Sailing ceramic pods
7 October 2009 2 Comments
From Chicago potter/sculptor Julie Rozman:
Notice. Drawings by Craig Hawkins.
23 August 2009 Leave a Comment
A few months back I added Craig Hawkins’ website to my brief and, admittedly, somewhat unconsidered list of links in the proverbial sidebar. I really like his work, and noticed this morning he posted a number of new drawings to his website.
The series is titled “Notice,” and it made me think of my continual harping on intentional observation. The above charcoal drawing is titled Donna. Hawkins says of the series:
What do people ignore? Why? What do they notice? Why?
Matthew 13 seems to reference this. It’s interesting to read why Jesus chose to speak in parables.
“Art is a lie that helps us to realize the truth.”
- Pablo Picasso
The Notice series is currently installed at the Mason Murer gallery in Atlanta.
Also added to the proverbial sidebar this week was a link to my good friend Joel Armstrong’s new website. Joel creates drawings and installations using wire and found objects.
Art Farm installation/performance
16 August 2009 Leave a Comment
Last night I visited Art Farm Nebraska for the first time in order to see Kwangwoo Kim’s collaborative installation/performance piece. Artists Johnny Walker and Shannon Young were also part of the program.
I was a bit disappointed in the rough state of the farm. I knew it was a work in progress from their website, but for some reason thought the campus would be a little further ahead. Granted, I didn’t see all that much of the campus.
We arrived early — Google Maps’ estimated travel time was long — and stood around for 20 minutes while the artists finished up the installation and a few other onlookers arrived. No one seemed to know what was going on exactly. There was no MC. Someone said we should climb onto the platform in the barn that was still up on stilts so we did. And then they said, “No, the artists want us to start down on the ground first.”
This irked my sister-in-law who was under the impression she was going to a show in a gallery, in a pleasantly restored barn. She wore heels and her best jeans, and climbing up and down a ladder in a barn floating four feet off of the ground hadn’t factored into her evening — in part because the nature of the event had not been communicated to her. She was also almost convinced we were going to die by the hand of an axe murderer in the presence of so many “hippies” out in the countryside (To which I replied, “This is so tame compared to the backwoods of Arkansas!”). Indeed, a bath would have done some of the attendees a bit of good.
This is only worth noting in light of comments I heard at the IAM Conference in New York this past February. It was pointed out in one of the seminars that artists do well to dress and act in such a manner so as to not put off potential patrons. It’s certainly not uncommon for us to think of artists as reclusive and unwashed (to a degree). However, such a lifestyle is not beneficial for branding, especially if you hope to catch the eye of collectors with a certain high level of disposable income.
I’ve always been a fan of installations, probably on account of my interest in architecture. I’m a little more apprehensive when it comes to performance art, but Kim’s work was worth the trek east to the farm. I liked the Asian sensibility of the performance and it’s contrast to the setting of the Great Plains. My brother picked that up as well, likening the performer’s motion and accompanying music to a Japanese horror flick (which I can’t verify since I don’t watch horror).
Some sort of official direction by a person in the know would have added value to the experience, so that the 25 or so of us viewers weren’t milling around so aimlessly in our ignorance. It could have been as little as three sentences describing the evening. As it was, we could hardly tell who the artists were and ended up with absolutely no idea of who was in charge of the farm, something I would have liked to learn.
Regardless, I’ll probably go back for the farm’s harvest weekend near the end of October.
Art farms
10 August 2009 2 Comments
I’m getting back into my morning cycling routine, thankfully. Today I took the leg of the Grand Island trail system east from Hall County Park; before today I’d turned around at the park and retraced my pedals back to the loft.
The trail east, the Riverway Trail, basically cuts across the prairie. The ride was great as the morning sun seeped through a dry fog, although the trail ended sooner than I’d hoped. The map suggests Riverway goes another 2.5 miles east as crushed rock. In reality, it ends in a field off of South Locust Street.
Anywho, about halfway in between Hall County Park and South Locust lay this collection of barns.
There are at least three of them — on behind the tree on the left — all wood and concrete block in decent repair. They’re probably being used, but my mind immediately went to how well they would work as a Christian artist retreat.
Central Nebraska has another art farm, although it’s not faith-based like my idea, about 20 miles east of Grand Island. I’ve never been, but I hope to get out to Art Farm Nebraska soon. Some of the residents are preforming and showing off new installations August 15th.
It’s already on my calendar.
tweenbots
14 April 2009 1 Comment
I’ve always been fascinated by artistic ideas that engage viewers, as in require participation by the viewer. Kacie Kinzer’s tweenbots are just such a project.
From the website:
Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.
Armstong/Ward installations
19 January 2009 Leave a Comment
Saturday I traveled to Tulsa with friends to view two collaborative installations, Failing Hearts and On the Line. The shows are up in the Ligget Studio and Living Arts Space on Kenosha Avenue.
Failing hearts (above) is “a collaborative installation by two artists dealing with issues of the heart — one, an emotional and poignant set of unopened letters that are filled with words that speak of a failing relationship, while the other deals strictly with the presence and form of the heart itself.” Joel Armstrong hung a myriad of his wire drawings, intermingled with wire words taken from the aforementioned letters. The letters were written by his late mother, and gallery goers were encouraged to take additional words from his parents’ dresser — part of the installation — and pin them to the walls.
Neil Ward contributed the cast calf hearts, sitting on the small shelves in the photo above. Each heart is cast using a different mixture of materials; every one unique in form.
Two doors down hung a show by the same artists titled On the Line. Armstrong is seen in the photograph above pointing out some of the clothing on the line, again drawn in wire. It is a beautifully arranged work, best viewed after dark. Ward’s cast eyeballs line the walls, “perhaps here the understood tendencies of voyeur and nosy neighbor.”
Both installations employ sound and are meant to draw the viewer in not just visually and emotionally, but experientially. The shows are up until the 29th of January.
Have problems? Pay for an art mentor.
17 November 2008 3 Comments
A real quick note via the Art Deadlines List. A recent post asks “Need an agent to get your work out? Need expert advice? Then look to someone who has actually sold work, exhibited in The Whitney Biennial, and is a dealer and agent who also helps artists with their careers through coaching.”
The noted someone is Brainard Carey, part of the artistic duo Praxis. Praxis will pray for you. They believe in the power of prayer, but are not “believers” in their own words. The prayer is a form of telepathic performance art according to their website. They don’t have too much actual art for sale, although if you want you can purchase a 70 pound leather bound Book of Job for $50,000.
But I digress; this post is really about the wording on Carey’s coaching website. The brief explanation of services offered includes this sentence: “I will help you to identify and overcome your specific problems, so that you can reach the next level in your career.” Apparently he’s pretty good too, at least according to the numerous testimonials on the same page. However, as a marketer, I have to wonder why he took the negative route here. It seems to me the better choice of words would be something like, “I will help you identify and build on your specific talents, so that you can reach the next level in your career.” Certainly, part of an art mentor’s job would be to address weaknesses (also a better word than “problems”), but you shouldn’t emphasize this when trying to sell your services if you don’t have to — especially when it pertains to an individual.
The following is a Good Morning America spot on a Praxis installation.
Friday Fare: Instant art grants, installations
10 October 2008 Leave a Comment
ThinkChristian points out a post at the Urban Prankster which elaborates on The Federation of Students and Nominally or Unemployed Artists’ instant art grants of $10-$60. From the Federation’s website:
The FSNUA aims to re-inspire creative thinking and action in everyday people by removing a small barrier and providing encouragement. We give small, unsecured grants in the form of $10-$60 for creative projects thought up on the spot by everyday people. In the past this has included a merchant marine, two 10 year old girls, a US soldier on leave from Iraq, an accordion player from Alaska, and around 40 others. We funded their new paintings, drawings, knitting, and photojournalism projects, and the repair of one accordion. Projects that may not have happened had they not come across 10 people in the park to support and inspire the thought.
Beyond the small amount of money, the project encourages people to see themselves as something other than workers or consumers even if it just for the length of time required to apply for the FSNUA grant. We also hope to re-inspire dormant desires to create while presenting an example of generosity without an ulterior motive.
I’m pretty fond of the idea, especially the last paragraph’s hope that they are encouraging people to “see themselves as something other than workers or consumers.” Here-here!
A friend forwarded me a link to photographer Magdalena Bors’ website. As much as a photographer she appears to be an installation artist, turning common household objects into miniature landscapes. The following image from her photo-installations is for my knitting wife.
She was born in Antwerp and has a photography degree from Melbourne, but there isn’t much other information about the artist on the website.
Genius Grants 2008: Weaving straws and grass
24 September 2008 Leave a Comment
I suppose I should mention this year’s genius grants, awarded this week, since this blog contains a category called Artist-as-genius. Regular readers know that I hold a certain disdain for the term. I haven’t entirely fleshed that disdain out properly, but a very good example of where it came from can be seen in the somewhat raunchy film Art School Confidential.
Looking at the list of winners yesterday afternoon I was a bit surprised. They’re all over the place. The stage-lighting designer, music critic and architectural preservationist were pleasant surprises.
Two artists will be taking home the $500,000 purse, a sculptor and a fiber artist.
The fiber artist is another surprise. Mary Jackson is a basket weaver. How wonderful that such a traditional and humble craft is included in this list, a list that might commonly include the rocket scientists we so like to mock.
In contrast to that is Tara Donovan. I mentioned Donovan with some skepticism in this January post. Donovan’s work is sometimes mass-produced and makes use of common household objects.
I like the above work by Donovan, titled Haze. It’s made from drinking straws. I wonder what Mary Jackson could do with drinking straws. Weave them, I imagine, as she does with grass. An interesting connection between two very different artisans.
Artist Profile: Guy Kemper
4 June 2008 Leave a Comment
Ran across this glass artist today via EnvisionChurch. He does some very unique installations as windows, on a large scale. Envision picked my favorite from his gallery to include in their June Newsletter:
This work is titled “Rise,” and is located at the Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero, St. Joseph’s Chapel. The installation is 24 by 10 feet.
I really liked this following paragraph from Envision’s article:
What glass as a material does best is to act as a vehicle to the sublime. Though abstract, my work is rooted in recognizable symbolism and natural phenomena. I feel refracted light may inspire a greater degree of illumination than literal narration. I don’t explain everything; I merely crack open a door to the Mystery.
I can personally relate to the statement, “Though abstract, my work is rooted in recognizable symbolism and natural phenomena.” This is basically my own artistic philosophy as well. It’s interesting and pleasantly surprising to read things like this, where others are able to concisely state what you haven’t been able to put in such specific terms as of yet. I also appreciate his attention to the sublime, even I don’t still understand that concept as well as I’d like to. And — while I’m at it I may as well compliment every part of the quote — the mention of Mystery (I’m wondering why the word is capitalized in the excerpt; I’m assuming it’s intentional) is something the arts are commended for regularly, and rightfully.
I feel the need to add that Kemper’s website appears to be very out of date. The last update apparently occurred in May of 2006.
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