text:
When the [Time and Interactivity] Breaks
Cryin' won't help ya',
Prayin' won't do ya' no good, no
Cryin' won't help ya',
Prayin' won't do ya' no good,
When the [Time and Interactivity] breaks, momma you got to move.
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Cryin' won't help ya',
Prayin' won't do ya' no good, no
Cryin' won't help ya',
Prayin' won't do ya' no good,
When the [Time and Interactivity] breaks, momma you got to move.
"Listen, there's something I must tell. I've never, never seen it so clearly. But it doesn't matter a bit if you don't understand, because each one of you is quite perfect as you are, even if you don't know it. Life is basically a gesture, but no one, no thing, is making it. There is no necessity for it to happen, and none for it to go on happening. For it isn't being driven by anything; it just happens freely of itself. It's a gesture of motion, of sound, of color, and just as no one is making it, it isn't happening to anyone. There is simply no problem of life; it is completely purposeless play---exuberance which is its own end. Basically there is the gesture. Time, space, and multiplicity are complications of it. There is no reason whatever to explain it, for explanations are just another form of complexity, a new manifestation of life on top of life, of gestures gesturing. Pain and suffering are simply extreme forms of play, and there isn't anything in the whole universe to be afraid of because it doesn't happen to anyone! There isn't any substantial ego at all. The ego is a kind of flip, a knowing of knowing, a fearing of fearing. It's a curlicue, an extra jazz to experience, a sort of double-take or reverberation, a dithering of consciousness which is the same as anxiety.
Of course, to say that life is just a gesture, an action without agent, recipient, or purpose, sounds much more empty and futile than joyous. But to me it seems that an ego, a substantial entity to which experience happens, is more of a minus than a plus. It is an estrangement from experience, a lack of participation. And in this moment I feel absolutely with the world, free of that chronic resistance to experience which blocks the free flowing of life and makes us move like muscle-bound dancers. But I don't have to overcome resistance. I see that resistance, ego, is just an extra vortex in the stream-- part of it---and that in fact there is no actual resistance at all. There is no point from which to confront life, or stand against it."
-Alan Watts
This is the unedited version. I had a very long day with three computers not working for me so I didn't want to mess with the video anymore.
Shannan Wexler's show Deer Camp appears to be quite hilarious to me. I live and grew up in a far outlying Minneapolis suburb where many of my peers engaged in this annual ritual of waking up very early to driving their rusty old pickups out in the woods dressed up in blaze orange in an attempt to shoot deer. There was often a lot of beer involved and I heard many humorous stories upon their return. Although I would never go hunting, I think they have the right to go hunting. So I think this piece would be delightfully satirical and quite entertaining.
The showing of "Air Sweet Air�? by Cheryl Wilgren Clyne at the Drake Gallery was particularly thought inspiring. I though the artist did a wonderful job of tying all the pieces together. Although each piece was a separate work, all the pieces were very clearly unified. The display was delightfully nostalgic, invoking fond childhood memories of yesteryear. The vivid colors and incorporation of black and white cutouts was very fitting with the childhood theme. Pieces in this collection were very unique in that they all depicted children with bear heads superimposed onto their bodies. The art specifically does a great job if imposing the question "Why?�? I have not come up with an answer, but it did provoke very much meaningful thought into the reason.
To see a larger version of the image, click here.
Though an explanation of the symbolism in this image was not required, I wanted to share it anyways.
The images at the top of the picture all relate to my birthday and its correlating astrology. I was born in early August, therefore I am a Leo and the sun is my symbol, while in the Chinese Zodiac I was born in the year of the sheep.
The brain, the text and the earth symbolize several things - namely, my love for knowledge, for reading & exploring whole worlds in books, and my belief in the power and potential of the human mind. The figure in the suit represents myself, and is dressed in a suit to communicate my power - since the business suit represents power and control - over my own mind, my own world and my perceptions. The ravens not only represent my quest for wisdom and knowledge, but also my passion for mythology, since the two ravens are traditionally the messengers of the Norse god, Odin.
The Loft Literary Center and Milkweed Editions celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Loft Mentor Series with the release of the new anthology, Fiction on a Stick. 3-Minute Egg dropped into the reading this past Saturday and spoke with insiders about the mentorship series and the anthology. One thing that makes the anthology special according to editor is that is a cosmopolitan effort. It shows the diversity of Minnesota writers. Many of the writers haven't written with others outside of their chosen genre, many were also writing poetry for the first time. This diversity and challenge has created a special kind of writing in Minnesota that is showcased throughout the book.
Ballet of the Dolls's Little Match Girl playing at the Ritz Theatre are every Thursday through Sunday. Myron Johnson tries to explain how this story with the girl freezing to death at the end can be a great one to see for the holidays. He claims its about imagination, survival, faith generosity and resurrection. He thinks at this point in time when people are becoming more introverted and worrying about what they're going to do that this would be something that people won't be able to compare to anything else. Its something completely new.
Sometimes It's Worth Going Upstream by Terrence Payne is quite an interesting piece. The majority of his art works are of women. It's really interesting. This woman carrying a spear and fish looks so sad and lonely. She has a peculiar go-go-gadget looking belt that I'm not sure what represents but she seems to being empowering. She's going against the grain, she looks pregnant and seems like she's the hunter gatherer and she is providing for her family alone and is tired. She's worn out but its all worth it. She's a feminist.
The film "Absence Stronger than Presence�? was brilliant. Benita Raphan did an excellent job telling the story of Dr. Edwin Land. His invention of Polaroid film was used to take many obscure pictures including his home and office. The photo negatives paired with the older voice and flashing images made the film look like it was made in the 1940's.
"Breakaway�? was a very interesting film. It showed a beautiful woman dancing to in to a very unique song. She was removing her clothes and putting them back on. The way the film was constructed flashed back and forth in time which was a very nice effect.
At the Frederick Weisman Art Museum there is an exhibit by R. Luke DuBois, it is by far my favorite showing I've seen since I've moved to the cities. The printings are based on the State of the Union Addresses given by the past and present president(s). The words chosen are picked by the number of times they're said in the Address. It is metaphorically loaded with the Hindsight is always 20/20 title. These are the first words ever spoken by a nations new leader and seeing all of the issues and topics discussed takes you on a head-first plunge back into history. If you haven't stopped by to check these out I seriously suggest you take a look.
This exhibition was pretty interesting. It was the first I'd ever been to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Journey to the Surface of the Earth: Margaret Pezalla-Granlund and Max Schollett had a lot of geometric figures made of what looked to be magazine pages folded and manipulated into really neat designs. The other common material I noticed was the masking tape, the ladder and the waves on the wall were covered in this house hold object. I think its intriguing and inspiring to see art come alive through so many ordinary objects. Overall the exhibition was great! Definitely going back to the MIA soon too.
I believe the title of the exhibit "Air Sweet Air" gives meaning to the exhibit itself. By just reading the title, one walks in to the exhibit with the expectations of seeing beatiful images of the clear cold mountains, or the wind swept plains of the midwest. Instead one walks in on images of children playing in a foreign, polluted almost mars-like landscape.
This sharp contrast in the expectation and reality forces one to think about the future and the world that we may live in if we continue to neglect the environment. In the photos, the children are at play, but one cannot see the happiness because of the bear masks hiding their faces.
I can only venture to guess the choice of a bear for a mask. Perhaps reference to smoky the bear who represents safety, health and prevention of fires (which pollute the air)?
My favorite piece, was the one with the enlargement mask alone in the corner. As far as I could tell, it was the only mask that wasn't a duplicate, but instead hand drawn. I think the deviance from the other pieces is what intrigued me and why I enjoyed it the most.
Tonight was a very unique and more intimate opportunity, for me anyway, to see such a wide range of work of an artist. It was very unique because in my own experience I've not heard the artist talk about his own work. The processes he used to create his pieces was so interesting, such as drawing two images at the same time with both the left and the right hand. I think drawing multiple images fairly quickly and not stopping to put much thought into them was a great idea. Its so revealing about the sub and/or unconscious mind. I think it all ties back to his interest in psychology. There was such a broad range of art to take in at once, it was almost overwhelming but still very stimulating and helpful to get new perspectives on my own work. Overall Great Guest Artist.
This episode featured Taous Khazem of St. Paul. She's the writer and solo performer of her newest piece called Tizi Ouzou. It turns out the who thing started from monologues collected over her visits to Paris and Algeria, its about a woman from Paris falling in love with an Algerian man and she follows him back. Arriving, she meets her own family for the first time. Taous says she's employing her Algerian roots more and more throughout the performances and she's learning more about it every time she does it. It sounds like something that'd be very interesting to watch, one thing in particular that I find intriguing is that she acts alone.
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Thanks for sharing your work with the class, Cheryl. It is so nice to see your work as you help us learn new techniques and develop ideas. When I first saw your work, I wasn't exactly able to understand the reasons for having bear faces for heads on human bodies. If I would dare reference South Park, It reminded me of the Man-Bear-Pig joke minus the Pig. The images are so beautifully contrasted though, the body language of the children and adults almost helps me guess the expression of the bear face. Another thing that I find really interesting is the use of the pretty color pink on what looks to me like a bomb explosion. It almost makes it look cute but then I think to myself, "Wait, no this is an explosion it isn't cute!" Overall, the pieces were really amusing and I enjoyed listening to your stories about bears.
Charles Lazarus: Split Personality
He seems like such a talented artist! He plays for the Minnesota Orchestra and does Jazz compositions on the side. I always have great respect for people who can multitask and achieve all their hopes and dreams. He seems to be really loving his job and playing at Dakota Jazz Club is an honor too. I went there once, but I don't remember who the artist was that played. It is a really nice venue and a great opportunity to expose music to new audiences. I also like that his music sounds really upbeat and celebratory... it is kind of fitting for his Album title which translated to a Party in English. He seems very open minded when it comes to gaining new ideas and influences from other musicians too.
Kaddish: Music of Rememberance and Hope
I think that it was such an amazing project to honor those who have sacrificed and shaped the course of history. It is always important to remember the stories and struggles of the survivors, so that it is a lesson well learned for the rest of the world to never let a thing like Holocaust ever happen again. It seems like a lot of research went into making the hour long piece and the director conduced several interviews and dug up old videos to make himself more knowledgeable on the subject. His goal was to take the audience on a positive journey through the lives of the survivors was really inspiring. This piece would serve as a reminder about the will and passion of the Jewish people to move along with their lives on a positive note and hope the best for the future.
I watched the video on John Munger and his dance! In general, I think dance is a great form of individual expression. I enjoyed John's dance, and he seemed to enjoy himself even more during his performances. His look was also atypical for a dancer, and not to mention his age. For a 51 year old, I think he gave a great performance in solo dance competition. In the clip, I also enjoyed watching snippets of other dancers and artists in the solo dance competition. There are so many ways to dance and everyone has their own of expressing themselves. In John's case I was just overall really impressed with how embraces his age and does what he feels is the best representation of his artistic abilities.
My name is Geneveive Alberti and I am a senior at South High School, currently taking classes through PSEO at the University of Minnesota. I love to dabble in a variety of artistic mediums and types, including drawing, painting, photography, photomanipulation, digital art, multimedia, and more. I have a passion for books, computers and Japanese culture and language. My goal is to become an independent and successful artist.
Chambers Hotel Tour
George, 2004/2005c
Natural pigments and acrylic on canvas
Salustiano's painting of George is rigorously alluring. Trying to find the child's figure in the field of over-saturated red requires a close-up examination. At a distance the edges of the body of this petite boy/girl figure blur and slip away. The twist of fabric covering the head and body is tightly bound yet comfortable looking-a fabric of the future. The child seems alien, other worldly, and most likely does not speak a language know to humans. The pallor of the figure's skin seems that of the recent dead-almost bloodless. Yet the richness of the surroundings, the depth and saturation of the red gives a vibrancy and life that encircles the figure, protecting it in a womb-like environment.
Today I went to the art center and watched the film titled The Balance #1 by Dawei Xu. In the beginning it seemed like just a film about documenting a birds flight and highlighting the sights it sees along the way. I loved how the movie was showcased in two different frames each representing the first person view and the third person view of the flight. But then it soon shifts to the image of a sad bird in a cage and we see the bird from the outside and also see what the bird sees from inside its lonely cage. This bird cannot see the sky without its sight being tainted with the wires of the cage. The two contrasts become more evident when we see the image of the free bird again. Then we see the image of a barb wired fence. It ends with a bird in its natural habitat and we also see an image of a factory plant that continues to burn and destroy the environment of various species.
Overall, I think this documentary highlighted the importance of making sure that we are taking care of our planet and also of the other species that also call it home.
Dawei Xu's video felt very sad. Imagery and symbolism of caged a chicken; details of fencing and barbed wire along with bleak winter scenes gave me a feeling of hopelessness. Even the sound of a bird's wing, which usually means freedom, sounded heavy, sloppy, and grounded to the earth. The blue sky seemed weighted and stormy.
The containers of images within the screen, their size, shape and camera pan changed throughout the video, propelling the story. The graceful transitions between video box shapes and their placement on the screen were fluid and beautifully edited. This video reminds of watching a dance performance where each dancer has a different role moving across the stage, yet in Xu's video, the performers are the boxes of images along with the carefully placed empty space surrounding them.
Kaleidoscope was surprisingly short and at the same time extremely cluttered with noise, chaos. The industrial expansion and growth within what seems a spiritually crumbling world, the constant shifting and collision of matter within an ever expanding physical clutter-world. That is my impression, something I acquired immediately upon watching the film and something that has stuck with me after letting the visual presentation sink in. Perhaps even more than clutter what has to come to describe the experience is the resonance in my head - chuh chuh chuh of the kaleidoscope effect imprinting itself in some remote part of my brain. While I cannot say that Dawei's film is a favorite it is definitely a piece that leaves an impression, a strong one at that.
This piece was just amazing. I did not know that McCain had said that 8 years ago, and makes me many times more pleased and relieved that he did not win the bid for the White House. The performance by Bao Phi was incredibly powerful, and you can tell that there are a lot of emotions running through him while he does it.
This second 3-Minute Egg highlights a show that has been going on every month for the last year. It features storytellers that mix music and story to create comedic performances. It looks like it could be very funny, and seems appear in venues around Uptown, so it should be easy for me to go and see it.
I found this film to be fairly interesting, and very aesthetically pleasing. In "Kaleidoscope", Dawei Xu finds intricate lines and pattern by flipping and rotating segments of video upon themselves. Strip malls become symmetrical ribbons streaming through the screen, people become a mix of abstract shapes and relaxing colors as move in and out, merging and disappearing within them self. It's a very captivating way of finding symmetry in everyday actions and surroundings. There is no narrative, with I think is a good thing, so not to distract the viewer from the images. What soundtrack it has pulses and matches the segments of the film, creating an immersive experience.
I loved this exhibit of Cheryl's work!! I think the aspect that captured me was that all of the images were in some way, shape, or form connected or related. I looked at all of the images for quite awhile and tried to use my imagination as to why the bodies of these antique-doll looking children had the heads of bears and rabbits...I never came to a conclusion, but I found the images very intriguing. My favorite piece by far was of the boy with the rabbit hood/ears on, with another boy who appeared to be in the body suit of the rabbit, with a bear head. I enjoyed this smaller gallery so much that I brought my mom with me to it again the next day! GREAT WORK CHERYL!!!
Katherine Nash Gallery – Waterborne
Anders Shafer -
His works caught my eye because of the unique framing of his individual pictures on the canvas. His works feature 4-12 cells, each with a distinct image. Together, they portray narratives:
-- Rubens' Trip to Spain. 4 cells. Bright greens, yellows, blues. Lots of forest scenes. Cells depict: top left – man fishing on river; top right – men on horseback crossing arched bridge, seemingly with alarm and/or haste w/ fisherman below; Bottom left – river cascading down rolling hillsides, men fording river on foot and on horseback (Spanish soldiers); Bottom right – bearded man (Rubens?) w/ musket, nobles/peasants bowing before him. I at first thought this had something to do with the Spanish landing in America, but then common sense and literacy kicked in, what with the title and all. The Spanish soldier costumes of yellow and orange make an interesting contrast with the greens of the forest.
-- Long Days Journey Through Night. 9 cells. From top left to bottom, gets darker and gloomier: bright town, warship sailing in; bewildered people, warped town, as thought their lives were being warped; man w/ suitcase – being exiled?; people near river, dressed in black, sad, dying (?); women, brightly colored dresses, seemingly being pushed, rushed, forced into next frame; same city, dark, abysmal, warship spewing smoke, pale (dead?) people in torrent of water; violent sea waters, outlines of people (drowning?); same city, (ruins?) many warships now, spewing smoke in sea of blood; carrion bird, people sleeping/suffering amongst seashells (dead?). Powerful work – makes me think of the persecution of Jews in WWII. It has a very anti-war feel, so it resonates with me.
-- Elegy to the Twentieth Century: 9 cells. Persecution of people? Ruined house, wing of destroyed American fighter plane, people huddled; colonials bartering/invading(?) American Indians. (Jewish?) Man being dragged violently, procession of suited men and buildings(?); woman, sad, breastfeeding stiff child, daughter clinging to knee, line of people packed, moving in line, all ghostly pale; child floating in air above city, eyes closed (dreaming of escape?), zeppelin (bomb?); people in camp, escaped but not back in captivity(?), scavenging.
-- Dark River of Old and Lost Civilizations: Lots of dark colors – greens, blues, purples – forests, people shaving/eating/sleeping/living. Serene, peaceful. Despite darker colors, it has a warm, happy feel.
It is interesting how many emotions he was able to portray though color: The more negative pictures had crimson reds, very dark colors, grays, smoke – the positive featured lots of green, blue, warmer reds and yellows. The exception was Dark River of Old and Lost Civilizations, where there were a lot of dark colors, but they gave the feeling more of the satisfaction of a hard days work and the comforts and warmth of home.
1. Bruce Conner: A Movie (1958, 16mm, 12 minutes)
2. Breakaway (1966, 16mm, 5 minutes)
3. Benita Raphan: Absence Stronger Than Presence (1996, 35mm, 7 minutes)
4. 2+2 (2002, 35mm, 11 minutes)
5. The Critical Path (2003, video, 13 minutes)
First I want to thank you for taking us! I enjoyed each film and it was a great way to finish a very busy and difficult day for me. It is a bit difficult to recall all of the films now since each one was very visually stimulating and the boundary from film to film has disappeared after two days. The film whose style I liked the most was "Breakaway," the dancing and the music had life. Right away I thought of how long a human life really is if you break it down to into these sequences, and seeing this helped me realize a new value to movement and motion throughout a whole day, not just certain moments. Also it was a very complete art form presented, the beautiful woman who was dancing to her own creation (I believe she is also the singer?). Bruce Conner's "A Movie" left the biggest impression as I thought about it after the viewing, it was very interesting to see those little bits of footage all compiled together with an intent, which intent I don't know for sure but I was impressed and in complete agreement with the aspect of violent nature of existence, all the things that human beings have put themselves through and will continue to put themselves through. Finally, the closing film was really mysterious. To be honest I am not sure even now what I took away from viewing it, but it was almost phantasmagorical. It very directly drove me to think about how we interpret the world through certain concepts that we create or discover, such as language, shapes, facial expressions and the like. All very interesting.
I hope some of you will enjoy this. It is really quite amazing footage, and it relates exactly what it feels like hitting some of the bigger stuff.
This 3-Minute Egg is aimed at exploring what is at the Ramsey Art Fair in Ramsey Junior High. I had heard about the art fair a couple times back in high school, but didn't explore it at all. The items that were shown in the short clips were really cool - I'm interested in crafts (or "fine crafts", as it is described in the video), and the first featured artist interested me the most. The way she uses miscellaneous items and junk to create complex and engaging images is very cool to me. The second artist uses clay in a very interesting way, and, like the first artist, it appears much like a 3D painting.
Seeing this video makes me want to go check it out sometime soon.
As I entered the Voice to Vision gallery I fell in love with the first piece of work I saw. I studied it for a moment then decided I should take at least one lap around the entire gallery before declaring the piece my favorite. There were several interesting images that clearly underwent a great deal of work. Almost every piece seemed to tell at least three stories, they were so in depth. Only one other piece caught my attention, it was titled Voyage Through the Flames. I loved the blending of the ships, ocean(water), and flames! But that first piece that I saw remains my favorite. Romania 1941/Rawanda 1995, did not demonstrate clearly the message it was trying to send. At least not to the common viewer. What caught my eye was the mixture of bright/brilliant colors and the array of different shapes, a very modern piece relaying two older stories.
The abstract paintings of James Wrayge, in the most recent show at the Rosalux Gallery, are definitely worth checking out. The heavy influence of Jackson Pollock and abstract expressionism, heavy influences of some of the great American artists such as Rauschenberg, Johns, Motherwell, and Rothko, and suggestions of Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell, seem clearly evident in Wrayge's palette, his execution of the painting, and in his intellectual and aesthetic commitment to composition. These paintings demonstrate a deep knowledge and understanding of modern abstract painting, perspective, composition, and color theory. I really loved this show and this work. Two artists are showing in the gallery space: James Wrayge and Daniel Buettner. Here I want to focus just on the work of James Wrayge. My focus is not to in any way demean or diminish the work of Buettner, but rather to focus my vision on one artist rather than the two. Also, their work, while complimentary as an ensemble, is quite different and distinct from the other's work.
James Wrayge is a painter's painter. His compositions and use of color, brush stroke, line, form, plane, shape, light/shadow, and motion are pleasing and delightful. The titles evoke an essential idea and create a context for the viewer, invoking a sort of point of departure. While some are clearly abstract with no entry into specific content or figurative matter (aside from the title), many evoke a sense of landscape and still life [nature mort]. In talking to the gallery attendant about the artist, I learned that he often works much larger than the paintings that are displayed in this show. He [the attendant] thought that perhaps it was because it is James' most current work, but then he stepped back, stating that "he has a lot of larger paintings he's working on in his studio.�? My feeling is that these particular pieces that he has selected seem to be to an ideal scale in this space, which I might add, if you haven't been to, is a beautiful and well-crafted gallery space with wonderful light, natural wood, and exposed brick, enhanced by clean white walls. The space is widely open and expands into the space of the coffee adjacent cafe. With three nice sized levels, the bottom floor has an attached gallery called "The Pocket Gallery" which currently shows printmaking from folks at the U of M.
Continuing with commentary on the scale of Wrayge's paintings-- there is one medium sized piece on the third floor of the gallery, but most are, if I remember correctly, in the 24�? x 24�? format. As such they are like windows to view through and reflect upon the contents in the frame. They are digestible and contained in the mind's eye. The restraint of the size prevents the observer from journeying into a larger more expansive spatio-temporal body experience and keeps it more heady and visual than interactively experiential with a human body size scale. The color palette tends to monochromatic, but delightfully breaks out of that with just enough in expansions of geometric or planes of color, at times just exploding out of the contrast of monochrome with pure color saturation. There is a complexity of the layering, and many intricate surprises and delicate detail of line, color, and combinations that lie in waiting for the trained abstract eye. The main color palette components seem to be whites, grays, black, cobalt and navy blues, with a loving attachment for oranges, peaches, reds, rusts, and corals. I have to say I loved all of these paintings. There was not one that was unfinished, inferior, or that I did not care for. I think my favorite might be "Pelican Blind,�? though I really loved "Wabash Nichol Plate�?, "CSX�?, "Utah�?, "Stoke�?, and "Freight- yard.�?
I encourage anyone who hasn't been there to check it out. I took some photos of his work which I will try to download to the blog sometime soon.
Since I wasn't able to make it to some of the art shows, I will write about one of the pieces of art that I admire.
One of my favorite animation movies of all time is The Danish Poet. I ran into the movie while I was browsing for short animation movies on youtube. I found the link for the movie on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTef0HWbW_M). It is such a beautifully executed tale of romance between Casper and a local woman that he meets while he goes on holiday to Norway to meet his creative inspiration Singrid. The animation itself isn't that great but I love the colors used and the black outlines on all the charaters. It is also a story of chance and the weird twists and turns of fate that change our lives. I love how everything comes in full circle at the end and the story also has its funny moments. A must watch :)
What is Time and Interactivity? Time and interactivity to me is a creation of audibly and visually pleasing works of art that tell a story with the notion of time serving as its lattice. I think that the tools used to create these pieces of art include cameras, computers, and editing tools. All these components work together and create animations, movies, and enhanced images. Since the title itself is not really that specific, I feel like you have more flexibility and incorporate many ideas and implement them. The possibilities are endless and infinite like the notion of time.
My favorite piece in the Chambers Hotel was the entire stair well. I'm not exactly sure it does it justice to call it one piece but it was so amazing. "Elemental" by Juxtaposition Arts used so many vibrant hues and flowed so eloquently from each scene to the other. I think allowing this group to paint their entire stair well shows a lot of originality and character. Perhaps the most interesting pieces for me were the ones in the bar and lounge area. The 7 minute video by Sam Taylor-Wood was extremely and oddly intriguing. The entire hotel tour greatly broadened my view of what can constitute as art, it was truly an amazing opportunity.
I really enjoyed this piece of art, because all I could think of is how Wisconsin's bubblers were going to take over the world. I cannot recall the medium of the piece but I believe it was grease pencil or something similar. This is the first visual representation I have seen of the mythical being that is called a bubbler, but I believe it to be accurate description and surely we cannot underestimate these silly looking Bubble Moggers, or it with be the end of mankind as we know it
Elections are the cornerstone of every modern democracy. With a well-informed electorate and a vibrant media, modern democracies tend to help change their leadership in peaceful manner. Being an alien in this country, yet having the opportunity to witness such an historic election has been bittersweet for me. For once I felt like I was more informed that I could make a choice and make a difference in the vote but I could not. Also I wanted to be a part of history as the first African American was going to be elected president or the first woman was going to be elected vice president. I have been following this election for the better part of two years as it has shaped up to be a very transformational election. Beginning with primaries and going on to the general elections, there has been something special about this election cycle, which has engaged several people including me.
Even though I couldn't vote, I made sure to call people who had this right to remind them that it was their right and responsibility to vote and elect the next leader as that leader has the opportunity to reshape the world we live in right now. And I believe that everyone who voted made the right choice in the kind of leader that they want in this country.
In any case I believe that Americans have made a choice and the best part about this choice is that they made it with many people well informed enough to vote for the right person. I hope it inspires many people across the globe, especially non democratic nations to learn from this and let the people decide who they want as their leader.
Although this piece seemed like a regular hunk of metal taken from a junkyard it, in fact, was actually a sculpture. What it was were two rats copulating and making the shape of a heart through their tails. You can't see the rats just by looking at it. To do this you have to shine a light at the sculpture at the right angle so you can see the image of the rats on the wall.
I've always thought that sculpture was remarkable and all but seeing shadow sculptures for the first time takes sculpture to a higher level for me. To be able to create a piece of metal and place it in the right place so as to make a shadow image of that quality is simply amazing. I can't imagine how long that sculpture would have taken for Noble and Webster to make. If I tried to recreate their piece it would take me months or even years to make.
For more pictures of Tim Noble and Sue Webster's Works:
I didn't agree much with the message given in the video "Requiem" by Dawei Xu. Certainly no one can disagree that industrialization and advancement destroys the customs and traditions of a city or cultural. However, I believe that the "death knoll" type music was a little over the top. It is said the the history and culture of the street was dug up with the cobblestone street; however, it is important to realize that the traditions being torn up are not traditions throughout man-kind, but just over a few generations. The cobblestone road replace the traditions before it, just as the highway that was just built will be replaced in a hundred-years by the traditions of the future.
The three movies we watched were all very interesting, but the first movie, A MOVIE, hit me the closest to home.
I had seen A MOVIE a number of years ago. I believe my dad showed it to me. Back then it confused me, for the most part, but it was the first time I had seen a nuclear blast and gave me a feeling of awe. Now, I feel dread as I watch the nuclear blasts and imagine the archipelagos and test houses replaced with bustling cities. Overall, the chaos of the movie, of the soft core pornography, tanks, etc., speaks to me of the chaotic nature of humanity as we are now - driven by desires, materialism, and mutual hatred for one another on baseless ideologies.
I saw a film documenting how a few of these works were made during a class last semester, so it was very interesting to view the artwork itself in the gallery. There is a wonderful, chaotic, almost abstract-expressionist feel to the artworks, between the canvas dotted with collage and streaked with symbolic colors of paint, to the small view-box sculptures filled with different objects, at first seemingly random, but becoming deeply symbolic once you read their artist's statements. I must say that without the artist's statements, as well as the tapestries explaining how and why the art was created, it would be quite difficult to grasp the context and reach the true meaning of the work. Overall I found this exhibition very intriguing and entertaining.
After looking through the gallery it appeared that cast metals were very difficult to work with and my favorite pieces were ones that I thought people had mastered the medium through which they were working. The piece I thought was most elegant was "Stacker" by Wayne Potratz. The detail on the turtle was very smooth and beautiful which appeared to be a difficult challange when comparing it to other pieces. The second piece I enjoyed was Joseph Kelly's "Apparition." This piece reminded me of many different things such as dementors in harry potter, the nazgul in the Lord of the Rings, and also of the character in Assassin's Creed. I also liked the piece because it was very simple but demanded attention. The piece i liked the most was Celestine Peuringer's "Grog" which looked very much like a figure being born of the forest or swamp. I think i liked it alot because the figure was abstract, but very much distinguishable.
Since I have not had the time to make it to the Nash gallery before class, I have chosen a different artists' work to respon to. Since I especially love T.Y. Wilson's work, I decided to respond to one of his peieces.
From the moment I first glimpsed it, the unique style of this poster immediately caught my eye. It's lines are simple, elegant and clean, and draw the eye almost immediately. I love how he knows just how much to define the shape of a figure, and just how much to leave to the imagination. On that topic, he kiss in this piece is masterfully done. I, myself, have tried to draw kisses, and from experience I know for it to be incredibly tricky. The heads must be aligned just so and must be proportinally correct, the bodies must also be drawn in proportion, but the hardest part is drawing the connecting lips and the overlapping noses of a kiss; a line that is just a thread off here or there can completely ruin the look of the kiss. T.S Elliot is a perfect example of the master rule of drawing good kisses; the best way to draw kiss, is to not draw it at all. The imagination can fill in the empty spaces between his characters' faces so much more artfully than any line,
Inspiration for my project came from Henri-Georges Clouzot's "The Mystery of Picasso", a movie featuring Picasso painting a number of images, shown in time-lapse. I thought it was very interesting when I saw it a number of years ago, and it's stuck in my mind. I decided to try something similar using Photoshop, and didn't realize until when I started how much work it would take to capture each frame, then process them using Photoshop's batch command. To capture the images, I set up my mother's camera on a tripod behind me, and started drawing, using one of my father's paintings as inspiration. I filled up Photoshop's history, stepped back to the first history entry, and moved up one history step at a time and took a picture of it using the camera. When done I had 2912 photos and some major posture problems (not to mention a lack of sleep), hah. It was overall a very fun project, something I'd like to try again over the break. It certainly helped to have a music playlist of around six hours to counter the tedium of taking those 3000 pictures.
The pieces that were shown through the Voice to Vision Exhibition were collaborations made by several survivors of the Holocaust and various artists. Each piece was beautiful though it was hard for me to understand what it was trying to say without context. All in all, it was an emotional experience for me due to how grave The Holocaust was during World War II. To be able to view the works of Holocaust survivors was truly overwhelming.
Out of all the pieces shown, one stuck out in my mind. That piece was titled "Six Playing Train and Then There Was One.�? Four artists made it with the help of Joe Grosnacht, a survivor. What stood out to me were the six chairs in which Joe and his brothers used to play train. The first seat was occupied by Joe but the others were left vacant to represent the loss of his five brothers. Although the chairs were tucked away in the upper left hand corner of the frame, it still stuck out to me. To lose siblings—let alone five of them—like that evoked the feeling of empathy because I have siblings as well.
I very much liked the last two films for their content. In "2+2" I found the biography of Dr. Nash very interesting and his game theory. I had never heard of the game theory before, but it is very fascinating to me. In the Critical path I enjoyed learning about Bucky. Having taken a number of engineering courses already, I have heard of the buckyball already and am somewhat familiar with it's properties. I really enjoyed learning about the life of the man who inspired it's name. I liked "Breakaway" the most of all the films purely for it's artistic qualities. I found "Bruce Conner: A movie" to be to erratic to be fully appreciated in one viewing, but I thought he portrayed the harmony, and many times lack thereof, between man and technology.
One piece I particularly enjoyed was that which was made by Mason Eubanks. Covering the majority of a fairly small sheet of paper is a rectangular mass of tiny twisting squiggles, seeming a bit like worms or confetti. He adds further detail to his squiggles by giving them many thick stripes along their width. All but a small bar of squiggles on the bottom and right hand sides are filled with these stripes. This is art created for aesthetic value, and more importantly to emphasize the human touch in artwork. The hand drawn squiggles created by the artist with a fine-tipped inking pen show every unsteady moment in the painstakingly long and tedious process this sort of work involves. There is importance in the unfilled squiggles as well, this being to leave a sense of incompleteness, as if the artist simply got bored or frustrated and walked away. The combination of these ideas create a very interesting pattern across the page, and invite you to get within a few inches of the artwork in order to see all the intricacies it contains.
The EPHEMERAL LINESCAPE opening at Rosalux Gallery was my first art opening. It was a great chance to see a wide variety of art from the two featured artists. It was nice to actually meet the artists so we could discuss their thoughts on the different pieces. My favorite piece was "Harbor Bulkhead�? by Robert Roscoe. This photograph was taken in Maine and it was a picture of a rusty bulkhead. The resolution was absolutely stunning. The photographer did an excellent job creating rich texture with the corrosive water on the metal object. The colors were very vivid and very careful consideration was exercised when selecting the lighting. This piece embodies the culmination of all aspects that create the perfect print.
I can't decide how I feel about Myron Johnson's Ballet of the Dolls, "Born to be alive." The clips of the show shown in the video reminded me of one of my own middle school dance recitals. I realize that may be harsh statement, but I personally just can't find a good connection with Johnson's exhibit. I understand the show is supposed to be an almost autobiography of his experience in and of the disco era in the twin cities, but from what was demonstrated in the 3-minute egg clip the show looked immature. Not in content, but in underlying meaning and through presentation. I feel that if Johnson were to further develop the set/scene/cast/meaning he good really come up with some fantastic.
The chambers art hotel visit is my first real experience of an art museum, which also combines as an art hotel. The artwork that captured my attention is "(old) no one in particular by Evan Penny, 2005. Evan did a very detailed portrayal of a man whom he describes as no one in particular. Using very real parts in the artwork, Evan was able to achieve his aim of creating a fairly original human portrait, which is very remarkable. The use of human hair and normal cotton clothes also help capture my attention in a very big way.
Another artwork that captured my attention is the piece by Sam Taylor-Wood. One interesting concept I came away with is the fact that cigarette burns in seven minutes. In seven minutes he filmed people who were able to stay still. In using this electronic gadget to capture a very specific moment in the bar. In taking the video with an emphasis on the cigarette as the timer, he was able to keep the viewer's attention from being distracted from concept of artwork while the cigarette burnt.
In all, I think the chambers hotel has very interesting art collection, which captures any patron's attention whenever they enter the hotel.
Hahahahahahaha. I am sitting in Caribou coffee all by lonesome and am getting some stares. I just finished watching an episode from 3-minute egg about a group of performers called the Rockstar Storytellers and giggled aloud through the entire 3 or so minutes!! How fun! This group performs (i believe) monthly, at the Bryant Lake theater. The group shares stories on stage with the audience about past or perhaps even made up experiences in the "Rockstar" lifetimes! I would love to attend a showing in person, I think it would be a great night out!! Or at least VERY entertaining!!
Cheryl thank you for taking us on the tour of Chambers! It was really interesting to see some of the striking works represented there. One of my favorites was the stainless steel sculpture by Subodh Gupta "Other Thing". I liked it a lot because I couldn't figure out what it was comprised of. Ii thought maybe he is trying to represent a porcupine but who knows. A lot of the contemporary art motivations are beyond me but I do give him props for his creative approach of representing traditional steel pots, pans, and utensils in an unusual and striking manner! I went online to find out more about his work and style it seems like he draws a lot of his roots from his hometown which was a rural town and then bringing this vision and experience into the big metropolitan cities of India.
The Chambers hotel, a gem in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.
Somehow, someone with vision and a taste for contemporary art and design developed a hotel/gallery that doesn't disappoint. It's hallways, lobbies, and even the fire exits are adorned with art from artist of all types of backgrounds and cultures. Two of the pieces that most gave me pleasure were from Yasumasa Morimura and Evan Penny. Morimura's piece, a depiction of consumerism and this idea of branding was intriguing. Penny's piece, a skewed face mounted on the wall had such detail it felt alive. The trip to The Chambers was quite enlightening an enjoyable.
I really like the "It All Just Got To Be Too Much" by TJ Barnes, the first thing that came to mind when I saw this was Rapunzel. As strange as it is and as much as it contrasts what comes to you as you let it sink it I thought of her letting her hair down for her Prince to climb up to her. This work displays quite the opposite of bringing anyone to you or inviting them in, this symbolizes a need for escape. It looks something like a hormone raging teenager had torn the sheets of their bed, tied them together and tossed one end out the window just to get away from it all and run away. Its actually sad to think about when comparing that to Rapunzel. When I think about the title its haunting and almost cryptic. The title alone gives me the chills because it almost makes me think it leads to suicide, just giving up and throwing it all away just to really escape the pressure.
To broaden the scope and entertainment value of art, Alison Morse, a Minneapolis writer, brought together six writers and a furniture designer to create an event that bridges spoken word and sculpture. Alison Morse said this was the most successful event so far because the writers and the artist worked together since day one of the project. For nine months, Seth Keller, a designer, entered the world of art. He set aside the structure of furniture making and explored the expressive world of sculpture. The pieces in the exhibition are sprawling, climbing mixed media yet all contain parts of trees: branches, limbs, bare wood, bark.
The culmination of this project spanned one evening of readings and a weekend-long exhibition at Gallery 332 in the Northrup King Building. The writers read their poetry in the gallery around the Seth Keller's' sculptures. Writers included are: Alison Morse, Emily August, Jean Larson, Jen March, Mark Rapacz, Michelle Janssens Keller
I thought Dawei Xu's "The Kaleidoscope�? was a very successful short film because of its equal balance of simplicity and complexity. I really enjoyed the film because he used the mirror image technique to create new figure ground relationships and perceptions of reality.
I enjoyed many of the scenes in "The Kaleidoscope.�? In the beginning it starts out slow with the arrow lights becoming mirrored and a set of numbers counting. This showed the presence of time. Throughout the film the music is successfully sequenced with the transitional stages of the film. A part of the film used the mirror image of trees on a white background. The image of the trees rising higher and lower created the impression of movement into the TV. The angle he used to mirror on the streets created a road of buildings and different sized shapes moved across this road. I really liked the scene of the man hugging his child. The pace of the music picks up and the girl begins to slowly move away as he lets go. She then disappears as the father reaches. The scene of the oriental man repeatedly turning around looking at the viewer was interesting. The artist uses a different filter with each repeated turn. I interpreted this as how one can look at the same thing but another could see it completely different. Overall I found "The Kaleidoscope�? a very inspiring piece about time, perspective and the distortion of reality.
As soon as I entered the Quarter Gallery an object in the center of the "first" room caught my eye. I could not take my eye off of it until I had made an entire circle around it. The Human Inquiry, a sculpture by Derek Hill, completey tantalized my eye and brain. I just stared at the piece for about five minutes attempting to discover what the "inquiry" was and if those tiny sculpted man had been able to conclude their wonders. I would say the sculpture was made up of around eight to ten bodies all intertwind and placed together like a puzzle. I am not sure exactly it was about this piece that attracted me to it, but I love it, I want it! I am extremely into the idea of connectivity, as if everyone is connected in some way or another, and to me this peice really grasped that idea. But what was the "inquiry?" What is the "human inquiry?"
About Voice to Vision
The Voice to Vision project helps Holocaust survivors and Genocide survivors share their experiences through art. This project has been directed by David Feinberg and developed through the collaboration of an interdisciplinary visual research team that includes participants from the Art Department, and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota, as well as participants from surrounding communities in the Twin Cities. A variety of Voice to Vision resources are available for community groups, religious organizations, schools, and college art or history departments. Options include documentary DVDs, talks by Holocaust survivors, discussions with David Feinberg, and exhibitions of art that was created through the project. Individualized programs can be tailored to the needs of each group. (This is reprinted from the website.)
Review: Each of the pieces in this exhibition is a collaborative effort of artists and survivors. The projects were approached differently based on the past and present experiences and the survivors and the artists and different use of media. The threads that tie the pieces together are the humanity of the project, as well as the inhumanity that each of the survivors suffered and survived. The projects pieces illustrate that by living their individual lives, through the horrendous narratives that each individual has survived and shared, there exists a universal experience, a connection through the human spirit. The project seems to be about both preserving the memory of the horrific events so that they will not be repeated, but also about healing through the collective and collaborative
re-[membering] artistic process. It reminds us that genocide occurs daily throughout the world and connects us to the experience and individuals whose lives are permanently changed by these experiences. All of the pieces were extremely powerful. The work that particularly struck me was the story of Murray Brandy in "My Name was #133909 and I Sang.�? He tells the story of walking in the forest, guarded by the SS, pushing a heavy four-wheeler without food, without water, and witness to brutal killing and death. He tells the story of how his life was randomly spared by singing a song.
Elegy: a mixed media installation by Diane Grace Goodman
Artist's statement:
"An elegy is a poem that laments death…one's own mortality, the loss of a loved one, the extinction of a community, or the transience of beauty and the dying of light. The elements in this installation were made during the years that I participated in the Voice to Vision Project. Each of the corsets and the pinafore took shape in response to the women's stories of suffering, survival, and strength. In preparation for this exhibit the original sculptures were reconstructed and reconfigured to form a visual poem, Elegy.
This sculptural installation positioned at the very back of the gallery, at the end of the show was very essential and powerful. I had to view the Voice to Vision Project exhibition in several different visits, because each piece was so sad and it was so difficult to take in so much sadness and pain all at once. The third time I came, I walked through the entire exhibit and found the "Elegy�? poem at the end. Walking through the lyrical sculptures that spoke to the humanity and inhumanity of the previous narratives brought me to a sense of closure of the show. I experienced a healing of sorts that enable me to go out into the daylight again, to restore hope, but not forget what had happened. Comprised of a stairway, and other abstract suspended forms made of string, wax, shreds of garments, and wax, the spatio-temporality of the piece is amazing.
Review of Voice to Vision exhibition
About Voice to Vision
The Voice to Vision project helps Holocaust survivors and Genocide survivors share their experiences through art. This project has been directed by David Feinberg and developed through the collaboration of an interdisciplinary visual research team that includes participants from the Art Department, and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota, as well as participants from surrounding communities in the Twin Cities. A variety of Voice to Vision resources are available for community groups, religious organizations, schools, and college art or history departments. Options include documentary DVDs, talks by Holocaust survivors, discussions with David Feinberg, and exhibitions of art that was created through the project. Individualized programs can be tailored to the needs of each group. (This is reprinted from the website.)
Review: Each of the pieces in this exhibition is a collaborative effort of artists and survivors. The projects were approached differently based on the past and present experiences and the survivors and the artists and different use of media. The threads that tie the pieces together are the humanity of the project, as well as the inhumanity that each of the survivors suffered and survived. The projects pieces illustrate that by living their individual lives, through the horrendous narratives that each individual has survived and shared, there exists a universal experience, a connection through the human spirit. The project seems to be about both preserving the memory of the horrific events so that they will not be repeated, but also about healing through the collective and collaborative
re-[membering] artistic process. It reminds us that genocide occurs daily throughout the world and connects us to the experience and individuals whose lives are permanently changed by these experiences. All of the pieces were extremely powerful. The work that particularly struck me was the story of Murray Brandy in "My Name was #133909 and I Sang.�? He tells the story of walking in the forest, guarded by the SS, pushing a heavy four-wheeler without food, without water, and witness to brutal killing and death. He tells the story of how his life was randomly spared by singing a song.
Elegy: a mixed media installation by Diane Grace Goodman
Artist's statement:
"An elegy is a poem that laments death…one's own mortality, the loss of a loved one, the extinction of a community, or the transience of beauty and the dying of light. The elements in this installation were made during the years that I participated in the Voice to Vision Project. Each of the corsets and the pinafore took shape in response to the women's stories of suffering, survival, and strength. In preparation for this exhibit the original sculptures were reconstructed and reconfigured to form a visual poem, Elegy.
This sculptural installation positioned at the very back of the gallery, at the end of the show was very essential and powerful. I had to view the Voice to Vision Project exhibition in several different visits, because each piece was so sad and it was so difficult to take in so much sadness and pain all at once. The third time I came, I walked through the entire exhibit and found the "Elegy�? poem at the end. Walking through the lyrical sculptures that spoke to the humanity and inhumanity of the previous narratives brought me to a sense of closure of the show. I experienced a healing of sorts that enable me to go out into the daylight again, to restore hope, but not forget what had happened. Comprised of a stairway, and other abstract suspended forms made of string, wax, shreds of garments, and wax, the spatio-temporality of the piece is amazing.
Chambers Luxury Art Hotel
The concept of being a guest at a hotel, bar, and restaurant, surrounded with original contemporary artwork is democratically novel and fantastic. The tour by curator Jennifer Phelps was interesting and informative. My favorite piece was the Art-o-mat that dispenses $5 works of art. This appeal of affordable art for the masses is truly democratic. Or, is it socialistic and communistic? Or, it it free enterprise at its best or worst? Who knows? But for what's its worth it evoked a deep and genuine sense of nostalgia for me as I pulled the lever and experienced the distinctive wind-up and thud sound of the type of dispensing machine from the 50s and 60s that I experienced as a child buying candy bars, and later as a teenager buying smokes. I purchased a piece of art from the Art-o-mat vending machine in the hotel lobby. It popped into view popped appearing at the open bottom vent in a 2 ¼�? x 3 ½�? cellophane wrapped plain white cardboard box. On the outside there was inserted a slip of paper with a quotation from Blaise Pascal: "Reason's last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things which are beyond it.�? Some of my classmates and the instructor hovered around while I opened it up like a Crackerjacks box looking for the prize inside. The interactive experience of buying the piece and opening up a prize was really fun. Truly it was like being a kid again. Inside the box was a miniature plexiglass diptych with the title of the piece "The Limits of Computation,�? by Lynette Miller. It also gave information about the original image, stating its dimensions as 24�? x 24�? and the medium, pigmented transfer on Venetian plaster, tempered masonite, and gave contact information LCMillerStudios.com. This is a great marketing tool for artists, and a great way to distribute works of art, and encourage art consumption. Other students were excited by my prize and also purchased their own $5 works of art. We all flocked around each other as they were opened to see what each of us "got.�? Again, we experienced the exhilaration of childhood surprise. One of my classmates got an Oprah flip book. This was especially amazing since we are working on flip books in our class and that particular student actually collects flip books. (response written by Anita Wallace)
The story behind Art-o-mat® (reprinted from the Art-o-mat website: http://www.artomat.org/history.html).
The inspiration for Art-o-mat® came to artist Clark Whittington while observing a friend who had a Pavlovian reaction to the crinkle of cellophane. When Whittington's friend heard someone opening a snack, he had the uncontrollable urge to have one too.
The year was 1997, the town was Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Whittington was set to have a solo art show at a local cafe, Penny Universitie (now Mary's Of Course Cafe). This is when Whittington used a recently-banned cigarette machine to create the first Art-o=mat. In June 1997, it was installed, along with 12 of his paintings. The machine sold Whittington's black & white photographs for $1.00 each. This art show was scheduled to be dismantled in July 1997. However, Cynthia Giles (owner of the Penny Universitie) loved the machine and asked that it stay permanently and machine remains unaltered in its original location to this day. At that point, it was clear that involvement of other artists was needed if the project was going to continue. Giles introduced Whittington to a handful of other local artists and Artists in Cellophane was formed.
Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.), the sponsoring organization of Art*o*mat® is based on the concept of taking art and "repackaging" it to make it part of our daily lives. The mission of A.I.C. is to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. A.I.C believes that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable. What better way to do this, than with a heavy cold steel.
guidelines for artists
Here at Art*o*mat®, submissions from artists are welcome at any time. Since our project is ongoing, we are always interested in new work. We at Artists In Cellophane (A.I.C.) fully respect the rights of artistic freedom and enjoy working with artists of all levels. However, we are strict in adherence to our guidelines as any deviation from the specifications below will cause vending difficulty, logistical problems and incidental expense. Our selections are made based on effort, craftsmanship and originality. However, a key factor in our review process is how the final piece will be viewed in the hands of our buyers. Once accepted, where your artwork is placed and in what machine is based on the needs of our venues.
Here's how you get started:
1. Think of what you would like to produce for the project. Try to avoid any mass production process that could lessen the quality of your work. The vending process is only the beginning of your Art*o*Mat® art. Once out of the machine, your Art*o*Mat® work is a reflection of you and your art. Many pieces have been carried around the globe. So, think of approaches that do not convey "a Sunday afternoon at the copy shop".
2. All submissions require a single vend-ready, non-returnable prototype of your art. Please do not send a prototype that is not fully rendered to the specifications below. All prototypes are inspected for suitability in the project. After inspection, they are included into the AIC permanent archives.
3. The final size should be 2 1/8" x 3 1/4" x 7/8" (54mm x 82mm x 21mm). Most 2/D artists (painters, printmakers, etc) produce their pieces on wood blocks, while most 3/D artists (sculptors, jewelers, etc.) place their work in our boxes. Watercolor paper or illustration board can easily increase the thickness of standard plywood to 7/8". If you use boxes, you must fill the package so it will be rigid and add some weight.
4. Once you are ready to begin, please download our Submission Form. If you would prefer to receive samples of our official boxes and blocks, please send a USPS Priority Mail stamp and a clearly written return label to the address below. Specify in your letter that you are requesting samples.
5. Your name and contact info is required to be clearly displayed on each piece. The most successful Art-o-mat works include support material about the artist. Think of ways to present yourself in the event someone wants to learn about your other artistic ventures. The goal of this project is to create valid, professional relationships between the artist and the patron. Keep in mind that in many cases, the Art-o-mat can be someone's first art purchase. Artists who specifically ask "who bought me" often hear feedback and find out where their work ends up.
6. Make sure your pieces of art contain NO MAGNETS, BALLOONS, GLITTER, CONFETTI OR ITEMS PROCESSED WITH PEANUTS. No exceptions. Please use common sense and do not create work with materials that are potentially hazardous. If applicable, please label on the outside of your piece that it is rated "R" or "Small Parts-Not for Children".
7. If you use our boxes, please assemble with white glue (not double stick tape as it will release). The final piece should feel solid enough so it will not easily crush. Packing material also adds weight, which helps the vending process. Our boxes are light and need added structure or packing material inside.
8. Wrap .003 ml acetate around each piece. Use clear "very sticky" tape to affix acetate and make sure the acetate is taut. Please do not use frosted tape or low tack labels that will release. This is important, as it will cause vending problems and incidental expense. All art must be wrapped in acetate.
9. Make a 2 X 2" square placard to identify your column in the machine. This should be simple and clear. A brief description of your work and your name is a good place to start. Upon request, A.I.C. personnel can create placards if you are unable (or shy).
10. Print out and sign the official Submission Form (pdf) and include it with your shipment. Submission of art is confirmation that you agree to the terms and conditions stated on this site. Send your prototype to us at:
Artists in Cellophane
5000 Rushland Drive
Winston-Salem NC 27104
LEGAL STUFF: By submitting artwork to us, you represent and warrant to A.I.C. that the artwork you provide to A.I.C. complies with all of the foregoing guidelines, which guidelines may be changed by A.I.C. from time to time. You further represent and warrant that such artwork is of merchantable quality, free from all defects, and suitable for resale to the public via A.I.C.'s Art*o*mat machines. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless A.I.C. and its successors, assigns, owners, proprietors, directors, employees, volunteers, representatives, Art*o*mat machine hosts and subhosts, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all past, present, and future claims, liabilities, losses, costs, damages, and expenses (including without limitation reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs) arising out: (a) the inaccuracy of the foregoing representation or breach of the foregoing warranty; or (b) the design, production, distribution, sale, or use of the artwork provided by you to A.I.C.
WHAT COMES NEXT: If your prototype is accepted, you will be notified by A.I.C. to begin production. There is a minimum requirement of 50 finished pieces. All work must be delivered to A.I.C. ready to vend and in no need of repair. All shipments of art not to specification will be sent back with an invoice for return shipping. The city and machine where your artwork will be placed is based upon the needs of our venues and is entirely up to A.I.C. and our Hosts. Depending on your work, the needs of our hosts and the time of year, it can sometimes take months to get your work placed in a machine. So, it may take time to see results.
Most vend prices are fixed at $5.00. Artists will receive $2.50 per sale, on consignment (we generally send out artist payments on a quarterly basis). The remaining percentage is split between project support, the host venue and/or donations to charity. Artists are solely responsible for content of artworks and listing of profits on taxes. We suggest that all artists should consider obtaining a "Certificate of Liability" insurance policy.
IF YOU NEED MATERIALS, WE HAVE THEM!: Wood blocks are highly recommended for 2-D work. Most 3-D artists use boxes. If you have any questions about submitting art, please contact us @ email@example.com.
Wow!! There were so many outstanding prints/images in this exhibition!! I think everytime I looked at the next it became my favorite. I was able to finally narrow it down to about 3-4 of my favorites, after gonig through the gallery about four times. The first that I really stuck out to me was titled Waxed and Dastardly, by Lindsey Clark-Ryan. The image was divided into about 9 or 12 smaller images of what appeared to be several different types and forms of mustaches. I actually laughed outloud to myself when I saw this piece, it was just comical to me. This is a piece I could definitely see myself hanging in my home someday! Another piece or series of pieces I thorouhgly enjoyed was el trabajor #1 and el trabajor #2, by Nicholas Naughton. These images stuck out to me personally because I hold great interest in the hispanic and latin american culture. What I believe this piece was representing was an indigenous person a campesino from a country of South America, working in the fields. The image was very typical of artwork done of trabajores or campesinos, with a hat over the face or some object or positioning that block the face. Anyways, really enjoyed those pieces by Naughton. Finally, I will just mention the other two pieces that caught my eye; Mirage, by David Curcio and the Think Girl Posters, by Tonja Torgersen.
While I was browsing the art works in the Quarter Gallery, I had to stop at my tracks to marvel at Stacey Halloway's creation "Sustaining Sympathy." I was really sad because it looked like it was a mechanized art work but it was "out of order." The doll placed in the middle was really old and ancient looking and with the baby clothes and accessories it was actually a pretty sickening sight. The apparatus on which the doll was perched upon seemed like something out of a science fiction novel... almost Frankenstein-esque.
There was one other thing that I thought about while I looked at the name of the piece, I thought of how sometimes people like to feign illnesses in order to gain sympathy from people around them. And in their quest to attain validation and public sympathy they share pitiful stories in order to feel good about themselves. I think it is sort of in human nature to feel good and have people agree with you at times because I think it helps bolster their views and existence. Overall the piece was really bizarre and in the beginning I was almost at the loss of words, but at the same time it was one of the most intriguing pieces of art in the gallery.
BA Senior Art Exhibition
Substitute for MFA FreshWorks.
Jennifer Bergner
Jennifer's pieces on photo just reminds me of one of my childhood fascinations: being in the dark room developing pictures. As i read her description of her piece and also tried to understand the inspiration behind the pictures, they remind me of the many relationships we have in our daily lives. However technology has moved on and I believe that photography has also caught up with it. These days digital photography is faster and cost effective as compared to film. But I think true photography as Jennifer describes it still exist in the film world where you get the chance to develop the photo yourself. Hence the artist gets to experience the whole process from the shot being taken to the final piece being displayed in an art gallery.
-Time: According to Merriam Webster's definition of time, time is "a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future.�?
-Interactivity: According to Merriam Webster's definition of interactivity, interactivity is "the quality of being interactive where interactive means acting with each other.�?
Those are both good definitions, but in this class, Time and Interactivity take on different meanings unique to each individual. For me, I define Time as movement. Without the other, neither can exist. If time stops so does movement. In this sense, the projects we make in class will have some sort of movement thereby creating an essence of time. As for Interactivity, I define it as human to computer program communication. Without human involvement there would be no interactivity. Also interactivity involves creating images and videos through computers as the human's medium. Combining these two terms for this class would then mean creating videos and images to imitate lifelike movement.
I may not be as abstract as I ought to be but I grew up with the mindset of a mathematician. Either way, the definition of Time and Interactivity varies from individual to individual.
Quarter Art Gallery Substitute
Joseph Field Gilbertson's piece called Landscape Triptych made with steel, wood, string, plastic and electric motors attracted my attention right away as I am always interested in pieces which combine machines with a great deal of artwork. His piece is about interaction of forces and relationships between humans and nature. This also presents the contrasts between organic and inorganic parts of nature. The use incorporation of physics into his artwork is so profound that if it is not specifically said that it is an art piece, one can be forgiven to think it is a piece from a physics class. however, Joseph brings out the best in this interaction of forces in nature by the capturing the entire idea in his piece with the electric motor which generates the electric field which will move the wooden balls attached to the strings up and down like nature would. This also brings into play the force of gravitation which is illustrated very Beautifully.
Thank you Cheryl for taking us to the Walker and allowing us to watch the works of Benita Raphan.
My favorite films were: 2+2 and Critical Path. The reason I liked them the most was because the storytelling was fairly straightforward and the visuals weren't too bizarre. When I compare the Dr. Nash documentary with the Hollywood version I think that they are both equally inspiring and provides deep insight into his chaotic mind. The chaotic way by which Benita portrayed his Schizophrenic state of mind was really effective. It left me feeling just as chaotic and confused. As for the first film (Bruce Conner) where we saw a million things blow up and saw people having accidents, I don't think I really understood the reason for making the movie besides everything that she showcased were all man made disasters and accidents. The flim Breakaway in my opinion was too repetitive. After the first 2 minutes I was expecting her to "breakaway" in a different situation or a different context. The "Absence stronger than presence" has a good story but I somehow wasn't able to listen to everything being said because of the echos in the film and I also thought it was hard to follow visually. Maybe that was just me and everybody else had a perfectly easy time watching the film. Overall I think that I had a good time watching all of the works being showcased and I hope we get to visit the Walker once again this semester! Thanks Cheryl.
I decided to write a review about the art piece titled "Emission Control" by Ben Garthus. The piece has 49 individual 4inx4in sized canvas squares. Each is spaced evenly 4 inches apart, with seven vertical rows and seven horizontal columns. This makes the grand scale of the piece 4.4ft x 4.4ft. Each canvas square has been placed in front of a car exhaust and then with the start of the engine, the exhaust is blown on to the canvas. There is a large variety of value from the exhaust on each square and also the shape it forms. The variety of the exhaust on canvas and the similarity of the dimensions of each canvas created a unified piece.
This piece opened my eyes to the use of exhaust as a medium and how that medium can be interpreted. I interpreted each canvas as an individual person and how each canvas/person emits exhaust into the world through are human made polluting machines. Overall I got the impression the artist was portraying the idea of pollution through exhaust and how we try to control it but our emissions still leave a mark.
I have to say that I adore the title "Koo Koo Kanga Roo.�? It reminded me of a line sung by the Beatles—one of my favorite bands—in "I Am the Walrus.�? Anyway, there's more to this video than the title. Koo Koo Kanga Roo is band composed of two college roommates from Winona, Minnesota. According to Matt Peiken they're "sort of a blend of Beastie Boys meets Tenacious D meets Sesame Street.�? I found that description amazing and throughout the whole video I couldn't stop laughing.
The combination above just doesn't seem right but I think these two roommates combined them quite well. Overall, I think they're an interesting band with an interesting style. Who knew you could combine Sesame Street with the likes of the Beastie Boys and Tenacious D?
I've always loved jazz as young boy and that's why I picked up an instrument when I was in 5th grade. I was originally going to start out with the saxophone but due to my incredibly small height and weak muscles back then I wasn't able to carry a saxophone or even surpass one in height. I choose the flute hoping one day that I'd be in jazz band but I later realized in high school that flutes weren't commonplace in jazz. Flutes are amazing and all but they don't show up very often in jazz. Anyway, I still love jazz and to see Chuck Beasley still playing in a jazz band since the age of 15 (now 84) is truly inspirational. I just hope that I could stick with something as long as Chuck Beasley did with jazz. In the meantime, I can just listen to my brother toot his saxophone in his jazz band. It's not me playing in a jazz band but it's close enough.
Dawei Xu: Kaleidoscope
Response from Anita Wallace
I'm impressed with all three video works by the artist Dawei Xu in the lobby of the Regis Art Center. My favorite work is Kaleidoscope. Perhaps because I viewed the works the several times after viewing the Voice to Vision project exhibition, it was difficult to take in so much diffuse imagery and so many painful experiences simultaneously. I felt on visual and emotional overload, so I had to come back and view the videos on their own, in their own spatio-temporality outside of the context of the Voice to Vision experience.
After viewing each piece several time, I decided that my favorite piece is the one titled "Kaleidoscope.�? I was impressed with the technical aspects of the production as well as the contrast of the ancient old world imagery and ideas and architecture with modernity. The use of color particularly red, black, and turquoise moved me deeply, as did the philosophical exploration of intimacy versus alienation. I liked when the merging of the imagery created the effects of abstract expressionist paintings. The mirroring of disparate images and ideas was effective and evocative.
What is a kaleidoscope? [the following is reprinted from Wikipedia]:
First attested 1817 in English, the word "kaleidoscope" derives from the Greek καλός (kalos), "beautiful"[1]+ είδος (eidos), "simple past from : to look at"[2] + σκοπέω (scopeο), "shape"[3][4]. Known to the ancient Greeks, it was reinvented by Sir David Brewster in 1816 while conducting experiments on light polarization; Brewster patented it in 1817. His initial design was a tube with pairs of mirrors at one end, and pairs of translucent disks at the other, and beads between the two. Initially intended as a science tool, the kaleidoscope was quickly copied as a toy. Brewster believed he would make money from his popular invention; however, a fault in the wording of his patent allowed others to copy his invention.
In America, Charles Bush popularized the kaleidoscope. Today, these early products often sell for over $1,000. Cozy Baker collected kaleidoscopes and wrote books about the artists who were making them in the 1970s through 2000. Baker is credited with energizing a renaissance in kaleidoscope-making in America. In 1997 a short lived magazine dedicated to kaleidoscopes called Kaleidoscope Review was published covering artists, collectors, dealers, events, and how-to articles. Craft galleries often carry a few, while others specialize in them and carry dozens of different types from different artists and craftspeople.
A kaleidoscope is a tube of mirrors containing loose colored beads, pebbles, or other small colored objects. The viewer looks in one end and light enters the other end, reflecting off the mirrors. Typically there are two rectangular lengthwise mirrors. Setting of the mirrors at 45°creates eight duplicate images of the objects, six at 60°, and four at 90°. As the tube is rotated, the tumbling of the colored objects presents the viewer with varying colors and patterns. Any arbitrary pattern of objects shows up as a beautiful symmetric pattern because of the reflections in the mirrors. A two-mirror model yields a pattern or patterns isolated against a solid black background, while a three-mirror (closed triangle) model yields a pattern that fills the entire field.
For a 2D symmetry group, a kaleidoscopic point is a point of intersection of two or more lines of reflection symmetry. In the case of a discrete group the angle between consecutive lines is 180°/n for an integer n≥2. At this point there are n lines of reflection symmetry, and the point is a center of n-fold rotational symmetry. See also symmetry combinations. Modern kaleidoscopes are made of brass tubes, stained glass, wood, steel, gourds and most any other material an artist can sculpt or manipulate. The part of the kaleidoscope which holds objects to be viewed is called an object chamber or cell. Object cells may contain almost any material. Sometimes the object cell is filled with liquid so the items float and move through the object cell with slight movement from the person viewing.
Kaleidoscopes are related to hyperbolic geometry.
I've heard of Second Life before I've never heard of using it the way Lonnie Knight uses it. He goes as the name, Lonnie Nightfire, and on every Wednesday he hosts a live radio show where he plays some of his own music. In a way it's become a second career because through Second Life he earns in-game dollars, which can be converted into actual dollars. It's different than gaining money through your Ebay account but I think it's quite clever and unique. It never ceases to amaze me how artists are trying to get their voices heard by thousands of people in this day and age.
Now personally I am not a huge fan of metal/heavy metal, etc. but I didn't mind the crazy instrumentals of Zebulon Pike. I think the fact that the band is strictly instrumental, I like it more. I often get turned off by the loud uncomprehendable screaming of metal rockers, which is probably the reason I am not a huge rock metal fanatic. For me heavy metal music does not have the same storytelling effect that other types of music do, or at least all the stories sound the same. Or the songs trick you..they keep building, building, while you sit there your anticipation growing..but the climax never comes...it is like the band members continue you to add and add more music, beats, and length to the song, so that by the time the instruments are going to tell you what happened you no longer have any interest! Any who..I enjoyed Zebulon Pike's instrumental music as far as my love for heavy metal goes. :)
Voice To Vision in the Katherine Nash Gallery
Voice to vision is designed to tell stories of Genocide survivors who are making it home in Minnesota. I viewed three pieces by Marie, who is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, Henry who is a survivor from the Nazi concentration camps and Massis who is a descendant of the survivors from the Armenian genocide by the Turks.
Marie - a Hutu- tells a story about how her husband – a Tutsi – moved away at the beginning of the ethnic cleansing to avoid her family being killed. She with her husband, a son and a daughter fled the country when the genocide was beginning.
Henry – A Jew who was put into the concentration camps during the Nazi era also talked about his experiences during the extermination. He wanted to be free so He would ignore all the rules that were set for him. His story reinforced the idea that many people who came to make the United States their home were in need of freedom to do whatever they wanted to do without any interference. His artwork spoke to the heart of topic. His voice spoke through his artwork showing us what he went through during that time.
Finally Massis – A descendant of the Armenian genocide or massacre survivors got a scholarship to come to the United States and study. His artwork described this transition and the kind of freedom that he experienced when he made Minnesota his home.
The description of the lives of these people as they made their transition from massacre to freedom is very remarkable as they provide a way for us to understand their stories while admiring their artworks.
It is very difficult for me to pick just one piece from the Fresh Works exhibit. The photos taken by Erin Johnson are impelling, they forced me to imagine the situation, the story behind each. My favorite was either Break or 37 cents. It was difficult to decipher what was being broken, or what was breaking. Perhaps the image is of a couple that has just ended their relationship, yet are still needing each other to lean upon. Another image I enjoyed was Sphereless V, a mixed media piece by Sue Fox. I love the vibrant colors and shapes placed almost strategically together, along with what appears to be some sort of organism or jellyfish perhaps. Overall I enjoyed most of the works presented in this exhibit at Coffman Union.
The Kaleidoscope:
The kaleidoscope by Dawei Xu located in the Katherine Nash Gallery is a rich visual presentation of art. Dawei has used the idea of a kaleidoscope to fascinate the viewer and to also create an experience where the viewer is completely absorbed in the piece of art. When I was watching the kaleidoscope, I could not resist but admire the work, both visually and technically. By using the idea of a kaleidoscope to create this art, he created images which were mirror images of themselves. Also by using modern versus old architecture and combining it with a wide variety of rich colors made the art very impressive. He was able to transition easily from individual images and videos easily while creating a very rich visual.
One impressive thing about the kaleidoscope is the technical composition of the art, which struck me as very detailed in the way each image or video was shot. He transitioned smoothly from natural environment like plants and flowers to our artificial creations like architectural buildings thereby presenting the idea of a kaleidoscope in vivid detail.
Additionally, Dawei, created a rich impression by adding sound which when viewed together with the video makes the whole presentation worthwile
I chose to view Dawei Xu's short film "The Kaleidoscope.�? At the same time, I both really enjoyed and disliked the film. To me a good film or at least a respectable one is one that tells a story, and for me it was hard to find Xu's story in this short film. I watched it several times and was intrigued by all the different images that were shown in one film, both realistic and surreal. I am unsure of what Xu was trying to say/depict by using a mirror lens in almost every shot. I think my favorite frames by far are those of the elderly man holding the hand of the young girl in the pink dress. I feel like it is one sequence of frames I can compare with and I love the colors used collectively in the image.
I chose to view Dawei Xu's short film "The Kaleidoscope.�? At the same time, I both really enjoyed and disliked the film. To me a good film or at least a respectable one is one that tells a story, and for me it was hard to find Xu's story in this short film. I watched it several times and was intrigued by all the different images that were shown in one film, both realistic and surreal. I am unsure of what Xu was trying to say/depict by using a mirror lens in almost every shot. I think my favorite frames by far are those of the elderly man holding the hand of the young girl in the pink dress. I feel like it is one sequence of frames I can compare with and I love the colors used collectively in the image.
This collection of three pieces, "9th Lane", "Silverod Street" and "Windemer Circle", were all in a similar style and size. Each piece was a collection of many photographs that were layered on top of each other. Each piece had a one group of people, there was a family in one, a couple in another, and one had just one person. Each piece also had the people standing next to a house. One would conclude that these houses belonged to the person featured in the photo. All the homes featured in this exhibit were newer generic houses and townhomes that one would find in any outlying suburb. So that brings up the question, where are these people from? What suburb is this? is it supposed to be vague symbolically? Each person has a different situation. That leads me to believe that this piece highlights everyones individual differences and how they can all live together peacefully in the suburbs.
Walker Film Screening, September 10, 2008
Bruce Conner:
A Movie, 1958, 16mm, 12 minutes
Breakaway, 1966 16mm, 5 minutes
Benita Raphan:
Absence Stronger than Presence, 1996, 35mm, 11 minutes,
2+2, 2002, 35mm, 11 minutes
The Critical Path, 2003, video, 13 minutes
If I could have a film projected continuously on the wall of my house, occupying space like a painting or photograph, I'd have Break Away playing. There are two stars in this black and white, 1966, 5-minute film:
1) A sexy brunette (Antonia Christina Basilotta) with long dark hair and heavy bangs dancing in a playful way and
2) Bruce Conner's camera and editing skills.
Conner's camera angles capture the dancer's complete lack of self-consciousness and his editing combines the music with her movements, creating emotional cohesion. At points in the film, Conner stretches the soundtrack, blending the speed of the filming, and frequency of cuts with fragments of the dancer's body resulting in bright blurs of body parts streaking across the screen. The playfulness of the dancing and the LSD-edgy music, combined with the varying speed of filming, highly contracted tones, position of the dancer in the frame, and angle of the camera expresses the quintessential 1960s.
Christopher Cannon's two pieces, "Divergent Route .5" and Acquiring Data .5," really grabbed my attention. The pieces where screen prints that incorporated bright neon colors. They were artist depictions of a GPS Navigation System from a car. The pieces caught my attention because I wondered why would an artist want to create this? Also Where is this? The pieces were very nicely done. They had nice clean lines, and the color was phenomenal. I really liked this piece.
The Kinetic Kitchen is a great opportunity to see a well choreographed dance series put together by local artists. There are many local artists who will perform. They all have their own audiences so it is a great opportunity to have exposure to different audiences. Styles include tap, modern and ballet. This sounds it would be a very fun show to see.
Among the movies, which were shown, I did not really understand the purpose or the point at which the first three movies were trying to arrive at. There were images, which were being thrown at the viewer in very abstract and incoherent ways. They were all very artistic but I could not draw any conclusion from any of them, as I tend to do when I watch movies. However, when John Forbes Nash's story was included, I felt a bit relieved as, for once, I could relate to the subject matter at hand, analyze what is being discussed or talked about in the movie and also enjoy the content of the movie. As I am already familiar with his work and also already watched a movie about his life, watching this particular movie brought a breadth of fresh air into the story of his life as the movie was made in such an artistic way that the viewer could barely predict the direction of the movie. In any case I thought it was better produced artistically than any movie I have seen of the life of the central character(John Forbes Nash).
Rowan Pope's "Sleeping Old Man�? was my favorite piece. The artist really gave us an omniscient look into the life of this stately old man. This portrait is begging for the viewer to make assumptions about the old man because we are not given any background information. Is the gothic evening a symbol of his mood? Is this noble man of a royal bloodline? Was this man a well-respected philosopher? Maybe he is a ivy league-educated man who has gone crazy in his old age? The amount of fine detail in this piece was absolutely astonishing. The beautiful Victorian crystal chandelier, fine silk linens, elaborate Romanesque furniture, exotic hardwood desk and fine leather bound books hint at the opulent life that this man lived.
Triumph of Human Spirit by Aviel Goodman is profoundly deep. It evokes a very deep sense of passion. Depth is created in the piece by building up layers of different translucent images. Also the main image in the piece has a long and ghostly penetrating perspective. The man in the picture is engaged in very deep thought. The passion and emotions from the vindictive genocides of the holocaust are personalized with this one man. Adding to the drama of the work is the group of people in the lower corner. Like the man in the image, each person has their own life story bifurcated by the tragic events of war. The desolation of the holding cells and the barbed wire fence all add to the profound emotional impact of the work.
Xu Dawei's "The Balance#1�? piece was masterfully crafted. He did a beautiful job using desolate music to portray emptiness and isolation. The incorporation of black and white film in combination with the blurred images was also added to the feeling of isolation. The bleak sound of the bird was also very elegant. The screen layout changes throughout the film keep the viewer engaged. The duality of the free bird flying around and the caged bird was moving because it compared two birds. It was just chance that one would be caged. The pollution at the end that the free bird was exposed to makes one think maybe being free is not so good.
This blog entry is a response to the films seen at the Walker Gallery.
In my opinion the films can be summed up in three words *Editors Gone Wild*. From the quick cuts to the over extended transitions, these films seem to be more about process rather than content. I love film making and the process that goes into it, but I also feel there should be some aspect of inspiration or narrative.
The positives to these films are the soundtracks and audio tracks. I could have closed my eyes and been more informed about the ideas in the films with only audio.
I believe the films presented are best suited to an art gallery experience, where experimentation is encouraged and exhibited.
One of the pieces that particularly caught my eye in the quarter gallery was that of a large, old-fashioned war poster that was done in black and red ink, showing a suspiciously cheerful soldier holding a grenade in his hand, and preparing to throw it. text on the poster said (approximately) "throw a grenade like you would a football". After the quote there was a red asterisk and a small side note on the bottom, which said "warning: grenades are not meant to be caught." I thought that the pieces was funny and overall very well-done. i loved the irony of the comparison of a grenade to a football, ahd therefore comparing war to a game. You know; "I'm not throwing a dangerous explosive that could easily kill people or destroy propoert! it;s just a football."
Out of the five movies that were shown at the Walker, my favorite was 2+2, the movie about the life and work of Doctor Nash. My first reason for this choice was that I am already familiar with most of his story from having seen the Hollywood film about him, and to see it from a different perspective was interesting. I am also keen on psychology and psychological disorders such as schizophrenia, and I enjoyed the way the film blended colors, numbers and other imagery to visually express the condition. 2+2 was also the first film in the series that was structured into a cohesive story, which was a great relief after the first three films, which were all artistic, abstract, and subjective. Watching all three of these erratic, disconcerting films consecutively gave me a large dose of overstimulation. I should have been able to enjoy myself throughout the experience, instead of only near the ending of the series. I believe that those showing these videos could have, by rearranging them, made it more enjoyable to watch all of the films.
I thought the art-o-mat is a wonderful idea. It brings an accessibility to art that is much different and more appealing to mass culture than a gallery exhibition. Also, the way that it allows anyone to submit their work for review opens art to the masses, letting unknown artists gain a small space of a gallery or hotel. The price is reasonable as well, which is a crucial factor for many. Among the other artworks at Chambers, I especially liked the piece in the conference room, that was composed of groups of bright, immensly brushes, markers, and pencils all in radial patterns throughout the canvases. I always enjoy bright, high contrast paintings such as this, and the enormous scale of the painting makes it even more interesting. I can scarcely imagine the artist tediously painting brush after brush, pencil after pencil, all on these three huge panels. That piece sticks out to me as the most impressive and appealing that we were shown.
Anita Wallace
absence starts stops from presence doctor edwin ladd pure science soundtrack script empty chairs photos inventions 535 patents more than anyone except Einstein Cambridge 1942 hands numbers the past is here why is it drab this is a true story internal commentary on narrative motion of photos an eternity you will already have forgotten the meaning the vision why does she leave to want to wait he thought that he understood her he believed it 24 hours he created developing photographs corners cameras blue he knew where to look he could see she could see text they were together apart at the same time self developed film process a slurry blur over 1944 man who made possible happen dr lane took picture of his daughter right after he took picture she wanted to see she asked to see the picture and he wondered she wondered how long it will take to see it and he asked himself why did it need to take so long unbelievable story no possibility this is a true story German Dutch subtext language speaking aloud
Anita Wallace
dancing woman from 1960s black and white polka dots painted from light blurred focus camera angles close up cropping figurative to abstract non-narrative telling a story disintegration merges disassociation makes sense of discontinuous continuity and change sound elements bring music reality fantasy merge displaced viewer questions comfort zones vocal power adds dimension and strength to piece by selection form imitates content of sound
Anita Wallace
appropriated clips countdown 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 cowboys and Indians movement constant motion black and white female nude removes silk stockings empty space void alienation alphabetical biopsies caress diplomatic enigmas furthering gastronomic hysteria illuminating juxtaposed kaleidoscopic legitimacy metaphorical nutrition opposed promptly text inserted into movie summary automated words questioning restorative supplementation sky clouds waves water pacing playful timing achromatic non-chronologic military sexual juxtaposition clouds les nuages waves water crashing tumultuous splashing water board surfers biking in mud stuck and falling accident prone talking heads bombs dropping incessantly coronation of pope mitre fire landslide dropping from sky parachutes deer loiter snake charmers play flutes wobbly bridge blows in wind camera movement angle helium balloons sinking ships bodies mushroom cloud dead elephant villagers commune shivering figures manatee swimming scuba diver under sea bottom feeders texture corrosion decay plane on ocean floor swimming through windows and doors seaweed flows through light and shadow
Chambers Luxury Art Hotel was a dramatic fusion of ultra modern architecture with a many notable pieces of modern art. The building ambience was set using high end finishes of granite and stone, wide-open spaces, stainless steel panels, new age lighting and spans of glass curtain wall. My favorite piece of art was the Robert Silvers "American Flag.�? The piece was a collage of hundreds of miniature pictures taken all across the United States. There were beaches in Florida, New York skyscrapers, and the Golden Gate Bridge to name a few. They were all arranged to form a larger picture of the waving American flag. The image really symbolizes all the different places in the United States that together do make up on unified nation.
I have some fairly strict views on the use of film, and therefore strongly disliked some of the films we watched at the walker. The first two exemplify this point perfectly. The myrad of clips thrown at the viewer in Bruce Conner's A Movie and Breakaway. They both have some effect as an artistic statement, but their incoherency greatly deminishes this effect. The third film, Absense Stronger Than Presence, succeeeded at some length in telling a story, but the chopped up and overlayed effects throughout made the film difficult to understand and follow. The final two films had much less of this sort of editing trickery, using instead a much more direct form of biographical storytelling that was, in my opinion, more effective than in the first three films.
I greatly enjoyed most of the films we were able to view at Walker last Wednesday. They were very intriguing to me. Several times I found myself revealing a stern look while my brain attempted to untangle the stories the films were telling. To me, the films were almost too personal to the creator and beyond my intellectual level to understand. My favorite of the films was that of the girl dancing/shaking/flalling/seizering. It was like a flash dance the way the editing was done. The music would fade in and out. The shot were from all different angles, zoomed in, zoomed out, the editing must have taken days! But, my favorite part of this film was that at a certain point in the film there was what seemed to me a pause. Within that second of a pause I had so many different inklings of what may come next…to my surprise the entire beginning of the film was shown again in reverse while the whole time picking up speed. I am still now unsure of what the artist was trying to portray, or what story they were trying to tell through this film, but I definitely enjoyed it.
The 3-Minute Egg I watched was about the Kinetic Kitchen, and occasional dance series hosted at Patrick's Cabaret in which choreagraphers from all skill levels and walks of life can participate. Some of the dance clips that were shown in the video were very interesting or new to me. I was particularly intrigued by this particular 3-minute egg because of some of my past experiences with Patrick's Cabaret.
Five years ago I was lucky enough to participate in a 10-week series of paid Saturday workshops there that were focused on puppetry and storytelling. By paid workshops, I mean to say I was paid ten dollars for every workshop I attended. The workshops themselves were a lot of fun, and the money was just icing on the cake. After those ended I took another two-week series of summer workshops at powderhorn park in which our group created a splendid puppetry performance, which we actually ended up putting on in Patrick's Cabaret.
So it was a rather odd coincidence that the first video I clicked was set there. I got quite a bit of deja vu from looking at the shots of the space.
Most of my inspiration comes from experience and the environment I grew up in. There aren't too many artists that I personally draw my inspiration from but there are some TV shows and video games that inspire me such as Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Zelda, to name a few. In addition to this, I draw inspiration from my parents. My parents are responsible for shaping my beliefs and most of what I do comes from what my parents have taught me. It's not to say that my parents are solely responsible for I what I believe in but it also comes from outside influences such as friends, school, and media. Though, if I had to choose an artist or artists that I draw inspiration from it would have to be Walt Disney and John Lasseter. I've loved their movies since I was a young boy and I've always aspired to become an animator of some sort. Right now those plans are on hiatus.
I have never seen an exhibition like this and this was an interesting experience . There were a couple of pieces I thought were really cool. The first one that I liked was the turtle structure - Stacker by Wayne E Potratz. I was impressed by the execution since metals are fairly difficult to work with in my opinion. It was also cool how the huge tortoise supported all the tiny ones. That concept reminded me of the old world perception about how the planet supported itself in space. The other piece I thought was almost exotic was the Air Sacrifice by Konrad Orthmein. The connection between air and iron is very specific in chemistry and it was a really bizarre take on this process I think. A sacrifice of air in order to make iron.
This exhibit was fantastic. I first browsed the exhibit as a whole and then went back to the works I liked best, which were quite a few. Bruce McCombs - Gulliver's Lincoln was awesome, the detail was incredible and seeing the imagination in scale showcased how versed the artist was with his tools. Ericka Walker - Armored division, this concoction of metal crawling through the frame was highly excellent. Yuji Hizatsuka - Roam, Groovy Umbrellas, this piece used really interesting elements, the color was really specific in its quality, form became really defined and a new perspective unveiled, with some eastern influence. Stephen Fisher - Flying mountain, this piece really reminded me of my childhood, summers spent at the cabin wondering the woods. The quality of light portrayed in the image was completely natural and projected realistic liveliness. Over all this art exhibit featured some of my favorite works and I will be sure to recommend it to some friends.
My favorite piece of the tour was the gorilla sculpture by Angus Fairhurst, outside in the courtyard. I saw his first sculpture at the Walker Art Center who have an intact gorilla on display (or at least last time I stopped by) across the Hen. entrance. I believe he used bronze for this work and the outcome is really lively and incites a feeling of respect and understanding. This part of the art world is really unfamiliar to me and very strange. Angus Fairhurst studied alongside with Damien Hurst and both seem to exist in a very strange state of being. While searching for more information about this sculpture I learned that Angus Fairhurst actually took his own life in March of this year, I wonder why.
Because I could not locate the name of this artwork while I viewed it, I have temporarily entitled it Creepy Robotic Zombie Monkey Baby in Highchair.
I must say, that it stood out to me from the first time I saw it; or rather, heard it. I heard a creaking, chinking sound while I was walking through the fresh Works gallery, and just had to investigate. I was not disappointed to find a wooden highchair holding a porcelain monkey baby, who was moving and rattling. It looked like something out of a Frankenstein movie; the only real colors to the image were the red rosettes and rattle decorating the baby 9there was thread sewing up the baby that I think was red as well), along with the sickly yellow tubes that spiraled up around the highchair from an ominous contraption to attach to the baby's neck with metal clamps. The baby itself was chained to the highchair with little metal manacles, which would rattle every time the baby moved. The piece held gruesome and unsettling combination of innocence and horror, and I loved it. The fact that the baby, the human universal symbol of innocence and hope, was also a monkey, seemed like a mockery of our world's (or at least, our society's) idealized view of babies. They can be cute and innocent, true, but they're also just little monkeys that crawl and eat and poop and spit and burp. The clothes of the monkey baby, I would like to note, were very innocent in design; cute stripes and lace on the outfit and bonnet plus little rosettes, but the color palette was just as gothic as the rest of the piece, using only a dark dull blue-grey, white and scarlet.
Forgive me if this review is a little vague, but I watched this video a few days ago, and have forgotten some of the specifics.
I loved how Xu played with not only the content of the different videos show, but also the videos' "screen" height, width, shape and placement; it helped to portray the emotions that each combination of videos was supposed to evoke. For me, the video evoked a feeling of loneliness and starkness. It seemed that neither the wild nor captivity was shown to be idealized. I loved the tiny vertical strip of sky above a horizontal block showing the top of a building; it was quite the contrast to the norm; usually, buildings stand against a wide stretch of sky, but here the sky was smaller. The sound that was also used added to the emotion of the video itself, using the blowing of the wind, the cawing of crows and the rustling of feathers ready to takeoff in flight. A lot of the time, even the birds in the wild looked solitary, showing just one crow on a branch or wheeling in the sky, just one chicken in a cage. I loved this video piece, and I would gladly view some like it.
All of the films and videos we watched last Wednesday were very interesting and some fascinating. There was one that stuck out strongly in my mind. I really liked the Breakaway film. To me, it represented a trapped feeling I'm sure a great majority of people experience. It seemed the woman was trying to express herself in all of these seemingly subtle ways. Such as facial expressions or slight changes or alterations of clothing. The tempo sort of lead up to the derailing of her train of thought of getting away for a while. I love how it rewound all the way back as if none of those thoughts or actions had happened at all and there she was again still trapped and unable to breakaway.
Three Minute Egg (3)
Bedford Poets at Magers and Quinn Bookstore (3 December 2008)
This video documents the release and reading of an anthology of a group of poets that has met once a month over a twenty-year period. [Just as an aside: One thing that is remarkable is the access to community events that Three-Minute Egg provides. The posting of the videos allows one access to attend the event virtually when other scheduling conflicts bar the way.] I often feel a strong bond with my classmates from a powerfully structured and well-taught course. This semester, for example, I have come to feel close to my classmates in T&I and in my painting class. It is an intimacy of shared experience. We learn from one another and see things through each other's eyes, we see the individual's vision as it emerges and changes over time. The experience one goes through in one term or semester is at times equivalent to a "lifetime�? of memories, knowledge acquisition, and experience. Over the short period one becomes close to, at times even intimate (not romantically, although I know it happens) with the bond of experiences with others. So, it comes as no surprise, that these students who shared a poetry class at the Loft became so bonded and developed such a rapport with one another that they continued to work and learn with each other over such an extended period of time. However, given the tangible nature and the quick pace of time, it is extraordinary that such a group can endure. The success is possibly because of the group's small size. Initially it was five men. Four of the original remain in the group. Initially they say it was "testosterone driven�? e.g. it was a men's group founded on a connection to the philosophical musings of Robert Bly. Now, however, there are several women in the group. This has changed the dynamics and substantial experience of the group. The video posted on 3-minute egg is more a document about the group than a substantial meaningful sharing and rendering of poems and their analysis. Even so, I find the content and presented format really interesting.
Minneapolis College of Art and Design Annual Student Art Sale (Friday before Thanksgiving)
I learned through 3-minute egg that each year MCAD has a huge sale of student art—all for under $1,000. The quantity and quality visible on the video of the event have me already committed to attending this event next year. Apparently it is heavily attended and there are all sorts of media including hand-crafted furniture, crafts, paintings, film, photography, and drawings. When I learned about the show I was disappointed to have missed it, and imagine my surprise when I was able to see what I missed on 3-minute egg. I hope that people realize what a valuable resource 3-minute egg is. I would have liked to attend the sale just to get a sense of what other students are producing. I was impressed with the quality and volume of the works. I have been meaning to get over to the U of M annual art sale. Yesterday I got paid, but today I forgot my wallet. Hopefully there will be good stuff left tomorrow.
dear senator mccain (November 10, 2008)
The piece of work I loved the most in the Chambers Hotel was the large photograph near the entryway, featuring a wide variety of characters all interacting together. It amazed me that all of the different people in the photograph - the lolita baby, the woman, the artist, the soldier, the man - were all the same man. I loved how clearly and creatively the costumes of each character portrayed what each was supposed to represent, as well as the creative use of different materials as eye-coverings (I especially loved the grenades placed over the eyes, and the glasses with paintbrushes poking out of them). It had a lot of history and meaning behind it, and it could easily be seen that a lot of time and effort was invested in the photograph, an yet it looked like a lot of fun.
My life has been an ongoing process to better balance time—balancing a bread-and-butter job with making time to make art and write. I anticipate that this course will be part of that ongoing process. I'm interested in learning more about new technologies in art to integrate knowledge of contemporary digital media to update my current skills and repertoire. As far as art goes I am interested in topics such as representational versus abstraction; color versus absence of color; process, systems, and experimentation with line and form. One of my primary interests in art and academic work is in exploring the contrast between continuity and change, image and text, absence and presence, alienation, solitude, similarity versus difference and various ideas and concepts through art, science, and the humanities. Nature and the urban industrial landscape inspire my work and I am particularly drawn to classification and categorization of images and ideas.
My name is Richard Agyei. I'm a junior, majoring in computer science. I am originally from Kumasi, Ghana, a country in West Africa. I've been living in the United States for close to six years now. I speak two languages, Twi-which is my native language-and English, my second language. I have diverse interests which span modern history, philosophy, computing and math. I'm a big sports fan, especially European soccer and NBA. It brings out the passion and strength in me. I recently discovered a new tool called joomla, which is great for building dynamic websites. I also have an intermediate knowledge on xhtml, css and a few other web authoring tools.
My name is Richard Agyei. I'm a junior, majoring in computer science. I am originally from Kumasi, Ghana, a country in West Africa. I've been living in the United States for close to six years now. I speak two languages, Twi-which is my native language-and English, my second language. I have diverse interests which span modern history, philosophy, computing and math. I'm a big sports fan, especially European soccer and NBA. It brings out the passion and strength in me. I recently discovered a new tool called joomla, which is great for building dynamic websites. I also have an intermediate knowledge on xhtml, css and a few other web authoring tools.
The greatest inspiration for my animation was definitely Japanese animation. When I was younger I was obsessed with shows like Dragon Ball Z and Gundam (which the main figure was from). Watching those shows made me want to be an animator, and made me interested in animation techniques, especially action-oriented effects such as the gunblasts or jet streams, which I tried to emulate in my animation. This ended up taking the most time, aside from the pure grunt work for myself and my computer of taking each shot, then processing them to give them their stylized look. It was a lot of fun to do - I just wish I could have found some more of my figures. :(
Gulliver's Lincoln
By Bruce McComb
on Intalgio
One of the art pieces that I found interesting was Gulliver's Lincoln. I believe it was meant to capture the imagination of Gulliver's travels as it had several humans who were 1/12th the size of normal humans working on it. In observing this piece, I realized how it captured a modern idea about Gulliver's travels where the Lincoln stood for his wrecked ship and the blesfucudians helping him to fix it before he escapes from the Lilipudians. Bruce McComb's portrayal of this 18th century story in a more modern light certainly captures the imagination of many observers as the story of the remodeling of the Lincoln brings back memories of actually reading the book.
This piece of art impressed me more that any other piece in this series because of the intricacies that I think Bruce went through in creating it, yet also modernizing an old influential story into a modern one and being able to connect it with his viewers.
What is time and Interactivity?
Time and interactivity:- The idea of time has been debated for so long being defined by physicists, philosophers, biologists and several other scholars in different fields of study through history. I try to define time here by understanding it through the idea of interactivity. Understanding that in order for time to change, objects must interact with each other for us to see the change in state that the object has gone through. We can see time in frames where every frame is both related to the previous frame and the frame after and hence we get interaction from that. That is in order for us to understand that time changes, it is imperative that we understand that we are always interacting with objects and thus the idea that time changes.
So what is time after all?
Time I believe is the idea that we are able to see events change around us and such events include aging, seasons, etc. We could understand time but understanding the various interactions that goes on can help us to truly define time. Some people have tried to define time as the flow of sand through an hour glass. As Wikipedia puts it, it is used to measure sequences of events and therefore time allow events to interact with each other. it allows every situation to be put into context of one other.
Interactivity, in our class, is very important in understanding the fact when works of art are created, it is dynamic and able to move through time as described above to the observer whereas other "old" media works of art are very static and play just one role. These "old" mediaa works of art do not show any form of movement. Hence it cannot be seen through the same prism as the "new" media form of art.
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Crowther, Paul. "Ontology and Aesthetics of Digital Art.�? The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 66, No. 2, Spring 2008, 161-70.
Duarte, Angel. "Interactivity and Plastic Space: From the Minimal Unit of Movement to the Modulus.�? Leonardo, Vol. 25, No. 3-4, MIT Press.
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Time and interactivity is an exploration of animation and filmmaking through digital media. Therefore, time is crucially important, as almost all of the projects created in the class use the passage and progression through time to bring depth to the artwork.
He presented a very wide variety of images and videos to us. A lot of it did not interest me too much, as I found it to be too erratic, random, namely the series of doodles he did with ink on white paper. Also along that line was the video of him typing "tomorrow" repeatedly. It felt like it dragged on for too long, and it lost some of its impact with me. Perhaps it was meant to drag on, however, to portray a feeling of dread for "tomorrow", as may have been intended with the music - which also seemed to drag on.
The images of the faces interested me greatly, however, as the use of different materials gave it a chaotic feel, though it still felt like it tied together.
Overall, it was interesting but not my "cup of tea." His work felt experimental, and is interesting from a psychological perspective, but at that point I tend to not think of it so much as art as a psychological experiment. But that's just how my brain operates.
This piece stood out to me because of its simplicity. All it's made up of are white bed sheets tied together in a string that hang down from the ceiling and reach down towards the floor.
A sheet ladder is symbolic in that it represents a means of escaping. When I look at TJ Barnes's piece, it evokes the feeling of wanting to escape from the troubles or chaos of the everyday world. The title, "It All Just Got To Be Too Much,�? is appropriate for this piece because sometimes there are just too many things thrown at you all at once that the only thing you could do to solve this dilemma is to run or escape. Every now and then, when there are too many things on my mind to think about, I just want to climb down from my makeshift ladder and escape from it all.
Ever since its release in 1999, Princess Mononoke, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is easily my favorite, most influential, and most inspirational animated film. Before Mononoke, I had watched My Neighbor Totoro, and loved it, but did not have a concept of who created it. However, after seeing Mononoke, my awareness and appreciation of Miyazaki has grown immensely, such that he has surpassed Disney by leaps and bounds in my opinion of animated storytellers.
Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5, 1941, in Tokyo, son of Katsuji Miyazaki, director of Miyazaki Airplane. His mother, who's name I cannot find, was treated for spinal tuberculosis, but died in 1955. Miyazaki says he learned to draw airplanes and battleships through his father's work, and gained his skeptical character from his mother. He attended Gakushuin University in Tokyo, a prestigious school that includes many Imperial Family members amongst its alumni. There he attained degrees in Economics and Political Science.
After college, he got a job at Toei Animation, where he worked as an in-between artist for the anime Watchdog Bow Wow. He lead a labor dispute that followed shortly after he was hired, and became the leader of their labor union. In 1965 he married a fellow animator, Akemi Ota, and had two sons, Goro, and Keisuke. Goro is now an animator, and Keisuke is a wood artist.
Hayao Miyazaki accomplished wide success in his earlier animating years, with hits such as My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, as well as Castle in the Sky. The release of Princess Mononoke spread his name into American popular culture.
What has been so fascinating to me about his films is the ambiguity of the battle of good vs. evil. In the films I have seen, there is either not a clearly defined antagonist, or there is no antagonist at all. In Princess Mononoke, for instance, Lady Eboshi is the closest character to a villain, but she has redeeming qualities in the care she has for her people, and her generosity towards outcasts. This, I believe, gives us relief from the generalizations we see amongst most stories, and acknowledges the fact that there are very few absolutes in the world. Also, in many of his movies the protagonist is fairly pacifistic – to one degree or another – but still has a dark or conflicted side to them. Their philosophical leaning makes them more likeable to me, while the realism of their faults makes them more believable. Its his complex, character-driven plots, not to mention the beautiful animation itself, that makes his films so engaging to me.
Also, he as a person is very interesting to me because of his philosophies on the development of children. Answering a question in an interview about the violence in Princess Mononoke, comparing it to the more gentle My Neightbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, he says that they've "made many films, which encourage children to be bright and hopeful. We've been making films to cheer them up and support them. But given the reality they encounter, that support is not enough. They instinctively understand the problems. Where is the world headed? Are humans doing the right thing? Unless we address those questions directly, our encouragement is useless because we are not addressing the real issues. So even though we had to step outside the boundaries of entertainment, we had to make this movie or forfeit the right to make any more.�? His realism and understanding that children aren't entirely naïve to the world give me great respect for him not only as a professional animator, but as a human being.
John has used appropriated film in very compelling ways, combining two segments of film into an extremely elongated picture plane. It is obvious he either had prior knowledge of final cut before he entered the class or the person teaching the class at the time decided to look more deeply at the delicacies of final cut. I find his philosophies interesting, and his ideas that everything, even his appropriated film works, are thought of as drawing and painting. His use of a variety of mediums and materials in his work is striking. His small drawings have a wonderfully simple quality to them, and he has a minimalist but interesting style in his illustrations. His use of film with only text is compelling; it forces us to create images in our minds that we might normally see on the screen, where the text is displayed. When this text is not seen but only created, it creates even more visual tension that pulls you into the work. Most of his art seems to have a dark, intense, primal mood to them, which I find very interesting.
The piece that I enjoyed the most was the one of the trash bags. I think the art is just as much the context that they are placed then the pieces themselves. I it fun to try and visualize the different ways that people would handle such an eyesore, whether they would ignore it, add to it, or become very frustrated that they could not get rid of it and always having on their minds.
I greatly enjoyed the Salustiano piece, Gorge. I found the huge piece with such little variation in color and design to be quite enthralling. At least three-fourths of the canvas had to have been covered in red, only the face of the child was a lighter tan/pale color, and there was a little variation in the reds to show clothing the girl. Upon returning home from Chambers I immediately googled this piece/the artist to see if this was a typical piece of work for him. All of the artists work is done with natural pigments, acrylic on canvas. For this particular piece, it was stated that the artist used thirty layers of glaze....WOW!! For me the piece was so simple and glorious!!! I wanted to ask the bald child in the image what she was thinking? where was she? why was she there?? Because of the overwhelming amount of red, the viewer is forced to look into the bright blue eyes of the child.
I am a junior, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and I am from Bismarck, ND. I love hunting and fishing, and just being outdoors in general. I have a real easy going personality, and am easy to get along with. In high school I was in soccer, I pole vaulted, and was on a few academic teams. I play intramural volleyball in the summer and also during the school year. I love watching movies, some of my favorite are Gladiator, Out Cold and Grumpy Old Men. In my free time I also enjoy reading or playing board and video games. One thing that I hate is when people walk side by side down hallways or the sidewalk and make other people move out of the way.
Now that the election is over I feel comfortable in saying that I am happy with the way America voted. On the other hand I am not happy with the way some of America reacted. All Tuesday night I watched the election to watch and see the results, as soon as the electoral votes were counted I discussed with my roommates and family members. I then decided to go online and check my facebook, only to discover a horror of statuses. The remarks that people had put up as their statuses were completely inappropriate and not okay by any standard. Some remarked, "Im packing my bags," and sayings such along these lines. I don't care how much someone despises someone or something, when they become your president, you respect them.
Greetings, my name is Aleksey and I am a sophomore here at the U. I transferred into the music program from another school, so it will actually be my first year here. The reason I am taking Time and Interactivity is to get exposure to new mediums as well as brush up on skills I already have. I am considering having an Art concentration in the Individualized Studies program and I believe this course will give me an opportunity to figure out how to manage my creative ideas. I photograph a lot and have a growing interest in other crafting methods. I am a curious person so learning things from all sorts of fields and areas is something I really enjoy. As far as the future goes, I would like to start my own adventure guide company for the simple reason of having a freedom to travel, learn about the world, and discover myself through new experiences.
Hey whats up everybody! I am excited to learn and create amazing projects this semester. I am a graphic design major at the college of design and a looking to get a minor in art.
I will right more later, so check back!
My name is Ashley. I'm a first year student here at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Computer Science so far. I attended the University of Minnesota Crookston last year as a PSEO student. I grew up in a rather large family in a very small town. Aside from family and academics the majority of my time has been devoted to extra-curricular activities and athletics. Over the last few years I've participated in National Honor Society, YBA, knowledge bowl, choir, ensembles, work base, basketball, track and softball. I'm taking this class because my focus in Computer Science is shifting towards graphic design, web development and advertising, and it won't hurt that it should be a lot of fun!
My name is Andrew Ramirez and I am currently a senior at the University of Minnesota pursuing a degree in Construction Management. I am really looking forward to graduating in the spring. I am presently working at Bonestroo in Saint Paul as a field engineer intern for civil construction and improvement projects. I grew up and currently live in Forest Lake, just 25 miles north of Minneapolis. I enjoy working on remodeling projects around the house in my free time. I also enjoy cooking and baking and wine tasting and have been to the Napa Valley in California several times.
I am Megan Rowley, the youngest daughter in the world's greatest family of five. My sisters are my very best friends. I grew up and have lived in Eagan, Minnesota for my entire life. At Eastview High School in AppleValley, MN I was highly involved in an array of activities and groups. I was captain of the fastpitch softball team, member of the two time state championship dance team, National Honor Society member, and on the cast of the daily/weekly announcement shows. Here at the University of Minnesota I am a member of the Greek community, hoping to join the rowing team, a SJMC student, and pursuing a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Spanish. I hope to be a member of the Peace Corps. for 2 years immediately following my graduation. I love to travel and have a fetish for movies/DVDs. Another interesting tidbit is that I have won two Emmys in the Upper Midwest Chapter, for a new story and a documentary.
Hi, you can cal me Jon. I am a sophmore, majoring in computer science and minoring in art. I'm really into manga, anime, and japanese popular culture. I draw manga style artwork during much of my free time, so I'm not much of a partier or anything like that.
My name is Alexander W. Hansen-Ralke. I have lived in S. Minneapolis since I was born in 1988, and have enjoyed many a cold winter. I am (currently) a Computer Science major at the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology, but am exploring other interests while (slowly) progressing through my major. While I am interested in programming as a career, my primary interests lie in art, music, biking, and video games. Namely, I like drawing Anime-style (influenced greatly by Akira Toriyama and Hayao Miyazaki), playing guitar (approaching three years, but still have no sense of rhythm), and playing first person shooters and (MMO)RPGs.
Hello everyone! My name is Edson Aquino, though you probably already know that by now. What you don't, however, is that my real name is Nathaniel. I was actually was okay with that name but my parents insisted that I have it changed. It's a long story and I'd rather not explain it here. Long story short I had it changed to Edson Paolo Nathaniel Bejo Aquino—I know, it's lengthy.
Anyway, I should tell you more about myself. I grew up in Saudi Arabia and after living there for seven years, my family and I moved to the United States of America. I do miss it sometimes especially the shawarma—a Middle Eastern Arabic-style sandwich—but I have no regrets in leaving Saudi. As of now, I live in Chaska, Minnesota a.k.a. "The Best City in Minnesota�? (according to a national poll in 2007).
As for my family, it consists of a mom, a dad, two older sisters, a younger brother, and a cat and dog that don't get along very well. I love them all though sometimes they get on my nerves. As for me, I enjoy plenty of things. In my spare time I listen to a lot music, play video games, mess around on the computer, draw, hang out with friends, eat, play manly instruments such as the flute, watch TV and movies, play sports such as basketball, and sleep. Also, I enjoy my mom's delicious home-cooked meals. There a lot of things that annoy me that I could mention here but I learned to let them slide because after all we're only humans.
P.S. Thank you for reading my bio! It may or may not be exciting but it's my life and I love it.
Hey, my name is Kittu. I am originally from India and moved to the United States 8 years ago. I have been extremely lucky to get a taste of two different cultures. Some useless facts about me include: I love animals except bats & centipedes & snakes, pretty flowers specially orchids, plants, food!, the Arts and Style section of the nytimes, I love the tingling feeling in my gums after I floss, I have never broken a bone before or been admitted to a hospital, I love sugary food, and I love to cook! fin.
If I had to choose between taking a houseboat down the Amazon River, camping on the bay of Saint Luce, Madagascar or traveling through Tokyo with the yaguza, it'd be a difficult decision to make, I'd want to do all three with my camera and notebook. Right now, my family, friends, and job hold most of my attention although running is something I try to make time for daily. I enjoy reading fiction, writing stories, and watching movies. I love to travel, make sushi and chocolate truffles but not at the same time.
Born and raised in Detroit, USA.
Influenced by many different genres of music.
Started making his own original songs at the age of 15
Electronic music has been the focus of 90% the music composed by Andre.
Styles: funk, electro funk, techno, ambient, house, new wave, and experimental.
The piece "To Tomorrow" by John Fleischer was my favorite piece. This piece really was a great example of time and interactivity. The piece was very nicely created using very arcane sound that contributed very positively to the effect. The video laced seamlessly with the sound. The video editing was very well done. The typewriter added so much to this piece. The clip seamlessly integrated many aspects of depth, time and relativity all into one piece.
The thing I liked most about the gallery was the commentary about each piece and the process through which artists worked with the survivors to create the piece of art. I also liked being able to see what certain depictions in the pieces meant to the survivors. I do not recall a specific piece, but I noticed that almost every piece contained sharp, corners and harsh transitions maybe signifying how sharp and painful the memories still can be.
Upon looking through the Quarter Gallery, I was quickly drawn to "Coloring Book (edited)" Honestly, it made me laugh out loud. The fact that a soldier with a grenade would be in a coloring book is a grim look on the todays media in itself, and the quote "The hand grenade is thrown like a football" makes this message laughably cynical. The asterisk next to the grenade is beautifully stylized to match the art style of the coloring book, and my favorite part of this artwork is the pointing-out-the-obvious quote added to the bottom of the page, "The hand grenade is not meant to be caught." The whole piece is an outright critique to culture, executed beautifully well.
The tone of this film was dark and sad. The film starts out with a wider view of the landscape, trees, and birds. Moments later, the video utilizes negative space and focuses on the birds but in a narrower view. On the opposite side is a cutout video of the sky, trees, or fences. In the background was music, which added to the overall tone to the film.
Dawei Xu shows symbolism through the use of birds and fences. A bird soaring in the air symbolizes freedom whereas a fence with barbed wire symbolizes entrapment and confinement. The barren trees also shows symbolism in that it represents bleakness, despair, and desolation. Xu also uses imagery in his film. One image that's vivid in my mind was the image of the caged bird. In a way, I kind of sympathized with that bird. To be denied something such as a right (in this case, the ability to fly when you're a bird) would be horrible.
Kristen Martincic
Woodcut, monoype on kitakata stitching, 2007
U Back Suit
Pinstripe Jersey Suit
V Neck Jersey Suit
These three paper pieces look utilitarian, like by-products of the sewing industry - paper patterns used long ago when women wore swimsuits made of wool. The delicate folding of the arm, neck, and leg holes combined with evenly spaced minimalist lines on slightly discolored paper are a love letter to fashion history. The paper looks like it was handled, it's not pristine and flawless. You can see the places were it was touched, convinced into taking a new shape.
The simple presentation of these feather-light paper pieces stuck to the wall with bright and shinny straight-pins is not fancy, just gentle and subtle to match the works of art. These pieces of art look effortless, so simple, so easy which hides the complexity and effort involved in the making of the pieces.
I think it's interesting how a true devotion and love for something you do can bring people together like this. That out of this group of poets, four of the origional five are still in the group is a true show of respect for each other and what each other creates. They seem to have some very different styles of writing poetry, but I think that sort of environment will create the best critiques and constructive criticism to improve one's work. The video itself had a good mix of showing us the poetry and talking to the poets themselves.
I have to say that every piece that I laid my eyes upon was amazing! To choose just one to write about is quite a predicament. If I had to choose, it would be Tim Noble and Sue Webster's piece "Metal F**king Rats with Heart Shaped Tail.�? At first glance their piece looks like a hunk of metal taken from a junkyard. In plain light it is a hunk of metal but if you shine a light on it when the room is dark it's actually a sculpture of two rats fornicating and forming a heart through their tails.
I always thought that sculptures came in the form statues but I was proven wrong. This sculpture was actually a shadow sculpture and it absolutely blew my mind away. To create a piece that requires so much thinking and placement of the metal such as this is outstanding. Creating shadow puppets is one thing but creating shadow sculptures takes "shadow-making�? to another level.
I really enjoyed his work, especially how much of it was centered around the mind and the process. My favorite pieces were the green works where he created hundreds of pictures to re-analyze them later to uncover different patterns and connections between the works. I also really liked "from one two" where he created two drawings simultaneously. I don't think the drawings had as much of a meaning without the explaining how they were created. After explaining his process, and his intention I think you can appreciate on how the painting has captured the process and that process can be relived through examination of the piece.
The piece I chose was Robin Schwartzmann's "The Ambitious Mogger.�? It's somewhat out of the ordinary because I've never seen a book displayed at an art gallery let alone a cloth book. I'm not saying it's bad but I actually enjoyed it.
"The Ambitious Mogger�? tells the story of a fictitious creature, called the Mogger, who makes plastic balls for ball pits for a living. The story is told in the style of Dr. Suess in which each line rhymes. One day, another creature comes up to him and tells him that he should take a break from his work. He reluctantly gives in and takes a break by playing in the ball pit. One break turns into two, then into three, and so on, eventually causing the Mogger to neglect his work. After awhile, the ball pit becomes empty because the Mogger abandoned his work of making balls. The moral of the story is that it's all right to have fun once in awhile but the work you do is still important.
To see a "Dr. Suess-esque�? book made of cloth displayed at an art gallery is remarkable. In fact, I wish I had thought of this idea myself. Mostly everyone has read a Dr. Suess book and it brings back good ol' memories of my elementary days.
Museum "Louvre it or Leave It�?
Downtown Minneapolis
Artist – unknown
Medium – photograph, photoshop (?)
Picture of three soldiers, prone, in desert. Entire canvas is white, except for the small portion that the soldiers lay on. Looks very bleak. Lost. Lost in a void, hopeless, meaningless. Below is a picture, photo of six soldiers, standing around an American flag-covered casket. Floor, surroundings all pitch black. Connections: first picture of bleakness of a soldier's life, followed by the resulting void of their death (?).
I was unable to actually enter the gallery, which was disappointing. The office closed early, likely because it was the day before Thanksgiving. The pictures have been up for a while, and resonated with me to some degree. The two pictures, of the soldiers laying prone, weapons in hand, in a field of white, and of the soldiers surrounding the casket draped with the American flag, seemingly floating in a black void, give me a feeling of, perhaps, what some soldiers feel – a sense of being lost in the chaos of war, disconnection from the rest of the world and with humanity, and the feeling that a void is left in the wake of a comrade's death. Perhaps this is largely a projection of how I'd feel if I were forced into the life of a soldier. I imagine I'd feel that, philosophically, being forced into a life of war would force me against my principles, leaving me in a personal moral void.
Other related pieces in the gallery include more pictures of soldiers in Iraq, as well as photos of soldiers from World War II.
Even though every piece in the gallery was amazing I'd have to say that David Donovan's piece, "Dig Through,�? was the best. I do take pleasure in art that you can look at but art that you can immerse yourself in is something that I truly enjoy. "Dig Through�? was one such piece.
At first glance, I thought that it was pile of junk cardboard boxes that the ones responsible for making the gallery had left behind. I thought to myself, "Wow, they should really clean that up.�? It, however, turned out to be a piece of artwork in which the boxes were arranged methodically in a maze-like structure. At the end of this "maze�? was a projection of guy's shadow digging through sand as if looking for something.
I instantly identified with David's piece because it had reminded me of my basement where all the storage boxes had been kept. Sometimes I'd spend a couple of hours digging through the boxes to find something that I had lost and after awhile I'd give up. A piece that brings back memories—although not fond—is beyond doubt, incredible.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
I haven't been here for a while. I used to come here all the time with my dad, back when we lived in the area. They've renovated over the years, adding the Target wing on the west side and another piece onto the east side, I assume onto the children's theater, which I haven't explored yet.
My favorite sections have always been the parts devoted to China, Japan, and classical Roman art – China and Japan for the beauty and elegant poetry portrayed in much of their art, and Rome for the power and stature of their sculpture. I love the wood block prints from Japan. Stylistically, they are very unique in their commonly orthogonal perspective, which allows them to portray numerous scenes in a single image. The use of exaggerated, dramatized expressions gives it an almost theatric quality, and makes sense as a base from which Japanese animation styles have developed.
Going back to the Chinese area, I found a piece that caught my eye, especially, that I may not have noticed before, and epitomizes my love for East Asian art. It is a piece by the 18th century Chinese artist Hsi Kang (1746-1816), called "Bamboo and Blum Blossoms.�? It is a horizontally oriented picture on a scroll, very long, done with black inks. What I find amazing about this piece, and about Chinese ink art, in general, is the ability to breath so much life into a picture with just varying shades of black. The intricate detail and flow of the image over the scroll, from the busy trunk of the plum tree, mixed with bamboo shafts, branching out to become more and more peaceful on the right with the plum blossoms, is amazing, and frames the writing, which I assume to be a poem, on the right. I wish I knew what the poem said, as there's no translation. It is a very calming and peaceful piece, overall. Looking at it, I imagine the time and dedication it must have taken to paint something so beautiful with what seems to me as a fairly limiting medium.
From what is shown of the two plays Fat Man Crying and Pride and Plot of Pointlessness, they both look very humorous and entertaining. Every year I get tired of the endless portrayals of a Hallmark jolly Santa, and so like the idea of portraying santa as a broken down, middle aged shell of a man, crying about his woes to the unlucky couple who's home he's invaded. Pride and Plot of Pointlessness seems to be briming with cynical satire that comments on the state of life in Jane Austin's stories.
John Munger is dance. It was interesting to to hear that he is trying to develop a dance specificallly for people for his age group, I think this is great, but will be difficult to keep it from spreading to other ages as well. I enjoyed watching this episode. I have always liked watching interpretive dance solos, and how they create a visual to the music that is being played. It was just nice watching excerpts from a few different musical solos and I couldn't help but think of how people like to do this stuff when they are alone but a to uncomfortable to do it in front of an audience.
This episode was on Minnesota's center for Book Arts. One thing that many of the artists that were interviewed was how time intensive these things can be. One woman drew and commented on 45 of her pairs of shoes! WHEW, glad i am not a shoe collecter. My favorite piece was the scissors, bones and carrots piece in which she took excerpts from authors that never made it into the final copy, but still were very important lines to the author. Just neat to think those excerpts finally made it to the public in some way.
I have decided to write 100+ words about two films. Bruce Conner directed each of the two films below. It was interesting to notice his style. I noticed in both films he used black and white, each had two segments, and each had unsequenced music.
Bruce Conner: A Movie
I feel this film portrayed the global presence of humanity with the use of symbolic images of destruction, love, death, hunger, culture and nature. Conner's first half of the film used fast tempo music and chaotic fighting images. The second half used slower tempo music and portrayed the mood of mourning the aftermath of our human chaos.
Benita Raphan: Breakaway
This was my favorite film because it was so expressive using only the body. I liked the subliminally blurred images of Benita Raphan dancing. Just when the repetitiveness of her dancing was settling in, the second half of the film started by rewinding itself back to the beginning. This portion seemed more serious and not as happy and free as the first. In the end there are two quick subliminal images of her sitting with large sunglasses on. This symbolizes she has finished breaking away.
Quarter Gallery: Interconnections in Art through Metalcasting
A Collaboration between the Interact Center and the U of M Foundry
There were a lot of pieces in this show that did not much interest me. I am sure that they were probably great pieces that were well executed and interesting, but for some reason I was not drawn to them. I did not so much like the painted or brightly colored wall pieces. Many of the pieces seemed blob-like to me. There were four pieces in the exhibit that were in no way blob like and stood out to me as being superbly well crafted sculptures.
They are the following:
1. Stacker: for Theodore Geisel
Wayne Potratz
I really loved this piece that consists of a stack of finely crafted turtles of varying sizes made of cast iron and cast bronze. I think that there were about 28-30 of them. The color palette and patina was primarily turquoise and terra cotta (iron oxide). They are very beautiful and unbelievably well-made down to the minutest detail.
2. Untitled
Joe Gilbertson
Assemblages (2008)
I really liked the quality of the craft in the execution of these two abstract assemblages made of reclaimed parts of cast bronze and cast iron.
3. Pods
Andrew Gastinea
Cast bronze (2006)
I really loved these catalpa pods—five of them, I think—four hanging suspended over the pedestal, one lying prone on the pedestal. Natural forms, particularly seeds and pods, are so curious and fun to look at. I am a collector of things on nature walks and so these really appeal to me in that evocative way of recalling nature walks while being inside a gallery. They were delicate and detailed and very well-crafted.
4. Human Inquiry #1
Derek Hill
Cast bronze (2008)
This was a beautiful sculptural piece. An open sphere that was comprised of many overlapping figures, it was well-crafted and a delight to behold.
Art by Robert Roscoe
Robert Roscoe's photographs are ones that are captivating and enchanting. His photographs truly capture the beauty of nature and the changes that it brings about materials such as railroad tracks and trailers. The photographs that I saw were ones that were so beautiful and made you want to take a closer look. His photographs also capture the essence to changes that occur in time and also the reality of it. His art is truly colorful and one has to take a closer look in order to figure out what the object in the portrait is. Also, one impression that I thought was truly amazing was the way the photographs were taking to make it seem like a painting. The detail in the photography was so high sometimes a viewer would take it as a painting.
Nick Howard's Art: Pen on Paper
Nick Howard's art is just completely brilliant and dark in a way. The art that I saw was pen on paper and I thought the way he used the pen to draw was just remarkable. It takes a true talent to get a drawing that is so perfect and flawless like that. It also shows how experienced he is and The one portrait that was absolutely amazing to me was title "Hair�? and it definitely artistic he really is. He uses the pen to draw so brilliantly that one can barely tell he used a pen to make his drawings. His drawing also captured the emotions in human beings such as happiness and anger when it comes to relationships between brothers or even friendship. One observation I also go from the artwork is the dark emotions that I felt that he brought out of these emotions.
This is one of those terms that is so difficult to explain to another person. It is one of those terms you personally can understand mentally, internally, but if someone asks you to explain it to them...boy is it a struggle. It is like existentialism, you can fathom what it is but it is near to impossible to explain to someone who does not know what it is.
After a long while of jotting down words, looking through my dictionary and thesaurus to try and come up with a good definition of what I considered Time and Interactivity to mean, I came up with three different sentences, which technically can all be read to mean the same thing or entirely different ideas. These same sentences are also included in my Time and Interactivity video.
Time and Interactivity is:
-a place that determines the depth to which one may be creative active and perform
-a medium created through the collaboration of technologies in a dimension that allows a link between electronics and natural life.
-a dimension in which two or more sources can merge as a response to ones input.
Remember, this is one of those terms....I have no idea if those make any sense to anyone else, but to me, those define Time and Interactivity.
Quarter Gallery: Color Woodcut by Student Artist (name unknown)
Although I viewed the printmaking show in the Quarter Gallery that was an extension of the Sixth Print Biennial Exhibition in Katherine Nash, I did not take notes the first time through, thinking that the show would be up longer, and I would be able to return to view it a second time around. So, I do not recall the name of the artist or the exact name of the piece that I planned to write about. It was a large format color woodcut and I think the artist had a Scandinavian or Minnesotan type name. The print was beautifully executed and the registration and all aspects of the print were of the utmost highest quality (in my opinion). I think that the title was something like "Where I Wish I Was Now�? or something to that effect. The frame of the print constitutes a window looking across a table and interior space of a "still life" to an exterior space, a natural scene of woods. One has the sense of light and shadow, reflection and repose, the serenity of nature and solitude. One looks through a window of a cabin and becomes lost in the daydream of space and time. I was impressed by the highly crafted execution of this print and the attention to every last detail without being overly decorative. Although quite ordinary in composition it was extraordinary in the quality of the execution of the composition and the high quality understanding of the medium of color woodcut.
The most visually compelling piece at the Nash Gallery, for me, was Crystal Wagner's "The Capacity of Line" (2008). Both it's aesthetics and it's construction are very interesting. The lines do wonders for the organic atmosphere of the artwork, as the artist has taken great care in varying the line weights to create depth and shadow. The combination of the drawings of trees in dark green and light blue, with the small gussets fastened to the piece, are an excellent contradiction between nature and the man-made world that adds tension to the experience. I also enjoy the mixture of depth in the artwork, that between the depth created by varying line weights and the depth created by how the artist has layered sheets of semi-translucent plastic, each of which contain different parts of the drawing.
To start off with I'd like to pick apart the possibilities of the meaning behind "Air Sweet Air" that came to my mind. At first glance it makes me think of finally coming to grips and realizing how much something means to a person after so long of possibly taking it for granted. On the second approach I thought more cryptically; suffocation, the kind felt when trapped. Emotionally speaking not physically, but that feeling of having to suppress or hide one's self in order to make it through.
After thinking deeply about the title I felt I'd hit ground with the hiding self part when I saw the bear heads in place of the children's heads. Also the alternate planet background sort of spells a want for escape I think. It was a beautiful piece I really enjoyed the exhibit.
Wow, what a variety of works. I thought it very interesting the way that he thought about any and all kinds of art as a drawing first. For example if he were going to create a movie, he would first draw it out. I kind of, in a way do a similar thing. I am not the greatest drawer...but I do kind of map things out on paper first. Whatever it is I am doing, I first create like an outline or scene by scene type detailed piece. I completely agree with him and see where he is coming from in his thought or desire in exploring language, thought processes, relationships between singular items that are interesting on their own and then also their relationships between one another. I don't know if I just didn't understand "the tomorrow place" or what, but I personally though that it was torturous..I know that is a harsh critique, but I seriously don't think I could watch that again. On the other hand, a nicer hand, I enjoyed the first film he showed, although it was painful to the ears it was quite pleasing to the eyes. I would love to do some sort of art instruction swap, like the art project Mr. Fleischer and his friend are doing. That idea is so intriguing! I love it and would love to see the art exhibited with instructions and results. Visiting artists always inspire me!!
Sixth Minnesota National Print Biennial
Katherine Nash Gallery
University of Minnesota
October 7-November 6, 2008
This outstanding exhibition explores the relevance of printmaking in contemporary contexts. Powerfully strong—it draws from a wide range of printmaking examples—from the very traditions of the medium to examples that use modern materials and fall outside of the box and push their way to the furthest margins. The show was juried by Stephen Goddard, a senior curator, from the Spencer Museum of Art; Betsy Carpenter, Associate Curator, from the Walker Art Center, and Ayanah Moor, Associate Professor, from the Carnegie Mellon University. I liked the show so much that I purchased the $5 catalog of works. Some of these I scanned and will post on the blog with my article.
My favorite examples from the show (look out, there are lots of them):
1. Waxed and Dastardly
Lindsay Clark Ryan
Dry point (2008)
Nine frames laid out 3 x 3 explore the various possibilities of the moustache.
2. Association for Creative Zoology: Taurus Crockehensis
Beauvais Lyons
Lithograph (2007)
Unbelievable detail in this mystical zoological illustration captured with perfection in the medium of lithography.
3. The Golem: Chapter VII
Matt Rebholz
Intaglio and chine collé
A delightful petite print of the innards of a bathroom, executed delightfully in the minutest detail.
4. Evening at Claudio's
Michelle Martin
Reduction linocut (2006)
This print is colorful, fun, and well-executed—a larger format print of masked figures playing poker and having an evening of liquid libation.
5. After, Slight, Split
Ellen J. Prine
Paper plate lithograph
Warm earth tones with rose hue extremely well executive in this fragmented portrait.
6. Dig through
David Donavon
Mixed media (2008)
I really love this assemblage of cardboard boxes with printed systematic categorical numbers and dates. A sort of maze a person can walk through. I feel at home here, pack rat that I am.
7. Meneplex: FR+2M
Andrew An
2 color etching and silkscreen (2006
8. Holiday Sanctuary and Distant Stations
Todd Anderson
Intaglio/mixed media (2008)
I love the delicate minimalist color and design of these two pieces that were purchased by the Tweed Museum of Art. Inspired by nature and the wilderness their simplicity is most elegant.
9. Building with Notch and Monolith/Black #3
Robin Sherin
I like the simple abstraction of these black and white minimalist architectural pieces.
When I had to attempted to visit the Rosalux Gallery, Ephemeral Linescape exhibit, it was closed! BUMMER!! The website wrongly informed me that it was open until 8pm...wrong! Oh well, the book store and cafe are quit quaint and filled with very amusing artwork of their own. So to substitute for the Ephermeral Linescape exhibit I took a look at the display of Paper dolls images. My favorite piece, or the one I found the most intriguing was by Helene Baribeau, titled The Secret Life of Paper Dolls. Within the image lay three different skeletal bodies (obviously with the side flaps to be placed on a paper doll), each colored only a light icy blue and white, giving the image a somewhat cold energy. The only other color present in the image was the red of a heart of one of the bodies. One body was a full skeleton with a head, another had no head and partial limbs and was of bones and vine looking veins running through it, the third body was whole and drawn with complete muscle. I really like the piece...which is strange because I hate anatomy!
This exhibition was a bit unexpected and even overwhelming. The content so rich in individual experience of some of the most horrible events in recent history. The stories grew thicker as I went further into the gallery and it was really hard to comprehend it individually as well as a whole. I thought that the concept by which the works have been created was excellent due to the connection established between the event, the person, and the artist. I can't say that I like seeing this showcase of lives damaged by the unfolding of history but I am glad to see that such projects are carried on to this day to establish and re-establish the actuality of what took place in order to remember our potential to do terrible harm so that we, as a species, do not get sidetracked in our morals to the extent that we have experienced in these events. The stories I was impressed by most were perhaps that of the Rwanda events since I am aware of what happened on a very general and broad basis. This was a good gallery to attend and think about.
The work of the guest artist was very interesting. I liked the ideas that he had, about playing around with thought process and breaking away from normal mental processes to view things in a different way, or to try something completely random and different. What I especially remembered was the odd task that went something like "stand straight with your arm extended in front of you holding a pencil. draw a continuous line on the wall extending around the entire room. live for six months under this line." I really loved the pieces of his that explored the concept of the individual, that were all similar, but all interesting in a rough, odd way. His first movie piece had good emotion to it, and it seemed he knew just how long to let an image last; long enough to give it impact, but not so long it would become boring and cause the audience to lose interest. I loved the way he put the different images together as well. his pieces definitely gave me something to think about.
After hearing some of the inspiration, I don't think I was too far off in my interpretation. I would change on how I would interpret the bear mask now knowing the history behind it. I think the bear mask is representative of the feeling of discomfort and the effort to escape from that by hiding behind the mask.
I think it was still very interesting when one image would deviate from the normal. One example is the image with the only adult character, and why he is so significant that he appears in only one image.
I saw this entry on the website and immediately had to watch it, since many of my best friends go to MCAD, I visit there about every two weeks, and I was at the art sale the second day it ran to support those friends who were trying to sell work. It was interesting to see the art that the students have created, and in many cases the level of difficulty or detail is astounding. Knowing how much these pieces costed, it's also humerous to hear the simple reasons the people buy the art work for. It's a bit of a testimate to how insanely rich they are.
Time is the passage of the universe - a series of moments. It is the progress of the present, ever changing. Interactivity is all important. Interactivity makes time meaningful, as without universal interactivity between the elements, between atoms, between quarks, the passage of time would be unnoticeable. Our class, Time and Interactivity, is thus obviously the most important class in the universe, for why else would a board of educated individuals name it after such vague and omnipresent principles?
WARNING: These pictures bring out the "un-American�? side of me. If you are deeply religious or are a firm believer in the US's mandated position as the #1 country, you may not want to read further.
Quarter Gallery
Victoria Lynn Turke – Lament. Silver-gelatin prints.
Composed of 3 pictures:
-woman (widow?), holding American flag to face, mourning into it. Bearing loss of loved one "for America�??
-heavily used army boots, dirty, worn, empty, missing wearer, soldier dead?, nobody left to fill boots.
-3 pairs of dogtags and a number of bullets haphazardly laying together – all that is left of soldiers after war?
These photographs make me think of the guest speaker we had who showed us slides and asked if they were positive or negative. Specifically, this makes me thing about the picture of the two bones (femurs?), one painted with the red/white/blue of America (Britain maybe?) and the other painted the red/yellow/black of Germany. Like the bones, these images of a mourning woman holding a flag next to the empty boots of (I assume) her dead lover, and of his dogtags (plus two others: killers? Comrades?) amongst the bullets that (I assume again) killed him, make me think of nationalism and its costs in human life. The bones made me think of the people whom are nationalistic hawks, "[insert country] right or wrong�?, the kind of people who are responsible for so much suffering in the world. these images make me think of the consequences of nationalistic arrogance and how the people who get dragged into it, either willingly, through brainwashing, or as collateral damage, suffer under the guise of "patriotism�?. The use of black and white silver-gelatin prints makes the images much colder, making them more emotionally charged. To me, it also makes it seem as though these are old images – the suffering of the people captured in them now lost to time.
Victoria Lynn Turke – Faith: Silver-geletin prints.
Composed of 7 pictures on wood blocks, arranged in the shape of a christian cross. Images are:
- Bottom: snake, egg – reference to the evil snake of adam/eve? Not sure of significance of egg.
- 2nd from bottom: Decorated goblet, ashes, spilled – ashes of Christ(?) spilled, disrespect to ancestors?, carelessness in 'faith'?
- 3rd from bottom: Bible in jar, page turned to "Lamentations�? (reference to 'Lament'?) - jar/store away faith until we need it?, opportunistic use of faith?, insincerity?
- Middle, sides: horizontal portion of cross, three pictures of candles, sides have just candles, middle picture contains candles and bullets, primer-down (pointed towards top frame). Worship through ritual and violence?
- Top: seductive woman w/ cross around her neck, dress strap down shoulder – temptation?, declaring one's religion (cross), but either being ignorant of its teachings or blatantly disregarding them (or maybe making them your own?).
The use of the silver-gelatin prints makes these images look lifeless, almost robotic. Very interesting framing of the work – the horizontal line of candles with bullets fits it together well.
This piece makes me think about insincerity and religion, that those who declare themselves 'faithful' are themselves often not practicing what they preach. (which reminds me of a quote of Mahatma Gandhi's: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ�?) It makes me think about the inconsistencies and hypocrisies that arise from religion and, similarly, nationalism. Love your neighbor, but not if they're a [insert religion or nationality]. I know that many would argue that these are people that are manipulating religion, or that they are ignorant of the religion's 'true' message (everybody's 'true message' is different), and I know there are many, many religious people that would not so blatantly follow that negative line of thought, but I'd argue back that religion, because of how it ambiguously and inconsistently addresses some of human life's most pressing questions ("why are we here?�? "how are we here?�?) it only helps to divide people and gives some people a 'mandate' to purge others with differing beliefs (ref to the bullets). It is often used as a means to justify the evils that we do – especially war. This brings me back to nationalism and 'Lament', which in itself is a lot like a religion. The placement of 'Lament' next to 'Faith' (not to mention the bible is opened to the chapter "Lamentations�?) brings to my mind the relationship between nationalism and religion: they're both powerful social forces that divide and destroy us under arrogant and baseless pretenses.
Sara Christenson
Equipment, Christenson Farm, January 2008
Toned Gelatin Print, 2008
Sara's loving portrait of her family's farm on a snowy Christmas Day instantly told me several stories:
After a heavy breakfast of waffles and bacon, she walks with her mom around the farm. They walk slowly, talking about little things they share between them. Sara is clicking away with her camera until suddenly, she sees the farming equipment. The equipment, standing idle, resting until spring, makes her happy and hopeful. She knows during this weather her Dad can sleep a little later and have dinners with her Mom.
After a tense family reunion, Sara who has been away at college for a semester is told the family must sell the farm. "It's not profitable any longer�? and her parents are "getting old, too old for this precarious lifestyle.�? They want to move, away from the farm that has been in their family for over a hundred years. Sara wishes she were born a boy so her father would consider asking her to take over.
Pretty impressive exhibit! This was my favorite one out of the three that I visited. Student works are always a very interesting spectrum to see because they often represent really well the attitudes and ideas that are free-flowing throughout the student population. I wrote a small description on several works:
Jason Gaspar: What a bizarre work with its swine like creature with gorilla eyes consuming little laughing children. It set a really lighthearted mood for the rest of the gallery and was a relief after the two difficult exhibits in Dawei Xu and the Katherine Nash.
West on Franklin by Tonya Balik: What a purple exuberance! I really enjoyed the different tones, it left an impression of uptown in the summer with all the diverse mixture of culture, that constantly twirls in excitement.
Jasmine Wallace: What a great sculpture with all the colorful definitive shapes, it felt like I was looking at my own brain in the form of this piece of art. Pretty cool.
Travis Freeman: This was one baller sword, very interesting concept and nice execution. Dragon themed designs were a plus considering I was born in the year of the dragon.
Bart Vargas: The vase of computer buttons I wished to press the whole time I was in the room. Actually behind my absurd statement I think it is a very nice piece because in this digital world everything can be described through numbers, sort of like the matrix.
In time we understand by Rebecca Champ: Great fabric exhibit, the pointed pillows were at the same time inviting and also projected a sense of danger at the same time.
Submerge Duple by Toby Sisson: This work was really reminiscent of the universe with it's great dark space accented by colorful splashes . I got lost in it for a while, really genuine combination.
Exhaust on Canvas by Ben Garthus: Time to go green.
Sustaining Symphony by Stacey M Holloway: Bizarre doll with a chemistry set, really weird, I wish it was functional.
and finally...
Robin Scwartzman - Rise of the bubble moggers
This was really cool with its weird shapes and cartoon feel, almost like a new universe with the strange creatures inhabiting it. It reminded a lot of the French cartoon - Time Masters.
One of the things that I find was lacking in this exhibition was a general statement about the show, its mission and theme, unity, or background. There is nothing posted that provides the viewer with an entry into the space, nor that indicates how the show came about, what its purpose is, why or how the artists were selected to exhibit together or how that process came about. This makes it difficult to have a context to ground the compilation of the works together, and to contextualize the critique and the responses of the observer.
That said, the three pieces that I was most drawn to in the student gallery were the works of Ben Garthus, Toby Sisson, and Bart Vargas. Two of the works are paintings, and one of is a sculpture.
Fresh Works Critique #1
Ben Garthus
Emission Control, 2007
Exhaust on canvas
This assemblage of forty-nine 4�? x 4�? canvases is a work that I had noticed my first time visiting this show. I went on the first day of classes, prior to having an assignment to view the show and write about it. The series of painting are symmetrically arranged on the wall with equal spacing between them to form a composite square made up of smaller square canvases. The canvases are white primed canvases that have appears to have been stretched over the exhaust pipes of motor vehicles. The palette of the works is black, white, and gray, not totally monochromatic, but pretty close. Several things strike me about this work. It makes an environmental, and in a sense political statement about the world environment, about ecology, through the means of its production and its physical essence of being. Philosophically and aesthetically this is pretty profound. Visually it is interesting in its composition, as a series, which is evocative of movement, motion, process, spatiotemporal conceptual notions such as film and photography usually convey. The primary form is a sphere created by the form of the tailpipe and the emission of the exhaust. The organization of the image appears somewhat random, in the sense that it does not create any sort of chronology or construct a narrative that makes systematic sense. Yet, there is a cyclical quality that has harmony and unity to the fragmented images. It reminds me somewhat of the cycles of the moon, or the movement of a planet in the sky.Fresh Works Critique #2
Bart Vargas
Information Bomb, 2008
Paper mache, salvaged plastic, flash drive
This sculpture is made out of paper mâché, salvaged keyboard "buttons�? and a flash drive attached to a cord. It is pear-shaped to resemble a bomb, and the flash drive and cord flow out of the top waiting to be ignited like the wick on a piece of dynamite. All of the keys are "F�? keys or function keys with numbers. There are no ABCs. The sculpture is a powerful metaphor signifying the electronic age and the significance of the awesome and potential destructive [and constructive] impact of information on the world, and in particular, to human communication and civilization. Technically it is compact and extremely well executed. Not shabby, nor schlocky.
Fresh Work Critique #3
Toby Sisson
Submerge I and II, 2008
Encaustic, iron oxide, copper leaf, and oil on wood
I would call this work a diptych. Although it does not have a hinge to me it can be read as a sort of set of tablets. The work is comprised of two wooden panels approximately
4' x 2' each hung and displayed as an ensemble. The medium is encaustic, a hot wax pigment, combined with iron oxide, copper leaf, and oil paint on wood. Compositionally abstract, with a semi-glossy yet black matte ground, its pockmarked surface and constellation-like, with lyrical, ethereal figures in pinkish-red, pastel pink, oranges, and yellow. Submerge I and II as the title evokes a submarine aero-scape as one imagines you'd see below the surface of the ocean. One also has the sense that it could be a reflection of the night sky mirrored in water. I like the use of materials in this piece. It is very tactile and textural. I like it because I don't know how it was made. That makes me curious about how to do encaustic.
One of the things that I find was lacking in this exhibition was a general statement about the show, its mission and theme, unity, or background. There is nothing posted that provides the viewer with an entry into the space, nor that indicates how the show came about, what its purpose is, why or how the artists were selected to exhibit together or how that process came about. This makes it difficult to have a context to ground the compilation of the works together, and to contextualize the critique and the responses of the observer.
That said, the three pieces that I was most drawn to in the student gallery were the works of Ben Garthus, Toby Sisson, and Bart Vargas. Two of the works are paintings, and one of is a sculpture.
Fresh Works Critique #1
Ben Garthus
Emission Control, 2007
Exhaust on canvas
This assemblage of forty-nine 4�? x 4�? canvases is a work that I had noticed my first time visiting this show. I went on the first day of classes, prior to having an assignment to view the show and write about it. The series of painting are symmetrically arranged on the wall with equal spacing between them to form a composite square made up of smaller square canvases. The canvases are white primed canvases that have appears to have been stretched over the exhaust pipes of motor vehicles. The palette of the works is black, white, and gray, not totally monochromatic, but pretty close. Several things strike me about this work. It makes an environmental, and in a sense political statement about the world environment, about ecology, through the means of its production and its physical essence of being. Philosophically and aesthetically this is pretty profound. Visually it is interesting in its composition, as a series, which is evocative of movement, motion, process, spatiotemporal conceptual notions such as film and photography usually convey. The primary form is a sphere created by the form of the tailpipe and the emission of the exhaust. The organization of the image appears somewhat random, in the sense that it does not create any sort of chronology or construct a narrative that makes systematic sense. Yet, there is a cyclical quality that has harmony and unity to the fragmented images. It reminds me somewhat of the cycles of the moon, or the movement of a planet in the sky.Fresh Works Critique #2
Bart Vargas
Information Bomb, 2008
Paper mache, salvaged plastic, flash drive
This sculpture is made out of paper mâché, salvaged keyboard "buttons�? and a flash drive attached to a cord. It is pear-shaped to resemble a bomb, and the flash drive and cord flow out of the top waiting to be ignited like the wick on a piece of dynamite. All of the keys are "F�? keys or function keys with numbers. There are no ABCs. The sculpture is a powerful metaphor signifying the electronic age and the significance of the awesome and potential destructive [and constructive] impact of information on the world, and in particular, to human communication and civilization. Technically it is compact and extremely well executed. Not shabby, nor schlocky.
Fresh Work Critique #3
Toby Sisson
Submerge I and II, 2008
Encaustic, iron oxide, copper leaf, and oil on wood
I would call this work a diptych. Although it does not have a hinge to me it can be read as a sort of set of tablets. The work is comprised of two wooden panels approximately
4' x 2' each hung and displayed as an ensemble. The medium is encaustic, a hot wax pigment, combined with iron oxide, copper leaf, and oil paint on wood. Compositionally abstract, with a semi-glossy yet black matte ground, its pockmarked surface and constellation-like, with lyrical, ethereal figures in pinkish-red, pastel pink, oranges, and yellow. Submerge I and II as the title evokes a submarine aero-scape as one imagines you'd see below the surface of the ocean. One also has the sense that it could be a reflection of the night sky mirrored in water. I like the use of materials in this piece. It is very tactile and textural. I like it because I don't know how it was made. That makes me curious about how to do encaustic.
I thought it was really neat how Lonnie Knight has crossed over his two career's, computer design and guitar playing, and has been playing shows through Second Life, and online avatar world. I have heard of Second Life before, but I never knew it was means to make any money. Lonnie Nightfire as his is called on Second Life, says that he has made over a couple thousand dollars playing shows online. The fact that he has made an audience in Japan, and sells hundreds of CD's to those fans is really awesome. That is probably the coolest part of technology on how it connects people.
I really enjoy watercolor paintings so I stepped into the gallery across the street just out of curiosity. My absolute favorite piece in this particular exhibition was the Wind River Falls by Dan Wiemer. In the little blip next to his paintings he talks about his recent fascination with edges, colors, and shapes, all three of which are just blended beautifully in his painting of a rushing river that has a chilly feeling to it. I think its perfect for the time of year. The trees aren't flush with green leaves, the sky is a dark and dull blueish purple.