Jesus is going to rise tomorrow, I'm going to go tomorrow and figure out if its amen in italian too. There is a parade in the square. I looked up some fiber artists and picked out the things I liked and not suprisingly its by and large its all two dimensional so I think I'm going to display the work up on the wall to emphasize the two dimesionality and because it was a suggestion in crit. I havent solved the issue of borders yet however. Maybe hem them, maybe let the sides drape a bit I need to try it on a space I can back up from.
mags
4.07.2007
smile for me daddy: for K Albro
I feel like my project may have been a little cocky in some sense. Maybe it was too planned out. I had originally planned to show two pieces for the last crit, but Brett accidentally bumped my unsteady plaster mold with her big booty ( just kidding, about the booty thing that is) and it came crashing to bits, which was expected in some ways but still a bit of a bummer. On the plus side, seeing the remains of the cast kinda proved the point I wanted to make with that piece about how we don't leave behind any trace of ourselves except in what we affect. The story is all there on the floor, splattered across Emily Gordon's space. I left the crash site untouched and plan to melt my ice feet on it anyhow, as something of a private piece/experiment. Is that cocky? Quirky?
As for the blindfold piece, I just stood back and let people talk about their experiences. I set the piece up on the lift for sculpture storage over by where the sink is in studio. I had people climb an unsteady ladder in order to view the blindfolds, which were hung from the ceiling using clothes pins. The pins reinforce the idea that the "blindfold" is merely a piece of fabric, but that it has so many connotations associated with it: Pin the Tail on the Donkey games, sex, medical healings, executions, war, etc... depending on the light streaming in through the windows the piece gave off different 'essences'. During crit, it was rainy outdoors, so the blindfolds seemed ominous and somber, one of death and the threat of hangings. Maggie snuck a peak during the morning when it was lovely outdoors, and she said she got the feeling of adventure and tree house play. So, the piece got various things across. Still, despite the different meanings associated with blindfolds, the constants are submission and trust. By having the viewer climb up the ladder, they become the active participant and thus become submissive to me as the artist. The ladder works in the element of trust: you have to trust that the ladder will hold you up, or that, at the very least the person spotting you won't allow you to fall. So, you experience the same heightened sensibility without actually sporting the blindfold. I made casts of my eyes using glue, and thus continued the exploration from midterm crit's project. It all tied in really smoothly, but maybe a bit too smoothly? Do you know what I mean? There wasn't this sense of hesitancy there. It was a bit too confident. For now I'm playing around with photos of the blindfolds: self portraits in a way . I think I want to get two dimensional, but with a twist of sorts. I'll just go with it as usual.
~Nicole
As for the blindfold piece, I just stood back and let people talk about their experiences. I set the piece up on the lift for sculpture storage over by where the sink is in studio. I had people climb an unsteady ladder in order to view the blindfolds, which were hung from the ceiling using clothes pins. The pins reinforce the idea that the "blindfold" is merely a piece of fabric, but that it has so many connotations associated with it: Pin the Tail on the Donkey games, sex, medical healings, executions, war, etc... depending on the light streaming in through the windows the piece gave off different 'essences'. During crit, it was rainy outdoors, so the blindfolds seemed ominous and somber, one of death and the threat of hangings. Maggie snuck a peak during the morning when it was lovely outdoors, and she said she got the feeling of adventure and tree house play. So, the piece got various things across. Still, despite the different meanings associated with blindfolds, the constants are submission and trust. By having the viewer climb up the ladder, they become the active participant and thus become submissive to me as the artist. The ladder works in the element of trust: you have to trust that the ladder will hold you up, or that, at the very least the person spotting you won't allow you to fall. So, you experience the same heightened sensibility without actually sporting the blindfold. I made casts of my eyes using glue, and thus continued the exploration from midterm crit's project. It all tied in really smoothly, but maybe a bit too smoothly? Do you know what I mean? There wasn't this sense of hesitancy there. It was a bit too confident. For now I'm playing around with photos of the blindfolds: self portraits in a way . I think I want to get two dimensional, but with a twist of sorts. I'll just go with it as usual.
~Nicole
4.05.2007
Sam
Hi Jana,
Sorry about the lack of pictures, but I have to reformat my video before I can get it nto Youtube. At any rate, I know this is late, and I will try to get you the video soon, even if by e-mail (hopefully it will be up before then). At any rate- allow me to expalin what I have been up to.
After the last project, much debate and discourse was brought up about the idea of a third way, beyond complete sorrow and joy. After much brainstorming, and sketching, and writing, i finally decided to work with the idea of overcoming your troubles through perseverance and determintaion. This worked fine- for about a week, I created another cheracter, an every man this time, who faces daily defeats and keeps going. This being cartoon, I tried to make it humorous, but with some meaning. After a week or so, I realized I was going around in circles. My narrative was dull and uninspired. Basically, the chearacter was taking abuse and coming back with softhearted attempts at getting over his troubles and paying back the favor. I was quite frustrated, until I talked to Julia.
She suggested that the narrative was too soft, and that the main cheracter was being too nice. I didn't know how to react to this, as most of my narratives involve themes wherein acts of trangression against others are relatively moot. So, a few more days went by, and my frustration grew. I was sure that I would end up with another depressing narrative and I didn't want to retread. Eventually, I got so irritated that I complained ot my roommates aobut it, who suggested I follow Julia's suggestion and have the cheracter react to his problems in an over the top way.
And so- I decided to go for it and see what happened.
I turned the cheracter into a crazy freak who exacts morbid revenge on everyone and capped it off with the most disturbing, off the wall finale I could think of, an image that attempted to mock the idea of the arrogant jackass who gets everything he wants through cruelty and revenge. Oh, I also took potshots at the idea of good taste and shock value. You'll see when you view the video.
The critique was great, as the film inspired a host of responses. I feel that I took a risk in presenting (at least a small one) and that this risk ultimately paid off. Through discussion we figured out that the movie did have some drawbacks thats needed adressing, such as continuity prolems and the ending. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the ending, but some peopel really didn't seem to like or get it, so I'm not sure what to do about it yet. At any rate, taking Julia's advice and discussing the project with my roommates really paid off. I've never had such an exciting, nervewracking and ultimately rewarding critique before.
Sorry about the lack of pictures, but I have to reformat my video before I can get it nto Youtube. At any rate, I know this is late, and I will try to get you the video soon, even if by e-mail (hopefully it will be up before then). At any rate- allow me to expalin what I have been up to.
After the last project, much debate and discourse was brought up about the idea of a third way, beyond complete sorrow and joy. After much brainstorming, and sketching, and writing, i finally decided to work with the idea of overcoming your troubles through perseverance and determintaion. This worked fine- for about a week, I created another cheracter, an every man this time, who faces daily defeats and keeps going. This being cartoon, I tried to make it humorous, but with some meaning. After a week or so, I realized I was going around in circles. My narrative was dull and uninspired. Basically, the chearacter was taking abuse and coming back with softhearted attempts at getting over his troubles and paying back the favor. I was quite frustrated, until I talked to Julia.
She suggested that the narrative was too soft, and that the main cheracter was being too nice. I didn't know how to react to this, as most of my narratives involve themes wherein acts of trangression against others are relatively moot. So, a few more days went by, and my frustration grew. I was sure that I would end up with another depressing narrative and I didn't want to retread. Eventually, I got so irritated that I complained ot my roommates aobut it, who suggested I follow Julia's suggestion and have the cheracter react to his problems in an over the top way.
And so- I decided to go for it and see what happened.
I turned the cheracter into a crazy freak who exacts morbid revenge on everyone and capped it off with the most disturbing, off the wall finale I could think of, an image that attempted to mock the idea of the arrogant jackass who gets everything he wants through cruelty and revenge. Oh, I also took potshots at the idea of good taste and shock value. You'll see when you view the video.
The critique was great, as the film inspired a host of responses. I feel that I took a risk in presenting (at least a small one) and that this risk ultimately paid off. Through discussion we figured out that the movie did have some drawbacks thats needed adressing, such as continuity prolems and the ending. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the ending, but some peopel really didn't seem to like or get it, so I'm not sure what to do about it yet. At any rate, taking Julia's advice and discussing the project with my roommates really paid off. I've never had such an exciting, nervewracking and ultimately rewarding critique before.
4.03.2007
Emily
For critique last week, I put up three photographs of my hand that I printed in black and white (but were actually tinted green) and three watercolor drawings. The feedback from my group was helpful and they commented that they enjoyed the abstract and watery quality of the drawings and they were able to pull a general feeling from each of the photos that was pretty close to what I intended. For this week, Julia wants me to experiment with dipping my paper in water with ink before I begin my drawings, to get a better feel of the water, and to also try being less controlling with the paint.
I reshot my photos to try to get clearer images and ones that communicated the idea of flooding/overwhelming and aftermath more successfully. I’m not sure if I need a third photograph to communicate this concept because I think the picture with my hand at the top and the water dripping from it communicates the idea of aftermath and everything is going to be ok at the same time. I’m not sure exactly which photograph I want to use for flooding so I will probably print a few and then decide because there a couple that work pretty well.
In terms of the watercolor drawings, I haven’t decided yet how they will work with the photographs, or if they are going to be a separate piece. I like the idea of having three sets of this concept using different media and slightly different images. Perhaps when I finalize my photographs, I can photocopy and do transfers onto watercolor paper and paint on the images, which would create a link between the photos and the watercolors.
I reshot my photos to try to get clearer images and ones that communicated the idea of flooding/overwhelming and aftermath more successfully. I’m not sure if I need a third photograph to communicate this concept because I think the picture with my hand at the top and the water dripping from it communicates the idea of aftermath and everything is going to be ok at the same time. I’m not sure exactly which photograph I want to use for flooding so I will probably print a few and then decide because there a couple that work pretty well.
In terms of the watercolor drawings, I haven’t decided yet how they will work with the photographs, or if they are going to be a separate piece. I like the idea of having three sets of this concept using different media and slightly different images. Perhaps when I finalize my photographs, I can photocopy and do transfers onto watercolor paper and paint on the images, which would create a link between the photos and the watercolors.
lee graf
So this past week I showed some clips of the videos I made and people in my group had suggestions to refine the videos and grasp more of a mood so I can unify them and portray exactly what I want. So by working with different colors and different kinds of glasses, I'm continuing to play around but also focusing the videos more on what I want to ultimately show. I also am going to experiment with different effects of putting ink or oil, etc into the water to see what happens.
4.01.2007
Julia's
Sorry I'm so late! I'm bad at keeping up with this stuff...basically I'm experimenting with different ways of applying the medium, so as to rather than illustrate a space, actually mimic its properties through the handling of the paint. i like to think of it as a writing metaphor--show it don't tell it...so here are some studies and in progress shots of my purple painting.
Rachel
Sorry about the delay in posting! I've been sort of stuck as to what to do for this next project, and I couldn't really blog if I didn't have anything to post. But I finally started working on something!
For the next project I'm making three pictures all dealing with different variations of the same theme (oblivious girl playing near monster trees). I had been thinking about predators such as angler fish, which have a lure to attract prey (in this case lures are a swing, a treehouse, and a branch to sit on). I love illustration, and I wanted to deal with combining elements of animal and plant to create something completely imaginary. I've been working with pastel and watercolor on these, which has turned out to be a really good combination!
For the next project I'm making three pictures all dealing with different variations of the same theme (oblivious girl playing near monster trees). I had been thinking about predators such as angler fish, which have a lure to attract prey (in this case lures are a swing, a treehouse, and a branch to sit on). I love illustration, and I wanted to deal with combining elements of animal and plant to create something completely imaginary. I've been working with pastel and watercolor on these, which has turned out to be a really good combination!
Jane Philipps
I realize now that I was very vague in my last post when describing my new ideas. That was partly due to the fact that they were not fully formed, and now that I have come up with more concrete plans, I can explain them better. We had a silent in-process critique last class where we displayed what we had so far and received written feedback from three other people in class. I only had some writing and small sketches to show, so I was unsure of what kinds of reactions I would receive and I was anxious to start working. I got great feedback and I immediately went to work on making little cubes out of green wire in an attempt to transform the Fibonacci spiral into a series of 3D objects. I find that I tend to work quickly after I've brainstormed because I've refined my ideas so much that I can see them in my head - I like this way of working and now that I have something made, I have something to work off of. I am trying to capture the idea of organic vs. inorganic in making these cubes, however, the materials I have chosen to use are all synthetic. I like the way my objects look, but after listening to suggestions, I am trying to figure out how I could incorporate natural materials into these objects. I like the idea, but I don't like the fact that whatever natural substance I could use will die...but maybe I will rethink this.
For my other project, I am planning on using the balcony railing in the school. I am going to tie green string to the railing in a pattern relating to the Fibonacci sequence so that I am subtly playing with a system already in place. This idea is simple, but I think it will complement the objects I am working on now, which I plan to display in a nearby location. In planning these two pieces and in thinking about the final show (since it is coming up quickly) I am beginning to consider how can shift installation locations without having the pieces lose their meaning. This will certainly be something to continue to consider in the next few weeks!
(Pictures tomorrow!)
For my other project, I am planning on using the balcony railing in the school. I am going to tie green string to the railing in a pattern relating to the Fibonacci sequence so that I am subtly playing with a system already in place. This idea is simple, but I think it will complement the objects I am working on now, which I plan to display in a nearby location. In planning these two pieces and in thinking about the final show (since it is coming up quickly) I am beginning to consider how can shift installation locations without having the pieces lose their meaning. This will certainly be something to continue to consider in the next few weeks!
(Pictures tomorrow!)
Effect an Affect
Happy Fool's Day! Can't believe it's already April! Anywho, the experiments keep getting crazier and crazier. Today I woke up wanting to mix vaseline with crushed charcoal, and so I did and experimented with how it might look on plaster casts of what I refer to as gun muzzle inversions. See, I wanted to work with the idea of blindfolds and guns and a news reel documenting the treatment of soldiers in Irac made me think that I should create art that made a statement .... but, I don't know much about this war ( war on terrror? on Sadaam? on rising gas prices? ???) and I figured there are tons of people protesting as it is, so I focused my energies moreso on the blindfold itself, its relationship to eyelids, and how it requires both trust and submission. The installation of that work will be great fun, but I'll update on that next week so as not to ruin whatever type of surprise it might present for any readers out there who have yet to experience the piece. That is nut number one. The second deals with the ice cast I made of my feet and how that will drip away and leave behind no real trace of its own existence except on that which it affects. I'm thinking of melting some sort of photograph with the water that drips from the ice. The photograph so far is one I took in the train station restroom of Attigliano this weekend when Sam and I sojourned to il parco dei monstri in Bomarzo. The pic is of a clogged up drain in which a spider and some sort of flying insect have drowned. I was thinking of how humans seem to have averse effects on their environments, but how we won't be here forever: along the same line as the dinosaurs if you catch my drift. They ruled the world for millions of years and then... swoosh. They started to melt away. That piece of pie still needs some baking but like all things sculpture, it will pull together at the last minute. Hopefully. Hope'fool'y.
~Nicole
~Nicole
Jessica
After some deep contemplation I recalled a short story that I've always been fascinated by. Hence, The Secret Dog (written by Peter Cameron), became the basis for my next project. I choose a very specific scene from it and decided to recreate it using... film. What else? Furthermore, I decided to shoot it silent movie style, with all of the dialog on still frames in between certain shots.
The story and the silent movie both emphasize the akward, stilted nature of the interaction. The scene is about namelessness and desperation.
Technically...I don't like it. For some reason, even though I used the same camera as before the quality is a lot lower. Like significantly a lot. This is probably because the lighting is very limited. I will probably redo it in the next week. Also, at the moment I'm missing the last two shots simply because everyone was tired and we wanted to stop. I've put up some screen shots from what I have so far.
At the moment I haven't decided it I want it to be silent silent like Nosferatu or with a song playing in the background like some of the other "silent" movies. We shall see.
The story and the silent movie both emphasize the akward, stilted nature of the interaction. The scene is about namelessness and desperation.
Technically...I don't like it. For some reason, even though I used the same camera as before the quality is a lot lower. Like significantly a lot. This is probably because the lighting is very limited. I will probably redo it in the next week. Also, at the moment I'm missing the last two shots simply because everyone was tired and we wanted to stop. I've put up some screen shots from what I have so far.
At the moment I haven't decided it I want it to be silent silent like Nosferatu or with a song playing in the background like some of the other "silent" movies. We shall see.
Amy
this week is all about the boxes. i've been busy making boxes out of different materials, doing a lot of experimentation. i have a box fetish that i can't get away from. right now i'm just trying to make as many boxes as i can before tuesday. the other thing i'm trying to figure out is how to glue my plexi-glass box together. blah! nothing seems to be working and i've tried a lot of things. i'm sure it will come together to make my confinement box. no worries.
Catherine Hite
this week i have been playing with steel wool and seeing what kind of things i can make out of it. i have actually enjoyed it qutie a lot because it is very maliable and lets me do to it what i want. i am continuing with my work on weight and to add to my weighted apples i have created objects out of steel wool that have a strong conitation of weight, ie things that have a universal presumed weight. i am working on creating more objects before the crit and on the arrangement of this steel wool pieces intermingalded with the apples.
-catherine
-catherine
Windnie Pan
i'm glad i stayed in Florence this weekend. It gave my more time to think about my work since I decided on Tuesday that I wasn't going anywhere with my last project and basically wanted to start over. As wonderful and cheap as Tutto is, I realized that the materials I bought from there were not doing my work any justice. It started to look really crafty and too sweet. I also wanted to focus on a subject matter other than myself.
My initial idea was to choose a specific person or event...in the news or in the past... and make a portrait of them with found objects. I felt like I needed a concrete idea to start out with so that I would know exactly where I was going. The problem with that was that I'd have to be really lucky for my objects to magically match up with the person/event I wanted them to represent. Despite my frustration I took Julia's advice and went in search of objects on the streets anyway. While gathering my junk I felt like i was going to have to make up a fictional character to make a portrait of... but I really didn't want to. I went online and started to look at news articles since CNN is my homepage (but i dont read it much)... what better place to find stories. However I wasn't having much luck and just decided to keep looking for junk.
One night I was walking through San Lorenzo after the market had closed. There were trashbags everywhere and I was able to find little treasures that may have fallen out of them. The street cleaners were driving through as I was doing this and I found myself trying to beat them to these little objects (and got funny looks in the process). I began to think about how all of this "trash" has a history. They had a function at some point and then all of the sudden are being washed away to never be seen again. As I walked home I began to relate the little pieces of junk that I had picked up to the news articles I had just been looking at. There is this section on the CNN website with the most popular news articles... which get renewed every 20 minutes. It got me thinking about the constant cycling of news and how stories can be a big deal one day and then all of the sudden it gets replaced by a new, more interesting story. So that is what my project is about.
With that idea in mind I sat in the studio for hours trying to figure out how I was going to create a piece of work out of this idea. My frustration with working 3d and making installations was revived and I somehow ended up with a pile of junk wrapped in wire and a pile of grey ribbon I had cut down and written the top 10 news articles of a certain 20 minutes of that day on. The next morning I went to the Science museum for kicks although i probably should have been working and was attracted to this object (i honestly dont know what it is.. i just liked the way it looked) and thought i might be able to use it as a sort of inspiration. I feel like I'm finally getting somwhere.
My initial idea was to choose a specific person or event...in the news or in the past... and make a portrait of them with found objects. I felt like I needed a concrete idea to start out with so that I would know exactly where I was going. The problem with that was that I'd have to be really lucky for my objects to magically match up with the person/event I wanted them to represent. Despite my frustration I took Julia's advice and went in search of objects on the streets anyway. While gathering my junk I felt like i was going to have to make up a fictional character to make a portrait of... but I really didn't want to. I went online and started to look at news articles since CNN is my homepage (but i dont read it much)... what better place to find stories. However I wasn't having much luck and just decided to keep looking for junk.
One night I was walking through San Lorenzo after the market had closed. There were trashbags everywhere and I was able to find little treasures that may have fallen out of them. The street cleaners were driving through as I was doing this and I found myself trying to beat them to these little objects (and got funny looks in the process). I began to think about how all of this "trash" has a history. They had a function at some point and then all of the sudden are being washed away to never be seen again. As I walked home I began to relate the little pieces of junk that I had picked up to the news articles I had just been looking at. There is this section on the CNN website with the most popular news articles... which get renewed every 20 minutes. It got me thinking about the constant cycling of news and how stories can be a big deal one day and then all of the sudden it gets replaced by a new, more interesting story. So that is what my project is about.
With that idea in mind I sat in the studio for hours trying to figure out how I was going to create a piece of work out of this idea. My frustration with working 3d and making installations was revived and I somehow ended up with a pile of junk wrapped in wire and a pile of grey ribbon I had cut down and written the top 10 news articles of a certain 20 minutes of that day on. The next morning I went to the Science museum for kicks although i probably should have been working and was attracted to this object (i honestly dont know what it is.. i just liked the way it looked) and thought i might be able to use it as a sort of inspiration. I feel like I'm finally getting somwhere.
Joey Again
Ok, so i just read my post and realized there are a bunch of type-o's and unfinished sentences and stuff. Welcome to my brain...you get what i'm saying anyway dont you?
Daniel Lubniewski
This week was devoted to creating three projects that reflect my strengths in my artwork. In class, my classmates gave me advice on how to improve my skills with watercolor pencils. The majority of the rest of the week was devoted not only to developing this characters and my skills in my chosen medium, but also developing another aspect of my art, narratives and interactions. Two of the pictures I worked on explored the ways that my characters could interact with each other and even touch each other.I am already thinking of a large, multi-part narrative for my final project.
at the bar near the door
This week I did some french nots and then proceeded to leave my materials at the store of a man who has optional hours because of medicinal issues, that put a bit of a damber on things, but weaker beings have conquered far greaterconflicts which offers some comfort in the cold night. As for other matters my primary concern is how to display. Up on a wall? Drapped across some of the back furnature? suspended midair? wrapped around a table? wrapped around some fabric? who knows.
Belu knows.
Belu knows.
Joey
Finally in a good place I think - I've figured out what I want to do (for the most part) and now im sort of in production gear, creating this little hanging pods. I can't say exactly what the piece is supposed to mean...its not SUPPOSED to mean any one thing, which is the kind of art that i like to make. I'm intending more for this installation to feel however it feels to each person that looks at it. I'm hoping that I can achieve the air of intimacy and preciousness that i was, but also allude to some sort of universal...ity. hah.
The last step is kind of figuring out how exactly i want to display the pods...whether they should be in a clump or more spread out, hung at all different heights or whatnot - all the details. Also, something i still need to experiment with is possible having some of the pods somewhat destroyed, or breaking open, or being burst out of by their contents. I don't know what this will look like visually yet because i havent tried it yet, but i think it could add an interesting conceptual element - more action, or conflict, or direction...yet another layer of this mysterious pod community.
Note: the pictures aren't the best quality. Also, I just photographed them as i've been stringing them up in the studio. They will not necessarily be in that same arrangement when they are actually displayed.
The last step is kind of figuring out how exactly i want to display the pods...whether they should be in a clump or more spread out, hung at all different heights or whatnot - all the details. Also, something i still need to experiment with is possible having some of the pods somewhat destroyed, or breaking open, or being burst out of by their contents. I don't know what this will look like visually yet because i havent tried it yet, but i think it could add an interesting conceptual element - more action, or conflict, or direction...yet another layer of this mysterious pod community.
Note: the pictures aren't the best quality. Also, I just photographed them as i've been stringing them up in the studio. They will not necessarily be in that same arrangement when they are actually displayed.
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