Once again, I found this reading to be extremely beneficial. I will certainly be referencing it again in the future. It looks like this will be a textbook that I will not be selling after this class is over. It just has too much information that I need to get rid of it.
For the most part I simply found it helpful. I definitely see why we need an artist statement and all of her pointers to a good statement seemed great. However, I know for a fact from other writing classes, that I am not a big planner for papers. I do not know if I like all the steps in her process and how long her process takes. Not that it is not a good process, but it just might not be the process for me, at least not all of it.
I also found it funny that she had a contradiction in this section. She brought up the point that your statement should not include phrases that could describe any other artist out there. But later she applauds an artist who shrunk his statement down to five words, “Revolutionary art propelling history forward.” I do happen to believe that this statement could represent other artists, so in turn this should not be a good statement.
I also really like it when viewers see the art and make their own interpretations first, and then if they want to know more they can. Maybe the statement should be reserved at showings until after the first trip around the gallery. What if every piece has a different significance that you want the audience to know? If you write a short artist statement, that is a broad description of the collection as a whole, but not individual pieces. How is the artist to express the little significances in each work?
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Project Two
Project two was a short project, just one week long. It was titled "Discovery". The only constraint we had was that it had to be a project that took the class on a short walk and we were suppose represent discovery in some way. This meant that this was a performance/installation piece for the most part.
I did not snap my own pictures during the performance because I was without a camera. And I had to rush to take it down. After I had started taking it apart I realized that I could take some candid pics with my cell phone. Nothing great of course, but enough to help give an idea of what my project was. Hopefully, my teacher, who did take photos during the performance can email me the pictures and I can add them.
I made the class line up and follow me, like in the game follow the leader. This represented when we are constrained to do what we are told and we do not really make any discoveries. It is a lot like being in school, except for art school of course. Then I stopped behind a wall. In front of us there was an opening to the courtyard and a sign could be read that said "Discovery Lane". From here, things were done one by one. The first person in line had to put on a pair of goggles that restricted vision. The goggles were spray painted black except for a tiny hole in each lens. This represented that when we are on a path to discovery, we do not always have a clear vision of the path ahead of us, though we may have a end goal or purpose we are heading for. In this case, the viewer was told that they were going down Discovery Lane and at the end of it they would find two boxes and they would have to reach into only one and find their discovery. The boxes represented two possible outcomes of discovery, good and bad. One box had candy (good), and the other box had slimy noodles, dirty rocks, and rubber rats (bad). They could not see what was in the boxes of course, there was only a small hole for their hand to reach in and there was a sleeve to make sure they could not see what they were reaching into. The boxes were set on chairs so they were easy to reach in and they were seperated by a medium sized tree with a sign telling them what to do. It was critical that the group waited behind the wall until it was their turn, so that they did not see what the other viewers were getting when they reached into the boxes.
I was very happy with the way it turned out. I am only sad that not everyone had a chance to experience it, because of time constraints and that I did not get my own pictures of it while it was installed.
I did not snap my own pictures during the performance because I was without a camera. And I had to rush to take it down. After I had started taking it apart I realized that I could take some candid pics with my cell phone. Nothing great of course, but enough to help give an idea of what my project was. Hopefully, my teacher, who did take photos during the performance can email me the pictures and I can add them.
I made the class line up and follow me, like in the game follow the leader. This represented when we are constrained to do what we are told and we do not really make any discoveries. It is a lot like being in school, except for art school of course. Then I stopped behind a wall. In front of us there was an opening to the courtyard and a sign could be read that said "Discovery Lane". From here, things were done one by one. The first person in line had to put on a pair of goggles that restricted vision. The goggles were spray painted black except for a tiny hole in each lens. This represented that when we are on a path to discovery, we do not always have a clear vision of the path ahead of us, though we may have a end goal or purpose we are heading for. In this case, the viewer was told that they were going down Discovery Lane and at the end of it they would find two boxes and they would have to reach into only one and find their discovery. The boxes represented two possible outcomes of discovery, good and bad. One box had candy (good), and the other box had slimy noodles, dirty rocks, and rubber rats (bad). They could not see what was in the boxes of course, there was only a small hole for their hand to reach in and there was a sleeve to make sure they could not see what they were reaching into. The boxes were set on chairs so they were easy to reach in and they were seperated by a medium sized tree with a sign telling them what to do. It was critical that the group waited behind the wall until it was their turn, so that they did not see what the other viewers were getting when they reached into the boxes.
I was very happy with the way it turned out. I am only sad that not everyone had a chance to experience it, because of time constraints and that I did not get my own pictures of it while it was installed.
Response to pg 24-46; Work Samples
I have two opposing feelings about this reading. On the one hand I am happy and appreciative to this author. I feel like it truly is valuable information that I need as an artist. I feel like I have learned a lot, and will use this again as a reference. But, on the other hand, it disturbs and frustrates me beyond belief. I hate what the art world has become. Art is about creativity and expression. And I feel like the tedious tasks that are required of artists hinder that. I don’t want to have to be so confined, and have to do everything the way I’m suppose to. Art is suppose to have no rules, but to BE an artist your life is governed by rules. Not only in how you make work samples, but who you know, what you do, where you show, etc.
This piece did bring to my attention that most viewers will not see my artwork in person and that is why it is important to represent your work well, and I agree will that completely. I just dislike all the other rules like what you have to say and where to put information. I also think that not all artwork is suppose to have a description. Some artwork is meant to be whatever the viewer takes from it. I do tend to love art that I know what the artist was thinking and wanted to represent more so than art that is open to interpretation, but that doesn’t mean that all art has to be described.
I do think that I am at a slight advantage with photography as my main focus. For my photographic work, I do not have to shoot a picture of my work, because my work in a picture. And even though I shoot in film, I always scan my negatives to work on them in Photoshop, so I have digital copies. Also, having skills in photography will help me document my pieces that are not photographs. Although, I am not trained in lighting studio type shooting yet, I still know how to work a camera and in time I will be trained in all the aspects I will need to document my own work.
I also feel like, though it is good practice to document my work now, most artists do not display their artwork made while an undergrad. Probably because they know that they only have so much time to make a good impression on viewers who do not see their work in person. To have artwork out there that they made while training as an artist may make the artist look unskilled. So the fact that we have to do this could hinder us in our future careers.
This piece did bring to my attention that most viewers will not see my artwork in person and that is why it is important to represent your work well, and I agree will that completely. I just dislike all the other rules like what you have to say and where to put information. I also think that not all artwork is suppose to have a description. Some artwork is meant to be whatever the viewer takes from it. I do tend to love art that I know what the artist was thinking and wanted to represent more so than art that is open to interpretation, but that doesn’t mean that all art has to be described.
I do think that I am at a slight advantage with photography as my main focus. For my photographic work, I do not have to shoot a picture of my work, because my work in a picture. And even though I shoot in film, I always scan my negatives to work on them in Photoshop, so I have digital copies. Also, having skills in photography will help me document my pieces that are not photographs. Although, I am not trained in lighting studio type shooting yet, I still know how to work a camera and in time I will be trained in all the aspects I will need to document my own work.
I also feel like, though it is good practice to document my work now, most artists do not display their artwork made while an undergrad. Probably because they know that they only have so much time to make a good impression on viewers who do not see their work in person. To have artwork out there that they made while training as an artist may make the artist look unskilled. So the fact that we have to do this could hinder us in our future careers.
Project One
Project one was titled "The Metamorphosis". As the title implies we changed something, a found object. But not only did we have to change that object in the physical since, but it had to represent change. Although, some students didn't really change a found object, but instead created a new one from standard supplies.
I created my object out of old clocks and clock parts. For this project, I decided to look to myself, and see how I've changed through out time. One thing that stood out to me, was my desire to have children. I always knew I wanted children, but until recently I did not want them at that moment in time. This really has just come about within the last year. I had always planned that I would be done with college and married by 22-23, and I would have my first child by at least 25. Just last month I turned 25 and I am still in school with no children. I am married, and have been for over 2 years. I think not only is this an internal need, but it is also a natural progression after being married a couple years. So my biological clock is tick, tick, ticking.
My object was mainly composed of a med/large sized table/desk clock that had a large hollow interior. I busted the back off, and turned that into a miniature nursery. In the nursery there was a crib, mobile, rocking chair, teddy bear, baby girl, and a nonworking clock on the back wall, all made of clock parts. The clock on the back wall was set at time 10:25, 10 representing by birth (born on Aug. 10Th), and 25 representing my current age and need for a baby now. 25 is the age when my biological clock started ticking. The exterior still had a working clock, tick, tick, ticking away. I painted it green and put fake plant on it to represent that it was not a normal clock, but a biological one. In retrospect, I wish that I would have used real plants, because the fake ones may have distracted from it and cheapened it a little.
All in all, I think it was a successful project and I am happy with it. I espcially love the crib and teddy bear.
I created my object out of old clocks and clock parts. For this project, I decided to look to myself, and see how I've changed through out time. One thing that stood out to me, was my desire to have children. I always knew I wanted children, but until recently I did not want them at that moment in time. This really has just come about within the last year. I had always planned that I would be done with college and married by 22-23, and I would have my first child by at least 25. Just last month I turned 25 and I am still in school with no children. I am married, and have been for over 2 years. I think not only is this an internal need, but it is also a natural progression after being married a couple years. So my biological clock is tick, tick, ticking.
My object was mainly composed of a med/large sized table/desk clock that had a large hollow interior. I busted the back off, and turned that into a miniature nursery. In the nursery there was a crib, mobile, rocking chair, teddy bear, baby girl, and a nonworking clock on the back wall, all made of clock parts. The clock on the back wall was set at time 10:25, 10 representing by birth (born on Aug. 10Th), and 25 representing my current age and need for a baby now. 25 is the age when my biological clock started ticking. The exterior still had a working clock, tick, tick, ticking away. I painted it green and put fake plant on it to represent that it was not a normal clock, but a biological one. In retrospect, I wish that I would have used real plants, because the fake ones may have distracted from it and cheapened it a little.
All in all, I think it was a successful project and I am happy with it. I espcially love the crib and teddy bear.
Obituary
Here is my obituary. I waited to post it because I was unsure about how the blogs worked. I am not sure if I am completely happy with this, though. If I become a very successful artist I don't know if I would continue teaching. I say this because I imagine how wonderful it would be to only have to work on my artwork for a job and nothing else. I think that would be the ulimate dream. However, I do imagine myself as a teacher as well... just maybe not for a lifetime career. And of course if I become a uber famous artist then there will be a much longer, detailed obituary for me =)
Amy Royale Stringham died Friday evening on April 20th, 2080. She was 95 years old. She left behind 3 daughters and 2 sons, along with 10 grandchildren. Amy led an extraordinary life. She had a late start, but soon into her 30s her career took off. She taught high school after receiving a bachelor degree in Psychology and in Fine Arts from the University of South Florida. During that time she completed her MFA in 2016 from [to be filled in later].
Amy had already had 3 children when she received her MFA and took time off after that to spend time with her family, which is when she had her other 2 children. She put on several shows with other artists in her area, and her photographs and art collections grew in popularity. Amy won several awards for her [to be filled in later] exhibition and began teaching at [prestigious university to be filled in later].
Amy went on to being one of the highest paid female artists in the United States, along with winning many awards, and being named a distinguished professor at [prestigious university to be filled in later]. Amy gave up teaching and she and her husband opened their own art gallery and a small community school of the arts. Amy continued making art and helping others with their art until she finally passed away Friday.
Amy Royale Stringham died Friday evening on April 20th, 2080. She was 95 years old. She left behind 3 daughters and 2 sons, along with 10 grandchildren. Amy led an extraordinary life. She had a late start, but soon into her 30s her career took off. She taught high school after receiving a bachelor degree in Psychology and in Fine Arts from the University of South Florida. During that time she completed her MFA in 2016 from [to be filled in later].
Amy had already had 3 children when she received her MFA and took time off after that to spend time with her family, which is when she had her other 2 children. She put on several shows with other artists in her area, and her photographs and art collections grew in popularity. Amy won several awards for her [to be filled in later] exhibition and began teaching at [prestigious university to be filled in later].
Amy went on to being one of the highest paid female artists in the United States, along with winning many awards, and being named a distinguished professor at [prestigious university to be filled in later]. Amy gave up teaching and she and her husband opened their own art gallery and a small community school of the arts. Amy continued making art and helping others with their art until she finally passed away Friday.
My 20 Artists Post Below
So since I was out sick when everyone exchanged artists, I don't have a list of people I gave my artists to. But for future projects I have posted all of my artist cards with images, in a powerpoint presentation below. My 20 artists were:
Martha Rosler
Jon Rubin
Alison Saar
Betye Saar
Tom Sachs
Jenny Saville
Julia Scher
Carolee Schneemann
Josef Schulz
Dana Schutz
Beverly Semmes
Richard Serra
Roger Shimomura
Roman Signer
Ross Sinclair
Shahzia Skander
Charles Simonds
SIMPARCH
Alexis Smith
Kiki Smith
Martha Rosler
Jon Rubin
Alison Saar
Betye Saar
Tom Sachs
Jenny Saville
Julia Scher
Carolee Schneemann
Josef Schulz
Dana Schutz
Beverly Semmes
Richard Serra
Roger Shimomura
Roman Signer
Ross Sinclair
Shahzia Skander
Charles Simonds
SIMPARCH
Alexis Smith
Kiki Smith
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