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)

Graphic Design Meets Craft

Check out the work of Evelin Kasikov, a recent graduate of the MFA program at Central St. Martins in London!

Below: handmade halftone screen (CMYK)

Gill Sans CMYK

325x475 mm 

Epson print, hand embroidery 

Smooth Cotton 315 gsm (left)

Gill Sans Magenta

325x475 mm 

Epson print, hand embroidery 

Smooth Cotton 315 gsm (right)

Life Cycles Screening

MICA's cycling club and Students of Sustainability are hosting a screening of Life Cycles, a movie about bicycles.
It sounds really good!
Saturday Nov 20th @ 6
Also, it's in Ultra HD.

"The film tells a spectacular story of the bike, from its creation to its eventual demise. A visually stunning journey, with thought provoking narration, Life Cycles uses Ultra HD to document the many stories surrounding the mountain bike and its culture. Life Cycles is a celebration of the bicycle, and is sure to entertain anyone who has ever ridden one."

Nana Projects Website!!

If any of you were REALLY interested in Erin, Katie, Sam and I (Jenn) 's exploring Baltimore presentation and you REALLY want to check out what kind of things Nana projects has to offer and what YOU can do to be apart of it... check out this website:

http://www.nanaprojects.com/nanaprojects.html

Jan Svankmajer

During class, I mentioned the work of Czech stop-action animator Jan Svankmajer. Here are a few of his classic shorts.

Blu & David Ellis

After learning more about William Kentridge's process today during presentations, I remembered an artist that works very similar to Kentridge's stop motion/layering/drawing, erasing, and re-drawing effect. BLU has that same feel of the history of a drawing before it but he uses larger canvases and mediums like paint and graffiti on buildings and urban streets. I love how his drawings animate because they are re-drawn, re-photographed, and also physically travel throughout the buildings and city.

** Check out more work by BLU here and info about the artist he collaborated with in the video above (David Ellis) here. **
enjoy! - Jenny Acosta