Art Farm installation/performance

16 August 2009 by pcNielsen 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.

Filed under Art, Central Nebraska, Collaboration, Installations, Performance

Art farms

10 August 2009 by pcNielsen 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.

Riverway 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.

Filed under Architecture, Art, Central Nebraska, Christian art retreat, Grand Island, Installations, Performance

Have problems? Pay for an art mentor.

17 November 2008 by pcNielsen 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.

Filed under Art, Business of art, Installations, Performance

Yale student’s miscarriage installation/performance

25 April 2008 by pcNielsen Leave a Comment

This is the second article I’ve read this week about Yale student Aliza Svhart’s senior project, er, performance. Reportedly, she artificially inseminated herself using voluntary donors while ovulating, and would later induce a miscarriage using an herbal method. The result of this performance will be a hanging installation making use of cellophane and video of the miscarriages.

The aforementioned Wall Street Journal article says it well, “Immaturity, self-importance and a certain confused earnestness will always loom large in student art work. But they will usually grow out of it. What of the schools that teach them?” The thrust of the Journal’s article seems to revolve around the educational aspect of art colleges. It suggests that most programs will begin by running students through basic drawing courses before channeling them into emphasis such sculpture or printmaking. Courses should, writer Michael J. Lewis contends, become increasingly challenging. This was my own experience, and also that of my brother who is a painter. I can’t imagine any reputable program diverging much from such a model without very good reason.

Another important point offered by Lewis notes the importance of two professorial archetypes key to the education of an artist: “It is often said that great achievement requires in one’s formative years two teachers: a stern taskmaster who teaches the rules and an inspirational guru who teaches one to break the rules. But they must come in that order.” I don’t think many aspiring artists realize the importance of rules, which are key to respectable craft and discipline. The young painter or sculptor’s ideas often outpace their ability to actually create a successful work of art. Further, the romantic notions surrounding working as a successful artist aren’t normally realistic. Professional artists need discipline, organization and so on.


Aliza Shvarts. Disarticulation. 12 in. x 12 in. x 24 in. Plaster, vaseline, towels, rubber bands, latex gloves. Photo from the Yale website.

Basically, Lewis lays out a proven model for the education of artists, and asks what happened with Miss Shvart and Yale? He doesn’t jump to any sort of dire conclusions, but the question is worth asking. There is a general feeling about art and artists getting away with basically anything and everything, as blatantly alluded to in the recent film Art School Confidential. “Given the choice of this arduous training or the chance to proceed immediately to the making of art free of all traditional constraints,” Lewis says, “one can understand why all but a few students would take the latter. But it is not a choice that an undergraduate should be given.” All of us need to pushed in order to become better. Just as the mind of a typical art student needs discipline, most business students will need some form of creativity in order to be the better graduate.

There is, of course, all kinds of press surrounding this story. I saw one link from the Yale Daily News suggesting the administration is not going to allow the exhibit to take place. We’ll see.

Clarification: The image included in this post is not the work in question, which has yet to be installed and photographed as far as I know.

Filed under Art, Art education, Installations, Modern culture, Performance