Spring Intermediate Painting Final

For the final project for Intermediate Painting, we were supposed to take a black and white photo from a movie and paint it in Fauvist colors. Here is the photo I chose from “The Way We Were”:

Here it is after the first session:

After the second:
And the final product!While I was working on it, I just thought it was so fun to be able to choose and paint with such pure colors. I had to come up with my own guidelines and logic within the image. I also love how much the figures turned into characters. I want to do more work like this translating black and white media into colorful paintings during the summer.

Sophomore Seminar Experience

This Sophomore Seminar has been very helpful to me as a prompt for me to think about my own art. The readings were long at times, but there was always something I could take away from them. I think I have developed a stronger opinion on what I think art is, even though I still wouldn’t be sure how to define it. I wouldn’t have been as exposed to performance art and as much contemporary art if I hadn’t taken this class. I have never been a fan of performance art, but I am glad to know more about it. Finding out about contemporary artists has really helped me see how I am just like everyone else thinking the same things and that I can succeed too. The performances we attended I wouldn’t have gone to myself, but I still enjoyed them. It would have been fun to take more field trips as a class, because I really enjoyed visiting the ICA Boston and then having people to discuss it with. In discussions, I feel like I have gotten much better at speaking up, but sometimes I didn’t because I really didn’t know how to answer the questions. I have learned so much more about the BFA program and what I want to do, so I am looking forward to the support of the Senior Seminar next year.

Studio Space and Summer and Future

The readings prompted me to think more about a studio space and how I would work in that space. Right now I prefer to work at night, but I was thinking during the summer I could get up and go to my studio space the same way I would go to class. It wouldn’t be so hard to get myself to start working if I didn’t have to set everything up and then take it down, so this summer my dad is going to help me create a studio space in the upper story of our garage. There is one window, but maybe we will put skylights in the roof. I worry about it being too hot, but hopefully the window and some fans will fix that. At home I don’t have anywhere to work that I can leave my stuff out and everything smells and I don’t want it in my living space. So, maybe this will work out, because I will be a lot more motivated to work if I can leave my stuff out and just go in when I want to work. Also, having a space just for working will help me concentrate.

In the future, I want a big open cold studio space. I’ll divide it up into a relax/clean/concept area, and a dirty/working area. It will need to have lots of ventilation because I don’t like thinking that I am being poisoned. I will also want there to be big windows for light and big walls to inspire me to cover. I not sure how the next few years will work out, but hopefully I will be able to pay for a space like this at some point in my career. I hope to work internationally in the UK and Japan. I feel like traveling is so inspiring because you have to reevaluate your view of the world every time. Again, I am not sure how to make this work, but I have confidence that it will happen sometime!

This summer I plan to keep making as much work as I did for my classes. Normally I hate summer work, but this is my profession and I need more experience. It will be nice to have something to be dedicated to, because I normally go crazy during the summer from boredom.

Week 14 Readings

The readings today are excerpts from “On the Space of Artists”. Michael Smith describes his perfect studio day. The anticipation for new ideas had now become anxiety about things becoming ordinary. So to distract himself from the anxiety of looking at a blank canvas, he “putters”. Puttering proves to him that he is busy and helps him feel that if he is actively searching he will find his place.

Kimsooja does not worry about forgetting ideas because she will remember them when she needs them. Her body is her studio and she works intuitively not worrying about producing.

Barry Schwabsky discusses Tehching Hseih as an influence and how Hsieh did his work outside a studio. When he visited Hseih, his studio was clean and white. It was a place to think and not be distracted. He did art by not making art. This demonstrates the artist’s choices in making art and choosing something and also not choosing something. There is an importance to studio to practice and it’s a symbol for artists as part of their imagery in their work. Studio activity is like a performance and not always about solitude.  Some art is not made by artists in their own studio, like the more conceptual stuff of Baldessari. The studio can be a place of transformation, where people and objects transform into art, where effort is transformed into a product.

In Criticizing Art Ch. 6, pages 166-178, the section concerning writing about art continues. When you are editing, assume the role of the reader with different views and read it aloud to find awkward sections. There were samples of students’ writing that demonstrate the different points. When we are talking about works of art, can have casual conversations but they are often dismissive.  Organized talks, or critiques, are held to help the artists improve their work and usually focus on judgment and not so much on description and interpretation. In group discussions, contribute your own opinion and don’t censor yourself. Be honest but respectful.

ArtBreak: Gallery Talk with BFA Candidates

Shayna Bicknell, Road, 2011

This week I attended the gallery talk with three of the BFA Candidates: Joshua Torbick, Katherine W. Austin, and Shayna Bicknell. Joshua presented his work first and talked about how his childhood experiences have influenced the type of work he does now. His three sculptures were all different but still fit together in their general atmosphere. Even though they are essentially furniture they don’t look very comfortable to sit on, but sitting on them would give you an interesting experience. Joshua’s sculptures look like they took a lot of labor. I wanted to know exactly how he made them, because that kind of work is always a mystery to me. Katherine talked about her work as a record of the time she has spent working this year. She focuses on space and relating close color relationships. I liked the paintings that had a sort of warping to the space and her choices of when to exaggerate it. All her paintings had recognizable spaces that were easy to get into and move around. Shayna’s artwork seems very abstract to me. She talked about how she doesn’t get bored looking out the same window to paint because nature is always changing. At first it was hard for me to see what was going on in the paintings, but after looking I could make out the landmarks. I particularly liked the neon orange and light blue in one of her medium sized paintings.

Week 13 Readings

In the article, “The Art of the Billionaire” by Connie Bruck, she talks about Eli Broad and his contribution to the arts in Los Angeles. Eli Broad is a multibillionaire who is like a patron of the arts and has contributed millions to museums and research. He is an art collector himself who focuses on contemporary art and is an influential philanthropist. He has been on the boards of LACMA and MOCA and is creating his own museum, the Broad collection. He started as an accountant and then went into the home-building business, where he made all his money. He is a smart businessman and want sot control everything that he participates in. Broad was part of the founding of MOCA and also involved in the funding and building of the Disney Hall. He’s about the money and wants the biggest return for his philanthropic money. He will fund projects, but he wants his name on them.

In the article, “The Worship of Art” by Tom Wolfe, the author discuses how art has become the religion of the educated classes. His definition for religion includes a rejection of the world and the legitimization of wealth. People give money to the arts and donate to museums instead of religion like they used to. They used to have religion to show cultivation, but now you show you are cultured by collecting and appreciating art. Public sculptures are used nowadays to glorify the ideals or triumphs of a community or to glorify whoever paid for it. Today, more abstract sculptures (or “turds in the plaza”) act as prays in front of the office buildings. The sculptures became more about art than the people. The public sees nothing in the abstract structures, and they aren’t meant to.

In Criticizing Art Ch.6, pages 155-167, this section describes writing and talking about art. When writing about art, choose something to write about that you are preferably interested in and be honest about your opinion. You can write about single pieces of art, solo exhibitions, and group shows. Describe the art accurately to give the reader a verbal image by using internal information, like subject matter, medium, and form, and external contextual information. Interpret the work based on internal evidence, the work itself, and external evidence, relevant outside information. Judging the art includes an assessment of its worth and the criteria for your assessment. Consider the length of the paper and the audience you are directing it towards. Start writing with an outline and make a first draft you know you will go back into and improve.

Sunday Salon Series: Enhancing the Future: Arts in the 21st Century

John Jacobsmeyer, Zombie Senate

This lecture presented by John Jacobsmeyer included a summary of recent art movements from about the eighties and also included his own art and how they fit into the different styles. It was interesting to see how he fit himself into different movements and how his work is a mix of different influences. It was entertaining when he was explaining his own paintings towards the end of the talk. When he was describing what was going on in each one, he was kind of bashful. He draws a lot of references from movies, video games, and ideas from his childhood. Johns newer work, A Piney World, has the spaces make from plywood as if it is the construction/base for imagined spaces in child’s play. I liked the idea of these plywood constructions that were covered up by the peoples imaginations into whatever they wanted, but we couldn’t see exactly. The lecture had more history than I was expecting, but was still really enjoyable.

ArtBreak: Gallery Talk with MFA Candidates

This gallery talk featured the MFA candidates Youngsheen Ahn Jhe, Mark Soderling, and Nicole Weber. Nicole talked first about her art and a little about her personal history that led to her recent work. It seems like it is important f0r her to have a strong connection wherever she lives. Her choice of working on the wood and branches on the shoreline allows her to use the energy to represent as well as to invent to enhance the image. I like the lack of horizon line and general quality of the paint being pushed around on the surface. Youngsheen Ahn Jhe spoke next about her series of work. Her pieces focused on this narrative idea of the similarity at times of people to mannequins. This idea not only represents a separate world from the outside (illustrated by the dark streets and bright window displays), but also her own experience of feeling like a mannequin and separated in foreign countries. I particularly liked the piece with the policeman and the receding space. Mark Soderling spoke last about his recent transitions to the darker paintings. He uses large areas of color to create his image of simple set ups. Personal struggle has led him to change his paintings and focus on more fluid representations. It was really nice to be able to hear the artists talk about their own work and what they thought was important to share about their process. I always appreciate and consider pieces that the artists have talked about much more than I would otherwise.

“Museum” Play

This Tuesday I attended the play “Museum” with the my class as a field trip. The play was written by Tina Howe and directed by Deb Kinghorn. It was performed by UNH students in the Hennesy Theatre. The play is about the final day of an exhibit and all of the eccentric people that come to visit, all with their own reasons. The stage was set up like an art gallery with pieces constructed by the Student Arts Association.

When we arrived to take our seats, the guard from the show was their to greet us and encourage us to go on the stage and look, but not touch, the art. The play weaved in and out between a large cast of eccetric characters with actors playing multiple roles. I liked having to keep looking around and checking to see what all the different characters were doing and who was going to act next. The play works well in the smaller more personal theatre where the viewer feels more like an active part of the play.

It was very absurd and entertaining. I have come to enjoy art and theatre that doesn’t make everything clear, where it used to bother me that I couldn’t guess what was going to happen. The actors did a great job and weren’t too distracting from the story. I have definitely seen all these characters at museums, although they have been exaggerated here. I am not sure which character I would be, but probably the person who whips around and stares at everything. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to see, but in the end I thought it was very funny and was glad I went.

Artist Statement

Here is the first working of my artist statement:

My work is a response to all the experiences and information that I receive everyday. I take this input and edit and combine it to create a working image that will follow traditional aesthetics but encourage people to think about things they have not yet encountered. The art pieces are only a small glimpse into the thought process that goes on behind the physical output. I am influenced by everything I have seen in my life, from moving around the country to popular culture. Other artists inspire me to want to try things out for myself and I often borrow ideas and make them work for me. Some of my main influences are other artists, music, musicals, internet culture, television, and movies.

When someone comes across my work, I hope that they can reflect upon the decisions I made during the process and discover a new sense of awareness associated with this type of seeing. My work presents questions that the engaged viewer can consider with the understanding that there doesn’t need to be an answer. I want to create meaningful art, but I also want them to be objects and mean nothing at the same time. I want my art to catch someone’s attention from across the room and make them walk over and look and think about it.