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>>Posts about artists relevant to my work >>Posts about my works as they are made >>Commentary on issues in the art world >>posts reflecting on art events and activities |
1/7/2019 1 Comment Connect: Monuments for a New Era and States Are Using Preservation Laws to Block the Removal of Confederate MonumentsAlthough we have learned some information about the Confederate monuments issue through our public art presentations and curiosity pages, the articles “Monuments for a New Era” and “States Are Using Preservation Laws to Block the Removal of Confederate Monuments” shed new light and new perspective on the issue of dealing with this statues in Virginia as well as the rest of the United States. The articles helped to build on what we have already learned by including what comes after the take-down of certain monuments. The “States Are Using Preservation Laws” article focused on the legal and political sides of this issue, while the “Monuments for a New Era” focused on the public interpretations of the issue and how artists thought the monuments should be interpreted in the future. Both articles and the sides they cover are necessary to develop a rounded understanding of this complex public art issue.
The articles provide a slight background on the issue, which compares to the other information covered in class. In the “States are Using Preservation Laws” article, the author writes on the process of de-confederalization states had been going through before the popularity of the statue issue, “Indeed, some states grappled with an earlier iteration of this debate in the early 2000s, around the time that Georgia removed the Confederate flag from its state flag, and South Carolina moved a Confederate flag that flew above its statehouse dome to the statehouse grounds” (p. 2) The article also mentions afterward that the process to replace one of its Confederate monuments was purely accidental, and interestingly blew up the issue as seen on page 2 of the same article: "The statue fell and broke, prompting a period of debate and reflection for the town, which was covered extensively by the Washington Post ...But between the time the statue fell and the townspeople decided on what to do next, Alabama passed a law preventing the alteration of any memorial that has been standing for at least 40 years.” The community had already decided to replace the monument with something less controversial, yet faced obstacles from the state. Once again, the issue that we have covered in past seminars comes up. What role should government have on art, especially public art? While it is obvious that taxes and government budgets fund the public art, the community should have the ability to influence its opinions, even by appealing to the state level. The community models the changing times, and with it public art of should be symbolic the period, even if it requires altering or replacing the past monuments. Other opinions are showcased in the article “Monuments for a New Era”. However, here the issue of remembrance comes up. Although I agree the existence of the Confederate monuments should be acknowledged for the purpose of education, the question of how theme should be executed comes up. In the censorship seminar discussed in class, debates over artist rights came up, and whether alteration is a form of censorship or whether it strengthens the work by adding history. In this situation, the government is responsible for what happens to the monument, and as the government changes, the opinions it represents also changes, and so alteration or replacement should be acceptable, especially considering the negative connotations of the statues. Although some of the artist ideas did not necessarily appeal to me, I realize that this changes from person to person, as it would be with any public art. And as with any public art comes the issue of regarding public opinion. More specifically, on page 3 of the “Monuments of a New Era” article, the author writes “This reimagined monument transforms visitors from spectators of history to participants in a shared memory.” This statement embodies the issues of replacing the Confederate monuments well, as the communities engaging in these removals need to think about how the monuments were and are meant to be statements, and thought must go into their replacement/alteration that will be seen for years to come. The whole reason these monuments are being removed is because they are controversial, but becoming educated in the issue could allow the public to recognize what the statues represent. Kenya Robinson writes in the article, “Keep the statues. Keep the men on their horses, or at the top of the stepson Wall Street, or with a right hand forever tucked into a fitted vest, or with a finger pointed to a horizon of stolen riches” (p. 11) She recognizes that the statues are constant reminders of “bad” things from American History. But when is replacement of a monument a better idea than alteration? Her idea was to incorporate a sanctuary African gray parrots around the Charlottesville monument and cover it in peanut butter as the parrots chattered with visitors. This idea is interesting as it maintains the history of the monuments, yet adapts them to modern ideas. I realize the issue is very much financial as it is political, and remember the presentation which touched on how monuments are sources for tourism. In D.C. the national mall is very much an example of this, and Monument Avenue in Richmond is scenic as well as historic. Some proposed ideas for the replacement of the Charlottesville Monument such as those by Dread Scott and Ekene Ijeoma show polar opposites of how the monuments should be showcased. Scott’s monument would render the surrounding traffic circle useless, and Ijeoma’s monument incorporates the public in a long trek to the top of a tower and back. Since the monument’s replacement is meant to educate the public and make them think about the past more deeply, is an interactive monument more appropriate? Or should it become uncomfortable to remind the public of the scale of the issue of slavery during the period? As Scott wanted to name his monument, “‘The Legacy of Slavery Is in the Way of Progress and Will Be Until America, Which Benefits From That Legacy, Has Been Replaced With a Completely Different Society.’” (P1) But of course, an equally important question is, which type of monument will attract more people? The information presented by the “States are Using Prevention Laws” and “Monuments of a New Era” caused me to ask new questions, most likely those that have already been circled around the monument replacement community already. The more I learn, the more I understand the conflict is very complicated, with many sides. However, the overarching theme seems to be asking those that want to change the Confederate Monuments why they want to do so and how they will incorporate the history of the location in their stead. With legal and political bars, this theme in public art is one I would like to continue to follow, as the process itself is also symbolic of how times change and how people can work to destroy past ideals.
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12/10/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 8Ive finished my first painting and am working on the remaining three during the snowdays. I’m pretty sure this First blue one will probably stay my favorite, just because of the detail and it’s interesting composition. Although I started with acrylic on it, I moved to watercolor so I wouldn’t have to mix colors as often and because it is usually easier to layer and create smooth spots with. I look forward to painting these and am still thinking about how to incorporate light into them as my running theme.
12/10/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 9Ive finished three of the paintings (I’m still not satisfied with the pink one and am working to push shadows and create contrast) and am pretty proud of myself. The whole process has been interesting—from making wood panels out of vinyl flooring to priming and finally painting with watercolor, I think this was a good direction to take and am excited to see what I plan to do for my next project.
12/8/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 7These are the final shots that I decided I will be painting. I edited them to emphasize contrast and shadows because I want to paint using arbitrary colors and this allows for an easier transfer.
11/30/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 6So far I've only laid the base coats on my four homemade wood panels. Although they're a little rough around the edges, I think once I paint on them the overhang shouldn't detract from the work. Also, I've been taking pictures of my subjects from different angles and messing with different compositions, which is a concept I really want to improve on with these works. 11/11/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 5I finally finished my home project. It turned out to be a real rollercoaster because I couldn't decide the best medium to portray my message. Finally, after switching from embroidery to painting on fabric to this, I chose to paint on glass using thin layers of watered down acrylic. I'm really proud of my final outcome (even though these pictures aren't of the final setup) and I don't think my message in any other medium would have been as strong. To reflect on my thought process as I was creating this piece: once I saw tissue slides under the microscope in my anatomy class, I knew I wanted to make something that could encompass even a fraction of what I experienced. The detail and scale of those tiny slides amazed me and caused me to consider them as tiny worlds on their own. This led to my final concept of embroidering (but later painting) pictures of the slides on larger bases and portraying them as planets. With the help of my 6th grade telescope, I received a very positive response from the class during my critique. Overall, I was very proud of my work and look forward to continue my running theme of parts of systems.
P.s. Unfortunately I did not apply anything to protect the paint on the glass, so it has been and will continue to scratch off easily. Hopefully I'll get access to resin or something in the future in which I can cover it. 11/3/2018 0 Comments Experience:First FridayLast night I went to a First Friday with a group and we saw most of the galleries on Broad Street. It wasn’t as busy as last year, when I went during Inlight, but it was still interesting to see the galleries. Most of the art we saw was abstract or non-objective, which reminded me of last year. But, my favorite gallery was an open studio we saw on the way to one of the mapped galleries. The artist collaged different art onto renaissance paintings on photoshop or in a real collage and then printed it on a canvas. Also, he used paint to create mesmerizing designs. When we walked into his studio I knew that if I ever got a studio space I would want it to look like that. Other than this stop, we also got to see Gallery 5 for my first time and they were selling in a market. Overall, this first Friday was a lot of fun and I can’t wait until Inlight later this month.
The transcript of the “Art of Controversy” and the article “Of Fig Leaves, Art and Other Disputes; Italy: the Great Fig-Leaf Debate” both discuss the role of censorship in the world of art through contemporary history. The Controversy article focused on the “Sensation” Exhibition of controversial young British artists at the New York’s Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Fig Leaves article focused on the issue with the intentional covering of frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. Although the articles featured works from different periods, both share a current concern what should and should not be revealed to the public eye.
One theme brought up by the Controversy article was the ability of a government to cut funding in public museums as a means to remove a work or collection from display. The transcript featured opinions from both sides of the argument. The discussion caused me to consider the role of government censorship in more conservative countries. How does the public respond if they do not have precedents of controversial exhibits as in the United States? More specifically, as I assume is discussed in the Ai Wei Wei article, in countries where the government has specific criteria in which art is created, how does the public react to challenging works? In countries like the Soviet Union of the past as well as the China of today, do countries such as the United States serve as a model for rights of artists? In this case, the counter-point in which the United States have also been found guilty for censorship should be brought up--just as it has in previous connect posts. However, the US also has a reason for this censorship, in which the government serves as the rightful critic in the sense of tax dollar management. (The Art of Controversial, p.5.) As certain museums are open to the general public, the ability of private and public galleries to house controversial works should be considered. The government does not have or should not have the capability of censoring controversial works in private institutions, as art is an important cultural symbol and functions as food for thought, but public galleries are able to continue art's purpose better with a greater audience. Extending the topic of labelling works as “inappropriate” is the concept of trigger warning or age limits. The “Sensation” exhibit had a age requirement of 17 or older or accompaniment by an adult (The Art of Controversy, p.4.) Here, viewers made a conscious decision to enter the gallery space and were to prepare themselves to be shocked or scared. So why was there a spark to censor the works? Why is freedom of expression used in limiting the freedom of expression of others? The work has been labelled as inappropriate and offensive, and this fact may cause individuals to make the decision to view these works as well as others and change their opinion as a result. Works usually have a message attached to them, and gallery spaces allow a vehicle for the message. While the speaker on the side of the government in the transcript sides with the fact that the mayor was not saying the works of “Sensation” should not be hidden away but could instead be exhibited in a private gallery, this provides another layer of censorship as well as the age requirement. However, the fact that the artists’ messages are no longer easily accessible to the public prevents the circulation of skepticism and thoughts. Works gain personality with a history of censorship, whether through infamy or through eventual popularity. The Fig Leaves article brought up the question of whether the Fig Leaves should be removed, as they are now part of the frescoes’ history. The article debated whether or not restorers should do anything that is irreversible (“Of Fig Leaves…, end of p.1.) While the whole of the article was short and seemed to be for general news-- weakening its argument-- these two questions regard an important aspect in the concept of censorship. My question after reading this involved whether these censored works should be left censored to serve as an example of the times as well for future censors. Art typically exists as an indicator of feelings of any given period, so existing censorship should be kept in some sense in order to continue this. The article also mentions how not all leaves were removed, simply those that were deteriorating (p.2.) It appears that the deteriorating leaves were detracting from the works, and so they were removed. On the other hand, the chief restorer of the Chapel spoke about the need to respect the artist Masaccio by restoring the other frescoes to their original state (p.1.) At what point is censorship of censorship unnecessary, and does it continue to detract from the work? I understand that in this case the censorship is not hard to remove and is also relatively passive, whereas the permanent damage of works falls under a different category, especially those works which are made to convey a challenging message. In the Controversy article, extra measures were taken to protect the works at the Brooklyn show, knowing that the content could anger viewers. While some artists may be able to incorporate any damage that occurs into their message, the case is normally the opposite. However, I stand by my original statement, where damage contributes to the history of an item, which cannot be summarized by a simple line in a written description. These articles touched on the controversial debate of censorship which will continue just as works deemed challenging will continue to be made and exhibited. However, as viewers continue to attend these exhibits and exposing themselves to history in the making and different opinions, the American right to freedom of expression continues to function as it should, even if some criticize the works. 10/26/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 4Although I wasn't able to snap a picture of one of my recent longer-time-length figure studies, I definitely found the practice useful. Throughout the figure drawing days, I tried to forget what I thought I knew about drawing to listen to what Tommy had to say on the matter. However I think with the longer the drawings got, I was unable to focus on what I saw in front of me and found my "finished" pieces to be unsatisfactory. If I continue to sketch figures in my sketchbook and take breaks to fully absorb what I learned, I think my skills will definitely improve and show themselves in my work. Overall I am grateful that we had these workshops now, so I can grow over the course of this year and achieve one of my goals of becoming better at observational drawings.
As for my home project, I am particularly excited to see how the different pieces will end up. Embroidery will take longer than I originally hoped for, so instead I'm turning to bleaching and paint washing parts of the fabric. I'm also not sure if the circles will go on a mobile or on a separate wall mount, but the securing factor should come by the end of next week. 10/19/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 3This week we worked with Tommy on our figure drawing skills. I especially liked the second day, where we were encouraged to add a few contour lines to our gestures, to make them look more finished. My longer sketches were not as good size wise and on the second day I was not able to use my favorite charcoal pencil, but overall, I think I was able to make progress towards my goal of improving my technical drawing skills.
10/15/2018 0 Comments Awareness 10: Conor HarringtonConor Harrington started off by tagging and doing graffiti when he was younger. He was born in Ireland but now works in London, England. After attending the Limerick School of Art and Design, he graduated with a Bachelor’s in the Fine Arts. His past exhibitions include Weekend Warriors in 2008, Whole Lotta trouble for a Little Win in 2013, and Eat and Delete in New York in 2014. He has also participated in several group exhibitions including the Art Truancy exhibit celebrating 20 years of Juxtapoz magazine in New York in 2014. His works can be found on his website, www.conorharrington.com.
Harrington’s use of color and message is something I want to work to be as I continue this year in Art 4. Personally, I would like to improve my color matching and blending skills, and the way he shows off each color individually without making them run together too much is a good example to start with. Most all of Harrington’s works are large scale, another preference of mine, and the fact that he is able to capture his subject with even more detail is what makes me like this piece the most. Harrington also paints murals and invites the public to help him spread and interpret his message. He relates his work to historical American conflicts, also a concept I find very interesting given my cultural background. His work is not all extremely lifelike, and it seems to add to his style. The overlapping of images, of colors and of brushstrokes reminds me of our abstract period in Art 3, and caught my eye as I found this piece featured in High Fructose magazine. Harrington captures movement, and the scale and subject of his works allow the audience to have an emotional response. His work in this style is also very recent, as it is currently on display. When I make a two dimensional piece— most likely a painting— this year, I will look to Harrington’s work for inspiration. 10/7/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 2 This week I finished my sculpture and had my first critique. I feel this piece was a good start to Art 4, and also started working on my next project.
9/27/2018 0 Comments Progress Post 1After my summer project and last year's sculpture project, I still had a lot of spare car parts. I really wanted to make some type of mobile, but realized that the pieces would be too heavy to be suspended. My dad had a tire balancer, which was very interesting sculpturally as well, so I ended up suspending my parts on there. I found the rainbow sheen on the tire balancer an interesting component, and decided to spray paint the parts black with a metallic sheen in order to create contrast as well as tie together the whole piece. I also am going to add some prism sheet in the spokes of the rim, in order to incorporate some rainbow light on the piece. Overall, I really enjoyed making this work and hope to continue on with similar pieces in the future.
6/14/2018 0 Comments Final ReflectionOver the course of the year, my art style and figure drawing has improved. In my sketchbook and on my blog, I have written several reflections on the various projects we have worked on, but none on figure drawing. The color theory rules that we learned helped me improve my use of color and value in my final figure drawing, and where normally I would have been worried to use color and black paper--rather than black on white paper-- with each figure drawing I developed my use of color and confidence, improving my blending and proportion. In my last three figure drawings, I used similar colors but slightly differently each time, as I developed my observational drawing skills. I think my improvement in proportion came from my sketchbook observational drawings-- the geese!-- and I hope that next year I will continue to work on my ability more so that I will be able to improve my figure drawings even further. Overall, I think my greatest growth this year was learning to use color more, as shown through my figure drawings, paintings and sculpture. I was able to experiment a lot this year, and I enjoyed being able to use different materials which I had never used before. I think I can improve my content a lot, and my cohesiveness of my works, especially when I paint. I was able to make something come together in my sculpture and my home project, and I hope to work with my content more next year.
6/1/2018 0 Comments Awareness 9: Project BoxcarIn this project, Troy Duff and Robert Hendrick cut graffiti writing from boxcars that are becoming scrap metal. Some graffiti artists, whose work is being incorporated into the project, have mixed feelings about their work being saved by being detached from the boxcars. They claim that when removed from the context, their work is not as powerful. Graffiti artists usually create their biggest works on cars that go across the country, so as to not be easily caught and also so as to have their work displayed on a larger scale. Graffiti is traditionally condemned in society, and in the past, there were efforts by police and local governments to remove or paint over all graffiti in certain areas. However, these efforts have been dialed down nowadays due to excessive costs and nonstop creations by graffiti writers. Instead, now most graffiti writers/artists avoid cars with holes in them and avoid covering important identification markings, to the point where officials do not care too much about removing the works. Under the Project Boxcar, the artists try to preserve the physical graffiti rather than simply using photography. Troy Duff is a graffiti artist himself, who displays his more contemporary (not boxcar) pieces along the other salvaged art, and Robert Hendrick refers to himself as a 'railroader'. The second link below has a large collection of pictures of graffitied railroad cars from around the world, which I found while searching for a topic for this post. For the most part, I have been focusing on street graffiti for my head and heart project, but forgot about the pieces I see on my way to Richmond. The Project Boxcar also ties into my head and heart project, as it consists of graffitied train parts. 5/29/2018 0 Comments Experience: Declaration at the ICAI had never been to the ICA before, and had only seen it when it was projected on during the Inlight Festival this year, so this walking field trip was a new experience for me. The exhibits in Declaration were pretty interesting to me, and I don't always like contemporary art. Then again, most contemporary art I've been exposed to is through Instagram and Hi-Fructose Magazine. The activities at the beginning were fun, but I feel like there was only enough time to do one in full, and we shouldn't have tried to force several into that short amount of time. Also, the guided tour was interesting as an intro to the different levels, and helped me decide what I wanted to see once we were allowed to go on our own. My favorite aspect of the exhibition was the interactive part of it. I hadn't remembered that I applied for The Mending Project until the guided tour reached it, and now I see why I wasn't accepted. But the piece next to it, the 100 Days in Solitude was one of my favorites as well. I traded my phone for one of the altered watches while we were on our own, and spent time listening to the readings of the story that inspired the design of the ICA and listened to the interactive podcasts and took pictures using Angela's phone because I didn't have mine. I think I would like to go there again in the future, if the other exhibits are that varied and have that level of social commentary. A lot of the works had extremely good craftsmanship as well, which I appreciated. Overall, it reminded me of a mini MoCA and Guggenheim. I hope to draw some of the pieces we photographed in my sketchbook or on some paper if I run out of room.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to keep my website updated for these projects, so I just compiled all the pictures I have been taking so far into one post. I plan to have the steering wheel to be a base and the dash to be attached to the base by a metal pole, provided to me by Coach Hall. As for the smaller Mercedes parts, I am making a design of either my last name or Kabonzi that will be projected by the side of them. It has been a little hard to spray with the Plastidip as none of my caps can spray it, so the texture and cleanliness leave something to be desired, but other than that I got some sharpie oil markers that are really bright on the dashboard that I have been using. I think I only have a little more to work on the white side of the dash (spray paint) and I might use a paint remover to clean the overspray on the back a little. As for my home project, I will add some extra words after I am done using the overspray of the dash and the steering wheel, but I don't think I am going to do much about the grille, maybe one or two words spray and one or two marker words if I do. The day before everything is due I may attach some wooden dowels to the top and bottom to keep it flat. As for the steering wheel, I think i want to add another spray word layer on top of the markers as it is getting a little iffy, but then I'll be done. It has been a little harder working on the curves and thin parts of it because spray paint works better on a bigger scale. Maybe over the summer I'll finish the car detail part of the project. I've been working on my projects at home for the most part just because it takes time to set up at school and the sheer size and weight and fragility of my bases just make it easier to keep everything at home. I finished the back at home entirely. I didn't originally consider the steering wheel as a base just because I wanted it to be displayed separately as the dash as well as the grille, but now seeing as how I most likely won't be doing much with the grille and this makes it easier to keep the sculpture condensed and easy to transport, I'll probably be using it as a base. 5/16/2018 0 Comments Awareness 8: Cy TwomblyCy Twombly lived in Rome but was born in Lexington VA. He used Italian history and postwar issues and graffiti as inspiration for his works. In his later works, some below, he focuses on the process of writing rather than the graffiti he sees around him. His art really reminds me of what I want to incorporate into my sculpture project with graffiti and drips and layers. While I do not really like his drawings where he writes Greek god names on a huge piece of paper, I like the immensity and scale of his projects. It’s the same as I’ve been trying to achieve with my home project, but on a slightly smaller piece of paper and with sculpture. Twombly’s use of color and contrast and repetition create movement and evoke emotion in the viewer, possibly that of forgetting and rebuilding that postwar society felt. The first time I saw act Twombly’s work, I was not immediately captured by it, and I even thought that it wasn't good, but after checking out a library book with his later paintings, I saw more value in his work. 5/11/2018 0 Comments Progress Post #23We started our sculpture unit this week. I'm not doing balloon dogs as I planned using 2 spreads on my sketchbook, and am instead Plasti-dipping the bumpers and accents on a Mercedes 560 SEC. We were planning on doing the car anyway, but since I couldn't do the balloon dogs, I switched up my ideas. Now, I am also doing my Heart project as a huge printout of a Mercedes ad that will be graffitied on top. I'm excited to be working on such a huge scale with the printout, because I really wanted to do an ad as tall as a wall, but I wasn't sure as to how I would be able to, but now thanks to a blueprint shop, I'll be able to do it for cheap. So far this week, I have just been testing out my spray caps and picking the ads, so there is nothing to photograph. The plasti-dip arrived Tuesday and the dashboard (which I am doing in permanent graffiti (or maybe plasti-dip again) to further accentuate the car, from the inside. The dashboard is supposed to be my sculpture (Head part of the Head and Heart project), along with some sculpturally interesting pieces from the junk yard, but I haven't gone yet. Also, we already had an unattached Mercedes emblem, which I have been using as a test, that I will probably use as one of the sculpturally interesting pieces. Before I can do any painting however, I need to determining what words I am going to write and in which style, which is going to take just a little more research, but by next class I should start actually working. The colors I'm using are below, so I might buy some Montana paint markers in the same colors this weekend for smaller tags and details.
In past seminars we have discussed the role of government in advocating art, specifically the CIA and modern art in the US, even when the general public doesn't want or like the movement. In "the 1913 Armory Show: America's First Art War", the author states after the president of the AAPS, "it was time the American people had an opportunity to see and judge for themselves concerning the work of the Europeans who are creating a new art." Also, "The Ism that Isn't" article brought up questions about the critiquing process in the art world as well as the absurdity of labels.
One idea I found interesting about "The 1913 Armory Show" article was the concept of the mob as a critic. When the author described critiques of Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, he/she writes, "Some of the letters are astounding, if only in terms of the amount of energy people were willing to put into them." This is interesting because it shows how many people are involved in art appreciation, even if they might not be as involved otherwise. What drove them to be involved? Was it the idea of having European art exhibited in the US? Why were they not immediately open to new style? Are they really that happy with American art at that time? These critics made their opinions scientific-- exactly like artists made their art movements scientific, and just like Saatchi initiated his movement-- furthering their deep involvement. In "The 'ism' that Isn't" article, the author writes on how Saatchi completed all the steps to create a new ism, yet it was of no value and was created to show how isms weren't really worth that much. However, this is does not mean that artwork should be grouped any which way, like is stated in "The 1913 Armory Show. This gives rise to the question, how hard is it to write a manifesto and how seriously is it taken? Saatchi was able to publish a manifesto and compose an exhibit on his "Neurotic Realism", causing a buzz in the art world. However, why are other isms like "Vorticism" unsuccessful? The Armory article also reveals the absurdity of the art critique world, especially when the general public, or the mob, are given an opportunity to give their opinions. Even outside the mob, certain art critics-- Gertrude Stein appeared to be "drunk" when critiquing Nude. The entire article was basically making fun of the labels used in the art world as well as the people who think they are qualified to critique works of art. Finally, there was evidence in the CIA article from past seminars that the US forced it's art upon European galleries, yet in the Armory article, curators brought European art over to share with the public. How did Europe react to having their art showcased in the US? Was it a mutual feeling as the curators had sharing new art? It seemed that American art was not up to par to the European's so at what point in time was it? This seems to be the same situation as middle eastern art in our first seminar of the year, where their art was considered inferior and almost copying American art. The Middle East was in the same situation as in the US, who was simply behind of Europe in movement. After reading these two articles, I felt that anything can be explained in a way that makes it sound like there is no purpose and is ridiculous. The Ism article wrote about how labels are irrelevant; they are simply an easy way to group a wide variety of artists. The Armory article wrote about how anybody can be an art critic, and even art critics can sound unintelligent. 4/11/2018 0 Comments Experience: New York TripOver spring break, I went with my art class and other art students to New York to visit the MoMa, the Guggenheim, the Met and other small galleries around the city as well as non-art-related spots. The three days spent walking around and appreciating art were some of the most fun I'd had in a while, and I was exposed to a lot of different artists and movements within a short period of time. In the future, I will definitely go back, and end up spending hours more in the museums; more than I was able to on this trip. The Guggenheim reminded me a lot of the Hirschhorn, and I feel like my group saw most everything in the current exhibit, but once a new one rotates in, I could see myself spending some more time there. Dahn Vo's exhibit was a little too historical for my taste, especially since I had no idea what the major event that everything was circled around was. I am certain that after I have some historical context, then I will be able to appreciate his work some more. Although, there were some pieces, such as "die Beste oder Nichts" and the calligraphy throughout the museum that I was able to connect with, which was fine. However, something I hadn't realized was that Vo's father was the one doing the calligraphy and I wonder why it is him that does it? I could probably find the answers on the Guggenheim's website but that's a question I can save for the future, if I become more interested in Vo's work. In my sketchbook, I practice a lot of typography, so I can see my sculpture and future work also being influenced by calligraphy, but I would incorporate it in a three dimensional sense. The Met and the MoMa have so much art, and especially a large permanent collection, and we went so fast through both, I was unable to see most of the exhibits. At the MoMa, I liked the temporary exhibit on the 6th floor by Adrian Piper, simply because I like geometry and math (which I can also incorporate into my work in the future) and also because of the piece at the end which allowed you to sign one of three contracts with yourself. The exhibit also had a lot of audio aspects which I enjoyed, specifically the whistling in the beginning which I naturally joined into. My group spent most of our free time on this floor, and had a quick glimpse of the 5th and 4th floor, where we returned later for our illegal "tour/lecture." On the 4th floor there was one room I enjoyed the most, of which I took pictures (included below). It was the room with the dove painting and the c o l o r s (One painting/sculpture used color and line to accentuate form in a graphic way.) Also, I saw a Bacon piece on the fourth floor, which I appreciated seeing again. Overall, the entire New York Trip was a lot of fun and I learned a lot, which I hope to expand on here as we continue to study art history. The following are all the pictures of art I took in New York, some of which have labels and others which are followed by a picture of their labels, or some which unfortunately do not have any labels but I really liked. 4/11/2018 0 Comments Awareness 7: Damien HirstWhen I began learning art history, I had heard of Damien Hirst but recently I found his instagram and now after getting a chance to look through all of his artworks on his website I'm finding a new favorite artist. Hirst has created so many works it's hard to look through all of them in one sitting. Scrolling through his website, there are obvious theme changes as he changes medium and style. For instance, in the butterfly paintings his titles all relate to love, in his crystal skulls he titles them "For Heaven's Sake" and "For the Love of God", and his Formaldehyde sculptures all seem to be dealing with existentialism. He has created so much. And in so many different styles, that it's no wonder it is so hard to be original nowadays. His most recent collection of "veil" paintings consist of different colored spots, but in my opinion they do not compare to the depth and complexity of his past pieces. Of all his different collections, my favorites seem to be those belonging to mental escapology, the Last Supper, Trinity Cabinets, his Installations and his Formaldehyde art. But my favorite part of Hirst's work is by far the titles. Paired with the subjects he presents, the titles offer a humorous side to otherwise serious concepts. Hirst has work exhibited around the world, and the Asthmatic Escaped II is even on exhibit in the Hirschhorn. His "after beautiful" paintings remind me of Francis Bacon, of which I watched a documentary and then was reminded of who Damien Hirst was. It makes sense that the painting/drawing styles would be the same seeing as how they were friends and Hirst took his inspiration from Bacon. The piece below is one of the many that I found interesting on his website. After learning of Bacon, the connection between this piece and Bacon's "Painting 1946" is clear. Seeing as how we are studying art history and will begin our sculpture unit in class soon, Hirst is a good source of inspiration. As I have written above, my reaction is rather to Hirst's work as a whole for now, and I would like to continue looking to his art in the future. http://damienhirst.com/
After seeing their work for the first time on the DC Trip at the Hirschhorn, I immediately was inspired by the Kabakovs' ideas. After further research, I found their art to be like today's trend of Conceptual Realism in art/ photography. The piece below, "How to Meet an Angel" was my favorite and most memorable of the pieces at the Hirschhorn simply because it reminded me of some short stories I used to read when I was younger. Also, it reminded me of the story of Icarus, but I think that there was another piece in the exhibit directly related to the story. These artists and their sculptures tie in to our upcoming sculpture unit in class, and I think their style suits mine, as I made a lot of wooden models as a kid. I was meticulous in my details for models, so I should be able to further improve my sculpture quality.
While watching the video above, I saw other medium that I had not seen before used by the artists (I had only been exposed to their models). Of the other things I was exposed to, my favorites were the paintings with dots/ paint splotches overlaid on top, particularly the paint splotches, as they reminded me of my abstract expressionist piece. I think when I paint with acrylic I would like to experiment with this as well as continuing to experiment with paint pours. 3/21/2018 0 Comments Progress Post #21Finished my home project: Xtreme RVA landscape challenge- create a painting inspired in some capacity by Richmond's landscape. These can be realistic, abstract or non-objective. Did mine based on a scene on E Main Street using various Google Earth Images and acrylic paint. I did it in three phases of painting (spread out) and after critique, I was told a similar thing as with my last painting: there are several different painting styles going on that don't necessarily go together, and that I should work on integrating the different parts together more. I'm looking forward to my next painting and will try to use this piece of advice I was given. |
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