On April 8th, we got to visit a private collection turned into a private gallery of sorts, and it was definitely one of my favorite field trips we've been on. I loved the wide variety of works, sculpture, painting, and some with stories like the Philadelphia Wire Man whose identity is still unknown. I think it is really cool that we got to see behind the scenes of art collecting and the major investments art collectors make into certain artists. Some of my favorite pieces I saw would be by Sonya Clark, Mariko Mori, and I really enjoyed the self-portrait as an iguana (done by a VCU sculpture student). I also thought it was cool how they had a piece by Amy Sherald, who did Michelle Obama's Official Portrait, and I had seen one of her paintings at someone's house earlier, before she had become famous due to the portrait. I think this was a very unique experience and showed the diversity of art being made and a wide array of themes and materials that definitely will serve as inspiration moving forward.
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I sadly was not able to go see John Freyer's Lunchtime lecture, but through the recorded video I was able to experience and enjoy his talk. I think his work dealing with addiction and recovery is really interesting and a new idea that has changed and is changing modern art and our conception of art, especially social practice art. I had never heard of his art which is surprising given the relative attention he has gotten for these pieces. On his website, he connects his free ice water, free hot coffee, and free hot supper (the three parts of his 50/50 program) to Thoreau's quote about three chairs, "three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society." I think this idea is really interesting and the way he's gone about making his art is a unique path to see. By involving the community, his message is able to spread and I think has a greater impact. The idea of getting people to talk to each other is not revolutionary, but presenting it in this kind of format is something I haven't seen before. I would love to read more about his "All my life for sale" project, because it sounds really interesting.
Sadly, I was unable to attend the talk in person, but I enjoyed getting to watch the Facebook live stream. I thought this Lunchtime Lecture was very interesting, Sasha Waters Freyer is the Department Chair of Photo/Film at VCU as well as an independent film maker. She originally studied photo and film and makes documentaries as well as experimental films. Her recent documentary, "Gary Winogrand: All Things are Photographable," will air soon on PBS n the American Master's series. Her other passion in photo/film is what she calls "experimental films." In these she often draws upon archival footage, sometimes even reshooting the original film shot by shot, as well as filming herself things she finds interesting on 16 mm film. By doing this, she creates an artistic film which she compares to poetry, building the film shot by shot similar to poetry being built word by word.
I found this talk to be very interesting. I enjoyed hearing about her processes and her career as a filmmaker. When I was younger, I always was interested in filmmaking even taking a class in Super8 film, which reminded me of the 16mm film she used in her experimental pieces. So to see someone doing film successfully as a career is inspiring. More abstract, non narrative films seem like something I would not enjoy but I found her experimental films to be quite intriguing, I think the audio she added post-production adds an interesting element. I don't think I'd seen any experimental films before so this was a completely new idea. I don't think I would personally do this, but I would like to learn more and try it out. She also talked about the extremely long process of making a film which definitely makes me appreciate them more. Her message about pursuing your true interests I think is important to hear and I definitely am trying to figure that out although I'm quite conflicted at the moment. Her experience at the MacDowell Artists Colony sounds really cool and like a great way to have time to explore and focus on your art away from distractions. I would love to try something like that in the future. Overall, I enjoyed her talk a lot and it definitely inspired me to think about trying new media and possibly experimenting with film. Here are some links to her websites/more info: And here is one of her experimental films, Respiration: Abstract Expressionism:Overall, I thought it was really interesting to see the wide variety of works that are classified as Abstract Expressionist. Most of the work I saw either seemed like an action painting using gestural strokes, used contrasting colors, or some unusual material. Ad Reinhardt's Untitled (Red and Gray), shows how something as simple as a brush stroke fading away can add dimension into a piece. In addition, like many others the colors including the gray that seems blue toned, seem to create a contrast that draws the viewer in. The Clown painted by Kenneth Noland shows the contrast between shapes, the perfect circle in the middle and the expressive circular strokes surrounding it. Once again the colors add dimension to the piece. In addition, PH-115 seems to reveal more about itself as you look closer. The seemingly one toned background yellow is is broken up by many slightly different shades of yellow and the more obvious multicolored right edge that he may have created by dripping paint. I was surprised to see that all three pieces I chose were simply oil on canvas, but it definitely will serve as inspiration for my piece. I want to further research how Still made his pieces as the slight color differences may not have been purposeful. I always have enjoyed the almost geometric patterns that can be created overlaying straight lines like in Reinhardt's piece and I want to explore that too for my piece. Play Page Inspiration:I found there were a lot of interesting exhibits and artwork that inspired me in DC. I did not choose this as one of my three pieces, but I loved the Pulse exhibit, the water and the light section were my favorite. I definitely want to explore interactive pieces like that in the future. As you can see, all of the pieces I chose have to do with line, which was unplanned but points out a theme I should try to focus on. As I mentioned above, I often doodle drawing lines and geometric shapes and I want to see how I can use this in my art. One piece that immediately caught my eye was Piet Mondrian's Tableau No. IV. He turned a canvas 45 degrees but somehow that completely changed how I saw the piece and made me more interested. I also thought it was interesting how he played with the balance of line quality and color to make emphasis on certain parts of the piece. A lot of Sean Scully's work interested me, but this one, Landline Blue, in particular probably due to the colors used and the subtle blending and translucency. I did not notice this at the time but I have never heard of the materials he used which I would like to further research. In addition to its appearance that I find to be calming, the content about how it represents where the land meets the sea and how the horizon can be divided is really interesting. I also love how the dark blue repeats creating the sense of a pattern. Finally, I chose Alexander Calder's Cow, a wire sculpture. I was drawn to the sculpture because of how 3D it was and how the form seems simple but has many small details. I want to explore wire sculptures or maybe drawing as if I were drawing a sculpture because I am interested in how the lines work to make two dimensions seem like three. My official theme for the play pages is fruit and although I have veered off from that I could see making a series of wire sculptures of fruit. Overall, I can say that I had a great time on the trip and enjoyed getting to spend more time in the East wing of the National Gallery as I had not gotten to last year and even finding the montage of Calder's works in the tower.
Howardena Pindell: What Remains to Be Seen On November 19th, our art class went to the VMFA to see the exhibit on Howardena Pindell. This exhibit featured her art and showed its transformation throughout her life divided into sections such as the shape of numbers, video drawings, activism, traveler, scientist, and "cut, sewn, adorned". Pindell's work began in the late 1960s and focused on new ways to "paint" adding materials such as glitter and mainly paper hole punches. This led to three dimensional paintings that were expressive and visually interesting. After a car crash in 1979, she began a series of works focused on memories and creating a overall autobiography in the form of video, collage, and paintings. In addition, she brought increased activism into her work creating a series about cultural challenges such as racism, sexism, and overall discrimination. I really enjoyed seeing how her ideas changed, shifted, and sometimes returned throughout her life. Her early work such as Untitled #43 puts emphasis on the layering effect achieved through layering hole-punches as well as using grids, shapes, and numbers in her pieces, which I was personally drawn to. Later her work became more about activism and her personal memories sometimes using video and collage. I was intrigued by her travel collages as they show her stretching and exploring the art world which are artist habits of mind. Her use of expression is visible in her activist works that show clear meaning and her thoughts against discrimination and hate. It was interesting to see how much later in her life in the late 2000s the layering techniques she used in the 70s reappeared in a new way which can be seen in the piece Untitled #5B (Krakatoa). You can see how her growth reflects events in her lifetime and her curiosity is demonstrated in the wide variety of art and media in the exhibit, This exhibit has inspired me to explore more and try out new ideas which is also related to our sketchbook and the play pages where we experiment with new things. In addition, our curiosity pages allow us the opportunity to answer a question about something in the art world which would provide new ideas that could shape our art. I overall really enjoyed this exhibit, specifically the pieces with layering of paper and the holepunches as they were very visually satisfying. This exhibit outlines the artist habit of mind of 'engage and persist' and 'develop craft' as she worked throughout her life to create this art and it inspires me to continue to work and learn along the way. Activity BAbstract v. Non Objective Abstract art is where an object is visible in the piece but has been distorted or used in a abnormal, non realistic way. Non Objective art should have no semblance of any physical object but rather shapes and colors. The piece on the left, 17th Stage, is non objective as there is no recognizable subject. The piece on the right, Blue Head, is abstract as there are some familiar shapes (a hand), but it is not in a realistic setting or depiction. Abstract Expressionism: Abstract Expressionism was an abstract art movement in the 1940s-50s that focuses on emotional expression and spontaneity. Mother Goose Melody is a good example of this as it shows irregular lines and marks that add a sense of emotional expression to the painting. Mother Goose Melody, Helen Frankenthaler, American, 1959 Oil on canvas, 81 3/4 × 103 1/2 in, Modern and Contemporary Art collection Mark Making Untitled, Franz Kline, 1955 Commercial oil-based paint on canvas This painting stood out to me because of the gestural strokes that make up the positive space of the black lines. It seems like fast, sudden marks were used with a wide brush to get these distinct lines.
Artist Thoughts: |
Claustral Morris Louis, 1961 Oil on canvas Louis uses overlaying of multiple colors to create such an interesting piece. It looks as if the colors that seem almost translucent were poured onto the canvas and allowed to drip down. Louis chose to put this slightly off-center leading to a more interesting composition. Once again, the contrast between colors such as red and green and orange and blue lead to a more interesting to look at piece. |
Amanda Dalla Villa Adams gave a lecture on October 31st about Japanese aesthetics. I really enjoyed the lecture and got a lot out of it. She started by discussing how Japanese art trends can be seen within famous European artists like how Van Gogh drew inspiration from Japanese woodblocks. Then she talked about the history of aesthetics in Europe and Japan with Kant and the Heian Court's influence in Japan. I was especially interested in the discussion of wabi sabi and yugen. I had heard of wabi-sabi before, specifically during a lunchtime lecture last year, but that mainly focused on the artist's personal work and had never heard of Yugen. I believe these aesthetics are very unique to Japan and because of that extremely interesting and I want to learn even more. We had touched on these subjects briefly in my Global Studies class but not substantially so it was nice to continue to learn more about it. I still want to know the difference between wabi and sabi because I always hear them referred to as the same thing so I would like to further research their similarities, differences, and why they're joined together.
Most of her lecture was grounded in conversation about Tanizaki's essay from 1933, In Praise of Shadows. This essay discusses the changes in Japanese aesthetics in the modern age, with influence from the West. In it, Tanizaki mourns the loss of traditional aesthetics and mentions the beauty of everyday things. I thought that I got to understand each aesthetic even more through looking at the objects and architecture she showed us, as well as the different types of theater.
Personally, I really connect to the idea of wabi which finds beauty within imperfections and embraces issues and mistakes. This can be seen within the tea ceremony and the life cycle of a cherry blossom tree. I feel like this aesthetic can be seen everyone's life and it should be embraced. I know I will pay more attention now to seeing these aesthetics in my everyday life and in my art. The idea of wabi sabi can help me let go of perfection in my art and focus more on enjoying myself and the beauty in mistakes. I wonder where in contemporary art have artists purposely used these aesthetics?
Overall I thought Adams' talk was filled with important information and made great connections to my life and possible uses in my art.
Here is a link to a pdf version of In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki.
Most of her lecture was grounded in conversation about Tanizaki's essay from 1933, In Praise of Shadows. This essay discusses the changes in Japanese aesthetics in the modern age, with influence from the West. In it, Tanizaki mourns the loss of traditional aesthetics and mentions the beauty of everyday things. I thought that I got to understand each aesthetic even more through looking at the objects and architecture she showed us, as well as the different types of theater.
Personally, I really connect to the idea of wabi which finds beauty within imperfections and embraces issues and mistakes. This can be seen within the tea ceremony and the life cycle of a cherry blossom tree. I feel like this aesthetic can be seen everyone's life and it should be embraced. I know I will pay more attention now to seeing these aesthetics in my everyday life and in my art. The idea of wabi sabi can help me let go of perfection in my art and focus more on enjoying myself and the beauty in mistakes. I wonder where in contemporary art have artists purposely used these aesthetics?
Overall I thought Adams' talk was filled with important information and made great connections to my life and possible uses in my art.
Here is a link to a pdf version of In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki.
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