An observation as you begin this chapter...Judy Chicago's Dinner Party is mentioned and the volunteers are acknowledged (remember this is a huge installation that used hundreds of volunteers and relied upon donations from hundreds of people ( mostly women) to finance the project). It should be noted that experts were used for the thread work ( the banners) the clay plates and the tiles. They were not paid but they were not untrained or without experience as is implied in the opening of this chapter. In later years many of the volunteers are left off the credits but in the beginning at the early showings it was NOT the Judy Chicago Show.
If you are interested the book Object USA is still available online ( under $20 on Amazon). This is a great book that expands on this chapter.
For me this chapter is like a mirror on the questions/confusion of the present time within studio/craft classes. It seems like everything is changing, and answers are not always easily found. In many ways this chapter reminds me of current programs and the challenge and possibilities technology offers.
For the extra question If you have a spiritual side to your work, and are willing to share, would you please give us an insight into your relationship. If you do not have a spiritual side to your work do you have a humorous side or a side that has a message to it. Again, share a little about this aspect of your work. You only need to talk about one of the three aspects above: spiritual or humorous or a message.
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ReplyDeletefUTURE something happened and my whole section on Chapter disappeared. Did you read it all? What should I do?
DeleteYou are OK...I had read it already. Can you just post the extra question again for everyone to read?
DeleteJust think of an exhibition that could be like a time machine...a living artist and their favorite artist from the past!
ReplyDeleteI took interest in these two quotes. They struck me, especially considering how close in proximity they were.
ReplyDelete“Woodturner Michael Brolly (b. 1950) once produced a series of baseball jokes: Baseball Bat, a black baseball with wings; Fly Ball, a baseball with a zipper, and so on. Once the wisecrack is comprehended, what is left to consider?” (p.374)
“The work is strong on the “gee-whiz!” factor, astonishing audiences with sheer craftsmanship. The truth is that it takes as much patience as skill to make a Yoshimura sculpture, and his workmanship is on the same level as that of any good maker of ship models.” (p.375)
In the first, the author seems to completely dismiss Brolly’s work because it only works on one level, then praises Yoshimura based only on his craftsmanship. I guess my thought would be once the craftsmanship is comprehended, what is left to consider? I am not making a critique of either artist’s work. I guess I just wonder what the difference is. I often find, to make a comparison I am more familiar with, that photorealist painters, although incredibly technically proficient, leave me wondering why they didn’t just use the photo. What was the point to recreating it in paint? Does it offer some deeper meaning than it was crafted by hand?
I really loved the variety of approaches and the experimentation occurring in the work from this decade. This by far has been my favorite chapter. Most of this work seemed difficult to classify. I would think the work of De Staebler or Arneson could just have easily been categorized as sculpture.
Even though I was really interested in the content of this chapter, it was hard for me to get the reading done. I started working on my project last week and I have gotten really into it. It’s hard to put it down to hit the book. Luckily, I am at a point where I just have to wait for material to cure, so there isn’t much for me to do right now. I am attempting to do the same work I do in my paintings in a dimensional way. After reading the quote about Charles Rossbach using newspaper in his work, as “symbolic of brevity in being outdated in a day,” I begin to think about how my own work could be built instead of painted. I am getting a little lost in it. It’s a completely different process, and to be honest, I have no idea what I am doing. In a way, it’s a little exciting how this could either turn out beautifully or become a disaster very quickly. I am working on two versions at once, testing different approaches and materials to see which works better. I have never taken working in three-dimensions seriously, but I am really excited to figure out what methods work best and to try a third one. I doubt a third will happen in the course of this class given how much time Thing One and Thing Two are taking.
The final assignment was meant for exactly what you are trying to do...play/push/explore. It is not about doing the same thing you have always done but finding something, somewhere in this book that excites you and makes you want to try something new. Consider sharing both examples...no matter what.
DeleteAs for your point on craftsmanship... I think it is a continuous challenge to ask ourselves how we value art. Not how we are told to value art. I have a dear friend who is a photo realist painter. I love his work because I know he is self taught, I know the people he paints and I know him. I can say I first loved the work because it was of unique character in NM but as time went on my respect for him as a person overshadowed any objectivity. Just has my disrespect for someone as a person would overshadow their art for me. I can defend almost any art within a class discussion but what I would want in my home is a whole other issue. Maybe that is what we as artist fight with/against/through in our studios...what do WE want to do vs. what we hope others will like.
I think there is also a sneaky bit of ego that goes into it as well. I tend to value artists that seem to value similar ideas that I explore in my own making. With me at some base level there's probably a bit of, "I don't like it because their ideas aren't aligned with my own."
DeleteCraftsmanship. If you are trying to provoke thought with your work, I think you need good craftsmanship to help make that point. Whether the physicality of the clay, or a carefully rendered piece of silver, you have to have the knowledge and ability to make the piece work. I think once you have the ability to create a work that won't fall apart or blow up or be distracting due to its weaknesses, then you can express your idea. Not quite this black and white, but hopefully I am expressing this idea!!!
DeleteI agree with your ideas about craftsmanship Chris. Do you think that is something unique to mediums of Craft or can it be applied to all Art? Does the same hold true for painting and drawing? I think it does but to a lesser extent for some reason, I wouldn't go so far to say its a privilege but in a way it feels like maybe it is?
DeleteJustin I am really looking forward to you work, your post are always so insightful and have a clear depth of relevance and thought. I think it's human nature to be drawn to people and peoples work, who's values, interest and ideas reflect your own. Dovetailing into what Future was saying about her personal relationship to an Artist plays in important role in how she feels about the persons work.
To your point about what is more important, content over craftsmanship and technical ability, I struggle with that all the time. Ideally they should work together, but it is interesting to see something get praised simply for having one and not the other, while another piece is criticized for the same thing.
From Justin's post above: "my thought would be once the craftsmanship is comprehended, what is left to consider?"...
DeleteI have a similar sentiment toward 2D art. Instead of the craftsmanship, I feel that once the meaning or content is understood, what is then also left to consider?? Justin, this is why your hidden messages in your paintings are intriguing. You leave a lot open for interpretation but, at the same time, encourage the viewer to think upon certain ideas and directions. I appreciate art like this as it holds my attention and can be pondered on for a longer time.
Thank you Jennifer. That's a great compliment.
DeleteOn the aspect of spirituality, I believe it heavily influences my art making. Growing up, I was surrounded by Christian narrative painting and stained glass. I went to Catholic school until high school and Icons were ever-present. From there I got into comic books. These were really my main artistic exposure up until taking advanced art courses. Everything was rooted in a moral narrative in one way or another. My work borrows from those Christian Icons both stylistically and in the use of coded symbols. It all started when I was getting my second degree and George W. Bush was in office. It was the first time I heard our country referred to as a Christian nation. It surprised me. I have not seen many examples of our government acting in a way I believe aligns with Christianity. Most of the work I make is coded, playful illustrations of shocking tragedies that occur in our contemporary society as if I am making Icons of Saints and martyrs of our contemporary culture. I make paintings of subjects like the young South American children who die crossing the desert, children who are collaterally killed in drone strikes, and the poor who are relocated to make room for high-end condos. It’s dark subject matter, but I try to do it in a way that no one really knows. I take inspiration from the old narratives found in stained glass windows and illuminated manuscripts, where the symbols and the images only make sense if you already know the stories.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to interweave message and spirituality. Would love to see some of your work. How hidden is the message?
DeleteI assembled a Padlet for you that has some examples. All of these had a pretty grim story behind them of someone I consider a martyr of our contemporary lifestyle. Some are more vague than others. I've tried to become more veiled in my narrative to make the work more approachable.
Deletehttp://padlet.com/justin_clumpner/Blog
Justin - I checked out your work on website/blog a few weeks back and I really found your work to be very poetic in your visual narrative and very touching. What created the thought to research was your comment that you create your lessons for students from questions of existence ... caused me to evaluate and think differently on my approach of teaching. I loved your work.
DeleteThank you very much Gail. I really appreciate that.
DeleteYes, Justin, your work is intriguing. I appreciate the hidden meanings and questions that it provokes.
DeleteVery interested in seeing some of this. The use of a stained glass to tell a darker story of history and what is going on in the world. I imagine the vivid and illuminated colors to reflect your ideals.
Deleteare you collaging on board? If so, what dictates (if anything) which pages you use? I really love the padlet you shared. This work is awesome! I am drawn to the innocence of some of your characters, and the look of gloom that seems present in their eyes. Nice work, very nice. Also your incorporation of text is interesting and prompts questions to think about.
DeleteWow! Just when you think I’ve learned so much – here comes another chapter expanding my thought process! I really enjoyed this chapter – I feel like the evolution of clay from just functional and decorative into expressing themes in society was amazing to read and an inspiration to me with my quilting. (Interested me)
ReplyDeleteReading about textile artist, Yvonne Porcella, who I have been a member in the organization, SAQA, she founded and realized the depth of her work and the power of the association has helped quilting evolve into exploring more themes in society as well through the art quilt evolution of quilting. I also think it gave freedom to so many who were bored with the traditional quilting and functional use. I believe its take away because this book has really helped me to let go of the “struggle” I have felt between traditional and art quilt and realized where my comfort or technique can be utilized. It calls me to create abstract expressionism using traditional methods, maybe a few satire quilts exploring themes of feminism vs. my “just be yourself” attitude. I have created a whole spiral of designs – ready for investigation, design and creating! I feel I understand the vocabulary giving me “wings of flight” with my work.
After reading the glass section – I’m excited to work with it this summer. This chapter helped me to identify my interest in it – like Chihuly’s I’m fascinated with the transparency of it and using color to create depth. As I read on – I began to wonder how I could echo themes of loyalty in the work? Just something I wrestled with while reading that section. I have his book, “Through the looking glass” – I am planning on reading after this class, before glass at Tech. (Surprises me)
I think spirituality fits into my themes as well as my devotionals readings before starting my day give me fuel in my work. One quilt I have been working on deals with a cross pattern – I saw the cross at the Canterbury Cathedral – in the ceiling. Found this pattern and then began to notice the circles that are being formed as I connect the squares. Its very traditional but I realized it reminded me of the verse in Lamentations from the bible, His mercies are new each morning! In dealing with life, I have a father dealing with depression from aging issues but he still gets up each morning and dresses and cares for his appearance. I have a daughter, who her SR year in college decided she didn’t want to continue on with her work in performance theater but felt stuck because she didn’t know what to do – and this year through substitute teaching found a whole new world and has started to explore deaf education and given her a new sense of purpose – The circles in my quilt are all our lives and the journey we go through. So to answer – I think a spiritual side intersects and connects with themes in my quilts but also creates a since of rituals that bring me harmony and structure as I work with my art. Maybe even courage to do art!
Hi Gail, When I was a grad student, I spent a summer in Venice and studied glass blowing at Murano. We made the design and the maestro executed it for us...You will really enjoy this process...
DeleteGail so glad you love the book! I have read it half a dozen times and always"find" something new. You will love glassblowing. It is hot, the pipe is heavy, and it is magic when you blow your first piece and it actually makes through the night.
DeleteI have always held a sentimental thought of the companionship of quilt circles and the shared time it requires to make a quilt. And stories the little pieces of cloth held (in the quilts from my grandmother...no going to the store to pick out colors or patterns...oh no, just the scrapes from dresses and shirts). For me, quilts are protection and such a form of the spiritual, especially for a little girl afraid of the dark.
DeleteFuture - thats beautiful - hadn't thought about the protection side of it - that is a special offering!
DeleteGail I love your ideas of circles and connections. Are you going to make something like this for your project?
DeleteGail I love your ideas of circles and connections. Are you going to make something like this for your project?
DeleteChapter 9-Surprised:ART BORROWS CLAY on page 312...inviting painters and sculptors to make "assisted work in clay" and the exhibit..and is it not strange that 30 years later "the clay world ..found the work primitive and obvious...and dismissive"hmmmm...
ReplyDeleteImpressive: look at all the exciting work in this chapter from Richard Shaw,House of cards to (p 324) Viola Frey,Double Grandmother p.327.. I really like page 328 Stephen De Staebler ,Standing Man..I will be looking him up to do further research,,the rawness and emotion with minimal marks..Tony Hepburn page 333,Rock island line...hahaha.. page 348 Ruth Pelz,Martian Fertility Goddess...
Take away:One of my classes is studying Faith Ringgold and her painted quilts and they are making their own so the section on Nontraditional quilts is one I will remember...and introduce to my Contemporary Crafts class.i like the idea of Radka Donnell who was a painter but switched to quiltingwho was an art therapist and thought quilting as therapy.,Lucas Samara's fabric collages called reconstructions and Miriam Shapiro's collages fabrics into her paintings is something I am interested in doing..femmages....
My work has a message....All of my work is informed by literature about women who have suffered trauma yet find some kind of hope to survive,this is the message.
I love your idea in introducing nontraditional quilts! I alway felt like textile was very therapeutic, particularly knitting, I can see many artists stitching some sort of message or spirituality through it.
DeleteExtra question: The act of painting (or creating) is spiritual for me. I relate emotions to energies, that in return provide me the spiritual moments I need. Growing up, I was never taught or forced to practice any religion, and my parents did not participate in any kind of religion. I was all on my own to explore that aspect of life. I believe I needed something "spiritual" in my life, and creating almost fills that "void." My paintings reflect emotions and energies as I go through these moments. I often use the female figure or face to depict these, maybe in a way a message is sent. But for me, creating is just spiritual.
ReplyDeleteDoes it make you feel good to make a painting?It is a positive act for you,uplifting?it seems.That is very nice.
DeleteApril, I understand your sense of the spiritual when creating. I too have always seen art as my safe place. A place that allows me to think beyond myself and anything I might be going through or feeling at the moment. It is a sacred place.
DeleteApril - I get what you are saying - sometimes I feel like when I'm creating I'm a vessel and the idea is being poured out.
DeleteYes, it's almost like it is the only place to feel safe or in touch with what really matters in life. It keeps me in focus for my goals and needs in life. In a way, it serves the same purpose as practicing a particular religion. My art provides me community, hope, a place to think and reflect, and a purpose to keep living and making. It may seem like a stretch to some, but that is truly how I look at creating.
DeleteTo piggy back off you and Future, I entirely agree. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding how more people are not artists. Anytime I have gone through a serious emotion I can so easily create. I relate to your experience with religion and a void to be filled. Are you paintings more abstract along with these figures?
DeleteIn a way they are. My profile pic is one of my paintings. The female faces I portray are very stylized, devoted to linear qualities. Something about creating clean black lines helps me meditate and focus. It also helps me balance out the abstract backgrounds of free flowing colors I love to payer on the canvas.
DeleteI am surprised by the early “fitbit” of the 70s. Combining high technology and jewelry by Mary Ann Scherr. What a surprise to read about a female, Scherr, watching a live feed of Neil Armstrong’s pulse and breathing inspired her to incorporate circuitry and outputs into wearable jewelry. “By 1979 Scherr had assembled eleven ingenious working prototypes, all addressing particular health concerns.” Making art with involvement in the health of others had to be satisfying. I would trade my purple plastic Fitbit any day for her Heart-Pulse Sensor Bracelet, figure 9.28.
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed with Pat Oleszko. I have researched a few performing visual artists, but have not run into her. The confidence she must carry on her 6’ tall frame and the way she can expose herself with satire, bawdiness, and humor. The idea of her wearable art having no sense of preciousness and made collapsable for packing. On page 348,” her work is usually commentary - on fashion; on our relationships with our body; on appearance versus essence; on art precedents such as the work of Picasso or Oskar Schlemmer; on news events that are inflated out of proportion but quickly fizzle; on sexuality, language, humor.” I must say, I would like to see her perform and enjoy her conversation at a dinner party.
My take away from this chapter and the last chapter is Humor. I am not good at creating humor in my art, but I enjoy clever, comical work. To add humor and not lose the quality of the art to me is very difficulty. Humor in art shows confidence and bravery. I am drawn to Pat Oleszko and Ken Cory. I love His Tape measure case.
On page 376, Garry Bennett decided to retaliate against the “technoweenies.” He thought people were too into technique so he build the Nail Cabinet in 1979 with, “elaborate finger joints that face outward in an ostentatious display of technical finesse…..Bennett’s provocation was to drive a sixteen-penny nail right into one cabinet door and bend it over..It was a joke, to be sure, but a precisely calibrated one.”
My art is definitely spiritual. Not obviously, but I can’t separate the two. I often have intertwining elements (vine like) to express how nature and other people affect me. Most often my memory is affected in a positive way making me a better person because of the interaction I have had with nature and/or people. I want my art to have positive, spiritual energy and share the gifts of compassion and understanding I continue to learn as in a lesson I have learned from one of my AP students. He is doing his concentration on how nature forgives more than mankind after reading the Scarlet Letter. It is a tough concentration to visualize, but I love the idea.
Sounds complicated...but good ambitious project for your student,especially if it is not a narrative.Yes I too only once included humor in my work...it was when I was a grad student and a group of professors from Yale came through our studios to view and comment on our art so I did an experiment that only my studio mates knew about....I called it "the stupids"privately... and I typically left them half hidden and half out to view...to see if people would look at those meaningless non important art works more than the ones I spent hours working on...and of course sure enough they loved the stupids...lol..it is still a private joke we tal;k about..I remebr this professor from chicago art institute loved them..so funny
DeleteDuring this time period and the time preceding this chapter for a short while it was popular to flock works of clay..literally to have fuzzy surfaces...thus non functional and weird to touch. Not sure if the human was meant as funny humor or in your face making fun of humor but it was odd did produce laughter. Always a thin line between being mean / making someone look foolish and actually allowing for laughter.
DeleteI think the concept of nature as forgiving is interesting...many would say nature does not have emotion, we as human give it an emotion..angry sea, loving breeze ect. Maybe it is a matter of time, human time is limited by our personal life span but nature is continuous.
Paige, I was surprised by that "fitbit" as well. I'm surprised we haven't seen more jewelry/accessories that make iphones wearable. I'm thinking of all the sci-fi movies where they have computers on their wrists. Maybe we'll se some of that with the bendable screens that are being developed. I could see a market for a steampunk phone wrist thingy.
DeletePaige - My thought on that fitbit jewelry - "What took that idea so long to evolve from what it is today!" lol It surprised me as well!
DeleteDid the same Fit Bit thing!!! I too, loved the humor Paige.
DeleteYes, it would be interesting to see more of a market for accessories that relate/attach to technology. I have seen some cool things on etsy that you can buy to accompany your iphone/iWatch. But it doesn't seem like the companies themselves are getting into this idea. It could be interesting to see how it all pans out in the future...I think it would be an awesome opportunity to see artists collaborating with people who create new technology.
Deletewell, as far as my "stupids"it wasn't really to make fun of people, it actually was for a point, about the way we were being critiqued.We did find it humorous, though at times... when the objects of so little importance to us, got high praise from those "professional"artists with such large egos,so I guess the art..if you could really call it "art", would not actually be classified as "humorous" as it would not have looked obviously humorous,so it had an underlying message I guess.
ReplyDeleteImpressed by William Daley's work in this chapter. He ties in his inspiration from Pueblo architecture and culture into this pottery, which I can see not only in his colors but the use of the steps on the outside and inside. I wish I could see his work, I am curious how he builds the inside of his work and how large they are in person.
ReplyDeleteTake away: Chihuly of course. I took my students on a field trip today to SAMA and saw this work in a 'Persian' ceiling above us. His work always fascinates me, especially now that I have taken glassblowing and how hard it is to replicate. This book describes the beauty of glassblowing perfectly- the show it is just to make a piece itself, the relationship of the assistant and the creator, the smells, heat, sweat that goes into everything you make. This artform ties into the extra question- the spirit. I am not necessarily religious, but in a spirit, soul sense, glass is the first time I felt connected to something I was making. Every turn my hand makes or the amount of time I heat it will change the form entirely. I can't erase and redo a piece, unless I break it off, but it wont be the same thing I was making before. My piece even has my starter bubble, my breath, to bring it to life.
I love the way you described your glass blowing experience, wonderful.
DeleteI agree, great description. Super jealous of your SAMA trip! Sarah actually met me up at the SAMA last year when I brought some students down from Lubbock to check it out along with the McNay, fun times.
DeleteSarah, I am completely jealous that your are able to take up glassblowing. I've only seen it done and it looks so intense and so time consuming, i can understand your spiritual connection with it.
DeleteAs for the field trip, I wish I could take my students somewhere and show them beautiful art. The lack of art exhibits here is rather disappointing. We have them, just not much.
I think your description and connection to glass blowing is better than the book. I remember walking into the Bellagio in awe of the first time I saw Chihuly’s glass. Reading about Chihuly’s relationship of the outdoors, explains why his garden shows are so beautiful. Developing his summer glass school in the Northwest, “where students would build their own equipment and camp outdoors, close to nature. It was to be a free, learn-by-doing experience”, sounds very similar to the glass blowing experience in Junction. I also like reading about how Chihuly enjoyed collaborating and involving students when he worked.
DeleteI got to visit his studio in Seattle, pretty amazing. The pool was glass with some of his glass below, must have felt like swimming in the reef. I am a little over him, personally, partially because we had the installation at the arboreteum, and I do not see him progressing. He has a staff that does all the work, he just comes in and gives it all his blessing. It all looks the same to me. Same things, just different places. This is just my opinion...
DeletePaige- there's also something about how his installations outside blend almost seamlessly into their surroundings. He (well, his team) did a piece called Icicle Chandelier in Washington that was such a spectacle...the ice and snow became one.
DeleteNice description of blowing glass. Love the concept of your first bubble , your breath.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Your breath giving life to your art. Sincerely poetic.
DeleteYes I agree - it was a great narrative to the process.
DeleteSarah you have gotten me so excited to take glass this summer!
DeleteSarah you have gotten me so excited to take glass this summer!
DeleteSurprised - I loved June Schwarcz enameled ware. She used the techniques in new ways, took risks, and made beautiful textural vessels. I have been thinking about China painting for my work for this class, but have been a little "put Off" by the floral and very decorative quality of pieces I have seen. I may have to think about how I can push the technique to something more me.
ReplyDeleteTake away - love the humor (Paige) of Ken Cory and Pat Oleszko as well. That picture of the Handmaiden and Coat of Artms with the sheep and other animals kind of ignoring the whole thing cracked me UP!
Love Mary Franks Sculptures. LOVE them. Are they craft or art??? I do not really care, I just love how whey just seem to be pieced together, forms not really meant for a human body, but they create one!
My work, I look at the way we compartmentalize our lives, what we show others, and aging. I like to use humor.
ReplyDeleteChris, compartmentalize how? I was just thinking yesterday about how I separate my home and work life more and more as of late, I thought of this in terms of compartmentalizing my time. When I first started teaching my school day would end and I might linger for a hour or more, looking over student work, making my own Art, grade projects at a casual pace.Even when I got home I might bring some things to grade or work on examples for student projects.
DeleteNow in the last year I try to get out of work by a specific time to get home and see my daughter. Once home I try and keep work as far away from my time and my mind as possible. I just want to spend time with my daughter, or I am concentrating on cooking dinner and cleaning up so my wife can do the same. I think this might be affecting my teaching performance minimally, but I am extremely comfortable with the trade off. :)
What kind of work do you do? Sorry if you described in a previous post. Curious how you tie humor to aging through art, Haha!
DeleteDaniel, I am currently using a TV dinner (think 1960's) as the basis for what we show others compared to what we hide. Or how different parts of our lives make us who we are. I ate a lot of TV dinners as a kid. Having a work and home life definitely is having different compartments.
DeleteSarah, I am a painter and I do figurative sculpture. One of my sculptures is a face pulled taught, held by clothespins. Kind of a cheap facelift! Kind of creepy and funny, I think!
Chris I really like your TV dinner tray metaphor. Very cool.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteExtra Question:
ReplyDeleteI don’t think my Art work has a message in the moral or spiritual sense. It is usually about moments in time in my own life or simply something functional. My paintings and sculptural work is often a reference to people in my life, or places that hold special significance in my life. I am not really trying to express anything overtly emotional or deep to be honest, it is in a way very personal and I am not looking for a desired response from a viewer. The work is more a way for me to remember what is important in my life and keep everything in perspective, feet on the ground.
Like I said in the begin statements about how we would want our work and our legacy to be remembered and recorded, I don’t take my work too seriously and I am under no illusions about my place in the record books. I make it for myself, for the enjoyment of simply creating, and to remember and honor people and places dear to my heart. As such I am not concerned with interpretation much, I am fine with simply telling someone this is about my family, this is about junction, this is about my grandfather. I am also fine with them not knowing and simply liking or disliking the aesthetics.
Last Week’s Extra Question:
If I was putting together a show it would very likely just be a collection of Artist and work I like, going back to what Justin and Future were saying about their likes and dislikes being a reflection of their own values and tastes. I really like physical and visual texture in both 2-d and 3-d work so there would be a fair amount of work that reflects that appeal.
Things like Richard Diebenkorn’s ocean park series, Peter Volkus wall platers, Robert Anderson sculptures. Maybe an Egon Schiele piece but something on the less sexual end of his spectrum, so the focus was more on color and texture and not pubic hair.
I’d also like to contrast that with smoother surfaced work with some scale. For sure some of Jun Kaneko’s Dangos (looked ahead and I am a bit surprised the text doesn’t mention him). Some of James Watkins huge double walled caldrons. A huge pile of Ai Wei Wei sunflower seeds with a giant Jeff Koons balloon dog next to it. A Damien Hurst butterfly piece next to a Takashi Murakami super flat painting. Maybe a Robert Anderson bust to great you when you walk in.
A bit all over the place but again I don’t take myself or my work too seriously, so I see no reason a show I curate should or would be any different.
“Look Don’t Touch.”
Its interesting you say feet on the ground when you work with a spinning wheel, yet the process to keep it centered and grounded requires so much balance, calm, and movements to keep it in place. Very similar to how you describe your work also describes the process of making a piece. The world and everything around us is spinning but you keep your work grounded.
DeleteAlways important to view the influences that have inspired artists. Really like this idea of a show. Kind of like a pin board of inspirations but displayed 3-dimensionally in a space...
DeleteBtw Dangos on page 332. Thanks for pointing them out. Had kind of skimmed over them and didn't give it a thought to look them up until you mentioned them.
"The work is more a way for me to remember what is important in my life and keep everything in perspective, feet on the ground." I read this, and thought "woah, that sounds like something I would write about my work also." In a way, I feel like art making is chronicling our lives. It can put things into perspective as well as a timeline in a way we can feel. Sometimes I look at painting from 5-6 years ago, and emotions and feelings are evoked from that specific time. Memories start to flood my mind about what was going on in my life at the time, what job I had, which friends I had, etc. Great point Daniel, thanks. Reading your post also gets me thinking more about my work and how it connects to my own life.
DeleteDaniel - As a spectator - I think its nice to be reminded or look at what someone else thinks is important, moments in time - its a nice change of pace from culture dictating our moments.
DeleteExtra Question: I haven't finished the chapter yet but I can answer this one for now. I never thought of this. Am I emotionally connected to my work...yes! My favorite pieces that I have made, yes they do. It doesn't matter what medium, painting, drawing, photography or textile. My work is almost never "meaningless". I honestly can't see any art not being.
ReplyDeleteImpressed:
ReplyDeleteI loved how Rudolf Staffel incorporated light in his vessels (324). They hold an ethereal quality in their luminesce and translucency. Found more online and I see that in some of his Light Gatherers, Staffel layered white porcelain not only on the outside but also on the inside. Having done this provokes an interaction between the light and also the shadows that are created. Reminds me of bouncing and moving shadows one can watch as the tree branches sway in the bright of the day. With the varying distances from the sun and ground, some shadows are sharp while some have soft edges, providing a choreographed “happening” that can easily go unnoticed. Reminds me also of Moholy-Nagy’s short film “Lightplay: Black White Grey” (p 238) where examples of shadow are captured in motion instead of being portrayed within a 3-dimensional porcelain surface. Reminds me of what inspires me in my work.
Beautiful description of Staffel’s work. I was drawn to his work as well. I could relate to his opinion of his test pots. Often I will give something a try, and my first attempt and study turns out the best. After hundreds of test pots Staffel said, “Everything I do is test pots so now there are no test pots.” I have little experience with clay and none with porcelain, but the transparency is intriguing. I talked to an artist this weekend who loves to work with porcelain paper because of its transparency properties. She controls the way the light hits her sculptures, and photographs them. Her photographs are what she enters in competitions. I found her very interesting. Do you work in porcelain?
DeletePaige, no, haven't had an opportunity to try porcelain yet. But the element of translucency is intriguing. What was the name of the other artist you were describing?
DeleteDoes my work have a spiritual or humorous aspect to it?
ReplyDeleteYes. At least, I think so. My work doesn’t say anything or carry any sort of message to the viewer about spirituality, but the large majority of my work is from West Texas and traveling alone through the desert is a spiritual experience whether you want it to be or not. Camping in the back country is a really good way to gain perspective on just how tiny a part you play in the world.
As far as humor goes, I think most photographs are hilarious. Most of my images contain little visual jokes, though I would never expect anyone to get them. The best photographs I’ve ever seen are absolutely hilarious (though, again, I don’t know if anyone else would think so). I think there’s something inherently funny about photography and the entire process of taking something that anyone can see and manipulating it so that they now have to see it your way.
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ReplyDeleteTake Away:
ReplyDeleteAlways found macro imagery of Earth to be fascinating. Countless times, I have gotten lost on the Daily Overview imagery at http://www.dailyoverview.com/printshop. I enjoy being able to recognize biological patterns within the micro and macro imagery around me. Makes me feel that everything is related and connected. Finding out that Ruth Duckworth’s “Earth, Water and Sky” was influenced by satellite imagery and topographical maps, provided me an example of what one could do with 2-dimensional inspirations on a 3-dimensional platform (331-332).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/arts/25duckworth.html
oooooh! I like this. I've always enjoyed the macros aspect of something as well, how close up something can be and seem so much more complicated than it seems from a distance.
DeleteSurprised:
ReplyDeleteEvery time I look at one of Wayne Higby’s pieces, I get lost in its optical illusion landscape imagery. Peering at “Return to White Mesa” on page 332, made me question where the rim ends and begins. I appreciate this visual perplexity as it simulates the humble feeling one experiences gazing upon the vast open spaces of the southwest. Similarly with these spaces and Higby’s work, I’ve caught myself many times pondering about the “craftsmanship” I am looking upon…
Surprised: Foxfire books! I LOVE the Foxfire books! The text says that Wigginton and his students interviewed “southern practitioners” for the book, and what that means is hillbillies. I don’t mean that to be at all derogatory, in fact I say it with affection. I mean people who live isolated in the Appalachian Mountains. A lot of the books are written in vernacular and are wonderful to read. They describe not only folk craft practices but also home remedies (if you get bit by a rattlesnake you are supposed to wrap yourself up in wool blankets and sit by the fire to sweat out the poison, by the way), hunting and trapping techniques, folk tales, superstitions, and a very detailed account on the construction methods for a moonshine still with accompanying instructions on how to hide it from the police. I’m putting this in the surprised category here because I had no idea that these books were influential. I didn’t really know much about them at all, other than they were the coolest thing my parents had on their bookshelf when I was a kid. I read them all cover to cover when I was in the fifth grade and thought they were the greatest things ever. I’m about to buy the whole set on Amazon because I now need to read them again and I don’t have my own copies.
ReplyDeleteImpressed: Mary Ann Scherr must have been a wizard. FitBits and wearable body monitors are extremely popular right now, and she made them in 1972. “Most designers would have encased the high-tech circuitry in a bland container symbolizing scientific efficiency”, sounds a lot like the FitBit, but I would rather have her Heart-Pulse Sensor Bracelet.
Also, Francoise Grossen. How the hell did she afford a 3,000 sq foot loft in New York the year she graduated with her MFA? That’s impressive by itself, but her massive rope installations are very impressive, and I think intimidating.
Take away: Garry Knox Bennett. Exactly! His nail cabinet is perfect. If I’m ever asked what my thoughts on woodworking are I can now just show them a picture of that cabinet and let them figure it out for themselves. Along these same lines, a quote from Howard Kotter on page 319 was intriguing: “I refuse to let the materials or tradition dominate my direction.”
I agree, love Firefox...wonderful stories of life and simple (sometimes not so simple) solutions. All art repeats or is re-discovered. Now you have the history.
DeleteTyler, I googled the Firefox books, and was amazed at the subjects. Kind of a primer on how to be country southerner!!!
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ReplyDeleteMy current work provides a spiritual message to the viewer and creator. I become connected to the creating process in that my mind and body become quiet through its movement. Here, I become consumed in watching the medium react to my body. On the other hand, through my work, I want to share a similar moment with the viewer by providing a visual place to find peace within the abstracted qualities of the content.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, I have used abstracted imagery to tell stories. Only I understand the story as it provides me a visual memory of stories that I do not wish to share with the viewer. Like a journal encrypted in anther language.
Jennifer, I can relate ...I would encourage you to post one image if you feel like it as I would be interested to see it.Albeit,my work goes beyond the telling of the stories and are not personal stories and deals with complex issues and feelings...But I do understand you not wanting to share the stories that are the catalyst and very personal ,which inspire you to want to create the art..I also do not like to share the stories but for different reasons,I feel like the stories or words which inspire the art are not what I want the focus of the work to be on rather I want the focus to b e on the feelings generated from the stories expressed in the work.
DeleteJennifer I understand if you find your art and your art making spiritual, but you will never know what the viewer takes away or how they interpreted the work. You have to be "at ease" with how you do your work and if the image is to your satisfaction. You can not relay upon others. Not of us know what you have have lived or what your dreams are or what impresses you. When Terry Allen was doing his work on Viet Nam, he included a book list to help the audience wade through the propaganda and the reality. You have to find the place where you share or hide as much as you need to. I am a storyteller but i assure you I never tell the whole story.
DeleteSurprised: Joan Mondale was a potter! Wow, I had no idea! I sure didn't know she had the nickname "Joan of Art" and had art pieces by Ansel Adams, Edward Hopper, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Rauschenberg installed in the Vice Presidential Mansion during her husband's term. This is definitely part of my take away as well because I'm adding her to my ever growing list of Fierce Women of the Arts and need to do much more research on her. I'm so curious to know what Louise Nevelson work she installed.
ReplyDeleteImpressed: I too am impressed with Mary Ann Scherr's Heart-Pulse Sensor bracelet (pgs 335-36) and knowing she was inspired by the live feeds of Neil Armstrong's pulse and breathing during the first moon landing! I also just LOVE Ken Cory's work! His measuring tape on p337 has capture my heart and funny bone.
Take Away: I found the amount of cast work and decal usage done in 1970 - 1979 most interesting as I am seeing a bit of resurgence of these methods today. On pg 312 - "Cast work was regarded with some doubt In 1974 the Kohler Co started an artist in residence program at it's factory that was so successful that it became permanent."
continuation of Take Away:
DeleteKohler's program is still active today. Last semester our guest artist was Rachel Garseau. She had recently completed her residency program at Kohler!! If you google Rachel K. Garseau you will see much of her work. Her installation, SOURCE, took place here, in Lubbock at CASP, last semester. We also have one of her slip cast walnuts on display in the throwing room at the Annex.
Howard Kottler and Patti Warashina (pgs 318- 20) used lusters, decals and low fire glazes extensively. Other artists in this chapter - Mark Burns, Richard Shaw, and Ron Nagle used china paint, lusters and decals with Ron Nagle refiring UP TO 30 TIMES to get the layered hues he wanted.
This year at NCECA there were several demos on lusters and using decals. At Tech we recently got a ceramic decal printer - EXPENSIVE! - runs about $25 a 8x10 page. I would love to see a resurgence in china paint as the depth of color and the warmth one can get is amazing! I'm trying to see how close I can get with mason stains and different oxides and the results so far are - not very. Ha! Fun experimentation though.
Another crazy chapter filled with way too many things to pick to write about!
ReplyDeleteSurprised: I guess I don't understand the politics of it all, but I was very surprised that Marilyn Levine was not able to teach at university because her husband did. That was when her scientific career came to a halt, which was actually a blessing in disguise. Her story was very interesting and I am drawn to her work of "illusionary leather". Seems like a challenge to imitate that feel and texture.
Impressed: Like other have mentioned, I too was super impressed and intrigued by Mary Ann Scherr and her body monitoring jewelry. Also the fact that she figured out a way to etch stainless steel when it was said it could never be done! Amazing how she combined hand craft and technology in the most unique was possible. Remind me of the woman who owns several pairs of artistic prosthetic legs. Her name is Aimee Mullins and she has an interesting TED talk.
Take Away : My favorite quote from this chapter comes at the perfect time in my life. I studied painting and drawing but never quite really felt that was the best outlet or medium for me. I have my times with it, but after exploring and learning about different mediums, I am being drawn away from painting more and more. After taking a metals class, I fell in love with some things. Lately I have been forcing myself to try the wheel for our project in here. I took only one wheel class in undergrad, and I wasn't the most successful yet I did not fail at it. I have been teaching myself over the last month and am finding that maybe I should work more with clay. I am still no where close to the skill level I would hope to be, but I am trying.
"When an artist finds the right medium, things begin to happen." (page 330).
Yesterday I stayed after work to use the one wheel my classroom has. I pulled it out from the corner, dusted it off and set up. After getting my clay centered, I immediately felt myself becoming centered. It was if all my worries and stresses escaped from my mind. My mind became free, my hands became one with the clay, and nothing else mattered. It was a special moment, and I am beginning to think that this may sound cheesy as I am typing this it out. But seriously, it was almost like it dawned on me; maybe clay is what I have been missing this whole time. Painting is amazing, the act of it and the sense of satisfaction when finished. But throwing yesterday brought another feeling for me, a very positive and calming one.
You will love clay more and more...it is a never ending challenge
DeleteI understand your feelings of doing a lot of mediums. I am really happy for you and I think that you have found your "one". Thank you for sharing this!
DeleteApril! I love what you said about clay- "But throwing yesterday brought another feeling for me, a very positive and calming one." Yes, yes! When I work with clay it is just me and the clay - nothing else. Like you say - "nothing else mattered". There are only two things in my life that have ever slowed down my ADD brain to total absorption speed and those are mosaics and ceramics. (and hanging at the lake, but that's a different story)
DeleteI'd also like to respond to your comment on Marilyn Levine not being able to teach at the same university as her husband. I was curious so I looked it up. What I found was an interview of Marilyn in 2002, three years before she died. It was a very interesting glimpse into her life. Here is what she said about not being able to teach at the University of Regina - "Sid (her husband)got a job at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan. And so I followed him there, of course, and once we got there, I started looking for a job. Well, Regina didn’t have any industry. It had the government and the university and farming." " So I applied to the university when I first got there, and they said, “Oh, we don’t hire husbands and wives in the same department.”" This was never a big deal to her at the time. http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-marilyn-levine-12144
Impressed: Richard Shaw's work was pretty cool. It reminds me a lot of the things today, making something extremely realistic with a unusual medium. It's very cool. The difficulty it takes to make them look like something and to make it look like it feels like that something...I love it. Reminds me of the balloon dog that is so famous today. And of course the air chairs and other things that are made out of metal by one of the professors here at tech.
ReplyDeleteSurprise: performance textiles. I never have really heard of this genre or sub division in wearable art and it really being seen as costumes. To me of course, performance wearables is someone like Alexander mcqueen and his decaying dresses which was covered in weak and dying flowers on the skirt and as the woman walked down the runway, the petals would bounce off her dress. Never saw it as a costume.
Take away: I like the contemporary feel of the art in the 70s... Everything from ceramics and textiles and homes of that time.
I wrote this late last night when I was extremely exhausted. My apologies if it sounds like I'm a talking zombie!
DeleteMichelle you did great, I understand the craziness right now of getting everything done.
DeleteChapter 9
ReplyDeleteI see a real change in the way artists create in this chapter. More and more things are becoming heavier conceptually and obscure in meaning. There's less certainty behind the meaning of artwork. I feel like in this chapter there were more sculptural ceramics instead of functional pottery. As I worked through this chapter I felt like I was looking more so at an art history book instead of a craft book.
Highly sculptural, Gilhooly is unlike anything we have seen up until this point. He is comical in the way he creates. I feel like when I look at his work I am looking at creations from movies and fairytales. Similarly, I feel like Ken Cory has that magical effect. Ken's tape measure brought an instant smile to my face. There's a playful style to both of these artists which, in my opinion, makes their work highly entertaining and enjoyable. I don't always like things to be so serious. They accomplish that for me.
I was instantly drawn to Francoise Gossen which doesn't surprise me given her closely related style to Claire Zeisler. I really enjoy seeing cloth become structural. The idea that something soft can become a form by intense knotting is super cool. I looked up her work and it made me want to see her stuff in person even more-so than I did before. Her artwork feels heavy which is not a word usually associated with fabric.
Surprised: I fell in love with the woodworking section. I feel like the art in this chapter (specifically wood) is incredible. Peter Danko's chair makes me drool and I'm entranced by Wendell Castle's Coat Rack with Trench Coat. The way he uses wood reminds me of classic sculptors that cut from marble. I've never looked at wood that way. I've seen wooden sculptures but it never dawned on me that they could turn out to look so polished and refined.
Shelbi, do you think there is some necessity for a medium such as ceramics, or anything else for that matter, to need to go through some bold period of "deskilling," or rule breaking, or whatever you want to call it in order to get that out of it's system? To parallel with painting, I feel like Abstract Expressionism and Suprematism and the like were necessary to somehow open all avenues for exploration. Almost as if before a section of vocabulary was missing. Now I feel like we are at a place where painters are now combining all these different vocabularies in new and interesting ways. I don't know how I feel about that statement. It's more of an incomplete thought.
DeleteI think rule breaking is a better way to describe the way Craft has come of age over the past 100 years.
DeleteI think ceramic work needs to be skillfully made otherwise it doesn't survive the firing process. The technical side of the medium is more important than compared to something like painting where Ab Ex can exist with a heavily conceptual element executed with little technical skill.
Even if you make a really nice form out of clay if it isn't well made it shows and it takes away from the overall piece in a way that is unique to craft. The same can likely be said for wood, jewelry, fiber and so on.
That is my opinion at least and I'm sure others will disagree or point out flaws in my argument. Basically I walk a museum with a non Artist and I will get a comment like "well I could paint that" when we walk by a Motherwall, or a Frankenthaler, or a Nolan painting. And yea they COULD paint that technically, most people have that level of ability to replicate a painting like that with some degree of fidelity.
That isn't the case with most piece of high quality Craft. No one walks by a Reitz teapot and says, "well hell I could make that".
Now that isn't a dig at painters in anyway at all, and I actually really like Abstract Expressionism. The paintings my non Art friends hate and point out when we are at the Museum are usually my favorite pieces. It is just the way I view traditional Fine Art vs. Craft. Quality Craft has skill as a prerequisite in a way that Art does not. Granted most painters do have massive skill equal to or greater than craftsmen, they just aren't required to demonstrate it to be taken seriously by the establishment anymore.
Daniel, your comments remind me of some of my favorite Matisse pieces. In his cut paper works he is doing something that kids in kindergarten do every day, and yet his works are in important museums and my 1st grade construction paper art is in the attic in a box. So, I agree with you that these types of paintings look like the skill of the painter isn't demonstrated, but I don't really know of any painters who come right out of the gate that way. I think usually there is a context to the work that is considered before selecting a piece like that for a museum collection, and that missing information is what can prove the artists "chops". I'm also a huge fan or Rothko, as I've said before, and I'll argue with anyone who says his paintings are just solid blocks of color...even if they may or may not be solid blocks of color...so my views on painters are admittedly suspect.
DeleteExtra Question: As far as a spiritual side to my work I don't really know how to answer that. My work doesn't have much to do with my religious beliefs but as a whole, I see what I do as a spiritual practice. It brings balance to my life and allows me to center myself. Conceptually I feel like my work is created from a place of enjoyment rather than thick concepts. I enjoy creating beautiful things.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you there that the act of creating can be a spiritual experience in itself. Lots of the processes in creating crafts to me seem very meditative.
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