. "Interview Quotes." N.p., 2001. Web. 4 Nov 2010. .


"I do interviews because it's a chance to be myself. I sometimes wonder what I could have to say that would be of any interest. I don't have any great wisdom."
Parker Stevenson
Stevenson, Parker. "Interview Quotes." N.p., 2001. Web. 4 Nov 2010. .


Annotated Bibliography:
Mooman, Pamela. "How to Conduct an Effective Interview." Suite101. N.p., 05 May 2009. Web. 4 Nov 2010. .
When I was researching different materials on how to conduct an interview, I was coming up short. I kept finding sources for job interviews, and that's not really the kind of interview process I was talking about. I ended up finding this website that is made for innovation for writers, and this article fits the bill pretty well. It goes through some pretty elaborate tips on how to ask the right questions and how to phrase those questions. It's a pretty good resource, even though it isn't in book form.
Relation: The next part of my project is finding the answer to the question I asked. I have started interviewing influential people in the lives of the next generation, seeking an answer to the question. For my idea post this week, I thought it would be helpful to learn a little bit more about conducting interviews, since I see myself doing this a lot from here on out. I have started to get a database full of answers and am trying to decide how to organize these answers to establish patterns.

Zoe Beloff Questions/Response

Artist Lecture: Zoe Beloff
Questions: October 31, 2010

1) You work with such an extensive array of mediums (performance, film, photography, drawings, etc). It seems most of your work has to do with state of mind and the connection between mindsets, do you try and keep a similar theme throughout each medium you use?

2) I think something that stands out the most from your website, besides your work of course, is the fact that you have information up about your family. It is so interesting that you have photos and information about your specific family members. Do you have this information available because you want us to know something about them, because they fit into the themes of your work, or simply because of their support as your family? Whatever the reason, I haven't seen a family page like that before and I love it.


Zoe Beloff Response

It was hard to get a quote from Zoe Beloff because she read so perfectly from her notes. My favorite off-the-fly comments she made were probably:

"I went to visit these little people, who have finally made it to London, and they didn't even remember me!!"

"I like to think about these movies as psychoanalytic materials."

"I think of this as my contribution to the history of dreams." (This one is my favorite because I know she is being sincere. I was moved by her passion for what she was talking about and the genuine hope she had that her work was changing history. History of dreams anyway.)

"Being Albert Grass gave me opportunities that I wouldn't normally have had."


Three words to describe Zoe and her work would probably be: melodramatic, narrative, and blurry fabrication.


It is easy to name the most interesting thing I learned during this lecture. I learned that I was fooled! I was completely duped and I think everyone else in the room was too! Her lecture was not a lecture at all- it was an informative performance. She gave an entire speech about this man, Arthur Glass. She showed us his picture, talked about the ties he had to Coney Island, the sketches he made for his amusement park idea, the oddities of his being, his personal dreams, his personal diaries, the comic books he made, the things he struggled with, etc. We learned about intimate details about the life of this man and his roles in the society she was working with on Coney Island... I had no doubt that she had studied this man and his accomplishments and his personal habits for her Coney Island exhibit. And she drops the bomb on us at the end of his fabrication? This was not only the most interesting aspect of her lecture, but also the piece I found most compelling. Because it's a trick! Her performance was flawless. No one doubted her until she revealed herself at the end. I am still thoroughly confused about who hired her for the Coney Island exhibit if that Psychoanalytical Society she talked about doesn't really exist. It was also so interesting because we learned SO much about Zoe as an artist and as a person because she became this alternate figure. And it was great to see her genuine excitement when she so calmly admitted her secret at the end of the lecture.


My original questions about the medium were answered twice. She said medium doesn't concern her, she thinks about what she is doing and how she can best do it and the medium fits in afterward. The question about her family was not addressed, but upon further investigation of her website, I think it is obvious that her family means a great deal to her and effects her work constantly.

Artist Post #9

Artist Post #9

November 1, 2010

Shepard Fairey


Relation: I have finally started to find some artists that really relate to what I'm trying to do. Through various works and through various mediums, Shepard Fairey has successfully spread messages. He has began "experiments" that took off in a huge way and became giant public art pieces run by individual people. His art, sometimes called "street art" is based on the idea that a message can take off outside of gallery walls. I am newly excited by his work and the amount of success he had with it outside the art world. One of the slogans (borrowed from Marshall McLuhan) that Fairey uses frequently is "The Medium is the Message."



Biography: Shepard Fairey is a graphic designer and an illustrator. He grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and attended the Idyllwild Arts Academy as well as the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. He began placing drawings on Tshirts and skateboards and sending them out into the skateboarding community. He became most well-known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (OBEY) sticker campaign. In this campaign he appropriated images from supermarket tabloids and the stickers took off around the world. The more recent Barak Obama "HOPE" poster made Institute of Contemporary Art call him "one of today's best known and most influential street artists."


Quotes:
"When I started to see reactions and consider the sociological forces at work surrounding the use of public space and the insertion of a very eye-catching but ambiguous image, I began to think there was the potential to create a phenomenon."

"I became obsessed with the idea of spreading the image further and was surprised by how many people were willing to spread the stickers to other cities based on the template established in Providence or an explanation of the concept."

Source for both:
Fairey, Shepard. Intervew by Stephen Heller. 04 Jun 2004. AIGA. Web. 31 Oct 2010. .



Links:
Interview
Artist Website
Gallery

Sumbissions to Contests/Exhibitions

Submission and Acceptance to Cary Street Gym Art Space

September 29, 2010



Eight pieces were accepted. My dancer series is on display downstairs in the Cary St Gym and my panoramic series is on display upstairs.


Work on the Cary St Gym Website: http://vcurecsports.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/cary-street-gym-art-space/

Submission to PDNedu Student Competition:
October 30th, 2010

Idea Post #7

Idea Post #7

Thursday October 28, 2010

Public Art



Quotes:
“Public art brings variety, energy and life to our public spaces. The One Percent for Art Program compliments this town's thriving art community and it serves as a testimonial to our elected officials' dedication to the city's cultural heritage and vision for the future.”
-Porter Arneill
Source: ThinkExist.com Quotations. “Porter Arneill quotes”. ThinkExist.com Quotations Online 1 Sep. 2010. 27 Oct. 2010


"I wished to go completely outside and to make a symbolic start for my enterprise of regenerating the life of humankind within the body of society and to prepare a positive future in this context."
-Joseph Beuys
Source: "Inspirtational Art Quotes and Fine Artists." Art Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct 2010. .


Annotated Bibliography:
Knight, Cher. Public Art. City: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008.
This book will provide you with a nice overview of the history and development of public art in the United States. It features the most famous and well-known examples of public art in the country and talks about the use of public art in commercial instances as well as fine art purposes.


Relation:
I am beginning to consider my chalk drawings public art. I hadn't thought of it this way in the past, but I am realizing that this particular aspect of the Future Campaign has an air of public art to it. It is a public piece purposefully placed in a place where it will be seen by people outside of a gallery. I think the term "public art" relates to my work more and more as I work on spreading the word through chalk text. The other facets of this project won't necessarily be "public art," but this type of art is definitely similar to my chalk drawings.

Artist Post #8

Artist Post #8

October 25, 2010

David Harding

Background:
Finding information about David Harding is very difficult, but he is really necessary for me to feature here. David Harding worked mostly between the 60s and the 70s and believes in the importance of public art. He is a Scottish artist and his work stays primarily around Scotland, England, and Wales. He is concerned with the history and development of public art as it's social context. He is a professor at the infamous Glasglow School of Art and then became the director of sculpture there. He prides himself on being able to discover how this practice can be spread through education.


Relation:
David Harding's work uses text in public areas, as my current work does. He uses text in stone, sidewalks, and walls, and even has children install text-altered bricks into brick walls. He even did some collaborations with poets in Scotland to create walkways with text embedded inside. He considers himself a "town-artist" and has written several books about his adventures through Scotland spreading his art and his messages. This is exactly what I want to do. I want to use text in both public and private spaces to spread an idea. Work like this that is so similar and so successful gives me confidence that a system of "spreading the word" like this can work.


Quotes:
"For me, the base of art was broadened and democratized with the recognition that there should be cultural democracy, which means lots of cultures existing side by side."

"Mainly what has happened in Britain is that the social development and recreation sections of city councils have employed artists. There must be, I think, some 20 or so towns in the U.K. that employ artists in ways other than for, say, graphics and exhibitions. These artists are employed mainly to contribute to social and cultural development."

Source:
David Harding. Community Arts Network. The Reading Room. Interview by Moira Roth. Spring 1986. Web. Oct 2010.


Links:
Artist Website
Interview
Representation

Note: These pieces were made in the 60s and 70s and documentation of the work is very difficult to track down. The artist's website has tons of information about the work and the artist, but not one image.

Artist Post #7

Artist Post #7

October 18, 2010

Jenny Holzer



Relation:

Jenny Holzer's work relates to my senior portfolio project on the issue of text. Holzer uses text and writing in public spaces to spread an idea. She began with posters and LED lighted signs and then began using a wide array of mediums like bronze plaques, painted signs, stone benches, stickers, T-shirts, etc. Between 1977 and 2001, she used self-written texts. In 1993, she began using texts written by others. She has also turned to texts from important documents recently. For example she has been using de-classified US Army documents from the Iraq War. Her main goal in using text is to enlighten the public on issues that are usually kept quiet. This also relates to my work. The idea in my project isn't something that is kept "hidden" like in Holzer's work, but it is a topic that people seem to turn a blind eye to.


Biography:

Jenny Holzer was born in Ohio and mainly fits under the category of "American conceptual artist." As far as schooling is concerned, she first attended Ohio University, then the Rhode Island School of Design, and then completed an Independent Study through the Whitney Museum of American Art. She originally worked mainly with abstract art and then moved into text as her main concept. Her work now focuses on heavy topics such as violence, oppression, power, war, and death.


Quotes:

"I’ve spent a fair amount of time alone, on my work, and so it’s with real joy that I go to other people to make something larger than I could have done solo."
Source:
Holzer, Jenny. Art:21Intervew. PBS. Web. 14 Oct 2010. .


"Listening has become my habit because hopefully, by the end of the day, I can make the artwork more fitted."
Source:
Holzer, Jenny. The Poetry Foundation. Intervew by John Yau and Shelley Jackson . 07 Jun 2006. Web. 14 Oct 2010. .



Links:
Gallery Rep #1
Gallery Rep #2
Artist Website
Interview

Idea Post #6

Idea Post #6

October 14, 2010

Advertising

Considering advertising is a pretty broad topic, I figured I should chose quotes from the Ad Legends for my advertising experts:

Quotes:

“I have a theory that the best ads come from personal experience. Some of the good ones I have done have really come out of the real experience of my life, and somehow this has come over as true and valid and persuasive.“
David Ogilvy

Source:

"David Ogilvy." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2010. 14 October. 2010. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/david_ogilvy.html

“It is insight into human nature that is the key to the communicator's skill. For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it. He therefore becomes a student of how people read or listen.”
William Bernbach

Source: "William Bernbach." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2010. 14 October. 2010. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_bernbach.html

Annotated Bibliography:

Sullivan, Luke. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This!. New York: Wiley, 2008.

I know this book well. We are reading this book in my advertising class and to be honest, it’s brilliant. It’s an easy read written in a comical, whitty way and it teaches you the ins and outs on how to get your message to the consumer. It does not give you the history of advertising, but for my project, this book works perfectly. For what I’m doing I don’t need the history, I need to know the facts… the details on how to reach a target audience with a specific message. This book is great for that.

Relation:

When trying to think about what word or topic relates to my work this week, I was getting a little stumped because my tactic hasn’t changed in the last few weeks. But if I really think about what I am doing with this project, the main tactic I am using is simply advertising. In my opinion, all advertising is is spreading a message to an audience in a creative way. Isn’t that exactly what I’m doing? Maybe looking more into tactics used to spread advertising to the target audience will help me think of different ways to distribute my message.

Artist Post #6

Artist Post #6

October 11, 2010

Bruce Nauman

Background:
Beginning with a degree in mathematics, Bruce Nauman quickly went back to school for a degree in art. He worked as an assistant and then began teaching at the San Fransisco Art Institute. Nauman's work tends to be presented in a playful and mischievous way. In most of his work, he explores the power of language and uses text to send a message to the viewer. He started out with exhibitions at Nick Wilder's galleries in New York and Los Angeles and made it to the Whitney Museum in 1972.


Relation:
I see a huge connection between Nauman's work and the direction my project is going lately. Nauman sometimes uses sculpture, sometimes photography, and sometimes video to present the concepts he cares about. His many pieces all take different directions, but a certain portion of his work (the many neon pieces in particular) are interesting to me because of their use of text. Nauman's work explores the use of language and communication as my project does. Although I am spreading one message, and he spreads many, the concept is similar. I am so enthralled with the many directions I can take this project in, recently, all of which involve using text and imagery together to spread a message. Nauman embodies this theory in much of his work. He frequently uses only one word, or one phrase in repetition to portray what he would like to say. This work is inspiring to me.


Quotes:
"If you're an amateur artist, you can get it sometimes and not other times and you can't tell and you can't always do it over again. And the part about being a professional artist is that you can tell and you can do it over again, even if you can't say how you got there exactly. You've done it enough and you know how to get there."

"...Part of the enjoyment I take in it is finding the most efficient way to do it, which doesn't mean the corrections aren't made. I like to have a feeling of the whole task before I start, even if it changes."

Source:
"Setting a Good Corner." Art:21. Bruce Nauman Interview and Videos. PBS, 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2010.

Links:
Gallery Rep
Another Gallery Rep
Interview
Site

Idea Post #5

Idea Post #5

October 6, 2010


Chalk Art


Quotes:

""Once I realized you could make things go down, I realized you could make them appear to go up and I began experimenting." -Julian Beever

"My art is for anybody, it's for people who wouldn't go into an art gallery. It's art for the people. Art shouldn't be locked away in galleries and libraries and books. Art should be for everybody and not just art boffins, historians and so-called experts." -Julian Beever

Source for both: Loat, Sarah. "Pavment Picasso." BBC-Birmingham-Entertainment. BBC, Feb 2006. Web. 6 Oct 2010. .

Annotated Bibliography:

Beever, Julian. Pavment Chalk Artist: The Three-Dimensional Drawings of Julian Beever. Firefly Books, 2010. Print.
This book is hot off the presses; still only available for pre-ordering. Although I haven't seen it in person yet, obviously, I looked through the images online and they are just mind blowing. The work of this artist is shocking in the ability to transform a flat boring surface into an amazingly realistic and 3D piece of street art. The book is definitely worth looking into!


Relation:

Chalk art is a little outside of the realm of my work, but using the same medium. This week I focused on the use of chalk as a material in spreading a message for my project. That sparked my interest in chalk art for this week's idea post. Chalk art is fascinating and I love to look at it, but it doesn't actually relate to my work this week besides the medium used, and the fact that we are both trying to spread a message on sidewalks using this medium.

Julika Rudelius: Questions/Response

Artist Lecture
Questions to ask

Julika Rudelius

1) Most of your video work seems to be aimed towards the communication of a political message? Are their certain topics you find yourself dealing with more than others, or are you trying to cover as many pieces of the political spectrum as possible? In other words, are their certain political topics you feature that really touch you in a personal way, or is the aim of your political work more to create communication about a possibly controversial issue?

2) Many of your video pieces involve the participant's conversations being led or directed in some way by your questioning, that is then cut out of the video. Do you feel that this swaying of participant's opinion's is necessary? Is it always crucial to direct their conversations in this hidden way? Would the footage be as effective, or perhaps more effective, if the conversation was free to go in any direction? Or does this line of questioning provide a more desired outcome?



Artist Lecture Response


Most interesting quote:

• "Working with the rich and powerful people became a sport. What fascinates me enormously about rich and powerful people is that they don't care at all what you think. They're kinda entertained. It's great for film, and it must be a great state to be in...completely oblivious... but it's really kinda weird." This quote was funny, sad, and true to me. The quote is very true about the piece and it was interesting to me how none of her subjects seemed to care about the satirical and somewhat offensive portrait she was painting of them.

Other interesting quotes:

• "Am I allowed to show this stuff in America?"
• "I found a checklist on how to know if someone's a psychopath. The interesting thing is that you need all the elements on the list to be successful in business, too. So I wanted to cast both millionaires and psychopaths, but it's really hard to cast psychopaths because you can't really detect them until they're screwing you."
• "I don't know if they liked it or not... but nobody ever sued me..."
• "No... they are my creations."
• "I had them make Polaroids of themselves as a modern mirror, especially because I am fascinated with the fact that this extreme use of plastic surgery is probably because of all the photos that are taken of you."
• "I had such a desire for truth especially in the political world, but I think it's kinda a lie itself when you say you have "truth" in you documentary. So I'd rather use a technique that deals with that. When you start messing with the devil, you have to know when to stop."
  

Three Words:

Deceptive, clever, and manipulative


Interesting Discoveries:

From the work I had looked at before the lecture, I was really confused. I could see the nature of her work as unveiling the truth in the subject's personality... but I could also read in the descriptions of her work that she was coaching them. I didn't understand how there was any believability or integrity in the work she was showing, if she was secretly telling the subjects what to say. After the lecture, it all made sense. I was fascinated after I heard her explain that these subjects were indeed "her creations" and that there was little truth to them at all. The words they spoke were their own, but were specifically guided and crafted by Julika to use the technique of "manipulated truth" and "false authenticity." The use of purposeful manipulation to create a half-truth is very interesting when use intentionally.


Answers:

My first question was kind of answered by watching a range of work. She told us what she was interested in and we watched work with enough different themes that I don't believe her work is more politically aimed towards one theme more than another. The second question was answered extensively and is explained in my above response.


Most compelling work:

I think for me the most interesting work was about the women in the Hamptons. All the work was so different and so powerful, they each have extremeley compelling elements to them. But I believe I enjoyed the Hampton Women the most because it was so unusual. The women acted to happy and full of themselves, but to me it was obvious they were unhappy. The aura in that video was so eerie and strange and overall entertaining to watch.

Artist Post #5

Artist Post #5

October 5, 2010

Susan Barnett


Relation:
I am so excited about this work. For the past few weeks, I have been really focusing on distribution. Not distribution of photographs at all, but distribution of a message. I want to focus on different ways to spread a concept, and using photography as the documentation of that process. This particular series by Susan Barnett called Not In Your Face works with a very similar theme. Barnett uses t-shirts to spread ideas of her participants. The t-shirts sometimes included words, and other times included imagery. The project was all about self-identity, for Barnett's participants. She used photography to help them spread their own messages through this process. Wearing these shirts around town as well as in these photographs validate the opinions of the participants and advertise their dreams, hopes, loves, hates, political beliefs, etc. In these images, unlike the usual portraiture, the faces of the people are not shown making the information on the shirts become their entire personality to the viewers.


Artist Information:
Susan Barnett started out with a degree in photojournalism from Marymount College. After working in the industry for a while, Barnett went back to school to receive two more degrees in graphic design and photography. Her first big success as a photographer was a series entitled After Neon which addressed the fading neon signs in Manhattan. Her next big hit was the series I discussed before.


Quotes:
"This is an aspect of society that may not register with everyone, but the fact that these people are willing to wear their message on their back indicates they want to be seen and are involved in a kind of street performance art."

"A collective consciousness appears when the photos are grouped together with similar political slogans and personal imperatives."

Source for both:
"Not in your face." Lens Culture; Photography and Shared Territories. 2010. Web. 2 Oct 2010.


Links:
Artist Website
Gallery Representation
Interview

Idea Post #5

September 30, 2010
Idea Post #5

Propaganda


“(Propaganda) proceeds by psychological manipulations, character modifications, by creation of stereotypes useful when the time comes - The two great routes that this sub-propaganda takes are the conditioned reflex and the myth.”
-Jacques Ellul
Source: Ellul, Jacques. "Think Exist." Propaganda . N.p., 2010. Web. 29 Sep 2010.

"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society."
-Edward Bernays
Source: Bernays, Edward and Mark Miller. Propaganda. City: Ig Publishing, 2005.

Annotated Bibliography:
Bernays, Edward and Mark Miller. Propaganda. City: Ig Publishing, 2005.
This book is a good resources for the basics of what is propaganda. Organized by sections of usage in time periods, it begins with the propaganda in the world wars. It deals with the necessity of the propaganda in spreading messages.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the correct and effective way to spread a message. Propaganda usually refers to spreading a message in a conniving, devious way but the actual definition just deals with promoting an idea. This need to spread a message in any means possible has been on my mind a lot recently. I am hoping to focus my efforts on distribution of a concept for the next few weeks.

Miguel Palma Questions/Response

Artist Lecture #2 (Sculpture Department)
September 28, 2010

Miguel Palma

1) It looks like your pieces are sort of themed by year. For example, it looks like in 2006, you focused on issues of transportation whereas in 2007 there were a lot of architecture pieces and in 2009 there were pieces based off of scientific phenomena. Do you feel like one piece leads you into another piece? Or do you chose themes for your work each year?

2) Some of the themes of your pieces seem to carry two completely different meanings. "The Race" for example dealt with transportation, but was actually used as a piece to describe how the "artist" works. Do you tend to bring multiple concepts together through a single piece?


Favorite Quotes:
(Because of the language barrier, getting quotes was difficult, but here were my favorites:)

• "The vase became much more interesting in pieces. Then during the restoration, the pieces became rich."
• "The video is quiet nice. You just see a tsunami and people dying."
• "By keeping the worms alive, the piece pies. It's a nice metaphor for life, ya know."
• "It's supposed to have volume, but just imagine Japanese people and American people talking."
• "Did you take any drugs?" -Audience Member. "Yes." -Artist
  

Three words:
Complex, detailed, and large-scale.


Most interesting fact about the artist:
A lot of his work deals with construction and deconstruction to show power of one thing over another. He likes to show these themes in ways that evoke "peace and stability." He is also extremely clever. Sometimes with the language differences it was hard to pick up on his whitty nature, but the best example of his humorous ways lays in his explanation of his safe sculpture. He was commissioned to make an art piece and given a large sum of money to create it. He put all the money in a large safe and sat the safe in the gallery. When the exhibit was over, he spent all the money and said he lost the sculpture in a move. I mean, who does that? And tells the audience about it?


Answer to the original questions:
The answer to my question about the organization of themes by year was not addressed, but it seemed pretty clear that there was no intention in organizing it that way versus another. For him, he said he works on many projects at the same time, and finishes when he finishes, so I think most likely one project led to another in a logical way. My second question about transportation was asked by another audience member and it seems that transportation is just an important issue to him and he tends to make work about pollution, etc.


Most compelling piece:
One of the most powerful pieces to me was the car that he created that had a canvas system attached to the back of the vehicle. The exhaust emissions created landscapes on the canvases as he drove. It was an impressive display of cleverness and effectiveness in proving pollution issues. As Palma put it, "I like low-budget special effects."

Artist Post #4

Artist Post #4

Monday, September 27, 2010

Francis Alys


Francis Alys' work is engaging and interesting. Although my favorite project of his is probably his Seven Walks project in London, I think his piece that relates the most to my work is called Sleepers. Alys begins his project Sleepers while residing in Mexico City. He photographs people sleeping on the streets within walking distance to and from his studio. The interesting part of this, and the part that relates to mine the most, is the fact that he photographs and makes commentary as a foreigner. He is the outsider, and he is the one bringing light to an issue in their society. Similarly, I will be trying to raise awareness about an issue that for me began in a foreign country.



Alys attended the Institute of Architecture in Venice before he moved to Mexico City. He works in many mediums including video, photography, painting, animation, and writing. He travels frequently for his work with the David Zwirner Gallery, but always finds his way back to Mexico City. His work has been shown in an extraordinary amount of exhibitions around the world including Tate Modern in London, The Renaissance Society in Chicago, The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and many more internationally.


Quotes:
"The periods of not moving forward or not pushing are also important- things are moving through inertia."

"It's like being a double agent. No matter how long I've been away, I have one foot in a European culture, and one foot out. Maybe I enjoy having a double reading, having both an insider and an outsider point of view. A lot of my work plays on that double status."

Source: Alys, Francis. Seven Walks; London, 2004-5. London: Artangel, 2005. Print


Links:
Gallery Reps
Interview
Artist Website