Opening

Well, that was quite an entertaining night. The BFA show was excellent. Everyone's work was set and put into its best, and showed its best. I'm very glad everything went well, even the food. Everyone that came was fed :) Congratulations to everyone!

Thus far...

crit 3

julie: lay them out 5x4, categorize into generic categories. model, art school, bathroom reflection, halloween, boyfriend, graduation, etc. different sizes will make categories. take picture of painting, tag people, invite them to show. may show in LAB, have computer in CSB. Paintings are naturalistic, experience with light when taken from computer, think about digital image looks like, romanticizing with imagination. System developing of social networking. Idea of light, not situation but digital light enforced upon by the computer.

kerry: mery and couplets. instalation, glass window in a door, painting on the outside of the door. mery inside the door, walls of the house. performance of the mery. normal door, big window. cutting the glass, same as silk screening. specimen divided into important parts.

joanna: interested in representation of female body and advertising. these images of women are accompanied by sexuality. integrate photo and design, posters of women and sexual image exaggerated. try billboard size. deal with vanity. compositing images together, may also perform as herself. digitally tweak image, though not make it creepy enough, relates to idea of barbie. sex cells, woman's body object of desire.

pryam: preliminary prints, no woodcut. more about the process of the print. house she grew up in. streching them than on canvas. the way they're cut more visually appraising to make it look like painting. multiple of one thing, yet mutated. stretched may not be a good idea. process is the most important thing, connected to the subject matter. process isn't rendering but its a work in progress. thicken amount of oil, plate that is not so absorbent (using wood). staining element may help to push out more the colors. strong metaphor of memory, substance of life. need to be visually striking.

jeff: recreating dream. upsetting, get all 5 senses. abstract photos put together. go back to basics, feel vibrations of sound. abstract vs experience? create abstract images through the video. projecting on the wall, layered the projection, still connected to the narrative, abstraction will come connecting as pieces. sensory pieces, great idea.

crit 2

Heather: assumption of stories. gossip about the piece. leaving pieces behind, interactivity with the viewer. it is an interesting concept because art cannot be defined, and by interacting with it, the viewer can get a notion or understanding of what the artist is trying to show.

Luis: evolution over time, artist portray society they live in, visual language of society, relive our time into magazines as historical reference, has society changed in regard to social issues?

Dave: photography through paint, collage of photographs together, representation of parts, personal, paint images from newspapers, non-existent time traveler imagery.

Andrew: will burton charts, design graphs, conversation explicit and implicit on text, tangents, body language, potentials for tangents, blogs.

Neil: identity, sketchs on the wall, drawing without construction, photos from engine parts, form better bits and pieces, pushing the space, composition of mechanical parts.

Naqeeb: different environments, world perception, gender sexuality, internet keywords as connotations, platform changes according to video.

Group 1c review

Jeff: His video was something to think about. The sounds that were coming from his "dream" made it annoying but that was part of the exhibition, to create a dislike from it. On the other hand, his expression of photographs and not changing them in photoshop create an abstraction that is hard to relate to what he wants to produce through his dreams.

Julie: Her depiction of imagery coming from facebook is quite original, painting her acquaintances in ways that are natural expression of the self, yet others as posed from a photoshoot. The best part about her idea is the scale. The large image catches the eye of everyone who sees it, yet the small prints are in the need to be closed up and be looked up in detail. Both combined attract the desire to understand her point of view, grandeur vs. minimalism.

Grad Schools

1. SVA- Art Theraphy

-http://www.schoolofvisualarts.edu/grad/index.jsp?sid0=2&sid1=26

2. Drexel University- Art Theraphy

-http://drexel.edu/cnhp/creativearts/art_therapy/about.asp

3. Florida State University- Art Therapy

-http://arted.fsu.edu/Programs/Art-Therapy

4. Pratt University- Art Therapy

-http://www.pratt.edu/academics/degrees/graduate/art_therapy_and_creativity_development_mps/

5. Prescott University- Art Therapy

-http://www.prescott.edu/academics/map/areas.html#eat

Alex Bag's video

I have got to say that it was a little disturbing. The idea of doing a documentary about her life in school is very original. As time goes along, it is visible how she has evolved in the art world. But at the same time, her evolution has turned to something psychotic. Something interesting is how she plays different roles, much like Cindy Sherman. She makes an interesting point in how everything is about her but not about her. The feeling of smothered can arise from anything, and as one closes more and more to the end of their school year, things begin to build up. But in the sense that she was talking, it becomes something not to be spoken of about sexuality in ways that other people should not be interested in knowing.

MGSA MFA Show

There is something about it that just doesn't seem to match. For most of the show, it is painting and sculpture, but its arrangement in the gallery just doesn't give a vibe that would make it interesting to see. Though there are some interesting exhibitions. First in is Megan Flaherty, showing mountains of dirt. At first glance it didn't seem like dirt, it seemed more like coal. I think it got also affected because of the black and white photography of it. The way in which they are portrayed give off a sense of solitude, a vast area.

Another artist that caught my attention was Anna Bushman. In her ground sculpture, she has a "room" set, with a back wall painted in doll designs. There is also a seat with graffitis drawn on it. It made me feel uncomfortable being there. I tried to imagine that being a girl's room and thoughts of depression and hatred came to me. There was a dark vibe.

Against the first wall to the right, as one enters the gallery, photographs of an unlabeled artist hang in there. Shockingly enough are the images of a woman covered in cigarette butts. Disgust and repulsion. Unfortunately, that is the way people our age are living these days. It is an on-going disease that will never be stopped; a vice that lives within us. The world around us is what influences its own population into believing and allowing harm to the body, yet again it is the decision of the person to take that risk.

Not to forget, Guerra's mixed media sculpture. Its vibrant colors attract the eye, the different shapes guiding where to look. It feels like a baby cradle with the hanging sculptures. While with the relief paintings, it is more towards wanting to go inside the painting, figure out why the shapes are coming out, if running away from something.

The Fair- Ch. 3

- "A collection in more than a sum of its parts. It creates something unique."

- "In the art world, gossip is never idle. It is a vital form of market intelligence."

- "Artists tend to view art fairs with a mixture of horror, alienation, and amusement."

- "Occasionally meeting an artist destroys the art. You almost don't trust it. You think what you're seeing in the work is an accident."

- "First if an artist is going to make one good work, then there is no sense in fighting over it. Second, a collection is a personal vision. No one can steal your vision."

Blocks of Color

I don't think I have been more impressed by woodcut than seeing "Blocks of Color" at the Zimmerli Art Museum. The way in which our contemporary landscapes are portrayed make them seem more real than they are. They have the aura that Japanese woodcut would give out, a special view of nature in a block of wood. The color brightness made them seen real, like taken out of a photograph. What impressed me the most was that the colors looked like watercolors. It gave the woodcut like a color outline that rounded up each block.

The Studio Visit

Murakami prodution of "Oval Buddha"


- "While Sega Corporation has Sonic the Hedgehog and Nintendo has Super MArio, Kaikai Kiki wa named after the mascot that appear on its letterhead and cultural goods. Kaikai is an anodyne white bunny, while Kiki is a whild three-eyed pink mouse with fangs. Both characters have four ears each, a 'human' pair and an 'animal' pair, suggesting that the company is all ears."

- "Playing with pigment not just as an aesthetic category but as a racial one. Some sculptores and paintings come in albino, Caucasian peach, olive brown, and jet-black versions. Later Murakami would tell me that he thinks of Japanese skin color as 'plum'."

- He believes in the influence of media coverage and acknowledges that the studio visit is an important art world ritual for promoting art.

- A studio is supposed to be a site of intense contemplation.

- A studio isn't just a place where artists make art but a platform for negotiation and a stage for performances.

- An artist's confidence in a curator is essential to making a great solo show.

- "The best solo show come when an artist and curator are connected and highly invested... when their reputation depend on it... when they're both putting their career at stake."

Alfa Art Gallery

From my 3 years living in New Brunswick, I had never gone into Alfa Art Gallery on Church St. I really liked the exhibition. John Hawaka has an interesting way in designing blob splatters. I liked how I could lose myself in his painting, figuring out what the meaning of each was (of course, not to forget his designs that have a recognizable form). He uses very vibrant colors, adding to the effects that he wants to pursue. Because the colors are so vibrants, it shines against the lights, making them sparkle and seem somewhat unnatural His compositions also change, varying how the blobs are set on the canvas. It seems common than nature has partaken to a lot of artists in their art. Nature has a way to interpret itself, and as artists, we are able to manupulate that interpretation into our own perspective.

Interview with Ed Freeling

1. What got you into graphic design?
> I as well like and used to take pictures so i guess that led me to graphic design. Photography along with not liking to study from a book propelled me to design. Design is more practical and you can use your hands and that was way more appealing that reading from a book and it gave me the ability to use photography and explore the possibilities with photography.

2. What do you like to show? Do you have specific themes?
> I don't do much work on my own outside of class, i haven't had time to do much of that. Therefore i don't show much of my work besides the projects during crits in class. Same applies to themes i haven't been doing much on my own to have any set themes I work with.

3. Are you working on anything right now beside school work? How are you managing your time when having to visit the galleries?
> I guess if I had to choose something I work on besides work, it would be designing tee shirts. I love the company volcom and one of the shirts I bought had a volcom stencil of their symbol. With that I briefly made tee shirts in my apartment and a few hoodies. As far as managing time for gallery visits I have been using the allotted class time to get into the city and see the required things. When we don't have class that is biggest amount of free time, so I make sure to try and use it to get to the required visits.

4. Have you shown your work? If so, when?
> I have shown my own work once in a gallery show for the county college I transfered from, it was back in 2004. Oddly enough it was photography rather than design. The process was no where near as elaborate as what we have to go through now. It was nice seeing my work up on a wall, but having my work hang from a wall for a show is not my goal with design.

5. What do you plan on doing after graduation? Have you worked as an intern?
> I haven't set much of a goal for after graduation. More I guess I have a goal in say they work schedule I want more than a career goal. I guess to start my goal would be getting a job, in a design firm on the smaller side. I want to find a firm that works in collaboration with others to create design work. I want a job in a place where i can use my strengths and work with others to over come my weakness. The hope being collaboration will produce stronger more appealing design. Hopefully i can find this in a firm where i work Monday through Fridays and be off on weekends. So far I briefly worked as an intern at the recreation center for what they considered their design department, over on Busch in 2006. It was only for a semester and I wasn't there long enough to learn much or work on much.

Women in Art

Transition of women through the ages. It is inspiring, as a woman, how we have evolved and in our present day, we women are standing out in a world lead by men.

http://www.artgallery.lu/digitalart/women_in_art.html

Chelsea Gallerys

Robert Miller Gallery:

Barthelemy Toguo has a certain way of portraying his art. A manner of patterns, repetitions, water spreads, and abrupt changes of color. Sharp reds in almost every painting. His installation took me a while to understand its phallic symbolism.

Mitchell-Iness & Nash:

Enoc Perez impressed me in his representations of architectural designs. It is rare to see an artist who emphasizes in buildings. I couldn't really understand what he was portraying until I read his statement. The paintings do seem futuristic and nostalgic, definitely a place in which human kind dreams to live in. Not up until looking close, I was able to notice the texture that Perez uses. With the light, the painting seemed to have some metallic color that was able to shine away. It looked like it added stars and points of interest depending on how it was seen.

Aperture Gallery:

Out of all the galleries that I visited, Aperture Gallery was the one that impressed me the most. I have been to other photography exhibitions but nothing like Nature of Artifice. Every landscape picture spoke something different about the land, the way it has changed, what would be liked and accepted, a view further into the future. The variation in color was mind boggling. The details on the digital prints had an effect of high definition television. Frank van der Salm's prints had an appearance as if to where floating in different colored stars, or similar to an arcade pin ball table. It felt like a made up city, surreal, hard to believe that actual cities look like that at night. Only from high in the mountains one can appreciate what is below.

The Crit

I found the chapter rather interesting. I like the way the author portrays her experience in the class. It is a laid back world in which one explores the meanings of art, and at the same time understand the mind. It was intriguing the way the students talked about art, the behavior of their professor, the faculty itself having their own way of teaching, a different perspective as to what to say, analyze, the view of culture and what surrounds us.

Some things that I thought or found interesting as part of the reading:

- "Leslie Dick has a different perspective toward MFA program. You come in dumb and get out smart ' The work you do as an artist is really play, but it is play in the most serious sense'...' Taking something from the inside and putting it out into the world so you can be relieved of it.' " (p. 51)

- Artists relate to each other in time, either as friends or acquaintances. This results in the similarity of their art work; known contemporaries.

- The main question that came up throughout the reading is, what is an artist? Some thought it was unfair to be asked such question, but in my opinion, what does truly describe an artist? Artist are those who believe that they can express themselves through art, let it be performance, visual, music, it is an expression of our inner feelings that others may be able to understand.

- "Art comes out of failure" (p. 52)

- "Criticality is a strategy for the production of knowledge. Our view is that art should interrogate the social and cultural ideas of its time. Other places work to produce pleasure or feelings."

This quote was rather fascinating, in the way he was able to explain what a critique should be like. It expands of the ideas of things that should be talked about, how the outer world influences what we believe in, yet we live in the same time and cohort.

New Museum

The exhibition by Iannone was a little disturbing. In some ways, it was understood that women are being compared to men in society, as to who carry the pants (figuratively speaking). The expression that she uses to express sexuality is beyond what normal society would accept. Something that really caught my attention was the small relics/dolls that she created with the same intention of sexuality. The interesting part about it is that they are big enough to have around the house and appreciate her art.

With David Goldblatt, the way in which he depicted South Africa isn't as different as the country I come from, Venezuela. It frightened me to see that similar economical/political situations are ocurring around the world. Another thing that made a big impact in my understanding of his work is the dedication made to AIDS awareness. There were red ribbons all over the streets, showing support or wanting help against it.

Black Panther is a type of art which I still have difficulty wrasping its meaning. Political propaganda is seen everywhere, yet in the times of civil war, I can't understand it. It was understandable that different races were involved since some of his posters had Spanish text written. Minorities create their own alligences against a common cause. Even then, racial problems have been an on-going theme in the present world we live in. It has died out in some areas, but people cannot forget where they come from and their superiority is blinding.