Blog #7: Artistic Breakthrough

Well today after much resistance, my definition of art was altered. The instructor had us examine a number of surreal and conceptual artists and their work. A number of artists didn't do much work themselves so much as take a ready-made object, put it on a pedestal, say "it's art" and take the credit for it. This idea has always enraged me as it doesn't take any skill to take a random object and give it a random name. I already have had issues with abstract art...but then to take something you yourself didn't even make or change in any way -- well it took me to the limits of my capacity of understanding how people could find that innovative.

I mentioned to the teacher that you can measure the skill of say a chef or an architect. At least a majority of people would agree that if a cook poisons his patrons or an architect's building collapses...he wasn't good. So why are the visual arts so damn forgiving? When comparing conceptual art to culinary art...it would be like a chef putting a piece of uncooked pasta in front of someone and saying "what? you don't know good food when you see it?!". However as I mentioned earlier, to compare the various art forms is a mistake.

Erin Cunningham mentioned that it's not necessarily the crafted object is the art...but the idea behind it.    but...but...

But NOTHING! She's absolutely right. I say I like the Classics but in my Art History class we've discussed the meaning or ideas behind work from the Renaissance. During this period, the church dominated as the patron and what they wanted from the "masterpieces" like Madonna of the Rocks, The Last Judgement, the David(s), The Passions, was to inspire people to have faith. Breaking the first of the 10 Commandments, the church had these graven images made to invoke fear and awe into the common people and to illustrate history. TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK!

Confined by limited resources, many of the artists at the time couldn't afford to express themselves as most artists were trained to imitate or emulate their predecessors but the intent to provoke thought has always been there. Now artists are at liberty to explore even the most complex and controversial forms of thought. Art ecompasses the thoughts of memory, imagination, illustration, introspection etc.

Today was a break through.

Blog #6: Abstract Project - 5 sketches

So this blog will also serve as my latest update on my abstract project. I'm done! After much aggravation, aerosol, and comfort food it is finished. My roommates are certainly relieved as they will no longer have to worry about finding some stranger's hair in the most inconvenient of places. During the process, I actually referred to my original 5 sketches very rarely and upon looking back I'm shocked with how close the end product resembled the concept design. Mind you the materials are far from what I had originally intended. My original skin was going to be a synthetic cobweb made from a secret technique of mine....sadly it was too delicate to transport literally melting in the presence of humidity. I can't remember when, but hair suddenly struck me as the most appropriate material after noticing the vaginal shape my piece had taken. But despite what one might think the hair was fairy easy to work with. It was the aluminum that gave me grief. Granted I wasn't very mathematical about my approach but the skeleton kept warping on me and while I had intended for it to be free-standing...I had no better option than to reinforce the bottom with a platform. All things considered, I'm really really pleased with how its turned out. Hopefully I'll eventually get a picture of it so y'all (imaginary y'all reading this) can see and compare for yourself.

Blog #5: Art in the Park 2010

So I had originally resolved to take my free afternoon today and go in search of a job. I had been told to look down town so I began my trek across the bridge. But then...I saw some tents. LOTS of tents. And I smelled food. The unmistakable aroma of funnel cakes and sausages. So my job hunting plans got thrown out the window at that moment.

It appeared to be a fair featuring all sorts of artists from Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. It was overwhelming and so crowded that there seemed no real efficient way of seeing every collection. Even after 4 hours there I'm sure I still didn't see everything but lords knows I tried. The art ranged from photography, woodwork, clothing, painting, quilting, jewelry making, glass, to some truly innovative art forms. I really regret not having a camera though I'm sure it would have been frowned upon by the artists anyway. In most tents there was a piece that I would pick out but as a whole there were only about 3-4 artists whose work really captivated me.

John Ashley

One of which was a photographer by the name of John Ashley. Now there were a number of photographers in the park today but his work for some odd reason really got my eye over the others. I don't know if it was the subject matter which primarily was wildlife in close up, sometimes sequential images or that many of his photos possessed such a wide pallet of colors. He had close ups of animals, a nighttime image following the paths of the moon over a 5 night period, a panoramic photo of an eagle catching a fish with combined frames of every 2 seconds. In addition to the subject matter, he did what I've seen many photographers do and hadn't been particularly impressed with until now. He transferred his photos onto canvas. And while this often just results in what looks like simply a photo on a canvas John Ashley's work actually fooled me once or twice and I thought they really were painted versions of his work. I asked for his business card and I'm eager so see more of his work in the future. http://www.johnashleyfineart.com/

Another artist whose work I thoroughly appreciate was Michael Sage from Seaside, Oregon. He coins his work as "Phantom Leaves" and upon viewing his art one could easily see why. His outstanding features in his work are transparent leaves. In his display tent hung framed shadow boxes containing various arrangements of said leaves. Some hung from real branches and others stood on their own within the space. It should be mentioned that his leaves were airbrushed to achieve vivid colors, both realistic and surreal. So a leave might be black atop a white background and vice verse. Others were painted to resemble the colors of autumn and some pieces were even bright blue, purple or any color one might not expect. Aside his largest display (a entire branch of black leaves) hung a small explanation on how he used an acidic solution to dissolve the fleshy parts of the leaves leaving only the skeletal like structure made primarily of cellulose. Surprisingly this didn't damage the final integrity of the leaves. In fact he had an example to demonstrate how durable and flexible the resulting leaf was. He hardly takes credit for developing this process as his website would indicate. Actually this technique has been around for over 150 years. Nonetheless, I thought it was absolutely fascinating how he used natural materials and created simple structures with an almost dreamlike or haunting quality. http://www.phantomleaves.com/

So all in all I had a grand old time. Ironically instead of finding a means to make money, I only ended up spending money. I followed the trail of most appealing aroma and got myself a chicken and onion pita....then a strawberry shortcake icecream sundae....then a lemonade. I would have gotten myself a class of wine but by that time I couldn't afford it. All the same, I spent the day culturing myself and I have no regrets.

Blog #4: Abstract Progress Report

So this week was particularly stressful as I just couldn't seem to come up with an efficient material for my armature. I explored wire, twine, wood, even dried pasta. Finally in a last ditch effort I went to the local grocery store and at random found some aluminum pie pans that have proven to work out perfectly. I seem set and ready to go. So here's a little about my project so far. Perhaps this will develop into my artists statement.

I had a specific idea and material in mind but just as our teacher had said, I found that it "wasn't working". So I had to start from scratch. I couldn't think of a shape that had any meaning or that I felt I could recreate. Then, one night while balancing homework and a Animal Planet presentation that featured Africa's Eastern Rift, I saw a shape in a rock formation that intrigued me. (mainly because it looked particularly unnatural for a rock formation) It was a v-shape. From that I created an arch. It reminded me of a number of things. From one angle it reminded me of an animal wingspan. In view of the arch, it reminded me of almost a vaginal shape...this fixed my decision to use human hair as my skin. The shape appeals to me as it strikes me as having a positive energy. Whether wings or a labia it signifies freedom, a transcension from one place to another. Earth to air, birth to death. Hearing myself say that I may change my mind from using hair to feathers. hmmmm

Artist 3/20: Bill Watterson

  So this week I've decided to present an unconventional artist who I'm gonna argue works in a 3rd dimensional realm. Really he works in a 2-dimensional plane but his work is only effective with the additional dimension of time. I present to you, Bill Watterson.

    Known best as the mind behind the Calvin & Hobbes comic strip series, I'm brought with the dilema of classifying his work. Being half story telling and half imagery...what is the impact of his "artwork". Unconventional to many artists, an image isn't complete without diologue, chronology and a definite story. Each of these elements is reliant upon at least one other. So for this segment I shall explore both Watterson's visual artistry and his story-telling.

One could go on for days about the art explored in Calvin & Hobbes. Of course you have the standard look of each character inked in a very loose and cartoony manner. But through Calvin's imagination, Watterson was able to live vicariously and had an infinite number of possibilities in exploring art forms. These explorations in art forms manifested themselves in several varying degrees. Occasionally, we'd see SpaceMan Spiff; Calvin as a science-fiction space hero, drawn in the same style as calvin but in entirely different settings like space or alien planets always inhabited by unique alien creatures.

Another opportunity Watterson loved and fought to take full artistic license with was the Sunday strip. Given anywhere from 1/3 of the entire page, he wanted freedom to draw the strip in a non-traditional way. Rather than following the standard panel layout for most comic strips, Watterson played around with panel size and placement. Common in these strips, Watterson dabbled in drawing Calvin in multiple art styles including, DiChromatic, Cubism, Abstract, Negative Values, Lacking Perspective and so on usually paralleling it to how Calvin viewed the world.

Thirdly, Watterson would totally emerse use within Calvin's imagination and would draw the strips in a very realistic manner. This most often happened in strips involving dinosaurs, animals or when he and Susie were playing house and was a means for the artist to get away from cartooning for a while. Quite often these were the strips that sometimes got the biggest response as they often were so arbitrary.

 So what about the story aspect? Again, a topic that could have text books written about it. But Watterson is so clever in blurring the lines between what is fantasy and reality. Take the above strip. While the final frame illustrates that the dinosaurs are a part of Calvin's imagination, what about Hobbes? Is he just another aspect of fantasy? Is this fantasy within fantasy? While it is typically accepted that Hobbes is a figment of Calvin's imagination, we often see Calvin accomplish things that he most likely couldn't have done without the assistance of someone. Also, through the varying strips, we are presented with everything from politics, philosophy, ethics, art, parenthood, cultural flaws and other social commentary. Another gargantuan irony is how Calvin apparently has abounding knowledge on the formentioned topics yet is the stereotypical incompetant and unmotivated student.
I believe this is where my love for juxtapostion and opposites is derived.

However, my greatest respect for Watterson comes from his integrity as an artist and his work. He only worked on the Calvin and Hobbes series for less than 10 years because the quality had reached its zenith and anything more would pale in comparison to what his characters were intended to be. And rather than economize from his work much like Garfield's creator Jim Davis, he has refused to allow the production of any merchandise with his characters insisting that they stand on their own, in the medium they were originally conceived.

Blog #3: Abstract and the Lack of Progress

Well unfortunately I'm still wracking my mind over our current abstract project. Every possible idea that comes into my mind I'm ultimately unsatisfied with. Even at 3a.m. last night as I lay in my bed trying to dose off every thought somehow led to a potential material or shape only to be followed by the utter frustration of not being "clever" enough or not having some significant correlation between the two.
   Yesterday, in an attempt to find some workable materials, I went to a nearby creek and picked a bundle of reeds. All I managed to do was weave some hot mats or coasters. What's frustrating is that I have a specific idea or form in mind but not the means to accomplish it. (I'd need a sautering iron or a ton of unsightly glue). Branches: too erratic; crayons/wax: too fragile; tin foil: too trashy, etc.

I had another potential "skin" in mind made from human hair and LOTS of hairspray, but again, in this case I'd want to accomplish perfect geometric shapes with a material that isn't normally geometric. At this point I'm just waiting for my muse to whack me across the head with an idea I'll be pleased with. All I can do is look for her in the mean time.

P.S. I'm working from an Apple computer....I HATE apple computers. With their flat keyboards, no side bars, no right-click button, their exit buttons on the wrong side and their SMUG sleek and oh-so high-resolution screen -- why was I raised with a PC?

Artist 2/20: Stephen Gammell

As a child, a series of three books were published entitled "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" written by Alvin Schwartz. The stories ranged from light and sophmoric, to mildly humorous, to down-right descriptively gruesome. Now the one thing that was constant and has remained to haunt me though the years was the unapologetic, scarring illustrations of Stephen Gammel.

Thumbing through the book, his style is so painfully clear and effective. Every character or scene whether intended to be frightening or neutral all share the same look. Each image is sketched as though they're covered with dirty hair, slime or stringy blood. Due to the black and white medium our minds are left to wander even more.

Along with the grittiness, many of his images are gross distortions of what we might expect in reality. An over sized head, an elongated face, a smile resembling broken glass - all of it is rendered so well that the suspension of believe is shortened and the audience believes they could see the horrors on the page in real life. A particular piece that scared the heebie-jeebies out of me was his illustration of the "White Wolf". While the story merely pertained to a ravenous wolf the picture elevates the creature to an entirely nightmarish quality. Its crooked eyes, eye sockets and teeth that looks like their made from broken glass, deformed nose create what not only loosely resembles a wolf but there's a hauntingly crazed human quality to it.

Why does this appeal to me? While I admittedly have a similar dark-side to some of my work that may occasionally emerge, Stephen Gammell taught me a number of things. One being the power of suggestion, while it may not be entirely abstract, his methods are easily applicable. Secondly, his rendering techniques and use of dark and light shapes add to the depth and tangibility of his images. In essence whenever I try to create a 'scary' or 'disturbing' image, more often than not, Stephen Gammell's is the look I aim for.