Monday, April 11, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Artist Lecture: Trevor Paglen
Questions and Response
1. Do you feel your work could be dismissed by some viewers as conspiracy based propaganda?
2. Do you have any concerns with the legality of the actions you take to make this work?
1. Do you feel your work could be dismissed by some viewers as conspiracy based propaganda?
2. Do you have any concerns with the legality of the actions you take to make this work?
Monday, April 4, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Idea 3/31: Mindstream (Stream of Consciousness)
What is it?
The concept of mindstream is the english interpretation of the Buddhist philosophical idea of being consciously aware from one moment to the next. A mindstream can be a finite period or can be a part of an infinite period of consciousness. There are may texts referring to this process as a stream of thoughts and images that allow one to gain insight into themselves as a part of the universe.
In my work
Much of the work I produce has some element of the mindstream, I often find my hands making movements and gesture that I don't consciously think about, especially when working in collage or with mixed media. Throughout the years I've been making art, I've had to become semi-aware of this phenomena being present in how I work so that I can still maintain a level of cohesion within the pieces I produce. Mindstream, in conjunction with research and planning, has helped me create some of my best, most honest works of art.
Quotes from experts
"In Vajrayāna Buddhism the subtlest state of consciousness is known as clear light. In terms of categories of consciousness, there is one type of consciousness that consists of a permanent stream or an unending continuity and there are other forms of consciousness whose continuum comes to an end."
Gyatso, Janet (1998). Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary; a Translation and Study of Jigme Lingpa's 'Dancing Moon in the Water' and 'Ḍākki's Grand Secret-Talk'. Princeton, New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.
Ryhs Davids interpreted Professor de la Vallee Poussin stance on mindstream to be "not as one permanent, unchanging, transmigrating entity, as the soul was in the atman-theory, but as an 'essential series of individual and momentary consciousnesses...'"
Davids, Rhys. Stories of the Buddha: Being Selections from the Jātaka. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 2000. Print.
The concept of mindstream is the english interpretation of the Buddhist philosophical idea of being consciously aware from one moment to the next. A mindstream can be a finite period or can be a part of an infinite period of consciousness. There are may texts referring to this process as a stream of thoughts and images that allow one to gain insight into themselves as a part of the universe.
In my work
Much of the work I produce has some element of the mindstream, I often find my hands making movements and gesture that I don't consciously think about, especially when working in collage or with mixed media. Throughout the years I've been making art, I've had to become semi-aware of this phenomena being present in how I work so that I can still maintain a level of cohesion within the pieces I produce. Mindstream, in conjunction with research and planning, has helped me create some of my best, most honest works of art.
Quotes from experts
"In Vajrayāna Buddhism the subtlest state of consciousness is known as clear light. In terms of categories of consciousness, there is one type of consciousness that consists of a permanent stream or an unending continuity and there are other forms of consciousness whose continuum comes to an end."
Gyatso, Janet (1998). Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary; a Translation and Study of Jigme Lingpa's 'Dancing Moon in the Water' and 'Ḍākki's Grand Secret-Talk'. Princeton, New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.
Ryhs Davids interpreted Professor de la Vallee Poussin stance on mindstream to be "not as one permanent, unchanging, transmigrating entity, as the soul was in the atman-theory, but as an 'essential series of individual and momentary consciousnesses...'"
Davids, Rhys. Stories of the Buddha: Being Selections from the Jātaka. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 2000. Print.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Artist 3/28: David Schnell
Schnell's work hit me hard the instant I walk by the wall sized image hanging on the wall of the VMFA, it's simply impossible to miss. He has this ability to create a great deal of light source "movement" as if the unseen sun in the image is rising and setting over the course of the painting's creation. Implied lighting aside, his perspective line work is simply stunning, forcefully sending the viewers eye from one end of the image to another and back again, over and over. Finding this talented, recently budding artist has already made a tremendous impact on my own work in how I use color, create line, imply depth, et cetera.
Bio
Quotes
"Streifzuge: Paintings by David Schnell / e-flux." e-flux.com. e-flux, 18 Jun 2006. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/3300>. 
All images from sandronirey.com
Bio
"David Schnell usually employs elements of landscape in his paintings. Indeed, first-time viewers might be under the impression that they are looking at landscape paintings, but in reality they are witnessing Schnell's obsessive treatment of space - something he frequently intensifies by painting in large formats that seem to engulf the viewer. Equally striking is Schnell's compelling use of linear perspective and the vanishing point to create pictorial order. However, this order is often counteracted by the artist's almost subliminal desire for action. These conflicting elements of order and explosion give the paintings an extraordinary energy and dynamism that never leave the viewer's eye or mind at rest. The landscape in Schnell's works provides a framework against which he explores his thoughts, ideas and artistic concerns.
David Schnell was born in 1971 in Bergische Gladbach, Germany. He lives and works in Leipzig."
David Schnell was born in 1971 in Bergische Gladbach, Germany. He lives and works in Leipzig."
"Artnews.org: David Schnell at Parasol Unit London."Artnews.org. artnews.org, 09 Jul 2006. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://artnews.org/gallery.php?i=2323&exi=2603>.
Quotes
“Equally striking is Schnell's compelling use of linear perspective and the vanishing point to create pictorial order. However, this order is often counteracted by the artist's almost subliminal desire for action. These conflicting elements of order and disorder give the paintings an extraordinary energy and dynamism that never leave the viewer's eye or mind at rest.”
“A love for the tradition of great German Renaissance painting is added to a notion of a new pictorial space. These are elements that Schnell reprocesses in an extraordinary range of highly original compositions in which colour and forms lead towards a fabulous imagined world depicted at the borderline of abstraction”
Rovereto, Mart. "Contemporary Germany. To Paint is to Narrate. Tim Eitel, David Schnell, Matthias Weischer. -Mart." http://english.mart.trento.it/. N.p., 28 Jun 2008. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://english.mart.trento.it/intranet_newsletter.jsp?area=42&ID_LINK=59&page=92&IDCTX=2194>.
Rovereto, Mart. "Contemporary Germany. To Paint is to Narrate. Tim Eitel, David Schnell, Matthias Weischer. -Mart." http://english.mart.trento.it/. N.p., 28 Jun 2008. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://english.mart.trento.it/intranet_newsletter.jsp?area=42&ID_LINK=59&page=92&IDCTX=2194>.
Kleine Rennbahn, 2003
oil and tempera on linen
31 x 47 " (78.7 x 119.4 cm)
oil and tempera on linen
31 x 47 " (78.7 x 119.4 cm)
Rinne, 2004
oil and tempera on linen
65 x 99" (165 x 250 cm)
oil and tempera on linen
65 x 99" (165 x 250 cm)
Lichtung, 2002
egg tempera, paint and charcoal on canvas
98.43 x 70.87 " (250 x 180 cm)
egg tempera, paint and charcoal on canvas
98.43 x 70.87 " (250 x 180 cm)
Gehege, 2000
egg tempera on canvas
94 x 83 inches (240 x 180 cm)
egg tempera on canvas
94 x 83 inches (240 x 180 cm)
All images from sandronirey.com
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Lecture: Laurel Nakadate Q and R
"Laurel Nakadate (born December 15, 1975) is an American video artist and photographer living in New York City.
Laurel Nakadate was born in Austin, Texas and raised in Ames, Iowa.
Nakadate's 2005 solo show at Danziger Projects, "Love Hotel and Other Stories," was featured in The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Flash Art. Art critic Jerry Saltz named her a "standout" in the 2005 "Greater New York" show at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, N.Y.
Since then Nakadate's work has been exhibited at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Asia Society, New York; the Reina Sofia, Madrid; the Berlin Biennial; Grand Arts, Kansas City; and at Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York. An ten-year retrospective of her work, called Only the Lonely, is on view at MoMA PS1 from January 23 to August 8, 2011.
A cover interview with the artist appeared in the October 2006 issue of The Believer.
Nakadate's first feature-length film, Stay The Same Never Change, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on January 16, 2009, and was featured in New Directors/New Films 2009 at The Museum of Modern Art and Lincoln Center. Her second feature, The Wolf Knife, premiered at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, and was nominated for a 2010 Gotham Award and a 2011 Independent Spirit Award.
Nakadate currently lives and works in New York City. She is represented by Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects." Bio excerpt from Wiki
Questions
A large portion of your work deals with psychosexual identity and feminism, do you feel that you work is equally accessible to both men and women?
Relating to your work that is currently in the MOMA, since it deals so heavily with voyeurism, loneliness, longing, etc. I sense a commentary about contemporary American society. Do you feel this is the case?
Laurel Nakadate was born in Austin, Texas and raised in Ames, Iowa.
Nakadate's 2005 solo show at Danziger Projects, "Love Hotel and Other Stories," was featured in The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Flash Art. Art critic Jerry Saltz named her a "standout" in the 2005 "Greater New York" show at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, N.Y.
Since then Nakadate's work has been exhibited at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Asia Society, New York; the Reina Sofia, Madrid; the Berlin Biennial; Grand Arts, Kansas City; and at Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York. An ten-year retrospective of her work, called Only the Lonely, is on view at MoMA PS1 from January 23 to August 8, 2011.
A cover interview with the artist appeared in the October 2006 issue of The Believer.
Nakadate's first feature-length film, Stay The Same Never Change, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on January 16, 2009, and was featured in New Directors/New Films 2009 at The Museum of Modern Art and Lincoln Center. Her second feature, The Wolf Knife, premiered at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, and was nominated for a 2010 Gotham Award and a 2011 Independent Spirit Award.
Nakadate currently lives and works in New York City. She is represented by Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects." Bio excerpt from Wiki
Questions
A large portion of your work deals with psychosexual identity and feminism, do you feel that you work is equally accessible to both men and women?
Relating to your work that is currently in the MOMA, since it deals so heavily with voyeurism, loneliness, longing, etc. I sense a commentary about contemporary American society. Do you feel this is the case?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Artist (For 1/24): Fed Tomaselli
The first thing I noticed about Tomaselli’s work when I saw his piece “Woodpecker” at the VMFA, was the exceptional level of intricate detail that he creates. His work commonly explores themes of memory, exploration, and altered states of reality truly taking viewers on a fantastic journey. Many pieces explore the human desire to alter one’s own state of mind through the use of legal and illegal substances that “instead of traveling through the bloodstream to alter perception, these objects traveled through the eyeballs (Shields).” Ultimately, the main connection I have with Tomaselli’s work stems from his intricate collage and line work.
Bio
“Fred Tomaselli was born in Santa Monica, California in 1956. He has been included in numerous group exhibitions including ‘Open Ends’, MoMA, New York (2000), the Berlin Biennale (2001), the Liverpool Biennial (2002), the Whitney Biennial (2004), the 5th Site Santa Fe Biennial (2004) and ‘Ecstasy’, LA MoCA (2006). Solo exhibitions include Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, (1999), Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, Florida (2001), Site Santa Fe, New Mexico (2001), Albright-Knox Gallery of Art, Buffalo, New York (2003), Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (2004), IMMA, Dublin (2005) and The Rose Art Museum, Massachusetts (2005).”
“Fred Tomaselli was born in Santa Monica, California in 1956. He has been included in numerous group exhibitions including ‘Open Ends’, MoMA, New York (2000), the Berlin Biennale (2001), the Liverpool Biennial (2002), the Whitney Biennial (2004), the 5th Site Santa Fe Biennial (2004) and ‘Ecstasy’, LA MoCA (2006). Solo exhibitions include Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, (1999), Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, Florida (2001), Site Santa Fe, New Mexico (2001), Albright-Knox Gallery of Art, Buffalo, New York (2003), Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (2004), IMMA, Dublin (2005) and The Rose Art Museum, Massachusetts (2005).”
"White Cube--Fred Tomaselli." WhiteCube.com. White Cube, n.d. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www.whitecube.com/artists/tomaselli/>.
Quotes
I am cognizant of the inherent limitations of painting and act accordingly. One of the great things about a good picture is ambiguity; a painting hanging on a wall should be able to resonate with different meanings over time.
Shields, David. "BOMB Magazine: Fred Tomaselli by David Shields." Bomb Magazine. New Art Publications, Fall 2010. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://bombsite.com/issues/113/articles/3625>.
It’s funny, but my sense of individualism has been diminished by my use of collage. I increasingly see myself as merely a conductor to the collective voices of the various authors that combine into my images. This sense of collectivity doesn’t just stop with the combination of images—it extends to the various pictorial traditions, manifestos, and philosophies that I weave together.
Shields, David. "BOMB Magazine: Fred Tomaselli by David Shields." Bomb Magazine. New Art Publications, Fall 2010. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://bombsite.com/issues/113/articles/3625>.
Halo of Flies, 2006
Mixed media, acrylic and resin on wood panel
18x18 in.
Big Raven, 2008
Acrylic, photo collage, and resin on wood panel
82x72 in.
Field Guides, 2003
Photo collage, gouache, acrylic, and resin on wood
64x84 in.
Video clip from the film Art in Progress
Artist 3/21: Annette Messenger
I’ve been told multiple times over the course of my tenure in school that I needed to explore the work of Annette Messenger and can only say that I am frustrated with myself that I only just now chose to do so. There were instant connections I drew between her work and mine from physically exploring material to exploring the development of one’s self. While her work has a great deal to do with feminism, I can relate to her pursuit of self-actualization through the exploration of her craft. In an interview with French poet Bernard Marcade she said “You could of course, accuse me of being a castrating woman, and people certainly have done so, but I also know that it’s about a kind of dime store sadism or fetishism. In the end, it is about false introspection. I like making the viewer a little ashamed, to put him/her in the position of a voyeur caught by surprise. I want the viewer to have the impression of discovering terrible secrets when what is involved is a ridiculous image, even if this image always touches us in the end. (Marcade)” I feel that, in many ways, this statement relates to my work as I’m using family photos, something that’s meant to display an “ideal” of family life or values, and shroud any tension or turmoil beneath a cheesy smile. Messenger, in turn, shows you that tension and, while it may not be directly related to family, it does discuss bringing our more private intimacies to light.
Marcade, Bernard. "Annette Messenger." Bomb Magazine Winter 1989: n. pag. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://bombsite.com/issues/26/articles/1147>.
“Annette Messager was born in 1943 in France. She attended the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, but was eventually asked to leave as she spent more time at museums and movie theaters than at school. In her installations, Messager makes use of photography, drawing, knitting, embroidery, sewing and objects she has collected.
Her work often involves fragments, such as My Vows, which includes an large number of small close-up pictures of parts of the body. This tendency to fragment and catalog is everywhere in her work. She catalogues ink blots, pictures of children with their eyes scratched out and her own children's drawings. She embroiders misogynist French proverbs and creates drawings based on popular media depictions of happiness. These are sometimes included in albums or encased in glass and framed.
Her work often involves fragments, such as My Vows, which includes an large number of small close-up pictures of parts of the body. This tendency to fragment and catalog is everywhere in her work. She catalogues ink blots, pictures of children with their eyes scratched out and her own children's drawings. She embroiders misogynist French proverbs and creates drawings based on popular media depictions of happiness. These are sometimes included in albums or encased in glass and framed.
The individual elements of these catalogs are snapshots of the broader themes Messager deals with - issues of sexual and physical abuse, fragmentation of the body, sin, obsession with appearances, fairy tales, children, symbols, effigies, disguise, distortion, repetition. The work is often executed using traditionally feminine materials and techniques.”
"Annette Messenger." Oneroom.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www.oneroom.org/sculptors/messager.html>.
"In my family, my father was the artist," Messager recalled in a conversation at her home on the outskirts of Paris. "With Christian, I was the girlfriend. And since I was cute, well, it was thought impossible to be an artist and cute. At first, I felt proud when someone said, 'Your work looks like a man did it.' Then I realized that was stupid."
Riding, Alan. "Annette Messager: A bold messenger for feminist art | The New York Times."NYTimes.com. The New York Times Co, 26 Jun 2007. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/arts/25iht-messager.1.6316141.html>.
"I wanted to look for an identity through others," she said over tea. "I asked myself, 'Who am I?' I am nothing. So I asked what people said about women. I appropriated the identity of others."
Riding, Alan. "Annette Messager: A bold messenger for feminist art | The New York Times."NYTimes.com. The New York Times Co, 26 Jun 2007. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/arts/25iht-messager.1.6316141.html>.
Images
Secret, 2006
Net wire, 63x110 1/4 in.
Et Range Ta Chambre [And Tidy Your Bedroom], 2007-2009
Installation, Variable Dimensions
Installation View
Et Range Ta Chambre [And Tidy Your Bedroom], 2007-2009
Installation, Variable Dimensions
Installation View
Et Range Ta Chambre [And Tidy Your Bedroom], 2007-2009
Installation, Variable Dimensions
Installation View
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Artist Lecture: Kathy Rose
"Kathy Rose’s work has evolved from her early drawn animated films of the 1970’s, through her unique, pioneering performance work combining dance with film in the 1980-90’s, to her current surreal performance video spectacles and installations, with influence from symbolist art and the Japanese Noh theater. Rose received a Guggenheim in Performance Art in 2003, and in 2005 was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts grant in Video (Media & New Technology).
Rose has toured extensively in live performance throughout the United States and Europe, giving performances at the Museum of Modern Art’s Cineprobe series, Kennedy Center, Serious Fun at Lincoln Center, Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain, the Walker Art Center,The Kitchen, Institute of Contemporary Art in London, Danspace-St. Marks Church, Baltimore Art Museum, Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Akademie die Kunst in Berlin, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, etc. as well as performances in Geneva, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Hiroshima, etc. Her video installation works have been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Aldrich Museum, Cooper Union, etc."
"bio." Krose.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar 2011. <http://www.krose.com>.
Your work utilizes a great deal of technology, how do you feel technology plays into the creation of contemporary art in the 21st century?
In addition to your use of man made devices, you incorporate the presence of the organic, a human. How do you feel that presence of both elements affects your work?
Rose has toured extensively in live performance throughout the United States and Europe, giving performances at the Museum of Modern Art’s Cineprobe series, Kennedy Center, Serious Fun at Lincoln Center, Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain, the Walker Art Center,The Kitchen, Institute of Contemporary Art in London, Danspace-St. Marks Church, Baltimore Art Museum, Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Akademie die Kunst in Berlin, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, etc. as well as performances in Geneva, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Hiroshima, etc. Her video installation works have been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Aldrich Museum, Cooper Union, etc."
"bio." Krose.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar 2011. <http://www.krose.com>.
Your work utilizes a great deal of technology, how do you feel technology plays into the creation of contemporary art in the 21st century?
In addition to your use of man made devices, you incorporate the presence of the organic, a human. How do you feel that presence of both elements affects your work?
Monday, February 21, 2011
Artist (2/21): Chuck Close
I first saw Close’s work at the VMFA during his exhibition, which ran from July 10 – November 14, 2010. His work hits you in the face from the moment you see it, large scale paintings that can stretch across entire walls. His work breaks free of traditional painting techniques and standards becoming something outside what one would normally consider a painting. Up close, the viewer would be hard pressed to see something other than a collection of nonrepresentational boxes. But at a distance, each box comes together to make a stunning, surprisingly detailed portrait. When looking at Close’s pieces, I am inspired to move outside the bounds of what I consider “traditional photography” into something I consider “photo based art” or "photo art."
“Chuck Close, born July 5, 1940, Monroe, Washington, U.S., American artist noted for his highly inventive techniques used to paint the human face. He is best known for his large-scale, Photo-Realist portraits.
Close began taking art lessons as a child and at age 14 saw an exhibition of Jackson Pollak’s abstract paintings, which helped inspire him to become a painter. He studied at the University of Washington School of Art (B.A., 1962) and at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture (B.F.A., 1963; M.F.A., 1964), and in 1964 he won a Fulbright scholarship to study in Vienna. While teaching at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1965–67), he gradually rejected the elements of Abstract Expressionism that had initially characterized his work.”
“…I think the problem with the arts in America is how unimportant it seems to be in our educational system.” Chuck Close
“There are no commissioned portraits. These are images that really matter, and I want to commit them to memory and the only way I can really do that is to flatten them out, scan them, make these drawings and paintings and prints. And then they enter my memory bank in a different sort of way.” Chuck Close
Brown, Jeffrey. "Conversation: Chuck Close, Christopher Finch | Art Beat | PBS News Hour | PBS." PBS.org. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, 02 Jul 2010. Web. 21 Feb 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/07/conversation-chuck-close-christopher-finch.html>
“Chuck Close, born July 5, 1940, Monroe, Washington, U.S., American artist noted for his highly inventive techniques used to paint the human face. He is best known for his large-scale, Photo-Realist portraits.
Close began taking art lessons as a child and at age 14 saw an exhibition of Jackson Pollak’s abstract paintings, which helped inspire him to become a painter. He studied at the University of Washington School of Art (B.A., 1962) and at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture (B.F.A., 1963; M.F.A., 1964), and in 1964 he won a Fulbright scholarship to study in Vienna. While teaching at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1965–67), he gradually rejected the elements of Abstract Expressionism that had initially characterized his work.”
"Chuck Close Biography - Biography.com."Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2011. <http://www.biography.com/articles/Chuck-Close-9251491>.
“…I think the problem with the arts in America is how unimportant it seems to be in our educational system.” Chuck Close
Brown, Jeffrey. "Conversation: Chuck Close, Christopher Finch | Art Beat | PBS News Hour | PBS." PBS.org. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, 02 Jul 2010. Web. 21 Feb 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/07/conversation-chuck-close-christopher-finch.html>.
“There are no commissioned portraits. These are images that really matter, and I want to commit them to memory and the only way I can really do that is to flatten them out, scan them, make these drawings and paintings and prints. And then they enter my memory bank in a different sort of way.” Chuck Close
Brown, Jeffrey. "Conversation: Chuck Close, Christopher Finch | Art Beat | PBS News Hour | PBS." PBS.org. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, 02 Jul 2010. Web. 21 Feb 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/07/conversation-chuck-close-christopher-finch.html>
PHIL/ FINGERPRINT, 2008
Screenprint in 25 colors
50.5 x 38 inches
Screenprint in 25 colors
50.5 x 38 inches
SELF-PORTRAIT, 2004
19 Color handprinted Ukiyo-e woodcut
28.5 x 22.75 inches
19 Color handprinted Ukiyo-e woodcut
28.5 x 22.75 inches
LYLE, 2003
149-color silkscreen
62.25 x 54 inches
149-color silkscreen
62.25 x 54 inches
SELF PORTRAIT/SPITBITE/WHITE ON BLACK, 1997
Aquatint, 20.5 x 15.75 inches
Aquatint, 20.5 x 15.75 inches
All photos from http://www.gregkucera.com/close.htm
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Artist (2/7): Julie Mehretu
I literally umped when I first saw Mehretu's work. She spends so much time designing each individual piece that they very nearly become living, breathing organisms. Her work has, already, greatly impacted me because we're both motivated by architecture, city infrastructure, and utilize their designs in our own work. Unlike my work, however, she works primarily with paint, which I have yet to implement in my creative process.
Julie Mehretu was born in 1970 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She studied at University Cheik Anta Diop, Dakar (1990–91), earning a BA from Kalamazoo College, Michigan (1992), and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (1997). She was a resident of the CORE Program, Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1997-98) and the AIR Program at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2001). Mehretu's paintings and drawings refer to elements of mapping and architecture, achieving a calligraphic complexity that resembles turbulent atmospheres and dense social networks. Architectural renderings and aerial views of urban grids enter the work as fragments, losing their real-world specificity and challenging narrow geographic and cultural readings. The paintings' wax-like surfaces—built up over weeks and months in thin translucent layers—have a luminous warmth and spatial depth, with formal qualities of light and space made all the more complex by Mehretu's delicate depictions of fire, explosions, and perspectives in both two and three dimensions. Her works engage the history of nonobjective art—from Constructivism to Futurism—posing contemporary questions about the relationship between utopian impulses and abstraction. Among Mehretu's awards are the Berlin Prize (2007), from the American Academy in Berlin; a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award (2005); and the American Art Award from the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2005). Her work has appeared in major exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2007); Detroit Institute of Arts (2006); Walker Art Museum, Minneapolis (2003); and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo (2003), among others. Mehretu has participated in the Sydney Biennale (2006); Carnegie International (2004); Bienal de São Paulo (2004); Whitney Biennial (2004); and the Istanbul Biennial (2003). Julie Mehretu lives and works in Berlin.
Julie Mehretu was born in 1970 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She studied at University Cheik Anta Diop, Dakar (1990–91), earning a BA from Kalamazoo College, Michigan (1992), and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (1997). She was a resident of the CORE Program, Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1997-98) and the AIR Program at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2001). Mehretu's paintings and drawings refer to elements of mapping and architecture, achieving a calligraphic complexity that resembles turbulent atmospheres and dense social networks. Architectural renderings and aerial views of urban grids enter the work as fragments, losing their real-world specificity and challenging narrow geographic and cultural readings. The paintings' wax-like surfaces—built up over weeks and months in thin translucent layers—have a luminous warmth and spatial depth, with formal qualities of light and space made all the more complex by Mehretu's delicate depictions of fire, explosions, and perspectives in both two and three dimensions. Her works engage the history of nonobjective art—from Constructivism to Futurism—posing contemporary questions about the relationship between utopian impulses and abstraction. Among Mehretu's awards are the Berlin Prize (2007), from the American Academy in Berlin; a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award (2005); and the American Art Award from the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2005). Her work has appeared in major exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2007); Detroit Institute of Arts (2006); Walker Art Museum, Minneapolis (2003); and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo (2003), among others. Mehretu has participated in the Sydney Biennale (2006); Carnegie International (2004); Bienal de São Paulo (2004); Whitney Biennial (2004); and the Istanbul Biennial (2003). Julie Mehretu lives and works in Berlin.
"Art 21 . Julie Mehretu . Biography . Documentary Film | PBS." Art 21. PBS, 2009. Web. 9 Feb 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/julie-mehretu/>.
“...this wall drawing is about an experiment, about taking a blank space and playing with it to try to create something else that doesn't have the loaded weight that a painting has. “
Mehretu, Julie. Intervew by Binkley, David. 28 Mar 2003. Web. 9 Feb 2011. <http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/passages/mehretu-conversation.html>.
“My initial impulse and investigation was to try and develop, through drawing, a language that could communicate different types of narratives and build a cityscape, each mark having a character, a modus operandi of social behavior. As they continued to grow and develop in the drawing I wanted to see them layered; to build a different kind of dimension of space and time into the narratives. “
Mehretu, Julie. Intervew by Binkley, David. 28 Mar 2003. Web. 9 Feb 2011. <http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/passages/mehretu-conversation.html>.
Julie Mehretu, “Excerpt (Suprematist Evasion),” 2003, ink and acrylic on canvas, 32 x 54”.
Julie Mehretu, “Excerpt (Riot),” 2003, ink and acrylic on canvas, 32 x 54”.
Julie Mehretu, “Excerpt (Battle Track),” 2003, ink and acrylic on canvas, 32 x 54”.
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