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.