the fun theory

I came across this the other day
and I thought it might be interesting since we've been talking about the importance of fun
there are even more videos on thefuntheory.com but this one is my favorite

the piano stairs

-sasha

Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

So my drawing teacher showed us this video a couple of weeks ago and since then I've watched it like a million times, It really helped me understand what all the teachers here have been talking about when they talk about "FAILING"; because i hate to fail and it just feels horrible but i benefitted a lot from watching this and i thought some of you might too. It's ten minutes that are really worth watching.

Sofia :)

Winter Break

Over the Winter Break, please watch the following films:
1. The Wizard of Oz (The Technicolor version, not the original black and white.)
2. Pleasantville
3. Wim Wender's Wings of Desire

Please take note of the use of color in each film.

Also, please keep in touch with your collaborators. Share information and research related to your proposed collaborative project on the blog. Be ready to work on it on the first day of class of the Spring Semester.

Best wishes for a restful and rejuvenating break, and a good start to 2011.

A Current Documentary Worth Seeing: Waste Land

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT, COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit. For a trailer of the film, visit: http://www.wastelandmovie.com/index.html

Kate Macdowell

I saw this work a long time ago, and I continually run into it, but it always amazes me to look at it. Basically, I get alot of inspiration from this lady.

http://www.katemacdowell.com/portfolio.html

////cornie\\\\

Jenn's memory "vending machine"

I loved Jenn's figure head piece that let us turn the nose knob to recieve a puzzle piece of a full memory. It reminded me of one of my favorite artists, Riso Puno. One of her series involves handmade consumer art, titled "Vend-to-Own". Puno buys old vending machines and builds off of them to fit her idea. She even makes her own products that come out, like lipbalms and temporary tattoos!

- Jenny A.

See "Vend-to-Own" here.
See Risa Puno's other works here.

Modern Cabinet of Curiosities

The work and website of British artist Keith Tyson. 

Keith Tyson was the winner of the 2002 Turner Prize. "His work is concerned with an interest in generative systems, and an embrace of the complexity and interconnectedness of existence. Philosophical problems such as the nature of causality, the roles of probability and design in human experience, and the limits and possibilities of human knowledge, animate much of his work. Tyson works in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing and installation."

JOURNALS

People of the Elements - Your journals and sketchbooks have been reviewed and await your retrieval. They are located under the 'bench' as soon as you enter the faculty lounge in Foundation. (The room with the photocopier). There is a pink paper with my name and arrows to point the way. Best wishes in this finals time and see you next week.

Knitting Circle

If you knit and would like to share your knitting know-how, please join us in Introduction to Fiber, Wednesday December 15th from 6-8pm in Room 206 in the Station Building. (Second floor, and to the right when you come up the stairs.)

Bring your knitting needles and yarn. If you would like to teach some of the intro students, please come at 5:30, so all the 'teachers' can check in.

Questions? Email Valeska

In between before and after SHOW

IN BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER

An exhibition of work created in Sarah Doherty’s I.S. class, Installations

Opening Reception: Friday, December 10^th

7pm – 9pm

Area 405

405 East Oliver Street

Baltimore, MD 21218

Competitive Scholarships

Competitive scholarship applications are available at:

www.mica.edu/competitivescholarships

Info sessions will be held on:

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 7-8pm Meyerhoff House Private Dining Room

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 7-8pm, Meyerhoff House Private Dining Room

Applications are due on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 

No late applications will be accepted.

Super Blog

Dana's post made me think of Artsauce, a blog I came across recently, featuring very current work including:

Benjamin Edminston

Matt Stone

Nick Mann

Pepa Prieto

Pepa Prieto uses bold color and geometric shapes in his beautiful mixed media pieces. He typically works very large. He has worked for many companies, such as MTV, to create designs and logos. His sculptures are fun as well.

Here is his website:

http://pepaprieto.com/

Dana Holgerson

Margaret Kilgallen and Artsauce

In searching for examples of Margaret Kilgallen's work (since we spoke of her while looking at Katie Doherty's "Limitless" piece), I stumbled upon this fantastic art blog that features some really fascinating and very contemporary work: Artsauce

Rachel Whiteread

The work of Rachel Whiteread came up today during our conversations in critique. Some of you were unfamiliar with her work, so I thought I would post some here. 

Rachel Whiteread "House”, 1993 concrete, (destroyed)

Rachel Whiteread "Sequel IV”, 2002, Plaster, polystyrene and steel, 31.9 x 29.5 x 9.8 in

"Since the end of the 1980s, the British artist Rachel Whiteread (born in 1963 in London) has created a unique oeuvre consisting of casts of fixtures, furniture, and spaces. Her work invites the viewer to partake in an intimate experience, conjures associations, and often produces a feeling of absence and loss. ...Whiteread’s works are usually casts of the interior spaces of furniture or utility items such as mattresses,wardrobes, or bathtubs. Since 1990, she has turned to larger-scale objects as well: entire living spaces and even a house, as well as individual architectural elements like floors, doors, and staircases. ... 


"Reception and interpretation of Whiteread’s objects focus on the themes of recollection, past and present, private and public sphere, loss, and death. The viewer searches for signs to explain the vague feeling inside, tries to discover personal traces of the inhabitants in the spaces, or projects his or her own visions into it. But the uniformity of the plaster or concrete blocks interferes with the narrative- memory-induced character of the constitution of the space. This context also implies the theme of loss and death. With the solidifying of spatial volumes, the possibility of being becomes lost: homogeneous, solidified space ceases to reveal the identity of its inhabitants." excerpted from the site of Kunsthaus Bregrenz

Memento Mori Hair Jewelry

Memento Mori came up today during our conversation about Cornelia's jewelry piece commemorating her deceased animals.  I am also including a well know American quilt that serves a similar function. 

motifs for Victorian Hair jewelry

Intricate Hairwork bracelet with 14K Gold

Hair jewelry functioned as a keepsake of the dead and as a memento mori, a reminder that death was an ever-present possibility; the wearer was constantly reminded that she should lead a good life because death could strike without warning. Often a wearer would add more hair pieces to a glass-covered brooch when additional relatives or friends passed away. Hair jewelry was not always worn to commemorate the dead; lovers also wore pieces made from the couple’s hair. From HISTORY OF HAIR JEWELRY IN VICTORIAN AMERICA, Curated by Amy Karoly referenced on http://inyourfashion.blogspot.com

The scene of the brooch is made from human hair. It shows a graveyard scene with a weeping willow tree overhanging a gravestone inscribed: ‘IN MEMORY OF A.G.’ Jewellery such as this is called memento mori, a reminder of death. This is because the hair is probably from a departed loved one. Such ‘hairwork’ was a popular craft and pastime in 18th and 19th century Europe. Women in Victorian Britain were permitted to wear hairwork jewellery in the ‘second stage’ of mourning. This began a year and a day after the loved one’s death. (from Science Museum, UK).

One way many women mourned and expressed grief at the loss of a loved one was in sewing. One such woman was Elizabeth Roseberry Mitchell. In 1836, she began stitching a graveyard quilt (also known as a cemetery quilt or a memorial quilt) in memory of her son, John V., who had died in 1836 at the age of 2. She later added her son Mathias (Bub), who died in 1843 at the age of 19, to the quilt.   The graveyard on the quilt top is in Monroe County, Ohio. It was the way she wanted to make sure the family would not forget the location of the graves of their two sons as the family had moved to Kentucky. - from the Highland Museum and Discovery Center

Martin Puryear

The Ladder for Booker T. Washington (1996)

C.F.A.O (2006-7)

Here is some of Martin Puryear's latest work of art. These twopieces are particularly my favorite because they look completely different from his phallic-like organic forms. It is a perfect combination of modernist geometry with intentional craft.

-Karen

bally

Earlier in the year I tried to upload some pictures of the bally posters and now I figured out how to do it. I love these images because it employs such an interesting way of seeing the figure in relation to the shoes. There is a complexity within the simplicity.

Sam

In Response to Dissanayake (Journal)

Fra Angelico's San Trinita Altarpiece

Asafo flag of the Fante people, Ghana 

A Turkish farmer in a traditional felt kenepek

Leonard Knight's Salvation Mountain in California

The Devil dancers (Diablo) take part in the religious procession in Atanquez. (Jan Sochor)

"Die" by Tony Smith

 

"Mystery Sand Mosaic," 1974, by Shorty Lungkarta Tjungurrayi. All images © the estate of the artists, reproduced with permission of Papunya Tula Artists through the Aboriginal Artists Agency, Sydney.

Please reflect on and respond to the following questions after reading the selections from Ellen Dissanayake's What is Art For?

1. Take note of the passages or ideas that strike you the most in the reading (as surprising, revelatory, disagreeable, etc.)

2. How, if at all, has your thinking about what constitutes 'art' been changed or affected by the reading?

3. How has your thinking about what constitutes 'art' been changed or affected by art school?

4. When, if ever, do you feel a need in your life to define what constitutes 'art' or 'art making' (ie: does this come up in your family? in conversation with your peers here at school, or with your teachers here, or back home? in your own thinking as you work on a project or consider an idea?)

Your reflective writing need not be in essay form. Your thoughts should simply be composed enough to indicate that you read the chapters and considered the ideas presented therein.  Also, your written reflections should serve as a reference for you during our discussion, and be understandable enough so that I can read them.

Tim Hawkinson

Here's a link to the Ace Gallery- which shows a lot of Tim Hawkinson's work. He deals mainly in self portraiture and with different ways to represent the human body.

I added an image of my favorite of his pieces- the bird skeleton made out of fingernail clippings. He uses an intimate part of the human form that is normally discarded to create an extremely detailed sculpture. A little gross, and amazing, all in one.

-Sasha

Revised Schedule

Week 13   Nov. 22 Share Artist Response Piece (Group A) Artist Talk: Kat Seabright Visiting Artists: Hoesy Corona and Sam Shea (Copy Cat Theater)

Week 14   Nov. 29 Share Artist Response Piece (Group B) Prepare for Collaborative Play Time/Project (what materials will you need)

Week 15      Dec. 6 Collaborative Project (due date for Picasa portfolio/Journal) (Make your 4x4" Artwork Gift)

Week 16    Dec. 13 Closure (Sharing of Gifts)

Questions to reflect on in your Journal

Venus of Willendorf, circa 25000 - 20000 BCE

Caves at Lascaux (Hall of the Bulls) circa 17,000 BCE 

Why do you think humans make art?

How would you define 'art' or 'art making'?

Why do you make art? (ie: why did you choose this path?)

One of Nick Cave's Sound Suits

Hans Silvester's photo of a child in the L'Omo Valley, a region on the borders of
Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya

Visionary Artist at work on a drawing

Richard Colman

I just happened to come across the artwork of Richard Coleman online. His work is very geometric, usually with triangles involved. He also had neat ink drawings. Some of his work is a bit perverse, though it's always humorous - perhaps because of the bold use of color and overall outlandishness of the piece.

You can find more of his artwork on his website:

http://www.richardcolmanart.com/gallery/

Dana Holgerson

Cao Fei

Cao Fei is a 21st century director and photographer who also works extensively on an online gaming website called 2nd Life. Most of her works revolve around the younger generation of modern China and the emotions they are experiencing.


http://www.caofei.com

P.S. this is the video that I got my Cao Fei clip from... and I found it very interesting to watch... check to see if your artist is in this video~~

http://video.pbs.org/video/1281753428/

Judy Pfaff

Judy Pfaff is a dynamic sculptor, welder, and installation artist from Yale University, constantly mixing natural and industrial materials to create works that transform the environment in which they live. Here's a PBS Art:21 insider look on her process.

-Jenny Acosta

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford works primarily with larger collage pieces that focus on networks and layering

--Vivien

Laurie Anderson

Here is the link to Laurie Anderson's website. She is an experimental artist, varying her works in performance, sculpture, music, storytelling, and video. Check her out!

http://www.laurieanderson.com/home.shtml

Darb TV at the Current Gallery

As I mentioned in class, the premise of Darb TV is that it is a Kids TV Show about insects, but really is a performance that tackles the taboo topics of  rape and incest.  Written by MICA Fiber Alumnus Rebecca Nagle, with current MICA student Monica Mirabile and recent MACA grad, Sarah Tooley. 

For more information about the show, visit http://weekly.citypaper.com/Events/e130962/emDarb_TVem

Samuel Barsky Sweater Artist

Chanukah (2001)

Sarah Konigsburg, a recent graduate of the MICA Fiber department organized an exhibition of the work of Samuel Barsky, a visionary knitter from Pikesville, a suburb of Baltimore. I had the great fortune to meet the artist at the opening last Thursday. I was deeply touched by his sincerity and enthusiasm and willingness to talk about his work. Photos of his sweaters, and the story of how he got started with knitting, are available on his website: http://colorknit.webs.com/aboutme.htm.  The sweaters are more amazing if you see them in person - good thing they are on display for the next month at Shapiro's cafe on Preston Street, right next to the OK Natural food store. I HIGHLY encourage you to visit!

Man on the Moon (2002)

London Bridge II (2002)