First Year MFA Show at the Mason Gross!

The first year MFA at Mason Gross have their work up in the gallery now and there is a wide variety of work to be seen. There is an interesting mix of photo, painting, video, and sculpture. There are a lot of work I want to talk about, but unfortunately not all of the labels are up so I can't credit everyone I'd like to.

To start off, there were some really aesthetically pleasing photos in the first room of the gallery on the left of the gallery entrance. There was no label for the work, the photos were crisp and clear and had dressed people up in some very interesting outfits and make up. My favorites were the girl covered in white paint and black drips shaking off like a wet dog. The colors and movement of the paint on her body looked like a Jackson Pollock painting. The other one I liked was a close up of a woman's face with a tiny cherry pie held in front of her mouth. The camera caught the image of a drip coming out of the pie just in time. Overall, I'm not sure if there was a message behind the photos, but there were so visually appealing, I'd be okay taking them at face value.

Also in the first room were paintings by Catherine Haggarty. Her first two untitled paintings of milk cartons caught my attention for their texture. She used artists tape, two shades, for shading in the cartons. The image of the two cartons was very endearing. They looked like two cute little friends. I think this is because they were kind of fat and wobbly looking in the way she painted them. She had a few more paintings, but none of them had the same effect. They weren't as interesting. They didn't have interesting texture and were mostly colored shapes and canvas or board. The milk cartons stood out and I would have liked to have seen more painted in that same way.

The last group of paintings that attracted my attention in the main room were Night Park and Twilight on Mill Valley by Caetlynn Booth. I loved these two paintings for their colors and their accuracy of portraying the time when it just becomes night and dark. The paintings are photorealistically done, which usually doesn't interest me, but there had something different. They showed how details can be seen in the dark, at the twilight time of night, when you stare out at your surroundings and let what light is out still in. So much detail and color really is visible at this time and these paintings show that. My favorite part was the blues used for the skies, especially in Twilight on Mill Valley. The blues stood out against the other colors beautifully.

On another note, one group was a little disappointing. Their name wasn't up, but there were two paintings on the back wall of the gallery which were large and scribbly looking, in a way I feel I have seen over and over again in painting. They were interesting looking so I forgave it, but then on the wall next to them was a scribbly drawing. The drawing was far, far less interesting than the paintings though it was going for the same effect I think. Its just been over done I think.

Lastly, In the first room on the left in the gallery there was a little environment set up. I love environments. This one, by Erin Dunn, was a little...hard to understand. I'm not really sure what she was going for with the thread and twine and flowers and other random stuff laying around with seemingly no rhyme or reason. What I DID really like about this piece was the video playing. There was a little stop motion animation with the happiest cutest music I have heard in a long time. At one point, little pipecleaning people were dancing and I could hardly contain myself. I was very cute and uplifting. I'm still not really sure what she was going for though.

So! Overall, lots of interesting stuff...lots of good...lots of "eh"...but nicely put together. I think there was something eye-catching in every room. For good or bad.

5 Ideas for Grad School

Ok, so starting off...I'd be interested in:

1. RISD: Painting program. I wanted to go to RISD for my undergrad but couldn't afford it. I love Providence and I think its a great area for artist. Plus I've seen show's of student work, and its some of the coolest stuff I've ever seen. I think this would be a great place to thrive and meet people. The school has so many areas to choose from, I think there'd be a lot of freedom in trying new mediums of work and connecting with a lot of different minds.
2. University of the Arts in Philadelphia: They have a painting program that seems to be grouped with ceramics and sculpture. Again, location is a factor as I want to live in Philly and really enjoy the art scene there. I think being in this area and being in a program with a variety of mediums could be a great place for growth. The programs are in the summer which is a bit of concern because it would take 2.5 year to complete, but there is a lot of time for independent work with the benefit of critiques.
3. School of Visual Arts in New York: This program sounds attractive because of the way they describe what the program is aimed towards. They want students in the fine arts program to gain a strong sense of who they are and what their philosophies are. I feel this is so important, even more important than technical school. I think I'd like this goal.
4. Bard in New York: Bard seems interesting because even though I'd be going into the painting program, all programs from writing to music would be meeting together to share ideas and create conversation. I think thats a pretty good idea and could be very enriching. The program is over the summers and winters, 2 years and 2 months, and the students need to be independent and self-motivated.
5. University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts: This I'm basing mainly off of location and rank. There is a fine arts program which takes three years and seems to be geared more towards personal growth than credits. Its in New Mexico which is a place I've never experience and would be eager to try out. It seems like a laid back place with a lot of room and time to figure out who you are and what you do.

MoMA Visit! Oh Boy! also colorful squigglies.

This weekend I visited the MoMA to see what I could see. And I saw some interesting things. I was able to hand around the Sculpture Garden for a change, which I am not usually interested in but decided to give it a chance due to the new Sculpture in Color exhibition going on. I'm not usually a huge fan of sculpture but I AM a huge fan of color. My favorite thing about the sculpture garden is the fact that some of the work in interactive. I love being able to interact with a sculpture or have it part of an environment. Due to space, there weren't a ton of sculptures on display for the exhibit and some permanent ones were still in place. The exhibit was made up of five sculptures by three artists, so it was limited but involved use of one color per sculpture. Each sculpture was a bright color and a non-objective shape. The pieces were very representational and most were very squiggley.
The first sculpture I saw was Midday (1960) by Anthony Caro. This one looked like a lopsided bench with metal planks jutting out of the top. I didn't care much for the shape and I honestly didn't get much out of it. On the positive side, it was a nice school-bus yellow, I must say. It was very poppy and industrial looking, which is not a very pleasing combination in my opinion.

Next I came across Elsworth Kelly's GreenBlue (1968). Again, I love color, but I am not a huge fan of Kelly's aesthetic. This sculpture was basically a huge lopsided square piece of metal diagonally split into green and blue halves. There is a little nook formed behind it in which you can kind of hide behind formed by the base and side of the piece. This was the only part of it I really liked. It is very obviously a Kelly piece, I feel, as his work is full of brightly colored, solid triangles.

The only pieces I really enjoyed in this exhibition were the Franz West sculptures...and luckily for me he had the most work in the show. West's pieces were a combination of my three favorite things: Bright colors, interactive sculptures, and squiggles. I just love squiggley things. The three sculptures were entitled Lotus, Maya's Dream, and Untitled (Orange). Each doubled as a bench, and quite a few visitors were getting a kick out of it and posing for pictures, including myslef.

I took a picture of Chris...a Squiggle in his natural habitat.

I feel like these sculptures are meant to be fun and encourage others to play along. They are playful colors (a sunshine yellow, bubblegum pink, and a citrussy orange) and the shape are humorously wiggley, like a shaky doodle in a student's notebook. The others artist's works just didn't have the same playfulness to them. They felt too serious to be masked in what would normally be fun, bright colors.

So! Overall, Franz West saved the show for me and more than made up for the lack of excitement I felt from the other work. Then again, like I said, I am not a huge fan of sculpture so I tend to be hard to please in this realm of art. Still, I found the show pretty interesting.

Seven Days in the Art World: The Studio Visit

So, I read The Studio Visit and, again, it was pretty interesting. I am already a bit familiar with Murukami's work, so it was interesting to here how his studio works. One thing that I knew was that he had others make his work for him, but what I was interested to here was that he actually gives credit to all of his workers. I've never heard of any other artist that would actually put their worker's names up with the work. I was really happy to learn that. I remember learning about how Judy Chicago didn't give anyone else recognition for The Dinner Party and was very upset that the "Art World" worked that way. I also found it really interesting and refreshing to here that he helps to promote the careers of his workers as artists. Its nice to here that these people are being treated like people and artists themselves. I found this quote interesting: "Unlike Warhol's Factory, where, in the words of the art historian Caroline A. Jones, women were 'expected to work hard for no pay, suffer beautifully, and tell all,' six of the seven artists whose independent careers are promoted by Kaikai Kiki are female." I didn't know there was such inequality in the studio in the past, and I wonder why women especially weren't treated as artists, but I am glad these prejudices aren't present in Kaikai Kiki. I thought it was funny how Murukami directs his work. "I don't know how to operate Illustrator, but I will say 'yes, yes, yes, no, no, no" when I check the work." I imagine him standing over his workers' shoulders and critisizing what they do. I think someone not physically creating their own work is strange, but at least he as connected to it as he can be given his set of skills. I also found it interesting and a little sad at the same time...how his work is commercial and art...at the same time. When they said about his Oval Buddha, "We're gonna make an edition of ten on a domestic scale...People should be able to live with Oval, I felt like..is this supposed to be for the artists entertainment or income? I don't know, and maybe its both. But I guess thats ok...

Zimmerli Art Museum: Blocks of Color Show

For this class's gallery visit I chose good ol' Zimmerli Art Museum conveniently located in the lovely city of New Brunswick. Did I mention it was also free? Happiness. There was a show going on (still is...until January 3rd) of contemporary (early 1900s and on) American wood block prints. I found it to be a lovely show, really diverse, and very interesting to explore. I feel the show really gave a great overview of how differently woodblocks can be used and the Japanese traditional style is by no means the only way it can be done.
Though there were numerous different ways the artists used the wood block, some of my favorites were in the traditional Japanese style. Helen Hyde had a great deal of prints in the show and, as I found out from a women giving a tour, Hyde truly does the prints in the traditional Japanese style. She designs the print, it is carved by a master carver and then printed by a master printer. She even went to Japan in order to learn this style. Some of my favorites by her were, Complaints (1914) and The Family Umbrella (1915).



Bertha Lum also followed the traditional style, though her prints caught my eye even more because they reminded me of anime. I love the grapic style and her use of such a fluid line. A good line makes me go crazy. Tanabata (1912) stuck out to me.



I was excited to see they had on display a print and then the block it was actually printed from. Blanche Lazzell's West Virginia Hills (1919) was shown with the hand painted two-sided woodblock next to it. It was interesting to see how it looks carved and then transfered. I like the block itslef; it looked like a wooden painting. This print of course looked nothing like the Japanese style, but was still very astetically pleasing. There were bright, solid colors and thick, printerly lines and spaces.
As the show progressed, things got more interesting and prints looked less and less conventional. Donald Judd's Untitled (1994) was hanging there and I thought it was funny because it was so obviously his.



Finally, one of my favorites was Dan Walsh's OVG Orange, OVG Green, and OVG Violet (2007). They were very simple but beautiful in the way the thick lines of color were layered and created a myriad of lovely, lovely colors. They were a combination of my two favorite things in art pieces: colors and lines. I looked at them for a while.





So, thank you Zimmerli Art Musuem for having a great show so local and free! It was a good good good experience!

Seven Days in the Art World: The Crit

Soooo..I read The Crit chapter and it was pretty funny to read about the dynamic between the teacher and students in the class. I have to say though, if I had a crit that lasted that long I would die. From what I read, the crit the author observed sounded pretty similar to crits I've attened in the past...just way waaaay longer. I thought it was funny how I felt like I knew some of the same people in the class. There's always people that don't care or don't talk, and ALWAYS that one student who just sounds like a pretentious asshole. I take it the author's purpose for this book is to report to al outside of the "art world"...what exactly goes on in this mysterious place. The crit is a good example of how artists, or at least art students, interact and behave in an environment that is supposed to benefit them, but also takes a lot out of them. It is an interesting community. I felt like I was reading about a crit day in one of my painting classes.

Interview with Vincent Picone!!!

So, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vinny Picone, a painting major working with changing how we view painting and painting materials. He's been working on some pretty different looking stuff involving raw canvas, wrapping and weaving it around stretcher bars. Creating some really interesting linear patterns, where one would normally find paint he leaves the canvas raw allowing us to see the textures and shapes formed by the layering and weaving. Enjoy!

Danielle Ramirez: Whats your major? Did you come in to school knowing that you wanted to paint?

Vincent Picone: Painting. Yes I did because that was all I knew really. I started painting in my senior year of high school and there was no drawing concentration so painting was the closest.

DR: Yeah, the same thing happened with me. I always drew and then I found out coming into Mason Gross that there was no drawing major. What kind of work were you into before coming to Mason Gross?

VP: Pre-Mason Gross all i did was draw really. Its the easiest. you just pick up a pencil and go. I liked to try and make things look exactly how they appear. It was satisfying to me. I had done some sculpting but wasnt that interested.

DR: How did you start making the strap paintings? Correct me if you want them called something else--but what inspired you to make them?

VP: Strips. Straps. Whatever. It was just an idea that came to me in high school. I don't know how...it just hit me. I never followed through on it though. Obviously i never forgot. In Painting II I had Richard Baker who is probably my favorite teacher thus far. I really had the freedom to do whatever. For our final crit I made one...gesso-ed it...and that was it. I let the surface weave be the composition. In high school I didn't know this was "acceptable" when i got the idea. It wasnt until I built some artistic knowledge that I realized I could do this. I thought I had to apply paint to the surface in a traditional sense.

DR: Yeah, its funny how things seem like they're "not allowed" in art...especially when you're just starting out. Sounds like you moved on from "painting" as soon as you learned you could...what about tradtional painting disinterested you?

VP: Nothing about traditional painting disinterested me. This was just something that I experimented with and really caught my and other peoples attention. Its mine. Its new. Its fun for me. I get excited to do it. I think that's important. I had never really seen anything like it so it was sort of ground breaking...to me at least. I've thought about revisiting painterly paintings.

DR: What about making this kind of work...using materials as a medium...interests you exactly?
VP: I guess the fact that its my own innovation really. I developed my own technique and am running with it. I still havent found something that totally works so I'm striving for that with many learning steps along the way.

DR: Would you say you're more of a painter or a sculptor, because your work seems pretty sculptural. What makes them paintings to you?

VP: The painting/sculpture boundary has often come up in discussions. Its interesting. I think I am a painter. when i think about making new works its with the mind set of a painter. I talk about them as paintings. i present them like paintings. I see them as paintings. So to me they're paintings. They're about painting materials. In deep thought once--trying to find my purpose of creating these works because i was thinking of them as sheerly aesthetic-- I realized that I was having a definite dialogue about painting. I realized that I take the conventions of a painting and display them in a new context. I'm re-introducing the viewer to something that theyre already familiar with. I think the fact that I'm having a dialogue about painting makes them paintings more than anything else.

DR: So what kind of conversation are you trying to make with others, or are you having a conversation with yourself? What are you trying to figure out through this work?

VP: Right now I'd say I'm having conversations with myself because I'm still trying to figure out what works best for this technique. Its still in the works...but it always will be i suppose. I guess the conversation I want to have with people is to make them wish they thought to do it. Just because you can doesn't mean you did. I wanna make people think about something they never did before...make them see painting differently...make what they already know new again.

DR: Have you worked in other mediums? Do you think they've they influenced your painting?

VP: Definitely. All different kinds of printmaking, sculpture, design and most recently photo. I love it all. Right now, though, I don't really think they've influenced my paintings honestly. Its worked the other way around. my painting is primary so I think about it as painting. It definitely impacted some prints at the end of last year in relief. I realized I could do things I couldnt with canvas. one of the things I want to work on this semester and into thesis is to try to combine all that I've learned, whether it be media or technique. Along this journey known as school I've come to some really nice points of creation. I want tp start to revisit those points and create new things and even more techniques. I don't want to forget what I've learned. One of the things I want to do is actually ink one of the canvas surfaces and make a print from it. Hanneline, my painting teacher who ive worked with for a couple years no, says that my work is often the most interesting and successful when my work hovers in between two thoughts or techniques. I'm trying to create those moments.

DR: Do you draw inspirations from other forms of art? Are you interested in other artforms others than painting?

VP: I like to think that I can draw inspiration from anything. I try to stay as open minded and eyed as possible. Architecture has been a large inspiration to me. Cars...fashion...graffiti...definitely music...food. Most importantly, my peers inspire me more than anyone. Anyone around me doing their own thing makes me wanna do mine to the fullest. My family inspires me too. Can't have them thinking they sent me to art school for no reason haha.

DR: Yeah, haha, got to keep the parents happy. Do you feel like your work relates to any other artists either stylistically or conceptually?

VP: Conceptually its become very minimal. I think it has to be for it to work. I don't think I think as a minimalist though. I just try to figure out what works. Stylistically its been knid of hard to find things that are similar. I have a diverse, eclectic group of artists that have inspired me along the way...Pollock, Chuck Close, De Kooning, Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Sol Le Witt, Piero Manzoni, Antoni Tapies, Jose Parla, Banksy. List goes on...

DR: Are you happy with where these paintings are going? Where do you seem them going from here?

VP: I havent painted in a while so its hard to say if I'm happy about where they're going. I'm excited about where I'm pushing them though. They're going to be different than what I've done. I'm eager to start combining my ideas into something new. I'm going to start this weekend.

DR: Any plans for thesis? Are you going to continue in this style?

VP: I want to continue with this style. I've been working at it for too long to suddenly abandon it I think. I don't have any idea about what I'm going to make though. This semester is going to help determine that a lot because im really going to push myself to new directions and marry ideas from all corners of my brain. I hope the children are beautiful.

DR: Do you think you'll ever return to painting in the traditional sense? Combine styles maybe?

VP: I've thought about. Haven't done it...but its something I want to do just to see what happens. That might be the answer I'm searching for. I just did a drawing trying to replicate a photo for the first time in a while. I enjoyed it.

DR: Are you looking to work towards an art career?

VP: Yeah or all this schooling would kind of be a waste haha. I'm not sure where I want to go. I don't know about grad school. For a while i wanted to be an architect. I'd love to do automotive design. Music would be the coolest. I'd love to be a chef. Right now I'm really into fashion so maybe I'll head that way. as for now im focused on now

DR: Well I can definitely see fashion coming out of you're work. You're already working with textures and shapes...I could see that. Well, thank you for your time! And keep up the awesome work, I can't wait to see how your new stuff turns out.

Chelsea Times...

I started off with with the Pace Wildenstein gallery. Here, Maya Lin's work was showing. I was excited to see since I haven't really seen much of her work other than the Vietnam Memorial. Her work shown was beautiful. Her Blue Lake Pass and Water Line were simple and stunning. It looked like a 3D topography of hills cut out of sliced wood, stacked together to show the contours of the changing elevation. The wire sculpture had the same feel with a grid pattern and the wire bent to show change in elevation. I wasn't surprised to see she was working with the concept of earth and topography, seeing as the Vietnam Memorial was so in tune with the landscape and earth.

Next I stopped by the Lehmann Maupin gallery and say the Juergen Teller exhibition. The show, entitled, "Paradis" consisted of multiple photographs of nude women in different rooms just standing or interacting with some of the scenery. Some photographs appeared to be in an art museum. The lighting of the photos was interesting...almost like fashion shoots. They seemed like fashion photography without the commercial lighting and colors. They actually kind of reminded me of American Apparel adds without the clothes...I felt like the photos were hung kind of strangely. Some were very close together, others very far apart and in such an open room. It felt a bit awkward, but then again, so did the photos themselves. I have to say, it was nice to see framed photographs...photos being treated right. :)

To end my trip I finished up the Aperture gallery and checked out some interesting stuff. There was work from multiple artists, but one that caught my eye were the photographs by Chuck Close. they were very striking, raw portraits of people. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to make it through a lot of the gallery, but these photos very very eye catching. I feel like we don't see so much photography with such emphasis on the face anymore. Very nice black and white... Another interesting group of photos were those by Edwin Zwakman. They were pictures of buildings that, when you got up close, you realize are just very detailed models. They were very convincing and well done.

Three very different, very interesting shows!

Alex Bag :(

At first I thought the Alex bag video was a joke...someone acting...but I guess not? As the video drew on it felt more real to me. It was exciting to see someone follow through with such a project, a study of their own experience. I enjoyed her little snip-its of video work in between her talking about her semesters. I wondered if they were much like the work she did in classes. I wish she showed her paintings and things. She has a talent for mimicking voices and expressions. Her video made me sad...I really felt for her. It was moving to hear someone speak about their accomplishments and hardships throughout art school so openly. I loved her commentary on pop culture of the time and being young in the 90s. I have to say I sincerely enjoyed the 90s lingo and references. She/her character epitomizes the 90s. :) edit: typo/clarification

Bucket of Blood

I found the Bucket of Blood movie we watched in class to be really interesting...and funny. I liked how it poked fun at how serious people can act in the "art world" sometimes, but also brought up some serious concerns of artists existing in any time period. The movie showed a man who desperately wanted to be an artist because he thought it would mean he was special, gain him respect and make him an equal among those he admired. I think many of us aspiring artist have similar wants and asks ourselves some of the same questions this movie brings up...Questions like, "Am I a real artist?" "How can I be a real artist?" and "What MAKES someone an artist?" The movie poked fun at different kinds of people in the art world, but it also portrayed some of the real anxieties and fears of aspiring artists. I myself have wondered when I can call my work art and how I can be taken seriously. Very funny movie...and very interesting

The New New New Museum

First of all, walking up to the museum with that glorious rainbow "Hell,Yes!" glowing down on me like an adorable beacon in the dark made me quiver with joy. Hands down my favorite part of the entire museum. Thank you, Ugo Rondinone. :)

But onward...The building looks so big on the outside, yet feels pretty claustrophobic on the inside. I went to the "hub" fist and didn't get it. I kind of felt like I was intruding on the two guys sitting on the little couches up there. I put my ear up to the headphones on the wall and listened to the voices for a bit and then hurried on my way.

I went to the next floor down and saw the David Goldblatt photographs. I moved pretty quickly though this exhibit as I don't spend much time on work that doesn't interest me. I literally walked past 80% of his photographs wondering why artists insist on taking digital photographs and presenting them poorly. They flourescent light look in the photos made me cringe. On top of that, they were crappy loose paper pinned to a wall. When work is displayed cheaply it looks cheap and disposable. Luckily I wandered into the room housing his older work, and I'm glad I did. I found his black and white work infinitely more interesting and moving. It was more personal, more about people and their lives. His color work look so much more detached, more about things. I'm glad I took time to read the text on the walls and was able to learn that his work documented life in South Africa, and you can see changes in the country over time in the photographs. I still much prefer his older work, though. Seeing people in their everyday life with little captions from the photograph on the wall made me feel more connected to those people and feel like I was looking in on their life.

Making my way down the stairs, I got to see the little jail cell. It was cute. I enjoyed laying down and looking down the hallway leading to the future. I'm guessing its supposed to make you feel like you're waiting to get out of jail and the end seems so far away? I just like when artists make environments so this made me happy (especially since it was like a little secret in the stairs).

Moving on, I saw the Emory Douglas exhibit. I have to say I really enjoyed his line quality and use of so few colors to make a really rich image. I found his prints really beautiful in the simplicity of line and color scheme. He created so so many portraits of the struggle people who needed change and were willing to risk their lives for it. The images were powerful, and the captions accompanying them enforced the message wonderfully. There were masses of posters and magazine covers showing how much work he did for the Black Panthers throughout the years promoting their ideals and sending out their message.

I made my way down to the ground floor and almost missed the Dorothy Iannone show. I read the wall text and looked at her book on the wall. What a wonderful little thing! I loved the type and the illustrations. I would love to have a copy to read though. Her images of men and women with exposed testicals and penises were...interesting. I enjoyed her illustrative style and vibrant use of color. It made her strange, comical images very beautiful while still being pretty damn strange. I couldn't watch the video of her orgasming. I tried but I got really embarrassed and nervous. I really wanted to watch it because I didn't want to let it embarrass me.

So all and all...some good, some not so good. Overall, I'd go back again but I wish they had more than three artists at a time showing.

Obligatory First Post: "Ew, I Can Now Say I 'Blog' :("

Is it just me or does "blogging" sound pretentious? Meh. Well, here I am. :) Edit: Clarification